Step inside my "studio"

So I've been  trying to learn  a lot about photography during  my Etsy shop vacation. And I'm reading a lot about natural  light photography and trying to get the right  exposure and lighting when  shooting in manual  mode. Since  it's soooo hot  outside here I  wanted to find a "studio" space in my  house to practice! hehe. So today I test ran my first option...the dining room ;-) My nifty studio consists of a dining room chair draped with the blanket off my couch--- veeeery sophisticated.

Anyways, I posted a photo from today  to get some critique on a photography board, but I thought  I'd share some with you all today as well. I  think  this  spot  did work  well  for getting natural light, but  I'm still perfecting the exposure and focus when in manual  mode. I also caught a ton of "light in the eyes" which is a sought after thing in the photography world, but  I'm not sure if maybe I got a little  too much light in her eyes this time! I'll  practice in a new  spot tomorrow  with baby  Finn,  since we're finally healthy enough to watch him again :-)

Enjoy these "studio" shots of Miss Raya!

This face  reminds  me  of those  sad animal shelter commercials where  they play the  mournful music and show you pictures  of abandoned and neglected pets --- I swear this  child is not neglected! ;-)

The key to dealing with uncooperative  toddlers  is  to pretend their defiant glances away from the camera are actually  intentional poses! hehe

I didn't get the focus quite right in this one....so of course that's the one where  she's looking at me!

This is the evil look when you know she's about to be a stinker!

....and in case  you're all thinking "this child is the most beautiful 3 year old on the planet" (which she is of course :-) , let me  show you the smile that  will prevent her from ever becoming a baby gap model:

You just  gotta  love this  kid ;-)

So which "studio dining room" pic  is your  favorite?!

And  lastly, today I had another  appointment to take  2 more  bins of clothes  into consignment (they only let  you take 2 at a time) ...so I took one bin of maternity clothes (not sad to see those things go!!!!) and one bin of fall  0-6 month clothes. While there of course  I  had  to do  my sweep of the clearance racks, and I got some more good  stuff....just have  to share!

The  key to shopping consignment is to not  spend hours digging through racks and racks of stuff. I just do a quick glance through everything and play "I  spy name brand!" hehe. I look for Gymboree  and Gap mostly, but  other  fancy brands  when they  pop  up too! I also only look in the s uper clearance section....I  don't go to consignment to pay $5 haha. I shop the $1 racks!

Here are my goods from today:

Watermelon tank and hoodie on top right were 50 cents each--$1 for the set! Look  new, from gymboree.
Swimsuit is baby gap--Brielle didn't  *need* one for next year, but the blue will look great  with her eyes...and it's like  new!
Icecream shirt is  baby gap for  Brielle  next  summer (the next  size summer  clothes we have is 3T, because  Raya skipped 2T....and I know there's no way  Brielle will be in 3T next  summer so we actually do need  some of that  size :-)
Bottom left shorts are  just  Target, but  look  new.
And  the yellow hoodie is quilted  and so cute--for Raya.  But there  were no tags in it! My super slueth skills though felt the material and guessed it was Gymboree, so I took  a chance---sure enough I looked it up and it IS Gymboree!
All  items only $1 each :-)

Top two  tanks are Gymboree for Brielle  next  summer---each $1
The cherry outfit is Gymboree, and  brand  new  with tags! $1 for the whole outfit.
The pants are sooo cute---tan with white pinstripes! For Brielle, whenever  she is tall enough for 18-14 m haha. Only $1!

White seahorse dress, like new, from Gymboree  and  only $1! For Brielle next  summer.
Pink skirt  is Pumpkin Patch brand, only $1, for Raya
The  blue romper is baby gap, for Brielle  next summer, and was $2 (I splurged :-)

....and t he best part? I had  only taken in a small  "test" tote of clothes for my previous appt., but I already had a $10.77 credit there, so I got  all  this  for about $4 out of pocket!!!

Yeah, sorry for boring you all, but  this sort of stuff  makes me so happy LOL.

Thanks for  stopping by today!