This video from the Type bookstore in Toronto, Canada, is an ode to the awesomeness of the printed book. From the creators:
After organizing our bookshelf almost a year ago my wife and I (Sean Ohlenkamp) decided to take it to the next level. We spent many sleepless nights moving, stacking, and animating books at Type bookstore in Toronto.
We love books of all kinds at Blurb, both electronic and printed. But it’s hard to imagine ebooks getting up to anything this exciting when we’re not looking.
So far in our Five Questions series we’ve covered concerts, food, and dogs – and specifically, how to photograph them. Today our subject is kids, and so we turned to Elizabeth Halford, the photographer behind Gracie May Photography. She’s produced some remarkable portraits of kids (and a Blurb book called Cheequal). She’s got the knack of bringing out their personalities in pictures that are both naturalistic and full of style.
Blurb: What kind of gear do you use?
Elizabeth: For a few years now, I’ve been increasingly focused on gear. Ya know, two cameras strapped to my body, an assistant schlepping a reflector, a soft box on a Speedlite, etc. And I found that as my focus on stuff increased, my attention to detail and actually maintaining a rapport with my young clients diminished. So now, I work mostly without using the following:
A Canon 5d Mark kII or 7D camera body. I rarely use both at once. I own 24-105mm f/4 and 50mm f/1.2 lenses and I often hire a 70-200mm f/2.8. Of the lenses I own, the 50mm f/1.2 is my favourite. I always have a reflector on me and usually just balance it against my body or lean it where I need it.
Blurb: Studio or outside, and why?
Elizabeth: I closed my studio last year because I found that it was just a glorified storage space. I was shooting more on the farm where it was located than actually in the studio. It was there that I truly fell in love with the countryside and now, I shoot in the forest almost exclusively. Why? Children are alive in nature. They are able to run and jump and play and stop for the occasional portrait and sometimes I have to follow them up a tree. My clothing takes a beating when I shoot and it isn’t uncommon for me to just plonk down in the mud if I have to. Whatever, I have to do to get the shot I want!
Blurb: How do you approach capturing the unique personalities of the kids?
Elizabeth: No matter how much I would love to be able to answer this question definitively, the truth is that with children I barely know, I don’t actually know their personalities. I mean, it takes parents years just to figure that out themselves. But what I can offer is that I don’t force anything. I would never encourage a child to ‘say cheese’ and I’m perfectly comfortable with a non-smiling face in a portrait. In fact, I prefer it. I just spend a lot of time with the children and we talk about kid stuff, I tell silly jokes, I tell them about my own children. I actually get to know my clients as we walk through the forest waiting for magic to happen. And it always does.
I think that I must be on the right track with regards to capturing the essence of these children because I’ve had many’a a parent crying during viewing sessions which is always a good thing :)
Blurb: What about kids that are camera shy, antsy, or just not into it?
Elizabeth: You know, lots of kids are camera shy. And it’s because they’ve been introduced to the concept of ‘picture time’ in such a negative manner: bribery, demands to smile, because it usually cuts into something fun they were doing. I’ve had many parents say they would like me to get a good shot “if you can” – assuming their child won’t comply. But I’ve never had a child say “no.” Even when I shoot in schools, if one kid doesn’t want to sit, I just say “ok,” and move on. They watch from a comfortable distance and jump in when they’re ready. And their parents are always pleasantly surprised.
Blurb: Is parental input and participation helpful? Or do parents get in the way?
Elizabeth: Oh man. It’s a tough one, because they’re paying me. But often, I just subtly handle it in such a way where my husband or assistant will engage the parents and I will just move off to the side with the child and then come back. We never go out of sight, but I do like to get alone with them if I can. Parents mean well, but the demands they can often place on their children are unhelpful and I’ve never gotten a genuine portrait of a child who feels the pressure of being on stage.
Get more tips and photos from Elizabeth at her personal website, elizabethhalford.com, and her photography studio site, graciemayphotography.com. Also, check out her Blurb book, Cheequal. Elizabeth donates her profits from the sale of Cheequal to the House of Heroes Orphanage in the Philippines.
(Blurberati Sam with her blogger pals)
It was a whirlwind of top knots, great shoes, and amazing creativity at the ALT Summit in Salt Lake City last week and the Blurberati were happy to be there. The summit brought together bloggers from all over for four days of workshops, meetups, roundtables, and parties.
Several bloggers came up to tell us about their Blurb books. Susan and William from House of Brinson showed us their awesome book featuring their very fine photography of food and interiors. Expect to see more about their beautiful book on the Blurb blog soon.
(left to right: Great shoes; Stylish revelers; Alix and Dottie of ModernKiddo.com)
We were also honored and happy that so many wonderful bloggers and leaders of online communities came to the Blurb party Friday night. It was great talking to Ben Silbermann, founder of Pinterest, Victoria of SFGirlbythebay, and Emily Henderson of stylebyemilyhenderson.com. And big shout out to Alix and Dottie from Modernkiddo.com. You two rock vintage style.
(Left to right: Our wonderful wall of posts; Blurberati Eileen H. & Pinterest founder Ben Silbermann; Blurb’s Sam & Emily Henderson of HGTV)
Honestly, if we could bottle all the talent in that room, we’d have an elixir extraordinaire. It was so great to meet top creatives like Lisa Congdon, Laure Joliet, Eric Ryan Anderson, and Alix Bannon.
We’re not naming nearly enough here, so suffice to say, that all of you made our day and the ALT event. We look forward to seeing your Blurb books. We know they are going to be great. Thanks all.
More shoes. Never enough shoes.
Get ready for some fun. Part planner, part notebook, “My Best 2012 Ever” by Dineke Von Boven is a fanciful hodgepodge of original illustrations, travel memorabilia, and ultra-creative customized layouts. Take a look: No two spreads are alike and each is a small work of art.
Recently we caught up with Dineke to ask her about her book, her art, and exactly what inspired the whimsy behind her book. Here’s a snippet from our conversation.
Blurb: Is your art and bookmaking a hobby or a profession?
Dineke: Sort of both. I’ve always been interested in the arts and studied textile design and art at the University of Maastricht in the Netherlands. After graduating, I worked in India for two years as a designer, stylist, and doing volunteer work. I’m now back in the Netherlands and making books simply because I like to.
Blurb: How did you hear about Blurb?
Dineke: I’d made a planner with another book company and had it printed as a photo book. When it came I was extremely disappointed. The paper was too glossy to write on. I had to carry special pens but there were smudge marks everywhere.
One day while searching the Internet, I found Blurb and was so excited. Finally I could make my own book – with paper I could write on – and at a price I could afford.
Blurb: So how long did it take you to make your first planner with Blurb?
Dineke: I worked on my 2011 planner for almost three months and sometimes I could hardly sleep because I kept thinking of all the wonderful things I could add like special holidays, birthdays, addresses for friends and family, a moon phase chart. The end result was about 200 pages!
I took my planner with me everywhere that year, including on a three-month trip to India, and it grew thicker as I glued concert and museum tickets, and other random souvenirs to the pages.
People saw my planner book and asked if they could order a copy. Since I’d added so many personal addresses and such, this wasn’t possible so I promised to make one for 2012 that I’d make public and that they could buy.
Blurb: When did you start working on your 2012 planner?
Dineke: I started in August and already had orders. By that time Blurb had introduced the Pocket Size which made it even more exciting for me and more affordable for anyone wanting to buy it.
Blurb: Where did you get your inspiration for your creative page layouts? They’re wonderful.
Dineke: I have a thing about store-bought planners. They always look so empty and it feels so uncomfortable when a week has passed and the pages are still empty. So I made my planners with art on every page but still plenty of room to write.
I also love books that feel loved and used. So I took photographs of actual book spreads and used those as backgrounds to work on. I then created full page layouts that looked like an open book, complete with creases and torn pages.
For the address section, I scanned used envelopes. Basically, I just let my imagination run free and incorporated my drawings, collages, and photos from my travels.
Blurb: What bookmaking tool did you use and do you have any tips to share?
Dineke: I used Blurb BookSmart for my planners and my photo books. For my 2012 book, I used the full bleed layouts, so I could upload the complete pages as jpegs.
The best tip I can share is to have a friend check out your book before you order it.
Blurb: How are you marketing your book?
Dineke: I’ve used Blurb BookShow and posted it on my Facebook page. I also sent emails to friends and family with a link to my book detail page on Blurb. And since my book became a staff pick at Blurb, the metrics have skyrocketed.
Blurb: So what would you tell anyone hoping to make a book with Blurb.
Dineke: Just start and experiment, but be aware that this might turn into an addiction!
