Work of Heart Photography

on vacation

wohphoto — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 12:25:12 +0000

Wrapping up an extended, yet long over-due trip to my home state (well, technically I was born in raised in ne Ohio, but …) of Pennsylvania. Aside from being rained out halfway through a Steelers game (which was an interesting experience), the weather has been absolutely perfect. I know when I lived here I was constantly re-scheduling sessions due to rain! Glad to catch a break.

Looking forward to getting back into the swing of things back at home, but I will miss my wonderful family & friends here on the east coast. Not to mention, my clients as well!

I hope you enjoy what is left of summer. There still is time for a smore or two!

been a long time

wohphoto — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 20:03:43 +0000

Wow, it has been so long since I have done a blog update I struggled to remember my blog admin password. Sigh. Apologies.

The summer has been much more “crazy-busy” than I expected – but busy is good!

Over the next few months I’ll also be sharing a bit about something I’ve recently become passionate about – educating women on the beauty & skin products they use. A good place to start is “Safe Cosmetics” http://www.safecosmetics.org/ – here you can go through their database 25,000+ shampoos, makeup, skincare, etc to see the rating of toxins on a scale of 0 – 10. A real eye-opener.

Or if you have a few minutes, watch this informative little movie by clicking the graphic below.

One last thing – for a greener house check out Sara Snow. She just had her first baby, so much information on baby products, etc. http://www.sarasnow.com/ I love her book “Fresh Living” and found it full of information I could implement right away for my family & home, yet not still did not feel overwhelmed by it all.

I know, I know … you came here for the photography, right? Well, us artist-types are known for their passion and being multifaceted (among other things) – you just never know what we will be saying next. Which is a good thing, keeps you readers on your toes a bit. *wink*

There is much to update, with many images & sessions to showcase, however I will try to stick to chronological order and begin with this beauty. This shoot was before God turned on SoCal’s “heat lamps” … much enjoyable to be loading and un-loading the car while at a cool 75 degrees.

red head

wohphoto — Thu, 13 May 2010 13:12:56 +0000

I’ve said it before on the blog …I adore red heads. Simply love them! Perhaps it all started when I received my first cabbage doll at age four — a cowgirl named Louise Belle who had a bright red crown of yarn-hair. Whenever it began, I do know I spent a good 10 years with red hair myself (thanks to my “Aunt Clariol” lol). Now that I’ve had dark locks the past few years, I feel that red envy creeping in again and may have to make a change.

Furthermore, many of you may share a similar love for literary favorite redhead, Anne of Green Gables. Admittedly my favorite books and movies (though, the third movie I’d rather forget…) all have to deal with Miss Anne Shirley and her beloved Green Gables. As a young girl I cherished the role model of a bright, strong, quick-witted and passionate young woman her character portrayed. And that hair!

This little sweetie had amazing red hair and a beautiful bounty of freckles. I know, I know, many people who have freckles don’t really care for them. I have naturally curly hair and go to great lengths to avoid that reality. *Smile* But, all in all, I couldn’t get enough of her in front of my camera.

New

wohphoto — Mon, 03 May 2010 04:00:00 +0000

I’m so excited to announce that my new Posing Guide is here! Perfect for both a professional photographer or anyone who wishes to take better pictures of their kids.

Visit the Website: www.pocketposingguide.com

Check out my Kelly Moore camera bag in this first shot — love love my bag! Check out Kelly’s website and use the discount code “KMBSKYE” for $30 off!

… she’s a butterfly

wohphoto — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 18:11:03 +0000

I loved this session. Truly!

I receive a lot of questions in regards to the clothing in my sessions; yes, I do style all of my sessions in one form or another. This session features one of my favorite designers “Woven Play” ..they have such a unique and artistic take on children’s costumes (the butterfly costume below). Just heavenly!

As soon as I began to edit this session, this song “She’s a Butterfly” by Martina McBride came to mind. One of my favorites.

“She remembers when she first got her wings
And how she opened up that day
she learned to sing
Then the colors came, erased the
black and white
And her whole world changed
when she realized

[Chorus:]
She’s a butterfly, pretty as the crimson sky
Nothing’s ever gonna bring her down
And everywhere she goes
Everybody knows she’s so glad to be alive
She’s a butterfly

Like the purest light in a darkened world
So much hope inside such a lovely girl
You should see her fly, it’s almost magical
It makes you wanna cry, she’s so beautiful

[Chorus]

God bless the butterfly,
give her the strength to fly
Never let her wings touch the ground
God bless the butterfly,
give her strength to fly
Never let her wings touch the ground”

Springtime

wohphoto — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 00:03:23 +0000

I love spring! Living back east springtime was more evident given the stark contrast of weather temps, but even in California the dreary hillsides embrace the new season with lush greenery and bloom with an array of wildflowers (though as temporary as it may be). We are busy celebrating the Easter holiday with beloved family … and lots of moving boxes! Thank you to those who shared their delicious recipes with me – much appreciated as this is my first Easter as the official “hostess – cook”. Settled on ham with sweet potatoes in the roaster, baked acorn squash, rolls, and the like … oh yeah, forget the carrot cake, I’m making red velvet cupcakes for dessert!

Happy Easter & God bless!

xoxo Skye

Images below shot with D700 & 50mm 1.4 lens. Subject is with Ford models and has appeared in ads for H&M, Pottery Barn Kids and Target. You’d think photographing a pro model would be easier, and not that it is difficult per say (especially this sweetie who was a doll), however I find model kids more so do poses/expressions that they’ve been asked to do in the past, rather than me as the photographer being able to “draw out” their personalities, emotions, etc. This is just something I’ve learned since moving to SoCal and photographing child models. Not complaining, of course. ;c)

Moving

wohphoto — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 19:24:30 +0000

I’m a busy, busy woman over here …finishing up my Workshop Workbook upgrade for it’s big release, spring season for photo shoots, and the biggie …moving to a new house on the 1st. Phew!We are moving from Los Angeles County (about 35 miles outside of the city) to a small rural town in northern San Diego county and I’m so excited to have some peace and quiet (and a big big yard!). I will be doing photo shoots on our 6.5 acre property (with huge barn and lake) as well as I’m only two miles away from one of my favorite shooting locations. I swear I won’t mind not having a Starbucks .01 miles from me (right now I have one across the street) and will have to drive 15 minutes to Target. That’s about the same I had to drive back in Pittsburgh.

Plus, my family from back East will be in town for a visit and to see our new home. We’ll also be hosting them for Easter this year. Excited, but never made an Easter dinner before! Honey Baked Ham? { laughs } If you have any yummy side dish recipes, please share in the comments! Thank you!!

Cowgirl

wohphoto — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 20:29:38 +0000

I’ve been excited to blog about this session as it is one of my more recent favorites. Fresh from moving from Texas to SoCal, this girl was fun to photograph. You know she’s a Texas girl as she didn’t mind being around the cows (read: cow smell) and the gooey mud. She was a bit shy about her braces so not too many smiles, but you know me, I love the serious pensive look. I styled her clothing to compliment the country environment, complete with an old quilt (thanks Etsy!).

On another note … I’ve been receiving many emails asking when I am coming to Pittsburgh for sessions this year and I’m happy to announce soon I will be posting the 2010 dates. Leaning towards end of July and possibly a few fall sessions. Gary and I are having our wedding ceremony early October in PA so that will take most of my focus during that time. In the meantime you can go to the Work of Heart website for more information on PA sessions. Just click the “Investment & Details” page and next click “Pittsburgh Sessions”.

Ps. You can now find Work of Heart Photograhpy on Facebook!

Work of Heart Photography on Facebook

Random

wohphoto — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 22:56:52 +0000

I get asked all the time things like what camera I use (the D700), what inspires me (too numerous to list within the confining walls of parentheses), what platform do I edit my images with (Photoshop Cs4) … I believe soon I will create a F.A.Q. part for the blog to help answer some of your questions.

Today let me just gush on how much I love Cs4! About three months ago I upgraded from Cs2 and although there is always some sort of learning curve with new versions of Photoshop, I love it! Especially Bridge — Bridge is how I comb through my sessions and sort the good from the not-so-good.

Now, you can totally customize the look of Bridge – below is how I have mine set up. Nice and easy (IMO). Just simply drag things around (put your cursor on the lines you want to drag) to change the look of your Bridge.

My fave feature is the compare (where you can compare two images side by side, obviously) and then the magnifier tool (which I use all the time!). I don’t do any actual editing in Bridge, just a way to view. In the example below I used the features with web sized files, but you can only truly appreciate its ability will full sized files.

Used on an edited full sized image, you can use the magnify to see the sharp quality of the eyes

Each photographer has their own editing style and process with which they edit. Photoshop, CaptureOne and Lightroom seem to be the most popular. One day I would love to give Lightroom a whirl, but I’ve got too much on my plate at the moment to try something new. Especially since I’m quite happy with my editing process at this time (if it ain’t broke …). However, if you are looking to learn more about Photoshop, I cannot recommend enough anything by Scott Kelby or NAPP.

Ps. You can now find Work of Heart Photograhpy on Facebook!

Work of Heart Photography on Facebook

Beauty

wohphoto — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 15:32:08 +0000

Finally, almost caught up! Almost. I still have about five more sessions to blog, not to mention the new ones lining up as I head into my busy season. Although I miss living back east, I cannot complain about the wonderful west coast weather and being able to shoot outdoors all year round. Did I mention we have beautiful weather out here? (Just rubbing it in for my cold-weather friends! Actually, Gary and I went up to Lake Tahoe (my first time) this past weekend and boy I was freezing. Yes, two years ago 40 degrees would have felt like a warm front to me, but now days, brrrrr.

I am also excited to announce the coming of my new posing guide for photographers: Pocket Full of Poses. You can read more on the posing guide by clicking HERE.

Enough on all that. This little beauty was such a delight to photograph and seemed to bring beautiful light wherever she went.