In the News: EstherH on VSCO!
It is such an incredible experience to find out when VSCO posts up something that you've done on their social media platforms especially with a brand and name that is known on the international level in the Photo world. I was so thrilled because I was hit with a double whammy. First, one of my journal posts was featured on the VSCO Twitter account. Although I don't like the caption because it doesn't reflect what I wrote - it meant a lot that someone read it. Because that was purely an internal thing that I just had to write. The photos more or less in the journal post are not my personal best but again the written content supplies my reasons for my impartialness to them. Check it out here: http://estherh.vsco.co/journal/from-the-void
And then this morning, I come to find out that one of the GIFs I created using VSCO's new DSCO Gif Creating App was featured on their Instagram account! I was floored! I didn't expect this at all! I'm really glad they chose this one out of all the GIFs I created so far because the truth is I worked really hard on this lol! I actually had so many GIF ideas and its hard to put a lot of them into reality when you're limited with hands, time, and resources. I actually had to put together a sort of set up so I could properly lay my camera flat and keep it from moving. In my head, things go really well - I know what I want and how it should look. This project took me several tries because there was something I learned along the way to making this 5-second gif. Every single take presented a problem. The camera is too shaky. The camera isn't centered in the frame. It's too dark. My hand blocks the camera. I poured the milk and missed the cup. At each take, I had to try, see the problem, and fix it for the next take all the while cleaning all the spilled milk along the way. You can probably find some deep metaphor somewhere in all of this. But at the end, I really just wanted to eat the cookie. See the GIF here: https://instagram.com/p/92wHdNOJQ5/?taken-by=vsco
CREATE YOUR OWN VSCO & DSCO Posts
You can check out more of what I've written and photographed on my personal VSCO: HERE
To write your own VSCO journal, set up your VSCO account here and download the VSCOcam App: http://vsco.it along with http://vsco.co/vscocam/download?source=store
To create your own DSCO gif, download the app here: https://itunes.apple.com/app/id1038318658?mt=8
TIPS FOR GIFS
Looking to make some fun gifs - I've learned a few things as mentioned earlier and I figured that the following things can really help.
KEEP STEADY - Using a tripod or a stand can keep the gif itself from moving too much and will be a lot cleaner to look at. I thought if I could use a phone camera remote shutter then I could help make the gif smoother and less shaky but DSCO doesn't allow you to use a bluetooth remote control to record gifs. However - Instagram offers BOOMERANG which is another Gif creating app that you can use that does allow you to use a remote shutter.
KEEP YOUR LIGHTING SIMPLE - Never overdo the lighting - the on-going trend is to use Natural Light because its the most available and the easiest to work with
AN ALL WHITE BACKGROUND IS IFFY - This is something I caught on quickly with when I tried to do a flat lay gif. The camera automatically compensates for light naturally and I found out that when I did my cookie gif on an all white background originally, the gif came out way too overexposed. I switched to a black background so that I could see the milk easily and have contrast in the frame.
BE PATIENT - If you're like me, I'm a perfectionist so one take isn't enough even if its just for a 5 second Gif. Make sure you consider that the timing is crucial and more often you'll be messing up because you forgot something or you didn't press the record button fast enough. Be prepared to try again and again if you're determined to get the GIF you want.
HASHTAG - Be sure to use all the hashtags like #vsco #vscocam #vscogrid #vscophile #vscojournal #DSCO #DSCOcam #GIF #jointheDSCO to get a chance to be featured on VSCO.
HAVE FUN - the whole point of the gif is to capture moving photos and make them unique or entertaining. You don't have to be elaborate at all! It's just a neat thing to watch and because sometimes a picture along doesn't do the moment or the action justice especially in cases where actions speak louder than words.
Other GIF apps to check out:
