knittens

98 :: 365 :: Light

I've been trying some new things in photoshop, and they haven't really been turning out as I'd like them too.  I'd love to learn how to get that high contrast, bright eyed, vivid color look, but I just can't seem to get the hang of it without the picture going all... well... alien.

So, instead I thought I'd just try to expand on what I know and try something new... but more in my comfort zone.  Stick with what you know, right?

So, I like this picture because 1) My flash fired and the picture doesn't look freaky.  2) I used my 16-35mm lens which is a little slower than nifty fifty, but I like the wide look it gives up close and 3) the focus and aperature are dead on.  Nice and crisp at her eyes, a little fuzzy around her mouth, and then progressively more bokeh goodness down her little PJ clad body.

Sure, I would have loved it if she looked at me... but I'm goin' it alone here people, this is the best I could do.

I'm about to get some moral support - Nana and Pop Pop will be here in a few short hours.  Hopefully then I can get some rockin' pictures.

By the way... earlier today I hid out in my kitchen and stuffed my face with the last cupcake.  I hid from my toddler and chowed down hoping against hope that she wouldn't discover me and ask for a bite.  I really considered offering her some, but then took the last bite and licked my fingers clean.  I mean - how rediculous is that?  I HIDE IN MY KITCHEN FROM MY NOT-EVEN-TWO-YEAR-OLD SO I WOULDN'T HAVE TO SHARE! I guess we all have our moments.

Tutorial :: B&W Conversion

When I originally took on the 365 project, I did it with the intention of not only capturing the little moments in our every day lives, but also to become better at photography.  The journey is also a learning process.  I am pretty proud to say that everything I have done so far is self - taught.  I spend (way to many) hours combing through blogs for free actions, tutorials, etc. to get better at what I do.  I figured I may as well share some of the love because I am always appreciative when photographers do the same.

Here  you will find a quick and easy way to do a b&w conversion.

First things first, you need to go over to Pioneer Woman and grab action set 1 &  action set 2.  If you aren't familiar with actions, CS3, or layers, then I can't help you, I'm sorry :(

Step 1: SOOC

Get your SOOC shot and adjust it so that the exposure is a little light and there is good sharpness/contrast.  To do this I occasionally run "slight lighten" and "define/sharpen" from Set 1.  I did not do this on this shot, I liked it as is.

Step 2: Heartland

Run "Heartland" from action set 2

Step 3:  Expand & Adjust Range

-Expand Heartland in your layers
-Click of "edge fade" (do this by clicking the eye on the left in the  layers pane or setting opacity at 0%)
-Lower opacity on "range compression" - in the following example I lowered it to about 10%.  The more you lower it, the more blacks you get and the more you lose your midtones.  See how dark her eyes got?

Step 4: Adjust Local Contrast

-"Range compression" and "local contrast" really work together in harmony.  Play around with them.  I like to drop "range compression" opacity down really low, so there is high contrast and then also drop the "local contrast" opacity in order to regain some of the midtones that were lost. 

-*In the following example I dropped "local contrast" to 65% opacity and then flattened the image*.

Step 5: Edge Burn

-Using Action Set 1, run "quick edge burn".  Lower the "fill" to about 40%.
-Select Eraser and make sure that it is as a brush at 20% opacity and about 50% flow.
-Make sure the "quick edge burn" layer is selected, not the background
-Erase parts of the picture that you don't want the burn to cover.  I didn't want the burn on her skin or sleeves, so I erased the burn from there.
-I then increased the fill back up to about 70%
-Flatten the image

Step 6: Boost it, Baby!

-From PW Action Set 1, run "boost".  I feel like this is the icing on the cake.  It changes the tone and increases the contrast.  It also adds noise because it sharpens, so be careful.  Sometimes the noise works, other times it doesn't.  You'll have to play it by ear.
-In the following image I have the opacity of "boost" at about 75%
-Flatten the image
-Done!

I am probably going to go back into this image and lighten up her face a bit, and soften it so that there isn't so much noise on it.  I'm also going to lasso her eyes and lighten them.

**Back to say that I did what I mentioned above (lightened face, reduced noise, lightened eyes) and this is the finished shot**

Enjoy :)  Don't forget to show me what you've done!!

xo
meg

96 :: 365 :: Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday Matt.  We've known each other for almost a decade now, every spring and every birthday seems like an excuse to celebrate our relationship as well.  I love you today more than I did yesterday, and I hope you enjoy your...

Banana cupcakes filled and topped with peanut buttercream, sprinkles, banana chips, and chocolate chips.

Elvis has left the building.

Stacking

One thing is for certain, Thaya is an intense child.  She isn't one of those kids who gets lost in a crowd.  On the contrary, she pushes her way through it and says "hello" to everyone on her way.

She approaches every new situation with intensity and passion.  She has her nose in everyone's business as well she should.  She is cute, she is funny, and she is quick and witty...

Matt: Please take another bite of your dinner.
Thaya: Nooooooope!
Matt: *trying to stifle a laugh* Please, Thaya. Take a bite.
Thaya: No, daddy. No bite.

Her sister is following close behind, and though she leaves her own individual mark on the world, she has a similar intensity.  She is also mobile now, and determined to eat solid food (or die trying.  We had a few *very* close calls today which involved a napkin, a hot dog, and an ABC cookie.  Good thing I know infant CPR & First Aid).  Some aspects of human development appear to happen over night, though I know it is weeks and weeks of coordination and connections that lead up to the events.  Yesterday Aubrie started pushing herself up to sitting on her own, and started proper crawling (as in, one hand in front of the other, not the "butterfly stroke" maneuver we had previously seen).  Today she realized that she could crawl over to Thaya and use her hands to grab what Thaya was playing with right out of her hands.

I am a mother, I have two mobile children who are under two, and I realized today that I need to restructure activities and procedures in the house to ensure that little-miss-into-everything doesn't actually get into everything.  Read: time to pull out the play yard.

Hmmm... that isn't where I meant to go with this post.  Oh well.  Here is a triptych for yah...

I love love LOVE how her finger is touching the cup in that bottom photo. LOVE.

Hope you all had a great Monday, see you tomorrow
xo
meg

I ♥ Faces - Week 13 Kids Theme - "My Friend & I"

I was looking through my reader when I found a post at The Maternal Lens about how one of them recently won a contest at a site called I ♥ Faces.  This week's theme is "My Friend & I" and I couldn't help but enter.  Immediately this picture of Thaya & Brie came to mind.

Kids Entry:



One Word :: Beautiful :: Sisters

Aubrie is on the left (6 months) and Thaya is on the right (22 months).  They are growing closer everyday, and with the way that Thaya looks out for her sister, there is no doubt in my mind that they will grow up to be best friends.

There is also a giveaway going on at their blog, so head on over and enter to win!  It ends tomorrow, so hurry!

Have a happy Monday!

xo
Meg

93 :: 365 :: Superhero Challenge

Just a self-portrait? Not really.  It was a challenge because this is in that itsy bitsy mirror that is on the sun visor in the car.  A challenge because it kept focusing in the mirror, but past my head.  A challenge because I just started shooting in RAW and I feel like I have no idea what I'm doing.

I love how this picture came out, but I feel so unorganized.  I put my memory card into my computer, but I can't "preview" them like I do with jpegs. This is news to me.  So, I get a 30 day free trial of lightroom, import them in... and I see them all, GREAT!  I play around in lightroom for a bit, but then I go to upload them into CS3 and I can't get them into jpeg format. Ugh.  So, I stop playing around with them in Lightroom and use it just to preview, open the corresponding number file in CS3 and work a little bit in Camera RAW before editing it as a jpeg.  Seems like a lot of work for nothing.  Not to mention that I feel really confused as to how to save and backup the files through lightroom.  I want to get the most out of the 30 day trial, but I feel so lost.

Oh well, I'll keep playing with it, try to create a workflow, and hopefully I'll feel a bit more at ease with it.  It seemed to go a bit quicker when I started editing this picture - my 365 from a couple of days ago.  Then for today Matt took this picture...

Thaya is saying, "Look Daddy!" her new favorite phrase.  I love hearing the excitement in her voice when she discovers something.  Ok, anyway, back to the editing.  By this picture I feel a little more comfortable with the whole concept of viewing it in Lightroom, finding the file, opening it in RAW, fiddling, and then editing as a jpeg. But it still seems like such a roundabout way of doing it.

What I would like to do is:

Back up my folders on a disc
Save the files in a folder on my external harddrive
Preview the files in a program that allows me to rate and flag (lightroom)
Delete the trash
Re-save the files on the harddrive
Open a selected few with CS3 to work on

I know I can do all of this with that program, I just have to teach myself how.  I would like to use lightroom to open them with Camera RAW in CS3. Is this possible?

Have a great weekend. I hate to post and run, but we are SO busy today!!

xo
meg

91 :: 365 :: Adventurer

I love how paper bags, cardboard boxes, puddles, and handfuls of moss are all it takes to have a great day.

I am so lucky to be able to share these moments with my girls, and I am thankful for every moment I get to spend with them.

Even if the tree-hugging went on for a good 20 minutes and I was roped in to running from tree to tree because, "Look Mommy, another one! Follow me!" coming out of your two year old's mouth as she runs across the yard is just too. darn. cute.

Hope you all had a nice day :)  See you tomorrow!

xo
Meg

90 :: 365 :: Garden

She is such a good little girl when Mommy is busy in the garden.  She carries around her bucket and shovel, and digs and collects and organizes.  It is serious work.  I'm going to have to get her a children's gardening set, and a toy camera.  Any sugesstions? I'll just look on amazon I think.

Quick post today, Granna is here and she is offer to take me out. Out?! Of the house?! Is it allowed?!

Happy Wednesday!