A.  I’m not a photoshop guru.  My philosophy in editing is that there’s more than one way to skin a cat.  I am self-taught, so just because I do it this way, doesn’t mean it’s the RIGHT way.

B.  There’s no substitute for good light.  You want to light your subject’s face with clean indirect light.  If it looks great to start, it’ll look amazing with a few tweaks.  But, you never want to try to ‘fix’ a photo.

Here’s the secret…the dodge tool.  The tool can be found in your tool palette and it looks like a lollipop!  At the top of your toolbar, select the midtones in the range option and set the opacity to 30%.  I dodge once or twice right in the middle of the eye.  Don’t over-do it, you can get an ‘alien look’ very quickly.  Play around with the settings for different eye colors.

First off, we headed to Lowes to purchase pine.  Lots and lots of 1×4 pine boards.  After hauling all that wood home, we started distressing.  I’m talking everything from kitchen utensils to an ax.  Brent set up a little work station for us in the backyard and we lined up all the wood for staining.  This process took quite a bit of time and about 5 cans of stain.  I mixed some of the colors and tried to apply them un-evenly so they would have a worn look.

Here’s where the contractor comes in…he and Brent cut the boards into various sizes and then he nailed them to the wall with a nail gun.  He used some spacers so that some of the pieces would be lifted and create a less-than-perfect look, which is what we were going for.

We also decided to have him wire some sconces on each side.  I went with this sconce from Lowe’s and left off the light shade for a more industrial look.  Later, we installed wire baskets to the wall for night stands.  I ended up changing out my pillows to these kilim ones and made the graphic black and white pillow for contrast.  Oh and the black and white photos are a mix of old photos and instagram photos attached with washi tape.

//photography by Kristin Eldridge in Long Beach

Pssst.  Can I let you in on a little secret?  I love scouting for photo shoot locations/the best spots in Long Beach.  I’ll be driving around pretty much anywhere in Los Angeles, see something awesome, and slam on the brakes (slash) quickly pull over to document the details.

This park in Long Beach (technically it’s Lakewood) has been a favorite for awhile.  And in the past, I’ve been a little secretive about my locations because I work really hard to find some of them.  But, honestly, I’m not the child photographer that keeps going back to the same spot over and over.  I get bored.  I like to switch things up!  So, while I’ll still hold some locations as ‘new’ for my clients (because I believe that’s part of why you hire me), I wanted to start sharing a few spots that I think would be fun for those of you that are looking for new photo shoot locations.

Monte Verde Park

If you’re in Los Angeles or Orange County, consider booking a photo session this spring or summer.  It’s my favorite time to shoot in Southern California…everything is green and the weather is perfect!

Here’s the link to the Modern Parents Messy Kids post.  I hope you’ll check it out!

In other news…last week was eventful!!  We have a new family member.  Her name is Pippa.  This was the kids’ reaction when she came.  *camera blurrrrr*

The other night I got home from a photo session and Brent was leaving to hang out with friends.  The kids and I decided to go out for a burger and shakes!  We took a moment for a selfie with the CameraTimer app on my iPhone.

The other day we were at the dentist office and Cooper brought me a magazine and pointed out a recipe he thought we should try.  It’s not often that my 10 year makes recipe suggestions, so we made it last weekend.  It was delicious!  I tweaked the recipe a little and of course photographed it before we devoured it, so I’ll be sharing it soon on the blog.

On Sunday we were at the Galaxy game and they were kind enough to let the kids be in the high-five line before the game!

Brent and I waiting to see them down on the field.  Oh and I really like Brent in his glasses, so I made this my new FB profile pic.

Annnd I worked a lot too.  I’m shooting a catalog for Little Skye right now. (yay!)  My friend Laura took this behind the scenes shot for me.

I hope this week is off to a good start for everyone!  Happy Hump Day!

//child photos from a recent Long Beach photo session

I got to thinking that leather straps would be so cute, so I picked up an old leather belt for $3 at the flea market.  Just cut off the buckle and then cut the whole thing in half.  Make sure you get a belt that is both long enough and wide enough.  The whole for the belt buckle bothered me, so I trimmed it down a little so they wouldn’t show.

Next I picked up a $5 canvas bag at Joann’s Fabric in white.  It was a little too stark white for my taste, so I soaked it in tea bags for an hour, so the color was slightly off white.

Next I filled the sink with hot water and some magenta RIT dye.  I did a quick dunk about 3/4 of the way up, then I started dipping it for longer and longer as I got toward the bottom.  The whole process takes about 5 minutes and there’s really no ‘right’ way to do it.  After I was done, I gave the canvas a quick rinse and hung it to dry.

I cut off the top part of the bag and made a new hem to attach the leather handles.

The leather isn’t too thick, so I was able to sew it on to the bag with a denim needle.  It’s attached by two seams and it’s holding up just fine!

I’m ready for spring with my new dip dyed tote!

I’ve attached a pom-pom for a little fun, but how cute would this be with a patterned silk scarf tied at the top?!

Here are the details…$100 for a 20 minute photo session, plus special digital pricing (email for details)

Sunday May 5  //  5:40, 6:00, 6:20, 6:40pm
Monday May 6  //  9:00, 9:20, 9:40, 10:00am

Location:  Sunday at a local park in Huntington Beach, Monday at El Dorado in Long Beach