Archive for March 15th, 2008

Jen just got home from her “Dinner Club.” Her girlfriends get together once a month and have a pow-wow at a hot spot. Tonight it was Jules Bistro in Gastown. Last month it was La Terrazza.

To show you how badly needed this Dinner Club is for Jen and her social life, the nice coat she wore tonight hasnt been worn since last month’s soiree. How did she know? She found someone else’s car keys in her pocket, probably dumped by a coat check or valet.

So how do we get a set of keys back to someone?

Google.

All that we had was a Volvo fob, and a Tiffany’s charm.

On the back of the charm was engraved a first name, and a company. That’s it. Put them in Google together and we found a matching person who had donated to the Weekend to End Breast Cancer. With that entry we discovered her last name.

Put the first and last name into Google and we discover a bulletin board post she made 2 years ago complete with phone number and email address. Now the email address has expired, as she has switched companies, but we will try the home phone number listed tomorrow.

So… good news / bad news. Google will help you get your keys back if you lost them, but it will also give out a lot of information about you to anyone who has a little bit of information about you.

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I had a chat with Wendy Rombough this week. She’s a photographer brought in by HP to show off their new Photosmart Studio Kiosks. You can print off pro styled photo books, calendars, cards and prints, in about an hour. The first kiosk is in Lougheed Mall.

Wendy also took some time to serve up photo tips for Spring Break. She’s a baby and kid photographer, has 2 of her own, and knows what to look for to get a great shot.

1. TURN OFF YOUR FLASH
If you love the way things look when you’re using your eyes, adding the flash will just wash things out. Instead of flashing, bump up the ISO on your camera.

2. LET THE KIDS BE KIDS
Get reactions from the kids, don’t pose them. If you want a big smile, have them goof off and make funny faces, then capture them laughing at themselves

3. GET TO THEIR LEVEL
They’ll be more comfortable (you may not be) when you’re on their level instead of shooting down on them.

4. ZOOM YOUR BODY, NOT YOUR LENS
Your body can move a lot faster than your camera can, so follow the kids around and don’t worry so much how you frame the pictures, you can always tighten up or crop a shot afterwards.

5. THE RULE OF THREE
When you’re managing your pictures afterwards, leave room in the frame for the subject to lead the shot. The rule of three divides the frame into thirds horizontally, and vertically. Try and get the main part of the image on one of the cross points.

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