Alaska Beach Wedding... Mark and Debbie

I LOVED this BRIDE.... Blue Dress, Beach Wedding, Shoes that OOOOZE French Royalty...







Her Moms Love Birds on a Sandy Beach Carrot Cake with Cinnamon Buttercream Frosting....mmmmmmmmm... 

Perfect SMILE and Lose 10 LBS!!! What every PHOTOGRAPHER AND PHOTOGRAPHEE should KNOW!

This post is about to save you hundreds of dollars in therapy..... :)

We all want our photographers to make magic with our pictures.... AND as a PHOTOGRAPHER- I DO create magic!!!! BUT learning to POSE well and SMILE well makes a BIG difference...
GET READY..... You will use these SIMPLE tips for the REST Of you LIFE in every photo taken of you or BY you!!!!!

Here is an example of a BEAUTIFUL (and Patient) MODEL!!!!

This first photo is a face forward standing shot..... 

This is a thin marathon running model, and even being in great shape- facing complete forward to your photographer is NEVER the most flattering pose... what's more is, as women we usually push our hips slightly forward (probably used to balancing things we carry on our hips... kids, groceries, handbags, etc) so it NATURALLY makes our thighs appear larger than they are!!! FREAL.

This second shot is an example of what I would TELL you to do SORT OF!!! I would say "Turn so you are 3/4 facing the camera." and as a girl.... you would NATURALLY lean on one foot.... (stand up and see for yourself... we all lean) THE PROBLEM:
When you lean on the HIP closest to the camera- whatever is NEAREST to the camera APPEARS larger!!!! (aka chubbier!) ALSO, when leaning TOWARDS the camera- your tummy pushes out instead of IN!!!! (below left)

Now...............SEE what a difference it makes when ALL you do is LEAN ON THE HIP AWAY from the camera!!!!!!!!!  Compare the two poses SIDE by SIDE and see HER (seemingly) LOSE 10 LBS before your eyes! (below)


Now...............SEE what a difference it makes when ALL you do is LEAN ON THE HIP AWAY from the camera!!!!!!!!!  









NOW, to tackle the perfect sit and smile! Here are some examples USING The same tips we just did about the 3/4 turn and also to show that when you sit, DO NOT SLOUCH, DO NOT squish your arms close to your body!!!!



AND finally.... a picture that shows HOW to keep your SMILE fresh!  You've all seen it or done it... had a FLAT TIRE smile! You know--- where you smile and ever slowly your muscles get tired and keeping those LIPS fresh and cheery feels like you're dragging a parachute through tar......

WHILE your photographer calibrates... OR PHOTOGRAPHERS while YOU calibrate.... Have the PHOTOGRAPHEE close thier eyes, stretch their mouths (with kids I say "MAKE a FISH Face!")

This is a picture of what it looks like:
I know it looks silly- but this is a full face muscle stretcher and I usually count down "Three, two, one... Go!" and when their eyes open and smile appears- it's FRESH FRESH FRESH!!!!

Karissa and Parker

I MAY be a little BIASED..... but these were one of my FAVORITE couples to photograph....

















Editing Process STEP BY STEP

This is my IMAGE SOOC..... right as she looked up at her Daddy I got the pic!

Soooo, after a BASIC crop, I adjusted Color Curves lightening the MIDTONES, used the spot healer to hide the scratch on her nose, then SATURATED the colors by 10%, added 2% of warmth, and used the DODGE tool to lighten the dark circles under her eyes. FINALLY, I used the BLUR tool to smooth her skin slightly...( I'm a little ANTI- plastic skin and do my best to NOT over smooth skin)
I LOVE this color photograph, but my signature style is a VINTAGE COLOR Wash....












I LOVE LOVE LOVE this face and pic, and even with ALL the work done so far... it is still more of a PURIST photographers photo...... I Am also a photographer who LOVES LOVES LOVES the new dynamic that TEXTURE adds to a photo... SO here's the final image with a TEXTURE I call VANILLA LACE at 30% transparency.....
Happy Editing everyone!!!!!