Photoshop Fun

The weather was nice and Claire looked extra-cute one day, so we had a quick 5-minute photo shoot before we picked the boys up a preschool.  I got some cute shots!  I took my favorite and played around a little in Photoshop with different actions from the Pioneer Woman.  These are pre-made edits that give your photo a certain "look".

 

Here is the original photo.  (I shot this in manual which is a stretch for me.)

 

And here are some variations.

 

I think the first one and the last one are my favorites.  It's fun to see the different looks in each photo.  I really need to spend a little more time in Photoshop editing my photos before I print them!

 

Which one is your favorite?

Mini Photo Shoot

The boys had school pictures yesterday so Claire wanted to take some "school pictures" too.  I was happy to oblige since (1) it was semi-sunny, (2) I really need to practice my photog skills, and (3) my neighbor had some beautiful buttercups ... my all time favorite flower ... in her back yard.

Here is what I got.

The last two are my favorite.  And Claire has the fake smile down pat!

Photography 101

A couple of weeks ago, I took a photography class.  A friend at church organized the class for us with a local photographer.  Here is a group photo.

Then we practiced by taking pictures of each other (taking pictures).

Then we practiced photographing these two cuties.  B is in Claire's Sunday morning class and E takes ballet at the same studio with Claire.  I took this photo outside on a cloudy, rainy day with NO FLASH.  That was my goal with this class ... to learn how to shoot in manual without auto flash.

Another picture of two cuties (love B's pose) with some backlight to work with.

And then I came home and photographed my own kiddos ... a LOT!  This particular day was cloudy and overcast and not the best photography conditions.

This is the face Claire makes at me when she is "all done" with the photos.

And then several days later, we finally got some sunshine. 

I love seeing real smiles on my kids' faces when they aren't posing for a photo.  Glad I was able to capture them on camera.

I have a Canon EOS Digital Rebel XSi.  We purchased it in February 2009.  It has taken me 3 years to finally sit down and learn how to shoot in manual and the photography class was totally worth it.  All I can say is practice, practice, practice.  I hope that my kids will continue to be willing subjects! 

[You will notice I don't have any pictures of Luke.  I am not that good of a photographer yet ... that little guy is on the move all the time!]

Christmas Kids

The kids after church Dec. 4th.  I love Christmas outfits!  You will see these outfits a lot this Christmas season since this is the only year they will all 3 fit in them. 

And saying that David's outfit fits is stretching it a bit.  It's a 2T.  He's 3-1/2 and wears a 3T.  The pants are still fine, but the shirt is barely too short.  I think we can tough it out for a couple more weeks.  No growth spurts between now and Christmas please.

And this is me trying to use my camera in manual mode.  That is one of my New Year's Resolutions ... to learn how to use my camera for real! 

Above is a good setting to take photos of your Christmas tree with the lights all sparkly.  However, it is not the best for photographing a child in front of said tree.  As you can see below, the tree and lights look great, but there is not enough light on the kids faces and they look kind of grainy.  (I actually added some fill light to these pictures in my editing software ... without, it was hard to see the kids at all.)

As you can see, even though I've had my camera since Feb. 2009, I still have a lot to learn.  Up until now, I've shot everything in automatic mode.  I see a lot of Internet reading "how to's" in my future.