A sneak peak....

Well, I had to work on some Valentine's Day pics with Ms. Jessie last week.  Finally, after both of us being sick & tired last week, we gave it a shot.  She actually came up to me on Friday & said, "You want to take my picture Mom."  And I was like, you want to wear your Valentine's outfit & let me take your pics??  She said yes, so a little photo taking took place :)  NO seriously guys, only about 10 min. from this little lady & she's done.  Here are 2 of the pics I took, I'll save the others & the sister shot for Valentine's, but I am thankful that she is feeling/looking so much better & that we got this off our to do list.  I know the Grandparents will love, love the sister shot I got, it's precious & actually already on their Valentine cards, I'll reveal those as the day approaches.  Enjoy a little peak at my pretty girl in her Valentine's outfit!  For those of you that read my blog, you'll note that Ella already had a couple pics taken in her matching outfit, see this post if you want to see Ms. Ella in her Valentine's outfit :)

For my friends that enjoy photography:  I got that piece of white bead board at Home Depot for less than 10 bucks & that white furry rug at Walmart for $13.  It doesn't look totally professional, I grant you, but it makes for a cute & inexpensive "studio" on a cold, snowy day.  When I use a white background, I've found it helpful to overexpose then correct color in lightroom once I have it on my computer, otherwise my skin tones don't look right.  This is another pre-set that I created for lightroom 4, I turned down the clarity on the overall pic, to give it a softer appearance & increased the vibrance.  Then sharpened the eyes.  The white balance has a slight purple hue, but I think it works with the look of the pics.  Once you have your pre-set, you can apply to all the pics you took that need this look & there you go, literally 1-click editing.  For around $70 dollars, Lightroom is the best investment I've made in my little hobby.