A picture is worth a thousand words. A great picture can be worth a million. That's the challenge over at I Heart Faces this week: use a picture (or a collage of pictures) to tell a story. 

I love a good love story. And this weekend, I had the privilege to capture the wedding day of an adorable couple. Their wedding was simple, personal, and deeply rooted in the faith they share. They opted to do a first look before the ceremony, and I am so glad. They had a chance to collect themselves, revel in their love, and pray - thanking God for bringing them together. The two photos in my collage below capture the excitement of the moment and the strong bond which joins them.

Go stop by I Heart Faces and check out what other stories are being told this week as part of the challenge.

I wear my sunglasses at night...

Oh, sorry.

This week you've Got to Wear Shades over at I Heart Faces. This shot was taken over in Scotland when we stopped to see Ardverikie (aka Glenbogle to my fellow Monarch of the Glen fans). My husband wandered off a bit and showed back up with a little surprise for me. He's so sweet sometimes.



Now head over to see the other great shots with shades! And a great big congratulations to Brooke of Dinkypopsnomore who just welcomed daughter number 2!

We have a winner! And I've made my first video log to announce them, so please, be kind.



Anniversary Giveaway Winner from Briana Gardell on Vimeo.

If you can't watch the video, here's the long story short:

Congratulations Jennifer Ahearn! I will be getting in touch with you shortly about your session.

I haven't done a Fix It Friday in a long time, so I thought I'd give it another shot. Today's featured an adorable little boy.

Here's the original:



Very cute, but on the cool side and far away. So first I cropped and added a bit of angle for interest. Then I opened the Levels to lighten it a bit and set the black and grey points. Lastly I used the unsharpen filter at 100% to make it pop.



Feel like trying your hand at it? Head over to I Heart Faces. And don't forget to enter the session giveaway in honor of my anniversary!

Three years ago today I married my best friend. He makes me laugh, he makes me feel safe, and he makes me fall in love again every day.  Never in my dreams did I imagine that I could be more in love with him that I was on our wedding day. But I am. I love that we know and rely on each other like an old married couple, but we still act like newlyweds. Everyone deserves this happiness, and I feel blessed that I get to experience it. If you want to hear the whole story, check out how we met, how he proposed, and the big day.

I want to share the love. No, you can't have Sean - he's all mine. But I want to give away a free "couple in love" session. How do you qualify? Well, if you meet the following criteria, you can enter:

1) You MUST be in love. Dating, engaged, married, doesn't matter, if the love is there, you are eligible!

2) You MUST live (or be willing to meet me) within 2 hours of Worcester, MA. Sorry, I would love to flit around the world to capture the love, but resources being what they are, I must restrict this. Someday, though, right?

So if you can check off both of those criteria, leave a comment (here on the blog, not on Facebook) telling me a little about your love. Sunday evening, our highly selective panel of judges will pick our winner (Captain Subtext says: I will write the names on slips of paper, dump them on the floor in front of my cats, and whichever one they choose first wins. All will be caught on video to showcase how sad my Sunday evenings are). The winner and their love will get a free 2-hour photo session with me ($100 value).

To help spread the love further, you have the chance for multiple entries.

1) A comment telling me about your love.

2) Like my Facebook Page, then mention this contest in your status and leave me the link in a separate comment.

3) Mention this on Twitter and leave me the link in a separate comment. Sample tweet: "Are you in love? Are you in New England? Enter to win a couples photo shoot with @wakeupjuliet! http://bit.ly/bL89za "

So now that I've yammered on quite enough, start commenting and spread the word! And I'll see you on Monday morning with the results!

I'm back! Surprised? I hope so, because this week's I Heart Faces theme is all about surprise.

I've been out of commission for the past couple weeks because I've been in Scotland on vacation. But now I'm back, and getting into the swing of things again, including my I Heart Faces entries.

This was one of my favorite shots from a maternity session a while back. I was snapping some belly shots with the big sis-to-be, when the little sis inside decided to do a tap dance. The look on big sister's face was priceless:



Now go check out the rest of the surprises over at I Heart Faces.

I haven't participated in a little while, shame on me. But this week is Pets Only over at I Heart Faces and I wouldn't a very good kitty mum if I didn't flaunt their furry adorableness. Presenting: Captain Malcolm Reynolds, aka, Rumbleroar, aka, the little sh**.



Don't let the sweet little face, velvety ears and oh so nommable paws fool you. This is 6 lbs of "brother" bugging, house lapping, yarn stealing terror waiting to be unleashed! It's a good thing he's so darn cute...

This week over at I Heart Faces, it's "Barefoot Week", and entries should focus on feet and shoes. It's a non-challenge week (Superwomen Angie and Amy need weeks off occasionally) to raise awareness about a Nashville-based charity called Soles 4 Souls.



About Soles 4 Souls: Soles4Souls is a Nashville-based charity that collects shoes from the warehouses of footwear companies and the closets of people like you. The charity distributes these shoes free of charge to people in need, regardless of race, religion, class, or any other criteria. Since 2005, Soles4Souls has given away over 7 million pairs of new and gently worn shoes (currently donating one pair every 9 seconds.) The shoes have been distributed to people in over 125 countries, including Kenya, Thailand, Nepal and the United States. Soles4Souls has been featured in Runner's World, Ladies’ Home Journal, National Geographic’s Green Guide, and The New York Times. It has appeared on CBS, ABC, NBC, FOX, BBC, CNN and thousands of regional news outlets across North America. Soles4Souls is a 501(c)(3) recognized by the IRS and donating parties are eligible for tax advantages. Anyone can join our cause, and we need your help.

My shot for this week is from a fun concept shoot that I did with my friend this weekend. I absolutely adore shots of ballerinas and point shoes, even though I never danced ballet myself. They have a gracefulness and beauty that is unlike anything else.

Lacey and I had a lot of fun during her headshot session this past weekend. This girl is gorgeous, super sweet, and quite adventurous, climbing into a little cavern (despite the spiders) for some gorgeous light and atmosphere. I loved getting to know her better, and we chatted all about her horses, the fact that she prefers running around barefoot (keeping shoes in her car just in case she runs out of the house without some) and her love of photography.

Happy Birthday a day late, Lacey! You are a stunner :)

A big congratulations to Gina, who you may remember from the maternity session last week. Last night she welcomed little Aubrey into the world!

Picture provided by a friend of the mother.

This weekend I had a lot of fun taking Lacey's headshots, and her blond hair is my yellow in this week's I Heart Faces "Yellow" challenge. But the color that really pops is her super blue eyes.

Now go check out the rest of the sunny yellow entries over at I Heart Faces.

Gina is one of my coworkers, and she is expecting her first child, a baby girl. She's anxious, but we all know she'll do just fine. She's had plenty of practice with her stepdaughter, even coaching her cheerleading team to the championships. Her stepdaughter, Valerie, is an absolute crackup. Her antics made her parents smile and my job easy! Here are some of my favorites from the session. Gina, you and your family are beautiful and we are all waiting with bated breath to meet your little girl!

Katt is a fellow community theater actress, and this girl's got chops! She's gorgeous, funny, and very talented. Some of her latest roles have included Anne Frank and Adelaide in Guys and Dolls. For this session, we headed over to Moore State Park in Paxton, MA where we took advantage of some beautiful rustic mills and bridges and gorgeous light that bounced off of a waterfall. We had the best time, and this girl does not have a bad angle.

This week over at I Heart Faces the theme is "Flowers".  This shot is from the session I had with my sister while she was home from school. The beautiful yellow flowers provided a sunny background for her natural beauty.

See more flowery goodness over at I Heart Faces!

You’re excited for your portrait session; you have your outfit planned, your hair style in mind…but what about makeup?  You want to avoid caking on layers, but can the real you shine through without a shiny forehead?  How much is too much?  How little is too little?  Relax, breathe, and use this as a guideline to achieve a natural look that’s all you:

It’s not all about makeup - Keep hydrated, avoid excessive sun exposure, and get your beauty sleep the week leading up to your session.  The last things you want are puffy eyes, sunburns, and general sluggishness in your expressions.  Nothing provides a better base than a solid skin care regime.  Start with clean, moisturized skin.  Allow the moisturizer to be absorbed before continuing.

Apply a foundation primer - This will even out the texture of your skin and help fill in fine lines, acne scars, or pores.  Some brands offer color correcting primers if your skin tends to redden or be dull.  Let the primer set (about 30 seconds) before applying foundation.

Apply liquid foundation or tinted moisturizer – If you have great skin a tinted moisturizer is all you need to even it out and prep for makeup.  If using foundation, use an oil-free liquid or creme foundation, and BLEND!!! You may miss the line of demarcation a slightly-off color leaves around your jaw or hairline, but the camera won’t!

Stay away from shimmer – On camera, shine from shimmer bears a striking resemblance to oil. Use a matte bronzer that is only slightly darker than your skin tone. Avoid shiny lip gloss. Stick with matte over pearlescent eye shadows. The exception? A dab of champagne-colored eye shadow in the inner corner of each eye will brighten and widen them.

Keep color shades fairly natural - You want the focus to be on your natural features, not the color of your eye shadow, blush or lipstick.

Eyes: Neutral shades like beige, soft brown, soft pink and peach “pop” the eyes, and won’t look dated or trendy. 

Cheeks: Use a bit more blush than you normally would, and choose a fleshy tone that enhances and brightens, not overwhelms, your features. Soft pinks, rosy and peachy tones will do the trick.

Lips: Pale or nude-colored lips won’t translate well on camera, so pick something soft, bright, and medium in terms of shade and depth.

Mascara is a must – Eyes pop when given a great frame. If you’re experienced with eye liner, then a thin line in brown or black will help. If you’ve never touched a liner before, never fear, wiggling your mascara brush at the base of the lashes will create a similar effect.

Touch ups – If you tend to get oily, or if the day is warm, oil-free blotting sheets are great to have in your purse to combat shiny spots.

Be YOU - These guidelines are meant to help you create a look that is you, enhanced. If you're not comfortable, it will show in your photos. If you never wear makeup, then stick to very natural colors that will serve to even your skin tones and combat shine. If you wear makeup daily, stick to your look and just amp it up here and there.

I feel very blessed that my mom is one of my best friends. There's nothing better for a girl than knowing she can share anything with her mother. I can only pray that if I have a daughter someday that we share a similar relationship.

When I saw this week's challenge, I automatically went to this maternity session with a coworker. I love this shot of her, her stepdaughter, and if you look really closely (with an ultrasound), you can see the little girl waiting to make her debut. This is my friend's first child, and this shot captures the quiet peace and expectations they have.

Now go show some moms a lot of love over at www.iheartfaces.com

I'd forgotten how much fun I have with my mom and sister. Yesterday we had a girls day out at the Massachusetts Horticultural Center, and the laughs never stopped. Long story short, 'Swan Lake' now makes me giggle.

Though I certainly can't explain our crazy sense of humor, the beauty in my sister's smile needs no explanation.



There are lots more smiles over at I Heart Faces so go check them out, I dare you not to smile!

I had a phenomenal day with my mom and sister (home from Scotland) yesterday. Girls Days Out soothe a part of your soul that I never realized existed.

Here's a sneak peek of the shots from our session:

My life has been revolving around Romeo and Juliet rehearsals for the last couple months, so it was a pretty natural for me to create a collage about it. We just started working with costumes, which adds a whole new level. It's a bit nervewracking, but we open in less than 2 weeks!



I hope you liked it. Now go check out some of the beautiful collages that others are submitting over at I Heart Faces.

Sadly both of my shoots this weekend fell through, so I had to go digging a little to find a dramatic shot for this week's Dramatic B&W challenge. I saw this shot from my session last week and I love it. There's some whimsy, some mystery, dare I suggest a little drama to it. So I played with a high contrast B&W in Lightroom until I was satisfied.

Now go be wowed by the drama (the good kind) over at I Heart Faces!

This week is all about angles. Taking that standard, straight-on portrait and giving it that something special by putting yourself outside the box. I captured this shot while out with a friend this weekend. I stopped her with her back to the sun, scooted myself to the side, then crouched as low as I could (I would have laid on the ground, but it was still wet and squishy from rain). The wind gently lifted her hair at the right moment... The result?



A 16 year old (Happy Birthday Katt!) becomes a statuesque beauty who looks like she should be in a magazine.

Now check out the other unique angles over at I Heart Faces.

There are some mornings where you wake up, look outside at the weather, and just want to bury yourself as far into the covers as possible. Yesterday was one of those mornings, with rain and wind whipping against the windows. But what made yesterday special was the fact that I was able to pull the covers up around me and stay in bed.

Now pull up the covers and head over to I Heart Faces to see the other entries.

This week over at I Heart Faces we're Jumping for Joy! I had one shot in mind until I happened upon this gem from a summer concert I went to. The guys are Enter the Haggis, and they make jumping an art.

Normally I don't get a chance to enter the Fix It Fridays entries because they're posted after I leave for work. But today's was up in time! Hooray!

This week's photo came from Sarah Halstead who blogs at Loving My Life. The little cutie-pie is her son, Dustyn. Sarah wrote that she was "having issues with overexposure in the top left corner and with blemishes on his face."

Here is the original photo:



And here is my fix. I bumped up the levels, warmed up the color balance, healed some of the minor blemishes, and ran Pioneer Woman's Sunshine action at 40%.

Hi, I'm Briana Gardell, and I will be one of your Guest Fan Judges this week. It's a flattering thought, and you can imagine my surprise when I got the invitation! Floored is an accurate description.

photo compliments of Brooke Gorman (Dinkypopsnomore)

Angie and Amy asked us to fill out a little questionnaire, so here goes!

Name: Briana Gardell (aka Briana @ Wake Up, Juliet)

Websites:

• www.wakeupjuliet.com (you're on it now!)


• Twitter/wakeupjuliet


• Wake Up, Juliet Facebook FanPage

About Me:

I'm twenty four years old, a wife of 2 1/2 years and mom to the two cutest cats in the world (no really, our vet said so). Outside of photography, I love singing, writing, acting, dance, crafty things and planning parties. My family is everything to me, in particular, my husband, who is a saint for putting up with my multiple passions, particularly my photography (look here and here for proof he should be canonized).

My Photography Journey and I Heart Faces:

My journey isn't that long compared to many, but it's been meaningful. Like, change my life meaningful. I bought my first DSLR in 2008 as a Christmas gift to myself (it was supposed to be a gift to ourselves, but who are we kidding?). I just wanted to take better pictures for my blog. I was inspired by The Pioneer Woman, who made all the high tech photo mumbo jumbo make sense. Once I had the camera I was hooked. But what really launched me was I Heart Faces. Now that I think of it I can't remember how I found them, but the important thing is that I did. I began entering the challenges and managed an honorable mention in my 3rd week! When they offered the Dallas Workshop, there was no way I couldn't go. I loved photography so much that I was kicking around the idea of starting a side business. Now, a few months later, I'm in the throes of getting that business off the ground.

I Heart Faces has taught me, encouraged me, humbled me, and introduced me to some amazing, talented people. It's challenged me to do better, be more creative, to nail that shot, to take chances. Thank you Angie and Amy for bringing us all together!

Photographer Who Inspires me the Most:

Oh dear, is it really possible to choose one? I follow so many who are amazing (Becker, Jessica Claire, Jose Villa, Chriselda), but there are two that truly inspire me. 1) Rebekah Westover - I adore her style. It's fresh, clean, pure, and she seems to nail every.single.shot. 2) Jasmine Star - She shoots amazing pictures, yes, but what inspires me about her is her attitude and personality. She loves her job, her husband, her clients and she shows it in every blog post.

Editing program:

I use Photoshop 7...nope, not Elements 7, just plain old Photoshop 7. It's great, it works, and I don't have the money to upgrade right now lol. Sadly that means most actions aren't compatible with my version, but that's probably for the best right now. I like to keep my editing pretty simple, and if I avoid actions altogether I consider it a good shot.

What's in my Bag:

• Nikon D40 with 2 kit zooms


• Nikon 50mm f/1.4 AF-S (my newest baby, on my camera 99.9% of the time these days)

My Hilarious Outtakes:

1) Malcolm telling me he's had enough.

2) My darling husband at his MOST charming.

3) Little one telling  mom what she thinks of the finger stuck in her mouth trying to show everyone her first tooth.

4) Wary looks exchanged between my husband (Santa) and his cousin's daughter.

5) Sadly, I have a million of these. Back off ladies...he's allll mine.

Ok, maybe he shouldn't be canonized...

There's nothing sweeter than the relationship between mom and baby. Teeny hands grasping and pulling at fingers that dance over a round tummy. Unconditional love that is emitted through those fingers. Exchanging coos and ridiculous faces just to elicit one of those brand new smiles.

I love watching my friend interact with her youngest. She has four kids, and is a supermom. Seriously. This woman can whip up over a dozen loaves of bread in one day while caring for her babes.

But I digress.

Her little 4 month old has a million new smiles at the ready, and when you see the two together you see why. There is nothing but joy and love bubbling up from the both of them.



Now go join in on the rest of the "Hands On" fun this week at I Heart Faces.

ROMEO: If I profane with my unworthiest hand
This holy shrine, the gentle fine is this:
My lips, two blushing pilgrims, ready stand
To smooth that rough touch with a tender kiss.

JULIET: Good pilgrim, you do wrong your hand too much,
Which mannerly devotion shows in this;
For saints have hands that pilgrims' hands do touch,
And palm to palm is holy palmers' kiss.

ROMEO: Have not saints lips, and holy palmers too?

JULIET: Ay, pilgrim, lips that they must use in prayer.

ROMEO: O, then, dear saint, let lips do what hands do;
They pray, grant thou, lest faith turn to despair.

JULIET: Saints do not move, though grant for prayers' sake.

ROMEO: Then move not, while my prayer's effect I take.
Thus from my lips, by yours, my sin is purged.



JULIET: Then have my lips the sin that they have took.

ROMEO: Sin from thy lips? O trespass sweetly urged!
Give me my sin again.

JULIET: You kiss by the book.

Now go indulge your romantic side by checking out the rest of the kissy faces over at I Heart Faces.

And for the runners up to this image, check out the gallery.

Have a heart this Valentine's Day and give back in a fun and unique way. If the tragedy in Haiti has taught us anything, it is that life can change in a moment. Be thankful for what you have and those you love. And this Valentine's Day, take a moment to capture that love.

As part of a national effort by Photographers for Haiti, I will be holding mini portrait sessions on Saturday, February 13. All session fees are donated to Compassion Ministries and are tax deductable. Make it a date with your significant other, dress your little one(s) for Valentine's Day, take some fresh headshots for your business or family and know it's all going to benefit others.
 

Mini Sessions for Haiti Relief
Saturday, February 13, 2010
10am - 4pm
Mason Hall at the Village Congregational Church
25 Church St.
Whitinsville, MA
$50 for a 30 - 45 minute session

 
Images from your session will be uploaded onto my viewing/ordering site, where prints are available a la carte. I have 6 slots available (one session per hour) so please contact me to grab one. If this session won't work for you right now, then please help by spreading the word!

I can be reached via email: briana@wakeupjuliet.com or on my cell: 508-341-4118.

Let's spread the love and make some memories!

I haven't worked with texture a whole lot, but this week I had a lot of fun. It was harder  finding the right shot that would be complimented by the texture. In the end, this little boy's eyes got me, and I think the faded look and texture only highlights them more.



Find out how to add your own textures and check out the other examples at I Heart Faces.

It's all about family this week over at I Heart Faces. My family has yet to grow beyond Sean and me and our two furbabies, so I decided to raid the family session I did with a coworker. She was greatly out numbered in the gender department: 3 boys, a husband, and a male dog! But they were wonderful, and I loved a series of shots we got with the boys by the lake.



Go check out the other creative family photos at I Heart Faces!

Happy Anniversary to I Heart Faces, who began one year ago and has already grown into an amazing network! We heart you Angie and Amy!

I also (super puffy) heart my husband, Sean. He's sweet, loving and quite handsome, but most of the time he goons in front of my camera. But this week I was determined to capture my favorite part of him, his amazing eyes. They're this gorgeous green and they truly are the windows to his soul. Every expression of his is portrayed in them. In was hoping for this fierce, piercing look that he used while playing Macbeth. Because he made my knees quiver when he played Macbeth.

But it didn't go as smoothly as I'd hoped. He had promised to let me photograph him this morning before work, but as my alarm went off I heard a cough from the other half of the bed an an "I'm sick". So instead of polished and off to work this morning he was drowsy and half asleep on the couch. But he still kept his promise and let me click away. I didn't get quite the intensity I had dreamed, but I still love the ones I took because they show how much he loves and supports me and my crazy shutterbug passion.

It's probably best he wasn't at full strength. Quivering knees cause camera shake.

Go check out the rest of the faces at I Heart Faces. And while you're there, ogle over the major redesign by Amy Locurto.

No, I didn't accidentally repeat myself, it's an I Heart Faces themed week! The site is coming up on it's first anniversary, so they're asking for entrants to incorporate the logo into their entries. Aaaannd....we get 5 entries!

First, the legal mumbo jumbo:

I am submitting this photo into the I Heart Faces logo photo contest. By entering, I am granting I Heart Faces LLC permission to consider my photo for use in the marketing and promotion of this website.

Now, the entries:











Now go check out the other logo-fied pictures over at I Heart Faces!

Oh boys. Can't live with them, can't live without them, eh? Well, in this week's I Heart Faces challenge, they provide the fodder for my hilarious outtakes.

Let's start with my husband, Sean, who really is quite handsome, if I do say so myself. Problem is I have very little photographic proof. He turns into a goon when the camera's on him. So I have to be super sneaky to get shots of him, otherwise, they look like this:



But the outtakes were in abundance during the family shoot I had earlier this month. With 3 little boys and one big boy, the goofiness was rampant. But, to get the good shots, sometimes you just have to let boys be boys.









Head over to I Heart Faces to check out the rest of the hilarious outtakes!

Sean and I have returned from my grandmother's house in Maine where we spent Christmas with my family. We had a very nice holiday, but little did I know that there was a post Christmas photographic surprise in store for me yesterday.

I'll preface this story by explaining that my Grandmother lives in the house that used to be their family's summer home. It is right on the ocean, and there is a large picture window in the living room that looks over the small field between us and the beach.



It had begun to snow and my dad just returned from the little fishing village of Port Clyde down the road, raving about the great shot potential for me. So I began to bundle myself up when something caught my eye through the picture window. I couldn't tell if it was just a large rock that I had never seen before because of the high field grass, or if it was something more.

I went out to investigate.

And was rewarded with the most amazing experience of my photographic career to date.



I met this little harbor seal, who decided to make his way up the path and winter in the field.







Is that not incredible? I wish I could have stayed longer, but it was cold, and I felt I had disturbed him long enough. I kept an eye on him, and he stayed most of the afternoon before making his way back to the ocean.

I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas full of love and joy.

This is hard.

It's incredibly exciting and enjoyable, but it's hard. Especially since I'm doing this part-time. Sure when you're full time you have all day/week to sort through your to-do lists, but I have only a few hours each evening and my weekends to address items. And I have to have a life beyond that! So I'm sorry, I've been busy and have been kind of "checked out" of blogging/internet for a little while. The to do list keeps getting longer.

Money also has an influence. I refuse to take out a credit card or loan to start this thing up. So whatever I make is going back into the business start up. I'm lusting after a huge Mac at my local Best Buy, but I don't have the $1,700 to make it mine. My laptop will have to suffice for now.

But back to to-do lists. Right now mine looks a bit like this:
- Christmas presents
- Puppy pictures require attention
- Job: Office Christmas party on Friday
- Job: family session on Sunday
- Get up the guts to actually send quote for a wedding next fall
- pay for full SmugMug subscription since my trial expires tomorrow...eeek!
- order business cards
- Rework blog/website to incorporate business
- get my ducks in a row before I officialize my business after the start of the year.

It's official. I don't have time for Christmas.

I have made some developments though, and they keep me going.
- Create SmugMug page: Check it out!
- Create logo and watermark: You can see the logo if you check out my smugmug site. Keep your eye out for the water mark on future photos
- Create pricing structure: Though after a few sessions I may have to rethink it, in a good way
- Bought the nifty fifty lens! Yes the 50mm f/1.4G is mine all mine. No more renting :)

So I'm sorry I've been quiet, but there are lots of things in the works, I promise!

Oh Malcolm...

Our kitten, Captain Malcolm Reynolds, has proven himself to be a handful. Swinging from the curtains, dive bombing London from the arms of chairs, and discovering the secrets of every box and bag brought into the house, he keeps us on our toes. He quickly earned himself the nickname of "Monkey", and has made the project of decorating our house for Christmas a little more interesting.

It's a good thing he's so darn cute.



Now go check out the rest of the entries at I Heart Faces. And get ready for some "Awwws".

Because Sean would divorce me if I took pictures of him sleeping, I'll have to use this picture of baby Maggie from a newborn session I did a little while ago.



Sean did help me pick which one to use :)

Check out the rest of the snoozers over at I Heart Faces:

I had the absolute pleasure of photographing my coworker's family this weekend. Danielle has 5 boys in her life (if you count the dog), and they are wonderful.



I just want to take a moment to talk about their dog... he was the best! He met me at the door carrying one of the boys' toy cars, and I quickly discovered he was a leaner. But what really cracked me up was when we went to take the Christmas tree picture, he comes trotting into the room and lays down in the perfect spot, as if to say "I'm here now, let's do this thing!"

Danielle and Ted's family is beautiful. Simply put.

And I admit, I was nervous coming into a photo shoot with 3 young boys. But they were naturals and such incredible sports.







It was definitely chilly out. The sky was overcast and as I headed home, the rain started. The rain turned to snow not long after and now there's a couple inches of snow on the ground now. But we had a great time down at the lake and goofing off at the playground.













These boys take jumping seriously. When their middle boy was scaling the rocks, he boasted that he was the King of England. That's pretty impressive for a 5 1/2 year old, but if kingship was based on jumping ability, he's got my backing!





I want to thank Ted and Danielle for inviting me to capture their family. I had an absolute blast working with you and your three incredible boys.



I mean, who can resist those faces?

I came back from the Dallas I Heart Faces Workshop expecting to hit the ground running with my part time photography business. But all the work ahead of me has me a bit nervous and ideas continue to bounce around in my head without being tied down. There's also the issue of the equipment I want to buy with the money that I don't have right now. Then there is pricing, proofing methods, marketing, the list goes on!

But before I can do any of that, I need to figure out one MAJOR thing first:

Who Am I?

I am Briana, a 24 year old wife and kitty-mom to 2. I enjoy romantic comedies and travelling, love cute shoes but hate feet. But that's not what I'm talking about.

Who am I as a photographer?

Um....Good question.

And before I can design my logo, create my webpage, business cards and marketing materials, I have to answer that question.

Crud.

How does one answer that question when they're just starting out? What is my style? Right now I'm very schizophrenic in my styles. I appreciate so many different photographers' work, but if I try to be like all of them, I'll never find myself. I wish there was some sort of "Find your Photography Style" quiz or analyzer that would spit out my answer (If there is, please someone share it with me!). And as much as I wish I could write a tutorial to help all of you facing this dilemma, I obviously don't know the answer.

So I've decided to experiment by picking some favorite photos of my own and of photographers that I admire. Hopefully through that exercise I can identify what I value most in a photographic image, and thereby define what I want to bring forth in my images as a photographer.

First we'll start with some of mine:

This photo ranks up there because of the dreamy feel to it, and the fact that it focuses in on such a tiny detail. But the main thing is that the mom loved the fact that her daughter had "monkey toes", and if I can help her visualize them for years to come, I'm happy.



This shot makes me laugh because this little girl was so much fun. It's such a natural shot, and it captures her playful personality. I love catching emotions.

This one is a very candid and natural shot again. It caught her happiness and that feeling of being in love.



This is probably my favorite shot to date. Pure happiness on her face, and such a fun and beautiful action.

Alright, so from those pictures I deduce that I like catching candid, natural emotions. I like capturing the essence of the subject's personality or relationship, and I love the little details that mean more than you realize.

So now to analyze what I love from more seasoned pro's photos:

Amy Karp - She does absolutely beautiful work, and I had the immense pleasure to learn from her while in Dallas. But this shoot of hers particularly caught my attention and admiration. It involves a lot of elements I love: a dreamy, romantic feel; elegant, vintage pieces in a natural environment; and a subject whose personality comes through. If I had to pick my favorite out of them, it'd be this one.

But like I said, if I HAD to pick one. To see why, check out the rest of the session's entry here.

Jose Villa does stunning work as well, but this wedding was from the mind of another fantastic photographer, Jessica Claire. Again, we see the vintage pieces out in nature, giving it a dreamy, romantic feel.

Another photoshoot that had me drooling was the Swarovski spread shot by Patrick Demarchelier for Vanity Fair magazine. It tells the story of the Three Graces, and what strikes a chord with me is the story, the characters, the old architecture, and the fairytale aspect.

So what does all this say about me? I'd say my style is:

- natural
- emotional
- personal
- candid
- romantic
- storytelling

So as I plow ahead into the land of logos, website, marketing and branding, I need to come back and check everything I create against those 6 words.

Did you try this for yourself? What did you come up with? I'd love to hear whether this helped you or not.

I hope my sister won't be too embarrassed that I'm using her and her fiance's tooshies for my entry this week. This was from their couple session before she left for Scotland, before they got engaged. I thought it was so sweet and casual the way his two fingers hooked her pocket.

Now go check out the other tooshies, highnies, buttocks, keesters, cabooses, and well, you get the idea. And don't worry, no nudie patooties, it's a rule.

Sorry, I'll stop now.

This past weekend I had the opportunity to experience fall in a different part of the country. Today's entry is from the workshop in Dallas, TX. This little guy and his mom were an adorable pair. He was a little spitfire, running all over having a grand old time. She grabbed hold of him and played with him long enough for us to get off some great shots.





Now head over to I Heart Faces to catch all the autumn beauty before the snow sets in!

After yesterday's critique and editing fest with Pete Lacker and the fabulous ladies of I Heart Faces, I have a fresh new look at how I post process my photos. And it's a whole lot easier! Before, I was a Photoshop actions girl. I had fallen in love with Ree Drummond's Pioneer Woman Actions, and stuck to them because I had no other idea.

But I've seen the light. I was overprocessing.

I'm by no means knocking actions, they're great tools, and the PW set are a fine example. But they have their place.

I thought it would be fun to take one of my favorite pictures that I took and edited a little while ago. You may remember it:



That was straight out of camera. And now, for the original edit. I wish I had written down my steps, but I never thought I'd be writing this post.



It's not bad, but very contrasty. I learned this weekend that if you plan on using actions, set your contrast to zero, since actions tend to add a lot.

So now for my new edit. I merely opened levels, slid the left arrow in a bit to add contrast, slid the middle arrow til I was satisfied with coloration, then ran an unsharpen mask at 100%. Another thing I learned was that "unsharpen" mask is preferred to a "sharpen" or "sharpen more" because it doesn't get noisy.



I'm still learning by playing, but this took me a fraction of the time, and I like the results. I'm excited to see how this speeds up my editing process overall.

What do you think? Do you need to streamline and tone down your editing?

My head is still reeling from all the information that I took in today. Pete Lacker, commercial photographer extraordinaire, was our guide through a sea of photo "misses" that we had sent in. Who knew that you could learn so much from another person's photo?

I had my laptop on and was fervently taking down the points he made, and I'll share them with you. Hopefully they'll be of use even though they are out of context.

• When setting up a shot, move around the subject, look for the best light.


• Try different things, play with low/high aperture.


• With kids, if they won’t calm down, use it. Turn on track focus and let them run.


• Look past your subject to the background. Move around to get the best background. Avoid clutter.


• Use levels to make minor lighting edits with your photos (this tip alone has forever altered my editing process)


• Get monitor calibrated.


• If photos look flat, move around for more dramatic lighting or graphic elements.


• For tack sharp eyes, use center focus to lock on and then recompose shot. Takes some practice to master.


• When shooting a studio black background, a rim light behind the subject can separate the subject from the background.


• Take control in a photo shoot. If the client asks for something you don’t do, explain that it’s not your style and you aren’t trained in that.


• When shooting different skin or clothing tones together, light the darker subject more (put next to window or light source)


• Try blowing out the exposure just to see what it looks like. Some photos really shine that way.


• 28-75mm f/2.8 and 70-200mm f/2.8 will cover your bases as a professional (now on my wish list)


• Use "unsharpen mask" over "sharpen more" to avoid grain.


• Include information behind the picture, including copyright and contact info.


• Name your file with name and keyword for search engine pickup.


• Be kind and professional when emailing a picture. Size for web, 500-800 pixels, 72 pixels/inch (screen resolution).


• When coming into a setting, look for the best light, wrapping light, and simple or graphically interesting backgrounds.


• Hat? Stand and have them look up at you, or have them stand and shoot up. Find the light.

These may seem jumbled and unorganized, but that is because the tips were given when they applied to a photo that was discussed.

I'm looking forward to decompressing about all I learned in this very short time span, but for now, all I'll say is that Angie and Amy...one big humongous THANK YOU!

Oh, and I couldn't let you go away without one more picture:

Today was amazing. Simply and plainly amazing. Twenty five talented photographers, three professionals leading the way, nine kiddos, one gorgeous model 'bride', and one fantastic location. I'm exhausted, but I could do that everyday. I took 1300 photos, culled 500 because of blinks, blurs, and general meh-ness (that's totally a word), and was left with 871 photos.

Angie and Amy asked us to pick and edit our favorite five for tomorrow.

Crap.

So after much deliberation, here are my five picks.

Our 'bride' model, was insanely gorgeous. I couldn't find a bad shot of her.



This little boy was a spitfire, but he cooperated for me on this one. His eyes were beautiful.



Again, insanely gorgeous. I love her expression in this shot, even if there's a rogue bang.



This little sweetie couldn't actually sit up on her own. Mom is hiding behind, holding her up.



I got so many great shots of this little girl, but this was my favorite.



Don't worry, I'll certainly be sharing plenty more in the coming week. But it's very late. And Sandra and I are getting up early to have breakfast with Pete Lacker, commercial photographer extraordinaire!

Today was D-day, as in Dallas-day for me! Since I wasn't able to secure a wireless connection on my trip down, I resorted to tweeting on my Blackberry when I could:

Shutting down the computer...heading to the airport shortly! - about 16 hours ago from web

trip to Logan OK. didn't see email about terminal change. oops. - about 14 hours ago from mobile web

raced from terminal B to C in record time. realize I'm still wearing coat that i meant to leave in car - about 14 hours ago from mobile web

splashed by overenthusiastic toilet flush. eew. - about 13 hours ago from mobile web

on the plane. next stop, Chicago. - about 13 hours ago from mobile web

http://twitpic.com/p9ixn - Hi from Chicago, city of wind...and dinosaurs apparently. - about 8 hours ago from TwitPic



Helloooooo Dallas! - about 5 hours ago from mobile web

Just met a bunch of the girls and everyone is completely and utterly wonderful. @photosuki and I fitting in some comp time before bed. -  half a minute ago from web

So that was my day in brief. Orbitz threw me all off this morning, telling me I was flying on US Air when really I was on United, I got dropped at the wrong terminal because I didn't see the alert email (I was blow drying my hair), broke speed walking records between terminals B and C, forgot to leave my peacoat in the car (because I'll really need it here in Dallas...it's in the 70s!), got splashed by a toilet, discovered that the world's worst fast food employees all work at the airport, discovered how annoying someone 'sucking their teeth' is, shared a gate with a brachiosaur, got hit on (I think...it's been a while), had a cheeseburger and fries at a seafood place much to the chagrin of my uncle, and discovered that everything really is bigger in Texas.

Oh, and they have Ferraris here. And they actually drive them. Back home nice cars are stowed until a very nice day. Then they cruise for a short while, get scrubbed and put away again.

I was very excited coming into this weekend, and also a little nervous. But after tonight's meet and greet with Angie, Amy, my roommate Sandra (or Suki as everyone is calling her) and a bunch of the other girls, I'm no longer nervous and a whole lot more excited!!!

Tomorrow we're off to the Dallas Arboretum where we'll get to borrow and play with new lenses (and very likely fall in love with them) while photographing some moms and tots, and we'll be learning to work with brides!!!

Today I finally got around to the online Jessica Sprague class that I registered for this summer. It focused on brushes, textures, clipping masks and storyboards in Photoshop. I'm hooked, it was so much fun playing around with them. I'm also working on putting together a business card, and I came up with this as a first draft for one side.



What do you think? I'll definitely be playing around a little more with it but I love suggestions!

I had my first newborn photo session. I'm officially in love. Little Baby M. was less than 3 weeks old and a perfect doll. Ok, at first she was a little cranky, so while Mom helped get her into a "milk coma", her big sisters got in on the action.



They absolutely cracked me up.



M. was finally ready and we had a very productive session...in between the leaks.







Look at those baby blues.









And if you weren't melted by those pictures, the next one will do you in. No one can resist the power of baby toes!

We decided to have some fun picking this winner. Our adorable cats haven't made too much of an appearance lately, so we thought we'd let them choose the recipient of the 8x10 print from my shop.





The candidates are written on tissue paper (Mal's favorite toy).



I expected to dump them out and have a furry blur of fuzz pounce immediately, but no. Our cats understood the great task with which they had been entrusted. They sniffed and pondered the choices...



Until Mal took the initiative and made the very tough decision.



And the winner is.....



Congratulations RENA! You won't have to wait until payday to get your print :) I'll be in touch with you shortly!

This week is Halloween Dress-Up week over at I Heart Faces. Sean and I won't really have a Halloween, since we'll be putting on our show "Moon Over Buffalo". So for Halloween, Sean will be 'Howard', the anxious weatherman, and I will be 'Eileen', the knocked-up ingenue.

For this week's entry, I thought I'd submit a photo of one of my cast mates getting into character. I loved this shot of Robbin becoming 'Roz', the reluctant daughter of two middle aged actors. The costumes we had were beautiful, we joked that we looked like 50s advertisements.

So do the Time Warp or the Monster Mash and get over to I Heart Faces to check out the rest of the entries.

I did it. I finally threw off my procrastination and fears and opened my Etsy shop. At the moment I have a few flower prints listed, and that list will grow by the day. I have lots of ideas for the future, and as soon as I can get the funds and materials together, you'll see the shop branch in another direction. But we'll keep that a surprise (it's hard though...I'm really excited!!!).

So please, check it out, and let me know what you think. I want to do this right, so all constructive criticism is welcome (as is glowing praise, if you deem it appropriate).

Wake Up, Juliet the Etsy Shop

I'd also love to hear what you like in a fine art print.  As a budding artist, trying to find her style I'm very torn. As a romantic, I love the weathered and faded look that textures give. I've represented that in my Passion Purple prints (say that 5 times fast). But, I also have this nagging voice yelling "Don't overprocess! The beauty is in its natural state!", so I have White Simplicity and Fiery Orange.

So to encourage feedback, promote my shop and blog (it is a budding business after all ;-p)  and celebrate me no longer being a chicken, I'm having a giveaway! Yaaaay!

So what am I giving away?

One 8" x 10" individual print from my shop!

(Note: individual, the sets are not an option, sorry)

So how do you enter? There are 4 ways:

1. Peruse the shop, let me know which print you like the most and leave any critiques in a comment.


2. Tweet about the giveaway, then leave a comment saying you did along with your twitter name.


3. Update your facebook status, letting your friends know about the giveaway, then leave a comment saying you did.


4. Become a fan of Wake Up, Juliet on facebook, then leave a comment saying you did (or that you already are a fan).

You have until midnight (ET) on Friday to get your critiques and entries in! The winning commenter will then be notified and will recieve their choice of print from the Wake Up, Juliet shop.

This week is a fun week over at I Heart Faces. The theme is "Excited", and I pulled this photo of my friend's daughter mid swing, hair still flying, for my entry.

Now go check out the other wonderful images!

My sister called this morning from Bonnie Scotland, and she gave me the exciting news that she and her flatmate will be joining the Photography Club there (in between 8 hour classes, reading, and 2 hour monkey observing sessions at the Edinburgh Zoo). She wanted my opinion on my camera, and some link recommendations, so I thought I'd share them with you. I am not an expert, or a professional by any means. I've had my own DSLR a total of 10 months, but I can voice my opinion as to what has worked for me, and what I've observed thus far.

CAMERAS 

(all photos provide a link to Amazon which can provide more information)

Nikon D40

This is my baby, and it's served me very well thus far. It's great for a beginner, and affordable, priced under $500 for the body and a kit lens. The greatest con I've discovered with it is that it is not compatible with the Nikon 50mm lens' Autofocus feature. I rented a 50mm f/1.4 because it's a pretty standard and inexpensive lens for a photographer's arsenal, but due to the incompatibility, I was on my own to get the tack sharp quality. There is a 50mm which is compatible, but it is more expensive. This incompatibility is also present in the Nikon D60 (which I've heard is another good beginner's model).

Nikon D3000

This is a newer entry level DSLR, priced a bit higher than the D40, but according to reviews, it has some similar features to the pricier and higher level Nikons, like the D90. I don't know whether it has the same compatibility issues as the D40 and the D60 (I would hope not), but for the price it's worth a look.

Nikon D90

For the investment (priced over $1,000), this DSLR may be the way to go. It's gotten excellent reviews and it does not have the incompatibility issues like the lower models. If you're serious about upping the level of your shots and deepening your work, this would be worthwhile.

 

GREAT (AND FUN) PHOTOGRAPHY LINKS

One of the best ways to grow and learn in your craft without shelling out a lot of money for formal classes is to find online tutorials and challenges. These will help stir your creative juices and inspire you to try something new. Not to mention you can ogle at some amazing photos while you're at it!

Pioneer Woman Photography - Ree Drummond cracks me up. She lives on a cattle ranch with her husband, Marlboro Man, and her darling "punks". She features a few guest bloggers (including Miz Boo, who features photos of her oh-so-gorgeous daughters) and together they provide amazing tutorials that anyone can understand. She also has free Photoshop actions available to help with your post-shoot processing. For those with interests beyond photography, she has other sections to her website where she shares recipes, thoughts on homeschooling, and her "confessions" from living on a ranch. She was a large influence in the design of my own site.

I Heart Faces - You may recognize this name from my many submission posts here. This site is an amazing collaboration of photographers who love photos of (what else) faces! There is a weekly themed challenge as well as a weekly editing exercise and tutorials submitted from dozens of talented folks. They even have a networking community with forums and are hosting their first workshop, which I am attending!!!!

Photojojo - This fun site offers a twice-a-week newsletter that brings you great tips, tricks, tutorials, and projects to try (like photographing light refractions).

Hopefully this was of some use to you, and if you have any suggestions or links for new photographers to check out (because, like I said, I'm no pro....yet ;-p) please leave a comment and spread the shutterbug love!!!

This was an experimental shot for me. My family walked out to the Rockland Breakwater Lighthouse in Rockland, ME and I had the idea for my sister to go up onto the balcony of the lighthouse while I lay on the ground and shot upwards. I think my family was a bit embarrassed to be with me, but some of the shots came out pretty well. And the clear blue sky provided a great backdrop.

Check out the rest of the blue entries over at I Heart Faces.

This week at I Heart Faces, it's "Completely Candid" week. No posed photos allowed! So I pulled this random shot from a recent ball game that I've taken a shining to. The subject is the sister of one of my sister-in-law's coworkers. From the stories I've heard, she's known for her random acts of fun and craziness. This was an example. She came up with the idea to start waving at random crowd members, like she knew them, to see how they would react. She got a few confused waves back.

Check out the rest of the candid fun over at I Heart Faces.

This week's entry had to display a contemplative face. My entry was pulled from a batch of shots I took backstage before a performance of Taming of the Shrew. Backstage before a show is amazing, because no matter how long you've been doing theater, you still experience the butterflies right before your entrance. Everyone deals with them differently. Some have dance parties (remember Rose's Poker Face?), some review their lines for the millionth time, and some have their prep routine in which they just "go away". Ed was one of those.

Every show he methodically applied his makeup, completely focused, oblivious to those running about around him. I have no idea what he thought about, whether he was running his lines, channeling his character, singing "Poker Face", but it worked for him. He went out every night and nailed it.

This week's noncompetitive challenge at I Heart Faces showcases member's progress with their photography. For my entry I thought I'd feature photos of my sister, Caitlin, who will be heading to Scotland in a matter of days (10 *sniff*).

BEFORE

This shot was taken at my cousin's wedding, the first day (yes, day) we had our Nikon D40. This was just over 9 months ago, when I didn't know better than to keep the flash at bay. She was displaying her ability to eat and drink whatever she wanted, and that smile betrays the fact that she'll transfer all of those calories onto my hips.

AFTER

This was from a photoshoot last month with her and her boyfriend, and it's my favorite of the bunch. The light was great, and I caught her mid laugh, so no awkward poses (which there were some of that day).

I'll miss her when she's abroad...even though she taunts me with her impossible skinnyness. *sigh*

So I think I've come a long way, but I know I have a long way yet to go. Which is why I'm so excited for the I Heart Faces Photography Workshop in Dallas, TX November 13-14. Hopefully you've signed up too...if not, what are you waiting for???

Sadly this week I will be unable to submit an entry for I Heart Faces because I do not have a single bubble picture. Nope, not one. My life is pathetically bereft of bubbles.

But in place of photographic evidence of bubbles, I will become exceptionally bubbly while sharing my latest photographic news.

I'M GOING TO THE I HEART FACES DALLAS PHOTOGRAPHY WORKSHOP!!!

Yes, I am! I can hardly believe it myself. Thursday, November 12 I plan to be on a plane headed to the state where everything is bigger. It will be a big step for me, since I've never been to another time zone in the US before.

But beyond that, they have some fantastic "courses" set up for us. I'll be able to get hands-on teaching by professionals, work with "clients", and learn some great Photoshop techniques. You can read all about it here. I'll wait.

You done? Are you excited? It's incredible isn't it? You're going to go sign up, right? I sure hope so, I'd love to meet you! And I need a roommate...it's always more fun with a roommate.

(I warned you I'd make up for the lack of bubbles.)

This second I Heart Faces entry is for a nonjudged category, but being a doting cat owner, I would be remiss in not taking every chance to show off my furbaby. So here is a shot of London in one of his favorite spots to spy from, the bathroom window.

His Siamese is showing :)

Head over to I Heart Faces to awww over other fur/feather/fin/scale babies.

When I saw the theme for this week I got a little worried...do I have any silly face pictures? Normally my subjects aren't the goofy, mug-giving kind. But then I thought of a few golden shots I got of some cast mates during a preshow dance party. Thanks to them, I have fond memories everytime I hear Lady Gaga's "Poker Face".

The shot I chose as my entry is of Rose, who I love. She so sweet yet such a character that she makes me laugh everytime I'm with her. Presenting, Rose's 'Poker Face':

Now go check out all the other funny, silly faces over at I Heart Faces and prepare to have a good giggle (don't worry men, giggling is totally sexy).

Photography can be a VERY expensive hobby (did you get the extra emphasis there? Caps, Bold and Italics...I mean business people), especially when you buy a dSLR, where the possibilities are as endless as the array of lenses available. But if you're like me, possibilities hit a brick wall when they meet the limitations of my bank account. I want to grow and be able to catch action, distance, landscapes, pollen on a stamen (or is it anther), the list goes on. I can't shell out the thousands of dollars that would allow me to do that.

Then I discovered a wonderful thing - renting lenses!

Don't get me wrong, my Nikon 18-55mm and 55-200mmlenses are great, inexpensive starters, but my first brick wall has been concert photography. I've already improved, but to really get the shots I want, I need a faster lens that will accomodate low-light situations.

Enter the Nikon 50mm f/1.4D, which will be on its way to me over the weekend from LensGiant, an online lens rental store.  f/1.4, in layman's terms, means it's fast. I'm still very much a beginner, but I've grasped that the smaller that f/("f-stop") number is, the faster it'll catch shots. It's also a good low light lens, so indoor and concert photos will *hopefully* be less susceptible to blur.

I'll have this lens for 3 weeks, enough time to get used to manual focus (because the auto focus on this lens is not compatible with my Nikon D40), use it for the second half of my sister's photo shoot, and on our trip into Boston for the aquarium and an Enter the Haggis concert.

So I'll be checking back in with updates on this experiment. Hopefully in the end I'll be saving my pennies to get my own lens and recommending this company to you all!

This is my first shot at I Heart Faces' Fix-It Fridays. Each week they have a user-submitted photo that could use a little help, so they set all the participants loose with it.

Here's the original shot:



Here's my finished product:

What I did:

1. Cropped with 4x6" dimensions


2. Ran "Heartland" action from Pioneer Woman Action Set 2


3. Ran "Quick Edge Burn" from Pioneer Woman Action Set 1 at 30%

Now it's your turn! Go to I Heart Faces and download the original to play along!

I hate reality. Because reality is that we're all growing up and getting older, and while some parts are nice, others I prefer to live in denial about. One such fact is that my little sister, Caitlin, is not so little anymore. Growing up she was my little shadow at times, but when I went off to college she began making quite the shadow for herself. Last summer she went to Thailand on a volunteer/study abroad trip (and worked with monkeys and elephants...jealous much?). Now she's graduated from college and off to Scotland for her masters!

She and her boyfriend, John, wanted to have pictures taken along with their puppy, Remy (short for Remington), before she leaves. I offered to do them for free with a photobook as her birthday/going away gift. This past weekend we had our first session (Remy-free). We'll have a second session with lots of puppy cuteness at a later date. Here are some of my favorite shots from the session:

Did I mention she's the skinny one?

My grandmother lives in Maine, and all that lies between her house and the beach is a small field. On a whim we can head down and take a walk along the shore. This photo was taken on the rocky point between beaches, where, at low tide, you can spy on critters in many little tidepools. My sister was walking ahead of me, stopped, looked back briefly, and I snapped this photo:

Now go check out the rest of the entries at I Heart Faces!

I'm an ambitious hobbyist with a shiny new toy. This section will feature professional tips for everyday photos, my experiments, and general information about this expressive craft.