Vacation........Yay!

Good Evening New World,

I know that I have been M.I.A., but I nothing interesting has happened. Well........the one interesting thing was that I am on a two week vacation!

During my time, I made up my mind to get in some exercise, and practice my lighting set ups.

In the upcoming months, I have a couple of paid shoots. I am still doing my TFP (Time For Print, or Trade) shoots, as well! It is just that in this backwards economy, I need to get paid!

So........................I will try to keep you wonderful people posted! 

****I am not big on doing that muah thing! It took me a long time to realize that it was the noise made when sending some one an air kiss! Crazy!

Putting Out My Price List...............What do you think?

Good Evening New World,

After a week of busting my head in class, on and off retouching, I have found time to come up with my price list. I would appreciate any feedback.

I am offering my time at $50.00 hrly rate.
The rate would not include studio time. The studio price is $35.00 hrly rate.
Retouching would be done in three different packages.
Basic (clearing up skin) $50.00 per frame
Medium (clearing up skin, lighting eyes, and light skin softening) $75.00 per frame
Advanced (clearing up skin, light or change eyes, major skin softening, and body retouching) $150.00 per frame

Right now, unless a specific price is quoted, will be the standard rates. 

The next goal would be to finish planning my website. That will be on my list of projects to produce. 

Give me some feedback!

Planning for the future!

Good Evening New World,
These past two weeks have been very challenging, but different. 

So far.........I don't recall if I have stated this previously, but I am still in college. I will tell you, web design is kickin my butt! None the less, it is a learning experience.

Let me give you lovely people a brief catch up. 

These next two weeks will be me booking dates for clients. 

I have, finally, made my price list. I know it has taken me a while to do it, but it is done! So now, that is one less priority to knock off my list.

The next priority will be to begin making some custom pieces, for my upcoming shoot. 

I will be working with one of the models in the upcoming shoot, Ms. Candice Davis, on creating these custom pieces. So, not only is she a great model, but  a wonderful fashionista!

The following priority, after that, would to begin to practice these new lighting techniques. 

Urgh! 

Scott Kelby's Photo Recipes..

Good Evening New World,

I will say thank you for being patient with me, during this short term hiatus. I don't know if some of my readers know, but I am still in college. At the current moment, I am working towards my bachelor's degree in Multimedia Visual Communications, which is totally opposite from what I am doing personally, as well as being a mother. Yeah, I think that I am kind of busy. 

Well, today is a review. It is on the Scott Kelby Photo Recipes. Anyone that knows me, knows that I am a huge NAPP fan! If NAPP was a woman, it would be my mom. That is how much I refer, and love NAPP. Also, this set is taught by one of my absolute favorite teachers, besides from David Cuerdon, the infamous Scott Kelby! I mean, he's the greatest, since pre sliced bread!  

Well, the iPad app was based on his video series, which is titled the same. He states that the photo recipes came from his series of books, which is called "The Digital Photography" series. I have books one and two, and these books are very resourceful. I would pick up that book before I would pick up my camera's manual. I will state, and maybe I need to finish reading the book completely, but I don't recall seeing the recipes. Either way, it was the smartest thing he has ever created, and even more so, a brilliant idea, by turning the series into an app!

The app is great. It focuses on various lighting situations, that are normally used by photographers. He also states how he would use the various lighting techniques. Also, what I love the most, he tells you how he set up. Also, I would like to state, just like with any recipe, you can manipulate these techniques, to make them your own. 

I have not had a chance to use the recipes, but I have been reviewing the videos, and I am very anxious to try them out.

So..........in a nutshell, I highly recommend the series!

Scott Kelby's Blog link
http://www.scottkelby.com/blog/2010/archives/7904

Just A Quick Break...

Good Afternoon, New World,

Today was a day filled with so many DIY ideas. So many, that I had to take some time out and clean some older projects off of my laptop. While I was cleaning, I found that I had my old Sims 2 videos on here. I can tell you now, there is no way I am getting rid of this. OMG! I have a few of them on here, but the majority is on the YouTube page. Anyway, at the time, I fell in love with the Geico commercial, the one with the money, and the song that came with it. It was a club version of that Rockwell song. I saw something totally different for that song. The song, from the commercial, was done by Mysto and Pizzi. Check it out!

*Note- No copyright infringement was intended.*

ReTouches for Days

GM New World,

I just want to let everyone know that I will be incognito, for a while. I am still in school, so I am playing catch up, and I have a retouching job, that I am working on. But, don't fret! I will be Coming out with new shots.

Fashion Shoot, Phase 2

Great Day, New World,

Now, I am on to the phase 2, to my shoot. I have an idea of what I want to do for the shoot. I know I want an urban feel to this shoot. To accomplish this part, I want the shoot to be in Downtown DC. I know I want to do this on the weekend. The weekend scene, in Downtown DC, is pretty much dead. This would make it easy to do the shoot. 

I just purchased some feather earrings, as props. The earrings are very beautiful. Also, I spoke with the MUA, Miss Cam, and she is a very wonderful  person, as well as a great MUA. I will state that this woman is very accomplished and blew me away. I am hoping she will be able to work on the shoot, as well.

Now, I just need to relay this to the models. 

On to Phase 3................

Miss Cam (MUA)-mailto:Cam-cs_emp@hotmail.com

Funky Twenties Shoot

Model-Candice Davis

Good Afternoon New World,
I was a little tired earlier, but I am back for part 2. I had back to back engagements on Saturday, and my body was begging for some type of sleep. Anyway, let's get started, shall we?

Well....as we all know, I have been working with my friend, Leah Jones, with her photo shoot. Let me be the first to say that she did extremely well. The models were very lovely, especially Ms. Chakarra Lumas. Although, I know my memory is like an eighty year old women, I would like to apologize to her. I am very sorry. She, along with the other models, were very professional and terrific. Their poses were on point, and they were very easy to work with. I want to say to all the models, great job.

Model- Chakarra Lumas

The studio, Moca DC, is always a great studio to work from. He allows artist to rent space, at a great price. This studio is the undiscovered gem in DC, that any photographer needs to discover.

The stylists, for the shoot, were very fun and vibrant. The clothes were well made, and very cute. The designers seemed great to work with, and I applaud their work.

The makeup for the models, in my opinion, looked very beautiful, and very camera ready. In my opinion, flawless! That is one thing that I love and that is to see a model with flawless makeup. The reason that I state this is because, when I am retouching a person's face, and you find that you spend a lot of time retouching a face, it makes me feel like I am doing two jobs. The make up artist job and mine. I will say that this did not happen, and I am very relieved. Each artist took their time with the young ladies and the work was absolutely  stunning.

So......................in a nutshell, the shoot went great and everything was awesome.

I will state that I lost a few cards, so please, if I don't mention your name, call and curse me out, later in the week! Also, there were too many pics and not enough space, so I will be creating a slide show, soon.

Credits
           
              Carmella Matthews (Designer)-mella_matthews@yahoo.com
              Samantha Smith (Designer)-www.abydisclothing.com

Tamika Williams (MUA)-t82williams@yahoo.com
 Ebony Bailey (Model)- http://www.modelmayhem.com/2153979
               LaQuia Wyche (Stylist)-http://www.facebook.com/people/Laquia-Wyche/185800621
               Moca DC-www.mocadc.org
              Chakarra Lumas (Model)-www.chakarralumas.com
              Candice Davis-(Model)-www.model mayhem.com/2191777
              Shana Janelle (MUA)-www.shanajanelle.com
              Leah Jones (Photographer)-www.lljphotography.com

My Race for the Cure Experience

Volunteers from the Ford booth.

 Good Morning Beautiful, New World,

What a wonderful day I had, yesterday! I want to start off with the Race for the Cure that I participated in, yesterday. First off, I want to state that I have been participating in this race since 2003 or 2004. It was some odd years ago, and each year, I have enjoyed it. This year was especially meaningful to me. The reason I state this is because this was the first year I took the step into photography. In every inch and turn, me and my Nikon was there. The race was so beautiful. To see so many volunteers, the sea of pink shirts, men and women, all supporting each other to eradicate one major cause. It was invigorating. 

Participants from the race.

Tired

Hey New World,
Extemely tired.

A Valuable Lesson

I was sitting down, looking at Maury, on television. Suddenly, a thought came into my mind. I realized that I needed to go to the Apple Store, to get the Apple Care insurance for my IPad. Once that thought came into mind, I knew I had to tell my readers this story.

This happened in either February or March, of this year. I don't quite remember the date. I started to search online for wireless tethering for a Nikon D7000. I was looking for a cheaper alternative to that Nikon WT 3a, I believe. It is a wireless transmitter for a Nikon DSLR. Well, the research paid off, sort of. I found an article online, by Lee Morris. I will add the link at the end of the post. He describes how to do wireless tethering using an iPad, DSLR, wifi card, and a wireless Internet connection. I thought to myself, "This seems simple......maybe, I will give it a try." 

The next day, I decide that my first purchase will be the iPad. Now,  before I go any further, it is important to state that, at times, I say the first thing that I am thinking of or about, and give no real thought. That is what happened this day. I go to Apple, with a very confused, I mean a duh face, type look. As soon as I did this, I think that this screams to the employees, "SUCKER!" A young man, approaches me and asked, "How may I help you?", and I let him know that I was looking for an iPad 2. Of course, sold out and no holding, once a shipment arrives. He shows me the 1st generation iPad, which I had no problem with because I did not see myself really using it. To me, at first, I thought of it as a larger iPod Touch. It was only to be used for photography, and what I wanted to accomplish, from the article. Of course, my opinion changed, once I bought it. Darn that Steve Jobs! So, he starts to tell me the benefits of the iPad, in conjunction with photography. Well, the first thought that comes out of my mouth is " So, will I be able to jailbreak this iPad?" and he looks at me very confused. "Excuse me?..........Do what?!" Nutty me, I repeat he question. He tells me that I should not say that out loud, and not to repeat it, because that is against Apple's policy. He hooked me up with a camera kit, for the iPad, which seemed easier, and left thinking, OMG! What did I just say?

After that, I realized a valuable lesson. Never, ever, evah, say the word jailbreak in an Apple or any store! :-)

L. Morris (How to directly tether your camera to an iPad)
http://fstoppers.com/iPad

Want to Become a Digital Artist? Join NAPP!

NAPP Editor's Choice 9/2010

Recently, I was asked by a young woman on how I developed my skills, in Photoshop. I told her that I had a friend of mine show me the basics of Photoshop, daily trial and error, and NAPP.

"NAPP?!.............What's NAPP?" I explained to her, at least the best way I knew how, that NAPP, which stands for National Association of Photoshop Professionals, is an online community that is dedicated to helping designers, photographers, and just digital artist develop their skills to a high quality standard. When I state "high quality", I mean your work looks very professional, not something that you tried because you were bored. While I was explaining to her what NAPP was, I, then, decided to post this on my blog.

I will state that I LOVE NAPP! This group of individuals are the best instructors a person could ask for. The classes are not a history lesson on tools and layers. They talk to you, like you would talk to a person showing them how to perform a technique. Honestly, I totally get that! Also, I can not express the excitement I had at the conference. NAPP holds a bi annual conference called "Photoshop World". One is held in Orlando, FL. and the other is held in Las Vegas, NV. I attended the conference in Orlando 2010, and I wanted to pass out from total joy. The instructors were very down to earth. I found that if you approach any of the instructors, it was not like you are talking to a resume, but to a real person.  I was able to meet one of the instructors that I look up to, David Cuerdon.  He was a very cool guy, that is willing to show you some of his best techniques. I felt tens times better when I won a GA Rockstar template set from him. Yeah, I know, nerd is the term to call me!

Also, NAPP offers product reviews, books, monthly magazines, and such great support. To this day, I am so thankful that NAPP has an excellent customer service rep, Sally Snelling, that is really interested in a person's success.

So.............in a nutshell, you have got to check these people out!
THEY ARE THE GREATEST!

NAPP website: http://www.photoshopuser.com/
David Cuerdon website: http://cuerdon.com/blog/
Tracy Berry portfolio: http://www.photoshopuser.com/members/portfolios/view/gallery/1266389