Payne/Battle Family Photo shoot

I recently had a photo shoot with a beautiful family for Mother's Day.  A grandmother and her 3 beautiful grandchildren.

Grandchildren are the gifts of yesterday, the pride of today and the joy of tomorrow - UNKNOWN

ENJOY!!!!

It has been tooooooo LONG!!

I know it seems as though I have been neglecting my passion of photography but that is not the case at all.  Since my last post on February 11, 2011 I've actually had three photo sessions.  That may not seem like a lot to some but to me it is a ton as it has allowed me to practice my photography skills as well as my Photoshop, Aperture, Lightroom and MAC skills.  In addition, I have been looking into various photography schools and the different programs that they have.  So, my first post back is of two very beautiful children of a friend of mine ages 1 year 5 months and 5 months.  They were both a pleasure to photograph.  Enjoy!!!!!!

Ballerina Girl Sidney in Adobe Aperture

**Please make sure you click on the link below after reading the below post to see a Kalan Creations original slideshow***

It has been a while, actually it has been too long.  I have been playing with some of Christmas gifts (Apple MacBook, Aperture which is part of the Adobe Creative Suites) and created a slide show of various pictures and videos of Ballerina Sidney.  I used Adobe Aperture to create this slide show which allows video and pictures into one presentation.  I encountered a few problems when trying to export it as it was only exporting the first slide and then it took forever to download to my blog but I finally figured it out and got it posted.  Overall, this software is good but it does not allow for a lot of creativity because of it's presets.    So, for my first slide show it was perfect but I will continue to search for a program with more flexibility. 

Please click below to view the slide show......ENJOY!!!

 www.  Ballerina Sidney .com

1st 2011 post

2011 is now here along with all of the traditional New Year's resolution.  So to stay within tradition I have the following resolutions
1.  Be the best MOM that I can be.
2.  Educate my children to the best of MY ability so that they can excel academically, socially and physically.
3.  To be more health conscious.
4.  Continue my education in the art of photography and photo editing.
3.   TO MAKE KALA CREATIONS A SUCCESS!!!!
On that note, my first post of the New Year is of my little Ballerina Girl Sidney.  She is now a student at the Atlanta Ballet.  ENJOY!!!!

15 (picture) days to Christmas

On 12/10/2010 I attended a Christmas Party with my husband.  Being that I always take pictures of others I decided to be the subject this time.  I am still focusing on high key portraits as well producing a reflection off the floor by using a whitle tile board that I purchased at Home Depot.  Below, are the results.....ENJOY!!!!!

 I had a little fun in Photoshop with the pictures below. 

21 days to Christmas.....Dec 5,2010

Here is a little artistic touch to a traditional christmas photo...Enjoy!!!!!!

And a picture of nicely deocrated house in Lawrenceville for the Christmas Holidays

In the spirit of Christmas I guess I should have a Photographers Wish List (just in case my husband takes a peek and of course as a checklist for myself.)
1.  MAC computer or laptop
2.  NIK software
3.  Adobe Lightroom & CS5
4.  Faux fur for baby pictures
5.  Angel wings for baby pictures
6.  A bench for kids to sit on (white or brown)
I am sure I will think of more but I think this will do for now.

23 days to Christmas...Dec 2,2010

A post a day.  Here is another Christmas card I created.  I am now working on taking pictures at night of Christmas Lights.  Hopefully (I know I will), I will succeed by tomorrow night so that I can post them.  It's all about timing/lighting especially when taking pictures outside.  I've done my research and my camera (lets call him ALMA - which means SOUL in Spanish) and I will be outside tomorrow evening shooting as much as possible in Aperture Priority mode.  Until then, enjoy the card.

24 days to Christmas

As promised, a post a day as we countdown the days to Christmas.
The below card is a Kala Creations original.  Enjoy!!!!!

Kala Creations would like to invite you to it's professional home studio located in Lawrenceville, GA.

 

The 2010 holiday portrait package includes the following:

1.  Sitting fee

2.  Post processing of images in Photoshop

3.  20 CUSTOMIZED greeting cards with up to 4 different poses.

4.  2 photo sheets of any pose (sheets of 1-8x10, 2-5x7 OR 8-wallets)

5.  1 view & share CD with all of your images edited, which is great for sharing your pictures on-line, in digital frames or e-mailing to family and friends.

 

Holiday package specially priced at $150

 

each additional 10 greeting cards are $15

each additional photo sheet is $12

 

 

**Sessions normally last approximately one hour (my hourly rate is $75/hour) where you are allowed one wardrobe change if desired.  If you have any additional questions about pricing please contact me.

Thank you so much for the opportunity to photograph you and your family for this 2010 holiday season!!!

25 (picture) days to Christmas.......Dec 1,2010

It's been a while since I posted but I am back.  Thank you to all of my followers that inquired about my next post and christmas pictures.  As the title goes.......25 (picture) days to Christmas.  My goal is to post at least one new picture everyday until Christmas (pictures in the spirit of christmas and/or customized christmas cards).  So, let the countdown begin!

"The Taylor Family"

Kala Creations would like to invite you to it's professional home studio located in Lawrenceville, GA.

 

The 2010 holiday portrait package includes the following:

1.  Sitting fee

2.  Post processing of images in Photoshop

3.  20 CUSTOMIZED greeting cards with up to 4 different poses.

4.  2 photo sheets of any pose (sheets of 1-8x10, 2-5x7 OR 8-wallets)

5.  1 view & share CD with all of your images edited, which is great for sharing your pictures on-line, in digital frames or e-mailing to family and friends.

 

Holiday package specially priced at $150

 

each additional 10 greeting cards are $15

each additional photo sheet is $12

 

 

**Sessions normally last approximately one hour (my hourly rate is $75/hour) where you are allowed one wardrobe change if desired.  If you have any additional questions about pricing please contact me.

Thank you so much for the opportunity to photograph you and your family for this 2010 holiday season!!!

 

COMMING SOON - TAYLOR FAMILY 2010 HOLIDAY PICTURES

I was able to take some great Christmas photos of my family this week and I can't wait to share them with you.  I am in the process of reviewing and editing them and will post them very soon.


If you would like for Kala Creations to take your holiday pictures and create a one of a kind holiday card please contact me soon.  There is only 5 weeks left until Christmas and I would love to schedule your portrait session before the holiday rush.
e-mail me at:  erika@kalacreations.com

More High Key Portraits......Mrs. Taylor

My studio has been busy these last few days and I love it.  From testing out lights with another photography enthusiast to 3 different photo shoots all in less than 5 days. I hope you enjoy!!!!

Halloween 2010...high key portraits

I finally got back into my studio (with some very active models) and put some of my new found knowledge to the test.  Prior to the shoot I had a lot of fun testing out the lights alone and with a fellow photography enthusiast.  By the way, I now have two background lights which makes full length portraits a little bit easier to take as I don't have that one light in the middle anymore.  My goal was to have my main and fill light ratios to be a 3:1 ratio with my background lights at 11.5 (it should have been at 13.5 which is 1.5 stops hotter than the main light of f 8.0 - this would have ensured a pure white high key background) which resulted in the following set up:
background lights:  11.5
main light:  8.0
fill light:  4.8
Because my background lights were not as hot as they should have been the background was a little underexposed causing the picture to look a little grey around the edges.  Normally, I would fix this in photoshop but I used thrifty white tile board on the floor to get to reflection from my subject's feet and I do not want to get rid of this.  Below, are the results of the above settings:

A client confirmed....sweet

Today I decided to be proactive and pursue a possible client which worked out very well.  I know a lady that recently opened a bakery selling all types of delicious sweets and I approached her with a proposal that could not be denied and would work out for both of us.  I would photograph her place of business, baked goods and the action in her shop free of charge in exchange for practice and being able to diversify my portfolio.  This client not only said yes to the photography session but also
1.  agreed to allow me to post the pictures in her shop with my contact information.
2.  agreed to allow me to photograph her son, a hockey player.
3.  gave me a possible lead to photograph various hockey games

I am very happy I decided to get a cupcake on my way home.........

An adult test model

I finally got a chance to test out some of the lighting techniques that I have been reading about at www.zarias.com.  I took a few test shots but my model was only helping me out and not sitting for a real photo shoot so I will not post my test shots.  I will post the final images once I get a good grasp on the technique and model is "dressed to impress."  So, stay tuned for some fabulous pictures with various backgrounds all done with white seamless paper as the basic backdrop.  I am so excited and can't wait for everyone to see the final product.

White background, Many options

I haven't been able to take any pictures in a while but I've been reading up on various ways to:
1.  Improve my high key photographs (white background)
2.  Get the most use out of my white seamless background paper by using various color gels (this will spare me from purchasing various color muslin backgrounds)

In order for me to accomplish the above I will have to gain a better understanding of f stops and exposures.  I found a great website to further my understanding.  For all studio photography enthusiast check out:  www.zarias.com

Now, I just need a patient adult willing to sit and be my test subject while I play with light.  Any volunteers?