A New Baby in the Family

Let me start this blog post by stating...I'm POOPED!

Yesterday, I photographed SIX children including an

adorable one-week-old baby boy...WHEW!

Would you believe the baby and 3-year-old Isabella

in the middle are aunt and uncle to the four older kids?

Uncle Tristan was soooo precious!

His mama crocheted his camouflage blanket with his name,

so I wanted to include it in the portrait.

Her friend crocheted the little nesting outfit and hero hat.

I came up with this canopy idea and made the canopy

for this shoot.

But, teensy Tristan would not fall asleep.  This is the best

I could do with five other kids running around me.

I set up my three photo stations for Isabella

starting with my white background board in my garage.

See this blog post to learn more about my make-shift studio.

Three-year-olds usually LOVE to pose!!!

I just let them be silly, goofy and FUN while I snap away.

I found that adorable dress at a thrift store for $3 and

added the marabou trim around the bottom and made

a matching hair pretty.

A very easy and inexpensive yet ADORABLE dress!

I like to give kids something to hold and interact with....

thus the pink purse.  (Thrift store find...$1.)

Of course, I had to throw in some bokeh.

I offer a ton of my free bokeh including this adorable pink

 that you can use in your photos...

Click here. 

To learn how to add the bokeh

Click here.

You add the fake wallpaper the same way.

Next, I moved Isabella outside in her fancy dress.

I always get a few close-ups...

And, they are often my favorites!

Onto the third station and a new outfit...

a vintage dress from a thrift store with

a vintage rocking horse I found for $4 at the thrift store.

I LOVE THRIFT STORES!

But, as usual...she was getting tired and bored by this

third station:

So I took a few with her nieces.

Lovely Natalie:

Beautiful Melanie:

It was a long, exhausting....FULFILLING photo shoot.

Exciting news:

I enjoy sharing my blog posts on other photography blogs.

These blogs bring together other women who love photography as much as I do.

I learn so much from these women and love their photography.

Last week, I submitted this post on Happily Mother After's

Oh Snap!shot of the Week.

I was so excited to learn that Lauren selected

the photo above with the pink bokeh as her favorite and

awarded me this badge:

Thanks, Lauren!

And best wishes for your upcoming baby girl!

Check out these other fun photography blogs.

I learn so much from them:

Mom Tried It

My Chaos My Bliss

Foto Friday with Lori

Fabulous Friday

Favorite Photo Friday

First Birthday Portraits

I've been impatiently awaiting my grand niece Fiona's

first birthday!

That's because I wanted to photograph her with a white

background, cake and pink balloon.

I photographed these in my make-shift studio I set up

in the garage to capture AWESOME light!

I wrote this blog post about it if you want to try this

easy studio idea.

I was a bit worried because the day we took these it was cloudy

and threatening rain.

Since we took these at the front edge of the garage,

my camera and I were getting a few sprinkles.

While editing, I threw in some vintage wallpaper...

an editing technique I LOVE!

I tell more about adding Magic Wallpaper in

this blog post

These portraits with the added wallpaper are my favorite.

I also tried a pretty bokeh background

Whenever I photograph babies or toddlers,

I set up three photo stations.

I plan this out before the baby arrives,

setting up props, selecting clothing and hair accessories.

I found that turquoise wash tub at a thrift store

and was excited to use it with the matching quilted pillow shams hanging on

the fence...yep, all from thrift stores!

Fiona was still in a smiley mood...YES!

But as with every baby/toddler shoot...by the third

station...they get tired.

I thought she looked like a little cherub in this next photo...

So I added some angel wings!

Those were the only two photos I captured

before she was off the chair...

And, finally melting down...

essentially saying, "Aunt Jill, that's ENOUGH!"

I hope you can use some of these techniques in

your own photography and it doesn't have

to be a special birthday.

Check out these photography blogs:

Ashley Sisk and Sarah Halstead

Kent Weakley

Jaymi McClusky

Mom Tried it

The Crumby Mummy

Last of the Wildflowers

With temperatures hovering in the 90s,

I haven't been walking as much this summer.

Thought I'd better get into walking shape for our upcoming

vacation, so I braved the heat yesterday to walk the trail

behind our house.

I was aghast to see the wildflowers SHOULDER high!

The walking path is owned by our Township and I KNEW

they mow it down in mid-July,

so I hurried home and posted a plea on Facebook

begging someone...anyone to pose for me that night!

Talk about perfect....my friend SUSAN

was eager to pose with the black-eyed-SUSANS.

We were stunned at how tall they grew this year.

I've never seen them so high!

Pretty Susan brought along her pretty friend Sarah.

Sarah wore my black-eyed-susan hair flower!

I cried this morning when I walked the trail and saw the big

mowers chopping them all down!!!!!

I cried because I was just in time to capture their beauty...

FOREVER!

Also check out these photography blogs:

Kent Weakley

Ashley Sisk and Sarah Halstead

Jaymi McClusky

Nancy Claeys Rural Thursday Blog

Capture it Correctly in your Camera

As I've shown in many blog posts, my personal portrait style is dreamy,

light and airy...with what I call a Monet painting look.

If you like this style, you must capture it with your camera

when you are taking the photo.

I was a television news reporter for fourteen years.  The hardest

part of that job was shooting in the field.  That's when it

was critical for me to pay close attention and

gather all the details and video CORRECTLY.

I had to work closely with the photographer and

 think of every shot I would need while

in the field.

Editing my news stories was my FAVORITE part of the job,

when my attention to detail came together.  I LOVED editing

just like I love editing portraits now.

But, I learned back then...if I didn't do it right in the field...

I would NOT have it in the editing room!

(Please excuse the 90's hair and make up...ha ha!)

The same is true for portrait photography.

Here are my tried and true tips for getting it correct in the camera,

so you can produce lovely portraits in editing.

First, you must know how to use your camera...

ie...understand EXPOSURE or how aperture, shutter speed and ISO

work together.  Learn this first!  There are many books and Internet tutorials

to teach you. 

Once you understand exposure, you can put

that knowledge to work.

Getting great exposure does not necessarily mean

your photos will look exquisite right out of the camera

especially if you shoot in RAW.

This is a photo of pretty Maddie 

SOOC (Which means Straight out of Camera.)

                                 While it might appear dark...it has all the components for

a beautiful portrait.

After editing:

To get these results

I ALWAYS shoot portraits in Large/RAW.

ALWAYS!

RAW is not compressed so it usually needs

editing, but if you used the correct exposure, your

details will be retained.

My favorite portrait lens and the one I used for these photos

is the 50mm 1.4. 

                          I LOVE the wide aperature for blurring the foreground and background!

SOOC:  

After editing:

Notice how icky and dark this next SOOC photo looks, yet it has

all the components to create the perfect after:

No shadows on Maddie's face, the hair is highlighted by the sun,

eyes are in perfect focus and the background is a lovely bokeh.

I planned and noticed ALL these details before

I snapped the photo.

I start with the sun at the subject's back.

Then I walk around my model or have the model turn

 until I notice there are no shadows on the face

 and the hair is highlighted.

I also sharpen the eyes and soften the skin in editing. 

I use my editing tools in Lightroom and PhotoShop Elements

to lighten her face which will always be a bit dark

when backlighting.

By getting it correct in the field...

you get a stunning portrait in editing:

I also look for ways to USE the light...

shining through hair or Maddie's dress

in this SOOC:

Notice no shadows on the face, but

luminous use of the light.

While shooting, I'm always looking at the details

and constantly monitoring those awful face shadows

that are impossible to fix in editing.

SOOC:

After editing:

I usually shoot a bit wide especially if

I'm shooting a full length, so I have

some crop room for various photo sizes.

SOOC:

After editing and cropping:

Shooting with a wide aperture

will give you a shorter depth of field

and thus some spectacular background bokeh.

SOOC with all the elements I need for editing:

No shadows on the face, highlighted hair, eyes in focus

and great background bokeh!

If you got this photo back from the printer,

you would be disappointed:

That's why you MUST learn how to edit

especially if you're shooting in RAW!

After editing:

It works every time!

I LOVE the photo below:

Notice how I cloned out that distracting fence and sky

to give it that dreamy, "I'm walking in la-la land paradise" look.

You can find a TON of tutorials on how to edit online.

That's how I learned...it's really a matter of learning

each technique...one at a time until it all comes together.

If you take the photo correctly in the field...

You will create magic in editing!

I promise!

Also check out these great photography blogs:

Ashley Sisk and Sarah Halstead

Kent Weakley

Jaymi M Photography

Mom Tried It

The Crumby Mummy