Contest Time @ The Maternal Lens!!!

The fabulous ladies over at the Maternal Lens are hosting a giveaway for some very cool goodies from Sassy Design!

Sassy Design is a fantastic site for any one out there. It's packed full of amazing goodies. from digital papers, to card templates, to design elements.

Terry, the owner of Sassy Design is giving away 5 of her beautiful products to five lucky Maternal Lens blog readers!!!

So head on over & enter the contest!!!!!

Good Luck!!!

I heart faces "Texture" photo challenge

I was so happy to see that the challenge this week was "texture images"! I have purchased a lot of textures and have been wanting to practice using them on portraits for some time now, so this was a really fun project for me!

This is my entry :)


I hope you will head over to I ♥ Faces & check out all of the fun images!

Happy Monday!!!!
xoxo!

I Heart Faces

Last week was a huge week for the I ♥ Faces website! Not only was it their first birthday, but they teased everyone all week about the suprise rockstar guest photographer that would be the judge of the "Best Face" photo challenge.
The day before the contest started, they posted the suprise judge...only it was not one rockstar photographer...it was 18!!!

My jaw dropped when I read the names of the judges:
Jose Villa, Ree Drummond (The Pioneer Woman), Angie Monson, Nate Kaiser, Sheye Rosemeyer, Becker, Simon Pollock, Rebekah Westover, Amy Wenzel, Justin & Mary Marantz, Rog Ellsworth, Michael Howard, Patti Schmidt, Raya Carlisle, Lori Nordstrom, Lyndzee Ellsworth & Donna Boucher!

Almost 1000 talented photographers entered images, so Saturday when I went to the I ♥ Faces website to check out who the winners were, I was shocked to learn that Justin & Mary Marantz & Jose Villa had chosen my image as one of their top 5 favorite images!

I'm still quite shocked...and truly honored. I admire Jose, Justin & Mary so much & can't believe that my image made it into their top 5 picks!

I now get to display this little gem on my blog :)



This has truly made my week!

If you have never visited the I ♥ Faces website, I encourage you to give it a try! All levels of photographers are welcome to join in the fun & it is a great place to learn & meet friends that love photography!

Thank you for visiting today & I hope you have a wonderful week!!
xoxo,

Week 3 {We are Family} Photo Challenge

This weeks challenge is "We are Family"! I hope you will head over to I heart faces and join the fun!

This is one of my favorite family images right now :) I love all of the different expressions!
Thank you so much for looking!

I heart faces "best face photo" challenge

I heart faces is such a fabulous place to visit, learn, and meet friends who love photography! They are celebrating their first Birthday this week!!
Go over and wish them a Happy Birthday!! While your there, check out all of the awesome entries for the "best face photo" challenge...and if you want to get a little wild on this cold Monday morning, you should join in the fun!!
http://iheartfaces.blogspot.com/

This is my entry. It's my little boy and was taken on December 20th for my Christmas cards...yep you read that right...the 20th! I was so busy this year (which was fabulous) that my card was put on the back burner until the last possible second!
The image is special to me for a few reasons. First, it's really hard for me to get a good candid image of my son. I can do it for hundreds of kids I've never met, but put my son in front of my lens, and well...
The second is simple.... This is my little guy through and through!


Thank you so much for looking!! I hope everyone has a wonderful week!!

One Willow Studio {Retro Candy Presets} Givaway!

About a year ago, I started following fellow photographer Jessica Paige on her blog The lost lens cap. I've admired her work & was so excited for her when she launched One Willow Studio, her new website where she is now selling Lightroom & ACR presets.
One of the most common questions that I get from other photographers is how I post process my images. I have done almost all of my post production in Photoshop, until recently. I have added Lightroom into my workflow to speed up sorting, and adjusting curves, exposure, etc...and then I bring the images into Photoshop to polish them off.
If you follow my work, you know that I love adding a vintage flair to some of my images & when I saw these presets, I knew they would be perfect! I think I purchased them about 5 minutes after Jessica announced that her new website was live...lol :)
I normally do not write about actions & presets that people sell, but I must tell you that I LOVE these presets! I love them so much that I have entered Jessica's contest for a FREE set that I will be giving to a girlfriend as a gift (if I win)!

Here is an image of Baby Hunter that I used One Willow Studios {Lavender Mint} preset on. I love the tones that it added & it is not "too much" or over processed...It just enhances what is beautiful about the image :)


So head over to One Willow Studio and enter yourself in their contest! You will love your new presets :)

Giving is Awesome {The Winner}

Choosing the Giving is Awesome winner was a tough task this year. With unemployment at 10%, and a terrible economy, there were so many people who deserved custom photography & I would truly give anything to award the prize to everyone who was nominated.
Thank you so much to everyone who participated! I just looked at the Giving is Awesome website & am happy to report that 356 photographers signed up this year & donated $384,218.00 worth of custom photography to qualifying families! Now I don't know about you, but I think that is AWESOME!
And now....For the winner...:o)
I chose Greg and Kathy Sharp!!!
The Sharp family was nominated by Ben & Julie Wallis and will receive a portrait session & package valued at $1000.00!

Here is the story that was submitted:

When Julie told me about your giveaway, both of us immediately thought of a family in our church. Greg and Kathy Sharp are a couple in our church that have been through so much in the past few years. They have two young girls: Breanna (8) and Raigan (6). Over the past months, Breanna has gone through a gauntlet of testing concerning problems with her hearing and vision. Raigan is severely autistic. Raigan has (and continues to undergo) undergone more different types of therapies than I can count. She is currently enrolled in a special program (INCREDIBLY expensive) that is aimed at teaching her basic cognitive skills...as of yet, she has never said a word. Greg owns a lighting landscaping company called Sharper Lighting. Due to the downturn in the economy, his business has taken a serious hit. He has expanded his company to include more "green" resources and technologies, however, business continues to be slow.

With all of this context, Greg and Kathy are still giving to others in so many different ways. They both are very active in autistic awareness...both were participants in the recent Autism Walk in Jacksonville about 2-3 weeks ago and Greg was in Miami this past week speaking at an autism conference. With everything else going on, Kathy heads up our children's choir at First Baptist Church Jacksonville Beach...even going to the extent of actually writing the script of the upcoming children's choir Christmas musical. She is also active in teaching our KidZone Children's Church which is designed to teach children K-3rd grade about how God loves them, and also allows their parents to attend our Worship Service on Sunday mornings without having to worry about their kids.

I have no doubt that Greg and Kathy could never afford professional, custom photography. Due to "life" issues and finances, I believe that the last family portrait that they had done was when Raigan was a baby. I think that, not only do the Sharps qualify to be nominated, but that professional, custom photography would be so immensely appreciated and be such a blessing to them.


I will be sure to post the images from the Sharps' session! I hope everyone is having a very Merry Christmas!

Take care!

Giving is Awesome :)

http://www.givingisawesome.com/

You know someone. You know someone who's experienced a tragedy, is struggling to stay afloat, is raising kids while holding down more than one job, or is volunteering selflessly despite extenuating personal circumstances. You know someone who can't afford custom photography, but who would cherish it this holiday season. You know someone who deserves a year-round reminder of their family's spirit, love, and beauty.

You know someone. I guarantee it.

I want to know who they are, and I want to give them the chance to experience complimentary custom photography -- $1000 worth, to be exact. Whether it's canvas or albums, prints for Grandma, or a slideshow to watch over and over, it's in your power to give them the artwork they deserve this holiday season.

Oh, and the best part? The person who nominates the winner receives a $200 print credit. What better reason to show some love could there possibly be, people?

The rules:

* You cannot nominate yourself, and the person nominated must sincerely be incapable of purchasing my services. (Being unable to make mortgage payments for a two-million-dollar-vacation-home in Paris does not qualify as sincere financial need.)

* The nominee must reside in Jacksonville, Florida (beaches, OP,etc...). Tell me who you know, what they're experiencing, and why they deserve my artwork. Please include a way to contact both your nominee and yourself as well.

* You must e-mail me the full story : haydnkreephotography @ comcast . net

The winner will be announced on Christmas Eve -- get nominating! I can't wait to read all of your entries!

Open your heart to someone this holiday season -- and thanks for giving me the opportunity to open mine.

With love,

Ps. If you would like to find a participating photographer in your area, or if you are a photographer who would like to donate your art to a deserving family, visit: www.givingisawesome.com

Are you a font freak?

I sure am :) I found a jewel of a website that offers tons super cute FREE fonts.

You can browse through all of the beautiful fonts & download them one at a time, or they have a button on their sidebar that allows you to download every font they have in a zip file. Pretty cool huh?!

Have you run accross any websites that offer cool stuff? I would love to hear about some of your favorite finds!

Enjoy!!

♥ Your questions answered ♥

From time to time, I receive questions from other photographers asking a whole range of questions from Do you use photoshop actions, to What type of camera do you have? Sometimes, it's just a sweet note telling me that Mark and I are being prayed for, or asking how I balance my time between being a mother/wife and being a photographer.
I have to be honest with you, the first time I got an email from another photographer I thought, wow...your asking me for help? How can I teach another photographer anything when I still learn something every day?
So a couple of weeks ago I decided to hire a professional to design a new blog template for me. I thought about my old template & how many hours it took me to figure out the html coding to get it looking the way I wanted. I thought, "gosh, it would be a real shame to just send this template to my recycle bin after all of that work!" That's when I came up with the idea to have a contest to pass the template along to someone who could get good use out of it.
So, when I announced the contest, over the course of the week my email box was flooded with all sorts of questions. It took me a little while, but I did get back with everyone.
Some things I find myself answering over and over so I thought I would post the answers in case anyone else is curious.

1. What type of camera do you use? (the #1 asked question by far)
I shoot with a Nikon D700 and have a D200 as a backup camera.

2. How do you balance your time between your work life & your home life?
Gosh...I think if I knew the answer to this question I would be a rich women...Lol. The truth is I work an awful lot & sometimes it's not balanced at all. Then other times, I get really organized and surprise myself. I think that what a lot of new photographers are surprised to learn is that being a photographer is much more than just shooting & making beautiful art. It's about being a business owner, book keeper, sales person, customer service rep., artist, blogger...and the list goes on and on!
If I could give you one piece of advice, it would be to schedule your time off just like you would schedule a session. It's important not only to take care of your business, but to take care of yourself.
I hope this helps...it's something that I still struggle with every day & if I learn any new secrets, I'll be sure to pass them on :)

3. How do you get the picture on your blog to have rounded corners?
When I first stared putting round corners on my images, I would do it manually in Photoshop. Then I found a fabulous free action from this site:

There are several free actions on the web that will give you rounded corners, but I love the Coffee Shop action because it re-sizes your image as well as rounding the corners :)

4. What software do you use for editing?
Photoshop CS3

5. I love your baby portraits! How do you get so many good ones? I've done one baby session and it was really hard. The baby wouldn't stop crying & I was so nervous! I came away with only a few good ones.

First let me say do not get discouraged! Newborn portraits take practice and lots of patience so don't be too hard on yourself :)
Here are a few tips:
- Get them young! The first two weeks is ideal & if you can shoot the session during the first week, even better!
- Plan on taking lots of breaks. During my typical newborn session, the average baby eats 2 to 3 times. I also let Mom know that during our pre-session consult so she can be prepared. When baby is full, she will get relaxed and sleepy for you which makes your job a lot easier!
- Don't be afraid to position/touch the baby. I know this might sound silly, but I've talked to several photogs who are very intimidated to move babies around & you must feel comfortable doing this in order to achieve the poses you want for your images.
- Keep them warm. I always bring a couple of small, super soft blankets that I cover baby while I move them around, or to use between shots.
During the winter months, I bring a heating pad with me to warm the blankets so baby will be extra cozy.
- Don't get in a hurry! Take your time & enjoy the session :) Newborns are my absolute favorite subjects & I always try to enjoy every moment that they are in front of my camera.

6. I notice that you shoot with other photographers sometimes. Are you afraid that they are going to steal some of your secrets? After all they are your competition...

Lol...No. I don't really have any special secrets & every time that I have had the pleasure to shoot with a fellow photographer, I have always walked away a better photographer! The truth is, if they happen to learn something from me, I am flattered!
I don't really look at my photographer friends as competition for these reasons:
- There are plenty of people in Jacksonville for everyone to have a thriving business.
- When a client hires me they have done so because they saw something in my work that they love. There is nobody but me who can produce my work & even if someone tries, it's still not going to be my art.
- Photographer friends are the best! You have so much in common & they are super fun to hang out with!
- It's so nice to know that if I ever need a question answered, I can always count on my photographer friends to help me out. It also makes me feel really good if I can do the same for them!

Do yourself a BIG favor & make friends with other photographers in your area! I promise you that you won't be disappointed!

I hope this helps answer some of your questions! I have a whole list & will do another q&a post in the next couple of weeks.
It really means a lot to me that you take the time to read my blog & send me such sweet emails.

Take care everyone :)

Blog Template Winner(s)!!!

Where you looking for me yesterday to announce the winner of the contest?



Yesterday, I didn't have time to blog because Mark had to go to St. Vincents for a blood transfusion :(

However...I do have a little suprise......Yay!!!

After reading your emails I just couldn't select a winner....so EVERONE WHO WROTE ME will get a copy of my old blog template!

So, if you entered the contest, please email me with the address you would like for your template to go to! I will then get your new blogger template to you in the next couple of days :)

I hope you are having a good Wednesday!!!
XXOO,

Getting a new blog design!

Hi everyone! I hope your having a good Thursday! My blog is going through a few changes this week, so that's why it's looking a little different.
I'm too excited to see the final result!!

One of the most common questions that I get asked is how I get the images on my blog to be so big. Well the first step to big images on Blogger, is to have a template that is wide enough to accomidate large pictures.
So, I thought it would be fun to give my old template away to someone who
could use it.

Template Features;
- Fits images up to 900 px wide.
- 940 px wide header area.
- Horizonal link bar to run under header.
- One column for posts for a more uncluttered look.
- Three colums at the bottom for extra links.
- You can also add a custom background!
****You must have a Blogger account for template to work****

So, if you would like my old template, just leave a comment, or email me @
haydnkreephotography @ comcast . net.
*Make sure to leave a link to your blog!*

Winner will get the template & I will walk you through how to make your images large when posting.
I'll post the winner next Tuesday!

Good Luck!!

XXOO,
Erica

Photo swap {round 2}

For round 2 of the photo swap, Brittani and I met up with Stephanie and her man at Hanna Park.
Now typically when you think of a photo session at Hanna Park, you would think of going on the beach to shoot. Instead, Stephanie found this terrific pile of junk for our backdrop, which I just loved!
Round 3 is for Mark & I which means that I am on a crash diet as of yesterday...lol.

I loooove the dress that Steph got from Etsy!!! Don't they look hot!?!

Photo swap {round 1}

A few weeks ago I met up with Brittani & Stephanie, two very talented fellow photographers, for a fun photo swap.
We did Brittania & her sweet hubbys session first & they were fabulous in front of the camera :) You can't tell from the images, but it was soooo hot! We were all drenched with sweat by the time we finished.
I have had the best time getting to know these girls! It's so much fun to have friends that are photographers. This past weekend we met again for round 2 of the photo swap & captured Stephanie with her man. I'll post their images really soon :)

I ♥ Faces Wedding Bells {week 25}

Week 25 is going to be a fun week at I ♥ Faces!! The theme is wedding bells, and the guest judge is Jasmine Star!!! How fun is that?
My contest entry was from Beth & Tien's beautiful wedding that I had the pleasure of second shooting.
It's one of my favorite images from the wedding because this was not a planned kiss! Robin, the main photographer, asked all of the bridesmaids to blow her a kiss. Well, when the girls heard Robin's request, they kissed each other! My camera just happened to be in the right place at the right time...pretty lucky huh?!?



Head over to I ♥ Faces & join the fun :o)

I Heart Faces {week 21} Pets!!!

This week atI heart faces they have a special "pet" category! I was super excited because I loooove animals :)

This is a portrait that I took, and then painted in Corel painter.



This is Bandit. He belongs to my Mother-n-Law & he is the sweetest doggy! I love the curious look that he has in this image :)

A great idea for custom birth announcements

You may remember Erin from a session that I posted a while back for baby Addison.
After our session, I designed a (5x7, flat, two sided) custom birth announcement for the Cullen family. During the design process, Erin came up with fabulous idea that I wanted to share with everyone.
Because it was a 5x7, she wanted to put a full bleed image of the family on one side of the card. Her thought was that when family and friends received the card, they would not only have a beautiful birth announcement on one side, but a 5x7 family image on the other side that they could then frame.
I thought this was a FABULOUS idea!!!

Here is the finished birth announcement;



I looooove it...and it looked even prettier once it was printed!

Fix-it-Friday {I ♥ Faces}

This is my first time participating in Fix-it-Friday on the fabulous I ♥ Faces photography blog. Every Friday an image is posted, and the ladies at I ♥ Faces ask their contributors to "Fix it up" and explain how they did it.
The readers are also asked to play along! You can see all of the contributors "before" and "afters" HERE :)

This is the image for week #14 "Ponytail Princess"
BEFORE

AFTER


When I first looked at the photo I knew that it would not be too hard because this little girl is SUCH a cutie pie!
I also knew that I wanted it to have a "vintage" look when I was finished.

So, this is what I did;
1. Dodged the catch lights & iris (I didn't do anything with the eye whites). I use "screen" with a layer mask to achieve this. I like this option because it is non destructive.
2. Burned the eyelashes & pupils. I use "multiply" with a layer mask for this.
3. Unsharp mask & layer mask to sharpen eyes.
4. Simple "S" in a curves adjustment layer.
5. Levels adjustment layer to lift mid tones to brighten the white wall & the little girls face.
6. Cropped in a landscape format going about 3 inches past my actual canvas on the left.
7. Used the Rectangular Marquee tool and grabbed some of the white wall on the left & used the Free Transform tool to stretch it on to the empty canvas that I created when I cropped the image.
8. Cloned out the couch.
9. Used a Nik filter "Pastel" at 20%.
10. Created a new layer & filled it with white. Reduced the opacity to about 10% to give the image a "powder like" look.
11. Hugh & Saturation" adjustment layer to saturate her lips.
12. Second Hugh & Saturation adj. layer to tone down the pink on her pony tail holders.
13. Grabbed a soft brush in "color" mode at 20%. Chose a color from her lips and lightly brushed her cheeks.
14. Put the image in one of my card templates.

Gosh...I hope I didn't forget anything!

Photo Swap!

As a photographer & a Mom I have stacks of images that I am not in. Even before I became a mother, the only time that an image would have both Mark & I in it was when one of us would hold the camera out to take the picture. So needless to say we have lots of images with our two giant heads & Marks right arm... sexxxaaay huh?!? Lol

So, when I read about a group of professional photographers who decided to do a photo swap, I thought it was a brilliant idea!

The details;
- This is open to PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHERS in Jacksonville, or who would be willing to travel here.
- You must be willing to participate in photographing & providing the other photographers with their images, free of charge, as the same will be done for you.
- A date & location will be picked once we get a head count & look at every ones schedules.
- I think the group should be smaller (maybe 3 or 4 photographers). That way everyone can get the attention they deserve.

Are you game? If so, drop me a line at; haydnkreephotography @ comcast . net :)

I can't wait to hear from you!!
xxoo,

I ♥ Faces Blurb photo book challenge {week 19}

I'm sooo excited about the I heart faces photo challenge! The images submitted will be considered for the I ♥ Faces blurb photo book, which I know will be amazing!!!

The instructions were to pick out your favorite face photo. Well, if you know me...this was not an easy task...LOL. I went back in forth with about 5 different images before I finally called my hubby in the room to help me make the final decision :)

So this is my entry for the professional category. I can't wait to see all of the entries!!!

I am submitting this photo into the www.iheartfaces.com Blurb Book photo contest. I am granting I ♥ Faces permission to use my photo in a printed version of a book for commercial use and possibly advertising of a photo book on both the Blurb and I ♥ Faces web sites.