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The House of Jones Girls – Arizona family photographer

Posted on February 23, 2010

Okay so I know that I showed off these beauties a few months ago but I went back to catch little Natilee’s 6 month pictures. This is the house of Jones girls. 4 girls and my good friend Cindy is the ring leading Mamma behind it all. She’s a saint, or at least has the patience of one. I just adore these girls and all of the silliness that goes on in this house. I wanted to show some images from my recent pop over session a few weeks ago. You can’t help but love everyone of these beautiful girls (by the way with 4 totally different personalities.

Here is Baby Natilee, probably one of the most beautiful babies I have ever seen…seriously.

Next Jones sister is the (born to be a traveling gypsy actress type) Jillian. She makes me laugh…a lot. Although here she just looks like a melt-your-heart-baby-girl.

This is what who I always refer to as “my favorite”. I love them all, it’s now just become a joke that Ellyce is my favorite.

Last but not least the oldest Jones, “the original” Aslynn. She’s a ham and I love her.

Shootout with Justine and the Crew – Phoenix Fashion Photographer

Posted on February 7, 2010

I am so behind on posting!!! A few weeks ago we had our first meeting for my photography group for 2010. Made up of some of my good friends and other gals in the photography community. It’s a supportive group of some really fun girls. I decided that for the first meeting of the year we would have a “shootout.” That is when you convince a model to stand in the freezing cold wind during a potential downpour and model for 3 hours, for free (for images). Justine was our model for the day and such a trouper. She did awesome! You may remember her from last year when I first worked with her. She is also my assistant. I love Justine.

Here are some of my shots from the day. Soon I will post some shots from later in the meeting. I set up a crazy booth (that name belongs to theimageisfound btw…but you all know what crazy booth is..) The ladies got a little nutty. I will make sure to throw some of those up later this week! For now enjoy these images on that moody, cloudy day we had a few weeks back. (Moody, makes color pop…love it).

Photoshoot Fundraiser for Haiti

Posted on January 27, 2010

This weekend I will be participating in a great fundraising event. “Photoshoot for Haiti” will raise money for the Red Cross and victims of the Haiti earthquake. Saturday in Chandler and Sunday in Glendale. This is a great opportunity to get a new headshot or portrait by some of Arizona’s best photographers! A bonus is that to top makeup and hair stylists will also be on hand to help.

$50 minimum donation will get you 5 edited web resolution files to use on Facebook or other networking sites. I encourage you to attend one of the events this weekend, get styled up and have your Photoshoot for Haiti. To spread the word on Facebook, you can find the fan page here.

Here are some images from websites all over the world on the devastation in Haiti. Here is a link to see more Faces of Haiti

If you are in need of a new headshot for your website or profile…this is perfect! So many talented photographers to choose from! I will be there SUNDAY in Glendale. Come see me, get your headshot taken. Anyone of my clients attending the findraiser will receive a $50 print credit in addition to your images!

You will receive 5 edited web resolution files for updating to your profile or website.

Please email me for any questions or to set up an appointment time. bridgettemarie@gmail.com

See you on SUNDAY!

Cooking with Steve Nash….sort of

Posted on January 26, 2010

Well not the REAL Steve Nash. But there was A Steve Nash in my house. My daughter’s first grade teacher is Suns Crazy and she has a gorilla named Steve Nash. Steve goes home every weekend with a different student. We had him over the holiday weekend. He was a very good house guest. Didn’t make a mess and I barely knew he was there. Although he was allowed to attend the girls only sleep over.

We are on a “make a different cookie every week” project currently. (Madi’s idea). So the weekend that Steve was here we made snickerdoodles. I have had sugar cookies before, but I really loved these. I have also included the recipe at the bottom for the awesome cookies.

Here are some shots from Steve helping us. He is quite a good helper although terrible at cleanup, as are my children.

Valentine Couples Session

Posted on January 14, 2010

It’s that time of year! When you know you want to do something special for your sweetheart but need it to be unique and memorable. I have put together two couples packages that are perfect for that special gift.

If purchased by Februaury 7th, 2010 you will receive a beautiful gift certificate to present  on Valentines Day.

I am doing a limited number of sessions this year so please contact me soon if you are interested.

For more information or to book your February Couples Session contact Bridgette at info@bridgettemarie.com or by phone at 480-254-1697

Photoshop lesson – High Pass Fashion with Totally Rad Actions

Posted on December 3, 2009

I get asked quite a bit to share some of my photoshop knowledge. I am happy to do so (I also teach lessons…hint hint) but for my fellow photogs, this is my new favorite fun thing.

Let me start by saying I have both sets of Totally Rad Actions and will be using actions from set 1 and 2. I know how popular they are, if you don’t have them…get them and then use them!

Working (and loving) High Pass Sharpen and Totally Rad Actions

I am working in CS3 today but I imagine that this applies to CS4 as well.

Here is the before and after of our shot today.

As you will see I shot Tanner with a little too much shadow. We are going to fix and save the shot.

First open up your image in photoshop…duh.

Then you are going to fix your shadows. For this I am going to use the YIN/YANG action from Totally RAD set 1

Run YIN (lighter) in the shadows at full opacity. Then back off the opacity slider until it  blends.

In this photo I also ran the YANG (darker) on his shirt to make it more rich and then backed off the opacity to 50%.

Note for ALL my brush applications I have a soft brush at 100% opacity and 25% flow. You will see that atop of some of these screen shots.

Next I need to clean up Tanner’s skin. I start with the patch tool. It looks like this ;

Select the blemishes and drag to a clean patch of skin. Fill in holes of facial hair. Only select slightly larger than the blemish and then drag. Stay away from light/dark contrast it will cause a blur of color.

Make sure that you are on “source” and that transparent is unchecked at the top menu or you will see no change.

Now we are going to work on his actual skin. Run the Pro-Retouch action from the Totally Rad set 1. Same thing, soft brush at the same settings. Work on his pores, under his eyes and forehead. For men, I will back this off just a touch so it’s not too soft. Stay away from contrast areas like folds of face. Go with the contour of the face and it will look more natural. I also stay away from the wiskers, they will look odd if they are too soft.

Let’s go one step further and clone under his eyes to work on that blueish skin tone. You will select your clone tool and set your brush in the 35% opacity and 35% flow. Select an area just under where you want to work on and then drag over the area to repair. You will find that working on a lower opacity and flow with the clone tool allows you more flexibility with skin. It’s a staple in my workflow.

Note: if you want more control, run a duplicate layer first so that you can play wit opacity when you are done.

Note the settings here.

Last you want to run your tone action. It can be any tone really, whatever fits the image. Today I am using LUX (hard) from the Totally RAD sat 2. (Did I mention how much I LOVE Totally rad actions!)

With a lot of my color tone actions, I drop the opacity about the layers palate until it looks good. I rarely leave it at full opacity.

Flatten Image.

Next I am going to run my high pass.

Make a duplicate layer (command +J for Mac and Control+J for PC I believe)

Then at your top menu Filter>Other>High Pass

You will want to play with your opacity. It’s a taste thing. The more you use it, the more you will learn how much you need. Make sure you are on that duplicate layer as you need to be able to work with the opacity of it.

Now I could leave it here and it has a cool effect. I want it richer and so I am going to turn to my Totally Rad Action set and run Oh, Snap!

Flatten duplicate layer.

Back off the opacity if you need, I left it at 100% here.

Flatten Image

For that last little lift, run Match Color luminance.

Top Menu find Adjustments>Match Color

Bump your slider to brighten, be careful not to blow out highlights! (This is one of my secrets to the “brightness” of my finished images)

There you are. Save and enjoy. Obviously you can apply this process to any kind of image.

For more information on Totally Rad Actions, visit their website here Get Totally Rad.

If you like me tips, leave a comment so I know to post more!

B

To be little again – San Diego Photographer

Posted on October 23, 2009

Ahhh…to be two again. This picture says so much. This is my good friend’s little girl. She spends most of her little life at the beach. This image captures the sweetness, determination and adorable nature of a two year old. Not much else to post beyond that, just wanted to give the day the “aaaaawwwwww” factor. You have to admire the determination, her tongue must give her more power. Here is little Ellie.

Headshot mini sessions!!!

Posted on October 19, 2009

This coming Friday from 9-5pm  and Saturday  from 10-2 pm, I will be offering headshot mini sessions. Those dates to be clear are October 23rd and 24th. You can have a 45 minute time slot and choose inside or outside session. My studio is downtown Phoenix and so there are plenty of great spots to get headshots!

These are perfect for your  acting headshots, facebook avatar, professional website or whatever else you need a great picture of your mug on!~

I am offering these mini sessions at a super low price of $125!! Stylist is available for an additional $75.00 should you need to look extra fabulous!

You will receive (5) high resolution images on disk and release to print. I only have about 5 slots open so please let me know asap if you are interested.

Email me at info@bridgettemarie.com  if you would like to schedule your session.

Blushing Bride-To-Be ~ Scottsdale Wedding Photographer

Posted on October 18, 2009

This beautiful bride-to-be is only a few weeks away from her California wedding. You may remember her from my engagement post a few weeks ago. Jennifer and Bryan will be married at the New Port Temple on November 7th. I am so excited and gearing up to make the trip for the wedding. I will certainly be posting images from their wedding!

She had her dress built up on top and it turned out so beautiful. In fact the dress was finished the same morning as our shoot. She loves the back of her dress and so I did make sure to focus some shots on the fall of the dress. Linda was there to style her beautiful. I am just in love with the details of her dress and the fall of the gather. Soooo pretty.What you can’t see in these shots are the massive amounts of mosquitoes that ate us up all day!

Oh yes and as promised, I tested out the tilt shift 45mm lense. It was sort of hit and miss as you can not really tell the exact turn out of the shot in camera. Once I unloaded the shots I did find a few I loved, and I ton that were less than great. I included one that I was really happy with. Enjoy.

Beautiful Belly Images I Scottsdale Maternity Photographer

Posted on September 28, 2009

Okay so I will warn you now…if you are pregnant…do not look. It is not normal to be this beautiful and 8 months pregnant.

You may recognize this beauty from my business card. When Brita asked me moths ago to do maternity pictures of her I was so excited. We met at the Wrigley Mansion today to capture her 8th month. I came home and couldn’t resist posting a few.  I am sure you are thinking..How beauitful can she be? Yeah…THAT beautiful. So here are some of my faves of the day.

This picture was taken in front of a black cloth wedged in a door so that it stayed up. Cheesecloth was bought on the way to the shoot. Love this…

OMG this is my favorite. I love this shot and this fabulous metallic blue couch I found there.

Seriously…stupid beautiful.

How cute is this shirt???

I know that the butterfly is so cliche’ for other photographers but I love it. I love the color and life of it. Just call me cliche’

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