Spring is just around the corner.

Here in Dallas it has been an abnormally warm winter {I worry the summer will be hot hot hot!}. I rushed home, changed my daughter, Lily's, outfit, and headed to Oak Point Park & Nature Reserve in Plano, TX.

We got there and I started unloading. Right there in front of my car was a pretty little patch of flowers, so we walked there and I sat her on the Coca-Cola crates. One from my step-father and another off of Craig's List {I love Craig's List for prop shopping, I only paid $10 for this}

My daughter is probably one of the easiest children to work with, she sat on those crates for a good 20 minutes before she started to fuss. Here is what we got: Enjoy!

My sweet Lily Rose turned one.

She is the absolute biggest blessing that God has given me. I love what I do, I love photography but I still cannot wait to come home and be mommy. Her one year birthday was incredibly bittersweet. Bitter because I will never get that first year back and it is now just a time-clicker down from when she moves out. It's still so sweet though. Every day she learns new thing such as taking out the outlet plugs in the wall (argh) or saying a new word. She's so smart and so beautiful, she really amazes me.

So here is to Lily, my world.

Mommy and Daddy expecting Baby L.

Renqiue and Jonas are probably one of the cutest couples I've had the opportunity to photograph. From the second we walked towards Prairie Creek's waterfall, they we're beaming with love! In the short time I have been with them, I know they will be great loving parents.

Congratulations, and I can't wait to meet him.

Sleeping Beauty

I have been photographing little Emma and her family since her sweet mommy was still pregnant with her. She turned 3 months recently, and I proudly photographed her again.

You will see more photographs of little Emma, and soon!

50% Newborn Session

Sarah Jane L.

Sarah Jane L. is the sixth entry in the Newborn Photography Contest. Sarah Jane’s sweet daughter will be introduced to the world in May, 2012.

She says newborn portraits are important to her because:

“In today's digital age, more time is spent posting status updates, retweeting, or pinning the latest and greatest. The constant desire for instant gratification and up to the second news has driven society into a culture of zombies. New mothers can't wait for their children to reach the next milestone so they can tweet a picture or video of it, or put it on their facebook so all of their friends can "like" it. Although the convenience of this type of interaction is ideal for young families and friends in this generation we live in, it is anything but timeless and personal. Friend requests and "likes" come and go. Young families grow old. What was once convenient and fun turns into childish and impersonal. No matter how technology evolves, one constant exists throughout generations; the photograph. A physical photograph can immortalize a moment in time that is otherwise forgotten in this on the go generation. A photograph is a timeless momento that can be passed d own and enjoyed forever. A photograph can brighten the eyes of family and friends and can be shared with loved ones old and young. The importance of properly documenting the awe inspiring first few days of life is truly priceless. In a time so demanding and emotionally draining for parents, some of the most peaceful moments in a newborn's life are forgotten as quick as the size one diapers grow into size two, three and four. The importance of newborn photos is paramount for a young family as it grows. One day, when life slows down, time will be taken to enjoy the finer things. It is only then, when the priceless momentos of youth, so perfectly documented by photograph, can be reflected upon and enjoyed fully. As a young expecting mother, the pinnacle of this special time in my family's life would be experiencing newborn photographs to forever cherish the most precious time in my new daughter's life.”

Voting ends February 10th, 2012. To vote for Sarah Jane please do (both of) the following:

1. Comment on her blog post at http://www.lilyrosephotograph.blogspot.com/. Anonymous votes will not count, so be sure to click "Name/URL" you don't have to have a URL, just put your name.
2. Like Lily Rose Photography's on Facebook HERE, then comment on the page saying who you voted for.

Thank you for supporting your friend Sarah Jane L.

-Lily Rose Photography

Mini Maternity Session for the Newborn Photography Contest Moms'

Each one of you ladies are blessed to have such a great support network, with great appreciation of how well the contest is going, I would like to offer this to you five special mommas! These session must be done between 32-37 weeks, so contact me when you get a chance so we can schedule.

Elizabeth B.

Elizabeth B. is the fifth entry in the Newborn Photography Contest. Her miracle baby will be joyfully welcomed into the world in June, 2012.

She says newborn portraits are important to her because:

“I'm twenty years old and even though my boyfriend of four years and I have been pregnant before this will be our first child, with my last pregnancy I miscarried at 14 weeks. My boyfriend was not raised being surrounded by family unlike myself who was raised with a very large and close family. With us being so young and both living so far away from family I would love to have the opportunity to capture the precious moments of infancy in photographs before they are gone; but being so young, him at 24 and myself at 20, our extra cash is going towards education so our child can have every opportunity available by having educated working parents. Our priorities have changed since becoming soon-to-be parents and unfortunately that almost excludes everything but the necessities.”

 http://www.lilyrosephotograph.blogspot.com/. Anonymous votes will not count, so be sure to click "Name/URL" you don't have to have a URL, just put your name.
2. Like Lily Rose Photography's on Facebook HERE, then comment on the page saying who you voted for.

Voting ends February 10th, 2012. To vote for Elizabeth please do the following:

1. Comment on her blog post at 

Thank you for supporting your friend Elizabeth.

-Lily Rose Photography

Candice G.

Candice G.. is the fourth entry in the Newborn Photography Contest. Her precious baby will welcomed into her life in March, 2012.

She says newborn portraits are important to her because:

"My name is Candice and I am 32 weeks into my pregnancy. I have a almost 9yr old daughter and a 4yr old son. I myself know all too well how quickly time flies. One day you are bringing this tiny little baby home from the hospital, and then in the blink of an eye your dropping them off at school for the first time. As a new mother I took time for granted, I focused instead on getting use to this new lifestyle and learning how to balance my new family. This time around I am determined not to let that happen. I won't let time get away from me. I will make sure to enjoy every moment of this precious time in my baby's life. Nothing can bring back the time when our little ones were tiny newborns, but newborn pictures can capture the moment, and with that moment we will be able to relive the overwhelming emotions of joy and happiness our new little blessing brought to us and our family."





Voting ends February 10th, 2012. To vote for Candice please do the following:

1. Comment on her blog post at http://www.lilyrosephotograph.blogspot.com/. Anonymous votes will not count, so be sure to click "Name/URL" you don't have to have a URL, just put your name.
2. Like Lily Rose Photography's on Facebook HERE, then comment on the page saying who you voted for.
Thank you for supporting your friend Candice G.

-Lily Rose Photography

Juanita R.

Juanita R. is the third entry in the Newborn Photography Contest. Her sweet son will be her fourth little blessing brought into the world in March, 2012.

She says newborn portraits are important to her because:

"We will be welcoming baby S. in March 2012 with the grace of God. As a mother of going on 4, I'm truly amazed & touched by the miracle of God. We have a 9 year old son, 3 year old son and soon to be 2 year old son. As time as flown and I have my boys go from tiny littles precious babies to drooling machines to pooping machines and now with my 9 year acting as if his a teenager already, I truly value the power of photography because without it what beautiful phyiscal memories would we have of our once "babies" but the faint memories that pass in our minds of there first real smile, first crawl or first stand. For that children's photography is a true blessing to me and my family, something that we can cherish forever!"

Voting ends February 10th, 2012. To vote for Juanita please do the following:

1. Comment on her blog post at http://www.lilyrosephotograph.blogspot.com/. Anonymous votes will not count, so be sure to click "Name/URL" you don't have to have a URL, just put your name.
2. Like Lily Rose Photography's on Facebook HERE, then comment on the page saying who you voted for.

Thank you for supporting your friend Juanita R..

-Lily Rose Photography

Bonnie K.

Meet Bonnie.

She is the second entry for the Newborn Photography Contest. Bonnie's bundle of joy will be welcomed in this world in April, 2012.

She says newborn portraits are important to her because:

"My name is Yvonne K. but prefer my nickname Bonnie. I have been living here in Dallas about a year and a half now, originally from El Paso, Texas. When I found out I was expecting it was a complete surprise. At twenty-eight years old I had just graduated college and my plan was to move to the big city and let life happen, little did I know that is literally what would be in my future. The little life developing, growing, and “happening” in me was very unexpected yet with all the emotions and fears I immediately felt, the greatest emotion was an overwhelming sense of joy simply for the fact that I was going to become a mommy and when you get down to thinking what joys life REALLY has to offer, how does carrying a child and becoming a lifelong parent not automatically qualify as one of life’s greatest joys? Why of course it does. This is a time that has forever changed you and your life. With that said, newborn photos to me, are an absolute must when becoming a new parent. Why is this meaningful to me? Simply because I want to share my joy with loved ones and want to look back and remember this special time from the past. Going down the road into the future, if you forget to buy the third grade package or forget your camera during the school’s annual Christmas program you still have the chance to perhaps capture next year’s events but you will never get the newborn stage back. The real reason I value photos is because they serve as a time machine. When looking at pictures, you begin to relive that moment and experience all over again. I want to capture those precious first expressions of my newborn and look back and remember what a special changing time it was in my life.

 

Sincerely,

Excited expecting mother Bonnie"

Voting ends February 10th, 2012. To vote for Bonnie please do the following:

1. Comment on her blog post at http://www.lilyrosephotograph.blogspot.com/. Anonymous votes will not count, so be sure to click "Name/URL" you don't have to have a URL, just put your name.
2. Like Lily Rose Photography's on Facebook HERE, then comment on the page saying who you voted for.

Thank you for supporting your friend Bonnie K.

-Lily Rose Photography
http://www.lilyrosephotography.biz/

Crystal V.

Crystal V. is the first entry in the Newborn Photography Contest. Her sweet baby will be born into this colorful, beautiful world in March, 2012.

She says newborn portraits are important to her because:

"Babies go from being this lovely little lumps to crawling, smiling, drooling, eating, babbling and trying to do everything you do in a blink of eye its incredible & that little bundle of joy holds all the promise of its future. That tiny package that holds such a big place in a mothers heart & also happens to be one of the most precious gifts from God. It’s hard to remember what your 3 week old baby looked like before their eyes were open and looking up at u, before you know it she will be all grown up, doing things on her own. This is why professional newborn photography is important to me. To help me remember the wonder of those first weeks when my baby was so innocent & tiny."

Voting ends February 10th, 2012. To vote for Crystal please do the following:

1. Comment on her blog post at http://www.lilyrosephotograph.blogspot.com/. Anonymous votes will not count, so be sure to click "Name/URL" you don't have to have a URL, just put your name.
2. Like Lily Rose Photography's on Facebook HERE, then comment on the page saying who you voted for.
Thank you for supporting your friend Crystal V.

-Lily Rose Photography

Newborn Photography Contest

 Hello Folks,

I am holding a contest for a free newborn session. If you or anyone else you know are less than 33 weeks pregnant, contact me via website or facebook before the end of January with a picture, when your due date is and a heartfelt reason why newborn portraits are important to you. There must be atleast 7 expecting women that enter the contest, or I will not be able to continue the contest. Not only is the newborn session free, your digital package will be complimentary. In addition, all the moms-to-be that don't win and still book, will receive 20% off their session. Entries must be sent to me by the end of January. You have nothing to lose! I am so estatic to be doing this and I hope y'all are too.

Thank you :)
http://www.lilyrosephotography.biz/
www.facebook.com/DallasLilyRosePhotography

My one and only, Lily.

She is my inspiration. I love her, and wanted to share all of her cuteness with everyone.

My editing process is...

A lot of work. I love it though, it is so fun. It really gives me the opportunity to get creative and use my imagination.

When I get home after I shoot, I first back up my images. A few months ago I learned the hard way about backing up images. I got a virus on my computer and lost at least 4 sessions. Luckily, I was able to recover them all.

All the images that I edit, are good SOOC {Straight Out Of Camera} shots. It really isn’t worth my time if the shot isn’t good to begin with. Editing doesn’t make the image good, it only enhances a good image. With this being said, I shoot in raw, which saves a lot of shots that are underexposed or overexposed. Raw is a type of file, such as JPEG. I shoot with a Canon, so the file extension is a .CR2. Raw isn’t an image yet, it’s a file that has information about the image. With proper software you can manipulate the information, changing crucial things about it, such as white balance, exposure, sharpness, noise, contrast etc. Of course you change some of this with a JPEG file, but with raw, it’s a better quality.

After I back up my images, I open up ACR which is part of Photoshop. I have Photoshop Elements 8, and I have yet to find a reason to switch to the suite version. I then adjust the exposure, increase the sharpness. It is very important to understand what the proper exposure is.

Next I open it in PSE (Photoshop Elements), I love my actions. Everything that you can do in an action, you can do manually, it just takes longer. What are actions? It’s a sequence of different layer that do different actions, such as sharpening, smoothing etc.

My favorite actions are Coffeeshop Blog’s Powder Room, Oh So Posh’s Goodbye Red Face in her Bohemian Collection, and her Carnival Lights action in the same set.

 

After I'm in photoshop, I crop the image to my liking. I almost always use the rule of thirds, which is the subject of the image should never be centered they should be adjusted to the third of the image, either side left or right of the center. Some cases this rule can be thrown out, but it should be followed normally.

Next I open Coffee Shop blog's Powder Room Action. This action consist of several layers, one is skin softening, the second is eye define, the third layer is bright eyes, and the last layer is a vignette. I skip the vignette, 90% of the time, it's cheezy.

 It is really REALLY important to remember that with skin softening and eye enhancement, less is more. The skin soft layer I use at less than 30% opacity, the eye define I use at 80%, and then bright eyes, I usually use less than 20%. After I do this step, I flatten the image.

Next I play with the color curves. This can be found under enhance. I increase the highlight and midtones, while decreasing the contrast and shadows. This makes the image POP.

I don't use Oh So Posh's actions with every image, but I really love using it for outside images.  I tone down this action, by about 40-50%.

Lastly, I use Oh So Posh's Good Bye Red Face.

This is a really simple image to edit, there are some that are much more difficult. I will post about a difficult image that I have edited soon.

Hope this inspires and helps a few people.

-Katie

Thanks for reading :)

Crave Photography 25k fan give away.

One day, I'll have as many fans as Crave Photography and I'll have to do this awesome give away. But, for now, you need to enter in her give away. She's giving away a Nikon 50mm 1.4, or a Canon 85mm 1.2. I'm shooting for the Canon, because I'm a Canon kind of girl.

Good luck everyone. Here is the link to her blog! http://cravemyphotography.com/blog/

-Katie