Image Up Advertising & Design

| SUN LAKES LIFESTYLES | FEBRUARY 2020 | 7 By Bob Ruseckas, SLCC resident since 2003 On the occasion of at least my 50th Sun Lakes Lifestyles Magazine cover photo published since 2007, not to mention other full-page photos that were published but not cover photos, I was asked to provide my own comments and Point of View (POV) as to how this all happened. First of all, there is no magic to it nor any preference for my photos. If you have a camera, take a photo of an interesting scene and submit it! Don't send it in and it won't get published. When I started, most cameras took a horizontal view but the magazine cover requires a vertical view. Now most people with smart phones or iPads are used to taking vertical views so it is a more familiar shot. When you snap that favorite shot you should remember: 1. Compose in a way that leaves room for the Lifestyles banners at the top and bottom in a vertical orientation 2. Frame in such a way that it can be edited to fit and work on the cover 3. Assure it is high resolution for cover photo quality printing 4. Be vigilant! We live in an exciting, ever-changing and beautiful environment where cover photos are a daily occurrence. Snap and submit 5. Be patient. I have submitted photos only to have them published two or more years later when the subject of the photo fit the needs of the publisher for the month or season of the publication. More observations and submissions enhance your chances of your photo being chosen for a cover 6. The less editing the editor has to do to your photo the easier it is able to be selected for publication 7. Cheerful, upbeat photos including sunshine (for example), are more likely to be published than cloudy photos 8. Whimsical, humorous and happy photos are better candidates, 9. Don't be afraid to submit the oddball photos. The publisher has a great sense of humor! Asked to pick a favorite cover photo, I don't know how to do that. Some were simply snapshots taken at the right time, submitted and chosen according to the season or publisher's needs. Others were close-ups of flowers then artistically cropped and edited for effect. There were hummingbirds, rabbits, a turtle, a granite mountain lizard to name a few. At this time of year, and point in life, though, one stands out as seasonal, artistic, and evocative of my family's passion for gardening. When my mother passed away a sister sent me some plant cuttings from my mother's in-home garden. One was a Christmas Cactus I nurtured to bloom right at Christmas time, but the blossom points downward and difficult to photograph in detail. To frame this shot I put the potted plant on a TV tray, blue-sky living room window as background. I lay down on the floor and zoomed in with a Nikon Macro lens and caught the photo published on the December 2018 cover. Resident Hits the 50 Cover Photo Mark for Lifestyles

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