{Pruden Family}

Cherish your family for they are your treasure, a storehouse of riches, wealth beyond measure. ~author unknown

Meet the Prudens.

We had so much fun with this sweet little family. They did everything we asked and the kids were so well behaved! Not to mention ADORABLE!!

Thank you so much ALL of you, for allowing ME to capture these amazing moments for you. I hope you guys enjoy your pictures. xo

Oh and Dave was an amazing reflector holder;)

{magic recipe}

Ok folks. I'm sharing one of my secrets to editing here and I don't do this very often but I'm in the mood. I've had a lot of people ask me what actions I use and how I edit my photos. Well, to be honest, it just depends on the picture. I use different actions and methods for every set of pictures I edit.

SHH a secret: you don't have to spend any money for the actions I used to edit this photo! I took this picture straight from the camera and applied actions in photoshop from two different free sets to achieve the look you see here.

First you will need to download the free actions by following the links below:

Pioneer Woman Action Sets 1 and 2:

http://thepioneerwoman.com/photography/2009/08/pioneer-woman-action-sets-1-and-2-updated/

MCP High Def Sharpen and other free actions:

http://www.mcpactions.com/main.html

Once they are downloaded and uploaded into photoshop the magic can begin:

#1

Run MCP High Definition Sharpen.

Using a soft round brush at 100% erase the action off the skin. That is one trick to obtaining that soft skin effect, you never want the skin to look sharp. Avoid erasing off areas such as creases and dimples.

after note * make sure to get the lips or they will appear dry.

Flatten image.

#2

Run Pioneer Woman's Fresh and Colorful from set 1.

Play around with the opacity of the layers until you achieve the desired look. In this photo I have the soft light layer at 88%.

Flatten.

#3

Run PW's "Bring on the Eyes" from set 2.

Using a soft round brush paint over JUST the colored part of the eye.

You will want to reduce the opacity of the layer quite a bit depending on your picture. I have mine at 12%. You don't want to overdo it or your subject will look posessed:)

Flatten.

#4

Run PW's "Sharpen THIS"

Paint over hair and eyes, or even jewelry, depending on what you want to be especially sharp.

Again, avoid painting over skin.

Flatten.

TIP:

Run MCP Crystal Clear Web Sharpen before uploading to the web. Be sure to erase the action off the skin and you are good to go. If you are using Photobucket to upload to your blog, upload at LARGE 640-x480 px for best resolution:)

Feel free to leave a comment if you have any questions:) And please do give me a link to your photos if you use these actions, I want to see what you come up with!

{tim + sara. married}

I have to say I loved being part of this wedding. Honestly most of the weddings I have had the honor of photographing have had some level of stress and tension at some point in the day. But not this one. The bride and groom are so amazing! They were so chill throughout the entire day. Also, my husband Dave was able to assist me at his first wedding and he loved it as well. Normally I would freak out if my assistant showed up wearing jeans and a black t-shirt, (we gotta take you shopping babe!) but at this wedding everything was really calm and laid back.
Both sides of the family were so awesome and friendly and very cooperative when it came time for formal pictures.

These two love each other so much. I know this because they weren't into all the hype and traditions of most weddings. They honestly just wanted to be married and share a beautiful day with family, friends, and good food. The afternoon was gorgeous, they couldn't have asked for better weather, and the dancing after dark was so much fun!

This is really cool. They had a table covered in white paper and boxes of crayons laid out for the kids. Now Sara and Tim have a collage to put in their apartment!

YES. Everybody knows I love cake fights. And if you didn't know that, I LOVE CAKE FIGHTS. Especially when the frosting is SMURF BLUE. I love it.

The father of the bride BBQ'd all of the meat and holy smokes it was AMAZING!!! This was one wedding where I was obliged to sit down and stuff my face! He even sent us home with an entire stuffed chicken! BON APETIT!

I figured out why everything ran so smoothly. The groom and best man had their own little "to-do" lists, drawn out and checked off . Take that, wedding planner!!

My favorite thing about this is that the groom was all over the cake topper. He pulled those little lego people out of his bag and fervently arranged them on top of the cake. I was slightly apprehensive, a little afraid of what the bride's reaction might be. But no. She walked in and got a huge grin on her face. I love these guys.

Thanks Tim and Sara for allowing me to be part of something so amazing and special. I hope I captured your moments in a way that you will be able to look back on for years and years and still remember the smells, the emotions and the excitement of your wedding day. XO

{Introducing..MINI SESSIONS}

*NOTE: all digital products used in this demo are copyright Peppermint Creative. All of you digital scrappers out there head on over to www.peppermintcreative.com and check out all of the AMAZING products Miss Mint offers for digital scrapbookers, vinyl printers, and hybrid crafters alike!! Just be super careful, digital scrapbooking is highly addictive and may lead to hours and hours of digital bliss..and potentially epileptic seizures. DO IT ANYWAY!!

{upcoming..}

So my posts are all behind and out of order but better to blog unorganized than not to blog at all right? So I got to spend an afternoon with a good friend from high school (go BR!! uh..right))anyways, we had so much fun (umm..you have a cup on top of your car)and I think we did more talking than actual picture taking but who cares!! We got some really cute shots of her little man and what a handsome little man at that!! I will be posting a ton of these for sure once I finish them up!!

Also, this has been a long time coming but I am finished editing this beautiful laid back wedding and still putting together storyboards..here's what I have so far..

{PaRtY oF thRee}

hat greater thing is there for human souls than to feel that they are joined for life - to be with each other in silent unspeakable memories. ~George Eliot

These guys are family. It has been a while since I've had the opportunity to do a shoot for someone in Dave's family, and I've missed it! There is something different, unique, about taking pictures of family..

These guys are the cutest little family, bringing little Kade into the world wasn't an easy task for them, but he's so stinkin cute!

Love you guys!

fall.is.falling.fast.

INTRODUCING...

Fall Family Sessions $65

LIMITED TIME OFFER!!

You receive:

• 1-2 hours on location
• Password protected proofing gallery
• your choice of 10 free edits($2 each after 10)on a disk
• an amazing fun time with me!!!

BOOK NOW!! Spots are filling up fast!

uPcOmiNg.

{Mr. MiKeY G.and FaM}

This session was fun. We were starting to lose light when we got there so we had to make it quick..I'm pleased that we still got some good shots out of it, epecially for how dark it was. Mikey was so cute!! All smiles. I've never had a child be so cooperative, ever. Melissa & Israel, you guys made a cute baby!! He really is something special. I can't wait for our next session!!
XO

These are a little dark, but I just HAD to put them up here!!

I was so excited when Melissa called me for this shoot..it has been 8 months since I had this little guy in my lens..stay tuned!

aNnouNcEmeNt: My husband Dave will now be assisting me on most shoots. We work so well as a team and it is so so nice to have the extra pair of hands and an extra eye during a session. Obviously you can see the effect he has on babies(well, everyone really). That's why he is SO hired! You're all gonna LOVE him!!

{gRay bOy & His GiRL}

When you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible. ~Nora Ephron, When Harry Met Sally

You two are so much fun. I checked out your blog today and it hit me how amazing and fun your life together will be. You two are so great together! I'm so honored to be able to take part in your wedding day-in 50 days, right? But who's counting?;)

{feLiCitY.baPtiZed}

If one feels the need of something grand, something infinite, something that makes one feel aware of God, one need not go far to find it. I think that I see something deeper, more infinite, more eternal than the ocean in the expression of the eyes of a little baby when it wakes in the morning and coos or laughs because it sees the sun shining on its cradle.

-Vincent van Gogh