Family.

I don't know how people survive without family. I'm pretty attached to mine. And though we're far from perfect, I wouldn't change a thing. Well maybe a thing. Or two. But I love them.

This is my family. Every last one of us (except for Carter who was in my stomach at the time). Seems like a simple thing. But it's pretty rare. Though we all live in Utah, it's not easy getting this group in one picture.

This was taken at my sisters cabin. And I took it, or my brother took it (we took several) and then a little photoshop magic put us all together. I wish I could blog the heckling taking place, but blogger would probably flag me. And my mother would cry all over again. :)

But here we are. Together. In one place. Priceless.

It's not a perfect picture and was never intended to be (unless you think suburbans in pictures is cool). But for various reasons, we need this picture. Of all of us. Together. Alive.

I don't need to air any dirty laundry--let's just say the show Intervention on A&E has a special place in all our hearts.

My point is, family pictures are important. Whether they're taken professionally or not. Because one day, someone might not be there anymore. And all you'll have left is memories and pictures.

Photoshop Friday. Getting some action.

Another installment of Photoshop Friday. And a clarification. You can ask questions about Photoshop Elements as well. Not just the professional version of Photoshop. You can do a lot of stuff in Elements that you can do in CS, just in a different way.

Today I'm talking about actions. There are a million actions out there. And frankly, I think most of them are a waste of money. I use VERY few actions. And all the actions I use are from Totally Rad Actions. If you buy any actions, these are the ones to buy. I have both sets. And love them.
Actions I use the most: Oh Snap. Gives pictures that crisp, vibrant look. I rarely use this at 100%. It's different on every picture.
I also use Yin/Yang for lightening or darkening different areas of a picture.
Those are my two most used actions. And most of the time the only actions I use on any picture.
I also like Kevin Kubota's Magic Sharp. You can just buy Magic Sharp by itself, you don't have to buy it in a set. Just call them and ask. I've also heard Kubota's Daily Multi-Vitamin is a good one, but I don't have it. I really try to limit the amount of actions I buy or use.


Next week I'll give a few tips on books/websites to check out to learn photoshop faster and easier (Elements and CS).

Any questions, send them my way!

My new job?

My 5 year old just came home from school and handed me a paper.
"Needed. Nutrition Service worker. (aka lunch lady)"
She looked at me expectantly. "You want to do it mom?"
Apparently I'm lunch lady material.

Jade. Senior Pictures.

I can't believe it's been 13 years since I was a senior in highschool. I still feel like I'm 17 even if I do have 3 kids.
This is Jade. She's a senior. I've known her since she was a baby which should make me feel old, but again, I still feel 17.....
Anyway, she's beautiful. And really didn't want to get her pictures taken, but her mom still has a little bit of control over her. :) She was a sport. We went fast. And she's very easy to photograph.
Any seniors out there--it's about time to get your senior pics done. And I promise I won't make you do anything lame. Quick and easy. Seriously.

The product of having sisters....

Photoshop Friday.

I thought I'd try a little experiment. Every Friday I'm going to post something related to editing photos or Photoshop. I get a lot of questions from people asking about editing or how to do things in Photoshop. So, I'm opening up to questions. If you have questions, any questions, about editing photos, using Bridge, or Photoshop, e-mail me. Then I'll address those questions on my blog.

To start off, I thought I'd give an example of how I edit. My rule of thumb when editing pictures is "less is more". With all my photos, I want them to look as natural and "real" as possible. So I try not to over-edit my photos.

This picture is straight out of the camera. I chose this one because it's a little under-exposed.


I open all my photos in "Bridge". I think this just comes with Photoshop. I do a lot of my editing here. In this photo, I bumped up the exposure and added a "strong contrast". Sometimes I add a little more "black" and "fill light" depending on the photo.



Then I open it in Photoshop. The first thing I do is use "curves" (Ctrl + M). I bring up the lights and take down the darks to add a bit more contrast. You can get the same effect using "levels" (Ctrl + L). I use the "spot healing brush" (looks like a bandaid) to get rid of blemishes (baby zits). Then I smoothed out the skin a little using "Pro Retouch" from Totally Rad Actions. If you don't have actions, you can get the same effect using Filter-Blur-Gaussian Blur. I then did a little dodging and burning on the face and hand using Yin/Yang also from Totally Rad Actions. And then I do a little sharpening using Kevin Kubota's Magic Sharp. You can also do Filter-Sharpen-Unsharp mask.
And with that, you get this:

Here's the 3 next to each other so you can compare.

So. E-mail me your questions. Anything is fair game. I am NOT a photoshop expert and still have a ton to learn myself, but I'm happy to pass along what I do know.

Random.

I said I'd blog every day. And I am. But my laptop got attacked by spyware today. So I've been running a scan. 8 hours later it's still going. Apparently I have a lot of files on my computer.
So I can't access any pictures right now. Instead, I bring you an installment of "what's on my mind." Always a treat.

**'Survivor' is the best tv show ever. Ever.
**My newborn hates the car. And by hate, I mean he screams. Screams until he coughs and then chokes and then gasps for air. And then starts screaming again. It's awful.
**I have to eat a piece of chocolate after every meal. Even breakfast. It's weird and not a habit I'm proud of.
**I ran 2 days ago for the first time in about a year. I'm terribly out of shape and still sore from my 30 minute walk/very slow jog.
**I'm starving. All the time. I guess a product of breastfeeding.
**Carter's crying. As usual this time of night. Time to attend to the more important things in life! Back again tomorrow.

Carter's newborn photos.

"My mom named him Carter, but I call him juice box. Juice Box Ross." Mya Ross, age 3

Now that he's almost 2 months old, I suppose I should post his newborn photos. It's a lot harder to be the photographer when you're also the recovering mom. So we split the shoot up to a few different days. And he really didn't want to be on his stomach. But I made him anyway.

I was slightly delusional before I had him--thinking I'd have time....time to do anything. In reality, I've had time to do nothing. Well, besides hold him. Which is actually something. I love holding him. And wish I could do it all day. And so does he.

So far we're surviving 3 kids. Still not thriving, but at least surviving. He's fussy. His tummy hurts. And he pukes. all the time. So we both smell like rotten milk which is awesome. They say he'll outgrow it. We're hoping that comes soon. But we love him anyway. And love having him as part of our family. Now we just have to teach Jaida how to change diapers and we'll be set.

I know most people do newborn photos with the baby naked. Frankly, I don't like getting crapped (or peed) on. And I'm partial to onesies. So we kept the clothes on.