Augusta Half Marathon - Augusta Georgia Sports Photographer

Congratulations to everyone who finished the Augusta Half Marathon this week!! I helped shoot the event and really enjoyed seeing everyone running the course. A few people were dressed in their Halloween costumes instead of running clothes!! I couldn't believe their costumes were still in tact by the time they got to me at the lake....mile 9.

Here's one picture I took close to the finish line on Broad Street after my lake "shift" was done. Doesn't that smile on her face make you think she's at the start of the race instead of near the finish? Maybe she was just really, really happy that she could see the end in sight!


The first runner...a guy from Life University I believe...ran past my camera before the sun came up! Lucky for me, everyone else was quite a distance behind him because the rising sun really helped make for prettier pictures of the lake in the background.

This was the first time I contracted as an event photographer, and it was a lot different than shooting a specific team or individual. It's hard for me to just stay in one place the entire time, and it's a tad bit sad to not be able to follow the same people throughout the event :( But I still enjoyed it regardless!

All the photographers' pictures are due today, so it will probably take a couple more days for the company to put up the images on their website. If you don't still have the link, shoot me an email and I'll send it to you.

Congratulations everyone!!!

9 Month Milestone - Augusta, Ga First Year Baby Photographer

First year baby plans are amazing. My camera gets to watch babies turn into toddlers...and it has been there to document each of the milestones for this sweet little kiddo. I can't believe he's 9 months old already!!


He came to the session wearing the coolest little boots, and boy was he ready to put some miles on them! At one point during the session, he turned and tried to take a step forward, but it didn't work out very well and he ended up with a boo boo :( But he's tough....within a couple minutes, he was laughing and smiling as if he had never had a mishap.

I personally think he was just trying to put on a good show for the camera. He loves my camera and my camera sure loves him right back!




In the past 9 months, I've really enjoyed getting to watch him change...I'll be so excited when he turns one, but it will also be bittersweet because my camera has grown quite fond of him. So for the next 3 months, I'm going to be in denial that he's growing so old.

Oh, and by the way...I'm SO JEALOUS...I sooooo want a picture like this of me and my hubby and our kiddos walking in between us. Enjoy!!

Christmas Mini Sessions - Augusta Georgia Child Photographer

Scribbletime has Christmas mini-sessions available November 6, 2010!! Our Santa mini is beyond just an ordinary Santa picture...your child gets to hang out chatting with Santa while Scribbletime captures those interactive moments. (more about Santa later in this post....) Other than these Christmas sessions and 1st year plans, I will not be scheduling any new sessions for the rest of the year. So, book your mini-session now!




SANTA MINI-SESSION: $125.00

A mini session with Santa captures your child(ren) interacting with Santa! Your child(ren) will get to spend a couple minutes telling Santa what they want for Christmas, and then we'll get a variety of fun shots with Santa for the rest of the mini-session. The Santa mini-sessions will be shot at an outdoor location (I'll send you the exact location address after your session is booked), and Sunday November 7 is the designated "rain date" in case of bad weather. A number of digital images from the session are included in the session price with reprint permission for your Christmas cards. 4x8" card templates are available if ordering through Scribbletime. Your images will be loaded into a password protected gallery, ready to download onto your computer by November 17, 2010.

Reserve your appointment time by contacting sharon@scribbletime.com

• 20 minute session
  
• Appointments available the afternoon of November 6, 2010
• 2:00, 2:20, 2:40, 3:00, 3:20, 3:40, 4:00, 4:20, 4:40
• Kids & Santa only...add $25.00 for each adult who wants to be included in the pictures
  
• 10 full resolution digital images from the session with reprint permission included
• A portion of profits will be donated to one of Santa's favorite charities in his name!!

FAMILY MINI-SESSION: $100.00

If you're wanting to include just family pictures in your Christmas cards, then this mini is designed with you in mind. The family mini-sessions will be shot at an outdoor location (you'll receive the exact location after the session is scheduled) and will be rescheduled either November 8, 9, or 10 in case it rains at the time of your session. A number of digital images from the session are included in the session price with reprint permission for your Christmas cards. 4x8" card templates are available if ordering through Scribbletime. Reserve your appointment time by contacting sharon@scribbletime.com

• 15 minute session
• Appointments available the morning of November 6, 2010
• Up to 4 family members (add $25.00 for each additional person)
• 8 full resolution digital images from the session with reprint permission included

ABOUT SANTA:

I met Santa last year through a "Breakfast with Santa" event, and I was amazed by him. Everything about him is authentic, including his accent. I won't reveal what his "real" name is, but it's very similar to "Ol St. Nick". He was meant to be Santa from birth, although I believe he's from Denmark instead of what is now Turkey (which is where the actual St. Nicholas was born). Regardless, he has a real Santa Claus accent...which is just music to my ears every time I hear him speak.

He is a United States military veteran (who knew?!!!) and he volunteers his time in the community serving veterans, children and senior citizens at every opportunity. In fact, he insists on not being paid for his participation with these Santa mini-session pictures...Scribbletime will instead make a donation in his name to one of the charity organizations he supports. His wife, Mrs. Claus (of course), is as sweet as he his, and I got to meet her last year when the two of them got together for some headshots.




I was excited to do his headshots because of course he was going to need some kiddos in the pictures too (Santa pictures are so much more fun with KIDS in them). Sooooooo, I was happy to bring along my two kiddos for their very own Santa session. Boy were they surprised to see Mr. and Mrs. Claus, especially my little baby girl...who cried!! But I was able to get some sweet shots of her pulling his beard even though she wasn't a big Santa fan! Here are some shots from Santa's official headshot session...

Pumpkin Patch Sessions - Augusta, Georgia Child Photographer

After taking my little bumble bee and her Tootsie Roll friend to the pumpkin patch, I'm just dying to do an "itty bitty" pumpkin patch mini.

If your little munchkin wants to dress up and have a few minutes of fun at a pumpkin patch, then let's talk! Right now I don't have time to schedule a bunch of pumpkin patch mini sessions, but I can squeeze an "itty bitty mini" into my schedule. If I would have known these pictures were so much fun, I would have arranged with a pumpkin patch to do some sessions....but watch out next year!!

Expecting #2 - Augusta, Georgia Maternity Photographer

Maternity sessions are really growing on me! A little while back I had the pleasure of shooting another maternity session and now I'm a huge fan of them. The thought never crossed my mind to do a maternity session during my two pregnancies, so I'm seriously considering it for #3.

And I'm loving this storyboard! It includes everyone in the family, but still allows the main focus to be on mommy and her baby bump.

This is a such great way to display multiple images from the session, and a storyboard creation is included with each session at no extra charge.

Comparisons -Augusta Ga Family Photographer

My editing software has been giving me fits for the past 2 weeks, but I think I've finally got the problem solved! This problem got me to thinking about how much of a difference there is a between pictures that are straight out of the camera and unedited versus images that have had some post-processing love poured into them. Of course, the goal is to get the image perfect in camera, but regardless of how nice the original image may be, even a little bit of post-processing can transform a nice image into a work of art.

If you're like most people, you probably don't even realize how much better your pictures could be with a little bit of post processing love. So, I'm going to show you a SOOC shot (a picture that was untouched straight out of the camera) and the same image with some post-processing love. These edits are my own formulas...I've created these editing actions myself so they are truly custom.

Please leave me some feedback about what you think!



Images can be converted into Black & White easily either in camera or with photo editing software. But what you may not realize is that taking the easy AUTO conversion way means missing out on significantly improving the image yet again.

Below, I took the post-processed image and changed it to Black & White using the AUTO presets in my software, without any further changes. In the bottom picture, I custom created the Black & White image. And finally, look at the poor little original picture on the right...I used AUTO Black & White. It's the subtle custom processing that transforms images into something you just can't take your eyes off.

You would never realize how much better the original picture could be without looking at these comparisons.