Wednesday, March 18, 2009

more sneaks + a photo shoot

Scarlet texted me this morning, after I was already dressed (in a different outfit), and it said, "Pictures today. Definitely." I knew she meant business, so I scurried to change into something cuter for photos and off we went to Fountain Square Park, just around the corner from our office. We got lots of great shots, so I wanted to share a few.

To create the photo above with the TTV frame, I followed my own tutorial here.

The sun was definitely shining today, so for most of the photos, I looked like this: (it was painful...)
I've been playing around a lot with PSE actions lately, and since I'm an amateur, I figured others could benefit from my limited knowledge, because all the professional stuff just goes over my head.

Mostly, I use actions from here, and they're very affordable. I really want her actions for PSE, and I'll probably get them in a week or two when I start her photography workshop.

The photo below is the original. Kind of boring, right?
I used the color saturate action from Mindy, and adjusted the color opacity down a bit. Then, I flattened the image and used the turn-the-lights-on action and adjusted the opacity to about 20%. What a difference, huh? I think I look much more springy and less washed out.
Now for Scarlet's original:
For this photo, I used the colorful kick action and then the turn-the-lights-on action (adjusted to about 60%). Then, I tried a new technique to adjust Scarlet's eye color, which I hope to have a tutorial for very soon, so check back tomorrow or Friday for that.
Isn't she so much more beautiful in this photo?

And, lastly, the sneaks I promised you:

(all items from the Hey Diddle add-on except the grid chipboard.
(all items except the green cardstock from the Peter Piper add-on)

13 comments:

Emily Pitts said...

wow, those photos are amazing! i love what the pop of color does to them! isn't it fun to play with photos? :) great sneaks too.

Hannah said...

I've been considering a photography class....well, I know I want to take one, just saving! But, how did you decide which class to take...there are so many options online! I guess I've been drawn towards the classes that I've fallen in love with certain photographers work...and those are the classes I'm more drawn towards....
How did you choose?

Hannah said...

wow....can you tell I was multi-tasking in that last post.... :) sorry if that was super confusing!

Lisa said...

Wow!! Great pics of you both. You all had a wonderful day to be taking them! The article in the paper was very good yesterday!! I wish they had included more than a vague reference in the headline though! The peeks are wonderful as well.

Vanessa said...

cute pics!!! where did you get that top?!

Anonymous said...

you two look gorgeous! can't wait to see the dt gallery go live!

Karen said...

those photos are divine....i will have to check out the actions. hubby got me pse 7 for christmas. haven't really played with it yet. plan to do so this weekend!

Anonymous said...

i was just looking at your directions for the ttv. when you say bring the image into editor (step 2), what does that mean? i just got pse 6.0 (well, a year ago but just installed it!) so i have no idea what i'm doing!!! thanks!

(oh...and the above comment was by me too. i forgot to type in my name!)

*reyanna* said...

The photos look great! Awesome work! And LOVING the sneaks. Can't wait for this kit. :)

Angela W said...

OMG!! I love those pics after you have changed the colors! Wow! I wish I knew how to do that stuff!

Jenn O said...

Darling photos...it's not quite right that both of you are so darn cute.

I'm sort of giggling over your sneaks...my pages this month are full of circles.

Jenni said...

Fabulous pics April! Love all the fun things you've done to tweak them a bit too!!! PS--Your shirt and necklace and darling! Where are they from?? And those sneaks are FUN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Tina said...

great sneaks...I needed that inspiration! you and scarlet look marvelous...just marvelous. :)