A Beautiful Mama-to Be | Chilliwack Maternity Photographer

This maternity session was such a huge privilege to shoot - the Mama-to-be is my fabulous BFF! Not only is she rocking her bump, but she was truly fantastic to "pose". It really was a pleasure to do this session. Am I biased? Maybe... but lets be honest, your close friends and family are usually the most difficult, aren't they? No? Just mine then? Oh... ok... anyway, here is a peek at the best of her session... (Can't wait to meet the little guy inside!!)

Family Shooting Season is OPEN! | Chilliwack Family Photographer

Although, there is no better time to have a family portrait than the present (never put off to tomorrow what you can do today!), it does seem to be a more popular activity in the Fall. Probably because everyone wants a nice photograph to send with their Christmas cards, but they want to get them done before the bad weather takes hold. It is this time of the year that the requests for sessions start to roll in a little faster than normal, and the calendar fills up a lot quicker!

I have decided to make last weekend's Gustavson Family my official starters of this year's Family Shooting Season... because they were just so awesome to shoot and so much fun to work with! I love these guys...

Welcome to the World, Kaylin | Chilliwack Newborn Baby Photographer

My latest studio guest was quite the perfect little stunner... but had very little interest in going into a deep, snuggly sleep for me. Well, as the star of the show, I guess she is allowed to do what she likes! (It just meant extra cuddle time for me... oh, the hardships of my life! LOL!)

Beautiful little Dorothy | Mission Newborn Photographer

I have been meaning to add this gorgeous little lady to my blog for WAY too long... I guess you can blame having the "minions" at home for the Summer holidays. Anyway, here she is, at last, and she was a true joy to photograph - a beautifully calm, sleepy princess...

Thought of the Day...

Yes, I am a material girl! ;-)

My Favourite Top 4 Features of the New Lightroom 5

I love Lightroom. I have loved it ever since I started playing with the Beta version of Lightroom 4 way back in January of last year. My workflow begins with LR, the majority of my adjustments are made there, and my workflow ends there. In fact, I now only use Photoshop for the major edits or special effects. It simply makes my pictures look better... the end.

Well, you can imagine how intrigued I was to hear that Adobe had released a Beta version of Lightroom 5. I happily skipped off to their website to learn more and do a little downloading...

My first thoughts? "Hmm... I highly doubt they have done anything to make me want to upgrade from LR4... I love LR4... I don't need anything else". Yes, I was a little less open-minded than usual, but was pleasantly surprised and may be seriously considering the upgrade after all... and here are 4 reasons why:

1. Healing & Cloning just got WAY easier. Before, you could only do very basic spot healing & cloning, and then it was only in very restricting circles. Now, you can heal in any shape you like with the new healing brush. Need to heal a power line or wrinkle? Done!

2. The new Radial Filter tool. LOVE this tool - probably my new favourite feature even. Before, if you wanted to add some drama or emphasize a particular focal point in your photo, you could use the post-crop vignetting, BUT this only really worked if your focus or subject was in the centre of the shot. Well, if you are a fan of the 2-thirds rule, like me, that didn't work since your subject is never in the centre! This tool now allows you to put those focus alteration wherever your little heart desires! You draw the circle area you want to emphasize or alter, adjust the circle (or oval!) to fit, and make your setting changes. You can even pick whether you want to alter the area inside OR outside the circle. (Big smiley faces here!)

3. The hidden spot finder! OK.. that is probably not its official name... but it makes finding those hidden spots easier to find and remove, so that name works for me. To find all those annoying specks, (you know the ones... those annoying spots in the sky that you only see after you have paid oodles of cash to have a photo blown up and printed on canvas!) you open the spot removal tool, and then click the option at the bottom to "visualize spots". The picture goes into negative mode and VOILA! Your hidden spots are now sitting ducks for removal.

4. Full screen at the touch of a button! So, you think you've finished your edits and want that "stand back and admire your masterpiece" moment. Just hit the F key, and your shot goes full screen. (Yes... it's the simple things for me!)

There are more highlights like improvements in the perspective correction, as well as enhancements to the slideshow & book modules... but those are my top improvements, based on my needs. To download your Beta copy just head over to the Adobe Labs website. Nice job, Adobe chaps and chapesses!

New Toy!

I have a confession...I love snow globes. I probably have ever since I was a fresh-faced young student and saw Bill Pullman  give that oh-so-sentimental-and-romantic gift to Sandra Bullock in While You Were Sleeping. (Permission to roll your eyes just a little bit!)

Well, I follow several Photographers who develop and sell editing actions, (they come in handy occasionally, when having a "creative block" or speed things up when I'm running on a tight deadline!) and a few of them have made snow globe templates, this year. It's an old concept, but seems to be enjoying a sudden revival, thanks to these Photographers.

This was one kind of template I just couldn't resist... and I've spent the last 24 hours happily playing! (These particular templates are courtesy of Stacie Jensen of Rock My Edits) Ahhh, if only I'd have had them a month ago to make our Christmas cards. Oh well, next year maybe...

A few more family memories... | Chilliwack Family Photographer

Wow... it really is Family Photo Season, as the requests are still coming in!

I had the great pleasure to shoot another lovely family, last week... and their girls were absolutely adorable! The youngest has had quite a rough spell recently, with an extended hospital stay, so Mom decided they should celebrate her recovery with some family pics - good call, Mom! Of course, Big Sis was a total superstar too, doing absolutely everything I asked straight away and with a smile at all times - a future model maybe?