RADLAB

Totally Rad Actions have done it. They've created what I've always wanted. Now I love/hate them for it. I LOVE them because RADLAB is the best thing ever for tweaking pictures. It allows you to preview so many different options before adding them, and then it makes recipes easy to save. I hate them because instead of editing the BAZILLION sessions I need to get done--I want to sit and play. Like I did here.

RAD right???














So . . . which one is your fave????

Lil' Anthro

Darling right? You should see it in print from my new printer's in a Deep Matte. It looks like Anthropologie Catalog. Maybe I can sell this image to them?.

To be a child

My girls had never seen a cotton field before. So when we went for my good ol' family reunion in the land of cotton, I let them run out in the field. It seems so dreamy to be be carefree and so excited to explore.

Not for sale

I'm supposed to be editing a session I just did, but when I opened up the folder I found these, I had forgotten they were on that memory card. What a fantastic surprise. I love this kid. I'm keeping her. I took her with me to return a lens I rented and, after a stop at Sonic for happy hour, we did a little shoot at a spot I always wanted to stop at. I love love love this girl. It's fun watching her personality develop mostly into a sarcastic and witty personality--which I am very proud of. And those freckles. Love them. And that hair--for real---couldn't be more gorgeous.

The other half

Here are the rest of the images from the shoot I posted yesterday. Actually I wanted to post almost all of the best images for the shoot but it would take me tons of time to process. I am lucky that all of my girls photograph well. I get rare smiles from this one but she has a natural beauty with her big shiny eyes and her whispy hair that is easy to shoot from any angle and with any expression. She's also easily coaxed with gummy worms. I'm ordering prints on Monday. Seriously how to I choose? Is it wrong to have an entire wall in your house dedicated to one child?




























and don't forget the giant square

Shades of Blue

I thought maybe you didn't get enough of Kizzy in the last post. I had rented a 50 mm f1.2 lens for a senior shoot I did on Saturday. It' didn't have to be turned in until tonight (Monday) at 6:00. So I took Kizz out for some monochromatic fun. Usually as a photographer you want colors to be different, vibrant and fun. But sometimes it's fun to do this. It really draws attention to the face and features of the subject. It was fun. She kept trying to wander off. So then I'd offer her chocolate chips. I thought for post-processing I mixed it up and tried to get a whole bunch of different shades of blue--I think it's cool.

Breathtaking

I know we all think our children are beautiful. Each of my children have their distinct features that I think make them gorgeous. But this child, when the light hits her in the right way--she is breathtaking. She has THE most glossy, reflective eyes with lush long dark eyelashes. And her hair, dark, thick, gorgeous with just the right highlights. A photographers dream. It's rare I can get a shot of them because she starts to squint and do silly things when I try to shoot distinctly to capture her eyes. In these shots I had rented a Macro lens and was just playing trying to take shots of her eyes and eyelashes. These are not framing sort of images. Just pieces of images. Her gorgeous eyes, skin, lips and hair. This kid is a stunner. Boy am I in trouble.

Breaking the Rules

So I feel like I have kind of lost myself as an artist. When I first started shooting, I did a lot of chopping people's heads off and odd angles. The more I take classes and learn the "rules" and the more I do shoots of people, I end up taking the picture that I think the family wants instead of shooting the pictures that I want. I follow the rules. So in order to relight my fire I took Josie (my daughter) out for a little bit of playing. OK, a lot of playing. But I couldn't help it. She's my most photogenic--and most playful. It feels good just to break the rules.

Fashion Show

Grandma Kathy ventured down from the good small town of Heber to take the girls on a shopping spree. Red was in desparate need of new dresses. So Target helped us out and we found some super cute stuff. The juice had to get in on it too. I wanted to try out using the super pink playroom for photos. So the girls dressed up in their new dresses and had some fun.