"Little Prairie On the House"

Yesterday, Daddy took Kathlena and I to see the Little House on the Prairie Play at the Hobby Center starring Melissa Gilbert as 'Ma'. To read more about our outing see my post on my family's blog. We went out to the Cheesecake factory (in the Woodlands) for dinner with three other Father/Daughter Couples. We had dressed up for the occasion and had our pictures taken outside when we had eaten our fill. The timing could not have been better, the lighting was just perfect, and for those of you who have been to Market Street the place is very beautifully built and lends itself to portrait photography.

 I love how the picture below turned out, it was taken just far enough away to capture the sign...but nothing else. This is definitely my new favorite group shot...too bad I didn't take it. Thanks to the unnamed lady who took this picture for us. :)

Then we took some Father/Daughter(s) shots:

I like the tight shot on this one...

...and the wide angle on this one. 

I love how the pole on the right formed such an appealing composition.

Thank you Daddy, Kathlena and friends for a wonderful evening together!

Pretty Girls

Yesterday, several girls from church wore matching dresses and I simply couldn't resist taking their picture and they were all too happy to model for me. :) Thank you Parker and Hood girls!!! And thank you Shelbie for being my assistant (you'll see her in the last two photos).

In searching for a good background I had a few specific things in mind I was looking for:

1. A place where the girls wouldn't be squinting into the sun

2. A place that complimented the colors of the girls dresses such as the green trees

3. A place that had a pretty but not distracting background

In the picture below I layered a duplicate of the photo and applied a simple black frame to it then added the flower graphics, coloring them black. Can you tell that it's actually two photos on top of each other?

I like this one because it's a candid shot.

Such a classic...

It's a Classic

Before:

After:

The First Photo shown is a charming shot, the colors are good, the composition is interesting, the people beautiful. :) BUT the background is not particularly attractive, it's a little crooked, the shot was too wide, and takes in a lot of distracting objects, such as purses, bags, and a plug. So here's what I did to remedy the situation:

1. First I used the straightening tool in Photoshop, then cropped the photo.

Again, this is a nice photo BUT I thought I could get more out of it. So I...

2.Turned it Black and White

Very professional looking...BUT I still found the purses and plug distracting.

3. Taking the paintbrush in Photoshop I selected the color "Black" and less than 50% opacity. I went first over the purses and plug then, liking the effect chose to go all the way around the photo.

 So that's it. Three easy steps to turn a "nice" photo into a classic.

*Thanks Vaughn Family for allowing me to share these photos!

*Be Sure to Check out my Digital Scrapbooking Blog to see the page I made with these photos!

Houston Zoo

More than Cheese

Group pictures...gather in tight please! Look this way; cheese! This is the usual way people take group pictures..but is it the best way?

I used to think that was all there was to it. But a couple months ago I learned otherwise.

Though squeezing every body together tight might be the simplest way to take a group picture it is not the most visually appealing.

It is better to strategically place everyone, of course this gets more difficult with more people.

In order to get the desired group shot think about the purpose that particular group shot will serve.

If it's a Thanksgiving reunion perhaps try having your relatives gather round the Thanksgiving table; some seated, some standing, some with plates in hand, one holding the turkey dish, etc.
This will also serve for a more natural looking shot if your subjects are allowed to be comfortable.

If it's a family vacation at the beach perhaps try one making a sand castle, one carrying a boogie board/surf board, one with a bottle of sunscreen, one with a camera....

Get the picture? (No pun intended)

There are endless possibilities and you are limited only to your own creativity and that of your subjects.

As you can see this can be a great deal of fun and a tremendous blessing to friends and family.

Note: Due to our busy schedule which comes with this time of year (especially this year of all years) I will be reducing the frequency of my posts to a monthly bases rather than weekly. Come spring I might once again increase.