Photoshop

I love Photoshop.  I love that I can take a pretty picture and make it beautiful.

I also love some of the black and white actions I have.  Here is a color of myself and then the black and white.

My favorite thing?  The clone and content aware tools.  Because with them I can do fantastic things.  Like this:

Notice anything?  Like how Mommy is in the first picture with little sister and not in the second?  There may be easier ways to accomplish taking them out.  But I had to super zoom in to where I could see each individual pixel and rebuild the sidewalk, bush and even some of the grass.  And I took care of what you could see through her hair.  I'm not really good yet.  I hope that with more experience I can get better.  But this little firecracker was everywhere so fast and so this picture was a good one.  With a pretty background, except for the legs sticking out of her arm.  So, being able to save it was really a necessity.  And I was particularly happy with myself when I finished it.  It took me over an hour and a half.  I think if I were to re-do it, it would take half that time since I have become more efficient.

I can take a picture that I love and do fun actions that change the color a bit.

Here is the original and below is the change. 

Not too drastic, but enough to make it feel different.  

And those are just a few of the reasons I love Photoshop!

Busy

I have been busy!  Busy cleaning, busy exercising, busy mommying, busy trying to create my website and busy taking and editing pictures!

I am pretty excited about this new adventure I am now on.  It's been a month now since I've decided that I'm for sure going to do this and I've thrown myself into it.  I wanted to do it right the first time so I've been taking my time with things.

My website is up and running.  It is a work in progress.  For one I cannot figure out how to get text under my photos - it's under it while I'm composing, but when I publish it goes on the side.  I'll be working on that.  So, be prepared to see plenty of changes in the next days/weeks/months.

The name.  So, the poll on my sidebar - Whitney Rae won and it happened to be the one I liked best anyway.  Well, whitneyrae.com was taken and I debated whether or not to go through with the same name anyway - I mean, her business is "coming soon" and mine is here and I doubt she is in South Eastern Idaho.  So then I checked Whitneyk and that was taken.  So, I figured I am probably the only Whitney Kathleen in existance, and turns out I pretty much almost am.  At least I am in the photography world.  So, Whitney Kathleen it is.  I still like the sound of Whitney Rae better, but Whitney Kathleen works.  I just wanted something simple.

My site is whitneykathleen.com and I have a facebook page as well - it's on my sidebar.  I'm still doing my free shoots for the next few weeks in July.  I've done 3 and have 4 more.  I'm ready to start making money so I can expand!  I.E. (did I use that properly?) equipment/photoshop stuff/new camera/pay things off.

Currently I am working on my packaging.  I really like what Jenna has done.  I want it to look nice and professional.  I want it to be something people look forward to about booking with me.  So, I'm trying to come up with my own stuff (and using some with permission- the tin and tissue paper and box idea).  Thanks Jenna!

Here is one I took of my super cute nephew last week:

Courtney's Maternity Shoot

If you haven't already, read the post below.

I noticed all of these places around my house that I wanted to take pictures of someone in front of. I immediately thought of Courtney, my roommate from when I first met and started dating Jaren in March of 2006. She is expecting her first, a little boy early this fall.

This was my first "real" photoshoot and I enjoyed every second of it. Her husband Jordan came and I am so glad because some of these smiles wouldn't have happened without him there. And we got some sweet shots with him in there, too.

I like so many of them I am having a hard time choosing what to put up.  So here are a whole lot.

And probably one of my favorites:

What is the most amazing thing is that I took these pictures next to my fence, fiber glass, overgrown bushes, cellar door, shop door, grain silos, a ditch, side of the road and sand dunes.  Totally random places that came to life.

There you have it.  What do you think?

Me? A Photographer?

This is something I've been thinking about and thinking about for a while now.  I have always loved taking pictures, but didn't discover such a love for it until I got my DSLR May of last year.  And even then I had no idea what it would turn into once I discovered how to actually use it!

Starting January of this year I started reading everything I could come across on aperture, shutter speed, ISO and white balance.  I wished I had discovered this obsession in college so I could take classes.  I probably would have minored in it.

I bought a book called "Understanding Exposure" off of Amazon and that is when the rest clicked for me.  I started using my light meter (bingo!) and I just practiced and practiced and practiced.  So much that we had to buy a desktop to fit all of my pictures on.  I used up every ounce of space on my laptop and we have moved most onto our external, but I needed a desktop to work with.

I've also been using Photoshop Elements since January of last year, but just for scrapbooking.  Then last winter after Naomi was born I discovered editing pictures with it.  And so then I began to mess around with that.  Now I'm using CS5 and am learning how to use that.  I cannot believe the amount of things you can do with it!  It's very exciting.

So.  I was sort of sure that I didn't want to become a photographer.  But then I fell in love with it.  I really didn't want to be one of those girls or SAHM's who get a DSLR and call themselves a photog and charge and take mediocre pictures.  So I practiced some more.  And I had my first real "shoot" last Friday with a former roommate of mine who is now pregnant and I had so much fun.  I have been scouting locations for this particular shoot for weeks and have kept my eye out for places for months.  It was so awesome to see the fence in my backyard come to life!  Or the bushes I thought I would rip out.  Or the fiberglass under my porch!  Simple things started to stand out to me and had such potential.

My confidence has been boosted by this and my roommate.  She has nothing but such good things to say about these pictures and I would like to think she's not just saying it :)  I know I have a whole lot of room to improve but I want to.  I want to take more pictures and learn and improve and get better and experiment.

This new world is exciting and fun.  If you want me to take your pictures email me!  I am looking for more experiences to build on.  I am also trying to decide on a name;  Whitney K or Whitney Rae.  K is the initial of my middle name and Rae is my Mom and Grandma's middle name as well as the beginning of my last name(Well, it's Ray, but I like the look of Rae (the middle name) better).  I'm going to put a poll up on my sidebar to see which sounds better.  Let me know :)

Tomorrow I'll post pictures from Courtney's Maternity shoot!