Fix-It-Friday #81

I have been negligent in maintaining my blog as well as keeping up with Photo Challenges and Fix-It-Fridays on I Heart Faces. Oops. Then again, for the longest time I was unable to add images for some reason....

Anyway, here is a photo of the lovely Arden Prucha and her husband taken by Michelle Johnson.

Original Image:

Beautiful. It only needs a few little tweaks to really make it shine.

Color Edit:

I started with a custom levels preset to make the whole image pop, then a custom color set. I used TRA's Ying/Yang to prevent blow-outs and bring out some hidden details, then applied TRA's Big Blue and Green With Envy to make the colors pop.

B/W Edit
A very simple edit. From the color edit, I used the Photoshop Channel Mixer preset B/W with yellow filter to give it a nice soft look, then used TRA's Vignette and Blur and adjusted it so the result wasn't quite so severe.

Hot Cocoa Edit:
As much as I love black and white, I love the warmth that a deep brown gives to an image even more. A simple application of TRA's Cinnamon Toast adds just the right tint of color to the image.

I love working on these lovely images! You can find more contributions here. :)

Portfolio-Building In 2011

Hello, all! I announced earlier that in 2011 I would be doing portfolio-building shoots to test the waters, sharpen my abilities, and ultimately decide if I am going to make the leap from photo hobbyist to professional photographer. Well, here I am, making the announcement official. As of January 5, 2011, I will be accepting requests for sessions. For the time being, the sessions will entail a model release signed before we begin shooting. The sessions will be an hour and will likely result in 10-20 fully edited images (weddings, births and other events are obviously an exception to this). After I make a low-res CD (suitable for printing 4x6s) of the images, I will print out a press release for the client so that they will be able to use the images on various internet sites and print as many 4x6s as they desire. If they desire a larger size, or a canvas, I will be typing up my discounted ALA Carte prices in January.

Just for clarification: For portfolio-building sessions, the session is free, and a low-res disk is free. Enlargements, canvases, and high resolution images are subject to a special portfolio-building discount.

Please use the following lists as a guide for my "services". Please remember, these sessions should not take the place of a professional photography session (as I am not a professional), and remember to support a local photographer in 2011. They work hard and can produce much better images than chain stores.

The Kind of Shoots I Would Prefer:
These are the areas in which I want to specialize. I want to be a "life events" photographer, capturing those milestones that create a visual time line of cherished events.
*Engagement
*Wedding
*Birth
*Birthday Parties
*Military Homecomings

The Kind of Shoots I Am Willing To Do:
These are wonderful practice, but if I do go pro I will likely refer to other photogs who specialize in these areas instead.
*Family
*Boudoir
*Seniors
*Newborn
*Portrait
*Model

Shoots I Will Not Do:
*Sports
*Glamour (Different from boudoir, which is come-as-you-are)
*Corporate

Additionally, I would like to extend my services to families of deployed soldiers. Because I am not a "professional" by the standards of the BBB, I cannot participate in OpLove, but if you want to have a portrait session so you can have something to send to your soldier, I will include 2 8x10s free of charge. It is important to build morale any way we can, even if it is a small gesture. God bless those who serve and those families who hold strong.

If you have any questions about any particular session and what it entails, please shoot me an e-mail at mmuphotography@gmail.com . Have a great day!

**Edited to add: I guess I should add that I am in the Killeen, TX area, but any friends within a few hours' travel time can schedule a session as well. I like to travel!

Happy December! Writing Update!

So I am keeping up pretty well with my chapters. I had to skip a month to focus on homework and finals, but for the most part I'm on schedule. I joined a writing community, Writer's Cafe, to publish my chapters online for anyone who might be interested in reading it. I do caution you, it is completely unedited, I am writing from the seat of my pants, it is probably chock-full of grammatical errors, and it is quite possibly just atrocious writing. It has, however, worked wonders by getting me excited about firing up the good ol' Warriors of Polithia story with a fresh (more mature) perspective. I will continue to write this, only because I cannot back down from a challenge. You can read the first four chapters here. :)