Kris Risner

Follow me on Instagram/Twitter @kris_risner

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Been craving pineapple for about two weeks now and finally bought a corer so I could get one. Now I just gotta wait for it to ripen up. #pineapple #photo #photography #lightroom #fruit #health #healthy #mmm

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More flowers! I ought to start a flower account lol #flowerphotography #photography #canon #flowers #pretty #color #colorful

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I keep saying I won't post too many flower pictures, but my mom said these would only be around for a couple days so I had to get a picture! . . . #flowerphotography #photo #photography #canon #lily #lilies #flower #plant #pretty #niftyfifty @canonusa @canonglobal

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Quick interview I shot of @thehabo for @treebicycleco ! #bmx #film #interview #tree #bike #photography #video #minuteinterview #habo #film #videography (at Westhoff Skate Park)

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About 2 months ago I quit drinking caffeine. If you know me then you know I used to get a monster every single morning so it was pretty hard, but I replaced the monster with these and feel much better! @nakedjuice #naked #nakedjuice #photography #productphotography #lovethem #caffeinefree #photo #nocaffeine #nomoremonster #healthy #smoothies

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Caffeine Withdrawals

As a designer I have had it beaten into my head that caffeine is a necessity. From early classes to late nights finishing up a project every student has a monster, soda, or coffee not far away. Just over two months ago I decided to cut caffeine completely out of my diet. I quit cold turkey. It SUCKED. The first week was horrible; I had migraines every day. I took Excedrin to help me make it through the week. The next couple weeks were pretty hard because of the withdrawals. I craved caffeine. I wanted the energy boost. I felt like I needed that energy boost or I wouldn’t be able to stay awake all day. 

After about a month it all stopped. That is what this post is really about. Caffeine is a drug, but because it is in so many things we don’t really think about it. We don’t realize the damage it causes. Ever since I gave up caffeine I have noticed a few things. First, I no longer have spikes in my energy. I thought that quitting caffeine would cause me to be groggy and tired all of the time but really it did the exact opposite. I have a consistent level of energy all day. I don’t have the 3pm crash that I used to. Second, I feel sharper. I feel like I am on my game all the time. I don’t have as many off days. Third, I used to have sleep problems. I would stay up until midnight then wake up the next day at 6 am. The only way I could make it through the day was if I stopped and got a monster or coffee.  I would oversleep most days because it was so hard to wake up but now I wake up at the right time no problem.  

I felt the need to write this so that hopefully somebody will read it and get the push they need to cut caffeine out of their diet. You will feel better, sleep better, and look better. Everybody only talks about the initial withdrawal. Nobody really talks about how much better you will feel once you get past that withdrawal and have the caffeine out of your system. 

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This was a type diagram I made for my media design class last semester. #gobigorgohome #mdf #design #type #typography #typographydesign #typographicdesign #student #artstudent #art #designstudent

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Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers! These are the flowers I got my mom. #flowers #flowerphotography #photography #canon #flower #photo #blackandwhite #blackandwhitephotography

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I don't normally post a ton of flower pictures, but a couple weeks ago I posted one and this is that same flower but it finally bloomed. #photo #photography #color #canon #niftyfifty #flower #flowerphotography #pink #rose #bokeh @canonusa @canonglobal

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Krispy Kreme opened today! We stopped in but the line was all the way to the bathrooms so we decided to go a different day. #neon #photography #lightroom #krispykreme #doughnuts #canon #color #niftyfifty #nighttime

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This was my final project for my media design foundations. The assignment was to make a design using a color that we had picked and through that design we were supposed to illustrate the colors psychological aspect. I chose the color blue and the color can be used to show intelligence. #design #graphicdesign #brain #intelligence #blue #mediadesign #illustrator #photoshop #coreldraw #neuralnetwork

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Another picture I shot a while ago at Lindenwood. Ready for some better weather so I can shoot some more! #photography #blackandwhitephotography #naturallightphotography #canon #piano #music #lindenwood #photo @canonusa @canonglobal @steinwayandsons #steinway

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Throwback to portraiture class and working with gels. This was done in camera, no photoshop needed. #tbt #photography #switchingcolors #canon5dmarkiii #canon #profoto #profotolights #gels #photo #nofilter #nophotoshop @canonusa @canonglobal @profotousa @profotoglobal

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Throwback to the last poster I designed while still at Ai. #poster #charlesmingus #jazz #duotone #photography #mockup #design #graphicdesign #blue #yellow

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Two of my three nephews spent the night last night. I love spending time with them! #photography #baby #babyphotography #ninemonthsold #niftyfifty #canon #babiesofinstagram #ben #jack #blackadwhite #blackandwhitephotography #naturallight #naturallightphotography @canonusa @canonglobal

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Updated Website - Why Behance?

I just recently updated my website. After years using other programs I finally decided to go with “MyPortfolio”. It is a program created by Adobe that links directly to Behance. 

What is it for?  Why did I decide to get rid of my old site for this new layout/plan? Why is MyPortfolio so good? Why should you use it?

To start, MyPortfolio is great for any type of creator. It doesn’t really matter your experience level. MyPortfolio is included for free with your Adobe Creative Cloud subscription. This makes it accessible to almost everybody. Adobe didn’t hold back on the features with the site either. They give tons of options and everything is customizable. 

Before I made my site with MyPortfolio I had used Squarespace and Photoshelter. I also created my own websites in Dreamweaver and most recently I had used Muse to design my site. I hated that Squarespace and Photoshelter added another monthly payment to my already long list of bills. They weren’t particularly expensive, but it meant that if there was ever a billing issue then my site would be down. It also put me at the mercy of the companies. Squarespace raised their prices on me twice in the year I had them. 

After getting tired of the monthly payments I decided it would be easier just to code my own site and host it myself. I have web design experience, so it wasn’t that hard to do. However, it required maintenance fairly often. The same thing was true with Muse. The great thing about MyPortfolio is that it is included with your creative cloud subscription so while it does cost money, you are probably already paying for that feature. It is set up similarly to Squarespace, so it doesn’t require a ton of coding knowledge or maintenance. Once you publish it you are done. 

Why should you use it? Well, if the cost or the ease of use doesn’t sway you to check it out then maybe this will... 

MyPortfolio links to Behance. Behance is a social media specifically for creators. Behance is one of the first places that recruiters look at when hiring designers. Think of it like Linkedin but only for designers, photographers, and illustrators. When you update your site it will update your Behance profile and vice versa, which saves you time and puts your work and portfolio in another place for it to be found.  Since Behance and MyPortfolio are linked together it also raises your ranking in search engines. Before I used MyPortfolio you couldn’t find my website unless you had a direct link, now it is on the first page of google and the longer I have it and the more I update my profile the higher it gets. 

Websites can be very confusing if you don’t have experience in it. Adobe has created a product that can help get you jobs. It can and will make your life easier. It will help you improve your online presence without creating a ton of extra work for you. There aren’t a ton of designs, but they are customizable so that they can be changed around quite a bit. If you want to check it out go to myportfolio.com to get started. 

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Beautiful sky tonight. #sky #pinkandblue #missouri #sunset #photo #photography