Red Mani

So I don't have the most glamorus nails (I have to cut them short as you can see for work- I work with a lot of water and they are so flimsy and soft they bend and break a lot if I don't keep them short). but I love nail polish so I had to share this manicure I did with you all!

I was at Sally's Beauty Supply and picked up these two bad boys- both for under $5! Their mini nail polishes from China Glaze & Orly are both good for me since I have so many nail polishes anyways, a regular sized bottle would have gone to waste.

Since both polishes are similar in color, the manicure is sort of hard to notice until you look up close. I was wanting this effect because I don't like my nails to jump out and be very noticeable at work. This gave me a nice effect with out being too "out there".

I used China Glaze Ring In The Bell

and Orly Haute Red

This is the final look (it's much more red in person..stupid camera phone!):

Until next time...

Wooden Plaque Sign!

Hello to all my wonderful fans! Been a little M.I.A. from the blogging world but I have returned!

If you don't know already, I'm pretty crafty. Everything from scrapbooking to making...Custom wall plaques as you will see below!

Let me start off by excusing myself for the crummy picture phone quality photos. My DSLR camera is in the shop (sad face!) currently so all I had near me was my phone.

 

Let's start, shall we?

Supplies you will need:
-Wooden Plaque (found mine at the Dollar Store...you guessed, only $1!)

-Fine Grit Sandpaper (optional)

-Acrylic Paint (on sale at Michael's for 89¢)

 

-Foam Brush (two for the price of $1.29 at Hobby Lobby)

 

-Stickers, Scrapbooking Vinyls, anything you want to decorate your sign

 

-Newspaper- don't want to ruin your work surface

-Picture Hanging Kit (also $1 at the Dollar Store)

Step One (optional): If your wooden plaque is a bit bumpy (you never know the condition you will get it in, specially from the Dollar Store) or has any imperfections, use a fine grit sandpaper over the front and sides of the surface. Make sure to wipe clean your plaque afterwards with a clean dry cheese cloth.
Step Two: Get your newspaper ready and on the table. The painting process can become a bit messy and if you're doing this with children, you will definitely want to lay down something so no major accidents happen.
Step Three: Add a few drops of the paint right onto the plaque and start to paint. A nice, even, thin coat will work. Think layers here. It's better to do a few coats than a thick one (all my lady friend's should understand this from painting their nails...right? *grin*). Also, be careful of brush/foam marks. Don't worry about the edges right now. We will take care of that in a bit.
Step Four: Wait to dry. This is the hardest part for me! I'm an inpatient gal, so I stuck it in front of the little foot heater I had. Dried in about 5-7 minutes.
Step Five: Apply two-four coats, depending on how thick your paint is.
Step Six: After all the paint is dry, it's all up to you now as to what you want on your sign! I decided that I really (maybe too much!) liked the rhinestones. Went a little overboard...but hey, diamonds are a girls best friend. Even if they're fake:). Be creative here! You can really do anything here! This would be really cute for a little boy or girls name, hang from a ribbon and hang near the crib. Or, as a gift and having the persons address number on it so they can hang it on their door. Possibilities are endless!


Now, my wooden plaque didn't come with a way to hang it. No worries! While I was at the dollar store, I picked up a picture hanging kit. It came with hanging wire, nails and a few other different things. The one you want to nail in your board is the little guy right of the nail (second over from the left).

You can also hang a ribbon or bow from the back and just staple it to the back and hang. Viola!

Now you're ready to hang your wooden plaque! If you guys decide to make your own, PLEASE email me or post pictures here of what you made! I would love to see what you come up with!

Until next time...

Photographers

My favorite photographers at the moment (in no particular order):


Elisabeth Hoff


Jasmine Star


Wayne Yuan


Jason Groupp


SimplyBloom Photography


Abby Ross

<3

UPDATES!

SO much has been going on since I last updated, I should first start all of you off with my new job!!

I applied to Best Buy in their Camera Department back in July, went back for 3 interviews, yet never got a final call back. After posting this on Facebook, my friend Micheal told me his mom, Sandy Harrison with Photographic Elegance, Inc. was looking for an assistant at her home photography studio in Charlotte. After a call back and an interview, I got the job and I'm am now an Associate Photographer for her.

Let me start off by saying, Sandy- YOU ARE SO GREAT! :) I have learned so much already and I cannot wait to continue this with you. Going to school for photography was such a great choice, but with any job, you really learn the most when you're "out in the real world". I'm living proof of that! I'm learning new things in Photoshop (& to think I knew it all, ha ha), how to take yearbook pictures (there's so much more to it than you think!), how to crop those photos, designing portrait and wedding albums, how to photograph kids, posing...Oh the list goes on and on! I'm truly blessed to be working for such a great boss, family, and business. I'll keep all of you updated on how it's going :)

One of my best friends is having their baby pretty soon and I cannot wait to take her sons pictures. I've been looking up many ideas and watched Sandy shoot a newborn already, so I'm super pumped!!

I also got to photograph my neice, nephew's, brother and sister-in-law a few months ago in the CVCC's studio and my nephews first hair cut! I'll post those soon once I edit them.

I really hope everyone had a GREAT summer. I'll be posting back here soon. XOXO!

-Laura


P.S. Are you a Senior? Have a child age 2-12? Just having a baby/Pregnant? Have a wedding coming up? Need family pictures? Then definitely check out Photographic Elegance's Fanpage on Facebook, or their website!!

P.S.S. Sandy got a new FASHION ring light!! It's super bright (Warning: IT WILL BLIND YOU ha ha) but since it's light coming from all angles (being a ring/round shape) it flatters every sex, race, age and skin type! Check out my photo below...I think it came out really well!

Summer

I hope everyone is enjoying the first full day of summer!! I will be offering specials on portrait packages... Buy any 3 8x10 prints and get the 4th free! Hurry this offer will expire soon! Call or email for more details

xoxo

In the life of a photographer!

What a great week it's been so far!! I just went through some of my stuff from school and came across something I'd like to share with you all!

Some people wonder why photographers charge a lot of money. Ever heard of the experssion, "time is money"? That's definitally the case when it comes to photography. From getting the shoot ready, to actually shooting, and then the process of editing the pictures takes a long time! Here is a step by step (or Work Flow) of the what I do when I come home from a shoot with my client:

1) Upload pictures to computer
2) Save onto a DVD
3) Save onto external hard drive
4) Save onto computer
5) Open in Adobe Bridge
6) Star/label best images
7) Open image in Photoshop CS3 (camera raw)
8) Adjust exposure, contrast, levels, ect.
9) Save as .tiff & .jpeg
10) Burn final edited pictures to CD
11) Put images on online gallery for client to view
12) Send images to lab for printing

Whew! That's a lot of work! And just for about 100 images will probably take me 10 hours to do all of this (that's if there's not some serious editing I have to do to the image). So, you see, there is a lot more work that goes into taking photographs and the post production. It's a lot of work, but someone has to do it, like me ;)

Have a great day!!!

Lincolnton Photoshoot

I had SUCH a blast with Miss Waverly Parks yesterday in a cute photo shoot in downtown Lincolnton. Here are some of my favs :)





Saturday, I assisted Kristy McSwain with a wedding. It was so beautiful, decked out in orange, green and hot pink! I was defiantly worn out the next day (it's been a while since my last wedding) but it was well worth it with the great shots I was able to capture. Will be posting pictures soon so keep watch.

Also, Saturday I really got to play around with my new equipment. I absolutely LOVE my new flash and camera. I made a really great choice by upgrading. I thought it would take some time to get used to using a different camera with different settings but I as able to pick up on it quickly.

Hope everyone's having a fabulous week!