Headin’ West | St. Louis Portrait Photographer

Posted on July 26, 2010

Well, I’m heading out to Denver today with my two kids to visit family for two weeks. I’m so excited. I thought I’d leave you with a post, since I’m not sure I’ll be posting while on my trip.

Meet my in-laws, Steve & Linda. Aren’t they a handsome couple?! They are just as beautiful inside as out. They were so sweet and flew out to Philadelphia from Utah for Zack’s graduation from dental school in May. When they asked if I’d mind taking a few photos of them, I’m pretty sure I laughed at them. “Ummmm…NO I don’t mind!! It would be such a treat!!” These are two of the best people you will ever meet in the world, and these images make me really happy.

I convinced Linda to let me take a couple of just her. Isn’t she gorgeous? I don’t know how many people told me, “Your mother-in-law is beautiful!” when we first moved here and she was helping us move in. I’m blessed with a gorgeous mother too. Sheesh, it could give a girl a complex.

They passed their wonderful senses of humor to their children, my hubby included. I love it! Such good, happy people.

Love you guys!! XOXO

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Tell All Tuesday – Eye Pop | St. Louis Children’s Photographer

Posted on July 22, 2010

Tell All…Thursday is here! It’s a quickie but goodie. I’m going over the eye pop I do to all of my portrait shots. FIRST – realize I learned this technique from watching THIS GREAT TUTORIAL from Becoming Mom. She goes a few steps further than I do, so make sure you take a minute to watch it! When I was first starting out, I figured out I could sharpen eyes and went WAY overboard. I also only sharpened the colors of the eyes and not the whites, which turns out looking like an alien weirdo. That’s not what we want. Now I just do a subtle eye pop, and here’s how I do it:

Here’s an out take of a little cutie I had a session with recently. We’re gonna pop those gorgeous eyes!

Click on the lasso tool – mine is set to 0px feather and Non-Alias is checked. Select the eyes (including the whites of the eyes).

BEFORE

AFTER

Nothing crazy. Nothing too dramatic. But it definitely makes them pop, and that’s what I want. Make sure to watch Becoming Mom’s tutorial if you haven’t already!

Filed Under St. Louis Child Photographer, St. Louis Children's Photographer, Tell All Tuesday, Tips & Links |

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New Blogsite! | St. Louis Custom Photographer

Posted on July 19, 2010

Welcome to my new blogsite – it’s a website and a blog all in one! It’s been a loooong process, but I’m beyond excited to finally be launching Danica Nelson Photography here in St. Louis. You can click on “Portfolio” to view image galleries of my work, and you can follow my posts below to stay up-to-date with my latest work, helpful hints and photography finds. Don’t forget to change your links and/or bookmarks, or even subscribe to my RSS feed and add me to your Google Reader. As always, feel free to contact me (through my new Contact option or at danicaphotography@gmail.com) with any questions you have or to set up a session. Now let’s have some fun!

P.S. I used Portfoliositez.com to create my new blogsite. It’s very affordable and the customer service is outstanding. Thanks for the referral, Lacey!

Filed Under News/Promotions |

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Cool Relief! | St. Louis Children’s Photograper

Posted on July 15, 2010

Oh boy, are you feelin’ the heat? We’ve been taking advantage of our pool as much as possible to find the cool relief we need.

This girl’s faces kill me…

Bam! How’s that for some sass?

The light outside of our town home in the evening is gorgeous…love these two.

Stay cool, St. Louis!

Filed Under Children, My Family, Outdoor, St. Louis Child Photographer, St. Louis Children's Photographer |

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Tell All Tuesday – Color Casts | St. Louis Children’s Photographer

Posted on July 6, 2010

Today we’re going to talk about a specific type of color cast. Many times in images, clothing and accessories that are white end up having a color cast, or tint. Most commonly in my images, the cast is blue, yellow or magenta – or a combo of all three. This is a quick tutorial on how to get rid of that color cast.

*Also check out Ashley McNamara’s tutorial on this HERE – it’s a good one!*

Here’s an image SOOC. Click on the Quick Selection Tool and select the white that is tinted. Sometimes I do all the white at the same time, and sometimes I do them piece by piece because the tint is different. This time I selected the blanket and not the diaper cover.

Sorry, I adjusted the color without taking a screen shot. This next one will show it. After I adjusted the blanket, there was a shadowy area that still looked wrong to me. I selected it. Then went to Hue/Saturation in the Adjustments palette.

I lowered the magenta. Ashley McNamara’s tutorial shows you how to find out what color to decrease.

I also selected parts of the diaper cover that were magenta. Here’s the image after fixing the color casts.

Make sense? Hopefully!

Filed Under St. Louis Children's Photographer, Tell All Tuesday, Tips & Links |

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Can’t help myself… | St. Louis Children’s Photographer

Posted on July 2, 2010

I hope you don’t get sick of seeing pictures of my kids any time soon! My session availability is very limited due to my two crazies (whom I’m in love with), so my camera gets the most use right in my own home these days. I love it! I’m afraid you’ll have to *endure* a few images of my little loves now and then.

Left- such a Cami face. Right – love the clasped hands.