Using Spotlights - Before and After {Photo Recipes}

Did you miss me? Yep, it's been awhile! I'm still here, just not blogging as much as I'd like. However, I HAD to bust out a blog post to share another awesome photo recipe with you. These images are from a family session I did a couple weeks ago, and I am SO in love with the way they've been transformed from flat and boring to something that comes alive when you look at it! 

 Each of the images required a small amount of color and contrast adjustment. After that, it was simply a matter of applying a spotlight texture from Love That Shot. The spotlights come in neutral or tinted, so you can get just the right tones to come out in your image.

 I love how it makes it look like they're standing right in a little patch of sunlight, while all the background is in shadows. Does it make it seem more magical to you, too?

Each of these images used a spotlight texture with the Overlay blending mode, between 50-90% opacity.

What do you think? Was it a good addition? Have you ever used textures before? Would you like to learn how? Check out the textures, veils, and overlays at Love That Shot. They have tutorials to help you learn how to use them, and it's SO super easy! Let me know what you think!

Spring Please? | A Photo Recipe {Idaho Falls Photographer}

Has anyone seen spring? It was here for a minute, then it ran away and left a fresh six inches of snow in it's wake! Sheesh! I've been missing the fresh, warm air of spring so I busted out some images from a hike we took last spring. I love photographing all the tiny little wild flowers when we're in the mountains. They are so tiny that it's easy to overlook them, but when you get closer and study them you'll find that they are gorgeous and so intricately detailed. It's fascinating!

I decided to have some fun today with this image, giving it a lot of texture to help the flowers pop. I used Kupukupu (Kalani Collection, Overlay, 27%), Bells of Ireland (Botanical Collection, Soft Light, 87%), Pomegranate (Botanical Collection, Soft Light, 22%), & Makawao (Kalani Collection, Color Dodge, 32%). I told you I was having fun. ;) What do you think? Too much? Not enough? Here's to wishing spring back!

Head over to Love That Shot to take a look at their awesome products, or sign up for a membership to join an awesome group of photographers for feedback, instruction, advice, and friendship!

Barnes Kids {Idaho Falls Family Children Photographer}

I got to spend an hour with these awesome kids, getting a few shots to tide their mama over until they can do family photos in the summer. They grow up so fast! The girls were awesome and so easy to work with. The boys were boys...rowdy and so much fun to coax a few fun pictures from. Take a look at these four fun siblings, and stay tuned for more of the whole family this spring! :) 

Carmen - A Simple Texture {Idaho Falls Contemporary Glamour Photographer}

Most of my photo recipes to this point have been pretty complex, with multiple textures and veils. I kinda like to go hog wild when I have been given a little creative license. ;) This month I wanted to use my recipe to show you that veils can be a super simple and fast solution to a badly colored image.

This image of Carmen from our Contemporary Glamour Shoot Out was one of my favorites from the whole day. I love the clean, creamy look of it with her gorgeous red hair giving the image a little "pop". But if you look at the original (top) image, you can see that it has a bit of a dirty, gray cast to it. That odd color cast was a bugger to get rid of, and the only way I was able to manage it was with the use of a photo veil from Love That Shot's Otherworld Collection. I placed the veil with a Screen blending mode at 32% opacity. I LOVE the creamy color it gave the image, making everything look more like it does to the natural eye. As a little bonus, it even eliminated a bit of the shadow on her face!

What do you think? It's a subtle change, but sometimes the little things make all the difference! If you're looking for a quick and easy editing technique to add some character and polish to your image, head over to Love That Shot and take a look at their photo textures and veils, as well as their awesome workshops!

Kynzlie - Cake Smash {Idaho Falls Children Photographer}

Sweet little Kynzlie is one! I can't believe how quickly this year has gone by. This little darling made headlines on my page with her newborn session, and every session since has been just as  beautiful. She makes some of the best faces when we're doing her sessions. Her mama always dresses her in the sweetest little outfits, and her gorgeous blue eyes are to die for!

This was the best session yet, and the best cake smash we've had in awhile! There was not a shy bone in the girl's body when it came time to dig into her cake. She just picked the whole thing up and went to town! It was awesome!

Happy birthday, Miss Kynzlie!

Claire - 8 Months {Idaho Falls Menan Children's Photographer}

Claire is growing up so fast! This sweet little lady celebrated 8 months with me, and will soon be celebrating the big 0-1! :) Love her little cheesy grin.

Katherine - A Photo Recipe {Idaho Falls Portrait Photographer}

Time for a new monthly photo recipe for Love That Shot! Textures are amazing and so versatile. They can completely change the look of an image, as you will soon see.

The image we're playing with today is one of my niece, Katie. We're playing around with building a modeling portfolio for her, so I wanted to get a little more creative than the normal portraits I usually take of this gorgeous girl.

Below is the original image. By itself, it's really quite pretty. We had a gorgeous blue sky and the colors were awesome.

Pretty girl, right? But, like I said, we wanted to get a little more creative, and we didn't have much time to do this during the shoot (not to mention it was FREEZING!), so that means I get to play around in Photoshop!

If you are someone with an interest in photography and Photoshop, and would like to learn more, textures, overlays and veils are super easy to play with. The first thing you need if you want to apply texture to your images is a great action to make the process easier. Can you do it without an action? Definitely. But it's a million times easier with a good action. Along with gorgeous textures, photo veils, and overlays, Love That Shot has an awesome texture application action!

I went a little crazy with the textures and overlays this time, and ended up with four layers before I was satisfied. :) Want to see the final image?

The textures applied were as follows: Elfin (Color Burn, 32%), Dragon (Darker Color, 50%), Wizard (Normal, 38%), & Prince Charming (Color Burn, 32%). All of these are from the Fairy Tales collection. The first three were applied to the sky only, while the last one was applied to the entire image.

What do you think? Worth the transformation? :) Head over to Love That Shot to see all their amazing products for photographers, whether you're a hobbyist or a professional!