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Which Edit Do YOU Like Best? | Greensboro Photographer

Evie — Sat, 21 Apr 2012 15:35:04 +0000

One of the things that helps photographers stand apart these days, in addition to the manner in which they capture an image, is the way they edit their images. For the most part, I tend to be a clean editor, meaning that I don’t apply a lot of manipulation to the image after the fact. I usually just clean up marks on skin, remove clutter that I wasn’t able to shoot around, adjust the sharpness, color and contrast, and that is about it. The clients who choose me, usually do so because of my clean, colorful style. Sometimes though, it’s fun to play around a bit and see what else can be done. I still want the subject of my picture to look like themselves so, no plastic skin or alien-light eyes here, but sometimes, changing just the tones of the image can give it a different mood. I’m going to post a bunch of different edits here and I would love to know which ones you dig, and which ones you don’t. You’re not going to hurt my feelings at all if you don’t like one. I purposefully put one in that I don’t care for because I was curious to see what YOU think!! This image was taken at a workshop hosted by my dear friend, Sara-Anne Caudle. She is a child and family photographer in Burlington, NC and she invited me to speak at her workshop on the technical aspects of camera gear. I geek out over that and so it was fun to share that with a group of people who were interested in that, too. She extended the invitation, asking me to stay for the model shoot and, while I stayed out of the way for the most part, I took this picture which I really loved. This girl was an amazing model!! She loved the camera and it loved her, too! So take a look at these different edits and tell me which one you like the best.

Here is the RAW version. I don’t shoot in JPEG for clients. Well, I do shoot RAW+JPEG but almost always work from the RAW image anyway. I do that because it gives me total control over the final result and, being the lovely control freak that I am, that’s just how I roll. :)

Here is the edit I would present to a client:

And here is the same image, edited by adding a bit of rosiness and some lens flare after the fact. I think this is fun to do from time-to-time with the right picture.

Here is a hazier edit.

And another:

And a black and white version:

So, vote!!

Which Edit Do YOU Like Best?

This Kid Kicks Butt | Greensboro Photographer

Evie — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 00:31:18 +0000

Yesterday, I wrote a blog post about my oldest son, Iain. My blog would be incomplete without a post on my youngest son, Ryan.

This boy is amazing. When he was 4, he was able to change the icons on his desktop to images he found on the internet. He is very determined and when he decides to do something, it’s going to be done, whether anyone else likes it or not! LOL Like his big brother, he’s very smart. He picks up new things very easily and his latest interest is no exception. Since last Summer, Ryan has been passionate about learning Tae Kwon Do. Over the last several months, he has trained 3-4 days a week at the academy and practiced hard when he was home. He began as a white belt and now is awaiting news after the most recent testing to see if he achieved first level blue belt status. He LOVES TKD. It has really given him so much, built up his self-confidence, helped him mature, encouraged him to work hard and set goals. Last night, he attended the latest round of testing and hopefully will have achieved the goal he set for himself back in June of getting his blue belt. Once he gets to that level, he can begin to train younger kids. That has been his goal since he started- to teach others and help them move along as he did. He’s extremely funny with a huge heart and he did a great job last night!

I’m a Mom of a (soon-to-be) Teenager | Greensboro Photographer

Evie — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 20:30:31 +0000

So, this is my kid.

It’s hard to believe that, nearly 13 years ago, he entered our lives and changed us forever. When he was born, we had just lost my father-in-law 3 months before to pancreatic cancer. We were all very sad and missing him dearly. Then this beautiful boy joined the world and began to help us heal from the pain we were feeling. He was a challenging baby, never slept. I swear I don’t think he slept much at all! But he’s making up for that now. “Just 5 more minutes, Mom.” Those are the words I hear every day when I go in to wake him up. :) OH, I GET IT! NOW you want to sleep. LOL He’s a great kid. Super sweet, extremely funny, and very cerebral with some of the things he comes up with. Some days, it’s like riding in the car with Jack Handy and Deep Thoughts though. LOL!! Recently, Iain took on a new responsibility at our house. He has started maintaining the lawn! It’s a teenage rite of passage. I remember when my dad showed me how to work the lawn mower and what an awesome feeling it was (for the first week) to cut the whole yard by myself. It was even better when they gave me money for doing it! Now, we’re doing the same thing for Iain. So, Iain didn’t want to use our gas-powered mower. He thought it was too loud and that it would be expensive to run with gas prices being what they are. He asked us if we would buy him a new lawn mower so, we did. Here is what he chose….

I have to tell you….I love cutting the grass with this myself. It’s hard to let Iain cut the whole yard on his own because I really enjoy using this mower!! It’s quiet and cathartic to get out there and mow the lawn. So far, Iain is enjoying it, too. We don’t have a big yard but he finds it challenging to cut the whole thing at once so we let him break it up into more manageable pieces. It’s his task and really, he can do it however he chooses, whatever suits him best.

It’s weird and awe-inspiring all at the same time to see this boy transforming into a teenager. His voice is changing now and he no longer sounds like the child he was just last year. I get a little teary-eyed whenever I think about it. But for now, I’m happy to have him here with me, sharing the job of cutting the grass. Whenever he’ll let me have a turn. ;) Oh, he has a brother and I’m going to blog about him soon, too.

Spring FEVER!!!!

Evie — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 14:59:29 +0000

As I alluded to in my last post, much of the beginning of 2012 has been devoted to bringing you more amazing products to choose from. I have been combing all corners of the photography world, looking for ways to add value to what I offer you and as a result I have some beautiful new boutique products to add to my collections. Not only that, but you will experience a level of service that I haven’t offered before. Totally personal and custom from start to finish. It begins with a consultation to decide on what your session will entail and wraps with an in-person design and ordering session at your home. This is the ultimate in convenience for you!! Also, I have completely restructured my pricing and my collections and each collection was created to include amazing products. In order to celebrate these wonderful new products and collections, you have an opportunity to save some money AND get something great in return! Until April 15th, I am offering 50% off my session fee AND a $100 credit to be applied towards your purchase (minimum purchase applies). These sessions must be booked by April 15th, 2012 and scheduled to be completed by June 30th, 2012. There are some really great values built into my new offerings so I would really love to speak with you about it!! Please call me as soon as possible to get more details about what I’m offering with this special and what this offer means to you!!

In the meantime, here are a few photographs of the new, Storybook Album that my clients can have to preserve their family memories. This book really is stunning. Everyone who has held in their hands has gasped at how well-made it is, how substantial it is, and they can’t get over how gorgeous the images are from the front cover to the back. A version of this album is INCLUDED as one of your choices in three of my collections – just one of the many new flexible things I came up with for you this year.

So, please don’t delay. Contact me today to find out more about what I’m offering and how you can take advantage of this Spring Fever Special!! 336-455-2425

Beautiful Babies and the Families That Love Them

Evie — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 19:47:40 +0000

2012 has been a year chock full of changes for me and my business. One of those changes was the manner in which I photograph newborn babies. While I love and admire photographers who are able to pose babies in nests, beautifully knit wraps and the like, it wasn’t something that creatively filled me up. I am drawn more to photographing babies with their newly formed family, in their environment so I put out a call to new moms who might be interested in that kind of imagery. Luckily for me, I had this beautiful family contact me and together we captured some gorgeous images of them loving on each other and admiring their new baby! They were so thrilled that he had arrived, even though a little bit earlier than he was supposed to! He’s a beautiful baby and his big brother was a total riot. His expressions just really got me!

I can’t wait to bring these kinds of images to other Greensboro families!! It is so fun and rewarding to capture people as fun and as laid back as this family was, too. When you have a session that flows like this one did, it just makes my job that much more fun. So, without further adieu, please look through these images and enjoy!!