Before and After Editing: Clean Edit

April 18, 2013 By 6 Comments
Before&After

Hi all, today I wanted to show you one of my basic clean edits that is in my workflow. I love this photo of my daughter that I took with my Lensbaby Spark but as you can see it needs some brightening and warmth to it. So we will start with my SOOC photo. First I start with my photo in Lightroom. How much editing I do in LR is on a picture by picture bases. But I can almost 100% guarantee that I use the tone curve on every photo. Below you can see the adjustments I did on the tone curve ...continue reading

Photoshop Editing: Creating Negative Space

March 8, 2013 By 9 Comments
photoshop editing: creating negative space

Today I am going to share a little Photoshop editing tip on how to create more negative space with the free transform tool. Sometimes cloning or using the spot healing tool can become a very frustrating process. I picked up this technique to learn how to quickly expand my frame and it has saved me a world of time. However, I do need to point out that this will not work on every shot. Photographs with backgrounds that have textures, patterns or objects in them are not going to benefit from this ...continue reading

Dramatic Lighting: From Start to Finish

January 11, 2013 By 5 Comments
Screen shot 2013-01-10 at 8.29.50 PM

I got a lot of questions about a photo I took of my daughter with some dramatic lighting. There are several ways to achieve this shot but I’m going to show you the way I like to do it. From setup to editing. Here is the original photo. But today I'm going to show you how to achieve this with an updated photo of myself. First off, this is for the most part a staged and creative edit shoot for me. In one case I am able to get this with my daughter just hanging out but you must be ...continue reading

8 Tips for Photographing Halloween

October 12, 2012 By 13 Comments
Halloween-13

Halloween is just around the corner. Be sure to capture those special memories with these tips! 1. Get Your Portraits First Just like in a session, you want to get your most important shots done first. You want the cute shot of your little one posing in their outfits right? Do it first thing when you walk out the door. Or if you want a better chance, dress them up early. ISO 1000 | 2.8 | 1/200 *All shoot with Canon 5D Mark II & Canon 24-70mm f/2.8L 2. Don’t be Afraid ...continue reading

My Personal Photography Journey

September 13, 2012 By 31 Comments
7:2010underexposed

In honor of my 3rd year of shooting in manual mode, some of our fabulous contributors decided to join in and show you their journey. I love looking at this as it shows how we all start at the same place but with practice and dedication you will grow! Thanks for sharing your journey, Melissa! 2010 This was the beginning of my journey. Although I had my camera the two years prior to this, I didn't bother to learn manual mode till my daughter was born. This was a fun year to look back on. ...continue reading

Photography Locations: Finding Beauty in Unexpected Places

July 13, 2012 By 8 Comments
Location1

I think just about everyone reading this can agree that our dream photography locations are big tall grass fields with nothing in background but beautiful greenery or the sky. Don’t know what I’m talking about, well this shot of my daughter pretty much sums it up. But lets face it, not everyone is going to be able to find a field like this. Whether most of the fields in your area are privately owned or the grass in your area just doesn’t grow. My favorite field in the above ...continue reading

Photography Business: Start Up Cost

June 15, 2012 By 19 Comments
BusinessCards

There are so many things that go into starting a photography business.  Let's discuss some of the things that you need to get your photography business up and running.  Of course there are many little things that are going to vary from business to business but these were the most important when I started mine up. At the end of each paragraph I will be stating my cost for that particular item. That way you can see how much it can add up to.  So let’s get started. Licensing–State and ...continue reading

Liquify Tool in Photoshop: How to Video

May 10, 2012 By 2 Comments

Have you wondered how to use the liquify tool in Photoshop? Today I touch on how I personally use the tool. There are few disclaimers that I need to address before getting to the video. 1. I would like to say that this is done with a delicate hand, I try not to over use this tool, as I know it can be dangerous. I suggest that you take this approach as well if you choose to try it out. 2. Whether or not to do this to clients is another debate among photographers. Some say it’s okay ...continue reading

Toddler Photography-8 Ideas to Capture those Early Years

April 12, 2012 By 29 Comments
toddler photography

I hope everyone enjoyed 10 tips for photographing your baby by Jennifer last week. Wasn’t it fabulous? I’ve got that one tucked away for when we decide to have our second child. Now let's talk about those later years of your child - toddler photography. Toddler Photography We all know that toddler photography can be a hard. They never want to sit still, meltdowns can happen in an instant and they can scream at the sight of your camera. That sentence is my two year old in a nut shell. ...continue reading

Everything You Want to Know About Camera Lenses: Part 4-Lens on Crop vs. Full Frame Sensors

March 8, 2012 By 16 Comments
24mmlens

Today we’re going to talk a little bit about the comparison of your lens on a crop sensor or a full frame sensor. Raise your hand if these words have ever come out of your mouth “My camera sucks, I need to upgrade.” Are you raising your hand? Don’t be shy, mine’s up too. I think everyone comes to this point at some time. Of course this always comes when we can’t afford it. When making that comment has anyone ever told you to upgrade your glass before upgrading your body? Yes? ...continue reading