Newborns
Babies
Children
Family
Portraits
Posted on May 31, 2011
Just one for today…meet delicious baby Oliver (he debuted on the blog in his MAMA’S TUMMY).
More soon!
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Posted on May 27, 2011
Here are more from baby Finn’s 6-month session. He is just beyond-words adorable.
Thanks Steph for sharing your handsome little dude with me for our session.
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Posted on May 24, 2011
For today’s Tell All Tuesday, I did a write-up of the steps I take to edit most of my newborn session images right now (I do change things up every few months it seems, but these are basics that I do most of the time).
BEFORE
AFTER
And here’s what I did, using Photoshop CS4:
1. In Adobe Camera RAW (ACR), I opened the image and adjusted the temperature. I leave my white balance on auto and adjust in ACR if necessary. I changed my temp to 5150 and left the tint at +1 (I hardly ever mess with the tint). I also upped the exposure +0.20 and bumped up the recovery to 26. I usually up the exposure if necessary to a level I like, then up the recovery to get rid of overexposure. I have my ACR’s sharpening tab set to automatically sharpen each image before opening it in CS4. Here are my settings, which never change: Amount 25, Radius 1.0, Detail 25, Masking 0, Luminance 0, Color 25. Then I opened the image into CS4.
2. I then ran my own “The Regular” action:
- Ctrl + J to duplicate layer, High Pass Filter radius 7, change mode to Soft Light opacity 50%
- Gentle Boost at 50% (this action was bought from Vibe a couple years ago – use it on every photo)
- Ctrl + E to merge layers
3. Filter –> Reduce Noise – 10, preserve details 11% (I use this on all my newborn shots)
4. Patch Tool to remove blemishes from baby’s skin
5. Ctrl + J, Ctrl + L to pull up Levels – upped mids to 1.30, then created a layer mask and erased back most from face & skin – this is an easy way for me to lighten the shadows and seamless paper backdrop
6. Curves bump – output 132, input 123
7. Ran another Gentle Boost at 50%
8. Ctrl + J, Sponge Tool on lips – saturate, brush 65px, flow 20%, then set the layer opacity back to 50%
9. Touch of Darkness (available for free from MCP ACTIONS HERE) to accentuate baby’s eye line slightly – brush 13px, opacity 30%, layer opacity 50%
10. This is a fairly new step for me and I LOVE what it does for skin tones, both outdoors and indoors…let me know if my directions aren’t clear:
Warming Filter (Adjustments –> Photo Filter –> Filter: Warming Filter (85), Density 25%, with the box checked) – then click on the layer mask, hit Ctrl + I to invert the mask, then brush only onto skin with Brush Tool set to white at 100% opacity
11. Touch of Light (again, available for free from MCP ACTIONS HERE – love this action, use it all the time) to lighten right side of face – brush 813px, brush opacity 20%, layer opacity 50%, then again to lighten barn floor beneath baseboard in the left side of the image, and front of bed where there are shadows – brush 715px, brush opacity 30%, layer opacity 100%
12. Hue/Saturation Adjustment Layer – Choose yellow in drop-down menu, yellow -70, then Ctrl + I to invert the layer mask, and brush onto the blankets and bed to get rid of yellow color cast without messing with the skin tone at all.
That’s all folks. I know it seems like a lot, but it only takes me a few minutes. Please let me know if any of this is unclear or if you’d like to see a tutorial for any of my steps above.
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Posted on May 21, 2011
Little Adam was a doll to photograph at 7 days old. Sometimes newborns are very particular about posing, and this little guy was no exception. He was not having any stomach poses and that was that! 
I tried multiple times and each time he would arch his back in his sleep and roll over to his side. Hilarious. They really do not come cuter…
Smile #2.
And #3. What a sweetheart!
Love that he’s sucking his tiny lip.
Mom is a good friend…and she looks beautiful in these.
Thanks for trusting me with your new little guy. I think the long session paid off, don’t you?
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Posted on May 19, 2011
Couldn’t help posting just one from baby Lyla’s session yesterday…a moment caught as we were setting up this shot that just makes me smile. Heather, you’re glowing!
Another beautiful little newborn coming later this week…
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Posted on May 17, 2011
Hubby was out of town this weekend, so I didn’t have time for a full write-up on this before and after newborn shot. Look for a step-by-step post-processing tutorial very soon!
BEFORE
AFTER
And you’ll be seeing a lot more of baby Adam this week…
Posted on May 14, 2011
…and I can’t help posting a tiny peek for the H family as well! Aren’t these kids just the sweetest ever?!
Watch for a new Tell All Tuesday next week!
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Posted on May 14, 2011
Baby Finn was such a joy to photograph – at almost 6 months old, he was Mr. Charming with his gorgeous eyes and sweet smile! I love this little series of him. More to come…
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Posted on May 12, 2011
Here is the rest of the L family’s session peek…I just loved their outfit choices. They picked a color and did lots of variations of patterns/textures within that color. They are such a wonderful group of people and I’m so happy to have been able to spend the evening laughing with them.
My fave.
And here’s a little update on THIS little cutie you saw in March!
Thanks again – I hope you had a wonderful week together!
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Posted on May 10, 2011
Here is the rest of darling Ayven’s session peek…these were taken on a very bright and hot morning, and boy did we get a workout! Ayven is gorgeous, and she is FAST!
P.S. Is it bad to be jealous of a one-year old’s wardrobe? She rocked the prettiest clothes the whole time.
I’m drawn to this one for some reason.
Doing what she does best…running away!
Waving to some passersby.
Thanks so much for sharing your morning with me. Ayven is such a little treasure. It was great to meet you, V family!
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