Click-a-Pic Challenge #7 "Those Glossy 8x10s"

[shutterspeed]

CHALLENGE #7

As scrapbookers we use a lot of candid photos in our layouts, especially when recording events or moments. But there are times when we want something a little more special. A photo that captures the face of a loved one at just the right moment. A photo that illustrates in 2D the beauty before us. This week's challenge is to shoot a portrait!

Some Tips for shooting a great portrait:1.Choose a setting/location that has lots of natural ambient light (not direct sunlight). Taking portraits outside in well lit either in the morning or late afternoon when the sun isn't directly over head is best. Also shooting on an overcast day works very well, lots of diffused light. Or find a place in your home like a big picture window/french doors that allows lots of diffused light. (use fill flash only if absolutely necessary)

2.Pick a background that doesn't compete with the subject. Pick something simple. Place your subject a good distance from whatever background you choose.

3.Set you camera settings to “Portrait” mode...or for the more advanced photographer, set your camera to AV mode and set your apeture as wide as it will go to ensure that your background is completely out of focus, giving more attention to the subject.

4.Frame the subject so that you get a good head/shoulders shot. The object is to focus the sharpness on the face/features.

5.Set the mood. Is it gonna be a casual shoot? Formal? Funny? Whimsical? Interact with your subject(s) to create the mood.

6.Focus on the eyes. Try and get “catchlights” if you can. Those little bits of reflection that the eyes pick up. You want the eyes to be crisp, sharp & completely in focus. After all the eyes are the windows to the soul right?For an extra challenge?Using Photoshop to sharpen eyes can be super easy and add quite a dramatic result.
Here are the step by step instructions I use when sharpening eyes with portraits. (keep in mind that there are many different ways to do this, for video tutorials try youtube and search for photoshop tutorials)
(Assuming that the photo you want to edit is already open...)

1.Click Layer > New > Layer via copy (this gives you a duplicate layer)

2.With your new layer selected in the layers palette, take the lasso tool & trace around one of the eyes, avoid skin & lashes. It doesn't have to be perfect and you can always start over if you need to.

3.Click Filter > Sharpen > Smart Sharpen (a dialogue box will pop up) In the Amount % box type in 50. (actually that # can range anywhere from 35-75, just play around with it for your photo). In the Radius box 4.0 pixels should do it. Then click OK.

4.With the eye still selected, go up to Image > Adjustments > Brightness/Contrast. In the pop up box move the slider for Brightness anywhere from +10 to +20. For Contrast probably no more than +10.

5.Once you're done with that hold down Ctrl D to deselect.

6.For the 2nd eye repeat steps 2-5.

7.You can toggle the different layers to see the difference it made. Once you're done checking out your handy work hold down Ctrl E to merge the layers.

8.Do any more “enhancing” that you like and then save your work.
This method should work on any version of PS that allows layers.here is a simple example of the above "eye sharpening"
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3014/2369886900_de115f51d5.jpg

If you have any questions please feel free to post them or email me. I'm here to help.

You have from*Friday Aug 7th*to*Thursday Aug 13th*to shoot your photos for this theme. Please submit only photos taken during that time frame. Below are some examples to get the creative juices flowing. Good luck and I look forward to seeing everyones photos!

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3544/3629777406_d28c9fe726.jpg http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3619/3539259175_f71fe6fa22.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3020/2837322303_69cd592b9b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3397/3202979602_974974acc3.jpg

REMEMBER:
- You may post up to 2 photos per challenge.
- Post-processing and use of actions ARE ALLOWED.
- Photos must be taken by you during the challenge week.
- Photos must be posted in the *new* PHOTOGRAPHY gallery & in this thread.
- PLEASE SIZE PICS to no larger than 600px WIDE and/or TALL.*
- Please number or title your photographs for recognition.

[shutterspeed]

oops...the title of this one is suppose to be Click-a-Pic Challenge #7...

site admins, if you can, the title of this thread should be changed to reflect that. i goofed! :smug:

[birgit]

i just LOVE portaits and can't wait to get started. didn't do the sharpening in a while so thanks for explaining... it's like I used to do it! :loveshower:

[RhiG122]

portraits...i love em! im just not all that great at them. i still have problems with simplicity and the chopping of body parts. this will give me some major practice that i desperately need.

question...what is the best way to achieve catchlights? i have seriously only managed this a couple of times and it was on accident.

i am using a fuji with every setting a dslr has i just cant change my lense. the one on mine is a 28-300 mm equiv. to a 135. i dont know if you need to know any of that or not.

cant wait to bet started on this one!

[audscraps]

sweet!

I have a photo shoot tomorrow! This is perfect! :happydance:

[KirstieGai]

woohoo, fun

[birgit]

ok, guys - i think i'll need some help! i guess my break from real photographing was too long...

i used an apeture of 1,8 and now I have the problem that really only the eyes, which i focused on, are sharp - the rest of the picture - even the ears and the collar of the shirt are blurred...

i just love the pictures, but this is awful!!! and i don't really know what the problem is. if i use an apeture of 3 or 4 - of course it gets sharper but then it's too dark too shoot without a flash! (it's rainy today and i don't have a lot of light in the rooms...)

i thought the 1,8 is perfect for portraits in general - but who wants a portrait of a person with only the tip of the nose sharp...

sorry for my english - first time i'm speaking about technical things - or trying to.... i hope you get my problem!

is it wrong that you can use a 1.8 for portraits???

[shutterspeed]

1.8 is fine for portraits. i use it a lot.

however, if you're too close to the subject sometimes that'll cause the edges of your subject to appear blurry or blur because of the shallow depth of field. my suggestion is to try backing up a little more.

it's also possible that there really wasn't enough available light and that causes the camera to focus differently. you could always bump your apeture to 2.0 or 2.8, or bump up your ISO to 400 or 800. those things will help get more of your subject in focus. but my suggestion would be to move to a location that is more well lit.

in the above sample pictures...the one of my daughter in sepia...
that was taken at f1.8, 1/50, ISO 400 and she's completely in focus, however the outer edges of the photo are blurred a bit. but i was going for that effect.

in the one with all three of the kids the settings are f3.5, 1/160, ISO 400. i upped the apeture so that the outer edges of the photo wouldn't blur as much because of it's horizontal orientation.

clear as mud right? lol! try manipulating your settings more or changing locations and see if that helps! :)

[shutterspeed]

oh something i forgot to add...

try overexposing your image. if you're in full manual mode, adjust your shutterspeed (or apeture) so that it meters to a click or two above the middle for overexposure.

in the photo of my 3 kids in beanies...i over exposed that photo a little. sometimes you have to force your camera to do something it's not programmed to do. it meters for middle gray...sometimes that isn't the greatest. so you have to manually over-ride it, so to speak! :)

anyway that would be another suggestion i would try! i hope the 2nd time around yields you better results! :D

[birgit]

Thanks! Yeah, I think it's just not enough light in the room and I was pretty close (had to hold him on the chair while photographing, that little monster never stays for a minute where he's supposed to :smug:). As soon as the sun comes out again I'll try again.
Right now I am uploading the ones I took this morning, they'll be on my blog in a minute. Maybe you'd like to take a look... I think it's not too bad, but still - the one where he's sticking out his tongue, even his right eye is blurred... but probably I just didn't focus right.

Anyway, I'll keep them, he's so cute :teehee:

[birgit]

I'll try that, too!

By the way, just in case anybody wonders... my son was born with a cleft lip and jaw...
I just love his crooked smile :loveshower:

[RhiG122]

He is too flipping cute Birgit! I can't wait to see your next round of pics!

I have started on this one...but I am getting mad becaus I can see the catch lights in my daughters eyes but when I get them on the computer...I CANT SEE THEM IN THE PICS!!! What's up with that. Now that I think about it I cant see them in my viewfinder either but I can see them plain as day when we are standing outside.
I am not using my flash and shes standing in the shade but i can see the reflection of the flowers. ISO set at 200...f2.8 not sure what my ss was at now. HELP!

[originalcher1]

I managed to get some photos on the weekend of my nephews and my girls, it sure took a lot of photos to get these 2, but it was fun. I ended up taking a lot of photos of my garden too so it was a great evening spent outside taking photos.
http://www.peppermintcreative.com/gallery/data/506/Haldan.jpg (http://www.peppermintcreative.com/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=6666)
http://www.peppermintcreative.com/gallery/data/506/3-cuz.jpg (http://www.peppermintcreative.com/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=6667)

[shutterspeed]

He is too flipping cute Birgit! I can't wait to see your next round of pics!

I have started on this one...but I am getting mad becaus I can see the catch lights in my daughters eyes but when I get them on the computer...I CANT SEE THEM IN THE PICS!!! What's up with that. Now that I think about it I cant see them in my viewfinder either but I can see them plain as day when we are standing outside.
I am not using my flash and shes standing in the shade but i can see the reflection of the flowers. ISO set at 200...f2.8 not sure what my ss was at now. HELP!

hmmmm your camera should capture what you see. odd. i shall try and research further! :)

[RhiG122]

hmmmm your camera should capture what you see. odd. i shall try and research further! :)

thankyou sarah! i just find it odd i am not getting what i see. its actually driving me too the point of madness..i spent about an hour with a very unhappy 3 year old taking pics yesterday...i owe her 2 ice cream sundaes now! shes not going to be happy when i tell her we are going again today!

cher - those pics are so cute. i love your nephews eyes!!! so gorgeous. great job.

[shutterspeed]

ok i did some searches and i'm not sure if i just wasn't putting in the right search perimeters or what but mostly what i found was how to achieve catchlights. which isn't your issue.

my suggestion would be to position your subject differently. natural light catchlights are more difficult to achieve than say studio lit catchlights. plus it's easier to manipulate those than natural light.

i wouldn't get bogged down in the fact that you're not getting catchlights. not every portrait has to have them. they do make the eyes pop yes. but it's not the be-all, end-all! :)

are you using a flash or any fill flash? cuz that'll usually wipe them out or look differently than what you saw originally....

you should post the photos in question on your flickr...i'll take a look-see and see what's what! :)

[KirstieGai]

http://www.peppermintcreative.com/gallery/data/506/bellaportrait.jpg

[RhiG122]

kirstie....such a sweet pic. love the light streamin in on the right.


sarah...i finally got it! i cleaned the camera like you wouldnt believr and it just wasnt working still so i did the only other thing i could think of was to put my camera back to a factory restore. i dont know why but this seemed to work. suddenly im getting pics in much clearer. i honestly dont know why this would make a difference but it seems to have helped. my obsession with catchlights is only on my daughter...her eyes are so dark...i always have problems with any kind of real clarity on them.

so anywho...pic #1
Surprise!
http://www.peppermintcreative.com/gallery/data/506/pc-cap07-surprise.jpg

i did my usual pp on this one but i thought it needed some action so i used the pioneer womans soft and faded action.

pic #2
My Cuteness
http://www.peppermintcreative.com/gallery/data/506/pc-cap07-cuteness.jpg

[birgit]

the first one is my favourite - too cute!!!

because I don't know if i get to take any more pictures this week (still am real busy and it's foggy all the time anyway) I'll take one of the kimi-pictures for the challenge:

http://img10.imageshack.us/img10/7646/dsc4736ps2.jpg (http://img10.imageshack.us/i/dsc4736ps2.jpg/)

[RhiG122]

birgit he is sooooo cute! love that shot!

[Aemilius]

Did you say paying attention to light, composition, focus, aperture? Trying to have a restless toddler standing still for more than 2 seconds, not even mentioning looking at you if possible, is just hard enough, LoL!

I did the "eye enhancement" (which is not too obvious as resizing for web makes the pictures slightly darker) but was wondering about the opacity of the layer? (put it at 80%)

Outdoors:

http://www.peppermintcreative.com/gallery/data/506/OutdoorsPortrait_w.jpg

Indoors:

http://www.peppermintcreative.com/gallery/data/506/IndoorsPortrait.jpg

[MissMint]

These are GREAT Aemilius! Everyone is rocking this one.

These are the two I submitted.
LOVE THIS CHALLENGE!
OMG it's hard to get a kid to stand still for more than one second!

http://i430.photobucket.com/albums/qq23/missmint/Beach-Pics-307.jpg

http://i430.photobucket.com/albums/qq23/missmint/Beach-Pics-308-copy-2.jpg

These two I didn't submit but wanted to share because I used Sarah's
awesome eye enhancement tip which is now my new favorite thing EVER!

http://i430.photobucket.com/albums/qq23/missmint/Beach-Pics-060.jpg


(LOOK! It's Bubba Mint!)

http://i430.photobucket.com/albums/qq23/missmint/Beach-Pics-038.jpg

[shutterspeed]

Aemilius i usually leave the adjustment layer at 100% opacity. but i think it just has to look right for your photo. if it's too strong, bump the opacity down...if not leave it at 100.

and yes it's super hard getting good portraits of kids sometimes. but it looks like you did a FABULOUS job!

Miss Mint, gorgeous photos...as always!! :heartu:


ok people, i'm about to do something i don't usually do. and that's show you a side by side of a photo straight off the camera and after i've "tweaked" it.

yesterday i had a photoshoot with two gorgeous sisters. my camera was acting kinda wonky. and the lighting was weird cuz we were doing it at sunset. anyhoo i was having all sorts of issues with the exposure. (plus i was having to use a fill flash, which i HATE doing! and i have the crappiest flash ever, so i usually end up just using the on board flash which isn't that great either.)

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2503/3818282424_5d7c3d9a37_o.jpg

luckily, i have photoshop to help fix my mistakes. i really liked the above photo but the exposure was bad and the lighting dull.

here's what i did....

first i ran a "defog" action or a sharpening action to crisp everything up.
then i did a curves adjustment layer to adjust the lighting issues. i played around with this until i got the "exposure" i wanted and the right color saturation.
after that i used the healing brush tool to airbrush out any blemishes or imperfections.
i also used the "dodge" tool on the eyes as they were a bit dark. (i believe i had it set to midtones, exposure about 50%)
then i did my little "eye pop" thing. :)
and that was that.

i also could've run a "boost" or "saturation" action to enhance the colors but i thought they were strong enough w/o it.

so this is to show you that i'm not perfect and that i don't always have the greatest photos come off the camera. wanna see more of Caitlin & Delaney? just go HERE (http://www.flickr.com/photos/shutterspeed25/sets/72157622028728692/)! :D

[birgit]

wow! that's really impressive!!! and it makes me kind of happy - i always wondered why only the others have perfect pictures coming out of their cams... now i know that they are not always perfect right away!

my problem is that i just can't SEE how it's supposed to look! sometimes i change the colors or the lights a bit and think it's better than the original and after a few day i look at the picture again and find it competely unnatural and "wrong" somehow. :noidea:

but as some of you said - it's nearly impossible to take a decent picture of a toddler and a little princess girl that hates to be photographed... and then try to put them both on one picture :drama:

miss mint - the beach photo is so beautiful!!! she looks so natural and her eyes are so clear - really a great picture!

and here's my second entry. the only time this week it didn't rain... we went shopping at the haribo factory store- the kids were so happy with all their gummibears... (do you see the hairclip in kimi's hair???? he insisted on wearing it - at least i could change it from a pink one into that manly blue :smug: )

*haribo*
http://img268.imageshack.us/img268/2817/haribon.jpg (http://img268.imageshack.us/i/haribon.jpg/)

but still i'm a little disappointed. i had a lot of ideas for this challenge but whenever i didn't work it was raining! unbelievable!

[MissMint]

Beautiful photos SARAH!!!! WOW I just checkout your Flickr and I love all the creative poses. Such gorgeous girls and the dresses are perfection!!

Thanks for showing the before and after......hmmmm.....a good idea for a challenge?

Birgit - love your second entry! I totally know what you mean about second guessing your tweaks days later - I always keep the originals in a separate folder so that I can re-tweak down the road if needed.

Hope that helps a bit.

[shutterspeed]

Beautiful photos SARAH!!!! WOW I just checkout your Flickr and I love all the creative poses. Such gorgeous girls and the dresses are perfection!!

Thanks for showing the before and after......hmmmm.....a good idea for a challenge?



aww thx!! :) it was a fun shoot. and they're aspiring models so they're soooo easy to photograph & so photogenic!

and i'm all over it as a possible challenge in the future! :)

[glumirk]

I've been a bit busy this week, so I didn't follow all of the rules. :cover:

This is practically straight from the camera, although I tried the eye pop thing. I just noticed how bad the color cast is. Yikes! I'm going to bed though.

This is after his first sponge bath. :smug:

Great challenge! I'll have to try everything for real and come up with the pictures for his announcement.

Oliver K. Whitney
August 10, 2009 5:03am
7lb. 5 oz.
19.5 in.

:heartu::loveshower:

http://www.peppermintcreative.com/gallery/data/506/oliver_copy.jpg (http://www.peppermintcreative.com/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=6684)

[MissMint]

OHHHHHHH baby PICS!!! CLAP CLAP!

Precious!!

[cindys732003]

Congrats Megan!!! :)

OMG, I can't believe I finally did one of these challenges!! Sarah, your challenges are AWESOME and your tips and tricks are SO helpful! I love looking at all your amazing photography too! Thank you for doing it all!! :)

Here's mine.......I LOVE the eye-sharpening trick!!




http://www.peppermintcreative.com/gallery/data/506/curtaug12b.jpg (http://www.peppermintcreative.com/gallery/data/506/curtaug12b.jpg)

I wanted to submit this one, but I didn't know if it was considered a portrait since he is eating ice cream....but I used the eye sharpening technique on it!! :)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v636/cindys732003/icecream.jpg
(http://www.peppermintcreative.com/gallery/data/506/curtaug12b.jpg)

[cindys732003]

(LOOK! It's Bubba Mint!)

http://i430.photobucket.com/albums/qq23/missmint/Beach-Pics-038.jpg


Oooo......it's Bubba!! Great shot....does he know you posted it here LOL!!

[Aemilius]

Oliver K. Whitney
August 19, 2009 5:03am
7lb. 5 oz.
19.5 in.



Aw precious shot and Oliver is a nice name. But August 19? Did you ask him to come out for a moment so that you could enter the challenge in due time? :teehee:

Congrats! :bouquet:

[Aemilius]

Aemilius i usually leave the adjustment layer at 100% opacity. but i think it just has to look right for your photo. if it's too strong, bump the opacity down...if not leave it at 100.



I guess my understanding of layers is not correct then. I thought that if opacity is at 100% it means the bottom layer doesn't show through at all (and if so what's the point of having 2 layers and merging them?)


MIss Mint, love how you framed that Bubba Mint shot. Great eyes and his smile looks like you're bothering him a little bit. LoL.

Birgit, I enjoy post-processing or tweaking as Sarah calls it but like you, I'm never sure if I'm doing it right as there are so many possibilities and the risk of overdoing it. I'm still learning new tricks all the time either from internet tutorials or just experimenting therefore always working on a copy and keeping the original safe is an absolute rule!

[shutterspeed]

CONGRATS Megan!!! ::yipee:: he's a little sweetie!! and yes curious about the Aug 19th bday?? lol

----------------------------------

HAHA, well Aemilius it's totally possible I have no idea what layers are for either. :D I thought that doing it in a separate layer gave you more freedom to change it and always go back to the original (background) if you need to. (Back when i took my photo classes during college, they were before the days of the digital revolution, so there wasn't much offered by way of photoshop, etc) what i've learned has been by trial & error, reading articles online & talking to other photog friends. i've never taken any classes for photoshop. eek! i plan to one day!

----------------------------------

when it comes to post-processing you just have to get comfortable and trust your judgement. i remember when i use to log countless hours in the darkroom, i would ask, how will i know when i develop it right? the same is esentually true for photoshop (as i consider it the digital darkroom). i think it requires practice and looking at other photographers work and comparing their lighting/exposure/color intensity to yours.

i'm lucky enough these days to have to do very little PP-ing as I've gotten better at getting a good image straight off the camera, but that wasn't always the case and as you can see from the "before & after" photo, i still don't always get it right! :)

photography goes through fads it seems. a year ago it was over saturated colors. a couple years ago it was super contrasty images. so i can see where people become overwhelmed and unsure. unless you know what you're doing, i'd stay away from the "fads". there's nothing wrong with a balanced photo that is perfectly exposed & well composed. it doesn't have to be "fancy". :)

[shutterspeed]

Cindy the one of your little boy eating the ice cream cone is really cute. I don't see why it couldn't be considered a portrait. It has all the elements. And his eyes are spectacular in that one!! :)

[MissMint]

Oooo......it's Bubba!! Great shot....does he know you posted it here LOL!!


Ummmm. No he doesn't. :nono:


LOL.


Cindy I LOVE the ice cream shot!!! Go post in the gallery! Both are fantastic - so glad to see you playing along!

Re: layers - there are SO many uses for Photoshop layers. Not a bad idea to work on a duplicate layer so that you can flip back to the original. You really can only do this if you are doing your adjustments by hand. If you are using actions, they usually flatten all your layers before they run. In this instance you can use your HISTORY PALETTE in Photoshop to flip back to different stages. I use this A LOT. There is an icon at the bottom of the Hisotry Palette to add a new history state. So if u try something and you aren't sure you like it, create a new history state. It saves your picture as it is. Then you revert back to the original and start again and try something new.

Note though that when you SAVE your doc, even as a .psd it does NOT save your history states. So if you love two different tweaks, you have to save each separately however this is a great tool to use while working.

I also recommend always working off copies. I save all my originals because as Sarah said trends AND your skill level will change year to year and I know, I'd hate to mess up a picture and not be able to re-visit it later.

If that made no sense let me know and I'll do a tutorial with screenshots.

[RhiG122]

megan congrats! hes so sweet!
--------------------
cindy i love that ice cream shot!
--------------------
birgit i had a good giggle over the manly blue hair clip! and just because you didnt get to do the challenge with your ideas yet doesnt mean you cant come back and post them later...at least thats what i would do!
--------------------
miss mint i just love your pics! the face bubba mint is making is priceless!
--------------------
sarah i saw your pics up on flickr and they are all wonderful! i havent had much time to comment as the hubs had me looking up stuff yesterday. its on my must do for today!

i really need to go back and look at your eye tip as i use one that i tweaked off of a friend and as i hate change i only skimmed it :p
a quick question...do you shoot in raw or jpg? i havent decided which i like better. i have been leaning more towards jpg since i can open them in camera raw and fix the exp. if needed not to mention i can get a ton more pics if i shoot in jpg vs. raw...i think my ratio is something like 255 to 57 on a 2 gig card set to highest quality and fine.

[birgit]

so, now i'm curious too which day little oliver was born!!! congratulations! :bouquet: what a cute little guy!



the other problem i have with PP is that i'm working on my laptop and - of course- when the light in the room changes, my desktop does as well...
i know it would be better working on a stationary PC but i don't have one...

other thing is that i'm not sure about the colors. whenever i look at by blog at my parent's house it looks differently to what i see here - and i don't know which one is the correct version! what makes it worse is that whenever i get pictures developed they don't have the right colors. last year i was so angry about that, that i sent one picture to 5 different labs - an guess what? 5 different pictures! for example one didn't have any"white" in it - it all came out yellow... the next was kind of foggy.... and so on! so now i'm totally confused! even if MY computer showed the "right" colors - what does it help if the labs are doing whatever they feel like... i even called them to ask what to do and they just told me that they always correct the photos they get :gah:
those are a few reasons why i stopped PP alltogether. it was just too frustrating working on one photo until i thought it was perfect and then getting it on paper - not even close to "my" work...

[RhiG122]

birgit, you can get a calibrator for your laptop. i will have to do a little bit of research for you but i cant open multiple pages on the phone. anyway...this will adjust your screen so that essentially your colors are correct.

as for the colors you view on the monitors...that again depends on the callibration of the monitor. i do know that when you upload any pics to any place on the web, your images will be darker. flickr has a setting that reduces this and so your pics are posted in almost the exact color you pp'ed them in. this is pretty much why i quit using the kodak galleries, photobucket and a couple of other photo hosting places.

i use whcc for all of my photo printing and i have never had a problem with added color casts or things like that.

i will be back in a bit with info on the laptop callibrator!

[RhiG122]

ok so i know we arent supposed to post other links but these are things that would actually help everyone out with the way you see your photos and scrap pages.

the spyder callibrates your monitor so that colors are correct (at least thats what its supposed to do...i have a diamond bright monitor and i love my colors and when i print i get what i see on the screen) gah..on the phone still going to have to type the link out

http://spyder.datacolor.com/index_us.php


now...these things are rather pricey...so if you cant put this in your budget and you are happy with your monitor color but you arent getting the results you want when you upload then read this discussion on flickr.
http://www.flickr.com/groups/ngproinvitation/dicuss/72157613004151499/

this has quite a bit of banter but some useful information about what net viewer you are using, like ie or firefox...

hope that helps!

[glumirk]

Aw precious shot and Oliver is a nice name. But August 19? Did you ask him to come out for a moment so that you could enter the challenge in due time? :teehee:

Congrats! :bouquet:
ROFL! I guess I should double check my typing skills.

He was born on Monday August 10.

The funny thing about the typo is that his due date was the 19th. I don't mind 9 days early!

[birgit]

thanks a lot for your links!!! as soon as my weekend starts (and my husband is finally home, taking care of the little ones) i'll check them out!

[shutterspeed]

sorry guys...i totally spazzed on picking & posting a winner yesterday. yesterday was nuts...and to top it off we came home from a party last night to discover our A/C had quit working. so we're roasting over here. :gah:

anyhoo....

a BIG CONGRATULATIONS to: :cheer:

RhiG122 "Surprise"
http://www.peppermintcreative.com/gallery/data/506/pc-cap07-surprise.jpg
absolutely great lighting!!


Honorable Mentions:
Aemilius "Outdoor Portrait"
http://www.peppermintcreative.com/gallery/data/506/OutdoorsPortrait_w.jpg
i liked the off center cropping!


Birgit "Kimi"
http://www.peppermintcreative.com/gallery/data/506/DSC_4736_ps2.jpg
his expression lights up the photo!


Mint Chick Mentions:
Miss Mint "Beach Girl"
http://www.peppermintcreative.com/gallery/data/506/Beach-Pics-307.jpg
fantastic composition & the eyes are so bright!


Cindy "Little Boy"
http://www.peppermintcreative.com/gallery/data/506/curtaug12b.jpg
i really like how the whole image of him fills the frame.


Kirstie "Daughter"
http://www.peppermintcreative.com/gallery/data/506/bellaportrait.jpg
catching the light coming through her hair is lovely!!


so many great entries again this round! fantastic everyone! maybe we'll use this challenge again in the future! can't wait to see your "magazine covers"!! :D

[birgit]

congratulations! :bouquet:

[nina81]

I know I am too late, but I was on vacation until today! And this is the portrait I took from my DS Miko

http://img190.imageshack.us/img190/3264/urlaub64sw.jpg (http://img190.imageshack.us/i/urlaub64sw.jpg/)

And I also love this one

http://img8.imageshack.us/img8/7838/mikot.jpg (http://img8.imageshack.us/i/mikot.jpg/)

Congrats to everyones beautiful pics!!! Loved to watch them all!!!!

[shutterspeed]

ohh Nina those are lovely! i'm so sorry you missed the deadline!! they are fabulous! :heartu:

[birgit]

the eyes on the second one are spectacular!! great shot!

[RhiG122]

nina thise pics are amazing!!! i love both of them!

oh yay! i won one!!! all of the other pics were amazing as well.

[ingridfasquelle]

Hi there ! I'm back from our summer vacation with no more than 700 pics to process ! I just didn't know where to start until i saw this challenge !

Thanks for the eye advice, Sarah ! Worked fine ! ;)

Here's my pic:
http://www.peppermintcreative.com/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=6708&ppuser=469