Mission Impossible

Princess has been the "cover girl" of my photography business for the past year {much to her brothers' dismay} but recently I wanted to update my business cards and some marketing with a new photo.  But I really liked the old photo I've been using because it's very striking and displays my dramatic style perfectly.  {plus I'm biased and just love showing off my baby girl...!}


So, I attempted to do the impossible for my new marketing and that was to re-create a dramatic, intense photograph of my daughter that I could use in my marketing and evoke a similar look & feel to my previous photo.  No biggie!


I actually had a lot of goals in mind when I loaded up the punks for the yearly family photo shoot...I'll share more of those later....so here's what I was able to achieve for this specific goal....


Here's my old photo that's been on my business cards, website splash page, marketing info...

I think it's very eye-catching for marketing purposes and I just like it.

And here's this years shot that I wanted to use on my new marketing pieces...

I opened my original in Photoshop Elements 6 for mac:

The first thing I wanted to do was sharpen those eyes so I ran Pioneer Woman's Sharpen This action and just brushed the eyes with my brush at about 28%....I've read you're supposed to sharpen last but I couldn't wait...I don't claim to be technically correct~

{also, I really hated to do it this time but I cropped the photo too for a better Rule of Thirds composition}

Next I wanted to focus more on the expression and less on the surroundings so I duplicated the layer

and selected Filter - Blur - Gaussian Blur at 9.4 pixels over the entire photo...

Of course I didn't want her whole face all blurred out so I added a Coffeeshop layer mask and erased the blur heavily on her eyes and mouth and lighter on the rest of the face...you can see the little alien face in black on the layer mask that shows the lighter and darker erasing...

Next I added a texture from the Supernatural collection for just a touch of dimension, nothing fancy this time....and I erased almost all of it from her face and just left it on the edges...

Then I ran the Coffeeshop Butterscotch Vintage action to brighten up the skin tone and because I just love it so much.  It still didn't have the punch I was looking for though so I ran the Coffeeshop Vivid 2 action and selected the Soft setting but erased some of it lightly off her face...

And here's my final~  Meet the cover girl for Inspired by christy 2010!

So let's take a look at my mission:

~ pretty blonde girl - got it!

~ striking blue eyes - got it!

~ intense dramatic attitude - got it!

I'm satisfied with my attempt for a similar look without copying the same exact pose....

what do you think?

Playground Queen

A few weeks ago I realized that the year was almost halfway over and I had barely taken any photographs of my kiddos doing what they do best....being kids~


I've been concentrating so much lately on becoming a more skilled, knowledgeable photographer that I lost sight for a moment of why I crave photography...it allows me to capture the moments of the people I love best.  


So one evening when we had some time in between soccer games I let Wild Child & Princess play on the playground at the park.  Amazingly enough, they didn't cover their faces in disgust when I pulled out the camera and actually gave me some great expressions while they were having fun.


I thought I'd share an edit from one of my favorites of Princess...


I opened my original in Photoshop Elements 6 for Mac:

The picture is great as-is but I decided to add just a little oomph to it~  I like oomph~

I started by softening the skin just a little with Coffeeshop Baby Powder Room and I also added a slight glow to the skin with the Skin Glow layer and darkened the eyes just a bit...

Next I added a texture from the new Patti Brown Supernatural Textures....I really wanted to play up the orange color...I erased it from most of her skin though and just left it on the tunnel.

Then I wanted to blur out more of the pic and concentrate on her face so I added a Gaussian Blur over the entire pic after duplicating the layer...

Then I erased the blur off mostly her facial area using the Coffeeshop layer mask...

{just a little side note....if I had a better lens, maybe a f2.8 or f1.4 I wouldn't have to fake the blur...but those are still on my wish list!  thank goodness I know how to fake it!}

The next steps are where I started going crazy...I tried action after action after action and just couldn't finish it off the way I wanted.  I think I finally used a combination of Coffeeshop Butterscotch Vintage, Pioneer Woman Boost and Erin's Defog...possibly a few more but I stopped keeping track after several attempts!  Here's what I ended up with...I also cropped in just a bit...

~ I like it ~

Here's a few more from our playground date...I haven't touched these...they're sooc...and I don't think I will edit these.  I think I'll just leave them as-is and cherish the moment~

Princess ~ Age 5 ~ Playground Queen

The Princess Suite

I laid back on the table, trying desperately not to look at the screen.  
The nice technician was rolling the cold ultrasound gel around my growing belly.
I shouldn't be nervous, I had been here 3 times before, all with the same result.  I had 3 beautiful, blue eyed boys at home to prove it.

But this time was different...this time was the last time...and this time...just maybe...possibly...it was a 50/50 chance right?....this time it could be a girl.


I was rambling on about how all our friends and family were anxiously waiting for the phone call....everyone was wanting to know...but I was sure it was another boy...there was nothing that felt different about this pregnancy...wow, life with 4 boys was going to be crazy...the nice technician interrupted me...."Look Mom" she said.
Then I saw the letters she was typing on the screen...

I AM A GIRL
Those words changed everything!!


Although I would love to say that my first thoughts about having a daughter were thoughts of the teachings, the love, the legacy I would pass along....I can't.  I just can't.
Wanna know what passed thru the mind of a shallow woman who had been raising 3 boys for 8 years and just found out she was having a girl?


"I get to decorate a baby girls room!"


Yep.  That's all that I could think about...the rest of the day was a blur...in fact, the next 4 months were filled with nothing but shopping, weighing shabby chic vs. pastel princess themes and spending countless hours on ebay discovering a whole new world of PINK!


Of course, we quickly nicknamed "the room" The Princess Suite.  So when I saw this crafty sign on ebay it began the obsession.

I spent my days...my nights...my every waking moment finding things like this precious rocker...

I would perfectly arrange her bedding in the brand new crib so it looked just like the magazine pictures...

I found a hand-painted dresser on ebay and had it rush shipped!

And I thought this chandelier was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen...

...I didn't care that it barely gave off any light!


I would walk in that room all day long and just imagine the tea parties, baby dolls and playdates that would soon be happening in the Princess Suite.


This is what the Princess Suite looks like today.
Those photos make my heart hurt.


On this day 5 years ago my Princess was born.

I've had the tea parties....I've played with the baby dolls...there's been countless playdates filled with laughter and tiaras and lots of pink.  I've loved the last 5 years with my Princess and my Princes.


But ohh....how I wish...on days like this....I could do it just one more time~

Bubbles

The theme for the I Heart Faces contest this week is Bubbles!

First of all, I double pinky swear that I did NOT photoshop that bubble in the shot!!  

I just got lucky when I was shooting the kids playing with bubbles at a soccer game.  

Gotta love that tongue stickin' out...such intensity!  

Personally, I think Nike should use this shot for one of their ads and pay me lots of money...if any of you know somebody at Nike, will you please pass this photo along?  I'd appreciate it!

Check out I Heart Faces to see all of the great entries and don't forget to add YOURS to the fun!

Princess

She never had a chance really.

The lone daughter born after 3 rowdy boyish boys.

The lone granddaughter to both grandmas.

The baby.

If that isn't a recipe for a Princess then I don't know what is.

Princess is a swirl of rainbows, wonderment and all things pink.

She has a keen sense of fashion.

When Dora the Explorer put on her party dress for Boots' Birthday Bash,

Princess came screaming to tell me about the wonderful dress. I had to

rewind again & again so Princess could examine all the details on the new

dress. Dora did look quite spiffy.

She perceives her everyday events as only a Princess does. I asked her one morning after Sunday School class,

"How was your class?" Simple enough question.

"Mom, it was boo-ti-ful. Olivia wore a red dress and Chloe wore a pink dress. Olivia had a bow in her hair. We need to go to the store and get me a red dress."

I'll never forget that answer.

Although Princess is 32 pounds of pure sweetness, BE WARNED:

Princess is not for the weak at heart.

Men cower and boys flee at the sound of her shriek.

Often times mom is the lone braveheart to enter The Princess Suite

when she bellows for chocolate milk when awakening from her afternoon slumber.

I dutifully obey...everyone obeys a Princess.