Family Photos

I’ve been doing a little work to expand my portfolio lately and, of course, simply to practice and get this photography thing down. I was always the kid in school who quit every sport she ever played since I wasn’t an instant star, but I refuse to allow that “I-have-to-immediately-be-the-best” mentality get the better of me on this one, even though I know my work is still in the gap.  I’ve been brainstorming business names and studying up on editing techniques.  I’m definitely undecided on the final direction of my editing style, but I’m sure most photographers would probably tell you that their work evolved plenty over time.  Right now I’m really feeling a creamy, sort of vintage feel to photos, but I am concerned that style could be just a passing phase mostly exclusive to bloggers. Thoughts?  I’d love your input and advice, if anyone has some!

Below is a family session I shot last week. Celine and her husband just bought a fan-freakin’-tastic house here in Austin, so we celebrated with some fun pictures of them and their family from out of town. One thing I DO know is that I love to capture moments. Photos that tell a story are my favorites!

Hope you enjoy these…

Best Photography Tutorials. Ever.

Happy Thursday everyone! Today I wanted to share with you some AMAZING photography/editing tutorials I’ve come across recently… Brittney Squire told me about these, and after hearing her glowing review of them, I had to try for myself. And oh my goodness. I am so thankful I did. 

The first is called Extremely Essential Camera Skills and is basically everything you’d learn in an intensive photography course that you might spend hundreds, if not thousands for, but it’s all wrapped up neatly in a gorgeous, super easy to understand PDF, complete with written material and videos. It will only take you a few hours (ONE afternoon or evening!) to get through it all, and by the end, you’ll be happily shooting in manual on your DSLR. I was seriously blown away by it. It took my understanding of photography to a whole new level (plus it’s all designed beautifully, which makes me happy). After I finished, I switched to manual on my camera and never looked back! Yippee!! Seriously, don’t waste your money on classes or books or scrounge around the Internet looking for all the info you need, when it’s all tied up with a neat bow for you here! 

The second tutorial has also been rocking my world, especially since I’m planning to do photography professionally.  It’s called Super Photo Editing Skills, and it is everything you could possibly need to know about Lightroom, which is the program most photographers are editing in now due to its supreme user-friendly-ness. As I was going through the tutorial, though, I was thinking to myself how I would have never in a million years been able to figure it all out on my own, so I was basically singing praises to the photography gods who put this tutorial together. (thanks Rob & Lauren!!)

I know we’re all typically hoping to find the info we need for free, but I’m learning that sometimes you just HAVE to invest a little in the name of quality (and for the amount of amazing learning you’ll be doing with these, the prices are ridiculously low).  Also, check out the Photography Concentrate website! TONS of fun resources there too.

Hope you photography enthusiasts out there try these out! You’ll be glad you did. :)

My Canon has style.

How incredibly cute is this camera strap?!  Sort of makes me happy just looking at it.  I’m the proud new owner of a Gussy Sews “eclectic whatnot,” and I just wanted to spread the love. Gussy is a really inspiring small business owner with a great blog and lots and lots of cute handmade goodness in her shop, so check it out if you’re interested! 

I’ve been falling more and more in love with this photography thing, and I know it because all the “work” part of it doesn’t feel like work.  I’m learning Lightroom and CS5 right now, and it. is. so. fun. 

Of course, cute lil’ camera straps don’t hurt either (they’re 10% off til May 4th with the coupon code STORYOFMYLIFE).  I really adore this yellow one too…  

Have a great evening!

Holy crap.

How gorgeous is she?

Man, I love taking pictures of pretty people. Thanks for letting me practice on you, Rachel!! :)

Thoughts on Working From Home

 

Just wanted to start off your Monday with some pretty images. :)  These were all taken at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center here in Austin, which is in FULL bloom right now! My mom and I sneezed our way through there the other day, and managed to snap some pretty pictures of the flowers in the process.

In other news, this morning I’m starting Day 1 of “business hours,” which I’m hoping will help me to stay disciplined and on task throughout each day.  I am someone who thrives on structure and always did well at school and work when I had someone to answer to, but now that I answer to myself? Well, let’s just say the rules and regulations are fairly lax around here.  I’m often not proud of myself at the end of the day, and always feel I should have accomplished more and wasted less time on this or that. 

It’s many people’s dream to work from home, and it truly is mine, too.  At this point, the thought of going out and getting a “real” job makes me cringe, because I feel my passion is for writing and photography and social media, and working for anyone but myself would be stifling to me.  BUT, every day I worry that I’m wasting this opportunity I’ve been given, to be my own boss and make my own way.  I witness people like my husband and like Edd and like others I know who have this unyielding drive that pushes them forward, and I want that!  But I think for some people, myself included, it doesn’t come naturally.  I have to work at it, and really hard.  The habits need to be formed.  The natural tendency to be a lazy ass needs to be understood and then battled daily.  And stuff needs to get done.  Checked off the list.  Progress made.  For me, progress has been slow lately.  And I have no one to blame but myself.

So, business hours! Structure!  There’s no one here to create it for me, so I’m trying really hard to create it for myself.  We only get one life, you know?  And I want to enjoy mine, and be proud of myself and what I’ve poured my time into.  So I wrote out these business hours explicitly, and even made myself a list of what business hours include and what they don’t.  I want the luxury of being flexible and being able to make my own schedule, but I know I also need to give myself more direction than I have been.

What about you?  If you work from home, what ways have you found to stay disciplined and on task throughout the day?  Do share…

How I edit my pictures: Vintage Filter Tutorial

I’ve gotten quite a few questions on how I’ve been editing my pictures lately, so I figured I ought to do a tutorial on it here on the ole’ blog.  It’s actually much simpler than you might suspect, thanks to a little thing called FREE PHOTOSHOP ACTIONS!  And what’s even better is that, with these particular actions, you don’t have to have the real deal Photoshop (which is a bazillion dollars).  All you need is Photoshop Elements—what I’ve been using for months now.  It has many of the same capabilities as Photoshop CS5, but for a fraction of the cost (about $80!).  There’s definitely a bit of a learning curve when you first get it, but you’re smart. I know you can do it. :)

Ok, here we go…

 

1. Buy Photoshop or Photoshop Elements.  Familiarize yourself with the basics of layers and how other things work.  There are tutorials galore for this online, so just do a bit of Googling.

2. Go to thecoffeshopblog.com and download the Storybook Vintage action and the Simply Vintage action.  Rita has great instructions for installation here, and if I ran into any problems (which I think I did…) I just Googled it.  Google knows all.

3. Open up a picture.  Apply the Storybook Vintage action FIRST, and then delete the layer for the vignette (if you want to, that is.  I think it usually looks better without the vignette, which is the darkening around the edges of the picture).

4. Now apply the Simply Vintage action, and adjust contrast and brightness as needed under the “enhance” drop down menu at the top.  Here is the progression of a picture during the process:

Sometimes I stop at step two, since that looks great also, and the colors are less muted.  Just depends on my mood and the pictures themselves.  Every picture is different, and some don’t look good with these actions, so just use your judgment.

I hope that helps!  There are lots of little things you’ll need to learn during the process, but practice makes perfect and it’s fun to play around with all of it!

Also, if you’re looking for a fabulous, creamy black and white action, Coffeshop’s Buttercream B&W is my favorite.

Happy editing! :)

more sun-filled photos with brittney squire photography

Hey loves!  Hope you’re all having a wonderful Thursday so far.  It is an absolutely perrrfect spring day here in Austin, and I’m currently sitting here at our little kitchen nook table enjoying a fabulous breeze from the back door window.  The best of both worlds, you know?  I can smell my neighbor’s freshly mowed grass and hear the wind in the trees, but I’m not being dive-bombed by craneflies (why are there so many?!) or attacked by unprovoked bees. All things that happen to me on a regular basis while outdoors. It’s a good day!

Anyway, I wanted to share the rest of my favorites from our shoot with Brittney Squire Photography.  Silly as it sounds, I’ve been wanting professional pictures of myself my whole life, and this is the first time I’ve ever gotten them!  Unless you count the lame-o senior pictures they take of you at school, standing on a pile of silk fabric next to the plastic Grecian column.  Yeah, not so much.

I really think everyone should get some nice professional pictures of themselves, especially if you’re a blogger or have a website.  Profesh pics make a HUGE difference on your ads, your about page, etc, and of course they’re the perfect gift for husbands, parents, or grandparents. :)

Brittney did a truly fabulous job on these, and don’t forget she’s offering SOML readers a 10% discount on session fees and prints if you just like her Facebook page!

The dress is Zara and the necklace is by Nichelle over at Vintage Wanna Bee. Oh, and I found that gorg book at an antique store!  :)  Happy Thursday!

Couple’s session with Brittney Squire Photography!

As you may remember from the stripes vs. plaid debate and the sneak preview post, Matthew and I had a couple’s photo session a few weeks ago!  I’ve been so excited to show you the rest, because they really are fabulous and I’m kind of totally in love with them.

We had the absolute pleasure of working with Brittney of Brittney Squire Photography, and I would most definitely recommend her work to anyone in the market for some gorg pictures (she specializes in couples!).  Brittney’s business is based out of the Woodland’s, Texas (Houston area), but she travels—she’s occasionally here in Austin, so our session worked out perfectly.

The sunlight in these photos… GAH. I had to wipe the drool off my keyboard when I first saw these.  Brittney did a fabulous job of choosing this location and perfectly capturing the light! And as if that wasn’t good enough, she also let me pick her brain about photography stuff at brunch the next day. Win win win.  Oh, and if all THAT wasn’t good enough, she’s offering SOML readers who may be in the area 10% off their booking fee and print products as long as you like the Brittney Squire Photography Facebook page!  Oh, the perks of being my friend.  (kidding) :P  Just get in touch with her if you want to claim your discount!

Anyway, here are just a few of my favorite photos, and be sure and check out her blog too, for even more pictures from our session…

So what do you think, y’all? Stripes or plaid? 

Personally, I think he’d look hot in anything.  Or nothing. 

Awkward….

Stay tuned for pictures from my individual session with Brittney! :) Happy Hump Day!