Mountains in Utah

I was asked to photograph this family for a cover of a magazine for a company. When they told me who it was, I said, "I would rather not." I have known Virginia Dixon for many years as a well-known photographer and nervous?, paranoid?...yes, but.... I was honored to meet this humble, happy, and grateful family. The mountains were stunning and the evening sky was cool, clear...perfect.

Photo Tip-wished I would have bent the little boys other leg. Feels a little to "leggy" in the one spot. Also, his right arm should have been pulled back, maybe in his lap. Watch the little things. Other then that, good.

Sunrays

This was a bridal I shot over the week-end. I was messing with the sun and really got it heavy on this one. I don't even know if I intended to use it...it was the first one, but I thought it might work with a filter on it. You can see that the original was really washed out and quite milky, but after the filter- "color toner" it worked, or at least worked better.

Photo Tip- I wished the bouquet was in her other hand, bummer. I didn't leave enough room around the photo to crop it more at an angle, but then again it was just a shot to see how strong the sun rays were. Next time.

mom and me

Hard age....keep going and put your camera on multiple shots. (right now my mind just went blank on the correct name)... in-between the crying you will eventually get a grin. It is exhausting, but worth it. Nik Color Efex Pro- Old Color filter-opacity to 70% and erased on the skin at 10% opacity. The fonts I used were Thirsty for Souls and James Fajardo. You can find them on freefonts.com. I used to use a font and a texture brush and erase tool to get the same effect. This is much easier!

Beautiful Maddie

This beautiful child's mother is from Peru and her father's side is Hawaiian and Italian. Awesome genes! If you are photographing a child around 10 months to one year....always have another person along to help get the child's attention. Betsy brought her mother, which was very helpful. Their attention is only a split second, it seems and with the grass and rocks to grab, we were all exhausted when we were done. Happy Birthday Maddie!

Kaitlyn & Kyle

Oh, how I love "smilie eyes" and a future groom that is crazy about his future bride. She had some great places to photograph around her home which resulted in some fun shots. These filters are from Nik Color Efex Pro. The following were just a few of my favorites.

Kylie Babe

Literally, almost all 200 of the photos that I snapped of this beautiful girl turned out. Beautiful girl, awesome lighting, white balance was great, with the exception of a few. Be careful what is around you that would reflect back at the subject. There is one place that a shoot quite often, and there is orange stucco walls on both sides and once in a while, it casts a strange coloring on their faces. Sometimes a lot of green will reflect back, giving a slightly nasty greenish-yellow haze to the skin. That is a real bummer. I have to bring my reflector more often to block off the color reflecting on the skin. Most of the time I don't have an assistant to help, so I don't bother, but it really would help. Correcting the problems before the shoot begins, results in much less time at the computer. Otherwise, a great shoot.

Blissful JOY

NIK Color Efex Pro

All three of these photos were done in different variations in Old Photo, in Nik Color Efex. It will show one color variation, then you click on the arrow and 5 color choices will appear. Try them all. What may not look good on one, will look good on another. Oh, how I love the options. So will your customers. If you still have Photoshop CS and are having a hard time trying to find 2.0, go to ebay. You still can purchase it there. I contacted NIK directly and they only have the upgraded version. If you have any questions with their product, they are great at answering questions and walking you through the process. Try the trial version for 30 days and see if you like it. It really is fun to see what you come up with. OH, Happy Birthday, Rach!

Sweet Location

This is at the Eldredge Manor in Bountiful. I attended a wedding there when I was still in Junior High, and I loved it then. Wow, they added on to it and the garden is wonderful. If the couple is having a civil wedding, I highly encourage the groom to come to the bridals so they have more photos. It is so difficult to take photos inbetween the ceremony and the reception with everything going on. This also gives them a chance to have photos of both of them to display at the reception. If you are creating an album, it helps immensely with variety. The bride is much more "giggly" if the groom is around. Just all around better.

Filters

The filter I used on this photo is from NIK Color Efex Pro 2.0. (They have a later version, but I still have Photoshop CS and am too cheap to upgrade at this time) The filter is called Old Photo. When I was still shooting film, by favorite was 3200 speed. It was really grainy and LOVED what it did for some of the photos. This is the closest I could find to replicate that feeling. I wish her arm was a bit more relaxed, but the kiss..... it worked. (I don't think Steph cared about where her arm was at that moment...) Anyway, this will be my gift for Steph and NIck. They deserve all of the happiness that will be coming their way.

Danica

What a cute girl. Always try some laughing photos. Sometimes it's hard for them to laugh and others are a breeze to get to show that emotion. "How do I get them to laugh?" It is really silly, but I just say, "Laugh". It kind of catches them off guard and they laugh right off the bat.

I personally love it when they laugh away from the camera, the shy laugh when they are a little uncomfortable and look at whom-ever they came with. So sweet and nice to have those candid shots and most of the time it is their mother's favorite. What a wonderful age.

So Glad I Was A Part of This Day

What a wonderful couple. Stephanie and Nick make photography look easy. We went to this beautiful little farm in Lindon, which I had passed several times, just down the street from another family farm, which so graciously allows photographers to use. The beautiful places are getting fewer and far between, which makes my heart ache. I applaud the families that are keeping the farms alive. I just wish my name was on one of these beautiful pieces of land. Someday....

One Year

Rachel has been planning this birthday for Sela for months and did a wonderful job. I felt so bad that the weather was soooo chilly for lemon custard, but it sure looked wonderful. She made all of the cakes, with the "Lemony Curd" being my favorite.

One Year

Sela is one and now I am an official "mimi" of one year. Rachel gave me that name when grandma was just a bit more than I could handle. What a beautiful child, both Rachel and Sela. Rachel is a beautiful mother as I watch her with Sela every Wednesday when they come to visit. I enjoy it very much. I don't get much done, but it really is just fine. I spent too many days years ago working and "getting things done", that this is just fine and very rewarding. Rachel has her blog up and it is beautiful. I am so glad she can have a place to write and share with others. Please visit.

Senior

This young man was not thrilled to do these photos. Not on his top ten list of things to do (this was mom's idea). He wanted to be riding his horses. I tried to make it as painless as possible. We went where he wanted to go, he wanted his dog in the photo and this boy came alive with his dog. His smile was so natural when his dog was running around, not being the best model, I might add. We went where he felt comfortable- he wore what he wanted- and most important, we did not spend alot of time. I got what I needed in 30 minutes and he was gone in his truck- roping. Great kid.

Yummy Soup

About a year ago I started photographing my husbands food in hopes to get a recipe book done, looking into an online cookbook. He is an excellent chef, taught cooking classes for couples for a few years, now does seasonal catering and takes weekly phone calls asking for his recipes especially this dressing recipe. Would love to host the couples again. That was a great idea and miss having them over.

This is a yummy Cabbage and Bratwurst soup with a touch of cream. Fennel seeds added a great twist to the flavor. Perfect in the winter, so the foot of snow in our not-taken-care-of-garden from the fall worked great. It added some nice texture.

So if your into food with a bold flavor-watch in the next couple of weeks and I will add some recipes.

Alexa

You don't have to go to a million places to get some different looks. In the winter it is cold and when they only want a few shots, mess with actions or the menu in your layers palette. I love high contrast, even when flipping them into black and white, gives them a great variety. Don't forget the full view, sometimes I get caught up in the close-ups, take advantage of the old doors, it adds great texture.

Children that just won't sit

This has happened a couple of times to me and believe me, SOMETIMES it is worth it. Sam was not going to sit for nothing and working with 4 under 4 years of age, I choose my battles. After taking the photos of the girls, we got Sam to sit for two shots, with only one that worked. I left the chairs where they were and had the girls get out of the shot. I just put him in. The kid isn't crying, mom isn't about to loose it and I still had a voice after the session. I try not to make this a habit, but sometimes....