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How to Keep Your Love of Italy Alive Once You’re Back Home

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If you’ve just gotten back from a dream trip to Italy, then there’s a good chance you instantly fell in love with its beauty, charm, and romance. Coming home can be somewhat jarring as you get back to your everyday life and commitments. Now that you’ve discovered a new favorite destination, why not work it into your life. You can include pieces of Italy in all kinds of ways, as we will examine.

Collect Classic Italian Jewelry

It’s always nice to pick up a souvenir or two while on vacation, but if you didn’t manage to get around to it, there’s no reason you can grab an authentic piece of Italian jewelry once you get home. When it comes to a piece that really showcases Italy’s incredible craftsmanship, nothing beats Jovon Antique Cameos.

These are an Eredi Jovon Venice specialty. The Italian shop has been around for more than 80 years, spanning across three generations. Back in 1934, Eredi Jovon used to sell pieces right on the famous Rialto Bridge in Venice. It’s here that you can still meet the owner as well as her sons as you take a look at their authentic Venetian pieces.

Learn to Cook Like an Italian

Here’s another authentic way that you can keep your love of Italy alive even once you’re back home and back to the grind. Why not learn how to cook like an Italian and continue your exploration of Italian cuisine?

You can do a little research about what your town offers, perhaps there may be some local Italian cooking classes. If not, you can take the initiative and pick up some books, watch some videos online, and tune in to cooking shows on the TV. Before you know it, you’ll be well on your way to cooking like an Italian.

Keep in mind that simplicity is key in Italian cooking.  You don’t need a lot of ingredients, or need to pull off fancy menus. However, the ingredients you do use should be high quality.

Include Italian Décor in Your Home

If you were struck by the beauty of Italian decor, furnishings, and architecture on your trip, then there is no reason you can incorporate a little of this flair into your own home. There are a number of different styles that are all considered authentic Italian. These styles include classic, renaissance, modern contemporary, and Tuscan. It’s really a matter of what fits your own tastes.

Keep in mind there is no reason to completely re-do the rooms in your house and make it entirely Italian. Instead, you can shop for key pieces that act as focal points in the room.

Keep the Spirit Alive

It’s always exciting to visit beautiful new destinations while on vacation, and Italy is definitely one of those destinations that will end up sticking with you. These are just a few ways you can keep that love of Italy alive even once you’re back home.

A hack photographer’s guide to jazzing up your model photography

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You don’t have to have a desire to become a professional photographer if you want to improve how you shoot human subjects.

You might be angling to save money, as paying a professional for portraits can be pricey these days, or perhaps photography is a passion of yours.

In these cases and others, it helps to know what it is that makes pics stand out. Charles Nucci started as just an interested amateur, but after making tons of adjustments over his career, he eventually figured out what makes a photo look smashing and what degrades them.

Below, we’ll show you how you can take your model shots from dull to fabulous simply by manipulating a few key factors.

1) Develop a friendly rapport with your model

Want reactions in your photos that look 100% natural (because they are)? If you want incredible results, don’t just work with your models, make an honest effort to become friends with them.

If you are shooting family or friends, this won’t be a problem whatsoever, but once you start taking photo of folks you have never met, eliciting authentic emotions from them can be tough if they are strangers.

However, all you really need to do is break the ice, and the guard most people put up can be lowered once you demonstrate you are a friendly, decent human being.

Instead of getting straight into a photo session after meeting, spend some time learning about each other.

Have a coffee or beer, and talk to each other about your lives. After some interesting conversation and a few laughs, you’ll will have formed a bond that will allow you to have a shooting session that is far more lively than if you were to just treat the arrangement like a sterile business transaction.

2) Get the right lens for the job

When you go to take portraits of people, it is advisable to change your lens, as the ones you use for landscapes or macro photography will not be the optimal tools for the job you are about to do.

When it comes to taking pictures of human subjects, professional photographers will typically go for a lens between 18 to 55 mm.

Many prefer to go big, as using 55 mm lens can create a blur effect in the background. This emphasizes the foreground, which is where our model will be situated.

3) Play around with light

Light and how it is used is one of the most important aspects of photography. Its position, intensity, and creative use can make or break a shot all on its own.

Generally speaking, you want light to illuminate your subject rather than shade it, which is what happens when your light source comes from behind.

Beyond this rule of thumb, though, don’t be scared to bend other maxims surrounding this variable.

The low angle and less intense light of morning and late afternoon/evening can make your shots look epic, and by using various filters, cool effects can be created.