So some questions, I’ll answer them all here instead of repeat-peat-peat-peat-peating them in DMs and PMs on social media.

Are you still blogging?

Yup! I blog over at my photo site now: http://hisandhersphotography.com/blog/ I’d love to come have you visit!

Are you going to come back to this blog?

I’m honestly not sure yet. Blogging was easier when 1 – I had more time, and 2 – my boys were little. I’ve got one who is almost a teenager, and well, he’s got an opinion these days on what I write about him and how much I talk about. It’s easy to write from my perspective when babies are babies. But when they hit those pre-teen and teen years, having your mom blog about you is worse than having to been seen having her hug or kiss you in public. “SO EMBARRASSING, MOM!”

Where do you post these days?

Even though my online time has been cut fractionally to what it once was – I still post almost daily on Facebook and I give a sneak peek into almost every shoot we do. I’d love come have you swing by, see the babies and say hi. I’d love to see what you’ve been up to and what you’re shooting, too, so you can always leave me a message on FB.

Is the 31 Days going to be made into an ebook. It’s only been 2+ years!

I know, right? I have the best intentions to make this available. I am going to rewrite parts to clarify things that I’ve gotten emails about. I’d like to update all the images and post clarifications requested by the readers. I have no idea how to format an ebook at this time, and my studio has been super busy. So yes. The ebook is on the to-do list. But my clients, their babies, and the needs of my photography business come first!

In the meantime, all the 31 Days posts can be found here: 31 Days to a Better Photo and 31 Days of Photo Tips

Are you available to shoot my baby / child / family?

Yes, of course! This is what I do! I’m located in the Des Moines, Iowa area and shoot babies and families from all over the midwest! Please book while you are still pregnant so I don’t have to turn away anyone. I always try to get in every baby, but I only accept 2 newborns a week – so we book out pretty far in advance. Babies tend to think those due dates are just, you know… suggestions… so sometimes I can get in a baby last minute. Just contact me, and I’ll always do my best to get every baby in.

My husband and I co-shoot families and children. It’s fun to work with him because we are so used to each other’s methods and MO, we can do a shoot almost wordlessly now – and know exactly what the other needs. Randy is also a ROCK STAR senior portrait photographer, and he blows me away with his talent and creativity. He won a big award this year. (Proud wife moment!)

Lastly – I’d love to hear what you all are shooting these days, especially the “grads” of the 31 Days series. I invite you to leave your blog link or share where you are posting your work these days below in the comments. WordPress will block anyone who posts 2 or more links, so pick 1 so your comment doesn’t go to spam. I’d love to see what you’re shooting!

Thank you all for hanging out with me for the duration and years of this blog. I’ve enjoyed the blogging community and bloggy friends I’ve made, and I hope to keep up with as many of you as possible at my current URL and Facebook. See you there!

xo!
Darcy

“Where did you go, Darcy??” is a post from:
Darcy Milder | Life With My 3 Boybarians
Iowa Photographer Photography blog
All Rights Reserved.
Please visit His & Hers, my Des Moines, Iowa Newborn & Children's Photographer blog.

Merry Christmas! is a post from:
Darcy Milder | Life With My 3 Boybarians
Iowa Photographer Photography blog
All Rights Reserved.
Please visit His & Hers, my Des Moines, Iowa Newborn & Children's Photographer blog.

It’s crunch time in the photography world. We shoot a lot of family portraits this time of year – people want updated images for holiday cards and if you’re going to invest in wall art for your home, fall sure is a beautiful backdrop for such a thing. Vendors due dates are coming soon, holiday deadlines are fast-approaching. Oh, and did I mention I’m shooting 50 women’s headshots as well as speaking at and shooting the Allume conference? Yup, and still trying to meet my November 2 holiday portrait deadlines. There’ve been a lot of late nights. I’d love for you to come hang out with me on Facebook if you want to see what I’ve been shooting. I posted a pic of our studio recently – we knocked out a wall!

Running update: I’m still doing it. I still don’t love it. Finishing feels wildly victorious – each and every time. Why? Because I have to mentally battle myself each day, every day, to do it. And when I actually accomplish what I’ve mentally bargained with myself to do, it’s hugely mentally rewarding.

Oh. And I have verbally committed to a Half Marathon.

A half marathon! I know, right? I’ve lost my marbles.

But here’s the thing. I’m running it with my mom. She’s got one of those birthdays with a 0 on it this year – and don’t those always feel bigger? And well, heck. If my mom (who is admittedly a Zumba pro and will kick my butt at this race) can do this, then I have no excuse.

I am so, so proud of her.

(Yeah, so what’s your excuse? Right?)

But this race is capped at 3:30:00. Yes, that’s three hours and thirty minutes. At that point the paddy wagon will come around and pick up stragglers. And I am determined that it will not be me and my mom. To beat the Paddy Wagon pace you have to maintain a 15 min/mile pace for 13.1 miles.

Last week I did about 5 1/4 miles right at the 15 min/mile pace. I’ve got 35 weeks to stretch that for 13.1 miles.

I’m also running with my sister(s?) and lots of cousins and aunts. There is a 5k and I’m so proud that my sister, several of my aunts and cousins have committed to the race, too. Isn’t that awesome? (Love you girlies!) We won’t be the fastest, we won’t be the buffest, but we will look good in our family t-shirts and we will accomplish something. Heck, just having that family goal feels amazing.

And by running, I mean doing whatever it takes to cross the finish line. Heck, even if I crawl across – as long as I beat the paddy wagon I will feel victorious. Don’t even care if we are last place. I just want to cross the finish line.

Want to get your buns moving and have no idea how to start? My bloggy bestie is writing a 31 Days about the running process. And she’s keepin’ real, yo’. I love her.

(totally stole that from her blog.)

What are you working on these days? Shoot something you’re proud of? Leave me a link in comments – I’d love to come see what you’re up to.

If you’re going to be at Allume next week, please say hi. I’d love to ‘meet you’ before 400+ of us descend on Harrisburg!

Another gratuitous family photo courtesy of October Moon:

Witty Fall-ish Title Here is a post from:
Darcy Milder | Life With My 3 Boybarians
Iowa Photographer Photography blog
All Rights Reserved.
Please visit His & Hers, my Des Moines, Iowa Newborn & Children's Photographer blog.

Since 2873462875195 of you have asked: No, I’m not writing a 31 Days this October. Sorry Charlies. Can’t do it.

In the photography world, this is Go Time – particularly if you live anywhere in the northern half of the country. Leaves are changing, weather is chilling and days are getting shorter. I filled my available sessions back in late July and early August. And would you believe? I forgot to schedule in ANY makeup dates. So it is not allowed to rain nor are any of my clients allowed to get sick. I have every available hour scheduled from now through the holidays.

I ran my first 5k back in August. It was a race through Up with Down – a charity benefitting Down Syndrome research and support. It was two laps about 1.5 miles each lap. I ran the whole time, I did not get lapped, but I was beat by a 7 year old girl. All in all, I’ll call that a win. My next race is next weekend.

I’m up to 3-4 miles each run, and I hit the pavement 3-4 times a week. Considering I had a string of explicatives running through my mind when my C25K app first had me run 60 whole seconds, this is a modern miracle. Proof that anyone, and I mean ANYONE, can run. Yes, that means you.

People often tell me they would never run, they hate running. To which I say – I hear ya’. I do not like running. It is not fun. I don’t jog happily through my neighborhood and think to myself how lovely this is. Instead my inner voice is something like this, “This is horrible. But you’re 1/4 of the way done.” “Okay, just 1 more mile, it will be so worth it at the end!” “Just suffer through 1/2 mile and you can take this awful bra off and wear yoga pants the rest of the day!”

Am I the only one motivated by wearing yoga pants all day??

As an aside, I bought jeans from the juniors section a few weeks ago. That day, while vain and petty, felt pretty stinkin’ victorious. It’s little things like that that keep me motivated. I can see improvements in my time, distance and many, many fewer profanities in my stream of thoughts. While the number on the scale has changed only 5 lb since I started running in early May – the shape of my body has changed a lot. The scale means nothing compared to my clothes fitting totally differently.

Most of all, I’m sleeping better. While I still make a bee-line for the espresso machine in the morning, my energy levels are not even comparable to a year ago. I don’t feel exhausted after a triple-shot, wondering how long is socially acceptable before I brew another coffee just to feel alert. My metabolism is clearly better, and I totally understand what runners means when they describe the hunger known as “runger.” It’s voracious.

So, while this post sounds a whole lot like, “yay me!” it’s really meant to speak to those of you who are ME from a year ago. I know you’re out there. You are stressed. You are exhausted – all the time. Coffee doesn’t even wake you long enough to feel good. You are sedentary and out of shape. You feel frumpy and tired. Please know – I am not an athlete by birth. I am not long and lean like runners’ bodies are. I’m 5’3″ and a cautionary tale to the Shawn-Johnson-body-types of the world. Running not your thing? Fine. Join Zumba. Walk. Do Just Dance on wii. Watch yoga videos on your phone. Does not matter. Just get moving.

Move your body. A lot. It’s that simple. Being sedentary was killing me slowly.

Oh and this girl? Ran 13.5 miles (update: 17 miles!) this week. Me a year ago would have laughed her sedentary-buns off if told I would be running at all.

Can’t post without sharing a photo! A million thanks to Brent and Jen from October Moon Photography out of Marion, Iowa. They pretty much hang the moon, in my book.

To see what I’m up to more regularly than this neglected blog, come hang out with me on Facebook! https://www.facebook.com/hisandhersphoto

What have you all been up to?

Oh, hello October. is a post from:
Darcy Milder | Life With My 3 Boybarians
Iowa Photographer Photography blog
All Rights Reserved.
Please visit His & Hers, my Des Moines, Iowa Newborn & Children's Photographer blog.

The costumes were provided by BuyPirateCostumes.com and modeled here by my boys. Randy and I searched for the perfect antique claw foot tub, and did styling and makeup. Randy made the mast from dowels, and I made the sails from old bedsheets. It was a really fun shoot to style!

Aaarrggggghhhhhh, mateys!

Such a fun shoot! Have you ever coordinated a themed shoot? It’s a lot of work, but a LOT of fun!

A Photoshoot with My Own <3 is a post from:
Darcy Milder | Life With My 3 Boybarians
Iowa Photographer Photography blog
All Rights Reserved.
Please visit His & Hers, my Des Moines, Iowa Newborn & Children's Photographer blog.

By all appearances, I was managing two successful small businesses, managing my boys and home. But I felt sick and tired… all. the. time.

I made a commitment to myself last August to start changing that. At whatever the cost. I wanted my nights back, my time back, my energy back, improved health, fewer hours at the computer. I was sick and tired of feeling sick and tired.

I feel pretty strongly that you shouldn’t complain about something if you’re not prepared to do something about it. So, I’m doing something about it. No lifestyle changes can be made overnight, but over the last 12 months, here are some of the changes we’ve made.

• First, no fast food. It’s not food. There is nothing nourishing or fulfilling about the food-substitutes that fast food provides. This was easy.
• Several meals a day. This was hard. Eating before I got hungry was different for me. Having nearly halted my metabolism by eating only once, this took several months to get accustomed to. I still struggle and sometimes have to set the alarm to remind me to eat.
• Drink a lot of water. Also hard for me. At first, I had to go to the bathroom all the stinking time, because my body had been trained to live like a camel. Now I crave water. Crave it and seek it.
• Relearn food. Fat doesn’t make you fat and feel like crap. Sugar makes you fat and feel like hell. “Processed food” is a misnomer. It’s merely a food-like substance. It’s filler. Don’t eat filler. Crap food makes you feel like crap. Eat real food. That shouldn’t be hard, but most convenient food is not food. It actually (and ironically) requires more effort to eat real food than convenient crap filler in our society.
• Stop being sedentary. Stop making excuses for being sedentary. Move. Your. Body. This is getting easier, although workouts still feel like work. I have to talk myself into hitting the pavement. Good music helps. Quality workout clothes also help. Running in cotton makes an already laborious effort feel gross. Get some moisture-wicking material workout clothes and get your buns movin’!
• Get the spouse and family on board. In my case, my husband didn’t feel sick and was hesitant about moving toward a more-organic diet. Particularly because buying organic, whole foods can be expensive. We are always trying to find a balance between budget and food choices. For me, it was easier because the food I was eating made me feel physically bad, but without that direct motivation, that change is much, much harder.
• Teach the kids now. Help them understand that learning now, creating good habits now, while they are young, is so much easier than relearning as an adult when you are overweight, over-stressed, under-nourished and have a lot of bad habits to break. Maintaining youthful health, metabolism, and fitness is so much easier than losing it and working so hard to try to regain some of it.
• Retire from design. This was very hard. I love my clients. But I could no longer deny that that business enabled a lifestyle of sedentary, physical inactivity. That job, while creatively nourishing, demanded too many hours sitting in front of a computer screen. Leaving it behind has been bitter sweet.
• Photography. This has been easy. It’s an active, high-energy job. This is my 4th year in business and the best year yet. It does require hours at the computer, but not nearly as many as design. This job is more physically demanding and just as creatively rewarding.
• Stop being accepting of society’s excuses that cultivate obesity, promote job-centered rather than family-centered work hours, and praise a stress-fueled lifestyle. No wonder 2:3 of us are overweight. Our American culture makes you feel like it’s okay (normal, even!) to be fat, tired, sick, overworked, and sedentary. It’s not okay! It’s killing us slowly. It doesn’t feel good to be any of those things! I don’t want this to be misconstrued as meaning we should all look like magazine covers. It’s not about that. It’s about feeling awful. If you are overweight, tired, sick, working too much and physically inactive – all the things I was – I can promise that there is a better way.

I feel like I’ve taken the first few steps toward making things better. This isn’t the end, by any means. There’s so much more to do and learn and tweak. I feel so much better! My energy is higher, I’m sleeping more, we’ve each dropped about 20 pounds, we are active. Food no longer makes me feel dread at mealtimes. I am eating about 4 times a day, 6 is my goal. I don’t miss sugar. My kids are seeing, by example, what it means to make healthy choices. Most of all, I’m not making excuses that enable me to continue to be overweight, tired, sick and stressed!

Have you felt that ‘enough is enough!’ feeling? What are some lifestyle changes you have made? I’d love to hear about them!

Gratuitous photo, because I can’t blog without one!

Sick and tired of being sick and tired! is a post from:
Darcy Milder | Life With My 3 Boybarians
Iowa Photographer Photography blog
All Rights Reserved.
Please visit His & Hers, my Des Moines, Iowa Newborn & Children's Photographer blog.

such an imposter!

Aaaaaand… I’ve been running. I know, I know. Hell hath frozen over. I’m still a wee baby runner, practically an imposter at the slooooooow pace that I call running. I’m training for two road races on my calendar so far, and if I don’t die doing those, possibly more. If you’re a runner, too, or if you’re like me and you’re just wanting to get started, I’d love to have you on my street team on RunKeeper. We can cheer each other on in our baby steps.

I’m following the Couch to 5k program via the ZenLabs app on my iPhone. I’ve been at it for 7 weeks now. I’m actually only on week 6 though because I had to repeat week 3 when I was too much of a weenie to move on to week 4. Current averages: I run a 16 minute mile (yes, you can laugh. I can hack it.) I usually do about 2 miles about 4 times a week. Since a 5k is 3.1 miles, at this time I would finish in about 48 minutes. It’s a sad start, but I’m not on the couch anymore, so I’m calling it progress. My goal is to finish my first 5k in 40 minutes. I have until August 25th to train toward that goal.

And because I can never resist… here is a pic of my guys I took yesterday for Father’s Day. They are so handsome and growing so, so impossibly fast.

What have you been up to this summer? What are you shooting these days?

xo!

Oh, hello there. is a post from:
Darcy Milder | Life With My 3 Boybarians
Iowa Photographer Photography blog
All Rights Reserved.
Please visit His & Hers, my Des Moines, Iowa Newborn & Children's Photographer blog.

It’s busy baby season here at my studio! It’s also the beginning of a packed portrait season. In fact, if you’re hoping for summer portraits and haven’t booked yet – call your photographer soon! The best sessions times (golden hour!) fill up fast. Squirrel!

What that means, is that the shooting schedule and subsequent editing times and viewing sessions have filled my hours! This is definitely not a complaint – I adore my time with fresh babies, gummy smiles, chubby baby feet, and loving families. But it doesn’t leave me much time to be a responsible SST host. Fielding emails and checking links to make sure everyone is playing nicely takes time, if done right.

So, Sweet Shot Tuesday has become a relay instead of a marathon, and I’m passing the baton to my friend Kent Weakley. If you’ve been here for any length of time, you’ve heard me talk about Kent’s talents. His blog is, by far, one of the best resources of photography education out there! He and I share many of the same goals – we want you to get better with your camera so that you can be the memory keeper for your family.

We will be in good hands with Kent. So without further ado… let’s head on over to Kent’s blog and link up our Sweet Shot Tuesday posts.

But don’t stay gone, too long, I’d love if you would keep up with me over on my photography blog and on Facebook! See you there!

Sweet Shot Tuesday is a post from:
Darcy Milder | Life With My 3 Boybarians
Iowa Photographer Photography blog
All Rights Reserved.
Please visit His & Hers, my Des Moines, Iowa Newborn & Children's Photographer blog.

And I am no exception. I don’t love being on the other side of the camera. Even as a photographer, I share the same concerns. We all beat ourselves up with the same mental bullets… Ugh, my roots are showing. Today is not a skinny day. I wish I were X pounds skinnier. I have nothing to wear.

But, with about 45 minutes warning, my husband and I set out for a sunset shoot. The golden hour warm sunlight was wonderful. These are photos that I will treasure in years to come. I hope my boys will one day cherish them, even if right now they could not possibly care less.

Turns out 45 minutes is about perfect. No time to obsess. No time to shop. Make due with the moment and go.

Me and my boys, Mother’s Day 2012. Click the thumbnail to open up a carousel, and click the arrow to move through them.

Special thanks to my husband for shooting these. I cherish them.

Mother’s Day is a post from:
Darcy Milder | Life With My 3 Boybarians
Iowa Photographer Photography blog
All Rights Reserved.
Please visit His & Hers, my Des Moines, Iowa Newborn & Children's Photographer blog.

Week 19: May 6 – May 12 Still Life

A big announcement for Project 52 this week!

It’s baby season here in the studio. It’s also the beginning of portrait season. In fact, I spent several days searching the internet for a family photographer for my own family here in the midwest within a day’s driving distance of me. I finally found a photographer who I absolutely adore – but that’s a post for another day!

The point is… this means I am up to my eyeballs in shoots and editing. This isn’t a complaint. It’s wonderful! I love my time with fresh babies, innocent children, and loving families. I am getting behind on posting my recent shoots and teasers on my photo blog. It also means that I don’t have time to check p52 links and make sure, for the benefit of the meme, that everyone is playing nicely. So Project 52 has become a relay, and I’m going to pass the baton to my talented friend Kent Weakley.

If you aren’t familiar with Kent’s blog, it is an exceptional resource of tutorials, education, videos, and opportunities to share your work. I’ll be playing along with you – only on the participant side, instead of the hosting side.

We are in good hands with Kent. From this week forward, we will be sharing our photos of the week over there.

I’d love to see what you’re shooting! Head on over to Kent’s blog to link up your Still Life shot! And thank you for sharing your work with me. I’ve loved our time together!

xo!

p52 Week 19: Still Life is a post from:
Darcy Milder | Life With My 3 Boybarians
Iowa Photographer Photography blog
All Rights Reserved.
Please visit His & Hers, my Des Moines, Iowa Newborn & Children's Photographer blog.

Onward! Today is our 100th Sweet Shot Tuesday! I can’t believe we’ve spent that many Tuesdays together. Every Tuesday since March 2010 we’ve celebrated your best shot of the week. Pausing only for the 31 Days Series… it’s been 100 really sweet days.

I was at a loss of how to celebrate the 100 theme for the blog so I combined it with another goal of mine… more free time with my boys. So I did “100 minutes of ‘yes’.” Outside of anything that would cause them bodily harm, destroy my home, break, or hurt anybody… I wanted 100 minutes of saying yes to everything they wanted to do. So we called off school, and got our craft on, made sidewalk paint, and spent 2 hours painting the driveway. It was a ton of fun! And, thankfully, they didn’t ask for all that much. When’s the last time you set some intentional ‘yes’ time?

We don’t typically have a theme for Sweet Shot Tuesday – but I’d love to see your 100 theme pics. We’d still love to have you even if you don’t want to participate in the 100 theme.

Can’t wait to see what you’ve been shooting!

Happy 100 Tuesdays!

Sweet Shot Tuesday is a post from:
Darcy Milder | Life With My 3 Boybarians
Iowa Photographer Photography blog
All Rights Reserved.
Please visit His & Hers, my Des Moines, Iowa Newborn & Children's Photographer blog.

Week 18: April 29 – May 5 Fiesta or Siesta

It’s almost Cinco de Mayo (cha-cha-cha) and that means we’re celebrating in Spanish this week! For those of you who didn’t suffer through 2 years of high school Español, like I did – fiesta means party and siesta is a rest. So, that’s quite a curve in the interpretation of this week’s theme. No excuses. Of course, when you’re *ahem* 30something, a nap often sounds just as yummy as a party.

Can’t wait to see what you’ve been shooting!

p52 Week 18: Fiesta or Siesta is a post from:
Darcy Milder | Life With My 3 Boybarians
Iowa Photographer Photography blog
All Rights Reserved.
Please visit His & Hers, my Des Moines, Iowa Newborn & Children's Photographer blog.

I get the privilege of announcing last week’s Bellevue Avenue giveaway. Winner gets to choose her favorite action set from the collection, a value of up to $130! Congrats to Kim from Little by Little Blog. Please contact me and I’ll get you in touch with Ashlyn from Bellevue Avenue. For the rest of us who didn’t win, Ashlyn has discounted her actions and textures this week as part of her grand opening and site launch. For a limited time, you can get the actions I featured here on m3b for a deal. Head on over to Bellevue Avenue to see the deals…

Next on the agenda! As I’ve mentioned, next week will be our 100th Sweet Shot Tuesday.

So, we will have a theme for next week only. The theme is 100. One hundred items in a photo. One-hundred-year-old people or buildings or cities. 100 ideas. I don’t care how you interpret it, but please help me celebrate our 100 Tuesdays together with a 100-theme photo. Feel free to be creative and employ whatever artistic license you’d like.

Thanks for spending your Tuesdays here at m3b. I’ve enjoyed your photos and your stories and your blogs and your creativity.

Sweet Shot Tuesday is a post from:
Darcy Milder | Life With My 3 Boybarians
Iowa Photographer Photography blog
All Rights Reserved.
Please visit His & Hers, my Des Moines, Iowa Newborn & Children's Photographer blog.

Week 17: April 22 – April 28 Green

The color green. Being green. (It ain’t easy… bein’ green!) Doesn’t matter how you interpret it, this week’s theme is green.

I had to delete a few entries over the last few weeks – people linking up with no mention of the theme or p52. I really hate to do that, but it’s against the good nature of the other participants to visit your link if you’re not really playing. So… stick to the theme, per favore.

Lastly…

for goodness sakes…
for…
all…
things…
holy…

please remove comment verification. If you’re on blogger/blogspot, I’m probably talking to you. If you leave it up, I get email complaints about it.

To encourage people to change it, I tend to copy and paste the annoying word verification that we have to enter every time we comment. Sometimes people don’t realize it’s on their blog. So, be gracious, but if you participate in linkys, it’s good participant etiquette to remove word captchas and comment verification.

Man. I feel like a meme nag. Soooo not fun to have to ask you. Don’t shoot the messenger, k? So now, I’ll end with something awesome…

It’s not too late to enter to win an awesome action set worth up to $130 from Bellevue Avenue! Here’s how.

p52 Week 17: Green is a post from:
Darcy Milder | Life With My 3 Boybarians
Iowa Photographer Photography blog
All Rights Reserved.
Please visit His & Hers, my Des Moines, Iowa Newborn & Children's Photographer blog.

Bellevue Avenue offers Photoshop Actions for Photoshop (CS2-CS6) and Elements (PSE 6-10), Textures, Papers & Frames and Templates.

Each of our action sets have been created, fine-tuned, seasoned and further tested to give you the best results possible on the market. Cleanly editing your photos and adding lush beauty and richness is made possible with our easy to use, and highly flexible/customizable actions.

Within the actions, we’ve included tons of pop-up hints and instructions to guide you along the way. Your photos are never flattened, leaving you full-control over each layer and the final look and strength of the effect. If you have never used actions before or think they are too “above your head”, yet have always wanted to try, our video tutorials and trouble-shooting page will help you along the way. And you can always shoot us an email with any questions you need help with! We’re here to help!

Bellevue Avenue currently offers the following action sets:

Photoshop CS2-CS6	Photoshop Elements (PSE 6-10)
Clean Edit Toolbox Eye & Teeth Magic Flawless Skin Pro The Makeup Artist Dreamy Newborn Mini Kit  Utopian Enamour Urban Intrigue	Clean Edit Toolbox Eye & Teeth Magic Flawless Skin Pro The Makeup Artist Dreamy Newborn Mini Kit

Bellevue Avenue provided actions for me to try so I could show you guys some of my edits using their actions. Here are my results. I kept almost everything full strength so you could see what it was capable of in the first edit. If I were delivering this to a client, I would have spot cleaned the skin using the healing brush, cloning and patching. But that can take a long time, especially with a case like this – baby broke out before his newborn session. I wanted to show what the action could do with NO spot cleaning! This edit is literally click play and paint.

It got rid of all but the most red bit on his cheek. If this were going to be delivered to a client, fixing that and adjusting levels for a perfect edit wouldn’t take very long. Left to full strength, it’s a bit strong for my taste (all actions are!) – but look at what it can do! That skin was a tough test – purposely chosen for this trial run.

Here is the final product, with adjusted tones, color correction and additional edits in addition to actions. This is the true blanket and wrap color. Sharpening, red removal, and any skin reduction are pulled back for a more-natural edit.

And I can never resist a gratuitous pic of my guys.

Please visit Bellevue Avenue for lots of before and afters and recipes. From 4/24 – 5/1 you can get 20% off your purchases by using the code BOYBARIANS20.

All Sweet Shot Tuesday participants who leave a comment below will be entered to win one action set of their choice from Bellevue Avenue, value of up to $130! Giveaway entries valid through Saturday, April 28th at 11:59 pm central time. Winner will be drawn randomly from comments left and announced next week!

Can’t wait to see what you’ve been shooting!

Sweet Shot Tuesday is a post from:
Darcy Milder | Life With My 3 Boybarians
Iowa Photographer Photography blog
All Rights Reserved.
Please visit His & Hers, my Des Moines, Iowa Newborn & Children's Photographer blog.

Week 16: April 15 – April 21 Things that Grow

I got emails about how tough last week’s topic was, so I hope this week was a bit easier. This time of year most of us are starting to see peeps of things that grow in the ground, as well as we’re surrounded by pets, kids and family who seem to grow overnight. Hope this one was a bit easier, and you were able to have fun with it.

Can’t wait to see what you’ve been shooting!

P52: Week 16 Things that Grow is a post from:
Darcy Milder | Life With My 3 Boybarians
Iowa Photographer Photography blog
All Rights Reserved.
Please visit His & Hers, my Des Moines, Iowa Newborn & Children's Photographer blog.

I know many of you, especially in the midwest, spent the weekend getting battered by storms and bad weather. We’re fortunate enough to have a safe storm shelter we can hang out in when weather rages above us. I hope you all fared well in the weather.

Maybe April will be In like a Lion, out like a Lamb?

Can’t wait to see what you’ve been shooting!

Sweet Shot Tuesday is a post from:
Darcy Milder | Life With My 3 Boybarians
Iowa Photographer Photography blog
All Rights Reserved.
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Week 15: April 8 – April 14

I wanted to pick themes that went with the holidays and seasons. Since we have participants from several countries and cultures – I wanted to avoid something that echoed only my own, like bunnies or eggs or something like that. This week’s theme is sacrifice. I thought it was a nod to both Easter and Passover or could be interpreted even if your family celebrates neither.

But I want to invite you all to use an image from your Easter or Passover celebrations, instead, if that’s easier for you. Remember, p52 is all about encouraging you to pick your very best 1 shot that best shows your week based on your interpretation of the theme. I want you to be challenged, but not paralyzed.

Can’t wait to see what you’ve all been shooting.

p52 Week 15: Sacrifice is a post from:
Darcy Milder | Life With My 3 Boybarians
Iowa Photographer Photography blog
All Rights Reserved.
Please visit His & Hers, my Des Moines, Iowa Newborn & Children's Photographer blog.

These have gotten a bad rap in some circles. Like it’s synonymous with ‘fake’ or ‘cheating’ or it’s somehow indicative that your image isn’t good enough without. And admittedly, there are lots (and lots!) of examples of images online that are all sorts of wrong. And no amount of Photoshop can fix that hot mess.

It’s like a cake, right? Photoshop actions are the icing. If your cake is a hot mess, no amount of delicious frosting will save that puppy. Your cake will still be bad. But who wants a delicious cake to sit all lonely and dry and plain? Actions are an opportunity to add a layer of extra special goodness to your images!

Babies are new and soft. I love the way the Florabella Blue Ginger action adds a touch of softness to this baby girl. Blue Ginger is part of the Classic Workflow Collection. While it doesn’t work for every action, I love it for this one.

This baby girl was fighting jaundice and her brand new skin was very red. I didn’t want to increase the highlights on the side of her face. I love the way the light falls across her face. But the Florabella Rosy Cream from the Classic Workflow added just a touch of cream and reduced a bit of the redness without losing her shading and coloring. I don’t want to remove the red completely, her natural skin tone is quite rosy and warm.

MCP Actions makes a quick and wonderful way to sharpen eyes – simply click and paint! It’s called MCP Actions Eye Doctor. But I also wrote a photoshop tutorial not long ago about how to make eyes pop without an action. It’s slower, but beautifully effective. I like the ease and speed in my workflow to click play and paint with a low-opacity, soft brush.

Again, the Blue Ginger from Florabella’s Classic Workflow adds a softness that makes the photo feel sweeter – to match the personality of this sweet girl. It’s a personal choice – to each artist his own interpretation. But I like the sweet, softness.

Not all actions need to be purchased, commercial actions. Making your own actions is easy and effective. I use mostly my own – ones that edit for color and black and white that repeat or prep layers that I use often. Some of the layers might not do anything, but prepare the layer for changes I may need; for example, in my color action I have a curves layer that is added. It’s only there in case I need to use it, something I do often.

Actions are simply recorded steps to speed up your workflow. They should be used judiciously and without a heavy hand. Commercial actions often need to pulled way back – it’s not something you click play and leave alone.

Photoshop actions speed up my workflow, allowing me less time at the computer, more time behind the camera, and more importantly – more time with my boys. And there is no price tag on time with my guys.

Have you made your own actions? How have actions helped your workflow? I’d love to hear your opinion in comments.

Photoshop Actions: Yay or Nay? is a post from:
Darcy Milder | Life With My 3 Boybarians
Iowa Photographer Photography blog
All Rights Reserved.
Please visit His & Hers, my Des Moines, Iowa Newborn & Children's Photographer blog.

Can’t wait to see your shots.

Sweet Shot Tuesday is a post from:
Darcy Milder | Life With My 3 Boybarians
Iowa Photographer Photography blog
All Rights Reserved.
Please visit His & Hers, my Des Moines, Iowa Newborn & Children's Photographer blog.

Week 14: April 1 – April 7

Are you an April Fool’s Day kind of person? Seems there are two camps – those who love it and those who don’t. It doesn’t seem like much of a lukewarm kind of holiday. Did you play any pranks this year? Did anyone get you?

I’ve added several more weeks’ themes to the p52 page. Please stop by and check out the upcoming themes, as and always – I’d love for you to leave ideas for future themes on the m3b Facebook page.

Can’t wait to see all your Foolin’ Around pictures…

Happy Easter and Passover!

p52 Week 14: Foolin’ Around is a post from:
Darcy Milder | Life With My 3 Boybarians
Iowa Photographer Photography blog
All Rights Reserved.
Please visit His & Hers, my Des Moines, Iowa Newborn & Children's Photographer blog.

I can’t wait to see what kind of mother nature is reflected in your images this week…

Also – today is our 95th Sweet Shot Tuesday together… I’m still looking for suggestions for how to ring in our 100th. Ideas?

I’d love to hear how you think we should celebrate 100 Tuesdays together.

Sweet Shot Tuesday is a post from:
Darcy Milder | Life With My 3 Boybarians
Iowa Photographer Photography blog
All Rights Reserved.
Please visit His & Hers, my Des Moines, Iowa Newborn & Children's Photographer blog.

Week 13: March 25 – March 31

How often do we overlook the minutia? The little fingers, long eye lashes, little dimples, sweet toes, whiskers… This week focuses on the details of the faces and places we love most.

Later in the week, I’ll be pulling ideas from the Facebook page list of suggestions for upcoming weeks’ themes and adding them to the p52 page. Feel free to add your suggestions at any time. Keep an eye out for an updated list! Next week’s theme is Foolin’ Around.

Can’t wait to see what you’ve been shooting!

P52 Week 13: Details is a post from:
Darcy Milder | Life With My 3 Boybarians
Iowa Photographer Photography blog
All Rights Reserved.
Please visit His & Hers, my Des Moines, Iowa Newborn & Children's Photographer blog.

So what’d you all think of Hunger Games? Did you also read the books?

Also – I don’t love being the messenger on this, but I’ve gotten a few emails and tweets about the number of captchas on at your blogs. When you participate in memes, it’s much more user-friendly to turn off the captchas (or “word verification”) to encourage feedback and comments. People have limited time to enjoy your blog and images. People can visit fewer blogs and are much less likely to comment if you make it difficult and unfriendly. If you don’t know how to turn off word captcha, let me google that for ya.

Can’t wait to see what you’ve been shooting!

Sweet Shot Tuesday is a post from:
Darcy Milder | Life With My 3 Boybarians
Iowa Photographer Photography blog
All Rights Reserved.
Please visit His & Hers, my Des Moines, Iowa Newborn & Children's Photographer blog.

Week 12: March 18 – March 24

Hunger Games series was the most suspenseful, exciting, soul-captivating series I’ve read in a really long time. I loved the strong female lead. I adore that they made her bad@$$ but not sexy. Author Suzanne Collins stole the imaginations of millions and starting today, Hunger Games is in theaters.

This week’s theme, Hunger, was timed with the release of the movie. I sure hope the movie does the books justice!

I also have the privilege of announcing the winners of the seats in Kent Weakley’s eClasses, Composition (which begins today!) and Night Photography, which begins in a few weeks. The winner of the Composition seat is Gail M from Quilt, Knit, Run, Sew. Congrats Gail. The winner of the Night Photography seat is Ashley from AshleyHauck.com. Woot! I think you’ll love this class, Ashley. Congrats girls! Contact me and I’ll put you in touch with Kent.

Can’t wait to see what you all have been shooting!

May the odds be ever in your favor.

P52 Week 12: Hunger is a post from:
Darcy Milder | Life With My 3 Boybarians
Iowa Photographer Photography blog
All Rights Reserved.
Please visit His & Hers, my Des Moines, Iowa Newborn & Children's Photographer blog.