Daisykey Photography | Kennesaw GA Natural Light Photographer

So, I just wanted to throw this out there...I LOVE natural light photos! They are warm and real. Just looking at them makes me feel as if I am standing right there. I love the results I get with my natural light photography. Now, being a natural light photographer does not mean that I throw you out into the harsh sun at high noon and snap away. That would make for all kinds of ugly shadows and I am pretty sure you don't want that. Shooting in natural light or available light just means that I know the best times of day to shoot to give you the beautiful shots you are after. Of course you need to know how to use your camera as well but I am only speaking of the light right now :)  I know where to sit you to get the best shots and the most flattering light. I practice these techniques, I crave this kind of photography. It is my craft and I absolutely LOVE what I do. So I will leave you with some of my natural light shots.

Remember all these were shot using natural light aka available light, no flash! It is possible to get beautiful natural light shots even indoors. It takes practice and you MUST learn how to use your camera in manual. If you don't, your camera will tell you "hey there isn't enough light, you gotta use the flash" when it simply is not true. If you have any questions about natural light or using your camera in manual, please shoot me an email at stephenie@daisykey.com

Daisykey Photography {What to Wear}

So, you booked your fall session with me but now you have no clue what to wear? Well, look below to get some ideas of what might work well for your session. You don't all have to wear the same clothes or event the same color clothes for your photos to look beautiful. A few tips are to wear colors that go together and use them on everyone. Don't wear clothes with logos! This is a big no no. Think about these photos hanging on the wall above your couch...you don't really want to see the GAP logo in all your shots, do you? Also, think about your location and make sure that your outfit "goes" with your location. If you are in a field, it is probably not the best match to wear heels and a mini skirt ;) Please remember that NOW is the time to book your holiday session! I only have limited dates and times available to book today by contacting me at stephenie@daisykey.com

Kennesaw family photographer {Before & After Friday}

 

I know it has been awhile but here I am bringing you another before and after. As always, if you have any questions, please feel free to ask! 

This picture of this beautiful Indian prince was taken earlier this year. At the time, I was using ACR(Adobe Camera RAW) and CS3(Photoshop CS3) to edit. This shot is more of a studio set up but it is done with all natural light :) In ACR, I adjusted white balance using a custom white balance which I achieve using a gray kard. I then pulled this into CS3 where I first did a curves layer. I pulled the middle of my line up to get rid of the "fog" in the picture. The "fog" is usually more noticeable in outdoor shots but you can still see that it helped for this shot as well. Next, I added a Selective Color Layer and on the Neutrals, I upped the Blacks to +5. This gives a bit more definition to my subject. I then cropped my picture as you can see in the SOOC(straight out of camera) shot, there is a bit of the reflector showing on the side. Finally, I used the clone tool to remove the yellow flower out of his hand for a cleaner looking final image. If you have any questions, email me stephenie@daisykey.com

300 Liker Drawing Winner {Acworth Photographer}

Thank you to everyone that entered! The winner is....

Amy Longoria! Congrats Amy! Contact me at stephenie@daisykey.com to set up your *FREE* session! To everyone else that entered, you will all get a $25 gift certificate just for playing :0) Please also contact me at stephenie@daisykey.com to claim your gift certificate! You may gift your gift certificate to someone else, but it may not be used in conjuction with any other offers.

{Kennesaw, GA family photographer) *FREE* session drawing!

Make sure you enter my 300 "liker" drawing! This session would be PERFECT for photos for Christmas cards this year! To enter, you must click HERE and like my page first, then find the picture shown above on my facebook page and leave a comment there telling why you want to win. Make sure you share my PAGE as well and instruct your friends and family how to like your comment. Each like on your comment will get your name into that hat again and will better your odds of winning!

*this drawing is in no way connected or affiliated by facebook*

Christmas in July {Kennesaw, GA family photographer)

Kennesaw photographer {before and after Friday}

Hey there! It is again time for {before and after Friday}! Man, I cannot believe that it arrived so quickly! This week, I have a photo that was submitted to me by one of my readers for me to edit. If you would like to have a photo considered for next weeks {before and after Friday}, please send it to me at stephenie@daisykey.com by Thursday. In order to have your photo considered, you must like my business page here, and your photo must be straight out of your camera(the larger the better) and must be well exposed(not too dark or too light) and in focus. So here we go!

 

I pulled this photo straight into LR(lightroom) where I brightened it up a bit and warmed up the white balance. I also upped the blacks to define her from the background a little. From there, I opened it up in PS(photoshop). I used a curves layer to "defog" the picture and an adjustment layer to selectively add contrast to the blacks as well as the neutrals, and to whitened the whites. She had a hot spot(bright shiny circle) on her cheek from the flash that was used so I used the patch tool to get rid of it. I then used the burn tool with a small and soft brush on a low opacity to darken her lash line so her eyes would pop a little more. I also saturated the reds in her lips only so they wouldn't be as pale(flash tends to wash you out, especially for blue eyed blondes) I also lowered the brightness on her jersey only using a layer mask. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me! Remember to submit your {before and after Friday} pictures to me by this Thursday!

Kennesaw family photographer {before and after Friday}

Well, here it is....Friday again! Time again for before and after Friday :) I have chosen another outdoor shot since it is HOT and sunny here in Georgia right now. This is from a family session back in April. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask!

 

With every picture I take, I start out with my RAW file. For this picture, I opened it up in ACR(Adobe Camera RAW). There, I adjusted the white balance, and upped the blacks a bit since I wanted a bit more contrast and I wanted the colors to pop a bit. After my initial edits in ACR, I pulled it into CS3. Once there, I used a curves layer to further adjust the contrast and to "defog" my image. I used a selective color adjustment layer and bumped the neutral colors in the blacks a bit to pop the color a bit more. Then I used the burn tool to selectively burn the rocks and used the sponge tool to bring out some of the color in the rocks. I then used the burn tool around the edges of my subjects so they stood out some from the background. Finally, I ran this particular image through noiseware as it had some noise from using a higher ISO. I used an unsharp mask and saved. There you have it! Any questions? I will answer as best as I can without revealing my secrets ;)

Daisykey Photography {before and after Friday}

Happy Friday!

Ok, I am going to push myself to blog more ;) So, I will start what I will call {before and after Friday}. I will pull one of my pictures(or maybe even one of yours) and post my SOOC(straight out of camera) shot next to my edited shot. I will list a quick explanation of how I accomplished my edit. As always, it is VERY important to get your focus right in camera because even if you edit and out of focus shot, it will still be out of focus even after sharpening. If you want tips on how to achieve better focus, be on the lookout for my "momtography" class which I will host sometime this fall. This is from a before prom session that I had this spring.

I adjusted exposure and did a custom white balance in ACR(Adobe Camera RAW) using a picture of my gray kard. I also upped the blacks to add a bit of contrast. I then pulled it into Adobe Photoshop CS3. I used a curves layer to lift the "fog" off of the picture. I used the sponge tool to bring out some of the red in the bricks and used another curves layer to adjust here skin color so that it was more realistic and warm and matched the afternoon sun that we had. I selectively darkened around her so that she stood out from the wall a bit more. I also ran an unsharp mask on the entire photo to sharpen it a little. Voila!

Sweet baby J | Daisykey Photography | Kennesaw, GA newborn photographer

Meet Sweet Baby J. He was 10 days new when I had the pleasure of photographing him. He was such a good sleeper for me. I had so much fun snuggling with him. We had to improvise and open the front door wide so that we had nice lighting but it was so worth it! We got some beautiful, natural light shots. Here is baby J!

Sleepy little guy | Atlanta newborn photographer

I met this handsome little guys mama when I bought a hat for one of my other newborn photo sessions. She has an etsy shop full of adorable crocheted hats that she makes. I was so excited to find out that she was expecting her second blessing and I was even more excited when she asked me to do her newborn session for her little man.
They have a beautiful home full of amazing natural light, a natural light newborn photographers dream :) Little Liam was 17 days old by the time we were able to get his session in, but he slept like a champ. His mama called me a "baby whisperer" I am pretty sure that mama had more to do with that than me though ;) I had so much fun photographing this adorable little man and I am looking forward to photographing him again in the future....hopefully a cake smash session when he turns the big ONE :)

Cake smash | Kennesaw baby photographer

One of my most favorite types of sessions are cake smashes :) It is the celebration of an amazing milestone in your little ones life and I love getting to capture it. It is so much fun watching as they dig into their cake, sometimes tasting sweets for the very first time. It is always messy but the final product is a memory that you can cherish forever.

I photographed Miss K just 3 short months ago. She is amazingly adorable! We had to hide some puffs in her cake to convince her to get messy. Once she did, she got wild! She stepped in it and then finally sat in it. Hope you enjoy her photos as much as I enjoyed taking them!

 

| Baby Lovin' times two | Kennesaw newborn photographer

Today, I had the pleasure of photographing my first set of newborn twins. We had originally set up a maternity shoot, but these little guys had plans of their own. Very early in the morning on the day of the maternity shoot, I got a text letting me know that these beautiful blessings had arrived. So thankful that they were able to come home right away! Here are 10 day old Abel and Luke, enjoy!

{before and after edits}

Post processing is a big part of photography. I always strive to get my pictures correct in camera, but even when I do, post processing just "makes" the picture.

I saw something recently that a couple fellow photographers are doing and I think it is a great idea. Showing a before and after edit side by side. So every so often I will pull a picture out and show you the before shot(just as it is out of my camera), and put it next to the after shot(after I have completely edited). I hope you enjoy!

Heart Day Cards!

If you are looking for a super cute and way easy way to give out Valentine's Day cards for your kids(or yourself) this year, then I have what you are looking for! I have several different designs available. These are wallet sized and ready for passing out at school....no signing required! Send me a picture you would like and pick your design. I will edit and place your picture into the card and email you the digital file. Then you may upload it to your favorite printing site and print as many as you need! All this for only $20. Samples below.

Pretty, pretty princess l Kennesaw baby photographer

I had the pleasure of photographing a beautiful little girl last Friday. After several missed opportunities for photo sessions, we were finally able to meet. She did awesome even though she was sick and she gave me some great poses. Here she is, the adorable Miss "K". Here is your sneak peek "A" family! Looking forward to Miss "K"s cake smash in a couple months!