A Little Photo Fix

Check this out!

I have been editing photos we took at our booth at the mall.  They are surprise pics for Mother's Day/Father's Day, so I don't want to spoil this little darling's present.  I just had to show you this little trick I learned!

Check out her little hand heart above.  She is adorable, and is actually a survivor or multiple heart surgeries, but I thought that perhaps that heart needed a little help.  I took it into Photoshop and with a little experimenting with Liquify, look!

Looking at this now, I think the bottom of that hand on the right looks a little goofy, and her pinkie on the other hand looks a little pointy, so let's modify just a bit.

I am subscribed to the Adobe Creative Cloud Photography subscription.  It gives me full Photoshop {which I am still just a baby at using} and Lightroom {LoVE, LOVE LOVE!!!}  It is TOTALLY worth the $10 a month I pay to have those two tools at my fingertips, even only working photography part time.

When you open Photoshop open the "filters" menu and choose Liquify {highlighted in blue above}.  It takes a minute, at least on my computer for liquify to open in a new window, but then there are a couple tools there you can use to push or pucker, or bloat your existing image.  I just kinda pushed around to open the heart up more, then played around with the other tools to get the look I wanted.

Here is my final result!  I like this one.  The heart isn't quite as perfect as the previous version, but I think her hands look more natural.  Obviously I am not perfect at this, but I AM totally excited to have had this much success!  Now, on to try a few other tricks!

New Props!

I was working feverishly all week on the props I needed for this weekend.  V Photography Studios has a gig at the mall!  We were invited to set up in an empty store there and have at it!

I managed to coax some neighbors over tonight so I could get a couple pre-pictures.  I LOvE THEM!  The neighbors AND the pictures!  Check out those smiley boys!

Probably one of my favorites.  I LOvE to catch real personality, not just frozen smiles.

We had a ton of fun playing around with the SuperHero backdrop.  There was a TON of smashing, let me tell you!  I can't wait to see what our little ones come with tomorrow.

So these are all meant to be a Mother's Day/Father's Day gift if the families want an easy gift.  We tried the backdrop the original way...

Then went a little crazy with things for a moment of flight time.  

That was followed up by a pretty involved beauty session before our RockStar backdrop came out.  These two brothers are just adorable!!!  Put a little colored spray in their hair and the wild side comes out.  I love it!  Man is my job fun!!!

I don't even know how to explain these girls.  They are just crazy...and fun, and so cute together.  Long live BFFs!

Now that our own private fun is over, it is time to pack everything in my car and drive the 2 hours to Fairmont, Minnesota for our first Mall Photo Shoot!  Yahoooooo, I am so excited.  Now if I could only get at least 4 hours of sleep....please!

Harrison

Meet my new nephew Harrison!

This little guy got a fast pass to life last week.  He was born 5 weeks early, while I was in Las Vegas, and he will never be able to make it up to me ;0}

It's ok, cause I sew*ed up a storm of blankets, pacifier rings, and more just knowing he would be born before I got home.  Harrison's family stopped by my house for a few pictures before going home 3 days later.  This little darling was a miracle, born so healthy he didn't need time in the NICU!

He was 6 lbs 14oz.  They say babies gain one pound a week, so if he would have waited until his due date Harrison would have been just under 12 pounds!!!  Maybe the boy was supposed to be born 5 weeks early after all.

So, I should probably mention that my sister is obsessed with Harry Potter.  Yes, Harrison is already called Harry.  Of course we had to add a little magic to his muggle-captured photos.

I made this outfit.  I sew*ed the tie to a onesie, made a super quick sleeper gown to look like the vests they wore, and then popped out the dress robes.  I don't like to toot my own horn, but I am still a little shocked I could make this outfit without a pattern in a little over an hour.  We didn't have much notice before Harry got to our house, lol!

Now, we had to include the sorting hat!  I made the hat too, but I will let you in on a little secret...I added the face to the hat with photoshop.  Waha!  It looks pretty good though, I think anyway.

Here is a photo of it before the face was added.

I love photoshop!

So, little Harry, sweet dreams and I hope many magical muggle-loving moments are yours.

And hurry back cause Auntie Nessa's arms are very empty since you left ;0}

Halloween Signage {Free Files!}

Check out my new Halloween signage born in the dead of night.  I had a photo session lined up out of town a little while back, and must have been worked up about it or something because I could not sleep a wink.  About 3:30 I finally jumped out of bed and hit the garage to find a scrap of wood I could make into a cute sign. I popped open Silhouette Design Studio to make a Trick or Treat sign, when I realized I totally needed to make a pumpkin stand.  I had spent days in a stupor trying to think what set-up to make for the shoot.

Here is a little peek at my process...  Make a little mark, shoot a couple nails...

Base paint black...

Topcoat amazingness...Beautiful!

I was feeling pretty proud of my self right about here...then there was more...

 I had made 4 signs, starting with a thought and finishing with total love by 7:30am.  I dragged my kids out of bed and we hit the road.

This was my setup at the park.  You have to love Minnesota and their ever abundance of lakes!  This is a sight for sore eyes when you are used to Arizona's deserts.  We have been in Minnesota almost 3 years and I still can't even wrap my head around the beauty here.  There are trees everywhere just dripping with life, not to mention grass that grows like thick shag carpet.  Love.

All I needed was a cute kid, and this little guy worked perfectly for that.

My Pumpkin's sign was made from one plank of cedar fencing.  I wanted a rough and rustic feel to the sign and cedar is perfect for that.

I did bring some witchy things too in case anyone wanted a setting with a little more Halloween and a little less harvest.

I made this sign out of a scrap piece of 1x12 pine too short to make into an iPad stand.  

It goes perfectly with the witch hat and broom I made last year.

On the backside of the Trick or Treat sign I made this "Here Comes Trouble" sign.  Yep.  It's reversible.  That makes for one less thing I have to haul into the site.

After all that was ready, we just inserted family after family.  

I took these pictures in my yard before I left town.  I loaded the car and went in the house to grab "just one more thing."  I came out to Eli...

In the tree.  My son has decided to go out for swim team and after beefing up a bit, has found a new passion in climbing anything that will hold his weight.  He is going to kill me.  If he doesn't kill himself first.  He climbs everything.  Why!?!  The boy either can't get off the computer or is at the top of a tree.  I don't get teenage boys.

I love him, but I don't "get" him.  My prayer is that we will make it all the way to snowy frozen trees this year without a broken bone.  This sign...

Was inspired.  Thank you Eli.

OH!  I almost forgot!  I have some silhouette cut files for you!!!  If you like these signs and want to make one of your own, you can download the files HERE from my dropbox account.  Don't have a vinyl cutter???  I do!  I will gladly cut you a piece or two, just comment below, email me at vanessa.cam5@gmail.com or message me on Etsy.  I will hook you up ;0}

Happy Halloween!