I Heart Faces ~ Sun Flare

One of my favorite sun flare photos I have taken! This was for her senior portraits. She is a cheerleader and could jump really high! Check out other great sun flare entries at:

I Heart Faces Best Face of February Contest

My daughter turned 7 and I took her for her birthday photo shoot! This is my favorite picture of her! Check out more pics at:

http://www.iheartfaces.com/

I ♥ Faces Fix it Friday #88

Another Fix It Friday at I ♥ Faces! I love this picture taken by Angie Arthur.



Here's what I did:

Opened in CS5. Ran Slight Sharpen by Pioneer Woman, then ran Sharpen This! also by Pioneer Woman and brushed over the eyes.
Next I ran CoffeeShop's brand new Velvet Cream action. I masked and brushed over the face with a low opacity brush. Then I opened CoffeeShops Baking with Mom textures and used Vintage Valentine with the blending mode set at overlay and the opacity at 62%. I masked and brushed over the face again to take most of the texture off the skin! Then I ran CoffeeShop's AutoH Colorblock and saved for web!

Check out the rest at:

I ♥ Faces~ Cell Phone Challenge

Ok, ok, so I failed miserably at the project 365. What can I say? Life got in the way… I still love me some I ♥ Faces, and when I saw this week it was a cell phone challenge I knew I had to enter! I love this photo because of the angle and distortion! Check out more cell phone pics at:

Seven

My oldest child is turning seven.

7. Oh. My. Gosh.

Where has the time gone? I still remember the exact moment I first laid eyes on her. MY baby.

My red, hot, screaming bundle of joy.

The image is forever burned in my memory.

As it should be. And good thing too, since I don't have the digital copies to share with you ;)

I also remember 1. Those pink overalls, the gigantic lambie chair. She learned to walk a few days before and it was amazing!

2 was fun. So sweet and adventurous. She could make us laugh at the drop of a hat. All we wanted to do was squeeze her!

At 3 she really started to become her own little person. She knew what she wanted and she was going to get it !

And that mostly involved Dora the

Explorer anything and everything….

4 brought out the responsible qualities of a first child. The protective big sister, she fiercely defended her little brother at preschool and was sure to take good care of her baby sister at home. A nurturing little mother, she loved caring for her siblings.

And she still does.

Most of the time….

5 introduced us to the girly girl inside. She had ideas of how she wanted her hair cut and what kind of clothes she wanted. *Sigh*

6 was the year she seemed like a kid and not a baby anymore. It is going by fast and I just can't slow it down.

I remember the day she was born like it was yesterday. I can't even begin to explain where the years have gone. I look at her now and

still can't believe she was that red, hot, screaming baby.

Happy, happy birthday baby girl! I can't wait to see what 7 brings us!

****And PS I've been doing my Project 365, just haven't blogged them yet. Hopefully I will get them up soon… I am a little behind :) ****

I ♥ Faces Fix it Friday #82

I haven't done a Fix It Friday from I Heart Faces in awhile, but I couldn't resist today! Such a darling picture of a little girl taken by Rachael Durik. Here is the original:And here is my edit:I loved the composition already, but I just punched it up a bit by cropping it in a little tighter around her face.

Then I ran Pioneer Woman's "Slight Sharpen" action. Why? It's what I do with all my pics. I am a creature of habit! Next I used the healing brush and patch tools to diminish the dark spots under her eyes.

Then I used the Hue/Saturation layer to get rid of the blue color cast and brighten up her skin. There is a fabulous tutorial at The CoffeeShop Blog that will show you how to do that! Finally I ran Coffeeshop's Perfect Portrait 2 and adjusted the layers: I brightened and defined the eyes. I also painted "eye define" on her lips to bring them out a bit. I painted "Urban Grit" on her hair to define it a little and I used the "Get the Red out" layer on her skin. And, Voila! There you have it. Whew! View all the other fabulous edits over at I ♥ Faces !

Project 365 # 4

While I was at the Cal Expo Bridal Show all day on Sunday, my husband took all three of our kids to the Jelly Belly Factory! They had a great time and ate their weight in jelly beans.

Project 365 # 5

Breakfast. Yum-o.

Project 365 # 3

My photo for today is of the glider I used to rock my babies in. I have spent many nights in this chair rocking, singing, and cuddling my children back to sleep. Lots of great memories, but now it is time to make space and move on. Posted it to Craigslist this weekend. Hopefully someone else will love it as much as I have!

Project 365 #2

Publish PostDay 2, so far, so good! It was super foggy this morning, so after dropping the big kids off at school, I bundled my 2 1/2 year old up in layers and trudged out through the fog. I had intended to take a picture of the oak trees, but this was the shot I ended up getting, and the one I liked the best! Just a simple water droplet on a chain link fence. Looking forward to tomorrow!

Why Not? All the cool photogs are doing it…. Project 365 #1

Ok, here it goes: I am going to start a project 365 (Ack!!). It seems simple enough: take a photo a day for a year (365 days to be exact). In reality, this is a huge commitment… there are days that just get so busy and out of control that pulling out my camera drops to the bottom of the list.

But, I have started to let things go and not get out my camera everyday. When I first got it I took it everywhere. I would always be on the look out for great photo ops. I would make my husband pull over and wait on the side of the road with our three kids just so I could get the perfect shot of the cherry blossoms in the spring. (Sorry guys!)

Hopefully by the end of the year, I will have a wonderful album of memories and I will have learned a few things to help me become a better photographer! I'm sure they won't all be canvas-quality masterpieces, but at least they will be moments of my life! Hey, an iPhone camera counts right? Wish me luck! Here goes nothing!

I thought I would start off with a pic of me and my camera! Not the best picture~ I can see a lot of things I don't like about it, but it's me and that is what I wanted a picture of!

Birthday Party|Folsom Area Photographer

On a personal note… My two oldest kids have been to countless birthday parties over the years. They have grown up in playgroups and had friends that they have met through school. These friends (well, their parents) have always been very gracious and always invite ALL three of my children to the parties (thank you!). Because of this, my youngest has been to countless parties as well, but not really for her own friends. Today she got to go to her very first party where she was the one who was actually invited! She got to pick out her dress (and oh boy, was she opinionated on this ~ it had to be pink, not purple, mom!) and pick out a present for her friend and get it ready for the party.

She was beyond excited and so happy to get to go to a party for her friend. It was held at a time when my older two are in school, so it was perfect!

The girls had a blast and played like crazy! We had amazing "Dora" themed cupcakes made by Angel Cake (check her out on Facebook!). They were strawberry icing on a delicious chocolate cupcake! She hand made the Dora faces and they were melt-in-your-mouth delicious!

All in all, I think the birthday girl had a wonderful day and my daughter had a blast playing with her very own friend!

The Jarretts | Folsom Area Photographer

A few weeks ago I got to take wedding pictures for this beautiful couple. They couldn't wait to get married, so they eloped in San Francisco! Then they asked me to take pictures of them in their wedding attire (who could let that dress go to waste?)! We took pictures around Folsom near Lake Natoma. It was a beautiful day and they were willing to follow me on a hike down to these rocks!I am so glad they did, because it was well worth it!
Because Folsom has been a big part of their lives, they wanted their photos to "say" Folsom, so what better place than the historic walking bridge?
Ahh, newlyweds!

It was a great day and I am so glad I got the opportunity to spend time photographing them!

I got to go back today to take pictures of them with their daughter. She had a flower girl dress, after all, and she couldn't let that go to waste either!At 7 years old, she took the lead and directed me during most of the shoot! She had a lot of great ideas and it was a change being told how to photograph! Doesn't she have a great smile? ;)And I have to say thank you to Charlè for all of the shout-outs she has given me recently! I love when people use the pictures I take AND give me credit for them! Thanks for all the kind words!
They certainly are having a lot of fun!

Such a beautiful family and so much fun to be around! Congratulations Jarrett Family!

Senior Portraits | Folsom Area Photographer

My poor blog has been seriously neglected this past month. I have been uploading most of my work to Facebook instead of posting here! I know, where is the fun in that? I seriously need to update my shoots. It is so much more fun to post here and be more descriptive about the shoots. Lets begin with my latest senior portrait shoot! Brittani brought her mom and sister the help assist her. I love it when friends and family come along. It is always great having extra people there and it adds to the energy of the shoot. Friends are always welcome to come along to your session and I can even do 2 senior portrait sessions at one time for friends.

We went to Old Folsom for the first part. Even though it is torn up and being remodeled right now, it is still a great place for pictures with textures and great backgrounds.

For instance, this great red stool was sitting outside a door. I pulled it into the middle of the sidewalk and told Brittani to sit down on it. She wasn't too sure at first, but it turned out to be a great picture! I love how it says "Psychic Readings" on the sign in the background. It goes so well with being a senior and going off into an unknown future!
Then we moved on the an area along the bike trail in Folsom. Folsom is filled with great trails and nature areas. I am so lucky to be able to photograph here!
I love these railroad tracks and it was another fun place to take pictures! Again, something about looking out into the future and senior pictures that go so well together!

This bridge is fantastic for pictures too. The sunlight and the trees make an amazing background!

And of course, the jumping shot! My daughter is still amazed by this one and always asks how she could jump that high! Being a cheerleader, it was easy for Brittani! I had a blast taking her pictures~ and I promise to start taking better care of my blog!

New Camera

It is finally here. I have been waiting forever to get it! My 7D is home! I couldn't wait to try it out!I can only imagine the possibilities! I am scrubbing my kids down and taking them out for a photo shoot tomorrow! I can not wait to see the results. This camera is a monster, especially compared to my XSI. I love the weight in my hands and the battery grip is a dream. I love to shoot vertically, and this makes it so much easier. The 8fps is lightning fast and perfect for catching those action shots. I am in heaven ~ I only wish there was more time to shoot!

My Littlest Hero|Folsom Area Photographer

I had the most amazing weekend doing a photo shoot for Inspiration Through Art (formerly The Littlest Heroes Project). It is an organization that matches photographers with families of children who are sick or who have a disability. We provide the family with a free photo session and usually a CD of images!I was so lucky to be asked to photograph Aden and his family on Saturday. They live 3+ hours away from me, so we decided to meet at Sand Harbor in Lake Tahoe for our shoot. Aden brought his little brother, Aren, his mom, dad, grandma, and grandpa.
The first thing I noticed about Aden was that he liked to run! And run he did, all over the beach. He had a blast climbing the rocks and playing in the water. Aden has Down Syndrome, ADHD, and Sleep apnea. He is energetic and all boy~ just like his little brother, and boy, did they keep Dad on his toes! It was hard to get the boys to be still for very long, but isn't that how most boys are? They loved the water and mom and dad were so laid back, they let them play and get dirty! It was so relaxed and fun!
One of the best parts of the shoot was at the end. I had some interview questions to ask Aden's mom and we sat down on the beach so the boys could play. My kids were there with my husband and it was so much fun to watch all the kids play together. They all rolled down the sand hill and played in the water together. It always amazes me how easy it is for kids to make friends!
Aden's mom says that Aden is a hero because "No matter how bad things are, he can smile and just make it better. Through it all, he smiles." I hope that I get the opportunity to photograph this family again. Not only is Aden a hero, his parents are heroes too for all the love and support they give their boys. I am very lucky to have met this amazing family!