Learning Photoshop
This weeks question comes from Melissa:
I am just curious as to how you mastered photoshop!?! I just got it and got some “how to” books, but I find myself more frustrated then anything. Where did you start?? Did you take a class?? Do you recommend any particular book??
Thanks for your question, Melissa! I don’t know that I would call myself a photoshop “master”. Haha! But, I have spent the last couple of years really learning what I need to know about it. There are a ton of things you can do with photoshop that I have no idea how to use, but I know what I need to know to get my images the way I want them to look.
I did buy a couple of books in the beginning, but I just thought they were so old school (and boring!). So I went right to the source and invested in workshops with my favorite photographers. I first did a workshop with David Jay and then I did a workshop with Jessica Claire. Both were pricey, but I think those two experiences single handedly made me the photographer who I am today. And who better to learn from then those who you admire?
I also have learned a lot about photoshop from photography forums. My favorite use to be Open Source Forum, which is David Jay’s forum. I know there are a lot of great, new forums out there, but to be honest, I don’t have much time for forums anymore. I’ve gone to The Hideout Forum a couple of times and it looks really fun. I would find a forum where the people are nice and not critical where you all can learn from each other.
Lastly, there are a lot of great tutorials on You Tube. You can pretty much learn anything you want to know on there.
I think the biggest thing about photoshopping your images is to not get too crazy. There are so many things you can do, but do you really need to? Let your image speak for itself. Find your style and stick with it. It may take you awhile to find that style, but once you do you’ll know. Good luck!
Snacker Catcher
Have you guys seen this?
Image- Bebalee Corporation
What an ingenious idea! Just yesterday we were at a birthday party and Brayden was eating a quesadilla (because that’s all he eats) and he, of course, dropped the whole thing on the floor. What a waste! For $9 I’m totally going to order one of these and give it a try!
Tips for Pro Mom*togs – Week 1
Happy Monday!
This week starts my first week blogging tips for you pro Mom*togs out there. I will be blogging these tips every Monday.
Tip #1 – Set office hours!
Before I had Brayden I worked and worked and worked. All I did was work. Because when your work isn’t really a job to you it’s easy to spend all of your time doing what you love. I just wanted to make my business as successful as possible and spent all my time shooting, editing, and scouring blogs to make myself a better photographer.
But, then Brayden came. Everyone told me that babies sleep most of the time when they are newborns. Well, that wasn’t the case with Brayden. I tried to work when he was napping, work when I was feeding him, work at night, but I just ended up getting frustrated and not getting any work done. While I was on my “maternity leave” I really didn’t even need to work, but work is what made me feel like me instead of just a feeding machine. I fought it for a long time, but then I realized that I do what I do so I can stay at home with Brayden and enjoy the few years I have him where he really needs me and wants to be with me.
I’m lucky that my husband works very close and gets home relatively early most days. I try (my hardest) to not work until he gets home. Sure, I’ll answer a couple of emails here and there while Brayden is napping, but I really try and fill our days with things that are fun for him. As soon as Chuck gets home I work for a few hours. And when I say work, I really mean work. I don’t read blogs or shop online. I set goals for myself daily to accomplish. I find that this way I am getting way more work done in a shorter period of time rather than having to listen to Brayden cry at my office door. Once I stopped fighting it we were both so much happier!
So, do you pro Mom*togs have set office hours? Does it work for you? Ready, set, discuss!
New Fabric
Happy Friday and happy first day of Spring!
I don’t really have a great post for today. I have 4 shoots this week and I was too busy watching UCLA try to lose in their first March Madness game last night. Thankfully Brayden was our good luck charm and we won by 1 point. I hope all the games aren’t like that!
Anyways, I went and bought a couple of new fabrics for a mini shoot that I did yesterday. I had to have B model this one for me. It’s a brown damask, which I thought was really original, but it kind of shows up like black. Brayden’s super cute onsie is from My Little Dear. I love her clothes!
And I also got this cute pink and white polka dot. I didn’t make Brayden model this one, because I had this cute baby come over for a mini session! Isn’t she scrumptious? More on the DrewB blog! Both fabrics are from JoAnne’s! Have a great weekend!
Spreading the Love – Week 5
Thank you to ALL the people who have been blogging about Mom*tog! Seriously, it makes me so happy to know that so many people find this blog so helpful!
The Beautiful Mess – There are great tips of the week for your photographers out there!
So, I am a proud mama this week! Brayden finally learned how to hold his own bottle and drink out of a sippy cup! Yeah! We’ve been working on it for a few weeks, but he finally just got it. Now he tries to turn everything into a cup. His rubber ducky, his police car, a toy hammer. It’s seriously the cutest thing and I’m just so darn proud of him! And the coolest thing is he’s proud of himself too!
ISO 400, f 2.2, 1/400
ISO 400, f 2.2, 1/500
Ignore the snotty nose in this one. Settings same as above.
ISO 400, f 2.2, 1/350
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