Ballet Pointe Shoes.

I think every photographer has a few things that they’d just love to photograph.  One of mine has been fulfilled. : D  I love ballet shoes.  I never took ballet because I didn’t think I’d like it when I was little, but one of my best friends did.  So when Brooke (full post coming Friday) contacted me for her Senior Portraits & told me she wanted to bring her Pointe shoes, I was giddy with excitement.  Of course, we spent a lot more time photographing her with and without her shoes, but I stole a few minutes & a pair of shoes to do some shots.  And here’s my favorite.

For the next 3 weeks, I’ll share some shoe images, though I don’t guarantee they’ll be my best images.  There’s something about shoes (especially when on feet) that I seem to have trouble photographing, lol.  So, I’m going to force myself to get at least a little better.

X D

Have a lovely Tuesday.  Enjoy the warm Spring weather. ; )

Okay, so last week’s opinions were split right down the middle… so I thought I’d try again. ; )

Well, actually I just thought it was fun to see what people voted on & why.  So if you’ll indulge me for another week, here’s another lovely image to give some opinions on:

In completely unrelated news, I thought I’d share just for funsies that my excessive tweeting about book contests has paid off.  : )  I’ve won 3 contests so far, hooray!  If you’re interested in such things, click on over to my Twitter page & poke around to find some chances to win free books (mostly YA/urban fantasy/paranormal) from nice bloggers that review books & host contests.  Although, I did use the word excessive for a reason to describe the number of tweets & maybe I should create a new Twitter account just for such things… In fact, I think that sounds like a dandy idea!

But enough of that, tell me what you think: Color or Black & White on this image?

Happy Tuesday!

As I promised, here is some beauty to enjoy:   : )

I just love her dress. : )

And, like I said last time, those eyes!  : )  So blue.

Okay, so confession: it was really really sunny that day.  Glaringly sunny.  And that means I have to think extra hard & keep my eye on harsh shadows.  But it did make some nice back-lit images & lens flare. : )

There’s a place at ACU called Jacob’s Ladder.  It was fabulous!  I’m so glad Emily told me about it.  Watch for it again in Emily’s friend Lauren’s session which will be coming up soon. : )

So I’m pretty sure the image above is my favorite close-up image. : )  The details and her smile are just wonderfully wonderful.

And, finally, I just love this last image.  : )  Her dress, shoes, pose, and the little bit of yellow stripe peeking into the image off the pavement.

Ah, senior sessions, they’re so fun!

So I thought I’d take a break from my Tuesday post schedule.  Maybe it’s because I’m curious about the answer, or maybe it’s because me & my camera have been inside a lot lately working on the computer. Maybe it’s both.  Wink, wink.

Seriously, though, I’m curious about this.  Do you prefer Color or Black & White on a “typical” close-up portrait.  By typical portrait, I mean the subject’s face takes up most of the space in the image & is focused on the eyes and other features.  A headshot, in other words. Now, the easy answer for these is that it depends on the photo. And I know, it does to some extent, but on the other hand, when I’m doing processing, I’ll typically convert a handful into black & white & I’m just wondering what others think.  I’m a black and white fan (though I also like color), but I want some feedback.

With this in mind, I present one of Lauren’s portraits from last week’s session.  I just love that you can see her laugh in this image.

So what does everyone think? Do you usually like color but like this particular image in black and white? Or vice versa? Or are you flat-out always going to choose color? Share!  : )

Happy Tuesday to all.

I recently did some design work for a couple that I know through my mother-in-law.  : )  They’re getting married soon & wanted invitations with flowers, pink, and butterflies.  So I made up a few options & you can see my favorite 3 here.  When they’re finished, they’ll have a black border and vellum on top with a pink bow.  (Vellum is that translucent smooth paper that you can read the text through).  I think they’ll look very, very pretty.     : )

I went ahead and blurred out the details of their wedding, so no one can crash it, haha. Just imagine the text instead of blurs. ; )

And this is the one that they decided to choose.  It has a more modern/abstract feel.  Plus more variance in the placement and use of the colors black & pink.  And it’s the only one with grey, did you notice? : )

The matching RSVP postcard to be mailed back to the couple (with their address printed on the back).

Anyway, I thought it might be interesting to share some design work that I’ve done that doesn’t include photography.  I’m okay with that. In fact, I think all 3 of these are pretty (which is good since I designed them, hehe). So if you’re looking for design work, but not photography, don’t feel shy to go ahead and contact me.  I’ll enjoy the challenge!  : )

I don’t have a whole lot of commentary today.  (Yeah, I know and I was getting so good at it!)  : )

My next week and a half is packed pretty full, but most of it will be fun. : ) And you’ll be seeing some of it here!  (Excuse me while I celebrate).  But for today, enjoy this simple little image. And the fact that I think we’re finally seeing Spring around here!  : )

Enjoy your Tuesday.

I really love cacti.  They’re pretty & oh-so-deserty.  Oh, and they’re hardy little plants, so I’m pretty sure that’s why they’ve survived our oddly cold winter. So, add a spider web to that coolness and I’m a happy girl. Spider webs are very pretty, delicate and skillful. Of course, I hate the spider part, but the webs are pretty. So I was super excited to take this image:

Did you get a good look? When I downloaded this pretty little thing & pulled it up to get a look bigger than my 2 inch LCD screen I realized that the friendly spider not only made it into the photo, he (or she) brought along a helpless little fly friend.  Neat, right? Even neater is the fact that I didn’t know that creepy arachnid was there, so I didn’t even have to go to the trouble of freaking out while getting a pretty shot. Yay!  : )

Have a lovely (real) spider-free Tuesday.

We had snow (again) this week!  Wowzers. 0_o

And because of that lovely white powder, my husband’s graduate classes were cancelled & we got to spend some time together.  It was an early birthday present to me.  : )  Yay!

No, he didn’t make a snowman without a jacket. : )  His mommy taught him better than that. He just took it off when we went inside to gather the finishing touches to the snowman & my camera.

Here’s our finished snowman. Check out  his super colorful scarf & mittens. : )  Yeah, they’re mine. Cute, right? I hope they don’t catch on fire when he lights up that grill, though.

Here’s his face detail. You can see his snow-nose and snow-chin.  And that’s an apple slice for his mouth.

And, finally, me and our friendly snowman. Do you think he knows I’m giving him bunny ears?  (Don’t worry, you can laugh. No one else will know).  : D

If you’ve been getting snow recently, I hope you’ve enjoyed it. And maybe even had a day off to make a snowman!

So, since it’s still cold, cold *cold*, I decided I’d see how I could take advantage of the situation instead of whining about it. Or at least whining about it less, lol.
So I got out in the cold & after spending about 5 minutes straight trying to take pictures, I returned to my car with a red nose & frozen fingers & a bit of condensation on my camera’s LCD display from pressing my freezing cheek to it.
So I changed my tactics. If the weather was going to attack, I’d just return to my fort (aka car), get warm, and then venture out again for another go. So that’s what I did. Over & over. Though I did drive between excursions, so the scenery changed. : ) It kept me sane and at least slightly less cold.

And through the exploration, I decided I’d run a 4 weeks series of Winter’s Nature. Spring/Summer doesn’t have a monopoly on pretty nature, so I hunted some down.

Look!  Baby pinecones!  lol. (I have no idea if that’s what they really are, but they sure look like it!)

The “frame” on the image is thanks to Rita over at Coffee Shop Photography’s Free Actions. I’ve loved this bordered look for a while & thought I’d try it, especially since she made it so easy, though you should still check the tutorial so you know exactly how to customize it. : )

Happy (Cold) Tuesday!  Enjoy the weather as much as possible.

Well, after a hunt for green high heels that fit my specific requirements, I decided I’d try something new… and hope I didn’t fail completely.  I didn’t. : ) Which makes me very proud since I haven’t painted anything for 4-5 years, but I found a pair of canvas shoes on sale & dug out my old paints, to produce these:

The shoes started out as that subdued teal color (check the inside of the shoes) & I painted them a popping bright green.

Then I really tested my skills & tried to paint those little cameos. Believe it or not, the one I like best is the one I didn’t try to sketch out.  Figures, right? lol.

I stumbled upon this idea via this etsy shop.  If I had more spare cash laying in corners, I’d spend a lot more of my time on Etsy. lol.

And that’s what they look like on my feet – phenomenal, right? (Please ignore the bit of old nail polish peaking out of the shoe.  It will be removed by the end of the day, I promise. ; )  I still need to spray them to seal the paint on, and now that I’ve taken these shots, I see a few places I may want to touch up. Little things that I can’t see when they’re on my feet & I’m not studying them. : )

But all in all, I really am pleased. And now I have more custom-shoe ideas. Anyone got old shoes they want painted? ; )