Our Vacation in St. Petersburg, FL

Being that I just returned from my blog break, I am doing a lot of catching up.  Trying to sort through my emails has been such a time consuming task that I haven't been able to think about topics to blog about.  To me, it's not all that important anyway.  I much rather maintain my social relationships by responding to emails, visiting blogs, and returning the love with follow backs!  With that said, if you emailed me and still haven't received a response, you should expect to see something soon!

Tone your images in Photoshop! (a video tutorial)

I don’t know how you prefer your images, but I usually like mine to have a lot of contrast.  I’m not talking about so much that the whites and blacks in the image have lost their detail, but I do like to make the shadows and highlights really pop!

Then there are times that I just want to tone everything down.  Do you ever feel that way?  It was taking me awhile to figure out why I wasn’t completely happy with the processing of an image but then it was like a light bulb went on over my head and I was certain of the look I was going for!  I know toning can mean a different things when it comes to photography so the type of toning I am speaking of is when the overall colors/shadows/highlights of the image blend together to create a smoother appearance.  I guess the opposite of the toning I am speaking of would be less contrast. 

It’s not your birthday!

I was doing the laundry the other day and Livi happened to spot a hat on the shelf above my washing machine and dryer.  It was a hat shaped like a birthday cake with one candle sticking out of the top and read “fun to be 1”.  Yeah, I had bought this for Livi’s first birthday.  Of course, then, it was a tad BIG for her little noggin so she wasn’t really able to wear it.  Now at the age of 2 1/2, it fits perfectly.  Not even tight either.  She absolutely loved it!  When I tell you I couldn’t get her to take that hat off, that would be putting it mildly.  She didn’t even want me to touch it.  It didn’t matter if she had it on backwards or not.  She walked around the house singing birthday songs, telling me it was her birthday, and that we were going to a party!  That hat entertained her for the entire day.  I’m lucky I got it off before I put her down for the night.

Woo hoo; very excited about the Edit Me Photo Challenge

I'm lovin' the picture this week for the Edit Me photo challenge over at My Reflection of Something.  I know I always say that but, seriously, this picture is so adorable!  It was taken by Jamie over at Mommy's Camera.  The original shot was so great it would have been really difficult to improve.  Instead I went for changing it completely.  I absolutely love the colors in the original shot, but I wanted to convert to sepia so that you would focus on the striped knee socks!  I just happened to find a paper bag frame in PSE that I decided to put it on.  Thought it was cute and, for some reason, fitting!  So here is my entry:

A Wednesday Photo Challenge

I love the photo this week for the Edit Me challenge at My Reflection of Something!  I have two edits to share with you, but I've chosen the first edit to submit for this challenge.

My very first post!

Yay this is my very first post on this site!  I still have to design a watermark that I will be placing on each of my pictures so that no one can reuse them.  The below pictures were taken without a flash, at a lower shutter speed and higher ISO.  It was challenging trying to get clear pictures of my moving 9 month old at such a low shutter speed, but I managed to do it.  My sister, a professional photographer, suggested these exposure settings.  So far I like the pictures that were taken with no flash better than the ones I've taken with a flash.  Below are some before and afters so that I can track my editing style and progression.