Picnik is Closing!!

The ever-awesome Picnik is closing down to allow it's services to be taken over by Google! So, until it's official closing on April 19, 2012, it's offering all of their premium effects for images for FREE! Get it while you can! Who knows what Google will do to it!

I did Chelsea's senior pictures last Friday. And, out of boredom, I decided to make her a Facebook cover picture if she chooses to use it :) Then, I got a little crazy with Picnik, hehe. So now, she has lots to choose from! And you can see a couple of the cool things that Picnik will let you do :D

Original

Cross Process

Fancy Blur

Focused Blur

Panography

Facebook Covers available for download here just please make sure you post that you used them ^_^

New Lens!! Eep!!

I can not put down my new 10-22mm for my Canon!! It is an absolute beauty and takes outstanding pictures! Definitely worth the money I put down.

I haven't been able to use it in an actual shoot, but I have been playing with it with my family and just a little here and there on my own.

First, it was on people... my sister Jessie on the left...

We were having fun making certain body parts huge :3 As well as making my roommate, Jason (on the right), look even taller than he already is! He's kind of a giant...

Then my sister wanted to give it a whirl... so I did my creeper crawl!

When I took Jessie home, our parents surprised us with a trip to Dairy Queen :3

Om Nom Nom!!!!

Dad's crazy truck!

As you can see, i've been having way too much fun with it ^_^ ! Even the next day at breakfast!!

Jessie and Dad

After work, I got to play around in Downtown Stuart... I'm not really used to shooting buildings and things other than people... but it way fun ^_^

I was seriously like... 15ft. away from this building O:

And then some more from the day...

Just too much fun ^_^

New Business Cards

Barnes and Noble is really the perfect place to get things done! I was there for 10 hours yesterday O: !!

Since I had no idea what I was doing, it took me a very long time to create my new business cards. So, worth it though! I think they came out really well and professional :) Step one of my branding is finished! And here is the finished product. What do you think?

Stuart Ceramics

What an adorable place!! My friend, Julia, got a hold of me to take pictures of the place she works at: Stuart Ceramics. When she told me it was a ceramic painting shop, I immediately got excited. I used to paint ceramics ALL the time when I was younger and visiting my family in the keys. I didn't think it was going to be THIS adorable though!! If you are in the area, you DEFINITELY need to visit this amazing little studio!

I had a blast taking pictures! Each wall is painted with a different, bright color and the trims are all painted with cute stripes and designs. The walls are filled to the brim with different ceramic pieces with a few display pieces as well... People have such talent!

I got to catch up with my friend as well, which was a huge plus :P It has been years! What a perfect job! Hehe <3

Some unfinished work hidden in the back : )

The tools needed for art at Stuart Ceramics ^_^

And of course, an owl :3

Take a look at all the pictures here !! :)

"Like" Stuart Ceramics on Facebook: click

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Wild Photoshoot Inspiration

Something that I am super excited for is a photo shoot I have coming up. It's a "Wild" theme, so I feel like anything goes. After speaking with Raysa, my model, we both came up with some main ideas and things we want to go with. And, since i'm so excited, I made a whole pinterest board dedicated to this shoot! Hehe. Then I decided to put my new skill of making photoshop templates to use. And out came an inspiration board : )

1. I could see this saying over one of the pictures that turn out! Maybe a bit faded with a crazy font? The hunt for fonts is next, i assume :P (via pinterest)
2. I love the amount of trees surrounding this girl in the picture. Also, I like her pose. (via flickr)
3. Another pose that I find to be interesting. And, I love the messy hair! Possibly propped up against a tree? (via pinterest)
4. I just find this breathtaking. I want to do something like this in some way... I just don't know how yet. Love the gold light blurs as well... brushes, or natural? (via deviantart)
5. To shoot with a "wild" theme... it's good to know the look you're going for ;) (via pinterest)
6. Eye makeup is awesome! (via pinterest)
7. Another lion face. Fierce. And teeth, perhaps? (via deviantart)
8. More makeup. Love the use of rhinestones. (via deviantart)

Wish us luck on the shoot : ) I'll be sure to post pictures once we've finished <3

If you want to take a look at the rest of my wild photoshoot inspiration collection, take a peek here.

Related posts: Photography Display Template Using Photoshop

Photography Display Template using Photoshop

This is something i've been wanting to do for a while and after the shoot with Jenna the other day... I knew I couldn't procrastinate on learning this any longer. I should mention that every time Jenna visits I get a nice filling of inspiration ;) And here was the outcome:

If you have Photoshop, this is really a piece of cake once you get the hang of it! What this actually is, is a template that you make and you can drop the pictures in to make multiple images like the one above. You can just change the pictures easily any time you want to make a new one. I plan on playing around with it a lot more, but as for now, I used the same shapes that were used in the tutorial. I did say tutorial... so that means you can learn too ;) And what's even better is it is shown through a video! I always find them to be easier then written tutorials. Anyways, enough rambling! Try for yourself! :)

Making templates for photos in Photoshop

Fun in Downtown Stuart

One thing that I don't take advantage of enough is learning new tips and tricks by experiencing a different point of view in situations i'm usually in. Situation normally being that i'm the photographer... this time I was more along the sideline, helping out with lighting and such. I was lucky enough to be teamed up with one of my long-time best friends, Jenna Pinchbeck! She is such a talented girl who is constantly growing in each skill and aspect of her life. Not only is she a marvelous photographer ... but she is a fabulous Actor, Singer, and Dancer as well! :D Meet the wonderful Jenna! :3

So, we headed to Downtown Stuart which seems to be the only spot of life in this town. Lighting was perfect due to some nice overcast and we were lucky enough to have no rain! : ) After a bit of walking around and seeking out some good locations, we met up with our friend, Matt Siregar to start his head shot session. Can I just say that holding up a reflector and/or diffusor is a lot harder than it looks?! I must have made some serious muscles after yesterday. Hehe. Needless to say, the end product was beautiful and I learned a lot of new things from just watching and helping out with anything Jenna needed.

And, truth is, I was wiped out after just the few hours we had been out and about! I don't know where Jenna gets all that energy! So the three of us wondered into a lovely little coffee shop called Stuart Coffee Co. to upload the pictures and just relax after a hard days work :P We didn't get that far once we saw the gorgeous wood floor, the red sofa, and the great lighting this place had to offer! We took out our cameras again and started shooting. I have to admit, getting behind the camera was a little intimidating after being the helper. But, once I warmed up, I really had a blast!

Overall, a marvelous day! Nick and I even got to get some couple pictures taken :))) But that's a whole 'nother blog post ;)

View more pictures from this shoot: 1 | 2

Jenna's Photography Website

Jenna's Acting Website

Stuart Coffee Co.