I LOVE These Faces! {Memphis, TN–Custom Portraiture}

Posted on September 30, 2010

This week Love That Shot and I Heart Faces are teaming up.

Here’s my shot for the link-up this week:

ISO 500, 35mm, f/3.2, 1/1000 sec.  (Edited in Photoshop.)

My children met their newest cousin for the first time this week.  A 4 yr. old, a 2.5 yr. old, and a 3 month old are challenges to photograph when by themselves, but put them together and you have to change your mind-set. :)

So here’s my tip:

Don’t expect a lot of photos where every child is looking directly into the camera and giving you all that great eye-contact that we love in our photos.  Instead, relax and enjoy capturing the relationships of the children as they interact.

I have (rough estimate) about 100 photos of basically this same set up.  The family has gathered around my computer to watch all 100 scroll through my screen.  Each child takes the forefront as having the most precious, precocious, or bored expression.  We love every moment of these photos.

Had I expected “perfection” and gotten irritated by my unreasonable expectations not being met, I could’ve ruined this little photo session.  Instead, the whole family has enjoyed reliving this little glimpse into the “cousin time” that we hope will be a source of enjoyment for the rest of our children’s lives.





Love that Shot–Link Up

Posted on September 23, 2010

This week on Love that Shot, we are encouraged to share our favorite shot from the week and a tip. So here’s mine:

ISO 640, 135 mm, f/2.8, 1/400 sec.

(Edited in Lightroom with minor touch-ups and PUSH IT PORTRAIT & SKY Preset, then a quick curves adjustment in CS4 with web-sharpening.)

As I said in my last Link-Up post, it’s important to capture the every day moments with your children.

Here is my little girl.  At 2 and a half she is all girl, all get-up-and-go, and all awesomeness.  (yes, it’s a word) :)

But here’s the deal about her hair.  I cannot keep it from breaking free from the various barrettes and pony-tail holders I put in it.  So I’ve chosen to embrace the halo of curls that surround her cute-as-a-button face.

But when the lighting is just right, and the setting sun glows through her tendrils and tangles, something magical happens.  She’s no longer a little girl playing in the grass… she is a little cupid, gorgeous enough to be painted on a chapel ceiling.  And it makes me want to hide her brush and comb forever!

So, here’s my tip:

Let the hair be crazy for some photos.  Put the setting sun behind your wild-haired child and watch the transformation!





Classy Christmas Ornaments {Memphis, TN~Custom Portriature}

Posted on September 14, 2010

The jewelry line that I use to bring you beautiful custom jewelry featuring the photographs from our sessions has just come out with some new products.

Those of you who are fans of d’Lifeful Photography on facebook have already been alerted to the fact that one of my images was chosen for the new Over-sized Cocktail Ring.  :)

Well… they are also offering Christmas ornaments!  What a perfect way to display a special moment from your year during the holidays.

Here’s the blurb they have up on their web-site about their new ornaments:

Holiday Photo Ornaments

Holiday Photo Ornaments
Our holiday ornaments make it easy to personalize your Christmas tree! At a very generous size of 4.2 cm by 6 cm (about 2.3″ x 1.6″) they can easily been seen amongst the tinsel. We even hand engrave the year on the back, so you can collect new ornaments from year to year.

Made of fine German silver, they won’t tarnish as quickly so they’ll be safely stored all year round in their anti-tarnish pouches, ready to hang in December with no polishing! Com es with a cranberry ribbon, so they’re ready to hang. Available in horizontal or vertical.

We reproduce your photographs at a professional imaging lab and then permanently seal it into the piece of jewelry making it waterproof and UV resistant.

Here’s one of my favorite shots from my session a few weeks ago put into one of the ornaments:

Wouldn’t this be beautiful hanging from the Christmas tree?  I LOVE how you can put the year on the back!

These ornaments will be for sale through d’Lifeful Photography for $45 and would be a GREAT way to show off your favorite family Holiday Session shot!

-Fa La La La La, La La Daisha  (go ahead, sing it in your head… it’ll make you smile… and then get stuck there all day… you’re welcome) ;)





Lose 20 Pounds in 20 Minutes {Memphis, TN~Custom Portraiture}

Posted on September 11, 2010

It’s true.  And painless.  And all it take is having your picture taken by someone who knows how to use Photoshop. :)

I’ll demonstrate with a photo of myself.

This weekend my husband and I celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary.  Since we were all dressed up (for us anyway) and he shaved (a treat for me), I set up my tripod, my d40, and got out my remote to take some self-portraits.

Here is the straight out of camera shot (SOOC):

Now, there are several problems with this photo.  Since no one was behind the camera, and I don’t do a lot of self-portraits, I was unaware of how much of the background was actually in the shot.  But it’s nothing a little cropping can’t fix.

(And isn’t my husband handsome?)

But my bigger problem with this photo is how big the side of my face looks.  (Now all of you who hadn’t noticed that before, are now looking at the chipmunk cheeks… go ahead… chuckle a little.) :)

Now I’ll show you my edited version of this shot and you will see how 20 min. was all I needed to lose 20 lbs… in my FACE! :)

(and now for resolution # 31 of trying to look like this in real life… )

Photoshop… a HUGE blessing of custom portraiture.

-Daisha





Love Your Shot!~Link Up {Memphis, TN Custom Portraiture}

Posted on September 9, 2010

I recently joined a new on-line photography group.

Today they encouraged us to take shots of the little moments in our day that, when we look back, will be the moments we treasure.

This really resonated with me.

My 4 year old son has asked me to teach him to read. So, every day right after we put his sister down for a nap, Gideon gets 15-20 min. of my undivided time to work on reading. He’s doing GREAT! One of the reinforcement games we play involves using special crayons to write on our glass doors. This happens to be one of the best spots in our home for natural light. So, I snapped a few shots of him during our lesson last Thursday.

He looks like such a big kid! I can’t believe how fast he’s growing up!

Camera settings: ISO 400, 35mm, f/1.8, 1/6400 (I could/should have lowered my ISO)
I edited them in LightRoom and readied them for the web in Photoshop CS4.

***********************************************************************************************************************

Get your cameras out.  Snap away with your iPhones.  Don’t let these moments pass without capturing them to hold them a little longer.

You don’t have to wait for the “big moments” to invest in portraiture to capture the fleeting moments of childhood.  Capture it all!  Let me help you.

Mini sessions (available on request) are perfect for:

-First steps

-Favorite security item snuggles

-Loss of first tooth

-Removal of braces

-Every day cuteness

So, go ahead… get out your camera and shoot!

~Daisha