Karson

I'm so behind on my blog, but now that my photo season is winding down, I'm getting more time to edit and post pics! And do I have a ton of pictures to show!

Here's wherre I left off...a summer session with big sister Madi (below) and little Karson. These two were so adorable. For only three months old, Karson did so well. He's such a happy little guy, and whenever he'd smile, his dimples would just shine all over his face. Here are some of my favorites.

Madison

Whoa! What an end to the summer season and beginning of fall. I've been busy with sessions and have a lot of pictures to post. From kids sessions, family sessions to portrait parties, it's been a fun and busy change of seasons.

Here is Part One of a kids session I did. Her brother will be the next post, so look for that cutie to come.

Madison is 2 and she had so much fun just frolicking around while I took her pictures. She especially liked dipping her toes in the stream. Here's a little sunshine your way from her session...and I'm not only talking about the weather, but her adorable smile and bright eyes! What a doll!

Family Beach Session

My friends, the Hops, asked if I'd be willing to take some pictures of their extended family in Grand Haven. I of course jumped at the chance - good friends, photos and a evening on the beach sounded perfect to me! We got some great shots on the beach with not much people traffic to worry about. They did a great job with their wardrobes - I just loved how the blue coordinated with the beach.

Picking out what to wear for a photo session can be pretty daunting for some people. That's the most popular question I get asked after, 'can you take our pictures?' I like to consult with each family if there's any question regarding wardrobe. Neutral, matching colors is always the safe route to take for a classy family photo, though that doesn't mean you always have to play by that rule. Don't be afraid to mix up some colors and layers in your wardrobe. Just stay within the same color pallet and you'll add even more personality to your family pictures.

Here are some of my favorites from this session:








Granpa and his grandboys...I just adore this photo.


After we were finished with the family pictures, I was asked to do a special couple session. The reason it was 'special' is because the Mrs. wanted some pics of her and her body-builder hubby. Apparently he works out over 4 hours a day and does competitions and she used to do it as well! Wow, that's a lot of sacrifice and it blew me away the amount of time it takes to stay in shape - I don't know whether that encouraged me to work out more or gave me a sense of hopelessness when it comes to hitting the gym. Regardless of how I felt...Kudos to you two! Here are a couple sizzlin' photos from our impromptu shoot:

Sam's Senior Photo Session

Right as we were ready to begin the session, down came the drizzle, then the rain. But thanks to some gigantic umbrellas, we were able to keep shooting right through the nasty weather until it eventually stopped. The wet pavement and wet everything made for some great textures in the pictures, and we actually had a lot of fun!

Sam is a senior this year at Sturgis High school and is a varsity swimmer and a really sweet person! You're going to have a great senior year Sam!

We took the pictures downtown Sturgis, Michigan and on Lake Templene. As crazy as the weather was, the settings were awesome. Here are a couple of my favorites from the shoot. There were so many great ones, it was really hard for me to choose!

Make that color POP in your pictures!

ONE of my favorite things to do is make color pop in photos. It doesn't take a genius, but it does take Photoshop and a well-exposed picture to begin. There are so many ways to do this in Photoshop – it’s such an amazing and robust tool – and I’m going to show a couple different ways to easily pop color in your portraits.

Before I begin let me take a moment to let you know that this is one of several ways to do this. In Photoshop there’s no ‘right’ way, which is what I also believe when it comes to photos – sometimes an ‘oops’ shot can become the most artistic, magical picture out of the whole batch. I believe photography is an art and there’s no right way or wrong way per say, just YOUR way. That’s what makes it artistic and fun. Ok, I digress…back to the tip.

Make your color pop: Photoshop tutorial #1
I’m going to use this photo:



I love how soft the color is straight from the camera, but let’s see if we can give it a bit more punch.

First, copy the background layer by dragging it to the ‘create new layer’ icon next to the little trash can. I always copy the background layer when I do anything in Photoshop so I always have the original still there, just in case I completely screw up. Then create a new blank layer by clicking that same ‘create new layer’ icon. You will end up with three layers, two of your original picture and one blank layer on top. Easy enough to start right?



Select your blank layer, then choose your gradient tool. From the color area you want to enhance, select a rich color from your palette that matches and choose white for your background color. In this photo, I choose a rich teal color because I want to bring out the teal in the water color. Go to your gradient palette and select the second option that goes from your main color to transparent.



Next spread your gradient over the portion of the photo you want to enhance.



In your layers tab, select Overlay. Why use Overlay? Well, it enhances the blacks and heightens the contrast in your color, giving it that color pop that we’re going for.



Now select your gradient layer and add a layer mask by selecting the box with the circle in it. Make sure your palette is now black and white.



Use your brush size, brush hardness and opacity to erase the areas you don’t want affected by the Overlay.

Here’s a trick I learned a while ago that I use all the time – that’s especially helpful in doing this: click your backslash key to show you what you’ve erased. It will show you in red the areas you’ve covered or ‘brushed.’



Now hit that backslash again and whala!



Now adjust the opacity on your gradient layer to taste. It still looks a little fake to me so I’m going to tone that down to about 60% for this photo.

Check out the before…I think it’s a pretty nice picture out of the camera.




And after...POP! The color looks as pretty as the ocean and totally helps the subject pop. Man I’m ready for a trip to the Carribean after this one!





Make your color pop: Photoshop tutorial #2

What if the background in your photo isn’t so even-toned? Like this one:



Here’s another way to give some dimension and color to your photo. First copy the background layer, just like you did in the tutorial above. To pop color in these types of photos, I like to use the Selective Color tool. In the black and white circle in your layers tab, choose Selective Color.



I like to give the greens, blues, yellows and cyans a little punch. Play around and move the slider to your taste. I like to stay away from the reds for portraits. Adjusting the reds can do crazy things to skin tones. When adjusting the colors keep an eye on your subject and adjust the colors accordingly. In most pictures you should be able to adjust most of the colors without distorting the skin color. Here’s an after of the same photo after adjusting the greens, yellows and neutral in the Selective Color Options.



If you have a photo where you can’t adjust the color options without affecting skin tones, here’s what you can do. I will bump up the reds for demonstration purposes only to get the skin tone out of whack. Here’s what it looks like – the background looks ok, but our cute little subject looks like she has a serious sunburn.



Select your Selective Color layer in your layers tab and add a mask by clicking on the square with the circle in it at the bottom of the layers tab. A new layer will be linked to that one:



Make sure your main color is set to black and the background color is white, then use your brush tool to ‘erase’ the Selective Color over your subject.Use your backslash key to see your brush strokes in red.



Use backslash again to view your new picture. Here’s the before one more time:



And the after: