Incredible Florabella Give-Away!

I'm sure most of my photographer friends know
of Florabella actions and textures.


(This is actually a vertical template, but I rotated it for this photo.)

But did ya know, she has generously sent out an invite
to download these gorgeous holiday cards? The
invite came via her newsletter. Sign up!


Yepper. All you have to do is "like" Florabella
on FaceBook and you can download all FIVE
of these beauties.
Comes with lovely matching patterns
for your text on the back.
Details found here.


Not only that, but you can then sign up for the
chance to win a $100 gift certificate to
purchase any of her incredible
actions, textures, frames or digital papers!

Thanks for visiting!

Baby Fix

For all of us who are "finished" adding to our immediate family...sometimes, ya just need a little baby fix and then you're good to go!
I love all his dark hair and his incredible dark brown eyes...oops! You can't see his dark eyes here. You'll need to go here to my photography blog to see MORE and BIGGER photos!

In case you are interested, I'll be sharing a post about lighting & photography here next week. All of my portraits are done with natural lighting.

Thanks for visiting and following!

Family Portrait

This is the first full week of school here in Georgia and I have begun the process of catching up! I feel sometimes like I'm in a constant state of catching up, but love when I'm able to chip away at my list.

This is just a sneak peak at the "H" family portrait session I shot back in June. Yes, June. Back when I thought it couldn't get any hotter. My mistake. However, you'd never know it was blazin' hot by looking at these guys. They looked "Mahhvelous". (Yes, I'm channeling my inner Billy Crystal and I don't care if that clues you in to my age!)

You can see more and larger photos from our session here.

Off to work on "Baby Z". Be sure to come back if you're in need of an adorable baby fix!
Thanks for visiting!

M Family Session

Remember when I shot this Sweet Pea?
Well, guess who was lucky enough to shoot big brother and expectant mommy?
Yep, me!
To see MORE and BIGGER photos from this shoot, click here.
Or, you could even follow me over at:
http://tracilordphotography.blogspot.com/
(That would really make my day!)

Thank you M Family for the opportunity to do a family portrait!
I look forward to meeting your newest little one in a few weeks!

Fabulous Photoshop!

I have to admit that a lot of work (for me) goes into making a photograph. Before this whole digital world, I shot with a SLR and film - for twenty years. (Feel free to think, "Gee she must've started taking pictures when she was 10 years-old." I love starting the the day off in denial!) So shooting photos was a lot of trial and error. I got photos back and had to learn from my mistakes after the fact.

Now with my digital SLR and photoshop, I can go from this:(not too bad)
to this:

Our wonderful, cute, stinker-boy, Godson goes from this:

to this:

or even this:

Doesn't that make a world of difference?

So while it may take some extra time processing my own photographs, the time is well spent. I've had to learn to embrace this technical & digital world. It hasn't been the easiest transition, but how can I argue with the results?
I still believe though that even without this technology, anyone can become a better photographer by learning about the basics: lighting, composition, textures, patterns, etc. Do any of these topics interest you? Let me know!

If you have time, please visit Lens Us Together. I am hosting the theme this week and it is "Prepared". See what my peonies have to do with my theme!

As always, thank you for stopping by. Your kind comments and encouragement are greatly appreciated!

Lears - Part I

It took a day of stormy weather to tear me apart from my mulching/weeding/gardening. I figure I'm down to about 30 bags (from 200) of mulch left and much of my body was screaming for a break. Not to mention, how positively awful I was feeling for not working on my dear friends' family portraits before now.

You can see more photos of this wonderful family and larger versions from our shoot here.

Spring Decor - Part I

Finally! I'm hoping to successfully link up to Mary's Monday Mosaic tonight. She hosts this at her blog Little Red House. I have long admired the creative and fabulous bloggers who participate in Mary's weekly feature. Be sure to check them out here.I've included a few more shots of our mantel. I've fussed and fussed with this and I've decided to let it go. You see, I try to maintain a symmetry on our mantel and this time it just didn't work out. See how my apothecary jars are not the same size? I also wanted to paint some larger eggs to put in the hurricane on the left. It didn't happen. So I put off this post long enough and said "the heck with it". The bunnies are made from vintage handkerchiefs and they remain my favorite Easter decorations.What took the longest was the shelves to the left and right of the fireplace. I completely cleared them off. (Even dusted them!) I looked all over the internet at professional designer sites, bloggers' home photos and retailers for some inspiration and guidance. There was a ton of great stuff to look through! And of course all that research takes time...so my next post I'll share some pointers from those who really know how to decorate.Thanks for stopping by and if you're coming via Mary's Mosaic Monday, I hope you'll come back!

Something Different

Sorry for my lengthy absence from posting here...I start feeling really bad when my good friend, Bethany has managed three posts for March, by March 4th and she has four children! I haven't posted since February. Oh fudge.

I have been productive though! I spent a good bit of time moving furniture in preparation for...having painting done and having a board & batten treatment done to our bedroom. So of course, I also spent two days removing wallpaper. (If I ever speak of having wallpaper put up in our home, somebody please promise me you will walk, run, drive or fly to my house, ring my doorbell and smack me upside my head.) I will take you to lunch or dinner and thank you profusely when I come to my senses. Jeez. What was I thinking? Obviously, I had never had to remove wallpaper before I'd gone through my wallpaper phase! Anyway, I will be sure to post some before and after shots when the work is done - which is soon.

In the meantime, I leave you with this:
Camillas from our back yard.
Photograph enhanced with photoshop and textures. Very fun to do!
(Much more fun than removing wallpaper!) What isn't?
Happy Friday, friends!

Sweet Pea, Cassidy

I had the honor of taking Cassidy's two-year-old portrait recently. I have to admit I was a little nervous at the thought of photographing a toddler who has been described as a bit of a diva. Like my wise friend, Bethany, once said "we want our daughters to be strong and opinionated - just not with us. Yep. You got that right, B!Anyway, Miss Cassidy loved seeing herself in my camera after I gushed about how adorable she looked. So she was very agreeable to taking more shots. Even when she wasn't agreeable to a pose, she was sugary sweet with her rejection of the idea. A soft "naaahh" was all she would say. I can take that all day long! No fits, no tears, just a pure delight to photograph.Do you love my background? It's a shower curtain from HomeGoods! I do have a portable stand I use, but that's where the professional look ended. I forgot to buy some heavy-duty clamps from Home Depot, so I had to use duct tape. Classy, huh?Thank you Marty for the honor of taking Cassidy's portrait! And a big thanks to your little girl for taking it easy on me. Thanks to Amanda for recommending me, too!I'm always striving to learn from every session, so if you have any suggestions, comments or even questions, I'm game! Thanks for stopping by.

Homework

My online photography class is over and I miss it. I loved getting a lesson each week with clear and concise ideas, photos illustrating the teacher's point perfectly and then finally the assignment. I learned so much and would highly recommend Maggie Holmes' online courses.
However, the in-house models I was using tired quickly of helping me with my homework assignments.

Example A:Ella is so sick of this...

Example B:

She couldn't get the dog in the shot, so now she's sick of it, too.

To the rescue - my good friend, Heather. She generously agreed to volunteer her time and be my "lighting" homework assignment model.Did I luck out or what?
It was a great learning experience for me. Plus it helps having someone incapable of taking a bad picture as your model.Out of the whole session, I think there were maybe four shots I didn't edit.An example of how back-lighting, if properly exposed can produce stunning results.
(I was taught from the beginning to never have the light behind your subject.) Who knew?

Heather and her fabulous hair - holy cow!A huge thank you to Heather for her help, patience and feedback! I can not even tell you how fun this was for me.
This experience also made me think about how often we (moms, women, the family photographer) are not in the shot. So even if you don't go and have a whole session of photos taken, make sure you get in some shots as well.

And so you know I follow my own advice:portrait by our son, Jack

Get into the picture, friends!

Valentine Photo Possibilities

As I began writing this, I realized a few of the photos I wanted to use are not digital. Drat! So we will have to make due with what I've got...you'll forgive me won't you? Anyway, I get so many compliments whenever I take Valentine themed photos and send them to loved ones far away. Why shouldn't you, too?

These are from 2008: Doesn't Ella look like she's givin' me the ole stink-eye? I think she's Amish and thinks I'm stealing her soul whenever I take her picture. These two I have framed and on the mantel: Want to duplicate this? Set up your shot before adding the poochie into the equation. Have your child's face filling most of the frame and the focus locked in. Take a delicious spreadable food (i.e. peanut butter, cream cheese, etc.) and place a small amount on your child's cheek. Call over the pup and snap away! I guess I should suggest only doing this with an animal you trust completely. Oh, and know whatever food item you use doesn't cause an allergic reaction in anyone.

If you don't have a pooch or if you want some other fabulous Valentine photo ideas, head over here to see the winners of her Valentine themed photo contest.
Happy snapping!

Back to School - sort of...

For Christmas, my sweetheart of a hubby enrolled me in an online photography class being taught by professional photographer, Maggie Holmes. Here on her blog, she offers beginners and advanced photographer workshops as well as actions. She has been terrific and I'm hopeful I can finally learn to shoot fully manual with my camera.
Anyway, I'd like to share with you some shots I took for part of my assignment this week.I think they are pretty cute. Good news is, you too can freeze your subjects in mid-air! If your camera comes with a "sports mode" (often shown as a running figure on one of the dials of your camera), you just have to switch it to that symbol. Don't save it just for sports photos, either!
Here is an older photo, but one of my favorites:
This mode will also freeze water in mid-air:
Even a photo such as this could be shot in sports mode:So go catch some action. And happy shooting!

Happy New Year!

Holy guacamole! What is going on here?!?! December came and went and I posted just once. I know I was sick a few days because I didn't even make it to the kid's school parties. Shopping, check. Making teacher's treats, check. Mailing Christmas cards, check. More shopping, check. Eating, check and check. Seven days in PA, check. A good time, check.
There, now we're caught up. See how easy that was?

I did mean to post a Christmas card, but in my rush to get them out and arrive on time, I neglected to scan one in to post. However, I can still share my photos from the shoot.
Here are the cooperative cuties:
I took some extra of Lulu since I had a few good ones of Jack back from October. (I don't want you to think Jack was excluded.)I hope you all had a wonderful holiday!
Thank you all for reading, following and leaving your kind thoughts on my blog! I look forward to seeing and hearing more from you in 2010!

Inspiration

I have been so inspired by the talented photographers over at Lens Us Together, that I have to share what they have motivated me to try and link you up directly to some of their awesome sites!
Some brief background as we start. I value my sleep. With two young 'uns who must be at the bus stop by 7:00 am, my night owl tendencies and a husband who travels Monday through Friday, I covet my sleep. But after seeing the shots being taken by these ladies, I was determined to get out and catch the early rising sun and the fabulous light which comes with it. Yep, I spent two hours one day shooting landscapes and nature shots when I could've been comfy cozy back in bed.
Look what I would have missed:These shots were inspired by Mary over at In a Soft Light and Simple Things.
She is my Landscape Idol. Back when I got my first camera, I was crazy for landscapes, but extreme lighting situations befuddled me. I'm still befuddled, but now I'm digitally learning how to cover up, I mean correct my mistakes. Back to Mary...her photographs have such a dreamy, peaceful feel to them. Check out this one and this one to see a couple of my favorites. She also has a feature called Mosaic Monday on her third blog, Little Red House. I've lost a few morning hours clicking on the links of everybody who comes there to share their own mosaics.
Next up is Caroline from NoWordz and Whimsical Whispers. Her photographs are breath taking! I love her use of textures and the way she finds beauty in everyday objects.
Be sure to check out the black and white of apples on NoWordz which is just awesome (but I can't link up for some reason)! I mean, apples...really? I love it.
I took these:
after seeing this incredible photo of Caroline's.
She also has her first book for sale! You can preview it here or click on the "Buy the Book!" button at the top of her NoWordz site. Talk about a great gift for a photography enthusiast! Are you listening, honey?

Then there is 30 Days of Gratitude as Cora's theme for November on her blog, Heartfelt and Homemade. I had every intention of following Cora's lead on this one, but did I mention how much I love and need sleep? I have so enjoyed reading her posts each day. On some particularly long, rainy days, I have been pulled out of a funk by reading one of Cora's gratitudes. One of my favorites can be found here, but I highly recommend reading them all to find your personal favorite! Of course, each gratitude is accompanied by one of Cora's beautiful photographs.
Here is my precious Ella yet again. You can thank Kate at A Picture A Day for inspiring me to share my dear Ella more often. You see, in addition to her fabulous photos, you will see her fabulous dog, George. Ella was getting a wee bit jealous.

Finally, to see some ridiculously amazing family portraits, you need to visit Michelle (Shell) over at Wildflower Studio Blog. She is one smart cookie - picking a winery for a family session so mom and dad can do some tasting while the kids are busy being photographed. I have no pictures to show you - go visit her site while I pour some wine. See... she did inspire me!

Thank you ladies, for sharing your gifts and talents, for inspiring me to try new things and to look at things in a new light!