DPS Assignment: Headshot

Here is my submission for this week's DPS assignment, "headshot" - from the neck up, making the face your feature... it can be a self portrait or a portrait of someone else. I guess it's no surprise who I would use for my subject! LOL. This shot was taken just this morning at our breakfast table. I used my "nifty-fifty" lens. (This len has not come off my camera since it arrived almost 2 weeks ago!)

How Cute Is He???

Now isn't this little fellow just adorably handsome??? I could not resist taking a few shots of him during our homeschool PE class on Friday. What a great subject to test taking portrait shots with on my new lens! :D These are my first official portrait shots with my "nifty-fifty". Not bad, if I do say so myself. LOL!

FYI: These shots were shot wide open. Meaning, I shot at the lowest f-stop to get a shallow depth-of-field. Therefore, only a small portion of the photo is in focus. I wanted the deep bokeh for these shots! When shooting wide open for portraits, be sure you are focused on the eyes. Click images to view original size.

Oh, I almost forgot...Did y'all notice my new (watermark) logo? I just created them this evening. I needed something that I could use for shots where my other logo would not fit right. So, I got to designing again! :D

Downtown Photoshoot

Fun, fun, fun! This afternoon we went downtown to do our street photo shoot for our photography class. It was awesome! (Couldn't resist using that word!) I didn't realize how much character there was in this part of our own hometown! Where've I been?? :D Here are some of my favorite shots from this shoot. I couldn't wait to get these posted! Enjoy!

The kids will be submitting their shots from today by next Tuesday. I will post their shots Wednesday, so stay tuned! I can't wait to see their work! :D

Okay, I need to mention how excited I am of this last shot (below). Except for a defog, this shot is SOOC. Can you believe how deep of a blue the sky is??? Wowzers! I didn't even have my polarizing filter on. I am soooo in love with my D40! Color, color, color. Gotta love it! LOL! :D

Oh! For those who are following my photography journey, I wanted to share something exciting.....

I ordered a new 50mm f/1.8D lens last week and it just arrived this afternoon!! Yippee!! This is a prime lens and is super sharp, even in low light. This lens has been recommended for portrait shots and low light shots (because of the wide aperture). Can't wait to show some shots with this. Btw...it does not autofocus on the D40, so I am forced to shoot in manual mode. And guess what?? I am LOVVVIINNG it (manual mode, I mean -- of course, the lens too)!! :D

Photoshop - to edit or not to edit...

....that is the question!

So, what do many photographers think about using a photo editing software to edit their pictures?? Opinions run from being a "purist" (getting it right in camera from the start and no need to post edit) to believing that photography is an art form; and using a tool such as Photoshop is okay by them to enhance their artistic creativities and style.

I am one of those photographers who fall into both camps. To me, a good photographer must know how to get the fundamentals of photography right. No amount of post editing can fix an image if you do not have a good picture to start with! But, I also believe that Photoshop does have its place and can definitely take your photography/artistic skills up a level.

As a beginner photographer, I am continuing my focus on the the basics. Although, I must confess....I do utilize Photoshop often. :D In the end, it's all a matter of personal preference. Had I not been already using Photoshop for years (web designing) prior to getting into photography, I don't think I would be utilizing Photoshop into my photos as much as I do already (it has a high learning curve). :)

Above are before/after photos to showcase how post editing can take up your photos a notch. Isn't this young maiden such a beauty??? She is the eldest daughter to one of our dear friends at church. This was taken at a House Warming-Birthday-Adoption celebration at our other dear friends' home several weeks ago. It was a totally fun time!!

Slip & Slidin' Away....

Yes, these were taken TODAY. Yes, it is STILL warm. Yes, that is a another photo of our son. :D My son and I spent a wonderful afternoon at the home of our dear friends, the W's. I just had to take pictures to showoff our warm weather (in the high 90's). Although, I am soooo ready for it to cool down! At least the mornings are starting to get cooler. Yay!

The kids spent almost 2 hours slippin' and slidin', while us two moms did what we do best...talk and laugh. :) Totally fun! Oh the beauty of Christian fellowship....

Glistening Beauty

Isn't she just adorable?? This cutie pie is the granddaughter to a dear friend of mine. I took this shot during our homeschool group's P.E. class last Friday. As you can tell by her glistening face, the weather here in AZ is still quite warm. Btw, as a side note...men sweat, but us ladies, we "glisten". LOL!

Portrait Session (photo #2)

I couldn't resist! This is another photo of our son during last week's portrait session. I decided to take a more minimalistic approach, without any "color-pop" processing to it. I really like the natural look to it. :)

Color-pop Portrait

I'm so excited! I learned how to "color-pop" portrait shots this evening. Woo-hoo! Here is my first try at the tips I learned from the Amy-Rose Inspired (flickr) group.

I wanted to get more practice with portrait photography this afternoon, so I had my son dress in semi-casual attire and took him to our backyard for a mini-photo shoot. He was a good sport! This was a fun shoot. I had the perfect lighting (during sunset) and tried various angles and portrait tips I read from the DPS blog. I can't wait to practice more! So who wants to be my next guinnea pig (I mean, model!)?? LOL!

DPS Assignment: Sunny Days

Here is my submission for DPS' current assignment - 'sunny days'. We were to submit photos showing things that can be done on a nice sunny day out. In AZ, going to the pool is THE thing to do on a hot, sunny day. :) This was taken at our church's 4th of July get together at our Pastor's home.

This cutie pie is our pastor's youngest daughter. Isn't she just so adorable?? Wish I had used the flash to avoid the shadow on her face though. Nonetheless, this shot is so cute! I couldn't resist submitting it.

PP work: typical processing (defog, adjusting layers). I tried to use the shadow/highlight feature to lighten up the shadow on her face, but too much of the green from the pool showed up. So I opted to keep it as is. :)

Baby Blue Eyes

I LOVE this shot - especially since it's my first baby photo with my D40. Isn't she just absolutely adorable?? And how about those amazing blue eyes?? This shot was taken at yesterday's baby shower. I had taken several cute shots of this beauty, but this one is my favorite.

Post processing: I did my typical basic pp work (defog, adjust various layers). I also learned how to make eyes "pop" through a tutorial by Amy-Rose King Photography.

Watermarked Photo

Thought I'd test out "watermarking" my photos. This was a lot of fun to do in CS2 (creating a "brush" with my watermark logo). I realize watermarking doesn't guarantee anyone will not copy my photos, but I think it helps. I will start watermarking more. This photo is of our handsome soon-to-be 10yo son. I took it yesterday while he was resting on his bed. This is one of my favorite photos I've taken of our son.

Post processing: converted image to b&w using Stacy's "b&w conversion" tip and added a vignette. I also cropped it, just a tad, for better composition. I also used Stacy's tip on watermarking.

You can visit Stacy's photography tips page here. Her photos are amazing, especially with a Nikon D50 (which has been replaced with the D40). So you CAN get pro-like photos with an entry level DSLR! I'm so inspired!

More Tea Party Photos

Here are a couple of more photos from the Tea Party....

Top photo: My first official "portrait" shot with my D40 and I love the way it came out! This beautiful young maiden is the eldest daughter of one of our church families (and also dear friends). She is such the sweetheart, isn't she? I did my typical post processing with (my new favorite technique!) "defog" with unsharp mask, adjusting contrast/curves, and adding a vignette. Lastly, I cropped the image for better composition.

Bottom photo: Same post processing as above but without any cropping. I really like the angle and perspective of this shot.

Btw, have I mentioned yet how much I'm enjoying my dslr camera? LOL. DSLR's are a totally different breed of cameras. They're just amazing -- the richer colors, levels of sharpness and depth of field!

A Princess at Rest

Our friend's youngest daughter getting a little rest by a fountain before we all made the drive back to Arizona from CA. Even tired, this precious little princess looks so cute! Why can't I look that cute when I'm tired?? :)

I played around with the brush tool for the border effect, as well as slightly angling the photo. I also did my typical post processing in converting the color image to b&w, with a sepia photo filter.

Just Plain Cute!

Okay, this is one of my favorite shots and post processing work thus far! Ain't he just the most darling little guy you've ever seen (next to my own son, of course!)? :) This shot of my cutie pie nephew was taken over the weekend during our trip in CA.

Post processing: The original photo had the focal image (nephew) slightly blurred with a very sharp background. I was able to sharpen the focus point and blur the background, which included adding several layers with varying blend modes such as overlay and multiply. I then added a texture layer and vignette to finish it off.