Guitar Photo Shoot

Taken December 6th 2011

Back in September, I started working on a marketing degree.  While I do still write quite frequently,  Consumer Behavior is hardly blogging material and coming here to write for leisure after I've spent my week doing case studies and writing research papers seems equivalent to working out after track practice during my college track days.  There just isn't much of a desire to run five miles because the coach told you to and then leave track practice and go work out for fun.   

I've still managed to capture a lot of daily life by camera.  But all the pictures that I've taken since November are hanging out and twiddling their thumbs in my Photoshop Organizer.  Hopefully I will get a chance to catch up on those some time in the near future.  

For now, I am posting the only pictures I've managed to edit since I started school.  Emma started taking guitar lessons in September and she really seems to have a natural talent for it (from her daddy no doubt).   So, we played around, pretending to be doing a photo shoot for her album cover.  I did manage to get Chloe in a couple but for the most part, she was more interested in playing than taking pictures.  Emma's guitar shoot also ending up lending itself to a personally suited Valentine's Day card which was great since I had vowed not to do anything with any new pictures until I post my Christmas pictures.  

Things That Make Life Worth Living

It appears that from here on out, my life will be a never ending coming up short catching up on this blog...

But for now, here's an experience that should not go unrecorded.  I recently had the honor of being there to photograph my friend Lu's fourth child and first girl's first moments.  This was Lu's fourth C-section and because of the difficulty of the procedure and possible complications (which she had none of praise God), I wasn't able to be in there for the birth.  But I was waiting right outside to follow her through those first moments.  What an experience it was to be able to share this experience with my sweet friend.  Thank you for letting me share such a sweet moment with you Lu! 

I Heart Faces Photo Challenge--Innocent Wonder

This post is for a Photo challenge over at I Heart Faces. The lighting was low and admittedly, this isn't my best photography.  However, for the theme of "innocent wonder" I just couldn't pass it up.  This is my three year old on her daddy's shoulders looking at the star on the Christmas tree as I plugged it in to light it.

But  [she] treasured all these things, pondering them in her heart.  Luke 2:19

Family Friday - More Family Photos and the Hinkle Christmas Card

I wanted to make sure that mom got out all of her Christmas cards before I posted this. But, I couldn't skip it because 1. I need to post the family pictures anyway. 2. I still laugh every time I see it.   I ordered her cards from Vistaprint and saved out the ones that needed to be mailed so that I could mail them for her and then sent the rest to her so she could hand them out at work.  Well, the Trussville Post Office lost them.  Seriously, it's the worst post office ever.  If you live in Trussville, get insurance!  It's probably worth the drive to the next town.. Anyway, the cards finally showed up a couple of weeks later.  Hopefully she's handed them all out by now.

Since our family had a tough year in 2010, my mom thought that something funny and lighthearted was the way to go.

This is what I came up with:

Front

Inside

I thought that this design would only look right on a folded card and it proved to be a bit of challenge to find a place that printed folded cards at a reasonable enough price for us to order 150. Vistaprint, hands down had the best price. And I was very happy with the quality of the card.

The photo-- Once again, utilize your tri-pod.  I didn't even have to swap any heads on these.  Make sure you double click on the bottom photo and check out Chloe's "silly pose". 

Blog Hop-- The Secret to My Success With the Family Photos..

My father-in-law has been begging for a family picture of the WHOLE family since my niece was born in July of 2008.  That proved to be a difficult task since one of the family members (me) is also the photographer.. So, I spent the past few months mastering using my tri-pod and then filling the photography gap with photoshop skills so that my children won't grow up and wonder what I looked like when they were kids..

My mother-in-law posted our family picture on her facebook page and everyone was amazed that we didn't have a bad expression in the whole bunch..  While I did enjoy tricking people into thinking I'm that great of a photographer, it kind of made me feel like a fake.. Plus, I thought it would be an awesome edit to enter in the editing Blog Hop over at Pixel Perfect so I decided to reveal The secret to my success.. Besides, I think that in the era of digital photography, The editing is at least half of the talent anyway...


So I give you the before pictures.. Yes, pictures as in plural... My secret to getting a great family picture with children in it?  Take more than one..

So,  I instructed the adults to not worry about what the kids were doing and to just worry about themselves in the picture and to not make a move once the picture was taken.   I sat the camera up on the tripod and sat the time and was able to get a decent picture of the adults.

 Once I knew that my part of me being in it had been taken care of, I was able to move away from the camera and get a good picture of the three kids..  Then I managed to get a decent picture of the three girls once I was able to move behind the camera and dance and sing like a fool..

Then, using Photoshop Elements 8.0,  I cropped the three girls out of the second picture and pasted it into the other picture.  Using various editing techniques: erasing, smudging, airbrushing, cloning etc, I blended the edges.  It's really just a decide as you go, a little here, a little there kind of thing.  It wasn't that difficult.  Just tedious.. I was fortunate to get all three girls smiling or I would have cropped them all out of a different picture.

I cropped it in a little closer and straightened it from where the camera was leaning a bit on the tripod.  The rest is just your basic lighting, color, smoothing, defining edits..

Dana Ellis
Thoughts on Life After Dirty Diapers

Friday's Freebie-- Multi Picture Photoshop Christmas Card Template Download

I'm so behind on personal posts.  Photo creations are taking up my time right now.  So, I figured I might as well share some of those since I'm finding the time to post other things.  Maybe, it'll give me a few new people to swap ideas with!  If you're interested in photography, graphic design etc., leave me a comment with your info.  I'd love to follow!

Another free  Photoshop christmas card template ..  Click on link to download

Leave a comment if you're looking for a particular kind of template and I'll see what I can do.

Blessings,

Dana

Freebie Storyboard Template

As promised,  the storyboard template that I used for Katie's blog post.  Full Photoshop template, no clipping masks.  Just insert your pictures.  Click HERE to download.

Are you looking for a specific template?  Leave me a comment with the details and I'll see what I can do :).

The Camera Loves You Darlin'..

My parents and nephew came for Thanksgiving.  We had an absolutely wonderful and relaxing holiday with several days of sleeping in.  I was so sad when I heard the 6:00 a.m.  alarm clock this morning.  

I also had the opportunity to try my new camera out doing some Senior pictures.   Katie is the daughter of Emma's first grade teacher.  We have been talking about doing Katie's pictures since last year.  She attends South Carolina Governor's school of Math and Science.  So, we grabbed the chance when she was home to do a shoot.  We had to reschedule from Friday to Saturday due to rain.  And I'm so glad we did because the weather was perfect!  

This may have possibly been the easiest photo shoot I've ever done.  Though I love chasing my girl's giggles for a picture, I have to admit that I enjoyed the opportunity to do a shoot with someone I didn't have to bribe to smile.   And as you can see, it was a wonderful treat to me to have such a beautiful model for  to test out my skills on.  

click twice to see in largest format

And, for you other photographers out there, I'll be posting a freebie of this storyboard template shortly..

Thank you Katie and Mel for a wonderful Photo Shoot!  It was such a pleasure!

Special thanks to my friend Julie at Julie Tyree Photography for being my "set of fresh eyes" and giving feedback on this shoot!

Blessings,

Dana

Christmas Card Freebie

I've been making Christmas cards for months.  So I decided I'd make a little something to share.  This template is in Photoshop format.  I left it in simple layers so that there's no messing with clipping masks and it can easily be customized to fit your personal taste.  

You can Download Christmas Card template by clicking:

Free Photoshop Christmas Card Template Download

  Also, if you are using another program, that won't support PS, you can simply enlarge the card, and do a right click, "save as" and paste your picture into the white box.   Merry Christmas!

What to Wear Wednesday

The most common question asked about family pictures..  What should we wear?  
One classic option is to dress everyone in matching white, all in black, etc. This option freezes your family in time. It also shows unity.  And, sometimes it's the best choice for a portrait taken when a certain room in the house is in mind with which to hang to portrait in.   If this is what you are going for, look no further, this option is still acceptable!  But, chances are, if you've ever taken a family picture, you already have that "everyone's doing it" white and khaki's on the beach and you're looking for something new and fresh.  

The idea is to coordinate without matching.   And in turn, each family member is given individuality and expression of their own personality without interrupting the flow of the picture.  Lucy can wear her favorite shades of pink while dad can still wear his manly brown.   To help spur you along, I scoured the internet for my favorite combinations.   Most of these ensembles were pulled from Gap and Old Navy's website.   I certainly don’t expect you to run to the store to purchase the items in these pictures. Chances are, there is something in your closets that will work great.   

The easiest way to accomplish the task of color coordination without matching, is to find a print for one family member with a color pallet that you love and then coordinate the other members..  However, this can also be done by layering.. Once, I did a session of a mom and dad and two daughters.  The mom wore a orange shirt with a brown cardigan, the dad wore a brown shirt and the girls wore orange dresses.  They coordinated beautifully.   

Many thanks to the talented photographers that put these ensembles together.  I looked for owners to give credit where credit is due but found them in several different locations with no owners attributed.  If you are the brains behind these wonderful ensembles, please let us know so we can become your newest followers!

   

A Few Tips:

* Most important, choose comfortable styles.  Nothing makes a cute kid grumpy faster than stiff clothes that constantly need to be adjusted.  And for mom and dad, wear whatever it is that makes you feel like you can take on the world!  If you don't feel comfortable in what you're wearing it will surely be reflected in your photos.

*Basic color rules apply.  Wear colors that bring out your eyes and look best with your complexion.  Dark colors make things look smaller, light colors make things look larger..  

*Simple colors and designs work best on adults but sometimes a bold print on a child can bring out a fun or silly personality.

*Choose styles that portray your family's personality.  

*Long sleeves work great pulling the attention to the face.

Blessings,

Dana

Sisters

Emma Seven Years Old..

We're back from Hilton Head and despite everyone's insistence that HH is the cat's meow, and Myrtle Beach is the "party beach", I have to admit I prefer Myrtle Beach.     I think it all has to do with knowing the right areas to stay in.  But, staying at the very North end of Myrtle Beach was much less crowded than where we were in Hilton Head and there's way more to do at Myrtle Beach. More about that later..

Still, we had a great time because we were visiting some dear friends that were vacationing there.  I've got a ton of pictures to put up.. But, before I do that, I wanted to get Emma's seven year old pictures that I finally got while we were there.  Despite the fact that she looks way older than a 7 year old should look in my eyes,  Emma has only lost her bottom two teeth.. Even though it is driving her nuts that her tooth losing isn't maturing as fast as most of her friends, I was thrilled that her seven year old pictures didn't show her snaggled toothed..

Little Froggie

Everyone I know is having babies these days. This is my friend Mandy's sweet baby. He was two weeks old when these were taken. I'm still hit or miss and lighting is everything.. This particular day, the lighting was just perfect in my upstairs room and I was really happy with how these came out.. Still, my consistency needs improving. I win a few, I lose a few.. But I'm only going to show you the winners of course.

Mandy is one of those smart mommies that came up with nicknames for her children and doesn't use their real names. Whoops, didn't think of that. I don't guess it matters much as both of my girls have names that half the little girls their ages have. For the record, Emma is my grandmother's name. I had it picked out long before the tv show "Friends" named their baby Emma.. Just for the record..

Anyway, you can check out little Froggie over at Life's about a Dream

Such a handsome little bundle of joy!!









Blessings,
Dana

Sugar and Spice

I thought that now would be a great time to record some cute things they've said lately...

The girls visited my mom and sister a couple of weeks ago. My nephew was teasing Emma and said, "are you retarded or something". For obvious reasons, we don't allow our children to use this terminology in a dirogitory sense. Way to go Justin ;).. Not to worry, Emma straightened him out by saying, "no and I said that to my mom once and it did not turn out well for me"


Emma and I finally finished up our chapter book that we read this summer "Pollyanna". It took us a while. She and her daddy finished up two of the Narnia stories but, in my own defense, Adam has an unfair advantage because he gets the bedtime reading time and I have to squeeze my reading time with her in with all the chores I have to do during Chloe's nap. Anyway, we were watching the movie last night to commemerate our success and Emma remarked, at Pollyanna's braid, "wow, they had ponytail holders even back then".

Chloe has mastered singing her ABC's all except the lmnop part in which she sings something like, "ah yo yo yo" and the end in which she replaces Y and Z with "Vitamin C"... I'm having a hard time singing the right version since hers is so much cuter! Video of this coming soon!