PHOTO EDITING | Buildings in the Sky

I've decided to make blog posts on the editing process of my photographs! Let me know in the comments if you guys enjoy reading these kinds of blog posts! I'm going to be telling you guys how I edited this photo: 

Since I don't have a MacBook with Lightroom or Photoshop, my resources are limited. The apps I use to edit my photos are VSCO Cam and Snapseed (both are free on the App Store)! 

VSCO Cam:

Filter A6 (my absolute favourite filter!)

Brightness +6

Sharpen +3

Temperature +6

Tint +2

Grain +4

Snapseed:

I used the selection tool to brighten up dark areas of the photograph.

That's all for this blog post! It's actually a really simple editing process! You don't need to have Lightroom or photoshop, there are a lot of really good editing apps out there! 

XOXO Alli

DAILY INSPIRATION | Discovering New Locations & Empowering Others

Yesterday, I went back into the city with my friend Rachel to take photos, yet again. We went back to a few places I had visited previously, the day before. But we ended up discovering a few new locations we had been meaning to go to. For example, the photo above was taken in an area with a large platform surrounded by tall buildings. It made for a really cool shot.


When I met up with Rachel, she ended up being 47 minutes late, but that's okay. But when we were chatting whilst eating lunch, she told me that my photos are bad, or at least not very good. And I'm not sure if she was being sarcastic or joking about it, but I found it kind of offensive. With that being said, I didn't say anything back that was rude like calling her pictures terrible. I don't have any hatred or grudge towards her, because that's her opinion, and I'll respect that. But I do want to spread awareness of this: One reason I love photography is that it captures beautiful moments that people would want to keep. For me, the photographs I take are moments I want to remember. And photography isn't about getting the right focus (although, that is important) or who has the best editing. It's all creativity. Everyone has different creative perspectives on how they want to capture a certain object and my photos reflect my style and the way I want the message to be portrayed. The point of this isn't to bash on other people's work, it's to motivate them to be better and to uplift others. But not by saying things such as "your photos are bad".


I just wanted to touch upon this topic because this morning when I woke up, I checked on my YouTube subscriptions and found a video by the Mom's View. In this video, Colette (from the SHAYTARDS), Kayli and Carlie talk about the importance of women empowering other women. This was the first video I watched today and it definitely gave me a better outlook on our community, especially since it was such a motivating message to help me start the day. You all should watch the video, whether you're a girl or a boy, because this applies to everyone in the world. It's more common with girls than boys, but there are males out there that feel the same. I hope you guys will share this message and the video with your friends. Just remember that in this world, people will judge, and that's okay. All of this can be taken as motivation. But also remember that there are people that care for you, and it's important to recognize those who do.


XOXO Alli

Exploring the City | PHOTOGRAPHY

Today, I spent my whole day with my friend Tammy and we decided to explore different parts of the city that we haven't seen. I took her to a few places I've been wanting to visit and we had a mini (not planned) photoshoot because I had my Canon camera with me to take pictures of the city. First we went to the mall to have lunch, then we made our way down this street where we stopped by a juicery and this alley with graffiti walls. We then headed to this popular location where we live to have our photoshoot and afterwards we enjoyed some ice cream from this popular ice cream bar. The line was so long, I'm pretty sure we waited 20 minutes just to order. But it was a really fun day today, and Tammy even said that we walked 7 miles (according to her phone which tracks the number of steps you take)!!


Tammy used to (or maybe she still does) take gymnastics, therefore she is much more flexible than I am, so she was my model. I'm really happy with how the pictures turned out, especially after editing. My favourite filter is the basic B&W because it adds a dramatic effect to the photograph. Here are some of the pictures I took of her:


 

 

 

 

                                                                                ^ this was a picture she took of me

DAILY INSPIRATION | Work Hard, Dream Big

I was thinking about doing these posts to give you guys your daily dose of inspiration! Let's see how this goes...

This was one of my first Instagram posts, and I live by this EVERYDAY, as should everyone. I can say that keeping this message in mind will help you to push through any obstacle. If you guys didn't know, I'm on the swim team at my school... sorry I keep talking about me being on the swim team, but I have grown so much as a swimmer and a person from the experiences swim has brought me. Anyways, this year at Regionals, I was placed in the second last heat for both of my individual events, which meant I was swimming amongst the second fastest group of swimmers! It was hard knowing that because only 1st-8th place get a medal/ribbon, and there are 8 people in each heat. That means in order for me to win a medal/ribbon (most likely a ribbon), I would have to beat one of the swimmers in the last heat. Sorry if this seems confusing. But, I happened to be 2nd fastest (lane 5) in both of my heats. So I had to beat the fastest person in my heat, as well as the slowest person in the last heat, JUST so I could get 8th place. But I did it. The event was 50 freestyle. And it felt so good when I dove into the water and starting swimming like there was no tomorrow. If you're a swimmer, you'll understand this, but I tend to look over to the lanes next to me to see where I stand amongst the other swimmers. And I didn't see anyone. At first, I thought that I dove too early (which meant disqualification), but when I finished, I looked up at the board, and in 1st place, was my lane number. I was so happy, especially when I went upstairs and my friends, even my coach, told me that I swam so fast in comparison to the other girls! This also applied to my second individual event, which was 100 backstroke. This was the event I was dreading all day. I normally swim only 50 backstroke, so swimming 100m of it was a challenge. My seed time was roughly 1:50:00 (1 minute, 50 sec), so again I was second fastest in the second last heat. I managed to pull through and rise to 5th place overall in my region. I shaved off 6 seconds!!! I couldn't believe it. Don't ever think you can't do something because it'll definitely affect your state of mind. Thinking positive keeps your body relaxed so you can focus on the task at hand.

Hope you enjoyed today's daily dose of inspiration! XOXO Alli