Nov
13

Won me over [Long Beach Maternity Photographer]

I met Nick and Riki through email and we chatted a little about what they were looking for, locations, clothing and Goya.  Goya is their first child…their cute little dog.  Nick promised Goya would win me over with his “undertooths” if I would let him be in their photo session. 🙂

Goya has won you over too…right!?  Goya will be a big brother in the next few weeks.  As you can see, he’s excited!

I’m so excited for this little family as they enter the next stage of life.  Masani will be a lucky boy to be welcomed into their lives.

We had so much fun tromping through the forest and picking out all the spots with beautiful light.  I was lucky enough to have a couple as beautiful on the outside as they are on the inside.  Not to mention ferosh…hello Riki!!

I love love love the images coming out of this photo session…can’t wait to go through the rest of them!!

-Kristin

Nov
12

Field Trip [Personal Musings]

The last time my mom was out she mentioned that she lived in Los Feliz for a few years as a kid.  So, on a whim we drove through LA searching for her old house…based on her memory alone!!!  And we found it.  That’s the amazing thing…after 50 years a mind can remember things like how to get to your house.

It was huge too!  I was like, mom, you forgot to tell me you lived in a MANSION!  She told me the house was all white when she lived there many years ago.

This was the side of the house where my mom and her sister used to build forts and play underneath all that ivy.

My mom said back in the day, her mom hired an interior decorator and the entire living area was done in white.  They even had a white baby grand piano.  Talk about Hollywood Regency.  I would have given my right arm to be there to see it.  I would have done the same to see it now, but these bars sort of got in the way. 🙂

We ended our field trip at Home in Los Feliz.  This restaurant is fantastic and was featured last night on America’s Next Top Model!

A little self portrait with my mom!

Now back to business…I’ve got tons of editing to catch up on and a photo shoot this afternoon!  Take a minute to check out my latest write up for Tiny Oranges.  It’s all about how to take your best family picture…click here to read more!

Have a great day!

Kristin

Nov
09

Close Up [Long Beach Children’s Photographer]

I love a good close up.  In fact, I try to make sure to nail an awesome close up for every photo session I do.  There’s just something about seeing all the little details that we fall in love with every day.  As one mom told me recently…I feel like he’s just looking straight at me in this picture.

So…the other afternoon as I was chasing the last bits of sunset at Rancho, I caught a few close ups to share with you.

I can’t wait to go back for all the little benches and architecture…

Tomorrow marks the start of two solid weeks with photo sessions every day!  I can’t wait to share with you all the fun places I’ll go and the famililes I’ll meet!

-Kristin

Nov
04

Rascals to Rebels [Orange County Children’s Boutique Photography]

Way back in September when I had my last event at Rascals to Rebels, I got so busy I didn’t get a chance to really share the results.  Now that I’m gearing up for my next event there this month, I thought I’d go back and share a few favorites…

And this one just made me smile!  I love funny expressions like this one…

And woohoo because it’s almost Friday!!

-Kristin

Nov
03

In Action [Long Beach Newborn Photographer]

I guess I don’t give a whole lot of thought to how I look when I’m in the middle of a photo session.  I’m thinking about getting the best possible picture for you.  If it means I lay on the ground, scrunch up or get in some other awkward position…so be it.

BUT…I’ve never seen a picture of myself doing what I do.  All that changed when my friend Sam brought me pictures of ME photographing her daughter Carlee.

To answer a few questions…I’m using a canon 5D with the 50mm 1.2 lens…yes I have the world’s worst scanner (she gave these to me as prints), I’m shooting in the studio- which has amazing natural light…I use a bean bag with fabric draped over…and yes I look awkward all hunched over, eye squinting, etc.  BUT isn’t the result sooo worth it!?

Here’s the other one…

Again, sorry for the terrible picture quality (stupid scanner!)  I’m using the same camera body and lens, but this time Carlee is in a basket that I found at a barn sale for $1.  And I love using it with a textured blanket.  The gorgeous top view looks like this…

But I think the actual picture I was taking in the photo Sam took of me is this one…look at the way her hand is over her face.  So sweet.

So, what’s the point of this whole post???  I’m so glad I have clients that trust me…they’ve seen my work and they come back.  Even if I look a little strange and contorted, they know the end result. 🙂

-Kristin

Nov
01

Before and After [Orange County Children’s Photographer]

I don’t talk a lot on the blog about post-processing, but it’s a pretty big part of my job.  So much of a photographer’s style is defined by photoshop.  It goes without saying that you have to start with a good picture…but the picture goes from good to *take your breath away* after the shutter clicks.

In the beginning of this journey I went a little photoshop crazy…trying a bit of this and a bit of that until I landed on a style that is uniquely me.  I want the photos I take to look like the best version of you.  I don’t want you to look at the image and say “what did you do to me?”

The camera can be harsh, so again…I want to use angles and lighting to take the most flattering picture I can, then *enhance* it in photoshop.

To illustrate what I’m talking about, I have a few before and afters.  This picture was taken as a RAW image, then in Adobe Camera Raw, I simply made a few adjustments in color and clarity.  Done.  Sometimes an image doesn’t need a lot.  Sometimes adding more would ruin it. (By the way SOOC stands for straight out of the camera.)

50mm  f/1.4   1/1000s  ISO 200

Next we’ll talk about actions.  Actions are a series of adjustments made in photoshop, then recorded, so they can be done again and again.  An action makes a photographer’s job much much easier!  The trouble with actions is that they aren’t a one size fits all solution.  Many times photographers will ask me, “what action do you use?”…as if this is the magic bullet to a beautiful image.

I wish this were the case, but just as a good cook seasons a meal according to taste, a good photographer alters an image to taste.  After seeing an image, I know the direction I want to take it…sometimes it’s staying true to the original, other times I want to give it a different feel.  Hence…the actions.

One of my favorite actions is the soft color pop by Nichole Van.  It must be used sparingly…and personally, I only like it on children…but it makes skin clearer, *pops* the color and warms things up a bit.

24-70mm  f/2.8  1/250s  ISO 800

I like this action because it’s not a press the button and be done kind of thing.  Each adjustment has a layer, so the possibilities are endless.  This is where being an artist comes in…the photographer gets to decide how to use the color, where to make things darker and lighter, etc.  A truly unique result every time.

Another favorite series of actions are the Totally Rad Actions by the Boutwells.  I prefer these actions for adults because the results can be pretty dramatic.  Again, each action has a series of layers, so the photographer can make each picture unique to them.  They can be applied over each other for endless results.  For this image, I wanted a fairy-tale kind of feel, so I used Get Faded (Autumn) 52%, , Dirty Loving Texture 100% and Cinnamon Toast 44%.  After that I used the burn tool at 30% opacity to darken the edges.  Again, a more dramatic result, which I prefer for adults instead of children.

24-70mm  f/2.8  1/400s  ISO 320

So…after working with actions over the past few years, I’ve started to play around with taking them apart…seeing how they work.  Many actions use a Channel Mixer, which affects the color of the image.  The three primary colors (red, green and blue) each have a slider, so you can completely change the look of the image…a little or a lot.

For this newborn image, I wanted a soft look with richer colors, so I used the Channel Mixer to create my own look.

50mm  f/3.5  1/160s  ISO 800

Well, this gives you a glimpse into my world!  I am still just scratching the surface of the world of color and post-processing, but hopefully it was helpful…even if just to one person.

-Kristin

Oct
31

Baby Carson [Orange County Newborn Photographer]

Yesterday was one of my most favorite newborn sessions with a baby that isn’t even technically a newborn…at least in my world. 🙂  Carson is at the wise old age of almost 2 months (I normally see babies within the first 2 weeks) and he still curled up perfectly, smiled on cue, promptly fell asleep and took a million gorgeous pictures!

I also love the pictures he took with his mommy and daddy.  They have me swooning!

And you gotta love a baby that knows kung-fu….this picture has me smiling.

I literally could post the entire session on my blog…because this family only knows how to take amazing pictures!

-Kristin

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© Kristin Eldridge 2023 | Orange County Newborn Photographer | Long Beach Baby Photographer

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