Fresh Ideas for Your Summer Photos

Aug 29, 2016

End-of-summer blues got you down? Right there with ya. In fact, we’re in denial that summer is winding down, and so is our August creative challenge, Camp Create. For those of you just tuning in, all month long we’ve been buddying up with friends to try new creative projects together and win prizes in the process. If it’s alright with you, we’re taking this week to save and share summer memories and have rounded up a few creative ideas about how to put those photos to good use. From photography to editing to sharing, these photographers and designers have some super unique ideas that make us want to pick up a camera. Read on, and don’t forget to share your own creative experiences for a chance to win our Camp Create challenge!

Photo: Helene Sula

1. Join an Instagram challenge. Blogging coach Helene Sula suggests joining an Instagram challenge as a way to stretch your creativity and overcome “Insta block.” (Hint: It’s not too late to jump into Camp Create!) Check out her 14 photo ideas for Instagram, with ideas like posting behind the scenes at work, writing out your favorite quote and changing your camera angle. Want more? Her brand-spankin’-new Phone Photography class covers how to create winning photographs and hone your own style with just your phone!

Photo: Amy Tangerine

2. Mix mediums. Scrapbooking is a great way to get photos from your phone library or SD card and into people’s hands, especially when you have too many #throwbackthursdays than you know what to do with. Modern scrapbooker Amy Tangerine has a take on journaling that’s part travel log, part scrapbook: She combines printed photos, hand lettering, doodles, notes and souvenirs from each day and assembles them into what she calls a “traveler’s notebook.” Check out her blog for free printables to kick-start your own traveler’s notebook! Whatever you do, check out her Modern Scrapbooking class for tips on how to document a fun day and start your own scrapbooking process.

3. Set up a photo shoot. As much as we love candid photos, sometimes it’s nice to set up a time and place to photograph your friends and loved ones with intention. Sarah Deragon, a professional photographer based in San Francisco, is all about capturing people in their element and does it *so* well in her photo project, Work from Home: a photo series featuring some of the Bay area’s most creative female entrepreneurs. Take her Portrait Photography Online Class to see how it’s done! She shares best camera settings for indoor and outdoor shoots, tips for getting your subjects to open up, plus a posing guide with ideas for props, postures, etc. to answer the question, “But what do I do with my haaandsss!?” For instance: Want to create visual interest with your lighting and also put your client at ease? Put them in a corner. You’ll gain the confidence to photograph your loved ones, because whether or not they admit it, everyone loves an opportunity for a fresh profile picture.

4. Jazz it up with handmade graphics. Graphic designer Teela Cunningham uses Photoshop to push all of her photos, lettering and designs to the next level. It’s a lot like scrapbooking, just digital! We love her idea of making a postcard out of a photo, and although her tutorial is holiday-themed, it could easily be adapted for any occasion. In her Intro to Photoshop Online Course, she covers all of the basics to give you the confidence to begin editing and enhancing photos on your own, and if you’d like to incorporate some design elements, we go over that too. Turn a regular ol’ photo into a Polaroid, and then jazz them up with hand lettering, watercolor textures and washi tape — the possibilities are endless.

To join Camp Create, simply share photos of your creative pursuits on Instagram using the hashtags #bcweekender and #iamcreative!

Trader Joe’s Is Selling A Summer Fridays Lip Balm Dupe That Makes Lips Look “So Juicy”

You won’t be able to find the latest and greatest Trader Joe’s product on the bakery table or in the frozens aisle – instead, make a beeline to their beauty section.

That’s right – Trader Joe’s has a beauty section that hosts everything from toothpaste to hair oil. Whether you’re an avid Trader Joe’s beauty shopper or tend to glaze over their personal care goodies in favor of their epic desserts, you’re definitely going to be excited about this brand-new find.

To make things even more exciting, the find in question is an utter dupe of one of Summer Fridays’ most famous lip products.

@traderjoesobsessed / Summer Fridays

Behold the Trader Joe’s Lip Butter Balm Duo! Trader Joe’s fan account @traderjoesobsessed recently surfaced the amazing lip care find on their Instagram page, and I, too, am obsessed.

The duo consists of a Vanilla Mint flavor and a Brown Sugar flavor, both of which are packaged in tubes that look super similar to the Summer Fridays Lip Butter Balms.

Each squeezable tube is also fitted with a clear applicator tip with almost the exact same divot.

@traderjoesobsessed

While a single tube of the Summer Fridays Lip Butter Balm goes for $24, the Trader Joe’s Lip Butter Balm Duo is shoppable for just $7. Shoppers are saying it makes a great stocking stuffer for the holiday season!

“Yes I’m obsessed!!!” one commenter wrote.

“Here for the packaging 😍,” another said.

“I love these! (And Summer Fridays!),” someone else commented.

Sephora

Some Trader Joe’s beauty fans did note that the TJ’s Lip Butter Balms boast a few differences from the famed Summer Fridays ones. A few shoppers highlighted the fact that the TJ’s balms aren’t as thick in consistency and don’t have a tint to them.

Nevertheless, several Trader Joe’s fans say that the formula of the new Lip Butter Balm Duo is “not sticky at all.”

One shopper said that it “makes my lips look so juicy.”

“These do actually hydrate/heal lips,” someone else noted.

Another said it “definitely leaves a nice glow and smells so good.”

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Brit + Co may at times use affiliate links to promote products sold by others, but always offers genuine editorial recommendations.

That Viral 'Snow White' Trailer Now Has Over 700K Dislikes: "Toxic"

Disney's new Snow White live-actionmovie is no stranger to controversy — or very, very passionate fan responses. The movie (which stars Rachel Zegler and is set to premiere in theaters March 21, 2025) is an updated take on the classic 1937 film, and it's those very updates that people have a lot of opinions on. And when the official Snow White trailer dropped on December 3, hundreds of thousands of people disliked the video...and they didn't hold back in the comments.

Here's what the internet is saying about the Snow White trailer. (Spoiler alert: it's not good).

The 'Snow White' trailer has more dislikes than likes on YouTube.

Like any Disney movie, Snow White 2025 created an internet frenzy in its first five days on YouTube: the trailer already has 5.7 million views! But even though it has 28K likes, according to people in the comments, there are reportedly over 700Kdislikes (which you can see if you have a browser extension). "At this point, the monetization of this video is gonna earn Disney more revenue than the movie itself will," one YouTube user says in the comments.

"She doesn’t need the poisoned apple. She’s toxic enough by herself," another comment says, while a third reads, "I want the queen to win in this version."

Now, while YouTube comments can be fairly harmless (if incredibly rude and annoying), some people have taken it WAY too far. An insane since-deleted tweet from a user named Lee read, "Someone should kill you," to which Rachel responded, "fun fact i will be dying eight times a week on broadway this fall!!!!!" she says referencing her stint in Romeo and Juliet with Kit Connor. "get your tickets, lee! also @fbi."

Disney's 'Snow White' live-action movie isn't the remake to get backlash.

Now, backlash to Snow White isn't necessarily a surprise (even when it's VERY unwarranted) given how upset people were over Halle Bailey as Ariel in The Little Mermaid (even though it was a PERFECT casting choice!!) and rumors that Avantika Vandanapu would star as Rapunzel in a live-action Tangled (which, hello, would be another incredible casting choice).

Both of these women dealt with horrible, racist reactions, but like IRL Disney Princesses, chose to respond with strength and love. “Seeing the world’s reaction to it was definitely a shock," Halle told Edition. "But seeing all the babies’ reactions, all the brown and Black young girls, really tore me up emotionally."

THAT's what Disney movies are about; leaving the theater feeling more empowered and encouraged than you were before is why Disney princesses are so inspiring. I'm actually so excited to see Rachel Zegler as Snow White, not just because I've always been fascinated by the artistic challenge of adapting scenes and costumes into a totally different context, but also because how how Rachel will bring life to a role that literally only has 29 minutes and 19 seconds of screentime in the original movie.

In short: people are just haters and I think the Snow White trailer looks amazing! Check it out in theaters March 21.

What do you think about the new Snow White trailer? Are you excited for the movie or are you siding more with the Evil Queen? Let us know in the comments and check out our Weekend Send for more pop culture updates & exclusives.

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9 Reasons Rory Gilmore Is The Most Annoying Character On TV

After all this time, the ever-iconic Gilmore Girls is still front and center in pop culture and is THE show to binge every fall. There's still a lot of debate surrounding who is the *best* of Rory Gilmore’s BFs (it’s Logan, BTW), but few people are discussing how truly insufferable the main character is.

The pride and joy of Stars Hollow fades as Rory transitions into college and becomes selfish, dull, and someone who I think isn’t a great writer…like at all. And I'm not the only one who thinks so — The Tabreported that Rory's unequivocally the worst character. So without further ado, let me present Gilmore Girls 101, with lesson plans in all things Rory Gilmore and her many, many faults based on overwhelming evidence from The Taband my own revelations.

She misses her mother’s graduation to hang out with Jess.

Image via Saeed Adyani/Netflix

Alexis Bledel as Rory Gilmore, Lauren Graham as Lorelai Gilmore in Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life

All Rory had to do was attend this one event for Lorelai — the single mom who raised her and aside her pride to get her the best education — and she failed to show up when it mattered most. Did she really need to see Jess in New York that day? I don’t think so.

She's not a very good friend to Lane.

Rory treats Lane as dispensable, like a side character in her life who's sole job is to support her through each up and down of life. Even when Lane mentions that she doesn't like feeling second to Rory's latest BF, not much changes — even well into the reboot.

She doesn't seem to respect other people's relationships, including those who are literal married.

www.instagram.com

Obviously, it takes two to tango — but that doesn’t excuse Rory's role in sleeping with Dean, a married man. Said affair is certainly the start to her downward spiral, one that unfortunately takes many others down the hole with her. It's bad enough that she's complicit in the affair with her high school ex, Dean, but it's her attitude after that that really solidifies her skewed moral compass.

Post-sex, Rory claims Dean was “hers," despite the fact that he is quite literally...not.

Thought that was enough adultery? Not for Rory — she sleeps with the soon-to-be-married Logan!

Image via Saeed Adyani/Netflix

Alexis Bledel as Rory Gilmore, Matt Czuchry as Logan Huntzberger in Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life

Rory clearly has a thing for taken men — especially ones she used to be in a relationship with. Forgetting your current BF is bad enough, but cheating on him with the man whose proposal you turned down is a new low. We'll never forget you, Paul!

She literally stole a yacht just because someone said something she didn't like.

OK — it makes sense to be angry if someone (especially your boyfriend's dad) tells you that you're not cut out for your life's goal in a professional setting. But dang! You don't have to steal a yacht! Come on, Rory.

She straight up fat-shamed a dancer in a newspaper article.

www.instagram.com

Do we even need to say more? Do better, dude.

Her white privilege reaaaaaally jumped out in the later seasons.

Yale got a little hard, and boom! She moved into the pool house at her grandparents' house and joins the DAR. And when Paris shows up after finding out all her parents' money is gone, Rory just sheds a tear for her own misfortune. First Lane, now Paris? This girl really needs to learn how to be a friend.

Her professionalism and overall perspective on work is..............questionable.

WARNER BROS TELEVISION

Remember that white privilege we mentioned? Instead of accepting a job that would pay for her needs and support her, Rory decides she'd rather take a chance on a fellowship at the New York Times. Rory does not receive the fellowship, and returns to the original offer to see if the old job is available. It's not.

Her career-based self-entitlement in the reboot.

It’s shocking that this woman has had a decade-long career in journalism, and still doesn’t know how it works. Not only does Rory compromise her integrity by sleeping with a source, but she (somehow) believes she’s entitled to a job after writing one article, arrives at a job interview completely unprepared, freaks out when she doesn’t get the job she wants, and for some reason thinks Condé Nast should seek her out for a job? It's delusion at it's finest.

OK — time for the key takeaways. 1) Rory’s questionable internal ethical code of conduct needs some editing and 2) We'll still be watching Gilmore Girls this fall. No matter how insufferable she may be, Rory's life in Stars Hollow still makes for pleasant, wholesome TV — and we need some of that in our lives.

At the end of the day, despite her flaws, Rory does care deeply for her Stars Hollow community. She’s always willing to lend a helping hand when needed, or listen to the many fantastical ideas of Kirk and tirades of Luke. And for that, she’s still loved by many.

Do you have any hot takes on Rory Gilmore? Let us know in the comments and stay updated on all things pop culture with Brit + Co.

Lead image courtesy of Saeed Adyani/Netflix.

This post has been updated.

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