10 Inspirational Tattoo Ideas

About a year ago I had a tattoo designed and inked by my local tattoo parlour and I must admit I enjoyed it because I knew I was getting something that meant a great deal to me. Everyone focuses on the pain but its comparable to life in a way that you must endure pain at times to get what it is that you really want.

It is evident that plenty of people rush into getting them done as a spur of the moment thing, which is great in some respects e.g. if you're on a holiday and decide to do it because it'll be how you remember that particular holiday (if it has a reason to be so memorable). It is advised though that you really think long and hard about what it is that you want because it is a decision that will be with you all of your life. It took me three years to decide on mine.

Searching for ideas on what you could have done can be a long process which is why I've decided to get 10 of the most inspirational tattoos that I like. Hopefully they’ll help you decide on what you'd like to get done. Let me know what your favourites are in the comments below and leave me any suggestions of your own favourites to check out.

Hopefully you've found something you like in this little collection. Let me know what your favourites were in the comments section.

How to Photograph People Jumping

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Quite some while ago I had fun with some friends and my DSLR when we jumped into swimming pools, on a bouncy castle, and even off a tree in the park. The classic shot was "the superman" as the shots we were trying to get made us look like we were levitating with ease. It was fun but believe me, knowing that there was a soft landing below definitely helped get some confident shots.

This is just one of the fun ways you can enjoy the benefits of high speed photography and probably one of the most used, however, its been used mainly in sport to get that perfect action shot from football to horse eventing.

We're going to look at how you can use your DSLR to get a cool photo of your friends or family doing some kind of cool jump mid-air.

DSLR Camera

Incase you didn't know, DSLR stands for Digital Single Lens Reflex. It's basically what the 'professionals' use in the photography world and generally the higher the price the more you get. If you don't have a DSLR you might not gain the same results but some cameras have a sports mode or the option to increase the shutter speed. These might also be able to get these types of photos but might be slightly delayed on the trigger. Personally, we'd recommend getting your hands on a DSLR. The photo below is the one we use.

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Camera Settings For Jump

To gain a pixel sharp image you'll find there will be a lot of trial and error involved, however, the main thing to remember is that you need a high shutter speed. The Canon 1000D goes up to 1/4000 which is pretty fast. The problem though is the higher you go the less light you allow the camera to capture and compose a nicely balanced image from. Therefore, you need to adjust the amount of aperture too allow more light through the lens whilst you're taking these high speed photos. The lowest allowed on our camera s F4.0 - the higher this number goes the less light you allow in through the lens.

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If you find that you're still getting low light images then you'll want to bump up the ISO on your camera. Ours goes up to 1600. What this does is it allows you to increase the sensitivity of the camera's sensor to light. Be warned though. The higher you go, the more grain your image can get. If you shoot your photos in RAW though you can edit this out in Photoshop to some level.

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Overall, it's all about balance as different lighting conditions will alter your ability to shoot at high speeds as well as the capabilities of your camera and even your lens. Some lenses allow more light to reach the sensor meaning a lower F-stop number and personally we'd recommend fixed lenses for really sharp images as there's no moving mechanism for the zoom function.

A good gauge to start from would be the following:

• shutter speed 1/250
• aperture F5.6
• ISO 800

From here you can adjust accordingly to the images you're shooting.

We hope this has been a helpful cheat sheet to taking high speed photos of people jumping. If you feel like you have more to add to this please leave a comment. Otherwise, happy shooting!

For further help with photography tips, take a look at our previous article on photography tips which has our helpful guide to how shutter speeds, apertures, and ISOs work: http://www.inspiringprint.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/newbie-photographer-resources-and-advice.html.

A New Inspiring Print Header

I decided to share this with all of you because at the end of the day it's going to be a part of the new design for this blog. Check it out and wait for it to come ;)

Movie Day - Juno

There's an odd feel good factor behind watching films like Juno because of the real life theme of pregnancy and the trials and tribulations appended to it. It's okay it all works out in the end if you haven't seen it yet (apologies for the spoiler but really, how did you think a teen movie on pregnancy would end?).

The film has this overall "indie" appeal about it - that means it had a low budget quality about it, which is not uncommon considering its a Michael Cera and Ellen Page movie. This effect is clearly sought after as the choice of soundtrack, featuring the likes of Sonic Youth and The Moldy Peaches, combined with the 3D sketchbook font, similar to the 16 and Pregnant MTV series, gives a cool hipster-style feeling to it all. To top it off the choice of dry humour definitely worked with the characterisation of Juno and her relationship with her family.

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From a design perspective, the Juno film poster was perfectly in line with the film's themes and 'artistry'. The title for one is the exact font used in the film, not unusual but still nice to look at and suggestive of the movie's indie effect. I'm not sure if its intentional but Nike's product placement is clear on this poster with Cera's trainers. Who knows? Maybe I pay attention to marketing messages too much.

The colour choice of the poster is orange on white, related to one comic theme within the movie of Tic Tacs, however, it is a colour tone I've seen used in film posters similar to this style of movie such as Adventureland and Little Miss Sunshine. It's probably a feel good colour that entices that type of audience to watch these types of film. After all orange spectrum colours are emotionally connected with happiness.

For those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about, here's the Juno trailer:

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Inspiring Print on Google Plus

So I've decided to show my face, some of it anyway, on Google+ as I understand that this is one of the biggest social networks for bloggers. Hmm. First thoughts: it is so much cleaner than Facebook with a hell of a lot more thought about design. I like the white space, almost Apple-esque with applications that animate as fluent as water.

It's a brilliant thing really where you can discuss on exact topics i.e. if I want to have a little chat about graphic design then I'd just search it in the bar at the top. Loads of results from other users come up in the stream and you can comment with them, add your own content to the discussion, and even start a video call on one of the topics with the author. How cool!

If you feel like you want to add me to your "circles" then feel free to do so. My profile can be found at: https://plus.google.com/u/0/105101232482044741860/posts.

The weather seems to have done a complete 360 today so hopefully I'll find some nice inspiration to keep you readers entertained later on when that Monday feeling really kicks in. P.S. if you have any stuff you'd like to share through my blog i.e. creations you've made, stuff you like the look of or even news from the globe just drop me a message through my Google+ account or even send me an email at inspiringprint{at}gmail.com.

I'm Not Listening, Too Busy Doodling

I just got off the phone on a conversation that felt like it was dragging on and repeating the same messages over and over. After the second repitition I lost interest and my pen invetably met my notepad. I scribbled.

I continued to scribble until the ink started to form something visually appealing until the point where I had to engage in conversation again. This procrastination did get me thinking though. Why do we scribble and what does it mean? Is there design potential in all of us, as I'd believe it impossible to find a single person who hasn't ever doodled in a moment of boredom?

Following the conversation, I've decided to find and share some of the most ellaborate designs that could've potentially begun as a doodle of boredoom. Let me know if you like them and also if you think you've got something really creative you'd like to share on Inspiring Print then message me in the comments.

sinsofthedove

vmcamposjr

zarprey

I only know where a few of this awesome creations come from so if you created one of these let me know so I can give you a lil shout out!

Kumi Yamashita's Shadow Art

Remember a short while ago we were talking about the silhouette idea with the football goal sized translucent screen of tracing paper? Well today we were introduced to a new type of shadow art using much smaller objects and different angled light sources to create something extraordinary.

Kumi Yamashita is a Glasgow school of art student who has taken the simple natural resource of light and manipulated the shadows cast using obscure and sometimes relevant objects to the subject matter. Take her piece above named Untitled (Child) as an example. Numbers are a learning process for any child, the phyiscal forms of which have perfectly combined to create the shadow of a child's face.

Other forms of her amazing work include Origami and City View both of which are displayed below. It is evident that she is a true shadow master whose simplistic object choice can create something so much more using nothing more than our natural elements.

Origami

City View

To see more of Kumi Yamashita's work visit her website kumiyamashita.com.

This article was originally found in and inspired by Esquire UK's article.

Movie Day - Burn After Reading

I'm no film critic but Burn After Reading was a star-studded delight of a spy comedy. It had me bursting with laughter at every riddiculous scenario it could think of. The Cohen Brothers really managed to put something together that stretched each of the cast member's talents to its truly surreal realm. Brad Pitt of course had his signature 'I must eat in this film' move though.

The way this movie was first publicised to me left little to the imagination. Instead it left me admiring the wonderfully creative font and simplistic design of its film poster. The red background has the effect of a roller painted wall as it has squares of slightly different shades, similar to the kind you'd get when painting the outside of a plastered wall unevenly. The contrast of the clean text makes the message stand out better, ideal for a film poster.

The only spy related imagery of the poster is from the silhouette of the handgun on the left and the binocular holding person on the right. Unless you'd seen the film you wouldn't make these connections, which on review tie in with the message: "intelligence is relative". Personally, after seeing this poster I thought it was reflective of the plot for American Beauty.

I'm a big fan of simple movie posters that captivate their target audience, however, I prefer to have a little more suggestive imagery of the plot or at least the genre of the film, as binoculars and guns could be tied in with other genres e.g. action.

Overall, its font makes it an inspiring design as I'm a firm believer in keeping design simple. Where it falls down is in delivering its message clearly enough. There are lessons in typography that can be learned as the title of the movie is coloured differently from the cast, yet perfectly slotted in place with the rest of the text. Someone create an event poster may pull some inspiration from it as there are some many different messages that need to be conveyed in text with limited space at times.

I'd recommend watching this film too. Just take a look at the trailer for it below:

5 Of Our Favourite Free Fonts

Fonts are one of the most attractive features of marketing that captivate the attention of consumers all over the world. Of course it is perceptual as to what attracts who, however, most of us can gauge what looks good within our community, and on a bigger scale our nationality, to gain as much positive attention as possible.

Many designers attempt to create their own fonts to maintain originality within their work, however, for those who focus more on the other design aspects and less on the font, there are a multitude of free font sites available across the web which will allow the use of them for modificiation, commercial gain, etc. This noted, we've found a few fonts across the web that we quite look the like of.

So without further ado, here's our 5 favourite free fonts!

1. Scribble Box

 Available at http://www.fontspace.com/kc-fonts/scribble-box

2.  Nova Solid

Available at http://www.fontspace.com/billy-argel/nova-solid

 3. A Ripping Yarn

Available at http://www.urbanfonts.com/fonts/a_ripping_yarn.htm

4. Masterplan

Available at http://www.fontspace.com/billy-argel/masterplan

5. Media Blackout

Available at http://www.fontspace.com/kc-fonts/media-blackout

Movie Day - Dirty Harry

Dirty Harry is another of the classic films that everyone knows because of it’s iconic scene where Clint Eastwood is looking down at the baddie and utters the memorable words “do you feel lucky punk?” This scene is very much like the image portrayed in the film poster.

What I love most about the poster is the cracked glass layover effect, which makes it look like Eastwood has shot through a panel of glass. The illustration below the coloured image has a silhouette effect similar to those found in the Reservoir Dogs art, giving a strong visual impact in addition to a snippet from the movie itself.

Overall, the movie’s great and the poster grabs your attention leaving little to the imagination as to what to expect from the film itself. If you were a fan of his previous films you would imagine it being a western film in the city. Below the poster is the classic scene I was talking about earlier.

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Back from Jelly Fest

So I'm back after a much needed weekend of sun, music, and cider. Jelly festival was a big hit and I'd recommend anyone looking for a small alternative festival next year to check it out. It was a great ear opener to the many talented folk, reggae, and down right non-commercial musicians that you won't hear on the radio anytime soon but perform to impress.

The whole weekend gave me some great exposure to the country roads of Britain, which are an absolute dream to drive, and made me think of some great nature inspired photography. I've decided to find some absolute favourites that sum up my weekend to share with you so you can be inspired to jump down to your nearest camping site or festival before the sun turns its back on the UK.

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Festival Posters of 2012

This weekend I will be fortunate enough to visit the Jelly Festival in Norfolk. I'm excited because there are some pretty good DJs like Alex Metric and Jakwob on the line-up so I'll be spoilt for choice when it comes to selecting who I want to watch perform and when.

I was impressed by the quality of their poster design promoting the festival, which featured the classic circus/ fairground-style font and a host of images that reminded me of the Monty Python era. It's combination of black and white sketch with other contrastic graphic styles also grabbed my attention along with the colour choices. It was a truly unique and captivating illustration.

Following this beautiful visual experience, I started to wonder how many truly unique and creative festival posters had been created this year to promote themselves in the most interesting ways possible. So for your delight, below is a list of 2012's most creative music festival posters.

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