Wednesday, February 22, 2012

befores & afters.

first off?  we are having a serious run of crap weather here in the pacific northwest.  like, flood warning torrential downpour weather.  and this is no fun for a photographer with a new camera who wants to get outside & put her stuff to the test!  i haven't been able to shoot a single session with my new camera & it's killing me.  killing me dead, people!  rain, go away!  i've scheduled a maternity session this weekend so i'm crossing my fingers & toes & eyes & whatever else that it happens because i'm getting a little bit anxious.

in the meantime what have i been doing?  making good on some of my home projects.  things are getting wrapped up around here & maybe it's nesting or maybe it's cabin fever but either way it's progress.  the toybox we started like a million years ago is now complete & sitting in our living room holding way more toys than the little basket we used before did & it feels like we have officially reclaimed our living room from the millions of blocks & cars & puzzle pieces that previously overran it.  although, the finishing of the toybox must be credited 100% to sam... and a post will be dedicated to this later.

for now, here's a little project that took me just a few days.

when we had our family photos done a couple weeks ago i knew that i specifically wanted something i could blow up & display that really captured my little family.  and the photo ledge in our entry way was waaaaaay embarassingly out of date so i knew i wanted to do something there.  after getting our photos back from stacy jacobsen, i went to work.

this was our photo ledge as it had existed for the last six years in our entryway:


random beach pictures of sam & me from when we were DATING.  that's like, forever ago.  parker wasn't even a twinkle in our eye at that point!  and if you look really closely, you may even recognize that there isn't even a photo in the last frame.  i guess i never got around to filling that one.  who does that??

ok, my concept for the new photos as designed in photoshop:


i measured the ledge & drafted the sizes that i thought would look good.  from left to right the prints are 8x10", 16x24" canvas, 5x7" & 8x10".  i also made the pinterest inspired date print in photoshop too.

after all the prints came back & i painted the ledge white {five coats later!} here is what it looks like in real life:


i am in l-o-v-e LOVE with it.  it really brightens up our entry way & finally shows off my little family to the rest of the house.  love it.

and one more little before & after before we go.

i remember reading somewhere {i'm sure it was a blog... sorry to whoever it was, i wish i could credit you!} but they encouraged you, as a picture-taker, to just plain & simply always take the shot.  if something's happening in the moment & your settings may be all wrong & you think in your head it won't turn out... who cares.  take the shot.  it may be improved a bit in photoshop & a crappy picture is probably better than none at all.

this has stuck with me.  if parker's doing something crazy i'll snap a couple pictures without even looking at my settings & then attempt at adjusting them to get that perfect shot.  but oftentimes the moment has passed.

that happened today.  he was cracking himself up by tickling his own neck... one of the most ticklish parts on his little body.  he was tickling & giggling & this was the first shot i took:


after some quick edits in photoshop, i was able to make it somewhat decent.


he is so goofy.  and if i could freeze him in this stage of life i might consider doing it.  but then again maybe not... because i'm sure someday it will be nice not to have to wipe yogurt out of those neck crevices after breakfast.

27 comments:

  1. i love love love it! your family pictures are so adorable.

    ReplyDelete
  2. That happen to me real often, bad setting at the right moment! sometimes i didn't even dare to take a shot as i knew it would turn out crappy. anyway, thanks for the suggest, next time i can just "take that shot" ...Beautiful pictures of your family, and the creation along the your entry way. Great job!!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I love this. I'm going to make that subway art when our next baby is born. :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. The ledge looks GREAT. I really, really need to update our pics all over the house. There are a billion of JD as a baby, and sadly very few of O. Poor second baby.

    ReplyDelete
  5. This is so precious! Your photoshop skills are fantastic! Good luck in the rain this week. Stay warm!

    ReplyDelete
  6. I love that ledge! That shot of Parker is hilarious!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Cute ledge! Way to go! It feels so good to get stuff like that done. And you're killing me with that sneak peak of the toy box!

    ReplyDelete
  8. love your new picture display! so cute! and what a cute boy you have there!!! hope you get some nice weather soon!!

    ReplyDelete
  9. i just love your new picture display! your pictures are just beautiful and really brightens up that space! I would love to do a picture display, but our entry is a curved circle so i have no flat walls :( so far pinterest hasn't given me any ideas for that ;0) crossing my fingers you get your maternity session this weekend with your new camera!

    ReplyDelete
  10. I love the picture ledge! So cute. Someday when Ryan let's me buy a house Im so going to do that! Also, Parker is so adorable! I can't believe he's getting so big!

    ReplyDelete
  11. I'm ready to get in the new house so I can put up pictures. I have so many that I want printed off. I love the way you've set your ledge up. Especially that print. I might need to do that too. :)

    And, I totally know what you mean about getting the shot. I know a little about settings when you aren't in auto mode but not a lot. So, I always keep my camera in auto mode that way I always get the shot. I've had plenty of photos that looked something like that top picture of Parker but I can make them look so much better in Photoshop. It's just easier and I know I'll always get that special shot. :)

    ReplyDelete
  12. Aww, that looks amazing! Totally doing the important dates print out as soon as this little peanut is born! :)

    ReplyDelete
  13. the ledge is awesome. im currently making my own photo ledge. um yeah.. me wood and glue. hot date!

    the photoshop edit - thats a tutorial in itself.

    ReplyDelete
  14. I love the new entry collage! And Parker? Well he is just about the sweetest thing!

    ReplyDelete
  15. The entry looks great! And Parker continues to look less like a baby & more like a little kid! Nice demo / advice on the photo taking, too.

    ReplyDelete
  16. LOVE the entry way. so so cute! i want to copy it!

    ReplyDelete
  17. I love it! Your ledge looks awesome! And Parker...still the cutest!

    ReplyDelete
  18. I sooo love that date-inspired art from Pinterest. I've had it pinned forever but haven't designed my own yet. Well done!

    Yeah, I just updated our photo frames last month. You know, it had been what, since our engagement seven years ago? Oops!

    ReplyDelete
  19. The ledge looks awesome! I do need to "take the shot" more often - I am kind of bad at that! I am also ready for nicer weather to really learn to use my new lenses. Spring can't come soon enough around here!!

    ReplyDelete
  20. I agree--always take the shot!! All I have left of my Sammy are the photos I took of her. And even the poorly-lit, out-of-focus snapshots are priceless treasures to me.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Love it! It really does brighten that wall space up! I need to get better about putting updated pictures around the house! *how do you do it all?* :D

    ReplyDelete
  22. You are sooooo cute with your little belly!! Looking good momma!
    ♥ Kyna

    P.S- random question, I know, but did you ever end up making a quilt?

    ReplyDelete
  23. cute! i thought your before of the wall looked fine until i saw the after! :) btw, i'm currently holding a giveaway for my whole-hearted followers if you're interested! i hope we can connect!

    http://theymaysaythatimadreamer.blogspot.com/2012/02/dorothy-explorr-giveaway-giveaway.html

    dorothy

    ReplyDelete
  24. Love the new family photo and layout design! And I hear ya with crappy NW weather...we've been dealing with windstorms/rain...and now supposedly more snow this weekend. Bleh. Stay warm!

    ReplyDelete
  25. Atleast you can see his neck now. You've been waiting for that day for a long time. Congrats Parker. P.S. Auntie misses you!

    ReplyDelete
  26. Wowsa. That shelf looks baller now. haha Great work. ;)

    ReplyDelete

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...