creative photography ideas at home

Photographer, Dunice Harrell, starts the Gift of a Lifetime program for high school seniors.

DALLAS — When all the hard work is done, you finally get the reward.

“Just to see that you’re getting closer and closer to graduation, it’s really….really, really, really like…almost there. Just wait,” said Jocelyn Recio, a Garland High School senior.

While waiting can be hard to do, Recio reflects on the sacrifices her parents made to get her to a prized senior moment: graduation photos.

“They left the family back in Mexico. “The story is really touching to me because they want a better life for their children,” Recio said.

It is a desire that pushes Recio even through his most trying times. In September, her father had surgery to have his toe amputated from diabetes.

“He lost his job and we were really financially struggling,” Recio said. It really touched me because I really wanted to be strong for them and keep going to school and keep reminding myself that they’re the reason why I’m here.”

It is a reason that also touched photographer, Dunice Harrell, founder of Dunice Harrell Photography. Last year, she started the program, GOAL It stands for “The Gift of

We’ve all seen it. Spectators holding up mobile photos and even tablets trying to capture the fiery blasts of fireworks. Often, the resulting images fall short of expectations.

If that’s you, we’ve enlisted some help to make sure you capture those fireworks on your screen — on the first try.

Feeling creative? Send us your fireworks photos at cbcnewsvancouver@cbc.ca

To prepare for Vancouver’s Celebration of Light, On the Coast spoke with two leading Instagram photographers based in Vancouver to get their tips on how to take perfect pics of the pyrotechnics.

1. Lock and load

This little known tip is simple but will likely make the biggest difference. iPhones find it challenging to focus and balance exposure levels when fireworks are blasting away in a dark sky.

To prevent an inevitable delay and shaky photos, Scott Rankin’s first tip is to use the iPhone’s “AE/AF lock” function.

You can take great fireworks shots if you keep just a few things in mind while focusing your photo. (Scott Rankin)

“Wait for a firework of good size and brightness, tap the focus and hold on to it. Focus on that one firework,” says Rankin. Then every time you see a firework that

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Dallas photographer provides free senior portraits

Fireworks Photos: Celebration of Light mobile phone tips