L O G O | R E V E A L (dun, dun, dun...)

Hey lovelies :) 

This week is a huge checkpoint with TasiaMade, and I am SO relieved. As I mentioned yesterday, I was finally able to settle on a logo design. This has been a process to say the least. Designing for yourself is not easy, especially when you're still in the beginning stages of writing your story and finding out where your company is going to 'fit'. Colors make people feel a certain way. Shapes make people feel a certain way. Layouts make people feel a certain way. The list goes on and on. 

My biggest influence is photography and graphic design has never been the 'rules' in the books. I'm not so much a go by the books type of person. Sometimes that gets me in a pickle, but it's also been the way I've learned to follow my intuition. Your own intuition is like no one else's. It will keep you unique. It will make your story different than anyone else's. 

Creating a mark that reflects positivity, energy, love, and creativity for TasiaMade has been a journey. Pages filled with little swashes are all over my apartment, and I've smelled of sharpie for the past week. 

Needless to say, I'm happy to (finally) share the branding I call my own to represent TasiaMade! I hope you get the same light & carefree energy when you see this little mark in 2013. 

- xo - Tasia
www.TasiaMade.com

Location, Location, Location! (Did I mention location?)

On getting acquainted with important locations:

In preparation for 2 lovely weddings in the first week of September (Phew!) I scheduled a meet and greet with the chapel to get a feel for the type of interior lighting to expect for the big days. This particular building, the Old Christ Church in downtown, Pensacola, has been standing since 1832 and is the oldest standing church in the state of Florida. Incredible.

The well kept gorgeous green lawn will be perfect for candids and formals!

 The interior is decadent and has close walls for bouncing light and an enormous window directly in front of where the bride and groom will stand. Love!

A few of the details to remember...

 These old lightposts all around downtown Pensacola are classic for photos. 

 Getting shots of all angles of the church. The window lights are the most dramatic. 

 Then while I was there, I took a little walk to just see what else was in the area and what might appeal to us as a great backdrop during the formals before the reception. There are so many neat details that jumped out at me on my walk. I made it a challenge to find something ordinary and photograph it in a dramatic way. 

 These mini gardens go all down the sidewalk... 

 Having fun with my favorite quote and a photo of two palm trees behind cute hanging lights...

 A reminder to R E L A X found on the doorway of the back of the 'Breath Yoga' studio :) 

 The historic buildings lining the streets reflect culture and mystery. 

 A very wet, but beautiful end to the day.

Iphone Exposure Trick - Shooting into the sun

I made up this trick (although I'm quite sure others out there are already doing this) just a couple of weeks ago after getting frustrated with the shadows in my Iphone photograph of a gorgeous home. 

Both of these photographs below were taken nearly seconds apart straight from my iphone, aiming directly into the sun. The photos are not edited in any photo software on my phone or on my computer. Why are they completely different, you ask? Good question, I say.

Easy. The 'before' photograph was shot as most typical Iphone photographs would be shot. Hold camera up, see image you want to capture, click button. Done. As you can see, I wasn't happy with the results. The camera, understandably chose to expose the photo for the sky. Being that I was using an Iphone, I had no control over the automatic settings the camera determines. Notice how perfectly blue the sky is and how much detail is in the clouds. Awesome. But then the rest is useless and underexposed or dark. 

If I were photographing this scene just to capture the sky, I would probably be happy and jump around. However, I was more interested in the home and the really cool shadows on the sidewalk and green grass. 

Now what? So, in order to 'trick' my camera into exposing what I wanted to see in the shot, I tried something new. I held my thumb over the mini-lens after focusing the shot (to focus, just hold down the photo button and don't let go yet.) Once the shot was focused, and THEN the lens was covered with my thumb, the camera automatically changed it's exposure setting to compensate for the darkness of my thumb. I immediately moved my thumb at the same time of taking the photo. The Iphone didn't have time to revert back to its standard settings, and was still in 'everything is dark mode', so it automatically brightened up my image... a LOT, showing all the details I originally wanted in the grass and home. 

The good news is it's very, very, easy once you try it a few times! 

This is a prime example of what techniques are used in real estate photography on professional cameras. We often take multiple exposures on a tripod, some for the sky, and some for the foreground, and then merge them together to get a great exposure of each section of the photograph. 

Hope you enjoyed! 

- XO - 

Tasia

Jesus is my Favorite // D E S K T O P

Hey gorgeous peeps! Being that it's Tuesday, which is mighty far away from FRIDAY, I wanted to send out a positive message for you to keep close throughout the work-week! 

Here's a little jem I created for ya'll (oops, let that country slip out again*) last night. If Jesus is YOUR favorite, feel FREE to use this cute vintage inspired desktop wallpaper on your screen too! Simply choose which size your screen is closest to and copy and paste that link into your browser to get the hi resolution image! 

1280x1024: http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5486/9550117159_e54803f402_o.jpg

1028x800: http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2820/9552912344_dce968a666_o.jpg 

Design by: www.TasiaMade.com

Disclaimer: If you save or use the image online or on your computer, no need to credit me :) However, you must, by TasiaMade law, comment and let me know you're spreading the <3 of the Lord! 

Sarah + Cameron colorfully in love.

What a privilege to photograph these two adorable lovebirds for their first photoshoot together. I was shocked to hear that they had never done a shoot before since they have been dating for quite some time. I guess it makes this moment even more special and something they will remember for - ev - er!  (and yes, I said that like the kid in The Sandlot)

Just watching these two meet eyes and immediately laugh (at what, I still don't know) was enough to make me crack up -- making photographing them THAT much more fun! Sarah and Cameron had time to get a few photos on their way out of town before the big rain storm we had Thursday. After their roadtripping to get tattoos vacation weekend, they came back with new intriguing // rad tattoos! *Don't worry, you'll see them at the end of this post* 

& now... the new tats! Sarah, left. Cameron right. Based on their 'likes' they seem to be a big hit!

Find the artist on Instagram @acostattoo

That is all for today -- Time to switch modes into textile design for www.JudithMarch.com, which I hope to share in a few months when the fabrics are printed and released to the public :)

I will leave you with this quote a friend shared with me today: 

"Life is like a camera... 

Focus on the important. 

Capture the good times.

Develop from the negatives, 

and if things don't work out...

take another shot!"

- XO - 

Tasia

Warning: Knit pickin' "yarn bombers" taking to the streets!

Magda Sayeg is flooding the streets with candy colorful cotton, expressing her textile tendencies in a new light. 

Just a couple of months ago, while beginning my new journey with TasiaMade, I spent time gaining insight + inspiration from other freelance artists. To see the success of those following their passions makes my jaw drop, almost literally, and gives me a boost of the ole' 'You can do it!' spirit no matter how dark the day. Throughout my life, I've been privileged to come into the path of a handful of incredible artists and have been honored to get to know them well. Each with his / her own direction that seems to line up just right for them. There isn't any 'one' system in following your dreams. You have to make it up as you go and create your own story. Magda is ultimate proof. 

With a deep rooted love for crochet // patterns // color, Magda Sayeg wrapped a stop sign with multi-colored crochet in 2003 because "It just felt right". Magda is known as one of the first "yarn-bombers", a new phenomenal form of street art, trading cans of paint for cute crochet. Photographed below is an airstream trailer designed by Magda. Because her visions seem to grow in size throughout the years, she now has a team of knitters to call on for the larger projects. 

A few 'on the street' scenes. Just another day in the life of Magda. 

Magda has been called on by Etsy, MINI, and Gap to do installations of her designs & is currently working on her new pieces for Ketel One after entering and winning The Modern Craft Project this past february!

What an amazing, exciting journey. I plan on following more of her work and success in the years to come. I hope she can inspire you just as much to follow your passion and feel like "You TOO can do it"! 

http://www.magdasayeg.com/

Silhouettes and Fireworks Shooting

I love living so close to the Destin Harbor that I can sit on the beach and watch the fireworks every Thursday night. 'Sharing a few experimental shots from last night. <3

There are truly some amazing views across from the Harbor in Destin. Just the way the light shines so richly across the ocean, highlighting anything that stands in it's path is so neat to me. Notice the gorgeous heron in the first photo! He was slowly making his way away from me but I manage to grab at least one clear shot in ISO 3200 before a few passerbys strolled in between us.

This seemed like such an epic moment -- We had to have a little fun with it!

Shooting in a high ISO is something that I've learned in the past NOT to do if at all possible... But I was pleasantly surprised to see the quality was still great in many of the shots. Lesson of the night. A tripod is a MUST! Slowing down my shutter speed to a few seconds could have pulled in a lot more light. Next Thursday, it IS!

  - XO -

Tasia

Jon's night job. MODELING!

It wasn't as hard as you think for me to convince Jon to stand in front of the camera and attempt to be serious. He's the easygoing type and enjoys trying something new! Believe me, this is not his "everyday" activity or idea of fun but he's a great sport and will try most things at least once :) 

So here we have it. Our semi- Aberbcrombie and Fitch meets American Eagle shopping bag style portraits, just for fun!

He's naturally a pretty hilarious dude who finds humor in everything, so having a 'serious' shoot was a new challenge. Of course we have our outtakes with the more playful side... See below :) This is what I get when I give free reign to posing!

I love strange visual effects of placement! (Photo below) This may have worked a little better with a higher aperture to get a little more focus in the building... but you get the idea!

The sun was just about to set and we had a nice old man ask us if he could take OUR photo :) How nice! I'm so glad he did since this will be one of my last days here in town before the big trip! He even got the Emerald Towers behind us! <3

  

Jon decided it was time to take some photos of me. Uh Oh... Can't say I'm the most confident in front of the camera but I do love goofing off to get a crazy shot! Jumping somehow breaks the ice for me, so we JUMPED! This was probably my favorite part of the day!

Take that back... The best moment was actually the fireworks at the end of the night. The view from the Destin Jedi's is by far the most incredible view of the fireworks you can get in all of Destin. Trust us! We're locals ;) 

By the time the fireworks were going off, I had already shut off the camera and made sure we had some time to ourselves to enjoy the moment. 

So much of this life is easy to let pass you by. I love being able to share my own view of life and each special moment with you all. Photography is one of my passions and I am thankful to know how much I still need to learn. There is always something better we can reach for in all aspects of our lives! 

- xo - 

Tasia