South Shore Family Child Newborn Photographer: Adobe Photoshop CC: The Basics: The Sharpen Tool

Thank you so much for joining me on the journey of photoshop!  The basics of photoshop can have so many different components it can feel like learning a foreign language.  When I first started editing in photoshop it seemed that way!  Other than learning the basics of how my camera really works, I would say that learning photoshop really well has been a game changer for me when it comes to how I capture portraits for people.  Photoshop is such a versatile tool with so many components.  I hope to just get you started and open the pathway to learning all you can in photographing and editing portraits. Today we will be focusing on the sharpening tool.  This is something that I use often to enhance my portrait images.  I predominately use it to enhance those parts of the image that I feel are most important to draw in the viewer.  In many cases, the eyes of the portrait are my focal point.  I hope you enjoy this video.

Thanks for joining me!

Adobe Photoshop CC: The Sharpen Tool

Beautiful night, Beautiful Beach Portraits: Dreaming of Summer: South Shore Boston Family Child Newborn Photographer

Today was an amazingly warm day for February, it was close to 60 degrees! Lucy and I went outside to the playground and had a blast! (and of course brought our cameras) Blog post later to come on this fun day.  What it made me think for though were those amazing fun soft and whimsical beach nights just right for family and children's portraits. There are quite a few portrait sessions that don't get shared in the summer.  Things get so busy then, that I end up using the winter months to blog and share the sessions of families and children that I am most proud of.

This was one of those sessions.  This bold beautiful little girl was definitely sure of herself and what she wanted.  So I let her lead the way!  We had so much fun playing and snapping away, the night could have gone on forever.  She was so energetic and full of life that it truly made my heart sing when I saw how that was captured on film.

I hope you enjoy this session as much as I enjoyed taking it.

The Magic of Childhood: Fairy Portrait Fun!:South Shore Boston Family, Child, Newborn Photographer

As any New England Portrait Photographer will attest too, Winter time can be a little slower paced then summer.  People around here tend to hibernate in the winter.  So, we need to make our own fun!  I love doing creative projects.  I sometimes do model calls and often I use my own daughter Lucy.  I am super lucky that she loves working on these projects with me! As with any 3-4 year old (She turns 4 tomorrow)  Happy Birthday Baby!!!! Her attention span is short so I have to have a clear vision, set things up quickly and be ready to go.  Many of our photo shoots (meant to create a handful of creative images) are 15 minutes or less.  This is one of those times.

For children, the world is still magical.  Fairies are real (among other well know icons) and they can feel and imagine the magic if you just put it together for them.  A lot of my children's portr

ait ideas come from the idea of creating a magical world filled with wonder and delight that I believe they can still see.

This fun, playful, whimsical set can from just such an imagined idea! Enjoy!

Adobe Photoshop Basic Editing Video: Episode : The Crop Tool

I hope you have been enjoying my Adobe Photoshop CC: The Basics series so far.  At this point, I am catering to the true beginner and starting from square one.  As it builds up I hope it will give you some insight into how I edit my portrait and also what makes images more compelling.  On our journey so far we have tackled the healing brush tool, the clone stamp tool, and now we are on to the crop tool.  In this tutorial, I talk about the different aspects of the crop tool as well as one of the ways to crop your images to make them more compelling.  I find that by paying attention to some of the constants in portrait photography such as the rule of thirds, you as the very are presented with something much more intimate and compelling.  Join me on this photoshop journey!  

Adobe Photoshop CC:The Basics: The Crop Tool

The Art of Creativity: The Tea Party: South Shore Boston Family Child Newborn Photographer

My absolute favorite thing in the world to photograph is children!  There is nothing more magical to me than seeing the world through a child's eyes.  The way they see things is amazing.  There is magic everywhere you look and if you take a moment to spend with a child looking at the world you will see what they see! I had the wonderful opportunity to shoot this whimsical, creative portrait session for my promotional video with my daughter and two other beautiful girls.  i set the scene along with one of my wonderful friends Ann.  We wanted to create a magical fantasy kind of tea party in the woods that would just blow the girls away.  We hung a chandelier from one of the tree branches and set out our best china. (Maybe an accident waiting to happen but life is for living and having fun!) I bought some fun and very tasty petit fours for the occassion and we brought out some Apple Juice "Tea".

Each girl picked her dress and hair accessories from the collection and then we brought them out.  As you can tell from the pictures, the party was a big hit!  Not only did the girls like eating the pastries during their portrait session they also loved experimenting with them.  These wonderful whimsical creative images could only have been produced from an experience like that.  I hope you enjoy viewing these images as much as I liked making them!

Also here is the end result of the promotional video!

Introducing The Mirrored Image Photography! Live the Experience here!

Finding inspiration and elevating your art: South Shore Boston MA Family Child Newborn Photographer

I mentioned in my beginning photoshop tutorial videos that I have used videos myself along the way to help me elevate my art,  I have used both free and paid tutorials to get to where I want to be.  All of the videos I am working on are basic skill videos and will not in any way take away from the videos that I have used from other professionals.  If you are beyond the beginning stage and looking for a way to take your art to the next level, may I suggest Jinky Art Photography's annual video subscription videos.  Barb uses both Lightroom and Photoshop in her tutorials. As a person that seeks out art and inspiration as well as further learning, I have found Barb's work to be very inspiring and she is an excellent teacher when it comes to laying everything out in a clear concise manner.  Out of all the videos and tutorials I have watched this one has been the best for furthering my photoshop skills and bring out the best in my art.  I can't thank Barb enough for putting out her video series.  If you are interested, the link to her subscription based service is here: http://jinkyart.com.au/product/post-production-videos/

Here are some of the images she helped to inspire of mine:

Weathering the storm: South Shore Boston Family Child Newborn Photographer

Whether you like in Boston and you are expecting a dusting from the first snowstorm of the season or live on the South Shore and your are expecting a bit more snow, we all are finding our own ways to weather the storm.  If you are like me, you are trying to find fun indoor activities to stay warm and play.  Just like with my photography I try to keep things in my personal life fun and creative .  I love to play with my own child and do the unexpected from her tea party photoshoots to just what I set up here with her. Paper backdrops come in handy for many things, studio photography, food photography, head shots.  Here is my out of the box way to weather Storm Jonas.

We covered the dining room table in a piece of backdrop paper and made  a little city, In part we reused our recycling and then I finally figured out what do with all the little "people" Lucy likes to collect.  Add in some matchbox cars and you have an afternoon of fun!

Adobe Photoshop Basic Editing Video: Episode 2: The Clone Stamp Tool

I hope you are enjoying our series of editing videos on Adobe Photoshop CC: The Basics.  I know that I found videos online an invaluable way to learn more about the tools available.  I also found it helpful because I could go back and watch the videos over again as I was mastering a tool.  I found that the best way to do that was to pick one tool or action and work on mastering that one thing and then adding on a new skill. My attention to detail and my knowledge of photoshop are the two things that I think pushed my photography from good to great.  Thanks for tuning in with me.  I hope you enjoy the clone stamp tool video.  Lets take our portraiture to the next level! If you are interested in keeping up to date, please subscribe to my channel! Most often the new videos are posted here earlier than I release them on Facebook and Google+!

Adobe Photoshop CC Basics The Clone Stamp Tool

Fun Family Photos

I love working with families that love to have fun!  When people enjoy life it shows in their images.  You can just tell how much this family is having!  This session lasted twice as long as a normal session, mostly because we were all having fun, we kept seeing good photo opportunities and I just don't put the camera down until we are really done (or it is too dark to see!)  I hope you enjoy seeing this night as much as I enjoyed shooting it!

Family Beach Photos: Fun in the Sun

It is finally starting to get warm out and I am super excited to be out on the beach again.  As a family, we often make dinner and bring it down to the beach in the summer.  Lucy can run around and we can relax and enjoy the evening.  As an extra bonus I love being on the beach taking pictures (and playing with other people's children). Anyone who knows me, knows that I am a big kid and I love playing and having fun with the kids.  I also think that is where the best and most memorable images come from.  These two adorable Kiddies were a dream to spend time with and we were able to capture some amazing images from this shoot.  Here are some more of my images!

Where does inspiration come from? Admiring Jinky Art Photography

Inspiration can come from a lot of different places.  I love following other photographers, learning their processes and then taking what I have learned and creating my own sense of style.  One such photographer that has been a huge inspiration to me is Jinky Art Photography in Australia.  I think you will find that their whimsical and warm images really capture a sense of playfulness and fun.  

TBT: A look back at 70 years; My grandparents: Professional Photographer Plymouth South Shore

This is what 70 years looks like in a snapshot! Can you imagine being with someone for 70 years.  I would have to be 110 for my marriage to reach the 70 year mark...Come on modern medicine!!

My grandparents lived a whole lifetime before me and at 93 they are still going strong..knocking on wood now!  I am so blessed to have had them in my life for so long.

Some of my fondest memories are visiting different places in Pennsylvania and the surrounding states with them.  They always loved to get up and go and were never afraid to jump in the car for a fun road trip.

My grandfather was the one that went shopping with us.  You would think it would be my grandmother but she never cared for it.

My grandmother and I have recently had long conversations about family history and family stories.  With the help of a cousin I found on Ancestry.com I have been able to trace our family history back to the Pilgrims (Actually it was mostly Karen who did the tracing) and share with my grandmother that all the stories her grandmother used to tell her were true.

After all this time, my grandparents still hold hands. They are closer to each other than anyone else.  I am crossing my fingers for the 75th anniversary.  I know if anyone can make it that long it will be them!  I love you Nanny and Poppy!

Newborn Photos: Cousins: Professional Photographer Plymouth South Shore

I love babies!  I love photographing babies!  This was a fun new experience for me, photographing cousins!  Matthew is 4 months old and Kendal is just newborn, what a great concept though including your family in your session! We also included Kendal's older sister Alaina too!

Small Business Shout out of the Week: Woods Seafood: Professional Photographer Plymouth South Shore

If you have been reading my blog then you have guessed or seen by now that I am a big supporter of local business.  One of the places that I had the pleasure of photographing while I was working with Destination Plymouth is Woods Seafood.  They are part fish market and part restaurant. If you live by the water and you love seafood, It is a must to by your fish from a local fish market rather than a grocery store.  The fresh is more likely to be fresh rather than flash frozen and the quality is so much better.  I have been good to Woods Seafood for my fish since I was too little to buy it myself, I recommend you give them a try, and if you don't feel like cooking then have them cook it for you too!

Photography Tip of The Week: Pay attention to your background: Professional Photographer South Shore Plymouth

There are certain things you start to pay attention to when you take lots of pictures.  When you feel like you have gotten the aperture right and the shutter speed right.  Your exposure is good.  Now how does a good photo become a great photo?  It's attention to detail.  If you want your subject to stand out you pick simple but picturesque backgrounds.  If you are taking snapshots on the fly and you can't control the background then you shift your subjects to make sure that there is no tree growing out of their head or a pole!  Seems simple right? But if you don't pay attention to the small details you pictures look cluttered and your subjects get lost.  Or worse, they look laughable because some object is protruding at just the wrong angle!  I try to pick simple backgrounds; a row of tall bushes, a brick wall, the beach when no one is there.  When you have control over your environment it eliminates anything that might get in the way. Happy Shooting!

Creative Photo Shoot: The Elements with C'mor Color Lush MUA

So every once in a while, about 4 times a year, I try and do a creative photo shoot that has nothing to do with anything other than remembering why I love photography.  Cynthia Morales, owner of C'mor Color Lush was introduced to me by a friend and we set out to showcase our talents!  Here is our result!

Professional Photographer Plymouth South Shore: TBT: My Dad #ThrowbackThursday

So anyone who knows me knows that I have a very tight family.  My father is one of the closest people to me.  I could always count on him to be there for me to help in any way and he was always present.  One of my favorite memories growing up was sitting with my father at night and having him read to us.  Not only did that help to instill a love of reading that is strong to this day but it also gave me something special to remember when he spent much of his time commuting to and from Boston each day. Tomorrow my father will be retiring and moving on to another chapter in his life.  It's amazing how quickly time passes.  So today I want to wish my father well and celebrate the man that he is and how lucky I am to have him for my Dad!