Last Minute Holiday Street-Style Snapshot: NYC
December 24th, 2012 by Fashion StaffNot to be outdone in the midst of the holiday rush, New York City’s chicest individuals paraded the streets this Christmas Eve in search of last-minute gifts and everyday errands, alike. Check out the haute holiday rush of last minute shopping in NYC below…
The Oversized Sweater (Lucy, NY)
Big sweaters with bright colors and crazy patterns aren’t just for satirical parties anymore. Follow Lucy’s example, shown here on the Lower East Side, and pair a busy sweater with an understated, neutral bottom and accessories in the same color to make a bold, but sartorial, statement this holiday season.
Contrast to Complement (Mizuki & Babu, Brooklyn)
Mizuki and Babu, a couple from Japan now living in Brooklyn, are a fashion statement of their own. By contrasting Babu’s patterns with Mizuki’s minimalist color scheme but bold textures and linking them with the simplest of accessories— a baseball cap— these two form their own bohemian rhapsody. Achieve a similar effect with your significant other by dressing in clashing palettes and choosing one common accessory to make the overall look cohesive.
The Statement Scarf (Kenda, Gainesville, Florida & Claudia, Italy)
The recent deep-freeze may force you to prioritize warmth over glamour, but a statement scarf, as worn here by Kerry (left) and Claudia (right) can add a punch of color to an otherwise-neutral ensemble and allow your personality to warm up the cold weather. Our favorites feature unexpected prints and rich colors.
Feminine Without Freezing (Kerry, Malibu)
Follow Kerry’s lead and layer soft, textured pieces over cold-weather staples like jeans in order to achieve a smart take on classic, feminine pieces. Vary up the color palette, mix up lengths and textures, and accessories intelligently to achieve a measured, yet eclectic aesthetic shown here.
If All Else Fails, Stay True (Leah & Stefan, Australia)
Leah and Stefan made the most of classic style to stand out this winter. If you aren’t one for style experimentation, but still want to have fun, stick to tailored pieces in classic cuts and styles but in unexpected colors (i.e. Leah’s bright yellow tights) to simultaneously pay homage to fashion tradition and take the world by surprise.
The People Have Spoken! Instagram Back Pedals From “New Terms” To Original Agreement
December 21st, 2012 by Christen
After the public outcry of “FAIL” against Instagram’s New Terms agreement, the photo sharing giant has announced that maybe they’ve made a few premature changes afterall. As previously reported earlier this week, Instagram had planned on instating new terms of use which would require users photos to involuntarily become property of Instagram for use in ads, promos and more. The terms of that user agreement said, “You agree that a business or other entity may pay us to display your user name, likeness, photos (along with any associated metadata) and/or actions you take, in connection with paid or sponsored content or promotions, without any compensation to you.” Since the announcement, journalists, celebrities and users gallore have taken to Facebook, Twitter and even Instagram to share their distane for the new terms and even threatened to delete their Instagram accounts altogether.
In the aftermath of the uproar over changes to Instagram’s privacy policy and terms of service earlier this week, the company back-pedalled late Thursday. In a blog post on the company’s site, Kevin Systrom, Instagram’s co-founder, said that where advertising was concerned, the company would revert to its previous terms of service, which have been in effect since October 2010. “Rather than obtain permission from you to introduce possible advertising products we have not yet developed,” he wrote, “we are going to take the time to complete our plans, and then come back to our users and explain how we would like for our advertising business to work.” Users had been particularly concerned by a clause in Instagram’s policy introduced on Monday that suggested Instagram would share users’ data — like their favorite places, bands, restaurants and hobbies — with Facebook and its advertisers to better target ads.
Following a reaction that included customers defecting to other services, Mr. Systrom told Instagram users on Tuesday that the new policy had been misinterpreted. “It is our mistake that this language is confusing,” he wrote, and he promised an updated agreement. That statement apparently was not enough. With more people leaving the service, the company, which Facebook bought for $735 million this year, reacted again by returning to the old rules. Acknowledging those concerns late Thursday, Mr. Systrom wrote: “I want to be really clear: Instagram has no intention of selling your photos, and we never did. We don’t own your photos — you do.” Mr. Systrom said the company would still be tweaking its privacy policy to quell users’ fears that their photos might pop-up on third-party sites without their consent.
The day before Instagram announced changes to its terms of service, Flickr’s mobile app was ranked at around 175 in Apple’s overall iTunes app charts. Since that day, the application skyrocketed to #7, only three spots behind Instagram #4.
Were you worried about Instagram’s new terms of agreement? Have you already downloaded the new Flickr app?
@Twitter -VS- @Instagram… And How To Succeed With Photo Social Sharing No Matter What
December 12th, 2012 by Christen
Now that the latest move in the social media gauntlet has been revealed – Instagram has disabled Twitter’s ability to properly display your images in Twitter’s feed, WHAT’S NEXT NOW? It’s very clear that the battle between social media giants, Instagram, Twitter and Facebook isn’t going anywhere soon and you can more than likely expect more “integration errors” in the coming months. This could easily become a social media nightmare for those who rely on using these outlets on a daily (sometimes even hourly) basis. But, you don’t have to let the social media squabbling affect your ability to be great! Discover these tips, that’ll keep your Twitter-gram game tight no matter what!
Q: With all these new sharing changes, how in the world do I keep up with easy social sharing?
A: Master the use of each social media platform (Twitter, Facebook and Instagram) SEPARATELY!
The New Twitter: Twitter has unveiled their very own photo filters that users can access after updating the app on their mobiles. Thanks to their photo filter partner Aviary, there are 8 available filters along with cropping tools and auto-enhancing features for Twitter users. Learn how quickly you can enhance your photos without leaving your Twitter app below…
The Face of Facebook: Use Facebook to share your fantastically-filtered photos. To do this, you can manually upload Instagrams to your Timeline or automatically sync up your Instagram account to your Facebook so all your Instagram activity will show up on your Timeline and News Feed.
Become A Facebook Fan! Facebook.com/DivasandDorks
Instagram is IN: As one of the newest and fastest growing photo-sharing platforms to date, the buzz and excitement is still growing strong with Instagram. Use it to your advantage by promoting your online Instagram page and growing your photo followers manually. If pictures are worth a thousand words, there’s no way that Facebook and Twitter can compete with what you have to photogenically say!
Check us out on Instagram.com/DivasandDorks
It’s clear that these social media giants, won’t be playing nice in the sandbox anytime soon. For now, it’s best that you learn to utilize their best features separately and that way, no matter what improvements or changes happen next – YOU STILL WIN!
Have you tried out the new photo filters on Twitter? Are you still a die-hard Facebook fan? What would make you leave any of these social platforms for good. Share below…
How to Make Your Holiday Photography Fabulous This Season!
November 29th, 2012 by Lifestyle StaffDo you love photography or just enjoy taking pictures, but feel like pricey cameras are keeping professional-looking photos out of reach? Here are 3 key tips sure to make your holiday photos look top-notch without investing in expensive equipment.
1. Forget the Flash
Ever wonder why throwaway camera pictures have off-kilter coloring? Flash is your culprit!
Unless you’re shooting in the dark, forget it even exists. Keep your camera steady and try to shoot in early morning or early evening light to get the best natural shadows and highlights from your environment. Additionally, if your camera allows it, adjust shutter speed (a.k.a. ISO) to control the amount of light you’re letting in (higher ISO = more light = best for darker environments).
2. Learn The Rule of Thirds
NEVER put your subject in the center of the frame. Instead, picture your camera view as being divided into three sections, and keep your subject in either the left-hand or right-hand third. Also, remember the “halo” rule: make sure to leave space above and around the subject’s head so that they don’t look crammed into the shot.
3. Know Your Angles
America’s Next Top Model contestants aren’t the only ones who need to understand angles. An otherwise-boring shot can be instantly spruced up by changing your perspective.
Want to make your subject look more important and/or taller? Shoot from below. On the flipside, shooting from above can also make a subject look smaller, but slimmer, so a higher perspective might be the answer to soothing subjects with any worries, while also being fabulously spontaneous.
Do you have a unique photo tip to share? Let us know what you do to spruce up your special holiday photos.
The Top 10 Apps To Enhance Your Instagram Photos! (Do You Have Them?)
June 26th, 2012 by Tech Staff
From a startup to instant billionaires, the good folks at Instagram know a thing or two about photo sharing and with Instagram’s Android downloads already topping 5 million, it’s clear the photo-sharing app is hot (and not going anywhere, anytime soon)!
Create a Grid of Photos:
- iPhone: PicStitch
- iPhone: Diptic
- iPhone: PicFrame
- Android: Photo Grid
Effects:
- iPhone: PicFX
- iPhone: XnView Photo FX
- Android: PicsArt
- Android: Pudding Camera
Lens Boost:
- iPhone: Camera+
- Android: Camera ZOOM Fx
Do you have any extra apps that you’d like to add to this list? Share them below!
Catch Santa In The Act, In Your Very Own Home…
December 22nd, 2011 by ChristenCalling all spy kids…and spy parents alike. What if I told you that you could snag photos of Santa under the Christmas tree, eating his cookies and milk and more within your home?
Imagine the look of wonder and surprise when a child receives a photo of Santa caught in the act in his or her very own home. iCaughtSanta.com is a unique website that helps visitors create those memorable keepsake photos.
In three simple steps anyone can upload a holiday photo, add Santa Claus and print it as proof… or share it via Facebook and Twitter. Last-minute shoppers can purchase Gift Cards and eGift Certificates for loved ones with children, making iCaughtSanta.com a great gift idea even if you don’t have kids yourself. With 20 different poses, you’re sure to find the best Santa shot for your home!
Want to try it out at a reduced price? Use the code: SANTA50 and get your entire order for 1/2 price! Talk about Christmas coming early!!!
Merry Christmas!
Transform Your Favorite Pics Into Fantastic Products In An Instagram Instant!
October 27th, 2011 by ChristenWho doesn’t love Instagram? It’s the simplest photo-sharing application that has everyone snapping pictures of everything from kids, dogs, Starbucks drinks and more!
It’s safe to say that I’ve recently become obsessed with Instagram – (I just posted some neat Instagram beginner tips last week.) If you’re feeling particularly proud of your Instagram photos you can share them in more ways than just linking to them in a tweet, as a whole host of companies are bringing us cool new ways to add them to real products, like posters, magnets or even t-shirts.
The great thing about most of these services is they have Instagram integration, so you can easily log-in to your account and select the photos you want instead of downloading them, uploading them and starting from scratch, which means the whole process can often take only a few minutes if you know exactly what you want your fancy new product to look like.
Casestagram allows you to transform your phone case from drab to fab with your favorite Instagram shots.
Instamaker lets you turn your photos into anything you want, a mug, t-shirts, posters and lots more.
With the Calendagram application you can create all kinds of wall calendars from your Instagram photos.
Stickygram lets you turn your Instagram photos into cute little fridge magnets.
Looking for more ideas on how to create lifetime memories with Instagram click here.
Kodak + Facebook = Free Photos At Kiosks
October 21st, 2011 by ChristenEveryone’s favorite camera company – Kodak is giving you yet another reason to love them even more…Free Photos! That’s right, Did you know there are 140 billion photos on Facebook? And you print 20 of them for free!
Here’s the math…
Kodak + Facebook = Free Photos At Kiosks
During Kodak Free Prints Week, Oct 17-23rd – at participating retailer partners, you can get up to 20 free* 4×6 prints from your Facebook photos at a KODAK Picture Kiosk!
Got photos of an amazing summer vacation? Print them out for FREE.
What about that birthday party that was so crazy, you need photographic evidence as proof? Print them out for FREE.
By “liking” Kodak on FACEBOOK this week only FACEBOOK users will be able to download a coupon to print up to twenty (20) free 4×6 instant prints from FACEBOOK at a Kodak Retail location Kiosk nationwide. Retail partners participating in Free Prints Week include CVS/pharmacy locations across North America, as well as select Bartell Drugs, Discount Drug Mart, Lewis Drugs and Ritz Camera locations.
Check out Kodak on Facebook to claim your free photos, hurry – Kodak Free Prints Week ends Sunday, October 23rd.
Take Photos? Like Instagram? Check Out These Five Photo Sharing Tricks!
October 19th, 2011 by ChristenEveryone loves the photo-sharing app Instagram, but did you know that you can enhance your experience with these photo sharing tricks?
“What kind of edible plant is this? Wait, Is it even edible?”
1. Edit your photos and create cool effects with other iPhone camera apps. My favorites include: Outcolor, ArtCamera, Photogene, Diptic, Pinhole Cam and ColorSplash. If you didn’t realize it, there’s a lot of editing you can do from your iPhone.
“My piggy bank is smarter than Bank of America”
2. Caption this. Offer an opportunity for people in your network to write the caption for your photo or photos. Just include a mention in your own caption to encourage the feedback.
“Yes I follow Starbucks. In spirit and in truth.”
3. Follow your favorite brands and organizations. Many times you’ll get cool “behind the scenes” photos and connect with brand managers in a fun environment. You’ll need to search the app for user names to find them. (NOTE: I follow most of the brands on Twitter and was able to locate them from Instragram’s “find friends” feature.)
Posing with great bloggers celebrating ‘More Birthdays’ with the American Cancer Society.
4. Hashtag it. You might know the hashtag from Twitter and it’s making its way in to other networks. Instragram is no exception. You can add hashtags to your captions and share them on other social networks, like Twitter and Facebook. You can also search for others using the same hashtag. I use this as a way to find other people to follow, especially if the hashtag indicates a shared interest or commonality.
5. Got A Lot of Followers? Give em THANKS! How? Use the Instragram application, Statigram. To log in, enter your Instragram user name and password. It will take a few minutes to pull up your data, but it’s worth the wait. Once your information appears, scroll down to find your top follower information. Select “Snapshot this” and enter your email address.
I love sharing and checking out creative photos on Instagram — Want to see more Instagram flicks from DivasandDorks? Find us in your Instagram app & we look forward to sharing photos with you soon!
