Do-It-Yourself Valentine’s Mini Photo Session For Your Baby/Child

vprop2 Want to do something different this year for your kids on Valentine’s Day? How about an experience rather than a gift? This is the second year that I’ve done a Valentine’s Day themed photo shoot for my kids. Now I’m not suggesting you go to an expensive photographer to get portraits done. Instead, I’m suggesting that you take some time and do the photos yourself. Getting cute print-worthy portraits with your own camera isn’t as hard as it sounds. I promise.

Camera Equipment & Camera settings:

I use a Nikon DSLR specifically the Nikon D90(for now) but you can use just about any camera if you get the settings and composition just right. I’ve even seen some amazing iPhone photos. So it mostly depends on you not the camera at least for now. Read more

February 3, 2012 · Filed Under holidays, photography

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We Will Now Have 52 Cuties Per Year!

greywc For the past several years we have really tried to do the daily cutie but honestly haven’t been able to pull it off completely. So this year (2012) we have decided to once again try a NEW format. You will share your child’s photo on our facebook wall and one child per week will be chosen as our “Weekly Cutie”. I think this will work out much better and we will choose one starting next Monday. Please take notice that no prizes will be given as this is NOT A CONTEST. It’s your chance to gain bragging rights and to showcase a cute photo you’ve taken of your child. You can take the photo with a phone or camera of any type as long as you are the one who took the photo.

How To Enter The Weekly Cutie:

1. Go to our CFM Facebook page here and “Like” it then upload/add your photo to our wall once per week.

2. We will choose one cute photo every Monday.

3. You can add a photo to our wall any day of the week at any time.

4. Above all have fun and share this with your friends and family!

If you want to win prizes please enter our monthly Free Baby Photo Contest here.

January 10, 2012 · Filed Under Mondays Cute Kid, buzz, photography

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Five Easy Ways To Make Your Photos Look Better in Adobe Photoshop

I really enjoy using Adobe Photoshop to enhance and make my photos look better. Photos straight out of the camera are OK but if you want your photos to really stand out then you need to learn how to edit them via a photo editing program. Right now my favorite is Adobe Photoshop. My husband, on the other hand, prefers Paint Shop Pro (You can see his Paint Shop Pro tutorials here). With photoshop, You can take an ordinary picture and turn it in something extraordinary. Getting to that level in photoshop takes some time so today I’ll just share with you some easy tips to enhance your photos right now. Anyone with a photoshop or similar program can learn what I’m about to show you in just a few minutes.

1. The first tip I’m going to share is not really a photoshop tip but it is very important for editing your photos later. Shoot in RAW format. Set your camera from JPG to RAW. Once you upload your photos to your computer and open up your RAW file you can fix mistakes you may have made (highlights, exposure,coloring,etc.) much easier than with JPG.
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July 6, 2011 · Filed Under photography, technology

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Take Better Pictures Right Now With These Five Simple Tips

I’ve loved photographing things and people for as long as I can remember. Last year I jumped into photography full time. We built a small studio in the country that I share with my husband for his business and here I am now sharing with you what I have learned through reading and lots of experimenting! Here are five simple tips to get started on taking better photos today! Once you’ve read through these tips I hope you will pick up your camera and practice!
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March 6, 2011 · Filed Under photography

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Photography Series: Buying Your First DSLR

Contrary to popular belief you can get decent photos from point and shoot cameras. You can even apply tips I plan on sharing here with a P&S camera but if you really want to get better at photographing your baby or kids then I suggest you make the upgrade to a DSLR camera.

Now some of you may be wondering what is a DSLR camera? Simply put, a DSLR is a digital single lens reflex camera that allows you to take better, more professional looking photos, and these days DSLR’s are much more affordable than you’d ever think possible.

Now that you know what a DSLR is, you need to decide which one is right for you. For this post I’m going to focus on the mostly beginner/entry level DSLR’s only. Since Nikon and Canon dominate the camera market, I’m going to focus on these two brands. Below you will see a list of the 4 first best DSLR cameras to buy. Remember, these are MY recommendations as a photographer and Mother on a budget.
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