These pretty girls came by our house Saturday for a quick mini-session. My boys were happy to see them and talked about “baby Kay-An”  long after she was gone! The mother daughter images melt my heart. I imagine Carrie Ann being grown and having these portraits someday. She will be able to look back and think how pretty her momma looked with her on her hip. Such a treasure for so many years to come.

As a bit of encouragement… I love to see before and after images. It reassures me that not all photographs come straight out of the camera, snap, crackle, and poppin’. I mentioned in an earlier post, about the image of James Henry on the swing, that I brightened it in my post processing. I thought it would only be fair to show the original. I got to thinking… If I am going to offer fancy camera tips, I need to tell the whole story. I do not want anyone without access to post-processing tools to feel discouraged when the outcome does not appear “professional”.

I do not have a studio so I usually take pictures of my boys in our guestroom. It has two big windows, the walls are a khaki color (don’t put out a strange color cast), and the white bedspread works too.  On the left, I did all that I could to get a good shot of Eli. It was in focus and had a good exposure, but still needed some sparkle. After some edits, I was able to eliminate the distracting background and really make it shine. A good photographer doesn’t need big editing software, however, it really can make a good image great.  My best tip for editing  is not to over-do it. Even in Picassa and Snapfish you can do some good edits but take them too far. Don’t forget- You must start with a good image!

 Like I said, I do not have a studio with backdrops or big lighting. I use available light (including my flash) and improvise. Part of the creative process is problem solving.  Here, I draped the scarf that I was wearing over the back of a couch facing a window in my client’s home.  I personally do not prefer excessive edits, extra stuff in my portraits. Everyone has different taste, and so one persons idea of overdone is much different than the next. Ahhh, that is why I love art!  For this image there was something so subtle about her look that drew me in.

After my usual tweaking, I wanted to do something dramatic and fun in contrast to the simplicity of her expression. I went out of my comfort zone and experimented… I adjusted the saturation, contrast, tone curve, warmness, and burned the edges. Next, I scanned a piece of scrapbook paper. I “laid it over” my image creating a new layer in PS. I adjusted the opacity to 8 or 9 percent and then erased it off of her face, hair, and coat. I don’t mean to oversimplify the process, I just hope to show how much fun editing can be! I may be breaking some photography etiquette rule… Like, a lady never edits and tells (I just made that up).  I’m ok with that. If a photographer claims to never do post-processing, I have to wonder if they are telling the truth… just sayin’.

BTW: The hansome  I T guy (Clint) fixed my google reader feeder thingy problem! It is now possible to subscribe to the blog- Just click on the RSS icon in the grey section under the banner… Thanks!

Ok, so I admit… When a session starts off like this, I get a lil’ nervous-

Sweet Elizabeth drove all the way to Nashville from Atlanta and missed her nap. She always sleeps on road trips… Well, almost always…

Her sweet, precious personality still shone through just enough to allow for a few portraits-

She even showed off her walking skills, such a big girl! I still had to be quick, real quick…

Afterall, she has not had a nap!

Thank you so very much for coming to visit this weekend. It’s been such a long time since we’ve seen you, and we hope that you’ll come back real soon.

We love you! Clint, Katy, James Henry, Eli, and Buddy Southern

*a fancy camera tip:  The sun had set when these pictures were taken (we were squeezing the last drops of daylight out of our warm weekend!) It was getting pretty dark so I cranked up the ISO to 1000 so  that the shutter speed was still fast enough to stop his motion. It may cause noise or graininess, but hopefully, you’ll get your shot!

p.s. I also adjusted the brightness in my post-processing, it was a teensy bit muddy do to the lack of light.

I had the pleasure of photographing two floral arrangements by an extremely talented artist. SGS designs is a group of three women based out of Douglasville, Georgia. They create beautiful and unique, custom floral arrangements for most any event. The above were for a zebra themed first birthday party. They were the absolute cutest things I have ever seen! Did I mention that the creative genius behind these designs just happens to be my mother, Melissa Sanders. I am so proud of her business venture. She is a retired school teacher with a passion for flowers. Last summer she won blue ribbons for the best table display, most unique design, and best in show, in the Penny McHenry Hydrangea Festival Standard Flower show. Bravo!

Speaking of my mother, here she is with my dad, canoodling with Eli after our Valentine dinner at “Grandmuver” and “Jampier’s” house (Clint’s parents) last weekend.

Mary Emmett just celebrated her first birthday! She lives in New York City, but we met at her Mimi’s house in my (and her mother’s) hometown of Douglasville, Georgia. Even her puppy, Friendly Friend, made the trip down. We got to do some of her most favorite things like read books, make music, play with Big Bird and ballons. She may live up north, but everyone knows she is a southern girl at heart!

 one I like to call, Puppy Love! Congratulations to Isabella and Brady! I love this image because it was so totally spontaneous. It is rare to capture a truly candid moment between adults, but they are all pretty much unplanned with babies and dogs. Isabella was looking super cute in her tutu for her six month portraits. Her parents were doing their best to keep Brady out of the shot.  He had his own ideas about the photography session, and just had to love on his baby! She was thrilled, and it was perfectly precious.

Thank you to all of the lovely contestants. You’ll all receive a tabletop print of your image !

…faith, hope, and love abide and the greatest of these is love - 1 Corinthians 13:13

 The winner of the 2010 Valentine’s Day Image of Love contest will win a wall print of their image! Which image do you love?

Voting ends Feb 14 (Valentine’s Day)!

   There are some really great blogs for photography tips and tricks. Some of my favorites are momtog, pioneer woman, and beyond snapshots.  I would encourage anyone hoping to take better pictures to check them out. They can explain the technical side of things much better than me, but I’ll try…  The best advice I can give, is to know your camera. Even a fancy camera, without knowing how to use it,  is just an expensive point and shoot. I have never been one to read instruction manuals… I’m more of a visual learner. Check out the bluecrane or magic lantern learning dvd that goes with your model. They have really helped me.

   The question that I am asked the most is how to have the subject in focus with a blurry background. The technical term is bokeh. The manual or the dvd can show you how to set the focus points and aperture. After you set the focus point, you will turn your aperture to the lowest number that your lens will go. The lower the number, the bigger the opening, and the more shallow the depth of field. This will cause the background to gradually fall out of focus. You will only be able to adjust the settings if your camera is not on auto mode. I would recommend the P mode. Once you select the aperture,  it is still important to have the correct shutter speed and ISO to achieve proper exposure. The (P)rogram mode will set those things automatically leaving you control over the aperture.  There is much more to say about depth of field but  hopefully that is a good starting point.

   Now, experiment. Why not? You don’t have to pay for film. You can see on the screen if you are gettig close to your goal. If what you are doing is not working, try something else. Don’t be afraid to ask questions.  I had to put my pride aside to ask the Canon rep at Imaging USA how to use the video on my 5D mark II. I felt embarassed that I did not already know (there is lots that I don’t already know).  She was super nice about it, and now I know- so, there you go. Happy shooting!                                                            

BTW: Both of the images are at  f 3.5, 1/60, w/ an ISO of 320. The boys are a few feet back from the books making them extra blurry  in the first image. In the second, the book is the focal point and JH is not as far away, so he’s just a bit out of focus.  (He’s reading , ”Oh Tooooodles!” but if you have a little one, you probably already knew that!)   

 I’m working on our family Valentine card. I think that I may need some help from Design Aglow’s sweetheart set. I could spend a thousand dollars in their little shop. I may be calling my friend Beth. Love her work. She designed my logo and does my business stationary too.

 It’s got me thinking about family traditions (can’t help but hear Hank Williams Jr. as I type that). Grandad James Howard writes  grandmother Dot a love letter every year for Christmas. It’s precious. Just. Precious.

In addition to Clint and I celebrating our romantic love for each other, my hope is for Valentine’s Day to be for our whole family. A day for us to celebrate God’s love for us, and our love for each other. The big idea being: 1 John 4:19 “We love because He first loved us”.  We should all write a love letter to one another. Obviously, James Henry and Eli will not be able to participate for a few years. In the meantime,  I’ll help them do a painting or some other type of artwork. Sounds lovely! I’ll keep them forever. What a treasure they will be in the years to come. Perhaps if we start now, it will seem normal when they are older. I can just see my middle school aged boys rolling their eyes at the idea of  a love letter. Whatever- We’re doing it- It’s a family tradition!

This is from an already established Southern family tradition, the birthday breakfast. Lots of decorations and opening your presents first thing on your BIG day. James Henry informed me that today is Lightening McQueen’s birthday. Where do they come up with this stuff?! I love life with a toddler. Every day’s a holiday.