blue candy

A little of this and a little of that • Indianapolis photographer

I have good news and bad news.  Bad news first...  I recently realized that short of spending a full 24-48 hours uploading images to this blog, there is no way that I am going to catch up showcasing all of my favorite recent sessions.  But I think that the good news will make up for it...posting a little of some of my wonderful clients will make for one fabulous blog post.  So here we go! 

Click on the next one to see it better.  :)

Phew!  I could go on and on...but unfortunately, my clothes are not putting themselves into the suitcases.  And while packing has me feeling like this...

and this...

I have a feeling that upon returning home next week I'll be feeling a bit more like this...

And trust me...there are many where these came from that will pop up sooner or later!

Cue Mission Impossible music... • Carmel children's photographer

My mission, if I chose to accept it, was to photograph six young cousins together...at the tail end of their vacation...after a long day of horseback riding and swimming...when their bodies were exhausted and their eyes were already half closed with sleepiness.  Eek!

Luckily, I had a few tricks up my sleeve to wake everyone up...

And some great jokes as well...

I think it's safe to say that they all found a second wind...

The grand finale was when dad let me know that he was going to throw tiny two year old Mack up in the air for a photo.  I thought that I was ready, but little did I know that little Mack likes to fly sky high!

This may be my favorite summer photograph ever!

Thanks again guys - as you know, I could barely tear myself away from photographing your fantastic family.  I can't wait to see them all in print!

Old soul • Indianapolis newborn photographer

Little Cole's mom won me over in her first e-mail to me.  She'd composed an emotional letter detailing how she and her husband had been devastated by the quality of their wedding photographs.  She went on to explain that since she was soon to give birth to a miracle baby (who was quite a surprise!), she didn't want to take a chance on her newborn's first photographs.  In her words, "I think your work is absolutely breathtaking and looking at the pictures of the beautiful babies on your site brought me to tears as I realized how fortunate I was to be carrying this child."  Well, let's just say that they had me at hello!  

A month or so later, I was privileged to meet sweet baby Cole, who had me at hello once again!

He had the most "old soul" look of any newborn that I've met.  I just picture him here thinking, "And just who are YOU?"

And he was a champion sleeper as well...

Congratulations again J and T!

Three little monkeys • Carmel children's photographer

Even with their mom's pre-session warning that they can be crazy monkeys, I knew from the get go that photographing Charlie, Alex, and Tyler would be right up my alley.  A family of three boys is dear to my heart!

Thanks again!  I can't wait for you to see your portrait collection!  :)

A black and white tutorial • Indianapolis photographer

Meet Max...busy as a bee, but with the sweetest little spirit!

(black and white tutorial below...)

I looove this one.

I receive a lot of questions from photographers about how I create my black and white images.  And while I don't have a specific "formula" that works for every image (or a one size fits all photoshop action for sale - sorry!), there are a few basic pointers that I am happy to give out.  (Btw, if your monitor is not properly calibrated, you may have a hard time seeing the differences in these examples - an obvious disadvantage of viewing photos online.)

First, analyze your light before you even think about pressing the shutter.  Shadows and highlights lend depth and drama to your sooc (straight out of camera) images with very little photoshop work needed.  That is by far my favorite way to create eye pleasing contrast in an image.  The image below was taken in a wonderful pocket of dramatic light, with the curtain acting as a reflector to "wrap" the light around the subject and Max at the perfect angle to have catch lights (the sparkle of light) in both eyes.  (And here his parents probably thought that I was only after a cute expression - ha!)

If you happen to be working with flat light, pay  attention to the tones in your desired image.  A great black and white photo has a full range of tones from light to dark, without clipping either end of the spectrum.  You do not want to "blow out" the highlights of an image, which is when the lightest parts of an image have lost all detail.  (Highlight values over 255 are considered completely blown - you can check this with the eyedropper.)  This is especially tricky when shooting digital.  Below is an example of a blown out image...see how the light parts of the image are way too bright and detail is missing?

The same goes for blocking the shadows (where detail is lost in the blacks).  And don't forget about the midtones!  Here is an example of the same photo that is missing a nice midtone range...even though the whites and blacks are where they should be, the midtones leave the photo with a lack of tonal depth.

The final mistake that I'll touch on is one that I see a lot of photographers make - simply converting a photo to grayscale with any further adjustments, which leaves a photo flat and muddy.  Grayscale is quick and easy for snapshots, but the image below would not be acceptable as a professional shot!

As you can probably tell by looking through my portfolio, I adore black and white images.  And I am quite picky (obsessed, maybe?!) about how they are processed!  Here is my final processing on the image...after using various curves, levels, contrast, and channel mixer layers and adjustments.

There are about as many recipes for black and white photos as there are chocolate chip cookes (my other obsession!), thank goodness.  And now you know a few pointers on how to make sure that yours have the correct technical starting points so that the photos on your walls are as pleasing to the eye as the loved ones in them.  Good luck!

She had been practicing her posing for weeks before our session • Indianapolis baby photography

...or at least it seemed like it.  And not even separation anxiety, teething, and missing her nap would keep her from looking absolutely adorable.  I think she is a natural and our shoot together shows just how pure, sweet, and expressive she is.  Meet cute Clare...