Sunday, February 28, 2010

Belly Shot Preview – Part II

POTD – February 28, 2010

As promised, here is the second round from a recent pregnancy shoot.  After the beach portion of the shoot, we headed back to the house for a little belly boudoir.  I love the way they turned out.

IMG_0348-HotCocoa

IMG_0378-2

IMG_4880-Moody BW

IMG_4907-Cr Choc

Alright…that’s enough.  The rest of them are left for her eyes only!  And boy are they good!

Blog signature

Saturday, February 27, 2010

POTD – February 27, 2010

Kissin’ Cousins

IMG_0106-blog

Blog signature

Vander Molen – Behary “In the Womb” Preview

POTD – February 27, 2010

This preview will be in two parts…much like the photo session itself!  Three weeks ago, I had the opportunity to capture one of the most special moments in two peoples’ lives…pregnant with their first child.  I had never met this couple until the day of the shoot…we only conversed through e-mail and one phone call.  Up until this day, the mom-to-be was merely one of my father’s co-workers…she [they] are so much more today!  I can’t wait to meet this little angel and hope I get a chance to photograph her tiny little precious new [only the wrinkles a brand new baby has!] angel!

IMG_0253-CToffee IMG_4662-Cr Toffee

IMG_4678-3Crop IMG_4776-Hot Cocoa IMG_4805-Blubry&Cream IMG_4802-SplendorI can’t wait to find out what they think about these…but I have to tell you that I ABSOLUTELY LOVE the last two!!!

Blog signature

Friday, February 26, 2010

Fix-It Friday

POTD – February 26, 2010

iheartfaces fix-it-friday

It’s that time again…and today I am super excited about Fix-It Friday because I am so crazy busy today that I don’t really have time to think about what I am posting today. The decision is made for me…and the photo is super cute too!

This week's photo comes from Caroline at Frogmum. She writes: "My daughter is standing in our front garden - I was laying down. It was a beautiful day, but her face was in full shade & looks a bit blurry. She looks too dull against the blue sky. I'd like to be able to pull the whole thing up and make her pop out without losing the beauty of that blue sky."

Here is the original:

Original

And here are my fixes:

For the first fix, I added some saturation to the sky, lightened the shadows on her faces, and fixed a few minor other things. Then, I used Coffee Shop Perfect Portrait action.

Fix 1

Second…just a basic crop. I also added a vignette.

Crop V

And finally, the last two fixes used Coffee Shop Moody Pop action…one color and one in B&W.

Moody Pop

Moody Pop B&W

And just for fun...what if I want a more interesting sky:



All edits were completed in PSE 5.0 and took less than 10 minutes combined! Happy editing! Make sure you stop by iheartfaces and check out all the other interpretations!

Blog signature

Thursday, February 25, 2010

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

POTD – February 24, 2010

Touching bug This was taken over a year ago…she was fearless even then!  Never afraid to reach out and touch all the creepy crawlies!

Blog signature

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

POTD – February 23, 2010

Burn

It almost looks fake!  But this is the aftermath of a prescribed burn near the Everglades…all the green will be back before you know it!  And, you won’t be able to see that tree line in the distance once the saw grass grows back.

Blog signature

Monday, February 22, 2010

Sunshine Blog Award

My blogging friend [and SS sister] Shirley has bestowed upon me the Sunshine Blog Award. I read Shirley’s blog just about every day…I go there for her stories, her photos…inspiration! And, I have to admit, I just adore Hannah [her cat]. I’m honored…so a big Thank You to Shirley!

Sunshine Award I don’t get a lot of these blog awards…so this definitely puts a smile on my face! It’s nice to be noticed from time to time!

So now, I have to choose 6 others to pass this on to…and I’m going to tell you why I chose each [if I could pass it back to the one who sent it to me I would, because like I said before, I read Shirley’s blog daily!].

Beth

Just love her! Met her online a few years ago and have had the privilege to know her IRL as well. Beth makes me smile! Her positive attitude is contagious…and her sarcasm is right up my alley. And finally, her blog makes me pee my pants it’s so funny!

Sherry

I love Sherry’s blog! We also met online…I have never met her IRL, but our children were born the same summer and we got to know each other through a mommy forum on SS. Her blog has a little bit of everything…inspirational stories that remind us of what’s truly important in life…her many crafty projects [boy is she talented…just real life!

Steve

AKA NikonSniper! Yep, I’m a Canon girl…but his landscape photography is amazing. And the places he has seen and shot are incredible! I have been following his blog for quite some time! When I grow up [retire] I want to travel and take photos just like NikonSniper…maybe I’ll call myself PerfectCanonAim….hmmm need to work on that one!

Kendra

Never met Kendra in real life, but have admired her creativity for years on SS. I happened upon an amazing blog one day and started following it. I finally realized that this blog belonged to her! Small blogging world.

Angie

One of the iheartfaces blog owners [the other half of Angie and Amy] and uber talented photographer. Of course, I love her blog because her photography gives me lots of inspiration. But, it’s the stories that have me hooked. And if you haven’t checked out iheartfaces, you should definitely stop by there sometime too!

Dana

Don’t know Dana at all. Don’t know if she even realizes that I love her blog. I love her photography…I love her messages…so much inspiration on her blog. And I seriously loved her open letter to Gymboree! And loved that they responded [the power of blogs and social networking…and the OMG they are actually looking!]. But what a story that rebuilds faith in people…some people really do care, and you see this all the time on her blog!

Blog signature

Fearless Hands

POTD - February 22, 2010

I_Heart_Faces Button This week’s theme at iheartfaces is all about hands. I have been thinking about this one for a while.

Here’s the directions from iheartfaces: “Show off those teeny-tiny baby hands, chubby toddler hands, the soothing hands of a mama or the gnarled, wise hands of a grandfather. We can't wait to see what you come up with for this challenge!” In fact, there doesn’t even need to be a face.

I desperately wanted to do something different to showcase hands! I have tons and tons of beautiful hand shots…but I wanted something different since I know that there will be lots and lots of baby hands, chubby toddler hands, and gnarled older hands. So I thought about these things:

What does my child do with her hands??

Do I really want to showcase her and all the nasty things she does with them??

She picks up gum and trash from sidewalks with these hands!

And then it came to me!

Yes, she touches everything…and I truly mean everything!

But the most amazing thing, even when she touches already been chewed gum and other gross things, is that she has fearless hands. Hands that explore her world…hands that have already taught her many many things in her short life…hands that reach out to hold…hands that reach out to touch…hands that reach out to love ALL of God’s creatures.

Hands 3I absolutely adore these hands!

Make sure you check out all the other hand entries over at iheartfaces. I am looking forward to seeing all the other great photos!

Blog signature

Sunday, February 21, 2010

POTD – February 21, 2010

Another pregnancy preview!  I am having a blast with these photos…so many options!  And the parents-to-be are pretty darn gorgeous too!

IMG_4715-ContrastGritBlog signature

Saturday, February 20, 2010

Hall Family Preview

POTD – February 20, 2010

Two weeks ago today, I had the opportunity to photograph the Hall family…Mom, Dad, three girls…and the new baby boy!  Over the past two weeks, I have posted a few teasers from their shoot and picked on the mom [a little bit…and she has been a good sport]. 

IMG_0528-2SplendorIMG_0666-2C PerkGBIMG_0687-2HotCocoaIMG_0708-2eIMG_0800-GBIMG_0922-3CVan_edited-1IMG_0943-CrChoc Blog signature

Friday, February 19, 2010

Fix-It Friday

POTD – February 19, 2010

iheartfaces fix-it-fridayIt’s Fix-It Friday over at iheartfaces.  This week’s picture is of an adorable little girl.  But it is under-exposed.  I took this opportunity to take advantage of the sun setting behind the houses and used the “Sun Kissed” tutorial from this week.  All edits done in PSE 5.0.

Here is the original:Original

Here is my own Sun-Kissed version using the tutorial:Fix with Flare

And here is the fix using the Coffee Shop Action:Sun Kissed

   Make sure to hop on over to iheartfaces and check out all the creative edits!

Blog signature

Thursday, February 18, 2010

POTD – February 18, 2010

I missed yesterday…don’t know how that happened!  Guess I have been super busy!  Anyway…remember the pregnancy photos from a couple of weeks ago??   Here are a couple from the beach.  Two today since I missed posting yesterday.

Rita1Rita2Blog signature