The Process of Teething in Three Images Fri / 13 Jun 2008
Please someone (anyone!) tell me it gets easier each time.
This blog sits at the intersection of my life as a photographer, a mom, a wife and all the things I adore.
Casual Fridays Wed / 11 Jun 2008
There’s not enough time for a recent session post. Instead you get an image of our pup Bernie taking a snooze and a few links to help push forward to the weekend!
First up, since we are in a doggie mood, enjoy some gorgeous dog photography from photographers Erin Vey in Seattle and Anna Kuperberg in San Francisco. Both have an incredible talent in capturing a dog’s liveliness and personality.
I came across the next link via swissmiss, which is a great way to spend a Friday all by itself especially so if you love design and a bit of geekery. Blank is Like Blank is self described as “analogies to live by” and if you’re not living by them your missing out on all the fun! Here’s a little selection from the site:
“Apologies are like monsters:
They’re only real if you believe in them.”“Facebook is like a gossipy friend with no interesting information.”
“Babies are like drunk men in bars:
They only crave what’s in their immediate vicinity.”
Finally saved from an issue of Real Simple, a few unique sites for summer travels:
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roadfood.com “The most memorable local eateries along the highways and back roads of America”
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momsminivan.com “101 Car Travel Games & Road Trip Ideas for Kids”
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thebathroomdiaries.com “Few would visit a country without some advanced information, yet our tender bits are exposed to uncharted territories with no help or assistance. At our most vulnerable, we are blind. Well, no more. “
Happy Friday!
Sisters Tue / 10 Jun 2008
The mom of these lovely little ladies recently scheduled an appointment to update their portraits. The images shown here were taken last year. I pulled these images from a folder I keep on my Mac with my favorite images from each portrait session. It helps to keep faces and names fresh in my head and to get me even more exited to see each DMP kid “all grown up”.
I remember this session like it was yesterday. These girls were a blast. I can’t wait to work with them again this summer.
Myra and the Thirteen Squares Mon / 9 Jun 2008
The best part of the “shares” I’ve been doing recently is the inspiration from seeing what other photographers create with them. When Ann Arbor portrait photographer Myra Klarman gave my template a new spin by using two consecutive squares for one image I couldn’t resist sharing it with you.
On her weblog, Relish, Myra posted this combination of images from a recent children’s portrait session. I love how she captured this young lady’s lively spirit. You can feel the fun!
I’ve always admired Myra’s photography. She creates beautiful portraits of babies and children, but her amazing talent is best highlighted in her portraits of high school seniors. The connection she makes with her senior subjects is clearly visible through the vivid personalities that radiate from each timeless photograph. That’s what I enjoy most about Myra’s high school senior images. The “kids” look like real people. Real people that you want to get to know. Because of this, whenever I look at a new HS senior portrait from Myra I have to resist the urge to ask to see more.
f you are in and around Ann Arbor, Michigan don’t miss the opportunity to have Myra Klarman Photography create a series of portraits for you. I was lucky enough to meet Myra and her equally brilliant and adorable family during their visit to Chicago last year. She was as lovely as you can imagine. Would you believe neither of us had a camera in tow? Ridiculous, I say!
Look All Around Sat / 7 Jun 2008
Last night after the sun started to set I went outside to photograph the lilac bushes that just started to bloom. For some reason our bushes bloom a good two to three weeks after every other lilac bush has lost their flowers. I took some pictures, but nothing felt right. I couldn’t get the angle I wanted. The light wasn’t there. The color didn’t work. The shot I had in mind wasn’t forming. I was about to give up entirely and go back inside when I took a look around and found these lovely things.
Children’s Photographer Templates for Moo MiniCards Thu / 5 Jun 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
High School Senior Photographer? Mon / 2 Jun 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!
Photoshop Shortcut Helpers for Photographers Tue / 27 May 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.
Cute As Can Be Tue / 20 May 2008
He had me at the first flutter of those crazy beautiful eyelashes. Wow!
A “Little Stinker” Wed / 14 May 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”.
