Fix-It Friday: Dec 11, 2009 (week 39)

It's that time again: FRIDAY! This weeks entry is a little something different and I LOVE love LOVE this image... did I mention I love it? Really makes me think back to my childhood and all the times my grandfather and I spent together at horse shows and rodeos. Those memories will forever be in my heart.

Lets take a look at the original photo:



Now for my edit:


Lets start off with my program, I used PS CS3. I opened this image in Camera Raw and made adjustments there first. Then I opened it in PS and ran my noiseware program and Boutwell's Magic Glasses from Totally Rad Actions. I then ran my adjustment layers and played with them until I got the look I wanted. Cropped the image to draw the eye to the main attraction and not the onlooking cowboys. I ran CoffeeShops Little Perk action, turning off the sharpening layer (i always save my sharpening for last). Adjusted the Little Perk to my liking. Then I ran CoffeeShops Golden Vintage action, adjusting to my preference. Then I ran Coffeeshops Creamy Toffee Latte Action, again adjusting to my preference. The Toffee Latte action added a little too much red so I added a curve and adjusted the red.

I finished up my edit by adding a few textures, I kept the emphasis of the bull being brought down by masking out the textures on the bull and cowboy. I sharpened and whalla!

Please visit I heart Faces blog to see other ways this photo was "fixed"!

I Heart Faces- Sweet Dreams Photo Challenge (week 48)

This weeks photo challenge theme is "Sweet Dreams".

I was unsure which photo that I would use, so I spent hours browsing through my folders. I had lots of sleeping newborns and babies. But I wanted to really put my focus on the Face, since this is I heart Faces! :)


Then I remembered my shoot with these sweet, tiny, innocent twin boys. Their mom was such a trooper during the whole pregnancy and they were great little fighters once they arrived! I love this shot for multiple reasons, the main reason being all the fresh baby peach fuzz they still have on their faces.

Please visit I Heart Faces Blog to see more entries in the "Sweet Dreams" challenge!

Fix-It Friday: Dec 4, 2009 (Week #38)

It's that time again, I had to take a break last week to spend time with family but I am super excited to be back at it this Friday.

Let's take a look at the photo submitted for editing:

What a cute subject to work with, so interested in the camera! I always wonder just what these little ones think when they see this big black box in front of someone's face... :)

Now for my edits, i'll start with my "original" edit:

I ran noiseware and then boutwell's magic glasses. I ran the usual adjustment layers and tinkered until I was pleased. Then I ran coffeeshop's powderroom action (read the tutorial if you choose to try this action). After that I went into MommaZiggy's Workflow set and ran warmer/cooler action, again adjusting to my liking. I cropped the image slightly and tinkered with the adjustment layers some more, until I was satisfied. Sharpened and whalla! And although I think this picture is great as is, what is fix-it friday if you don't push your limits?

This is my first special edit:

I took my "original" edit and ran coffeeshop's crossprocess action (this action takes alot of tinkering, but I think I have found the settings I enjoy the most). I then added two different textures, making sure to erase the textures from his skin. Tinkered a little with the adjustment layers, sharpened, and whalla!

And since I am up in the middle of the night, I figured "why not give it another go?" So here is my second special edit:

For this edit, I took my "original" edit and ran mommaziggie's XP action set (Xtreme with a XP soft) and tinkered to my liking. I played around with the adjustment layers until I was pleased! I then added a slight burgandy vignette, sharpened and whalla?

Which is your favorite?

To see more Fix-It Friday entries please visit I Heart Faces Blog:

I Heart Faces- Tooshie Challenge (Week 47)

This weeks challenge was the opposite of what i heart faces is normally looking for, TOOSHIES! Who doesn't get tooshie shots? Especially with toddlers! This little girl was so active and was in love with the surroundings, so I just snapped and ran along beside her.

I love the vibrance of the yellow leaves and the hint of sun coming in from the left. I added a few textures here and did some slight cross-processing.

To see more entries for this weeks challenge please visit the i heart faces photography blog!

I Heart Faces- Sun Flare Challenge

My very first entry in the weekly challenges! I was always so scared of the sun, but recently I have started embracing it. Here is my entry for the Sun Flare challenge:

This lovely mommy to be was truely glowing with this captured sunflare, I just love it!

Be sure to visit I Heart Faces to see more entries in this weeks challenge!

Fix-It Friday: Nov 13, 2009

It's Friday and you all know what that means! FIT-IT Friday! I am really starting to look forward for every Friday so I can give these pictures a little bit of my pizazz!

So here we go, starting with the original photo. Which I must say was a great photo to work with, the creamy bokeh was just delish! And such a cute subject too...



For starters I went ahead and composed my "original edit", i ran noiseware and adjusted the layers. Popped those gorgeous eyes, masked out the blown white shirt, and warmed it up a bit. I also did a small amount of cropping to get rid of the object on the left part of the photo.



Now on to the fun stuff! I manufactured in some sun/lens flare, which I am really digging these days. I also did some cross processing to get a retro/vintage look, making sure to mask out those beautiful eyes.



Then for just one additional step, I changed the cross-processed image to B&W and added a soft overlay. The soft B&Ws are something else i'm really into these days! I of course masked out the eyes to keep those sharp.

Hope you enjoy! I do all of my editing with PS CS3.

Fix-It Friday: Nov 06, 2009

It's Friday again and I am so glad to have finished my second round of "Fix It Friday" with I heart faces!

This is the original:

This is my "original" edit:

This is my take on a b&w with a soft overlay:

Last week I put all of my steps and I would really love to do that again, but my two year old has other plans for me at the moment. So I must post and run!

Fix-It Friday: Oct 30, 2009

I have recently joined the world of "I heart Faces" and I just love it there. This is my first ever post of any kind for them. Fix-it friday consists of a member posting an image and everyone taking their turn at, well, fixing it! This weeks entry was in the spirit of halloween and what a cute little subject we all had to work with.

This was the original:

This is my edit:

The program I use is PS CS3. I ran my noiseware, ran boutwell's magic glasses, tinkered with the adjustment layers, added a duplicate layer on multiply with a layer mask (inverted the mask) and painted on the blown spots on her face with black at 18% opacity. Then I adjusted the opacity of the layer to make it look natural. I still had some blown spots, so I added another layer and grabbed a color from a non-blown spot on her cheek and painted over the blown spots. Adjusting the layer's opacity to taste. I added another duplicate layer and cloned out the yellow spot on her elbow and the bruises. Then I ran coffeeshops powder-room to pop the eyes and smooth the skin. The picture was very cool, so I warmed it up a bit. Then I added a light pink wash. I then added a gausian blur to the background, playing with the settings until I got the look I wanted. Cropped to my liking. Sharpened the edges, then resized and sharpened for web.

I hope you enjoyed my very first fix-it friday!! And let me know what you think! Hopefully some of my little hints can help someone else out.

Day 033

My husband graduating from BLET and is now an official Police Officer! Badge, gun, stun-gun, and all.

Congrats Hubby!

Day 032

I didn't get this one up on the post with my last newborn session but since I had such a great response to it, I thought it deserved a spot in my blog as well.

Day 031

Part 2 of the Beckelhimer's photos!

We got rained out during our first session but we rescheduled and it was a beautiful day. Little A is one of the most active toddlers I have ever met, but she is such a doll. We had a whole vintage shoot set up for her with old luggage and dresses and old jewelry but she wanted nothing to do with it. She is a free spirit!

Day 030

AMY!

I had the opportunity to meet up with a sorority sister! Talked her into posing for me. She is gorgeous.

Day 029

An oldy but a goody! This was taken in Charleston, SC at Folly Beach.

Day 028

State Fair!

I recently visited the state fair with my little one and my mom and dad! We had a blast, well my son wasn't too sure about the rides, haha

I simply adore this photo of my father and my son:

I believe my friend called this the "Cruella Deville hairstyle"

Day 027

Once again I have let my blog get behind! I am in the middle of editing a wedding and it is taking my full devotion to get it done. I have so much on the books in the near future and I am so greatful for all of my clients I have encountered and how much support they have shown me.

For today I will share a picture of myself:

Day 026

High Rock State Park! We had a blast....

Day 025

My Grandmother's House! I love and miss her dearly, things just aren't the same without her.