"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...

Mia

Here are some pictures I took of Mia then edited in Photoshop applying a new technique. Using the 'brush tool' from the toolbar I selected a 'soft mechanical brush', the color white, 'soft light' and an opacity level then "brushed" over the entire picture. The result was a misty, 'soft focus' effect.

I also discovered that by changing the brush's settings from 'soft light' to 'color' you can create varying degrees of 'black and white' for a more vintage effect.



Soft Focus-Medium Light

Soft Focus, Black and White-Opacity 50%

Soft Focus, Black and White-Opacity 75%

Soft Focus-Extra Heavy

Soft Focus-Very Light

Soft Focus-Medium

Soft Focus, Black and White-Opacity 40%

Black and White-Opacity 80%