Life Steps Photography: Capturing Your Life Steps

Sneak Peak Mommy K - Las Vegas Maternity Photographer

noreply@blogger.com (Jess @ BlissfulTastes.com) — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 19:17:26 PDT

My best friend (of about a million years) sent "Mommy K" my way to help me build up the Bellies section of my portfolio and provide her with some incredible memories of her first pregnancy. We set up the session and agreed upon a natural casual feel for her portraits. Of course we would wake up this morning to WIND! Lots and lots of wind, think torado-esque :)

Despite the wind we were able to capture some really great shots of Mommy-K and growing Baby I. She was such a sweet heart, and so down to earth and open to just about anything! You made my job easy! Thanks so much for the oppertunity and I can't wait to meet your little guy :) Enjoy your sneak peek!

Little A - Sneak Peak . . .Las Vegas Children's Photographer. . .

noreply@blogger.com (Jess @ BlissfulTastes.com) — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 12:14:15 PDT

I had a Saturday session at Little A's park, with Momma and Grammie. The weather was beautiful, the park was quiet and Little A was......FAST! He's is such a sweet heart, and the busiest little guy I have ever met! Thanks so much for the oppertunity Mom :) You guys are the greatest! Enjoy the Sneak Peak!

The "K" Boys - Sneak Peak . . .Las Vegas Child Photographer

noreply@blogger.com (Jess @ BlissfulTastes.com) — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 13:09:34 PDT

I had a session with the two CUTEST toe-head little boys you have ever laid eyes on last weekend. Little R had the world's squishiest cheeks, and bluest eyes! Big A was the best helper that a photographer could ask for, and adored his little brother, not to mention a future PRO snowboarder :) Little D even showed up to play with us.

Enjoy the Sneak Peak!

Magic in Editing . . .Las Vegas Child Photographer. . .

noreply@blogger.com (Jess @ BlissfulTastes.com) — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 16:29:32 PDT

Every now an again you get a glimpse into the eyes of a child :)

I ♥ my job, as a photographer- but more importantly as a Mom.

Week 12 - “Focusing on Angles” Photo Challenge!

noreply@blogger.com (Jess @ BlissfulTastes.com) — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 14:05:25 PDT

The I ♥ Faces Photo Challenge this week is all about the angle. The photo I chose to enter was from my most recent family session with my "bestie" and he beautiful children! I love how the door frames them (aren't these walls AMAZING!) I hope you enjoy!

Check out the other entries by many talented

photographers over at I ♥ Faces!

The B Family- Sneak Peak . . .Las Vegas Family Photographer. . .

noreply@blogger.com (Jess @ BlissfulTastes.com) — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 10:03:31 PDT

I spent some time with my best friend and her amazingly beautiful children doing a family shoot last week. We walked all over down town and got some great images of them together, and seperately. It's so much fun to shoot older kids, and capture that personality- from the "Poser" to the "Contemplative". I Love You Guys!

Enjoy the Sneak Peak!

The B Family . . . Las Vegas Family Photographer

noreply@blogger.com (Jess @ BlissfulTastes.com) — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 18:22:08 PDT

Sneak Peek coming up with the AMAZING Family B - keep your eyes peeled!

Willette Designs Give Away . . .Las Vegas Family Photographer. . .

noreply@blogger.com (Jess @ BlissfulTastes.com) — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 11:03:36 PDT

Check out

Willette Designs

The give aways are pretty incredible- Photographer Posings Guides or The Photographer Bag of Tricks!

Cook, Laugh, Create . . . My Personal Blog

noreply@blogger.com (Jess @ BlissfulTastes.com) — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 10:00:10 PDT

I started a personal blog so that I can write my way through life, as it didn't seem like it was appropriate to post it all here. If you are interested in follow all the craziness that is my life, then come on over!

Cook, Laugh, Create

Little B- Sneak Peak . . . Las Vegas Children's Photographer

noreply@blogger.com (Jess @ BlissfulTastes.com) — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 10:18:39 PDT

Monday I had to chance to snap some photos of Little B- my hair dresser's son (LOVE you Erin - Circa Salon). This little guy was quick, and wanted nothing more than to play in the Choo-Choo, and in the Fish! So that is what we did. He has the most beautiful brown eyes that you just want to melt into!

Enjoy the Sneak Peak!

I Heart Faces- “Bundled Up” Photo Challenge

noreply@blogger.com (Jess @ BlissfulTastes.com) — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 17:37:52 PDT

I took this photo of Riley last week while we were sledding. Enjoy!

Fix it Friday- On Satyrday... Oops! {Las Vegas Children's Photographer}

noreply@blogger.com (Jess @ BlissfulTastes.com) — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 09:19:08 PST

This week's photo, which was sent to us by Amy Pinney, is proof positive that many, many photos are fixable and we can save many precious moments even if they are taken in less-than-perfect circumstances.

Amy wrote: "The photo I'm submitting is one of my daughter watching her Grandpa play Pinball. It's very closely cropped to include just her face and arms propped on the machine, which you can only see enough of to know what it is. I'm very interested to see what the I Heart Faces team can do with it!"

The Original

My Fix #1

1. Opened the image in Adobe Bridge and Adjusted the Exposure/Noise in RAW

2. Ran Coffee Shop Perfect Portrait

3. Cropped

4. Duplicated background, Ran Gaussian Blur- deleting from details

5. Added Vintage Grunge texture to deter from the useless background,

removing from skin and pin ball machine

My Fix #2

1. Started with same image as Fix #1

2. Ran Coffee Shop Splendor B&W

3. Lightened the contrast layer over her eyes

4. Adjusted brown layer to suit taste.

Go visit I ♥ Faces to see the other amazing edits. You would be surprised what you can do!

The Maternal Lens . . . Las Vegas Family Photographer

noreply@blogger.com (Jess @ BlissfulTastes.com) — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 21:06:23 PST

I have begun following this really incredible blog called The Maternal Lense- it is a group of mother's that are also photographers. It just so happens that as I stumbled across the blog, it is the blogs first BIG bday! They are having any amazing give-away that anyone can participate in. Not to mention the blog is full of relaly great information and interviews with AMAZING photographers! Go check it out, ASAP!

The Maternal Lens: Blog

Fix-It Friday #46 ... Las Vegas Family Photographer

noreply@blogger.com (Jess @ BlissfulTastes.com) — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 10:09:53 PST

This week's photo came from Sarah Halstead who blogs at Loving My Life. The little cutie-pie is her son, Dustyn. Sarah wrote that she was "having issues with overexposure in the top left corner and with blemishes on his face."

This little boy looks so serious, and had the most piercing blue eyes!

Original

My Fix #1

Adjust exposure and compensated for noise in Adobe Bridge

Ran CoffeeShop BabyPowder Room
Ran CoffeeShop Color Pop
Crop

My Fix #2

Turned on BW Layer of CoffeeShop Color Pop

Duplicated background and erased everything but the Iris

Added selective color adjustment layer to background bring more black to the blue (I wanted to blues to come out darker in BW)

Easter Mini-Sessions . . . Las Vegas Family Photographer

noreply@blogger.com (Jess @ BlissfulTastes.com) — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 20:31:19 PST

Easter Mini-Sessions . . . Las Vegas Family Photographer

noreply@blogger.com (Jess @ BlissfulTastes.com) — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 14:36:12 PST

Spring is upon us- along with baby bunnies and chicks!

That means it's time for Easter Portraits!

Keep your eyes peeled, I am putting all the information together now for the mini sessions and scheduling.

In a nut-shell:

Easter Mini Sessions: $95
includes:

A 20-minute session held on location
10-15 images hosted in an online gallery
1 8x10 print
1 5x7 print
2 digital files watermarked and sized for sharing via email, facebook, etc.
15% off additional products

Best Camera Bag EVER! ... Las Vegas Family Photographer

noreply@blogger.com (Jess @ BlissfulTastes.com) — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 19:45:22 PST

If you are a camera enthusiast of ANY level, and a woman, then you NEED to check out these incredible camera bags designed just for us! Get rid of the man bag and carry your camera in style!

Epiphanie Bags

They are also having a HUGE give away. Go to the Epiphanie Blog for more details!

Contest #1: Locations- WINNER: Las Vegas Family Photographer

noreply@blogger.com (Jess @ BlissfulTastes.com) — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 11:44:18 PST

I am so excited to announce my first winner!

Congratulations to Jennifer Bledsoe!!

Jenn's suggestion:

I am going to suggest 2 locations; Floyd Lamb State Park and Lake Las Vegas.

While there wasn't very much participation, I am very excited for Jennifer and all of her beautiful girls. They will be here this summer for their shoot!

I Heart Faces Fix-It Friday... Las Vegas Children's Photographer

noreply@blogger.com (Jess @ BlissfulTastes.com) — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 13:37:56 PST

Another wonderful opportunity over at I heart faces to work on my photoshop skills.

This week's photo comes from Caroline at Frogmum. She writes: "My daughter is standing in our front garden - I was laying down. It was a beautiful day, but her face was in full shade & looks a bit blurry. She looks too dull against the blue sky. I'd like to be able to pull the whole thing up and make her pop out without losing the beauty of that blue sky."

Original

My Fix #1

Crop in closer to face

Added Remove Noise Filter

Ran Coffee Shop Triple Shot

Burn edges highlighting the face

Ran MCP Touch of Light on Face

Increased Saturation of Blue in Sky

Added Texture and removed entirely from the girl

My Fix #2

All the same steps as Fix #1

Removed texture

Added warming filter

My Fix #3

Turned Coffee Shop BW Layer on from Triple Shot

Increased Brightness and Contrast

Added clipping mask for edges

Added brushed layer and removed from face area

Visit I ♥ Faces to see the many other talented photographers and their edits on this very same photo! Thanks for stopping by, I hope you enjoyed my view on life :)

Blog Design... Las Vegas Family Photographer

noreply@blogger.com (Jess @ BlissfulTastes.com) — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 09:33:18 PST

So I am a little frustrated. I have been working in updating my blog to a template that allows for larger pictures. This has been successful however- as you may notice, there is nothing in my sidebar. It's all below my blog posts. I can't figure out what I have done or how to fix this. So I have reached out to the blogger community for assistance. If you happen to have an idea as to what I may have done- chime in. I am all ears, as blog design and coding is really not my forte!

BIG thanks to Amanda & her incredibly informative blog!

Also, HUGE thanks to Shabby Blogs for the graphics!

Sneak Peak- Mighty Mason... Las Vegas Baby Photographer

noreply@blogger.com (Jess @ BlissfulTastes.com) — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 14:16:49 PST

A couple of weeks ago I had the pleasure (it always is) of photographing my adorable nephew Mason. He is a BIG 8 month old! I am so proud of him and his squishy cheeks :) ♥ You!

Hands On Fun... Las Vegas Children's Photographer

noreply@blogger.com (Jess @ BlissfulTastes.com) — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 21:56:08 PST

This is my very first submission to the I ♥ Faces weekly Photo competition. This weeks theme was Hands on Fun. We have a lot of this at my house, so capturing what I though was the perfect picture was easy. Luke and Riley had a painting session that was captured beautifully in this shot- Enjoy!

Please visit I ♥ Faces to see the many AMAZING entries this week!

Rant... Las Vegas Family Photographer

noreply@blogger.com (Jess @ BlissfulTastes.com) — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 21:55:56 PST

I don't want this to sound like a pity party- but I have come to terms with the fact that it is pretty likely that I am writing these blogs to nobody. Getting followers seems impossible. Getting people to participate in an EASY contest to win FREE stuff also seems impossible. Soliciting new business- also impossible. This economy makes it very difficult to get a new budding business off the ground- REGARDLESS of how talented you may be.

It's been a rough day.

I spent all day filing taxes, maybe that is why. The business taxes for Catlow were great. Worked the prior years taxes down to next to nothing. Hopes were high- everything was going great. Until I started my own taxes for last year. UGH- I have never owed money to the IRS before, so that my friends is stressful in itself. No numbers, can't relive it. Stresses me out.

So in case you didn't know- I am divorced. I have two wonderful children- Riley & Luke, and their Dad is one of my best friends. However we run through the same complications that most divided households do- or at least I think they do. Different house; different rules. Without offending the other parent, how do you come to some sort of an agreement regarding body flatulence at the table? It's a no go in my house- not the case else where I assume. This is an ongoing struggle.

I was looking forward to getting out of the house to get some golden spoon frozen yogurt tonight. We have been stuck inside all day thanks to the IRS- but alas, my son didn't finish his dinner and I have to play to role of good and responsible mother and withhold the reward of ice cream, due to lack of eating.

Do you ever just want to give up?

I Heart Faces Fix-It Friday... Las Vegas Family Photographer

noreply@blogger.com (Jess @ BlissfulTastes.com) — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 21:56:47 PST

Here is this week's Fix-It Friday over at I Heart Faces. It's another great oppertunity to hone my editing skills- I really enjoy Fix-It Fridays!

Original

Fix #1

Coffee Shop- Triple Shot Color w/burned edge
I love the super bright color of this image! She jumps right out at you!

Fix #2

Coffee Shop- Triple Shot BW w/burned edge

I am a sucker for a classic Black and White- and I think the contrast of this is amazing!

Check out the other great edits here: I Heart Faces Blog

High School Senior Photographers... Las Vegas Senior Photographer

noreply@blogger.com (Jess @ BlissfulTastes.com) — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 21:57:04 PST

I just joined a few different public listings for High School Senior Photographers. This is a big step- I am trying to get my name out there, and it's tough....but I am trying to put my nose to the grind stone!

This is one site that I joined:

High School Senior Pictures Photographers Directory

Check it out, there are lots of talented people there!