Did That Just Happen?

Today was a very good day.

I could end my blog with that but I have a feeling that you may be a little let down... =)

Today was a shoot that had already been rained out once and then pushed back again, but I'm so glad I was able to do it because it was AMAZING!  First off, the couple I was shooting (Karrye and Sammy) are hilarious and probably the funniest couple I've ever taken pictures of!  When they showed up, some of the first words out of Karrye's mouth after "Hello" was "I have ideas!"  Any photographer looooves to hear that!  I know we're supposed to be the artsy ones, but pictures are always 100x better when the model has their input and personality into the picture.  Then right before we left, we were shooting on a little dock and all of a sudden a duck flies up behind them!  I have never had wildlife jump into my pictures before!  It was so amazing!

Anyways, I'm sure you would like to actually see these pictures too =D  Here are the highlights:

 To see more go to http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.265027650201636.60126.249894955048239&type=1

Thank you so much for reading and viewing =D
Beth <3

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words...but Sometimes It Can Say One Too

I did this picture to see if I could recreate something I saw in class, and now I'm going to explain to you how I did it so you can create one too =)

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You begin with a solid color document (I chose black) and type LOVE in the font and color of your choosing (in this case, pink).  You then simplify the font layer and erase your O.  Then right click your rectangle tool and choose custom shape tool.  A heart will be your default shape for that.  On a new layer, place the heart where the O was

Then use a worn looking brush (or a wet media brush if you don't have any downloaded brushes that would work) to make the edges of the heart fit in with your font, if necessary.

On a separate tab, take your desired picture (I will be using one that I featured in the October Highlights blog), put it in black and white, and turn up the threshold on it to wipe out some of the details, but do not lose them completely.  Make sure you flatten this image before continuing onto the next step. Then use your magic wand tool and select either the highs or the lows of your picture (in this case I selected the lows, or the blacks).  In order to select all of the highs or the lows, go to the Select menu and click similar.  Then drag your selection into the document you've been working on.  Position it over the heart and erase what shows outside the heart.

Next you will decorate the blank space to make the picture more interesting.  I used a paint splatter brush.

The only thing that's left to do is put your watermark on the picture!


And you're done!

Thanks for reading =)

Beth <3

October's Highlights...so far

So far I've had two shoots for October.  The first was a couple shoot for Meredith and Damien.

Then I had a shoot for Emily (who actually gave me the idea for this blog!)  Here are the highlights from her shoot:

And now we're all caught up =)

From now on I will be doing a blog for each photoshoot I do to show my picture highlights!

Thank you for reading!

Beth <3

September's Highlights

I did a superhero themed shoot for my friend, Terry, as a birthday present.  It involved a lot of Photoshopping, but I think I pulled it off =) Here are the best shots:

I also did an advertising shoot with another friend and here's some of the shots from that:

Towards the end of the month I did a series of advertising shoots to show my Photoshop skills.  They had the themes of "edgy" and "fairy".  Some of them are scary...while others are cute =)

And that's my September Highlights =)

Take a Picture...It'll Last Longer

Hello Bloggers =)

My name is Beth and this is going to be my photography blog!  I'm a new photographer and I work as a photographer's assistant at a photography studio in Stuart, Virginia called Rosebud Portraits (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Rosebud-Portraits/177911872272037)...so I guess you can say I know my way around the business =)
I'm currently working on starting my own small business at the college I attend (UVA-Wise).  If you're interested in viewing my work my Facebook page is http://www.facebook.com/pages/Photography-by-Beth-Hopkins/249894955048239
I'm going to use this blog to show the highlights of my shoots and maybe even show how I edit some of my pictures so others can learn =D

Thanks to all who are reading (probably just Meg and Tay)! Love you guys!

Beth <3