Overlooking a river valley

Once a year I like to get us all looking nice and go to a location to take a family picture.  I much prefer summertime, as I am not a cold weather lover.

This was a few weeks back, and it was a wonderful warm autumn day in between several very cold days.

It is great being your own photographer!  No planning months in advance only to have the day of the session turn out to be rainy, windy or overall icky weather.  In addition, you get to choose your own location where you really like the view or scenery.

When taking family photos, it is usually pretty good to stick to around 2-3 main colors.  You don’t want to be totally matchy-matchy, but you also don’t want to clash or have clothes that will be really dated in a few years.

Me::  Sweater – DKNY, Knit top and leggings – Express, Boots – Lassen, Belt – TJ Maxx, Jewelry – Design Toscano

Girl Child:: Outfit and Jewelry – Made by Me (I actually designed the fabric for her top), Boots – Target

Boy Child: Outfit – Made by Me, Shoes – Sketchers

Hubby:: Jeans – The Buckle, Shirt – Men’s Wearhouse, Shoes – Von Maur

My next photographic challenge is our annual Christmas card.  First, I need to make some outfits for them to wear though.  The Christmas card is when I get graphic-design-happy.  I wish I knew more about Photoshop, but I can still bel dangerous with my Wacom.

I know Photoshop gets a really bad rap when it comes to photoshopped models.  It should.  People are looking at a fantasy instead of a reality.  I usually just do some color-correcting, remove the digital haze and adjust brightness/contrast in my photos.  I know how to use the liquify (make thinner) tool and how to remove blemishes.

I took senior pictures of a girl I knew and she was so excited I could remove blemishes.  She was cursed with really bad acne.  When I was done with her pictures, she was so happy!  That is what she would look like without the angry red marks all over her face.  It gave her some confidence and she still has those pictures on her Facebook page 5 years later.  It made her feel better about herself, and I have no problem with that.

There is a difference between using Photoshop to fix some of natures curses versus making a person look like a Barbie doll.  In the end they should still look like the same person (she did).

The thing I love about Photoshop is that you can create a bit of fantasy coupled with real life images.  It’s like magic.  I’ll have to show a few of the “magical” compilation photos I have created, if you are interested.  It’s not fashion or style related, but still plenty fun!