Lauren's Contest

Good luck Nicole, Lauren's mommy!!!! Your 24 hours starts NOW!!!! I will check back again at 11:30 am tomorrow to see if you won your 11x14 standout of this picture.

Photo Editor

A lot of people ask me what I do and I tell them I am a homemaker and a photographer but I am thinking about telling them I am a homemaker and a photo editor. A good photographer can see a moment and capture it, but they are also able to edit that moment. In order to capture the moment sometimes I am not able to adjust my setting in the camera right away so I need to make corrections in photoshop later. That is why is takes some time for me to edit my photos. Here is an example of what I am talking about.

This photo is straight out of the camera. Notice her face is not evenly lit and the picture feels flat.

Here is the "after". I adjusted the curves and lightened her face. BIG difference!!!!

I got my CD of pictures.....NOW WHAT???

A lot of people ask me what I recommend to do once they get their pictures and I am finally getting around to creating a post about my answer to this question. Here is a picture of what I do with my pictures.

These are 11x14 standouts that are 3/4" thick lightweight board with black plastic edge and they come ready to hang. No frame necessary. We have several of these around the house along with Foamboards.

If you are a picture frame type of person, I recommend finding a catalog and trying to duplicate it. Here are some ideas.

Photo Courtesy of Pottery Barn

Photo Courtesy of Pottery Barn

Photo courtesy of Domino Mag

Photo Courtesy of Pottery Barn

Baby Lauren: New Port Richey Children's Photography

I met Nicole, Lauren's mommy, through a previous bride, Tasha. We chatted several times via email and it was funny just a few days before this shoot she told me where she lived and it was just a few blocks away from my house. It's such a small world sometimes.

Baby Lauren is one of the happiest babies I have ever seen. Her smile is contageous and precious. I loved getting to spend time with her and I am so excited that my little Jo is going to have a new friend in the neighborhood!!!

ENJOY YOUR SLIDE SHOW!!! CLICK HERE.

Carolyn and Dave: Sarasota Wedding

Ok prepare yourself, this is going to be one of my longest blogs EVER!! Carolyn and Dave celebrated their special day at the beautiful Selby Botanical Gardens on February 6th. I was really worried all weekend about the weather and then at the last minute the weather became absolutley perfect. Carolyn used the famous Darla Stafford to help her and her bridesmaids get ready. David and Kristina of Trinity Wedding Video captured their love through motion, I love working with them!! After the ceremony Rob and Justin Sword of Sword Sounds got the party going, the pictures explain it all.
I know a lot of their hard work went into planning this day, but I have to say, it was worth it. What an amazing day!!!! It was a postcard day full of many colors. The day was so colorful, that you will probably notice I do not have as many black and white photos as normal. How could I??? How beautiful is this place and I wanted to capture it all??
I did have one scare in the middle of the ceremony. I was shooting with my #2 camera and all the sudden it started flashing er. 99 and for photographers that means BAD NEWS!!! This is why I always take two cameras and I make sure my second has their own cameras too.
I have to admit though, I am a little sad that their day has come and gone. With a lot of my brides, we email back and forth so many times and go out a few times that I feel like we have become friends. I am going to miss Carolyn and her excited emails. Please keep in touch!!!!
Thank you so much Theresa for helping me shoot this day, I loved our long conversations on the 2 hr drive there and back.


CLICK HERE FOR YOUR SLIDE SHOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks Theresa for getting so many great detail shots like these!!!

Can you guess what song Carolyn is dancing to?? Clue: 13 going on 30