Practice...

This little cutie, my daughter, is the reason I decided to learn more about photography. She has always been so much fun to take photos of. I have been practicing shooting in the manual mode on my rebel and I love the freedom I have with my camera! It will take a lot of practice to get it right and a lot of my photos don't turn out right. Here are some that actually worked out...

Where is your nose?

Where are your ears?

 She is so so sweet and I just love how these turned out!

i ♥ faces - Constructive Feedback Friday

Today is Constructive Feedback Friday at i ♥ faces. The photo I chose is of my daughter, feel free to tell me what you think! What could I do to make it better?(or what could I have done to make it better?)

I knew as soon as I snapped this picture of my daughter that I would love this photo. And I do :) The expression on her face is just too cute. It's not a perfect photo by any means. The shadow on the side of her face is what bothers me most. I know if she would have been facing the window that shadow would have been gone, but sometimes with toddlers you take what you can get. The side of her face that is facing the window is washed out. The colors are very cool. I tried a few things to adjust that, but I am not sure if I really like it. The background also bothers me... but that's what you get with a snap shot :)

I used Picnik to edit this photo. I am new to photography and I am not familiar with Photoshop, but I would love to learn. I feel that I am limited in what I can do with Picnik, but for now it is what works for me.

EXIF data:
f/4.5
1/30 sec
ISO 640
29mm

Original:

Adjusted temperature and saturation:

1960's effect:

Black and White:

Thanks for all of your help!!!

i ♥ faces - Week 48 - "Sweet Dreams"

My sweet daughter... the climbing has not stopped :) It tuckered her out, but she made it to the top...

Check out more "Sweet Dreams" photos at i ♥ faces :)

i ♥ faces - Week 47 - 7th place!!!

I can't believe that my photo was picked as one of the winners this week at i ♥ faces!!! I was so excited to see who the winners were this week. As I scrolled down to see the pictures I was shocked to see my own photo! It sure made my day :) Thank you i ♥ faces for all the fun contests each week, and for all of your hard work! Head over to i ♥ faces to see all the other winning photos, they are all so cute! Congrats to all the winners :) Here is my photo again, this time in color...

I ♥ Faces- Week 47- "We ♥ Tooshies"

My daughter recently learned to climb on our piano... I think the nativity set that I just put up there is the reason. She loves it and won't leave it alone. I captured this cute picture as she sneaked up there again. It's perfect for this weeks theme at I ♥ Faces. What a fun theme :) There have been so many fun pictures posted. Check them out by clicking on the button above. Meanwhile enjoy this cute little bum...

View winners from this contest here!

Kim and Brandon

Meet Kim and Brandon :) These two are so much fun! I was so so nervous for this shoot because they are both very talented photographers, check out their blog :) I had so much fun on this shoot, Kim knew where all the good places were and she knew exactly what she wanted. All I had to do was take the picture. I didn't have to worry about posing or trying to get a little one to hold still (don't get me wrong- I LOVE the little ones:)). This was such a good opportunity to work with an experienced photographer, thanks Kim! I am so glad that you trusted me to take these pictures...

I think this one is my favorite :)

This wall was awesome...

I love the light in this one

One of my favorite spots that we found...

Wahoo :)

Thanks you two, I had a great night!

Preview: Kim and Brandon

I am really excited about these photos :) More coming soon...

Holly, RJ, and Brielle

My first family shoot :) These were so much fun! It was hard to narrow down my favorites... but here they are. We found some great spots for the pictures with some fun colors. Brielle is just adorable, and I love her bright blue eyes. I learned so much from this shoot! I now have tons of ideas for my next family shoot. Thanks Holly for letting me practice! You have a cute family :)

Cute smile :)

This is a favorite! I love the colors...

Another favorite :)

I love kissing pictures in black and white :)

Preview: Holly, RJ and Brielle

Today I did my first family photo shoot :) I was terrified! But really, I had so much fun! It was such a perfect day for pictures and this family was awesome. I have way too many favorites and it will be hard to narrow them down for the blog. Thanks for letting me take your pictures!

Check out these blue eyes!

Baby E- 10 months

I took these randomly the other day when our friends came to play. She was so tired but we still got some smiles out of her. The sweater she is wearing was her mother's when she was a baby. She looks so pretty wearing it. I had fun editing these, what a cutie!

This one is my favorite :)

She looks so much younger in this picture, 5 or 6 months maybe...

I ♥ Faces- Fix it Friday- #36

Fridays at I ♥ Faces are so much fun, check it out by clicking on the logo above. I can't pass up a chance to edit such a cute photo! I really love this photo just how it is already, it really is a great photo. It is fun to see what I can make of it though. I really need to get out of my comfort zone with editing and try something new. I usually just use Picnik, and I like it. But there is just a lot out there that I would like to learn about editing. So here is what I did using Picnik...

Original photo:

Retouched nose
Adjusted contrast +15
Adjusted temperature +10

Sepia tone

Orton-ish faded 50%

Orton-ish faded 50% + black & white

I ♥ Faces- Fix it Friday- #34

This weeks photo for Fix it Friday is adorable :) I love the colors and the cute costume. I also love the expression on this little girl's face, so content. I edited the photo in Picnik. I adjusted the exposure and contrast just a touch and added a little warmth. Then I used the Orton-ish effect which softened and brightened the photo just enough.

Before:

After:

Close up...

8x10 with frame...

I love these chances to edit photos! Check out other edits of this cute photo at I ♥ Faces.