Filsinger Maternity

How appropriate that I'm blogging this session on Mother's Day. =)

Tanya already has one beautiful daughter, Jaedyn, and is expecting her second daughter, Brielyn, at the end of this week! We did a maternity-cum-family session and mama was positively glowing! I am looking forward to meeting the little one in early June after she is born.

Newborn Posing Workshop

I have been so blessed to be able to watch Kelly Brown's Newborn Posing Workshop on CreativeLIVE over the last few days. Most of the workshops occur on the hours I work at my "real-life job" at Target, so I am not able to watch as many as I would like, but Ce la vie. This was actually the first workshop I watched on CL, and it so inspired me and so empowered me that I am even more excited for my two newborn sessions scheduled over the next month!

One of my favorite moments in the workshop occurred on the first day when Kelly said that she had asked Sue Bryce to come to her studio and give her a kick in the pants. It was so encouraging to see that someone who is as successful as Kelly is had her moments when she was struggling, and that success really isn't just handed to anyone. That moment makes a photographer like me, who is struggling, believe that I can make it, too, with a "kick in the bum." =)

The second of my favorite moments occurred on day two, as Kelly was doing some of her post-production work. She did some of the same basic techniques that I do, and I was so uplifted and encouraged when I saw her darkening the eye line of the sleeping baby. It made me feel like I was doing something right! (Dare I say that it made me feel a little proud?) I was also a bit shocked when she color corrected the baby because the skin tones were a little red -- a problem I encountered on my last newborn shoot, and was sure that it was just a flaw that I had somehow created, probably by not setting my white balance correctly or something related. Seeing a pro have a similar issue arise in post-pro really gave me a boost of confidence. (Maybe the baby's skin was just red, and it wasn't something that I did at all.)

In the light of this workshop, when I look back over my just-published blog containing my favorite images from Colby's newborn session --my third ever-- I can see several things that I will be doing differently when it comes to posing in my future newborn sessions.

I am so sad to not be able to see any more of the workshop live as it happens. Real life is kicking in, and I have to go before watching the piece of the workshop where she poses siblings. I'm sure there are many more moments that I would favor and find uplifting.

Thank you so much, CreativeLIVE and Kelly Brown, for the wonderful bits of information, inspiration, and encouragement I have gained from the workshop! I am sure there will be many more on the downloaded package.

Newborn Colby

He was born on the day of --and in the middle of-- a really bad snowstorm, and he came a few weeks early, but he and mama were happy and healthy. (And they still are, two and nearly a half months later.)

These photos were taken on March 4th when he was 10 days old. They are my favorites from our session.

My favorite shot from the entire session. One of my favorites, ever.

Sleepy little guy.

Detail.

My second favorite shot, and it's a close second. It was the dad's idea to wrap the blanket around Colby like a cloud and I love this image. 

Contemplation.

Welcome to the world, Colby!

Beautiful

Beautiful, a photo by speckled_beckle on Flickr.

I don't know what the weather has been like in your part of the world, but over the last few months, I have seen enough winter to last me a few years.

This time last year, we Colorado dwellers had already experienced one wildfire and were heading into a very destructive wildfire season.

Mother Nature has delivered us enough snow over the last few months to greatly reduce our fire danger. My area has lifted watering restrictions thanks to this second breath of winter.
That's been the only good part of the snow that has stuck around.

So, here it is, the first day that they are calling for 80 degree temperatures, and it is GORGEOUS outside.

Well, ok, today is a little warm for me.
But that's ok. I don't mind being able to have my windows open and get my hands dirty in the garden.

Liesl & Corey

This couple warms my heart so much.
They met in middle school, where she developed a crush on him. He found out about it. A cruel joke was played the same year that she was leaving the school.
Fast forward a dozen years. In the era of Facebook, he sends her an apology message and wants to meet for lunch. They do. Sparks start flying.
The rest --as they say-- is history.

One of my favorite shots from the entire session, maybe that I've ever captured. A completely perfect candid moment. 

Liesl is such a city girl. Corey is such a country boy. They go so well together. 

Corey's grandmother's cocktail ring: a ring as unique and beautiful as the woman he gave it to.

These two are filled with so much love they are carefree, like children. I love that.

 A September wedding is planned, and I am so honored to be a part of their special day.
Congratulations, guys! =)

Before and After

When I edit a non-artistic, non-editorial photograph, I do not try to overwhelm the image, as it is the main source of beauty and information.

I do cropping, tonal corrections, sharpness and clarity increases, and some retouching, but for the most part, what I see in-camera is what comes out on your disc.

Take a look at this example from my recent e-session:

The image on the left is the way that it came out of the camera, and the image on the right is the way it appeared before it was (nearly) done. There is a bit of shadow-lightening work that I still have to do, but, as you can see, the image remains mostly unchanged. There was a bit of color enhancement (notice how much more vibrant her hair appears?)), a bit of retouching (on his jacket) and some sharpening, but what you see is just an enhanced version of what I shot.

Blessed

It's been over a month since I've blogged anything, but it's been a great month!

I've been in the continuing process of trying to obtain a professional (non-photographic) position with the city. I should hear one way or the other before the end of this week.

In the last month, I have shot an engagement session, a newborn session, and a set of samples for a mini session. I am going to second-shoot another camera for Juhl Photography this coming weekend, and I have another maternity session on tap before the end of this month.

There are, of course, tons more photo events going to happen this year, including my favorite: the wedding of Corey and Liesl in September! The first wedding where I will be the main camera and not a second shooter. =)

It's been a great blessing being this busy!

I will share and blog my favorites from each of these shoots as I get them done.
(I still need to blog my favorites from the first wedding of this year, from all the way back in January!)

I also plan on blogging more. As of this moment, I'm not sure what I'll be blogging about, but I want to do it more frequently, and have it be more than just a sharing of my favorite images. (Isn't that what Facebook previews are for??) At least here, I guess, I can tell the story of the images better than on Facebook. =P

So stay tuned! This is sure to be an interesting (and blessed!) year.