Before and After

Many people don't know what a photographer does with images once they take them off of the camera, so I thought it would be fun to show some before and after photos!  A good photo should not need many corrections, however a few adjustments to the exposure, tone and crop(just to name a few) of a photo can take it from being a good photo to a great one that really pops!

I'll start with this one.  Cute, right? Mom and dad in the back, baby playing with leaves in the front.  I would totally want that picture of my family!  As much as I like the photo, it could be a little better.  

  

I am a natural light photographer for a reason.  I like to take photographs of people in a natural environment that really captures what is happening in the moment.  I want to create a moment and preserve memories, not alter them in my post process.  Therefore, I really try not to go over board with the editing.  Here is my final product:

It definitely stands out a bit more!  So, what did I do(don't worry, I won't get too technical)?  First, I bumped up the exposure just a tad.  A slightly brighter picture makes colors stand out a little better, especially since I took these photos on a very cloudy day.  Next, I up'd the contrast a bit to make the darks slightly darker and the brights slightly brighter in a way that they continue to compliment each other.  Then, I went down to the split toning section(this section can change the tone of the colors and completely change the color scheme of a photo) and adjusted the tone of the photo.  In the first photo, the greens aren't as green, the reds aren't as red and the oranges aren't as orange as they were in the actual moment(thank you clouds!) so I chose a setting that brought some of the life back to the fall colors that we are looking for.  Once I get that right, I added a little vignetting to edge of the photo, which really draws the eye to center/subject of the photograph.  And voila!

When I'm editing a big batch of photos from the same shoot and I find a look that I like, I can easily create a preset and apply the same adjustments to other photos that I am working on.  I can't always just add the preset and go, different photos will require slightly different adjustments, however it helps to speed my editing process and well as create a uniform look to the set of photos.

Here are a few more, just for fun!

Before

After

Before

After

Subtle, yet very effective adjustments, in my biased opinion : )  It is my plan to show before and after pictures at least once a month, so I hope you all enjoyed.  Let me know what you think!

Birth Photography - My sweet nephew

I first witnessed a birth when my nephew, Cameron, was born and I will never forget the beauty of the moments that I was a part of in that hospital room.  While, I did not have a camera in hand that day, looking back, I really wish I had.  From that moment on, I have always wanted to photograph a birth, but never really pursued it.  I think that I was was a little intimated by the idea of having so much responsibility for such an important event in the lives of new parents!

It was not until this past September when my sister asked me to be in the room for the birth of my second nephew, Gavin, that I was able to bring my camera into labor and delivery.  I will admit, that I was very emotional from watching the incredible strength of my sister, there were a few times that I forgot I was supposed to be taking pictures - we are family, after all!

Of course, the birth of a child is a very private moment, therefore I am only showing a few of the pictures that I took, with the permission of my sister, of course.  I didn't want to do a lot of editing to the pictures as I wanted the details and the essence of the moment to really speak for it'self.

I took all of the pictures from that day and added them to a slide show for my sister and had it play to a song that reminded me of her and her family.  I absolutely love that I was able to create something that she will be able to cherish and always have to remember her incredible moment. 

 I hope to continue to give moments like these back to families in the future.

Last,but not least, Gavin and I <3

Tips for your next Family Photo Session

Are you gearing up for a family photo shoot and wondering how you can prepare?  As a busy mother of two little ones, I can appreciate the need to have all of your ducks in a row and feeling totally ready for a busy day.  Family photos are such an important keepsake and I'm here to give you a few tips on how to make your experience as successful as possible!

1.) Make sure everyone is dressed comfortably - be sure to check the weather!  That new dress you just bought may look great on, but if you are focused on how cold you are, chances are your photos won't come out as you expected.  The same goes for the rest of the family, we want everyone to be comfortable and relaxed.  I also wouldn't force the kiddos into outfits they protest against; the goal is smiles, not frowns and temper tantrums due to outfit choice!

2) Be sure the littles have time for naps before your session and have full bellies.  We all know that a tired, hungry child makes for difficult times.  Try to steer clear of colored juices and messy snacks that will stain smiles and fingers the day of our session- you don't want it showing up in your photos and you don't want to fuss over wiping faces right before things get started.

3) Bribery is definitely OK.  Typically, it's not a technique that parents should rely on, however you are paying good money and just need smiles for one hour, right??  I wouldn't recommend candy or treats during the session, but I think this is a good time to promise Ice Cream for dinner or even that toy they have been stalking in the aisle at Target.

4) Let the photographer be in control of the session.  Standing behind the photographer yelling "SAY CHEESE!" and telling everyone to look at the camera really isn't helping, I promise.  When you imagine your family photos, I'm sure you don't actually picture your family sitting with straight backs, cheesy smiles and starting dead into the camera.  The best moments are when a photographer catches your family being candid and interacting with each other.  So don't be afraid to talk, laugh, hug our little ones and kiss your significant other - those are ultimately the moments you will want to remember and are thankful to have caught on camera.

5) Last, but not least.  RELAX.  If your oldest child won't stop running around, if the baby won't stop drooling and the dog won't sit still, that's OK.  That's OK because that chaos is your life and your life is beautiful.  Take this moment to fully enjoy your family and allow the photographer to capture the beautiful, crazy that makes your world go round!

Here we go!

Hello! Thanks for checking out my Blog!!  The main purpose of my blog will be to share my journey of getting my business up and running as well as my adventures as I take on photography as a professional and of course, my work itself!  Before I dive into all that, I wanted to take my first entry to introduce myself and tell you a little bit about how I got into photography - don't worry, I won't ramble on too long : )

Chances are if you're reading this, you already know me.  However, I am going to go with the off chance that I am going to attract new readers(hey, a girl can hope, right?) and begin by telling you that I am married to wonderfully supportive husband, we have two beautiful children and I run the most amazing little preschool around.

(It wouldn't be a photography blog without pictures, right?)

Photography is something that my Grandfather introduced to me when I was a teenager and he unfortunately passed away soon after.  His passing was a push for me to get into photography as it helped me feel close to him.  This led me to take a photography class in high school.  This was a really neat experience for me as I was able to use my Grandfathers manual Nikon SLR.

These are two of the pictures that I took with that very camera!  Not only were these taken with a manual slr, but I developed them by hand in a dark room(they were also uploaded with my i phone, so don't mind the quality).  Developing pictures in a dark room was something that I absolutely LOVED.  In another life with endless amounts of time and money, I would invest in my own dark room and enjoy the simplicity of a manual camera on a regular basis  : )

Soon after this, Mike, my husband, bought me my first digital SLR!  Surprisingly, I did no jump right in and get to work with it and I couldn't really tell you why.  It wasn't until I had my daughter, Savannah(Savvy for short) in 2009 that I really broke the camera out and got to work.  During my maternity leave with her, I invested in equipment- flash, backdrop, editing software, etc - and told myself that I was going to be a photographer.  Looking back, I'm actually really surprised by the amount of work that I had and how successful I was in my venture.  Unfortunately, I reached a point in my life, where life just got too busy and again, I stopped taking pictures.  I picked up the camera on and off again, but never really stuck with it, life just kept getting in the way!

Well, here I am today, and I'm saying that life isn't going to get in the way anymore.  I won't lie, my life is BUSY(what I wouldn't do for 8 day week!), but I need to make time for the things that are good for my soul.  The things that I do for pure joy; not because anyone is telling me to or because I feel like I have to do it for someone else.  Things that I do simply because I want to.  I just love having my camera in hand, finding the little moments that are often long forgotten, freezing smiles of pure joy forever in time and capturing memories that will last people a life time.  

This time around, I'm not going to let anything force me to put my camera down and I'm confident enough to make that commitment publicly(well,to the few, and hopefully growing audience that I have).  I am so excited with the direction that I am headed and the things that will be happening with Jessica Ray Photography and I cannot wait to share it!