TRA Sale!!

If you want Totally Rad Actions, now's the time to buy them, they're on sale until tomorrow!!!

http://gettotallyrad.com/buy/home.php

Ah, mom! Seriously?!

All I wanted was to eat that dirt, Ma!!

It has been one of THOSE days at our house today! :)

Allison

You've already seen this one in the sneak peek, but I think this is one of my better shots lately, so I'm posting it again regardless. :)

I couldn't decide between b/w or color so you get to see both on this one...

Allison was SUCH a good sport, putting up with me for this composite shot-- now I am well aware this isn't the most amazing composite photo ever, but it is my first so be forgiving! It was really fun, for me at least! I've been wanting to do a composite for awhile, and when Alli said she wanted shots in her cheer uniform I thought that'd be a perfect opportunity to try it out!

Here it is as the regular original photo, and the one below is the composite.

Be sure to leave a comment and let Allison know how good she looks!! :)

Phil & Sarah {sneak peek}

Are you tired of these one-photo-posts? Well, so am I... so expect a multiple photo post this afternoon! :)

Phil & Sarah are awesome, and I am absolutely STOKED to do their wedding in August! woopwoop!

Allison {sneak peek}

more coming very very soon...

Breakfast...

Stella's breakfast is always a piece of whole wheat toast, sliced up into cubes, and covered with strawberry yogurt... Please don't question my parenting. She just won't eat food unless she can dip it, and we waste so much less yogurt with it plopped on top of the toast instead of her dipping the toast into it... It's a big fun mess every morning. It's okay if that grosses you out, but I'm not apologizing for it. Haha :)

Addiction.

Some people are addicted to food... drugs... television...
... ... ...
guitars?

Believe it, baby, my family has got the fever.

BAD.

(you haven't even seen the half of it...)

In the garage... {Dylan}

This is my brother, ya'll. He's just about as good of a guitarist as John Mayer, but not quite as cute, but twice as cool. So it evens out. He'll likely be famous one day, so keep your ear out. :)

And lastly,... my favorite...

I don't know about you, but I think that's a sweet reflection shot, through the garage window. :)

Upcoming Washington Trip in MAY...

Hey all you Seattle/Tacoma area peeps-
Here's the deal. My husband has taken a job selling advertising, and he has to leave for weeks at a time to do his selling. We're kind of in love. And I don't like the idea of being apart that long... Enter GREAT IDEA time!!
How about I travel WITH HIM?!!!?! What an awesome idea.

So we're thinking... He's planning on being in Everett, Washington for the month of May. If I can get photo session bookings for the weekends in the Puget Sound area, it'll be worth it, financially, for me to go with him! (Although I may go regardless!) SO please please please contact me if you are interested in booking a Seattle/Tacoma area session any time in the month of May. I'm looking for high school seniors, individual portraits, bands or musicians, weddings or engagements, etc... If it looks like there's enough interest in that area, then I will make official bookings (and I may kiss your feet, too!)

I also teach Photoshop/basic photography classes one-on-one, so hit me up if you're interested in that, too!

Also, due to the nature of this business he's working for, we can choose other cities to go selling in. If you want me to come to your city, definitely contact me and if I get enough interest in that city then we will work his schedule around mine (don't you love how that works?!!).

PS This absolutely does not mean I'm no longer taking Baker City sessions!! I am in love with my hometown and can't stay away for long! :) Chances are if we go up to Washington (or anywhere else, for that matter), I will be coming home every other week or so. We'll still live here in Baker... Obviously, these are plans that have not been thought through all the way, but never fear- we're working on it! :)

The Bad-A's of Baker High

I had fun with these guys- we did a mini-shoot for their grad party invites. Great idea!!
I had a ton of fun experimenting with textures and borders for these guys.

Q&A Part III (the finale...) and a WINNER!

Okay, let's get the fun part out of the way, the winner of the FREE online photoshop lesson is...

drum roll please...

...
...

TIFFANY CHRISTENSEN!

Congrats Tiffany! You've won a FREE online Photoshop class with me! :) Email me so we can schedule your class and for the rest of the information. And FYI, the way it worked is each person who entered the contest was assigned a number (1...2...3...etc) and then I went to RANDOM.ORG and used their Integer Widget to generate a random number within those numbers. Tiffany, you were number 3, in case you'd like a new lucky number. :)


And now, the last of the answers to your questions. I will never answer another question again, as long as I live. Okay, I'm kidding. Thanks for the awesome q's everyone. I bet I'll be doing this again in the future! And if you live in the area, keep in mind I'll be teaching BASIC DIGITAL SLR PHOTOGRAPHY CLASSES at the Crossroads starting in April! Stay tuned for more info (or contact the Crossroads to sign up!)

Lindy asked, "How can I smooth out people's skin without investing in actions at this point in time?"
Well, there is this awesome tool in Photoshop, the Spot Healing Brush Tool. It looks like a little Band-Aid, and you zoom in on your subjects face, use the SHBT and click on any acne or blemishes- the SHBT randomly selects pixels to fill in over top of the pimples or blackheads, etc. That helps to smooth skin a TON! But I do love ProRetouch from TRA...

Rebecca H. asked, "How do you get your photos so large? I just want my pictures bigger!"
Flickr! I resize my images in Photoshop to 700px wide for landscape photos and 450px wide for portrait photos. Then I upload them to my flickr account, open the photo I want to put on the blog, click on "all sizes" and copy the code from the "large" size. Easy, and worth it. :)

Tonic asked, "I ditto the crisp question at the beginning, wondering what sharpening method you use. Also what lenses do you use?"
I don't do much post process sharpening. I know a lot of photographers do, but I just very rarely, if ever, sharpen. I HAVE recently started using Unsharp masks more, or one of the sharpening actions from TRA, but I really use them sparingly. I don't know why, maybe I should use them more. Unsharp masks are easy to use, in Photoshop go to FILTER, then SHARPEN, then UNSHARP MASK and mess with the settings until you like it!
As far as lenses go, I seriously only ever use the 50mm 1.8 during portrait sessions. I'm saving for a 17-55mm 2.8 right now, that'll be my next "investment". I also use the 18-200mm 3.5 on occasion. It's a fun lens with a wide range but it's not very sharp. A lot of my sharp/crisp images owe it to the 50mm 1.8. Cheap lens, people! Get one!

Amy asked, "Do you ever stage photo shoots differently for black and white or sepia shots (clothes, backrounds, props) or just take the pics and see how they best turn out when you develop them?"
Typically while I'm setting up a shot I'm also thinking about how I'll edit it when I get home. If I have found a really sweet colorful background, chances are I'm planning to edit that shot in color. If I've found a nice neutral, that'll work in black and white a lot of times. Sometimes I don't know whether a shot will look good in black and white or in color, but I don't usually change anything ahead of time (like the clothing or the props, etc) because I do have the flexibility of being a photographer that has both color and black and white images in my portfolio- and I love both so much.

Lindsay asked, "How do you get your pictures bw pictures to look so good? Is it a setting on your camera or photoshop, and how do you do it if it is photoshop?"
My first awesome experience with a good black and white came from Pioneer Woman's action, which you can get on her site under the photography section, it's called B&W Beauty (and it comes in the FREE action set she has for ya!). From there I realized I could do a lot on my own with gradient maps. Gradient maps are SO cool to play with. So on your color pallette, have black in front and white in the back (like normal) and then go to LAYER, then NEW ADJUSTMENT LAYER, then GRADIENT MAP. Click "OK" and voila- you have a great b/w. If it's still a little flat, go to LAYER, then NEW ADJUSTMENT LAYER, then LEVELS. Bring the LEFT ARROW toward the center a bit, until the darks are darker. Still not perfect? Adjust the contrast a bit! :) I HATE hate hate the b/w conversions that Photoshop has as presets- JUNK them and do not use them. Ew, black and white is NOT supposed to be grey and white. We want to see TRUE blacks and TRUE whites. Have fun with that!! :)

AND

"I don't understand what aperture is or does"
Check out the Digital Photography Schools Tips for Beginners and learn allllll about ISO, Shutterspeed and Aperture. With a firm grasp on these three things, you'll understand how photography works. These are the foundations of photography, you gotta know 'em! :) So read about them, and then practice the shiz out of them so you really get it.

Josey asked, "Do you have any favorite outdoor locations for photo shoots?"
Hm... well. I do love alleys and backroads, but I don't think I have a specific place that is my absolute favorite right now.

Tiffany asked, "Do you shoot in RAW or JPEG? Which do you think are better?"
I shoot in RAW for my clients and JPEG for my family/personal work. RAW is by far better- if I've botched the exposure or the temperature of a shot, RAW allows me to go in and fix it on the computer with a RAW processor like Bridge or Lightroom. Sure, you can shoot in JPEG and process it in Bridge or Lightroom, but you won't have anywhere NEAR the control you have over a RAW image in those same programs. RAW files are humongo, so I shoot my personal stuff in JPEG just to take up less room than I absolutely have to on the computer. I try to save room on the computer for business stuff. :)

AND she also asked, "What is your favorite event to shoot? Weddings? Seniors? Babies?"
I LOVE senior sessions and individual portrait sessions. I love engagements, I like weddings, I think doing baby photos are okay, and family portraits are my least favorite. How's that for honesty? haha :)


Well, that wraps it up folks! Thanks for all your awesome questions!

Happy One Year Photoversary to ME!

More Samantha

Okay, I am just a WEE bit proud of these photos... it could be I had a bombshell in front of the lens. :)

(I know I already posted this one...
but I'm pretty much in love with it... so view again!)

annnnnnnnnd, a slideshow... There are more photos in the slideshow than what I posted here... so... check it out :) I'm looking for feedback on this whole slideshow bit- like 'em? hate 'em? want me to post more of 'em? want me to never post one again?!
tell me whatchya'll are thinkin'!

Last call!

Today is the LAST day for questions for the Q&A and to enter the GIVEAWAY!! :)
The last installment of answers will be posted at MIDNIGHT, as will the WINNER of the giveaway!

Samantha's Sneak Peek

Samantha, girl, I hope you love these- you are a total babe! Thanks for dealing with the sub-zero temperatures for your senior shots! :)

This is a SNEAK PEEK, more coming very soon!





What a model-face, eh?!!

Q&A Part II

You can STILL ask questions, until FRIDAY! And don't forget to post a comment if you'd like to enter the giveaway, too! :)
{CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO}

And NOW let's get down to business!

Mindy asked a couple of questions! "What exactly does "oh snap" do, so I could sort of mimic it until I can buy TRA?"
Mindy, I wish I knew the answer to that. And honestly, I'm sure I could go through and figure out what each step of the action does so you could somehow "recreate" it, but I'm going to suggest you save up for those TRA sets instead! Basically it "defogs" (takes away all the greyishness), and it boosts the color a bit and adds depth, and some other things I'm not technically intelligent enough to explain. :)

Where do you get ideas for poses when you are doing a family shoot?
Posing is something I'm really not a pro at, but I spend way too much time gleaning pose-ideas from other photographers I love! I always remind myself that I want the shot to look natural, and sometimes that means just letting the family do their thing until I see something I like. I like hand-holding and hugging, things that bring the family together, so long as it looks natural. My girl Vanessa is great at posing, and Jess is great too!

What do you do if you're doing a shoot and the conditions are horrible at the time you scheduled (i.e. HARSH sunlight in the middle of the winter)?
Shoot anyway! This was SUCH a hard lesson for me to learn. But there's only one thing I hate more than canceling a session, and that's rescheduling it. Boo! So I quickly learned that even at high noon there is good light to find and if the only light you can find is harsh light, use a diffuser! I admit, I've never tried the diffuser technique with shoots involving more than 1 person, like a family, but for a portrait session it works great! THIS is the one I use - it's a reflector with a translucent option as well, so you have an assistant hold the diffuser between the subject and the SUN and you can still shoot! The photos I did of Josey (click to see) were taken using the translucent diffuser to block the sun, and it still provided soft light on her pretty face.

What is the KELVIN mode for white balance? And how do you use it?
Adjusting your white balance in Kelvin mode is like manually adjusting the temperature of the lighting in your photo. I am not quite sure how to find Kelvin on every camera ever, but after doing a little research, it looks like it is available on most modern digital cameras (including upper level point and shoots). Google your specific camera model to figure out how to adjust it on your own! But to give you the gist, a Kelvin of 2000 is very very cool (blue toned) and the opposite end of the spectrum, 10000, is very very warm (orangey). So let's say you are shooting in a small room with tungsten lighting, and no natural light. The light is very warm in this situation, so you'd compensate with a low Kelvin setting which will give you more true-to-life and balanced coloring. If your camera doesn't have the Kelvin mode option, shoot in RAW and adjust the temperature in your RAW processor, like Bridge or Lightroom. :)

and lastly...
"Did you see my question in the comments on your "hero" and "fresh" post on m24?"
Hee hee, no I didn't... I'll get back to you on that one...

The Hendrickson Family asked, "What's your best advice for somebody just starting out? Like WHERE do I start?"
Start at home! Photo your kids, take the kids on walks and photo anything you see that is interesting. Start looking for neat textures, patterns, locations, etc. Looking at photography blogs is a good way to get started, immersing yourself in the skill you'd like to develop, gleaning information anyway you can. Join groups like Digital Photography School and take advantage of classes offered in your community. {Shameless plug: Here in Baker City I will be teaching a class in April at the Crossroads about basic Digital SLR photography! Your community may have something similar!} You know the Nike slogan? Just do it!

Terese asked, "What do you do for printing photos. How do you price your prints?"
Terese, this is a really really good question, and I'm going to write a complete post in response to this question because I want to make sure people actually read it. So look for that later this week or beginning of next week! :) Thanks for asking!

Meredith asked, "I had a question about locations... how do you find yours, are any on private property, do you ask permission to use certain locations?"
Two words... Nap. Time. Stella sleeps well in the car, so I do a lot of my location sleuthing while I keep her asleep in the back seat! :) I drive around a lot, and if I find something I like but it's private property, I do ask for permission (usually...). People are generally very willing to let you use their spot. At least, they are pretty willing here in friendly old Eastern Oregon! :)

And lastly, my sister in law Mishelle asked a LOT of questions! :) Here are a few:
When is the best time of day for natural light to do a photoshoot in?
Early morning (like, at sunrise!) is actually the absolute best, but good luck convincing a client to wake up at 4:30 for photos. 8-10 is a prime time in the morning, and then within an hour before or after sunset is the best in the afternoon/evening, especially in the summer...(at least that's what I've found works best for me!)

How much editing to you do to a typical photo?
Well, I try to get my photos as good as possible in camera so that my out of camera processing is minimal. I retouch the skin, run a couple actions or do some custom editing depending on the photo, dodge and burn here and there, etc. I try to not do a TON of editing, just because I prefer a more natural look but sometimes it's fun to go crazy and do something more involved.

What kind of camera do you use?
I use the Nikon D300, primarily.
I also futz around with the Diana F+ (medium format holga) and an old Konica 35mm. But film is spendy, yo!

Do you like color or black and white better?
Typically, black and white. But sometimes color is just amazing and I wouldn't sacrifice the color just because I like black and white. I guess it depends on the photo.

How do you know when to use and when not to use a flash?
I usually just don't use a flash. Sometimes I use the SB600 speedlight with a Gary Fong (white cloudy, photojournalist) diffuser for fill flash during the day, but that is so rare I think I've only used it a handful of times. Flash is a tricky thing to master, but when it's done right it can be really cool. I'm still learning :)

WOW! Thanks for all the questions everyone! Keep 'em coming, you have until Friday to ask your q's and to enter the GIVEAWAY! :) :) :) And if you missed Q&A Part I, scroll down a bit. If these answers have helped you out, leave a "hello"!

{Stella}

My sweet girl, (sigh) I just love her. :)

Q&A Part I

Prepare yourself for my endless babbling... the flood gates have opened... :)
If you have NO IDEA what is going on here, be sure to read this post, all about the Q&A going on this week, and the super sweet GIVEAWAY! You won't want to miss it. :)

Q&A
Part I

Rebecca H asked "How do you get such vivid crisp colors in your photos AND what is your favorite lens to use?"
Crisp colors start with proper exposure, some basic post processing, and good glass. It's pretty tough to get vivid colors out of a poorly exposed photo. In Photoshop I like to add a curves adjustment layer and create a very slight S curve by pulling the middle-lower point down a bit and raising the middle-upper point a bit, and leaving the center point in the center. That really helps bring out the colors. I also use a Soft Light adjustment layer a lot, too.
I also use Totally Rad Actions and would basically be lost without the action called "Oh Snap!"- I usually run "Oh Snap!" and bring the opacity down quite a bit, but man do I love that action.
About good glass... My favorite lens is also the one I use pretty much all the time- the Nikkor 50mm 1.8 prime. It has a lot to do with my crisp, vivid shots. It's a great, fast little lens and I can tell a huge difference when using that piece of glass versus something like the 18-200mm 3.5, as far as my color vividness and crispness goes. It's a great little lens, perfect for low light situations and for following fast kids around. It's pretty cheap too.
And really quickly, while I'm on my favorite-lens soapbox, this lens has seriously pushed me as a photographer. It's a prime lens, so it doesn't zoom at all- it's pushed me to learn to "zoom on my feet" and to really learn what it takes to frame a great shot, get close to the subject, and it has taught me a TON about depth-of-field. I really can't say enough about my little buddy, the 50mm! :)

The Dansies asked, "Do you have any recommendations as far as the best camera/lens for someone just starting out?"
This is a tough question for me to answer because I've only owned 2 digital SLR cameras. I started with the Nikon D40 and now use the D300. I think the D40 was a great, super basic starter but after a couple of months I had outgrown it. If you're hoping to progress beyond the amateur/basic hobbyist, I'd really suggest investing in something like the D90. Although I've never owned it, the reviews are awesome and I have several friends shooting with it, beginners and more advanced photographers too!
Chances are whichever camera you buy will come with a kit lens- something Nikon throws in to create a "package deal". Like I said, I'm no expert, but I don't know what I'd do without the 50mm 1.8 I talked about earlier, and I think it'd be a great lens for you-- like I said earlier I have learned so much from that little lens, I wish I'd gotten it sooner!

Arly asked, "Besides Stella, what is your favorite subject to shoot? And what subject do you think you are the best at?"
For those of you who don't know, Stella is my little angel-face-pudding-pie 16 month old girl. :) And she IS my favorite subject to shoot. But beside her... Hm... Well, I really really enjoy doing engaged couples. Because I love love. And although I haven't done a TON of it, I feel like I'm pretty good at the editorial/music/fashion photography. I'd really like to do more of that style, like Zack Arias... he's the man. Or street photography, like Dave Beckerman. I don't think I'm BEST at that stuff, but I'd love to be best at it. :)

Rachel H asked, "How did you really get comfortable using all manual settings?"
Comfortable? Who said I was comfortable? :) Well, truthfully I am finally getting to the point where I don't fumble over all the manual controls. I relied on Aperture mode for quite a while. And actually, that was pretty good for me, it helped me to understand the relationship between ISO, aperture & shutter speed more, so when I went to Manual mode full-time I was more aware of what I was even adjusting and why. Just reading from a book how ISO, aperture & shutter speed work together doesn't make you a pro on exposure- at least it didn't for me. Actually putting it into practice and understanding that relationship has made a HUGE difference.
So I guess, first, learn what you are adjusting and why. Then, experiment the crap out of it until you've got it. Soon it does come naturally, and using the manual mode has made a HUGE difference in getting the exposure right- using A or S or other "auto" modes work just sometimes. Shooting manually has made my exposure more accurate most, if not all, of the time. And I always start every shoot with a couple test shots to make sure I've got the exposure right, and every time we change location I do the same thing. Or if the sun goes behind the clouds, or other changes in light happen, I take the time to do some test shots and make sure I'm spot-on with the exposure. Exposure is everything.

The Nelsons asked, "What suggestions do you have for taking photos of babies 0-12 months?"
The best suggestion I have for doing photos of babies under a year old is to A) use natural light and B) use a natural circumstance and surrounding. Natural light is great for babies. A flash will scare the crap out of them, and potentially blind them (okay I made up that last part, but seriously, don't use a flash.) So set them up on a familiar couch, chair, or bed in front of the window (North facing windows are best, btw). Try to get the light in their eyes. And then, get on their level. Kneel, crouch, lay if you have to. Being on their level makes a HUGE difference. Let them do their thing and don't try to force them to do anything they aren't cool with. My most favorite shots I have of Stella and other babies are the ones that were completely opposite of what I had planned on happening.

The {G} Fam asked, "How do I make my photos crisp? I shoot in manual mode, but I just can't seem to get the crispness that I want."
Hi {G} Fam! I checked out your blog and it is really cute! I wanted to get a better idea of what you were talking about as far as "crisp" goes, and I think you're doing a great job so far but I can see what you are saying. Using a better lens, like I talked about in my answer to Rebecca H. will make a huge difference. A nice shallow depth of field allows you to get much much sharper images. If you have a lens that goes down that low, start using the lower aperture end (1.4-2.2ish) A lens that goes down to 1.8 or 1.4 even is going to get razor sharp images compared to a lens that goes down to 3.5, for example. So invest in good glass! :) Also, expirement with your auto focus points- keep them on the subjects eyes and that should really help as far as crispness goes! :)

Jeanna asked, "How in the world do you get good pictures in a cultural hall? I have been asked several times to come take reception pictures and the lighting is so incredibly awful that my shutter delay is unworkable!"
Oh, the dreaded cultural hall and it's yellow yellow crappy light. First, you HAVE to shoot in manual. Don't let the shutter drop below 60, and keeping a nice shallow depth of field will help compensate- really really pay attention to your light meter and adjust the exposure up a stop or two (or three haha) if you have to. Secondly, and this is a "trick" that I only just recently learned from my genius photog friend Vanessa, with your white-balance shoot in KELVIN mode. Kelvin is the bomb-diggity. Experiment with it a bit, but it'll really help balance that flourescent or tungsten by manually adjusting the white balance. You'll be blown away once you really get that down- it has taken me several weeks to get comfortable with it but it's now an easy thing for me to adjust and I will never use an auto-white balance again, I don't know why I'd want to now that I know how to do it manually! :)

And lastly, a few questions from my friend Joy! "How did you get in the whole photography world? I know you are self-taught, so did you just practice a ton and take pictures of friends kids and then move up slowly? And one more thing, what editing program do you use?"
Getting into the whole photography world started when I was about 5 or 6 years old. My dad had done a lot with photography and I began reading all the books he had on it. It started at a REALLY young age for me (hey, I didn't have a ton of friends, all right?!) When I was 11 my parents bought me a really old 35mm SLR that I started messing around with, and then later (much later) after I got married and had my own kid I realized the crappy point-and-shoot digital camera I was using wasn't cutting the mustard, and the film was too expensive to use the 35mm (we were poor starving college students, mind you) and so we invested in a good digital SLR. Then I started offering to do shots for my friends and family, and before I knew it I was booked every weekend and doing a couple weddings, too. It just happened really naturally I guess! But yes, I am self-taught and I have practiced a TON. So keep practicing like crazy, read all you can about it, really immerse yourself in it. If it's something you want to be good at, whether it's photography or cooking or playing guitar or golf, you have to really commit yourself to it.
For post-processing I use Photoshop (as does the majority of the professional photography world) because it is the best there is. Want to learn the basics of photoshop? (and some cool tricks too?!) I really suggest the Pioneer Woman's tutorials for beginners. :)


I hope those answers help! If you need/want elaboration on anything don't hesitate to ask! If you find these answers helpful, drop a comment :) Keep the questions coming and look for Q&A Part II coming SOON!

Shem @ Earth & Vine

Earth & Vine is a new little wine shop in town. It's REALLY cool, and I'm going to be a featured artist there in June! Shocking, I know. Anyway, the first Friday of each month Baker has an artwalk downtown. A lot of the shops have live music, food and local artists work hanging everywhere. Shem was the live music part @ Earth & Vine! Don't miss next months Art Walk, everyone! :)

ps... keep those questions coming and don't forget to enter the guinea pig giveaway!
(no, mishelle, they are not real guinea pigs... you get to BE the guinea pig!!)

Q&A + a GIVEAWAY + some tiny announcements...

First things first... This month marks my one year photoversary! Sure, I'd done plenty with photography in the past. But a year ago this month I got serious and started doing photos for my friends (and anyone else who'd let me take their picture!). And now here I am, a year later, doing it "full time" and STILL learning! Learning never stops, and one of my favorite things is sharing what I've learned with YOU. It's pretty gratifying to be able to answer questions that I was asking not too long ago! :)

So... Q&A... for a WHOLE week, I'll be taking questions you ask (and have asked in the past) and I'll answer the best ones on my blog! They can be about PHOTOGRAPHY, PHOTOSHOP, RUNNING A BUSINESS, or about me (since I know you are all dying to hear what my favorite food is and other exciting tidbits). Don't be shy! Email questions to info@carlycarlson.com or comment with them on this post. ***I'll be taking questions until MIDNIGHT, FRIDAY the 13th (ooh, spooky!)

This brings me to my next item of business!
A GIVEAWAY

I'm starting to teach some one-on-one photography and photoshop classes online. Because I've never done this before, I'll be selecting one of you question askers AT RANDOM to be my first ever online student. You'll get a 1-2 hour online session. If you've used Skype or iChat, it'll be a similar format, we can see each other and we can see one anothers screens-- how groovy is that? It's a great opportunity to get some hands on learning, and to pick my brain about anything you want to learn (that I know!!)! I'll be making a more official announcement about my classes sometime next month!
***When asking a question in the Q&A please specify that you'd like to be entered in the GUINEA PIG GIVEAWAY if you'd like to win. The winner will be chosen using Random.org. Again, either email me or comment here.
***Winner will be announced on FRIDAY the 13th (still spooky!) at MIDNIGHT.

And a couple tiny announcements...
*This here photography blog was featured on ILovePhotoBlogs.com this week... Thanks guys!
*Wedding season is picking up already, and since I only take 2 weddings a month, the summer is filling up!! Book your summer wedding this month and get a FREE engagement session! Ask for details.

***quick clarification***
I will post answers to questions through out the week, rather than posting them in a big post or answering them one-by-one...
so check back over the next week for updates on the Q&A!

My girl, and her hats.

Stella, my little girl, got into grandpa's box of hats he uses for his business. Yes, they do say "The Nut Busters" on them, keep in mind, my dad sells hydraulic tools... ... :)

Isn't she awesome?

{my favorite}



{the aftermath}

More shots from Vegas!

Just some more shots from WPPI in Vegas! :)

Jessica, Vanessa & Paul were such good models, I have hot friends, ya'll! I'm so stoked for WPPI next year, already! I feel like I've learned a ton, and I'm really starting to apply the things I've learned. Anyway, here are just a few fun shots. Enjoy :)