Finding Space

Studio Space

Well I am officially outgrowing my small little studio. Right now I am currently using a spare room upstairs. It's just not big enough. What to do? I'm not sure. Any suggestions?

Backdrop Stands

I just bought 3 new backdrops and I am now in need of an adjustable backdrop stand so I can use various sized backdrops instead of trying to hunt for only 1 size that will fit my current stand. I've looked around on Amazon and E bay. I want to make the best purchase in a reasonable price range. Anyone just love there stand? Let me know all about it so I can find a great one! Thanks!

Photo Editing Tips-Snow Globe Templates

Have you seen the snow globe photos that are everywhere this year? They are just precious and so simple to make! Here are the instructions to make your own snow globe photos.

STEP 1

First you will need to purchase a snow globe template. The snow globe template found at rock my edits comes with 9 different templates for $5. They also have some single ones you can choose from for $1! I also LOVE the ones found at Dreamy Babies on Facebook. These feature Santa!

STEP 2

Now that you have a snow globe template. Open it up in Photoshop. Now click on "File" then "Place" and choose the photo you want to put in the snow globe.

STEP 3

Once the photo is placed accept it. Now go to your layers panel and lower the images Opacity to around 55%. This allows you to see the snow globe behind the image.

STEP 4

Now go to "Image" and then "Free Transform." Click on the corner of your image while holding down the shift key to re-size your image to fit in the snow globe. I find that horizontal images work best.

STEP 5

Once you have your image in place, raise the Opacity back up to a percentage that looks nice in the globe. Around 77%.

STEP 6

Now add a layer mask to the image.

STEP 7

Click on your paint brush. Make sure black is your foreground color. Click on the layer mask and begin painting away the edges until your image fits perfectly in the snowglobe. Dream Babies template users are done. Rock My Edits template user please go to Step 8.

STEP 8(Rock My Edits Templates ONLY)

Now open up the "Lay over Globe-change opacity.png" Drop this image into your snow globe photo and place it over your snow globe. You can lower the opacity to make the snow less obvious if you like. If you need to remove any of the snow from the edges or the faces in the photo simply make a layer mask and follow steps 6 and 7.

Here is a wonderful tutorial video done by Rock My Edits:

And here is a look at one of my finished edits from Dream Babies:

Newborn Photography

Planning Your Newborn Session

My newborn sessions take a minimum of 2 hours to complete. This includes time for diaper changes, feedings, soothing, scene and outfit changes, and whatever else may come. One thing is to expect the unexpected with newborn sessions! Newborns are often unpredictable. Keep your camera ready at all times because you never know when that smile is going to come!

If the session is at my studio, I always make sure to have the room nice and warm(around 80 degrees) so the baby will be comfortable while photographed naked. This often means short sleeves and shorts for me even in the dead of winter. Although gloves are a good idea. Babies don't like cold hands!

I also have the first scene set up and ready before my appointment arrives. This helps to get things started smoothly. Make sure to let the parents know what to expect during there session. This will help a lot. It takes time and PATIENCE, PATIENCE, PATIENCE! You can not rush a newborn. I always tell my parents to expect 2 hours at least, bring extra diapers, wipes, spit up cloths, etc. and bring a friend or family member with them to help.

I make sure to have all scene changes ready and together that includes props, backgrounds, etc. so that I know where everything is and can change scenes as quickly as possible.

Here are 2 samples from my recent newborn sessions:

Little Miss Olivia Rose

Sweet Little Jensen

I hope you find this information useful in your sessions. More tips to come!