Tis the season for garland, bows, and showing off your holiday spirit. Who doesn't love the holidays with all of the colors, lights, and cheerful music surrounding you everywhere you go? It's one of my favorite times of year for many reasons, not the least of which is capturing the joy that is practically glued to everyone's faces from now until New Years. It's hard not to get caught up in that warm and fuzzy feeling as a child regales you with their innocent thoughts on reindeer, snowmen, and a jolly round elf that makes their most heartfelt Christmas wishes come true. These are the things that make me smile. These are the things that give me beautiful dreams and creative ideas that abound until I'm just bursting with good feelings and want to share them with everyone that I meet. Some of those creative ideas have come in the form of custom photo Christmas cards. I've designed flat photo cards for you to choose from. Folding cards are also available for certain templates.
25 5x7 flat photo card w/envelopes $50
25 4x8 flat photo card w/envelopes $40
20 5x7 folded photo card w/ envelopes $60
To help ensure that everyone has the opportunity to have their Christmas pictures made and ordered in time to send them to off to loved ones, I have set aside Saturday, November 28th. I will be doing back to back sessions all day in the Collierville Town Square. For those that are in the North Mississippi area, I will also be doing back to back sessions around the Hernando City Hall on Sunday, November 29th. If you would prefer to schedule a private session in a seperate location, please let me know so that we can set this up. All holiday sessions still require the standard $30 sitting fee. Please call or e-mail me to reserve your time slot.
**Templates will be posted shortly
Friday, November 13, 2009
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Capture the Color
Fall is upon us, and I couldn't be happier! Fall is one of the greatest seasons for many reasons, but the most obvious reason is the brilliant colors everywhere. Sure the leaves are gorgeous in all of their vibrant oranges, yellows, and reds, but there is another reason that I love this season so much; the color temperature of the light. The light of early mornings and late afternoons are perfect for picking up and complimenting the subtle warm hues of ambers, yellows, and rusty reds. It's an ideal time for family portraits as they can get outdoors, enjoy the space and feel like a family. Autumn portraits also have a great informality about them, so it's easier to relax and simply be yourself. No more stuffy formal wear; just casual comfortable clothes that reflect your true personality and allow you to let that shine. So bring a colorful sweater, break out the scarves and furry boots. Let the rosy cheeks abound. It's time to show Spring that Fall is truly the better of the seasons when it comes to pictures. ^_-
Side note: This is also the time of year to start thinking about and scheduling your sessions for Christmas cards and gifts. Availability is limited and will only get harder to come by as the holidays get closer. E-mail, FB message, or call (901-647-3414) to book your appointment and reserve your date and time.
Side note: This is also the time of year to start thinking about and scheduling your sessions for Christmas cards and gifts. Availability is limited and will only get harder to come by as the holidays get closer. E-mail, FB message, or call (901-647-3414) to book your appointment and reserve your date and time.
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Digital Resurrection
Okay, so this is officially my very first blog post for Made You Look Photography, and I can only hope that I do the company justice. For those of you that know me personally, I readily admit to being a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to my art. Photography is my way of expressing myself and bringing out the true beauty in my subject whether it is an object or a person. There is beauty everywhere, and my personal mission is to make it displayable for all the world to see. Yeah, I'm not totally sure that 'displayable' is a real word, but I'm going to go with it for all intensive purposes. It's safe to say that making you look not good but amazing is my ultimate goal. I love doing it! I thrive on it!
All of that being said, I have discovered a new way to resurrect digital images that otherwise would have been discarded due to over or underexposure. Sure, it's important to constantly check your camera settings, but sometimes the perfect pose comes just when I'm testing my shutter speed and/or ISO. Don't know what I'm talking about? All you really need to know is that the perfect setting can create the perfect picture. It's an art in itself just to get it set right. However, sometimes the sun comes back out unexpectedly while I'm snapping away and changes everything. For those times, I now know a solution. Oh, I'm not going to give away my secret formulas to fixing the pictures; just know that I have figured it out and am completely excited about it!!
Please bear with me a moment and allow me to show you what I mean. The following photograph has been completely unaltered with the exception of my newfound "fixit" technique. Will there be more to getting it ready for print? According to my photography OCD, yes, but that's just the perfectionist in me again.
I am constantly studying and learning my craft. Trust me, there's a lot to learn. I have not been in the business for years on end like a lot of the photographers who's work I admire, but I do think that I am growing with each click of the camera. It's very exciting to see something that takes your breath away and realize that you are the one who created it.
While I'm running on and on to fit so much into my first blog, I might as well get to another very important point: retouching. I've heard the arguments that if a photo is retouched at all then it is not a true work of art. I call malarkey on that claim. Some of the most amazing pictures that I have ever seen have been retouched and/or tweaked in some way, shape, or form. The fact is that our cameras do not always see what our eyes do. Eyes are fantastic in that they automatically adjust to any and all situations. They can focus on the tiniest thing in an instant and can have an incredible depth of field. While sophisticated and clever designs of digital cameras are always being created, they have yet to duplicate the exact ability of the human eye. Therefore, occasionally a picture may need a little boost to produce the emotion that the photographer felt when caught up in the moment of capture. Let's face it, photography is in fact an art, and art is subject to opinion based on who is viewing it.
Now that I've got that out of my system, let me show you a little about the process of retouching in my "lab." I would never want to blatantly call someone else out by displaying their raw images, so I used my own. Yes, this is a "hold your arm out as far as you can" picture taken with my trusty little purse camera otherwise commonly known as a "point and shoot." It's served me well, and while I would never use it during a session (that's what my Canon 50D is for ^_-), it works perfectly for simple examples such as this. Please note the difference in the Before, During, and After images. There is skin smoothing, blemish removing, color enhancing, and (my favorite) facial feature enhancements.
That's it for now. Please check out my fan page on Facebook. Simply type in Made You Look Photography in the search box or click on the following link:
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1069253534&v=info&ref=profile#/pages/Made-You-Look-Photography/108683671610
All of that being said, I have discovered a new way to resurrect digital images that otherwise would have been discarded due to over or underexposure. Sure, it's important to constantly check your camera settings, but sometimes the perfect pose comes just when I'm testing my shutter speed and/or ISO. Don't know what I'm talking about? All you really need to know is that the perfect setting can create the perfect picture. It's an art in itself just to get it set right. However, sometimes the sun comes back out unexpectedly while I'm snapping away and changes everything. For those times, I now know a solution. Oh, I'm not going to give away my secret formulas to fixing the pictures; just know that I have figured it out and am completely excited about it!!
Please bear with me a moment and allow me to show you what I mean. The following photograph has been completely unaltered with the exception of my newfound "fixit" technique. Will there be more to getting it ready for print? According to my photography OCD, yes, but that's just the perfectionist in me again.
I am constantly studying and learning my craft. Trust me, there's a lot to learn. I have not been in the business for years on end like a lot of the photographers who's work I admire, but I do think that I am growing with each click of the camera. It's very exciting to see something that takes your breath away and realize that you are the one who created it.
While I'm running on and on to fit so much into my first blog, I might as well get to another very important point: retouching. I've heard the arguments that if a photo is retouched at all then it is not a true work of art. I call malarkey on that claim. Some of the most amazing pictures that I have ever seen have been retouched and/or tweaked in some way, shape, or form. The fact is that our cameras do not always see what our eyes do. Eyes are fantastic in that they automatically adjust to any and all situations. They can focus on the tiniest thing in an instant and can have an incredible depth of field. While sophisticated and clever designs of digital cameras are always being created, they have yet to duplicate the exact ability of the human eye. Therefore, occasionally a picture may need a little boost to produce the emotion that the photographer felt when caught up in the moment of capture. Let's face it, photography is in fact an art, and art is subject to opinion based on who is viewing it.
Now that I've got that out of my system, let me show you a little about the process of retouching in my "lab." I would never want to blatantly call someone else out by displaying their raw images, so I used my own. Yes, this is a "hold your arm out as far as you can" picture taken with my trusty little purse camera otherwise commonly known as a "point and shoot." It's served me well, and while I would never use it during a session (that's what my Canon 50D is for ^_-), it works perfectly for simple examples such as this. Please note the difference in the Before, During, and After images. There is skin smoothing, blemish removing, color enhancing, and (my favorite) facial feature enhancements.
That's it for now. Please check out my fan page on Facebook. Simply type in Made You Look Photography in the search box or click on the following link:
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1069253534&v=info&ref=profile#/pages/Made-You-Look-Photography/108683671610
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