No, I did not Disappear off the Face of the Earth!!
I haven't written a blog in what seems like forever. I pulled up my page to start, and found the beginning of a blog from 1-1/2 months ago that I never finished called "Procrastination." Talk about irony!
Well, here it is, the first of August. Since my last blog, I have done the dance portraits for the Playhouse, took pictures for two recitals, and did engagement pictures for a lovely young couple in my church.
The dance portraits were harder than I thought they would be. Finding dance-oriented poses that didn't look too awkward for the little girls and keeping them engaged during the shoot took a lot of energy. Also my lighting was not as good as it could have been. If I do that again, I will have to definitely upgrade my lighting equipment. Overall, however, the girls' pictures turned out adorable, and I hope the parents were happy with them. I only have gotten feedback from one, and it was positive.
Recital pictures are a lot of work! I volunteer my time for that because I love it, and my daughter is involved. I took over 1000 pictures for each one and then I go through and pick the best ones and edit them for cropping and exposure. I have only gotten one of them done. My goal is to get the other one done very soon!.
The engagement photos were a lot of fun. They wanted to go to the Falls, and I was very excited about doing that since I have been wanting to do a photo shoot there ever since I went the first time. I had fun researching various possible ideas for posing and then putting them into action. I edited those quickly and got the photos to them in a few days. They needed them for their engagement party, and the fiancé is leaving soon for basic training. They were adventurous enough to try all sorts of things, so we got some really fun shots. I will share one with you here, and also will be putting some in my wedding/engagement portfolio. They will get their own blog post!
I did learn that I need to make sure I take everything with me when I leave a location, though. I left my tripod there on accident, and it was not there when I went back the next day. I feel like a part of me is missing! I will have to get a couple of more photo shoots to pay for that!
I am also having a lot of fun learning more about Photoshop Elements 11. I recently joined a Facebook Group for Lightroom and Photoshop users and there are so many knowledgeable, talented people in there! I am challenged on a daily basis by what people ask and the answers that are given, as well as the gorgeous pictures they post. I like it when what I know about Lightroom (and even the little bit I know about PSE11) can be helpful to someone else. I really enjoy sharing my knowledge with others, because I figure if it is helpful to me, it will be helpful for someone else. There are so many levels of knowledge in the group that even a newbie like me can find someone to help. And I am hopeful that the hints others give and links they share for tutorials will help me continue to grow in my knowledge of these programs. I have been having fun trying new things with layering, filters, composites, and lighting effects. I thought I was excited when I learned how to apply textures, but that is just the tip of the iceberg!
This one I added in butterflies just for fun !!
My goal is to take pictures every day and do something different in Lightroom and/or PSE11 every day. That way I am getting more and more familiar with everything, and the more familiar I get, the better my products will be!
Well, at least I have gotten you all up to date with where I am for the moment. The next month is going to be a whirlwind of activity with getting my kids off to college and actually taking one of them to Buffalo (Niagara Falls!!!). So if I get another blog in during that time, you will be fortunate. I probably should stop making them so long and just do daily snippets.... we shall see...
Au revoir!
