Baby Reese

One of my best friends had her second baby girl a week ago (see pics here and here that I took of big sister Ryan).  I was lucky enough to take photos of my first newborn (and make some cute headbands and hats for her!).  It was fun and she was super cooperative, but it was slightly stressful and very tiring.  Studio set-ups are outside of my comfort zone and I struggle to find the right pose and connect with my subject.  It might be something I should work on!

The color is not quite consistent, otherwise I really love how they turned out.

(I am behind on blogging, but I have been taking photos.  I’ve just been doing other things with time like working out, spending time with my family, and enjoying other crafts.)

And the only one I really like with big sister, Ryan…two year olds aren’t exactly as cooperative as sleeping newborns.

Another bed built!

My husband is a rock star.  Remember this bed that he built using Ana White’s plans (formerly Knock Off Wood):

He just finished building Cooper’s bed (with some help from his dad), also using Ana White’s plans modified with a fish design we found here.  I LOVE how it turned out and I am so proud of my husband.

Pretending it’s summer

Jan 2-8:  Week 1

I try to take the kids to the park any time the temperature is above 45.  I feel better after getting some sunshine and they need some time in the fresh air.  This was in the middle of the day, so the worst lighting, but I LOVE my 85mm outdoors!  This summer is going to be so fun.

Being naughty throwing the gravel.

Taking a photo of the airplane with my 85mm, just to see what I would get.

I don’t typically take GIGANTIC sized photos, so you can see the loss of detail by cropping in so close, but I really wanted to see what the airplane would look like a little closer.

Sick Family

Jan 2-8:  Week 1

We all got croup and the kids were so cuddly with daddy.  I love this one of Charlotte and my husband.  So adorable.

I took these without my flash because I’ve found that with using my speedlight I’m not metering, which makes me feel like I’ve forgotten how to pay attention to my meter and adjust my settings accordingly.  This was taken at 1/100, f/2.2, and ISO 2000 using my 85mm when it was dark outside and I did not fire my flash.  I knew I would have an underexposed photo, but I wanted to capture the cozy feeling of cuddling with each other.

I’m showing the SOOC (straight off the camera), my color edit, and my B&W edit.  For the color edit, I increased exposure and added some contrast using curves (pull up in the middle and down slightly on the left).  I then used the red curve to add some red, and the blue curve to add some yellow.  I created a new layer with screen and set at 60% opacity.  I used MCP Touch of Light Touch of Dark to darken the kitchen in the background and lighten my daughter and husband just a tad (large soft brush set at 25% opacity). 

After I was done editing the color version, I wanted to see if the photo would look good in B&W, so used Nelly Nero Classic BW and adjusted the layers to my liking. I can’t decide if I like the grain or not since I generally like cleaner looking photos (high ISO + underexposure + editing to fix exposure = LOTS of grain).

SOOC vs Color Edit

Color Edit vs BW

BW Bigger