POTD – January 17, 2010

See…I already missed a day.  I really did think about it yesterday, but absolutely could not drag myself out of bed to get it done.  There has been a little “bug” running around our house wreaking havoc…and yesterday was my turn.

So here are two for today.  Both photos are from a hike we took last week.  I used the Coffee Shop Action Creamy Chocolate…I really love that one!!

Thought this tree was pretty cool with the heart.  Maybe I should have saved that for Valentine’s Day.  But it gives me an idea….

My happy little hiker!  She actually walked the entire way…no complaining.  Only fell once and brushed herself right off!

POTD –January 15, 2010

Normally, today would be “Fix It Friday” over at iheartfaces…but not today. We’ll have to wait until next week.

So today, I am going to show you some old images…but with a new fix. I discovered Coffee Shop Actions about a year ago.

But

had

ABSOLUTELY

NO

IDEA

how to use them.

After hours of frustration, I gave up. Until now…I spent some time while I was sick the past two days trying to figure it out again. To tell you the truth…I figured it out by installing an “Action” from MCP. The directions there were very clear and enabled me to get the Coffee Shop Actions installed. Now I am up and running with these awesome tools!

So here’s a look at just a little of what they can do!

SOOC: Totally untouched!!

My own edit using PSE 5.0 – doing the things I know how to do to make the image a little better.

And here is the same image with a Gaussian Blur layer added:

Now…here is the same image using Actions from Coffee Shop. For this image, I used Perfect Portrait, Baby Powder Room, and Vignette. All of it took less time than the above edit.

Here is a closer crop so you can see the face a little better:

And finally, here is one more take on the same picture. For this one, I used the Creamy Chocolate B&W Action. Very yummy! And so easy!

And BTW, all the Actions over at the Coffee Shop are

FREE!!

Yep, absolutely free!

And, make sure to check out MCP Actions as well…there are a few free ones! Even the ones that aren’t free have some very reasonable prices! And they make the workflow go so much faster!

And finally…here’s a side by side…might make it easier to see the differences right away!

Left to Right: SOOC, My Own Edit [no Actions], Coffee Shop Actions Perfect Portraits & Baby Powder Room, Coffee Shop Actions Creamy Chocolate B&W

POTD – January 13, 2010

POTD – January 13, 2010

POTD – January 12, 2010

POTD – January 12, 2010

POTD – January 11, 2010

Week 2 – Best Face Photo

It’s time for a weekly challenge over at iheartfaces.  I had a hard time choosing which one photo I would use.  But here goes…

This one was taken in Orlando while home for Christmas.  We took a day trip to a state park and I snapped away while we hiked walked along the boardwalk trail to see the manatees.  I loved the way it turned out [even SOOC] but after using PSE and Picnik, I added a softness to the tones that was quite appealing. 

Head on over to iheartfaces and check out all the other entries for this week.

POTD – January 10, 2010

Fix-It Friday – A Birthday Celebration

Here I go again…getting in on the Fix-It Friday action over at iheartfaces. And since they are celebrating their birthday, it is most appropriate that this week’s photo is a birthday picture. For those who are interested, I used PSE 5.0. I also used Picnik for one of my edits.

Here is the original:

Cute photo…don’t ya’ think! My first edit just cleaned up a few things. I also did a color correction to remove the yellow cast. So here is my basic fix:

Here are the next fixes…some are subtle. I like the cropped versions. Really pulls the focus right to the birthday boy! After all, that's what the photo is about!

And just for fun…here’s the Picnik edit. I worked with a previous edit from PSE and then dropped it into Picnik for the vignette and text.

So…what do you think? I really liked the photo as is…but the yellow tones needed to be fixed. Gotta love that White Balance thing!! Other than that, there were a couple little glowing places [red & green] from the candle near the boys head [and on his hair] in the original one. It bothered me, so I removed it.

Make sure you head over to iheartfaces to check out all of the other fixes. It is always interesting to see what people come up with!

POTD – January 9, 2010

And here are the photos I eluded to a few days ago. A few of the shots I got of this family [couple] are my favorites of all time! Such a beautiful family…cute kids…gorgeous parents. And so in love! You can tell and the images certainly capture their love!

AND CHECK OUT THIS ONE!

You

can

just

see

how

much

they

are

IN LOVE!

And this is just one of many!

POTD - January 8, 2010

Isn't this little guy yummy!! I just love taking photographs of him. Sometimes he's a total super model...and other times he really makes me work for it! But either way, I always get great shots. So totally photogenic! And the eyes are amazing!

POTD - January 7, 2010

More portraits coming your way for the next few days. And I will post them in the order that I took them. I will admit, one of my all time favorite shots I have ever taken of a couple is coming up on day 3 of this series...stay tuned for it! But for today, cute kiddos and a great family. This was the second time I worked with this family and they are awesome...and I just love some of the shots we got on this day.

POTD - January 6, 2010

POTD – i heart faces Photography Challenge

This will be my POTD for January 5, 2010.  It’s been a long, LONG, very long time since I have participated in the weekly challenges over at i heart faces.  It’s long overdue…and with a new year comes my attempt at reviving my involvement over there.  This week, they are hosting a special challenge to celebrate their 1st birthday/anniversary.  And for this week’s challenge, each participant can enter up to 5 photos.  Here are the rules…just so you have an idea about what’s going on in these photos…each and every photo must have the i heart faces logo somewhere in the picture…look as natural as possible [which I suck at tried]…obviously there must be a face…the post must include the blog button [see above]…and I must include these very important words:

I am submitting this photo into the I Heart Faces logo photo contest. By entering, I am granting I Heart Faces LLC permission to consider my photo for use in the marketing and promotion of their website.

There….DONE!…now onto the photos I am submitting.

 

Make sure you hop on over to i heart faces and check out the entries…some of them are down right awesome and creative!  Mine are terrible in comparison decent attempts…but some of the other participants are down right talented with Photoshop and others came up with fantastic ideas that didn’t require any manipulation.  And, while you’re at, leave me some comments…i heart comments!