This blog sits at the intersection of my life as a photographer, a mom, a wife and all the things I adore.
Thursday, June 5, 2008
Moo! I love Moo MiniCards. I created these cards to send to out as a fun little thank yous or gifts. I’m feeling extra generous so I’m sharing the template for the name card and a few other cute minicard templates with you. Use them liberally, but cautiously. I’ve heard around that creating them can be a bit addictive.
The templates use clipping masks and there is no accompanying action (I find it easier and more customizable without one). There’s a brief explanation on how to use clipping masks in the template but if you still don’t get it try a google search.
Download Moo Minicard Templates
A link back to dawnm.com, specifically this page, is appreciated and encouraged if you find this complimentary template useful. I’d love it if you show me what you do with these templates. Inspire me. Either email me or add a link to your image in the comments.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License
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Category: For Photographers ··
Monday, June 2, 2008
Maybe. I really loved shooting an older “kid”. Em, I know you’re not a kid anymore. You are actually quite the gorgeous young lady. We had a lot of fun at her shoot and it was a nice change of pace to have a collaboration going on opposed to the chase I’m usually part of with a toddler shoot. Here are a few of my favorites from her session:
It was so windy on the day of our session that we contemplated changing the date, but ultimately decided we had to make the best of it to fit her schedule. The wind was a challenge, but we were able to use it to our advantage in most scenarios, see above left.
I could post so many more, but I’ve got to stop somewhere!
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Category: HS Senior Pictures, Recent Work ··
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop are my favorite tools for the digital darkroom. I’ve been using Photoshop for over ten years but only in the last few years I have I started to make good use of keyboard shortcuts. There are so many to learn, but once you have them down keyboard shortcuts really do speed up workflow.
Looking to speed up your post process workflow? Start by downloading these PDF files created by Trevor Morris. Each PDF File lists keyboard shortcuts available for a variety of Photoshop versions. I printed out a copy and laminated it. I leave it on my desktop in case I ever run across something I want to do in PS and I don’t already know the shortcut.
The latest addition to my Photoshop keyboard shortcut learning arsenal is this keyboard skin from Photojojo. It arrived today and I already love it. Now when I don’t remember a shortcut I simply look down on my keyboard and voilà there it is!
Like the site says it fits your keyboard like a glove. Literally! Even I didn’t expect it to be such a perfect fit. Different versions are available for different keyboards. And, when you no longer want it on your keyboard just pull it off with no fuss.
I plan to keep mine on all the time since Photoshop is constantly open on my Mac. It took about a minute of use to get comfortable to the slightly different feel it gives the keyboard.
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Category: For Photographers ··
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
His mom said it, not me. :) Nonetheless, he’s an adorable little stinker!
All of my children’s portrait sessions are planned so that the appointment is scheduled at the child’s best time of day. In most cases this means after a nap or feeding. Or, both. Even so it happens now and then where I arrive and my mini model isn’t in the best of moods.
It happens! And, that’s okay. We all have bad days, don’t we?
I would definitely classify “L” as not being in the mood for pictures, but you can’t even tell from his portraits. We simply gave him his space and time to have his grumpy moments. Then, captured his moments of delight and wonder in between.
All adorable with no trace of “stinker”.
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Category: Recent Work, Toddler Portraits ··
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Before I was a mom, I thought being a mom looked hard. Now I know it’s even harder than it looks. I am tired merely thinking about all of us moms swirling around everyday trying to do anything and everything we can to give our children the best life possible.
This mother’s day is the first since my mom passed away and my first mother’s day as a mom. Equal parts bitter and sweet. We will be celebrating quietly at home.
This mother’s day I wish for all moms to receive all the love they have given and more.
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Category: Personal ··
Friday, May 9, 2008
A cute little one year old portrait session at the local conservatory.
Do you know where your belly button is? Let’s all be thankful that question isn’t for adults!
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
This one is for my fellow photoshop users. A template for creating a storyboard/collage like this one:
This makes a gorgeous 30X30″ storyboard, but can be used in so many other ways. Keep it small and use it as a book template or go extra large for jaw dropping photo display. The template is sized at 10X10″ to keep the file size down. It can be easily upsized or downsized using the “Image Size” command within Photoshop.
The template uses clipping masks and there is no accompanying action (I find it easier and more customizable without one). There’s a brief explanation on how to use clipping masks in the template but if you still don’t get it try a google search.
Download Photoshop Template
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License
Certainly not required, but I’d love it if you link to your final pieces in the comments. It would be fun to see how others make use of it.
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Category: For Photographers ··
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
My husband and I have committed to eating healthier for ourselves and for Kendall. Over the past month or so we have found some great companies/products. I want to share them with you in case you are sick of eating chemicals and too much sugar as much as we are.
HAPPYBABY
“HAPPYBABY was born when we saw the need for nutritious and convenient alternatives to highly processed baby food. We believe baby’s first meals should taste and look delicious—and nourish baby’s body.”
Kendall recently starting eating HAPPYBABY organic brown rice cereal. So far this is her favorite. We especially like it not only because it’s organic, but it’s also made with whole grains. Two thumbs up in our household. We also started Kendall on their frozen fruits and veggies as well. They are a little more difficult to make than simply twisting the top off a jar, but they smell like real food. We couldn’t believe how bad Gerber’s Organic Bananas smelled when we took off the lid.
We found HAPPYBABY at our local Super Target. It’s also available at Whole Foods and the cereal alone can be found at Babies R Us. Find HAPPYBABY products near you.
Kashi
“Making natural food that tastes great is our job. And we love it. When you eat great-tasting all-natural food you won’t miss the highly refined sugars, artificial additives, or preservatives. Our food is your ally in wellness, so everything from breakfast to dinner will make you feel healthier and happier.”
Of course, Kashi. I couldn’t talk about eating better without talking about Kashi. They have a wide range of foods available. My favorite addition to my diet is their shakes. I use the vanilla shake mix in my mid-morning smoothie. That’s one banana, 1c of strawberries, 1tbsp of flax seed, 1c of soy milk, 2 scoops of Kashi Vanilla Shake Mix. It’s full of protein, so it makes a great after workout snack. They also have a chocolate shake mix which I think would make the perfect chocolate-banana smoothie. Magically delicious! Kashi also has a wide selection of cereals and crackers for breakfast and snacking. My husband started eating Honey Toasted Oats in lieu of Honey Nut Cheerios which has its share of sugar.
Kashi is readily available. We’ve purchased ours at Trader Joes, Super Target and our local grocery stores (Jewel & Dominick’s). Find Kashi near you. Kashi.com also has an online store. I ordered a case of the shake mix, because Trader Joe’s is the only nearby place that had it and we don’t have time to go there often enough.
Annie’s Homegrown
“We at Annie’s believe that there’s something reassuring about knowing what’s in your food and who it comes from. As nourishers, we see the world as one giant system, beautifully complex yet intricately interconnected, that grows organically with the care it is given.”
I tried Annie’s Homegrown Whole Wheat Bunnies when I was looking for a tasty cracker to have with lunch. They reminded me of the original goldfish. Good. They also come in cheddar which means Kendall will be snacking on Wholesome Bunnies instead of Goldfish.
Annie’s Homegrown is another one that we’ve found pretty easily. Our Target and local supermarkets stock several of their products. Find Annie’s Homegrown near you or shop online.
That’s all for now, more to come.
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Category: Personal ··
Monday, May 5, 2008
Waiting List » In the next two weeks, I’ll begin booking June, July and August from the list. I’m putting together a few different types of session packages and I want to make these available before booking any more sessions. Options are good. If there’s something you would like to see in a session fee + portrait products package, let me know. Things are still in the works.
Casting Call » After I get through my waiting list, I’ll be doing a small casting call for unique looking kids of all ages (curly hair, red hair, dark hair + blue eyes, etc.) to take part in a few complimentary conceptual sessions. These will be to test new locations and ideas I’ve been cooking up.
Reminder » To those reading along via an email subscription I’ve set up an options page where you can select what type of email you receive. If you are interested in one of the other options, simply unsubscribe from your current subscription (you can do so at the bottom of each email). Then, sign up for a new one.
There are so many of you currently on the list I can’t help but cringe each time I post a new entry. This is especially the case when I’m posting personal entries. I’m thinking who could possibly want to read this. Nonetheless I’m going to keep posting. It’s a nice distraction from the everyday and it serves as good therapy.
The Usual » Since I haven’t posted portrait session images in a few days… check out this adorable one year old. She is just as sweet in person as she looks here.
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Category: Announcements, Recent Work, Toddler Portraits ··
