Project 52 Week 51 | Flower Mound, TX Photographer

Project 52

Week: 51

Theme: Tis the Season 

Christmas tree lights and PJ's have become a yearly tradition in our house.  Then we listen to Polar Express and follow along in the picture book.  I cherish these moments as my children are no longer little bitty anymore and are growing up so fast!

Post Processing | Flower Mound/Highland Village, TX Portrait Photographer

Being a portrait photographer isn't only about taking great photos.  There is a lot more that goes on behind the scenes.  I shoot in manual exposure and RAW format.  The definition of a RAW file from Wikipedia, "A camera raw image file contains minimally processed data from the image sensor of either a digital camera, image scanner, or motion picture film scanner."  Most cameras are set in JPG format unless you change the setting.  A JPG file is compressed with data or information.  This type of file is ready for printing or posting to the web.  After my post processing is complete I do change the file format to a JPG file.  The reason I work with a RAW file is that I have more flexibility in changing the data over a JPG file.  For example if an image is over or under exposed I can make adjustments.  Now I strive to shoot for amazing images SOOC (straight out of camera) but there are times when I may be more focused on capturing the moment and miss adjusting my camera correctly.  The camera isn't capable of always capturing what you see with your eyes either.  So color adjustment is often needed.
 

                                        Example of JPG file               Example of RAW (SOOC)

Example of RAW file converted to JPG with exposure adjustments.

After uploading images to my computer, I will open them in Adobe Bridge to cull.  I discard images that may be out of focus, have a poor composition, or the exposure is not worth saving.  Next I compare similar images and choose the best.  After this step I will open images in small sets to Camera RAW to adjust my white balance, exposure, etc...  After I complete this I then pull images into Photoshop for final editing.  I have created my own action in Photoshop for extra adjustments to finalize the color.  I use curves, levels, and a warming filter layer on most.  There I tweak per individual image as needed.  Then if there are any distracting elements such as a power line I will remove it.  If it involves a human I may retouch skin such as blemishes, bruises, etc...  If I'm preparing the images for an online gallery or social media I will then resize and sharpen the image for web viewing.  For final printing I will double check any editing I missed and also prepare the image for print sharpening.  So you see all of these steps take a lot of skill and time.  I may spend as much as 15 minutes on one image depending on how much needs to go into perfecting it for final viewing.

Final image post processed.

Valentine Cutie's | Child Portraits in Flower Mound, TX

Sadly I'm finding that I don't pull out my camera as much as I used to with my own children.  In this Smart Phone age it's so easy to have a camera at my fingertips.  While the camera on phones have improved, they still don't compare to a regular camera especially to a Full Frame digital SLR.  This year I need to force myself to take more sessions with my own family.  My girls aren't always willing to smile in front of the camera but if it involves something fun it's a different story.  Here are my Valentine Cutie's!

Shirts by BowDaciousBaby and skirts by Wicked Cute Kidz

7th birthday portraits | Child Photographer in Flower Mound, TX

My baby girl is growing up so fast!  Today we celebrate her 7th birthday, how did the time go so fast?

We hoped over to downtown Grapevine and were surprised with the Christmas decor still up.  They had changed it up a bit this year with pretty white lit Christmas trees and structures.  We pretended we were apart of the movie Frozen to make it more fun.

Family at the Farm | Family Photographer in Flower Mound, TX

This fun family of 5 was full of energy and smiles!

Big 3 | Child Photographer in Flower Mound/Highland Village, TX

My sweet and energetic nephew is 3 today!  He and his parents decided to make a trip to stay with us and go to Boo at the Zoo to celebrate his birthday this weekend.  He and his cousins had a blast together.  We quickly had a birthday photoshoot yesterday afternoon.  At first he was not happy about leaving his cousins and playdough fun.  So it took him a few minutes to improve his mood.  Then he was a ham!  Believe it or not my sister and brother in-law were told prior to his birth that he likely would never walk and would be wheelchair bound.  T. was born with Spina Bifida and has overcome come all obstacles.  He runs, jumps, and was showing us some interesting moves.

Happy Birthday T!

8 Days New | Flower Mound/DFW, TX newborn photographer

I love to capture the excitement of a new sibling, it's so precious!  These 3 boys are so adorable together.

 

Wonders of the Arboretum | Dallas/Ft. Worth Child and Family Photographer

We are down to the last days of Summer before school starts and amazingly we have another wave of "cooler" temps in the low 90°s!  Which is very rare for Texas in August, I'm sure we'll have a few more 100°+ days before Summer is officially over.  

One visit/activity on our list was to visit the Dallas Arboretum with my BFF and her brood.  I had only been there during their Spring Blooms.  This Summer they had a couple temporary displays including the Explorers and Allison Wonderland.