Radlab is seriously RAD | Pittsburgh Photographer Lightroom Photoshop Workflow

Read more about the article Radlab is seriously RAD | Pittsburgh Photographer Lightroom Photoshop Workflow

I prefer a clean, crisp style to my portraits, and that is why I invest in the finest L-series lenses, a professional camera body, and shoot RAW.  I carefully calibrate white balance and have master strategies for focusing.  That is all very important, but also important is editing.  Some photographers add colorful filters and "deep fry" their photos, but I like to add more subtle changes and enhance what I did in camera rather than covering up my custom style produced by my lenses and lighting. My #1 all-time favorite editing tool is is Radlab.  This was originally a series of Lightroom filters that I used, but I didn't love them then because you couldn't adjust the strength of the filters, and it always felt like it was too much going on for my clean style.  Then it was a Photoshop plugin, which was GREAT, but it required transferring photos from Lightroom to Photoshop, which is just one more step in the editing process.  Now they have made it so that you can open up Radlab right from Lightroom, which is excellent in the most extreme way!!!  You can adjust photos slightly or a lot, and it gives them a really custom look, which I love!  They keep it updated with new effects, and it just always works--no crashing or other problems. I also recently put 16 GB of ram on my iMac, and it is THE BEST.  I can't believe I didn't do this a long time ago.  It cost around $100 and saves me at least 10-15 minutes of editing time (waiting for my hundreds of 25 mb photos to transfer, etc) from each session.  YES. Here is an example of what Radlab looks like editing a casual photo I took of my little precious Mimi girl: I adjusted for exposure and temperature in Lightroom and then opened it in Radlab.  I have a bunch of saved recipes from prior shoots that I tried out first, picked one, and just adjusted it slightly.  This only took a few minutes because, let's be honest, Meemers is gonna look amazing and adorable no matter what I do to this photo, heehee :)  Anyway, Radlab then transferred it back to Lightroom for me in a matter of seconds!  I removed the applesauce spill on her onesie, aaaaaaand we're done! Before/After: It's just enough, am I right?? Try not to be distracted by those adorable dimples and sassy leopard pants. I still use Photoshop a lot, but I save it for more involved projects like removing stretch marks from mamas-to-be (this is an almost-universal problem btw!) and removing people or cars from a busy background, or of course design projects like my new logo that I am now using!  Questions about Radlab and how I use it?  Leave a comment, I love to share! *** Are you looking for a maternity or newborn baby photographer?  Powder Blue Photography offers in-home and in-studio portraits of newborn babies and on-location or in-home maternity portraits…

Mt. Lebanon Family Photographer | Graybill Family

Read more about the article Mt. Lebanon Family Photographer | Graybill Family

It's spring!  (Right???)  This is my first spring in Pittsburgh and I am surprised at how the weather changes from one day to the next.  We have had freezing temps, snow, thunderstorms, and sunny/70's in the last few weeks.  I have clothing for all seasons in my drawers and closets, and I'm running out of room! Is this typical for Pittsburgh springtime? My goal for the Graybill portrait was a shiny happy springtime portrait, but although we got a lovely sunny day, it was COLD!  These guys are troopers and let me put baby Delaney in a pretty spring dress without a sweater for a nanosecond to capture a cute shot of her. My favorite portraits of this day involved a piano and chickens! Love these pics, thanks Katie :) *** Are you looking for a family, maternity, or newborn baby photographer?  Powder Blue Photography offers in-home and in-studio portraits of newborn babies and on-location or in-home maternity and family portraits in and around the Pittsburgh South Hills and Mt. Lebanon.  Please contact Missy to schedule a maternity appointment and a tentative date for your newborn session.  Maternity sessions take place around 35 weeks (depending on mama's stature), and newborn sessions take place in the first 10 days of life.  Family sessions take place anytime!

Working with Toddlers | Mt. Lebanon Pittsburgh Child Photographer

Toddlers are fun, aren't they?  They are learning to talk to us, learning to relate to others, and learning how to be a person in this big world.  Sometimes that learning process presents them with stumbling blocks and frustrations, and they don't always handle it the way we would like them to.  I hear from moms sometimes that they have been putting off professional photos because they have a child who is "uncooperative" or "difficult."  I have a few things to say to that... Aren't all toddlers difficult on some level?  My son Jonah is 2 1/2, and though he is generally very sweet, he is still two and he has ideas about the way things should be!  He really vents his frustrations when it's just the two of us because I think he is testing boundaries and seeing how I will react to his behavior.  I think a lot of toddlers save the biggest meltdowns for mom and are usually more intrigued and focused when around someone they don't know as well. Next, your own difficulty getting good photos is precisely the reason you hire a professional to do your child's portraits.  I have photographed children many, many times and have strategies for avoiding the blurry, back-of head shots that you may have grown accustomed to seeing of your child.  My main strategy is to connect with your child and engage him or her in play, and that way we can get some genuine expressive portraits, and your child will feel relaxed.  I have also found that by designing our shoot around your children's happiest time of the day, when they are well-rested and fed, we can usually avoid any potential problems. Lastly, if it REALLY is not a great day for your child, and despite my best efforts, he or she refuses to come out from under a table (this happened to me one time!), we will pick another day and reshoot.  I stand behind and guarantee my work! How do you keep your toddler happy?  Share your strategies with me in the comments! *** Are you looking for a family, maternity, or newborn baby photographer?  Powder Blue Photography offers in-home and in-studio portraits of newborn babies and on-location or in-home maternity and family portraits in and around the Pittsburgh South Hills and Mt. Lebanon.  Please contact Missy to schedule a maternity appointment and a tentative date for your newborn session.  Maternity sessions take place around 35 weeks (depending on mama's stature), and newborn sessions take place in the first 10 days of life.  Family sessions take place anytime!