Sylvia Cook Photography {the blog}

Beloved session : : Seattle couples photographer : :

2012-01-17T13:33:00.000-08:00

Be·lov·ed

means a person who is greatly loved; dear to the heart.

This new form of portrait session is about the experience of connecting with your beloved, about interacting with your beloved to remember the connection that attracted to you one another.

This session differs from the typical type of session, in that there is dialogue and interaction rather than posing in the usual sense. You'll feel like you're getting to know one another again, remembering things that you hadn't thought about in a long time.

Again, this session came out of a facebook group that I belong to. Someone asked a question about "Beloved" sessions...the discussion began...and from there we had a date set up to meet! Only problem was, we needed a couple to practice on! Then along came Elizabeth and Wes, our willing ~~guinea pigs~~....I mean models.

Elizabeth sort of knew what to expect with the session, but Wes didn't. He came along and was such a good sport! They did confide in us that it was a great excuse to get a baby sitter and get away for a couple hours together.

I asked Elizabeth to tell me in her words how she felt about doing a session in this style. Her's her take on it:

" I would say that this type of shoot felt so natural & not like you had to always be focusing on your smile and I could really enjoy being with my husband. The experience was very romantic and really brought out the joy I feel being in this relationship. I loved seeing the results of the photos as "us" and not some scripted pictures of who we should be. Overall, it was an amazing experience & we continued to talk about it for days."

Thank you Wes and Elizabeth for being our willing models and letting a half dozen photographers snap away for an hour or so! You 2 were so cute, and I love the naturalness of the images I got from the day.

I enjoyed myself so much at this shoot, I'd LOVE to do more like them. If you like the idea too, please contact me to set something up!

Splish Splash : : photo challenge : :

2012-01-12T10:24:00.000-08:00

Just a fun little post for today! I was thinking about how many things I try to cram into my day, week, month, year.

Do you ever feel like you're running in 10 different directions and not finishing a single task when you'd like too? Or is it just me? Ha ha!
Sometimes it feels impossible to get all the things done that I want to.

Lets count them up....
1.Time at work "on the real job" nursing at a hospital for 12 hour days....sure it's only 5 days in 2 weeks, but when I'm gone from the house for a 13 hr stretch it leaves little time for anything else.
2. The portrait photography business that I do on the days that I don't work. This involves the actual session time, the travel time, scouting out new locations, the editing time, the client communication time, the prep time, the blogging and gallery uploading time, plus much more.
3. Upkeeping and posting to 4 blogs...yup 4.
4. Making cards, templates for albums, facebook, etc.
5. Weeding through and answering emails both personal and business related.
6. Reading online info related to the photography business. Participating in online forums.
7. Preparing images and uploading to my online shops Etsy, Zazzle and Society 6. Mailing items.
8. Preparing and uploading images to the Getty site
9. I have a house...it doesn't clean itself.
10. I have a yard.... it doesn't maintain itself. The weeds keep growing despite how many times I tell them not to.
11. I have a family. 2 daughters in the area that I like to see at least every week or 2. Plus the grandson and another on the way.
12. I have friends I like to see and hang out with once in awhile.
13. Facebook...time suck, but hey the business page is important. Oh and speaking of time sucks...PINTEREST! (follow me)
14. Shopping and cooking, I suppose I have to do that on occasion!
15. Doing something for fun once in awhile....going to a movie, planning and taking a vacation!
16. Can we just lump all the maintenance stuff into one (dentist, car, doctor)
17. Trying to remember to watch Grey's Anatomy on Thursday nights!
18. And all the other things that are too numerous to list that are not factored in here (like eating, showering, bathroom time, making coffee, getting stuck in Seattle traffic, etc)

But when all else fails and I feel bored, I can always waste my time taking fun photos for myself! Facebook group challange: Cookie Splash! Like I NEED another challenge! But you know what? Sometimes I do! It's all well and good to love the portrait part of photography, but taking the time to do something fun....for me...or more importantly as a challenge is cool. I used to do alot of these sorts of things when I was real active in Flickr. Now the facebook groups take that place, so I though, what the heck!
I took time away from what I was doing to get my cookie splash all set up. First time trying to capture fast action like this, and I like the results! In fact, I can see myself doing it again sometime.

So here's the fruits of my labors....my splash pictures!

The water one was my practice shot. I read to use colored liquid as it would show up better, but I like the way the water one looks! I think I caught a cool splash pattern, first try and all.

Now for the coffee and cookies, what a mess it made. Cookies got soaked on the first try, so it's a good thing I got one that I liked:)

And no 2 shots will ever look the same, isn't that cool?

What about you? What do you do for fun when you should be working?

And by the way, I've made this image available as an iphone case in my Society6 shop. Both for the iphone 3 or 4. Have a look.

Allison Claire : : Kirkland newborn photographer : :

2012-01-11T16:41:00.000-08:00

"Babies are such a sweet and nice way to start people."

I always get so excited when I have a newborn session booked. It's such a fun, though tiring way to spend 2-3 hours of my day! Even more special is when I'm there to do a new sibling after having done a previous session with an older brother or sister!

Meet little Allison at 9 days old. I loved meeting her, and seeing her Mommy, Daddy and big brother again. She was a great little model for some of my cute little headbands and hats, don't you think?

She had the cutest room that was done with decals by her Mommy, and check out this dress!

And a couple of big brother. He was sweet enough to let me take a few of him while his baby sister had a snack!

A New Year | new priorities

2012-01-03T09:00:00.000-08:00

Here we are moving into a new year. Do you wonder where the last one went? Twelve months... or 365 days... or 8760 hours.... or 525600 minutes. Doesn't it seem like it goes by in a flash?

Have you set goals for the new year? Priorities? Have you reassessed what things are important?
For some reason this new year, I feel like getting rid of a bunch of stuff around the house. Streamlining, and cleaning up. Getting rid of things I no longer use. It's way past time. Now I'm not saying I will declutter completely, but I'm going to start. One room at a time, one box of stuff at a time.

There's one thing that will NEVER get the heave ho though, and that's my pictures! My photos are the single most important thing to me in my house. Everything else can be replaced (oh except for other family treasures). I'd bet that most of you feel the same way.

Which is why I'm writing this post. If you haven't already placed a top priority on photos, whether they are for a newborn, your children, a family session, an engagement, or a wedding.....please read on.
This blog post I'm going to share with you was shared on Facebook. That's where I first read it. It's very meaningful and moving, and will make you think about your priorities.
The author has given permission to share it, and I am posting it in the body of my post, but you can follow the link to the original post below so you can read the other comments.

From Fototails Photography:

A letter on my door step. portraits are more than paper.

Posted by jeaninethurston on January 2, 2012

There will be no portrait photos in this post. This letter wasn’t mailed – it was at my doorstep when I got home a couple months ago. I read it, I cried, and read it again – probably a hundred times by now. It wasn’t easy to read – and honestly, as much as it validates what I do for a living – I wasn’t sure I was going to share it either – Until today, when a past client said that my print prices were too expensive. If you choose to read through the letter, you will know why I’ve finally chosen to share it.

July 2nd, 2011

Jeanine -

Today I am writing for a couple of reasons. I have some quiet time at the moment and need to get a couple of things off my mind. I will leave this for my husband to deliver to you when he is ready.

You photographed my wedding, you photographed my first pregnancy and my first baby. I contacted you awhile back to photograph my 2nd child and family. After getting prices and realizing I would want all of the pictures as we love your work – I decided against spending $500+ – which is what I normally spend for portraits and prints with you.. Please know it is not because I don’t value your amazing eye, or how much we love the experience.

That week that I decided to NOT do a session with you, this is how I spent some money.

On Sunday I called and cancelled our session. Monday I went out and got my hair cut ($39+tip), and colored ($65), Thursday I had my nails done ($24), my family went out to dinner at a somewhat expensive restaurant for no particular reason costing us $79 + tip. This was just 4 days since canceling our session, already totaling over $200 for un necessary things. My nails only lasted about 2 weeks, my hair is gone, and seven weeks passed when I got the phone call from our doctor. It was not something I expected and the cancer has spread very quickly. I will be leaving my husband, my 6 year old girl and my now 2 year old – not by choice. It is very hard for me to talk about it which is why I need to write you.

I watch your Facebook page and your posts about the value of a photo and if I could give back all of those things that I purchased this few weeks after I cancelled my session with you, knowing what I know now, and have that session, well… I would do it in a heartbeat.

Now my time is done and there are no more chances for me. The next time someone cancels a session – my wish is that you forward this letter to them. Time is fragile, it is gone before you know you had it. If you charged $200 for one print it wouldn’t be enough for what it is actually worth. I cringe to think that my priorities were a manicure over a memory to pass onto my babies and husband.

My love and thanks for what you have given us from past photos. I am so sorry that I did not see it as more than paper until now.

Karen L.

If I had gotten a letter like that from a previous client, I think I would have cried.

This year....2012....review your priorities.....please.

This Momma didn't plan on getting in any photos at her daughter's session, I talked her into it. I'll bet she's glad she did.

2011 in review

2011-12-29T09:42:00.000-08:00

I thought it would be fun to look back at the 2011 sessions and post a fave of mine from each one. Thankful that I had some fun sessions, cool locations, great clients, and get to do what I love! The business has grown, the word of mouth and referrals wonderful. Thank you each and everyone for passing on my number to your friends and family!
“A portrait is not made in the camera but on either side of it.” – Edward Steichen

So here we go..........

These following ones were not client sessions, but were taken for fun or at local photographer meetups! I love doing these meetups or sessions for fun, because I can play and experiment with different things.....and no pressure.

What a great year it was, I'm excited for 2012! Thanks to all the clients of 2011 and I look forward to meeting new ones in 2012 and seeing some of the previous ones again.

Have a very Happy New Year!

Londyn : : Bellevue baby photographer : :

2011-12-21T08:37:00.000-08:00

I was absolutely speechless when I showed up to photograph 9 month old Londyn. This tiny petite thing was walking!! And I don't just mean holding on to tables, walls and chairs and taking a few steps, but walking on her own....across rooms! And here I thought doing a 9 month session would be fairly easy, lol.

But despite the fact that this little cutie pie was capable of walking AWAY from my camera, I'm still very delighted with the images I saw when I uploaded to my computer. We lucked out with our December weather and had a very nice day to finish up at a local park after shooting indoors.

And I'm so glad I talked Mom into getting in some of the shots....aren't they the sweetest things?

Londyn absolutely LOVED playing with my pearls!

Just look at those lashes!

This one of her standing by the chair is one of my faves...something about it reminds me of a fairytale, sort of magical.

What a little doll baby she is! Thank you so much for contacting me Julie and I hope you enjoy your preview!

Fa la la Christmas template

2011-12-13T11:20:00.000-08:00

Well it's been fun experimenting around with the QR code reader, but I figured it was time to share the template download with all the others that don't have that app or a smart phone.

This is my Christmas present to all my facebook fans for this year!!
I hope you enjoy and please spread the word by sharing my Facebook page.

I'd also love it if you share your images of the completed mini album after you've used it on my facebook page wall. I'd love to see how they turn out!

Here's what you get for stopping by..............
You will get a zip file (it's pretty large...be patient with the download) with 4 separate templates, one for the back spread, front spread, and front and back covers. All are psd files and work in photoshop. You will need to have a working knowledge of using templates, layers and clipping masks.

Click image for a larger view

DOWNLOAD HERE

If you arrived at this page via your phone, you'll need to fill out the form below:
To have the download link emailed to you, please fill in your email address below: (your address will not be shared in any way)

Click here to put a form like this on your site.

(click image for a larger view)

sharing the star bokeh again

2011-12-01T10:08:00.000-08:00

Last year I did a whole bunch of Christmas blog posts on my other blog with my pretty vintage ornaments. And on some of the images I used a layer that I made from an image with star bokeh.
I thought I'd repost the links for download again and show you what they look like. Plenty of time for you to play around and make a magical holiday photo! If you missed that past post, have a look on the link above and also HERE.

This is one of my fave images from the past using the colored star layer. I almost always will use it on screen mode, that's the look I like best. But you could use it on some of the other blending modes too. Then make a layer mask so you can mask off areas that you don't want it on, like faces. These directions are assuming that you use photoshop and know how to work with layers.

If you like the free bokeh layers, please share this post on FB, google+ or pin it.
I'd also like to see what you do with you own photos, so you can share them on my FB page, or link to them in a comment below.

Download the colored star bokeh HERE.

Below is a picture done with the white star bokeh layer, also on screen mode. Last year's photo of my cute little grandson waiting in line to see Santa!

Download the white star boheh HERE

Have fun and share!!

Chase {5 days new} Seattle newborn photographer

2011-11-25T23:51:00.001-08:00

I had the recent pleasure of meeting and photographing Chase for his newborn session. I'm am not kidding one little bit when I say he was the best baby ever! He slept the entire time. No crying, no peeing, no poo....none at all. A first for me, and I hope not the last, lol. Plus....he is one beautiful baby.
I'm sure you'll agree. Meet baby Chase!

Cyber Monday deals all around!

2011-11-25T09:43:00.001-08:00

Up this Monday for your shopping pleasure are some great sales from a few of my favorite photography friends! Starting at 6am until midnight you can take advantage of these great sales!
We all decided to work together to make things easier for you to do your online shopping!

From my Etsy shop...now's your chance to pick up a fine art print at 15% off. If you have that hard to buy for family member or friend and they have some empty wall space, this is the perfect idea. I also have a variety of coaster sets available with 4 different images that all go together. Check the coasters out HERE. (click on image below to go to the Etsy shop)

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Colleen from Chasing Dreams Photography has a fantastic sale for her texture packs! If you love adding textures to your photographs to add that little punch like I do, you'll LOVE these textures! They are already so reasonably priced, and with 30% off...it's a steal! Check them out. (click on image to go to her shop).

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Isabelle from Isabelle LaFrance Photography offers actions for photoshop, presets for lightroom, and texture sets. All kinds of goodies to make your editing easier and fun. She is also generously offering a 30% Cyber Monday discount. Have a look around her boutique! (click on image to go to her shop)

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Next to join our Cyber sale is Pamela from Pamela Topping Photography.
You can save on photoshop actions or on one of her cute little camera love necklaces!!
(click on banner to go to her website)

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Amanda from Everyday Elements is offering action sets at a MAJOR discount but in limited quantity, and a discount on all workshops.
(click on banner to go to her website)

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Have you ever looked around online at Sophia Jane Boutique?
Kimberley is offering a 20% discount off of everything in the Boutique. So head on over to find your little girl some headbands, bows, tutus, pettiskirts and more!
To receive the 20% discount please email Kimberley before placing an order at sophiajaneboutique@gmail.com
(click on the banner below to go to the boutique)

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You all know Rita from the Coffeeshop blog right? Well she has joined us too, and is offering her mega download pack for free for anyone that buys a blog design tonight or tomorrow (limited quantities). What a deal that is. Rita was a big part of helping me with my blog a few years ago!

(click on banner to go to the Coffeeshop blog design website)

Be sure to visit the vendors pages to make sure you have all the details of their respective discounts, sales might not go live at the same time since we all have different time zones to deal with! Thank you and have fun!!

Black Friday special | Seattle portrait photographer

2011-11-23T10:55:00.000-08:00

If you're the kind that doesn't like to get out early and brave the crowds, I've got JUST the thing for you!
This Friday I'm offering a portrait special, but you can only take advantage of it if you purchase during the 24 hours of black Friday!
Now's the time, if you are expecting a baby, are a senior this year, looking to update the family portraits, or are a couple wanting an engagement session. Take advantage of booking a session that includes a free 11x14 or 11x16 mounted wall print.
Session needs to be paid for by midnight Friday Nov 25th, but can be scheduled anytime between now and July 31st 2012.
What are you waiting for? Bookings accepted from 12:01am 11/25/2011 until 11:59 pm 11/25/2011
You can book and pay for your session right HERE via paypal.

Yes, bigger is better!

2011-11-16T15:17:00.000-08:00

Why does your portrait photographer try to steer you away from all those 8x10's you want to order? And what does "desk print" or "gift print" mean?
Well, read on.....I'm here to tell you!

Back in the day before digital (yes it's true, there was a time), the size format was different and 8x10's used to be standard. Now however, when you ask for an 8x10 and various other "standard" sizes, you can loose up to 2 inches of your image.

As your image is seen from the digital camera, the size ratio is 3:2.
To crop to an 8x10, you would need a ratio of 5:4

There are a few sizes of prints that you can have made to maintain the native 3:2 ratio. Those sizes are 4x6, 8x12, 12x18, 16x24 and 20x30. This would be important if you have an image with a "tight crop" or not very much free space left around the subject. Generally heads and limbs are important to keep in the picture!

I did a few crop examples to show you what the same image looks like with different crops.

Here's the original image coming from the camera. If you want to maintain EVERYTHING in your print, this needs to be printed as a 4x6, 8x12, 12x18, 16x24 or 20x30.

If you were to ask for this printed as a 5x7, this is what you would get....a little loss but not too much:

Now for an 8x10 crop (my least favorite, you loose 2 inches from the long side):

Here's the 11x14 crop:

And finally a 16x20 crop:

And here they are all together:

One other thing I wanted to point out to all the 8x10 lovers out there....is that it is best used as a desk print (or gift print as they are sometimes called). When hung on the wall, it will look pretty pathetic and lost. You might be able to get away with it say in a bathroom, or as part of a grouping, but not alone on a large wall. Have a look:

Poor Charlotte looks absolutely lost here on the wall as an 8x10. A beautiful portrait of a beautiful girl needs to be showcased, not lost on the wall. Doesn't she look better here:

I do get a fair amount of client orders that come in for an image in an 8x10, and I email back to show them the potential crop and just how that picture will look. If you are wanting that size, please consider an 8x12 if you could potentially loose an important part of the image. There are many more places that you can get 8x12 frames now, including ordering online. But really....go BIGGER!

I hope this was useful information for you. If so, please feel free to share this post on facebook (there's a little like button at the top) or link to your own blog.

Urban family | Seattle area family portraits

2011-11-03T08:00:00.000-07:00

Another session at one of my favorite place, the Pike Place Market in Seattle. It was a really busy day there, so lots of people dodging. Everyone likes the market!
I did this little guys newborn session back in April. He sure is getting to look like his big brother, don't you think?

Let them be little | I Heart Faces challenge

2011-10-24T11:50:00.000-07:00

It's been a LONG time since I've had time to upload a post for an I Heart Faces challenge!
Last week I went to a pumpkin patch with my daughter & grandson, and they had this cool "vintage" fire truck on the property. Bennett loved climbing on it and turning the dials and pushing buttons. It was perfect for him.
I got some photos from the afternoon, and decided that the first one with his cute little bottom lip out was my fave. There were a lot more that I liked, so I wanted to share a few of those too.

senior girls of September

2011-10-01T12:30:00.000-07:00

Ever since I moved all my senior postings over to the senior blog, this blog has been a little neglected. So I thought I'd just put up a little teaser of the 4 gorgeous senior girls I had the pleasure of working with in September!!
I adore working with seniors, they are so fun and willing to do whatever!
If you have a friend, relative or know someone that is a HS senior this year, send them on over. And if you know a HS junior, send them on over too so I can talk to them about being a rep for me:)

Now here's Isabella, Kelly, Ti'erra, and Ellie........ the girls of September!
You can hop on over to the senior blog to see more of their sessions!

Undecided

2011-09-12T13:53:00.000-07:00

Have you ever had one of those days where you couldn't decided on what kind of processing you wanted to use for an image...or a session?
Do I go with bold and clean? Vintage? Color washes? Black and white? Soft and pastel?
Oh the choices are endless aren't they?

Usually I choose based on the feel of the session. More than likely an urban session like these images will get the more bold and colorful look rather than the soft pastel or washed out look of a session in a field or beach.
But even after choosing the initial style of editing, there's so many more subtle changes you can make!

Just to illustrate the dilemma I sometimes find myself in, I edited this same image 6 different ways. And that's just the beginning of what can be done! Should you keep a session of images all uniform in style? The advantage to that is similar looking images for a wall grouping or of course a coffee table album.
But it's so fun to show some other possibilities to the client right?

Do you have a favorite from the 6 different looks below?

Just in case you're wondering how this editing was accomplished so beautifully (true right?) I used exclusively the new Florabella Classic Workflow Collection from Florabella.com.
The Florabella actions have always been some of my favorites, and just when I think Shana Rae has come out with the best set ever, I'm pleasantly surprised to be wrong:) So here's a little preview of just a handful from the new set. Keep your eye on the Florabella blog for the big release...you'll be glad you did!

This new set has 53 Photoshop & PSE Actions, including 8 all in one workflow actions, 25 artistic options, 15 essential workflow actions, and 5 finishing actions.

Classic Black and White Classic color + add some drama + pastel haze

classic color + deep azure classic color + warm color pop

classic color + vintage wash classic color + teal shift

Oh, now don't get me started on adding textures! That's a whole different post:)

Senior shoot out : : new video!

2011-08-30T16:44:00.000-07:00

I thought I'd post a fun little video of the senior shoot out I attended a little while ago. A group of beautiful HS girls to model, an awesome location, great weather, and other local photographers to network with, What could make for a better day?

Charlotte Rose modeling shoot | Seattle children's photographer

2011-08-29T08:51:00.000-07:00

A few days ago, I planned a photo shoot that would provide me with just some fun opportunity to enjoy something for myself! I had some locations I wanted to shoot in and a beautiful young model to work with for a few hours. Sometimes I like to add things to the portfolio for a certain look, or a specific age group.

For some reason, parents don't seem to get their elementary or middle school children's portraits taken very often, unless it's part of a family session. We all know that newborns and babies have photos done, HS seniors get theirs done....but those kids in between seem to get neglected. And a wonderful opportunity is missed out on! Who knows why? Kids this age are fun and easy to work with, and can be made to feel really special for the day!

Now Charlotte Rose was a bit of a different story. She is an aspiring model, and I knew working with her would benefit us both. I could add some fun and awesome images to my portfolio of this neglected age group, and she could have some new images for her portfolio. Win win!!

I'm sure you'll agree after seeing these images that she is a natural and has "the look".

Dakota 12 days old {Seattle newborn photographer}

2011-08-16T08:30:00.000-07:00

It's been a long time since I've had a newborn to photograph, so I was excited to get to play with the amazing 12 day old Dakota. She was a real dream! Slept well and was hardly fussy in the least. It had also been awhile since I had a newborn girl, so I could finally use some of the new headbands I had collected.

What a lucky mom and dad to have this little princess to spoil.
Enjoy the preview!

Welcome to Seattle {Seattle area family photographer}

2011-07-27T08:31:00.000-07:00

This cute transplanted California family wanted a session that showed off our beautiful NW landscape, so we met at Discovery Park in Seattle. This is one of my favorite places with gorgeous views!
Acres and acres of land with trails, beaches, fields, and views! A little bit of everything for your session.

We headed to a grassy field area first to set up our little picnic, then eventually ended up at the beach. The weather was perfect, the family was beautiful, and the orange soda delish!
Here's the 'P' family for you, welcome them to Seattle!!

After my car was all packed up and I was pulling out of the parking lot, I decided to stop and walk back down to the beach to see if I could get a good sunset shot with the lighthouse. I think I succeeded!

Leah...2 years now! {Seattle area children's photographer}

2011-07-14T21:10:00.000-07:00

How fun seeing this tiny little cutie grow over the last 2 years! Leah was one of my earlier newborn subjects, then I saw her again for her one year photos. I swear it seems just like yesterday! Now I've done her 2 year session, and she just keeps getting cuter and cuter!
She wasn't especially wanting to follow direction (go figure with a 2 year old) and would not stand on, sit on, or sit in my cute little crate that I brought along. Seems she was the most happy while doing 2 things...running or being held by momma.
Even so, I think we ended up with some fun shots! And I loved her dress!

And here she is in her newborn session and her one year....

Thank you Katie for continuing to come back to me and trusting me with your memories!

The circus is in town! {Seattle area childrens photographer}

2011-06-30T11:26:00.000-07:00

Awesome photographers meetup yesterday!! One of the Facebook groups I belong to planned another meetup and this time decided to try and make it a themed event. There was a nice variety of cool props and plenty of cute kids to photograph! We made it without any rain too unlike the last meetup.

The nice thing about this shoot for me, was being able to download into Lightroom3 and go through the nearly 400 shots I took....yikes! Lightroom is new to me, and it sure did make getting these images up and ready for the blog post quick!! Alot of these images were almost completely edited in Lightroom, with just a few things done afterwards in Photoshop. I did add textures to a few.

Such a fun meetup, I can't wait for more!! Oh and I got to play with my Lensbaby!! This was the perfect opportunity since it wasn't paying clients:)
Warning....lots and lots and lots of photos!

beach getaway- part 2

2011-06-28T19:24:00.000-07:00

So many photos to go through from this 3 day getaway, I'm continuing it in parts. This is part 2, in Seaside Oregon. I love this cute little town! It's great for families and kids. A big huge beautiful beach, a boardwalk all along it from one end of town to the other, and lots of CANDY shops!

I used to come here with my daughter (in these photos) when she was on a competition dance team. Then she was a teenager and footloose and fancy free. Now we're here with a busy busy 16 month old. Makes for a much different trip.

I think I said in the previous post how much Bennett loved running into the water. In fact it was hard to get the shots of him, because he had no fear and would run right out into the waves, then the sand would slip away from under his feet...and down he would go!

He also had some fun carousel rides and browsed all the candy stores with us. That little tyke can sure run fast up and down the aisles of the candy stores!

Playing in water just didn't happen only at the beach!

YUM....right?

One more part to go...stay tuned!

first beach- part one

2011-06-22T13:08:00.000-07:00

I've been working like crazy to get part of these images edited and blogged, all the while suffering from my usual "first day of summer cold". Why is it that the worst cold of the year I get is right at the start of summer?
I also could be out working in my overgrown yard......but that's another story.

Anyway, I have a personal post to put up, just one of several parts. Too many images to subject you to all at once! My daughter and grandson came along with me to the Washington and Oregon coast for a little mini get away last week. We had fairly decent weather, considering what our PNW spring has been like this year.
We got to explore the cute little towns of Longbeach and Seaside plus introduce Bennett to the ocean for the first time! He loved it by the way....cold water and all.
He had no fear of running right out into the water (that could be a bad thing I guess). He took a few tumbles, ate some sand and got plenty wet! Those images of him will come later, but for now, here's some from the first part of our trip to Longbeach Washington.

He's turning into such a little boy!! No more baby:( The first thing he did was to pick up sticks everywhere we went.
Stay tuned for part 2- as we head further south to Seaside Oregon!

Splish-splash

2011-06-21T10:55:00.000-07:00

I saw this photo challenge link up on the Love That Shot blog, and knew immediately the image I would post!
I'm in the process of culling and editing all the images from my recent trip to the ocean with my daughter and grandson, and have far to go!
But here's a little sneak peek into some of the water activities that Bennett enjoyed!
This was a gift/garden center we stopped at, and he found this fountain to play in. He was having So much fun and got totally soaked! I think he would have stayed all day to play:)

Stay tuned for a more complete blog post hopefully soon. In the meantime, check out the other Splish-splash entries at Love That Shot!

fix it friday

2011-06-17T09:19:00.000-07:00

A quick little post today to join in on the Fix it Friday over at I Heart Faces.

Again we have a before and after edit. Original photo from Susan Keller of Susan Keller Photography.

Since I just recently got my new programs (Lightroom and CS5), I wanted to first start in Lightroom. I'm just beginning to get familiar with this program, and so far love it. I also just got the newest presets from Isabelle LaFrance Photography, so tried them out for this image. I ended up choosing "Inukshuk" from the Soulshine Borealis set. It pretty much gave the look I wanted right off the bat. I did then take it into CS5 for a bit more tweaking. I adjusted the yellows and greens a bit, and added some more punch.

Photog meetup and shoot-out

2011-06-10T17:07:00.000-07:00

This has been my first year to get active with some of my Facebook local groups. I belong to a few, and every once in awhile a meet up is planned to meet other locals and share info/network/complain/take photos. It sort of depends on what our Seattle weather is doing on that day.
Sometimes we just meet for coffee, and other times we try to plan a fun shooting day.
This particular day, the weather was iffy and changing from minute to minute...but we didn't cancel.

A small and brave group of us met at Discovery Park and ~~encouraged,~~ ~~bribed~~, pleaded with the kids to be our models:). It was lightly sprinkling at first, then got to the point that we finally called it quits. In a majority of these images, I think if you look closely, you'll see the rain drops.
Better luck for us next time! And we do have a big fun themed event for the next one. Be on the look out!!

and this was what the kids looked like as they were hoping the rain would stop!

Don't my friends have the cutest kids? Can't wait for the next meet-up!

It's a Preemie Thing- giveaway winner

2011-06-01T20:26:00.000-07:00

Back last Feburary, It's a Preemie Thing had a nationwide giveaway for families of preemies. They were looking for a few photographers to donate a session, or a gift certificate or anything to spread some cheer to preemie families across the nation. The response was overwhelming… many across the US, Canada and even in Japan donated time, session fees or an entire package!!

I threw my name in there for a free full session, and was chosen by Marcie to do her portraits.
We got in contact with each other, and waited until the weather would be a little more appealing for an outdoor session. We met up last weekend at a local beach, and Marcie decided it would be nice to have both sets of grandparents involved with us.
It was such a pleasure to met them all, and little Ray, what a treasure he is!! Almost 3 now, you would never know he went through so much in his young life.

I asked Marcie to give me a little information about his birth for this blog post, and I also wanted to include a couple photos of the little guy shortly after his birth. Please read on for an amazing story!!

"Ray was born at 24 weeks and weighed just 1 lb. 11oz. and was 13 inches long. After 102 days in the Valley Medical Center NICU, we were finally able to bring him home. He loves his cars and trucks and is an active, normal, nearly three year old now with no ill effects from his premature birth. The doctors still do not know what caused him to come so early."

Can you believe this is the same little guy? Many years ago I used to work in the NICU at Children's Hospital here in Seattle, so I'm used to seeing little preemies like this. But it still amazes me to this day how tiny and fragile they are, and yet can grow up to become a bundle of energy like little Ray was!!
Here's some of those cars and trucks that he loves so much. Oh yeah, that green one, I think it was on top of my head a few times:)

And here they are proudly wearing their It's a Preemie Thing shirts!

It was a great pleasure and honor to meet you Marcie, along with the grandparents, and of course your little miracle. You're a lucky and blessed momma!! Thank you for choosing me to take your family portraits!

For those of you that have had a preemie, or know someone that has (or possibly will have this year)....pass on the website and facebook page for It's a Preemie Thing. I do believe this photographer giveaway is going to become an annual event. And I for one will be participating again!!

Kelsey : : 2011 Kennedy HS senior : : Seattle senior photographer

2011-05-29T09:16:00.000-07:00

I was so excited when Kelsey contacted me and said she wanted an urban location for her senior session! Yay, I LOVE urban. Her pick was the Pick Place Market area, my favorite place in all of Seattle. I love going there, whether it's just to savor the atmosphere on a nice day, or for a photo session.
We had a beautiful evening, and Kelsey modeled like she was a pro!
I've had an amazing run of gorgeous girls from Kennedy, and she certainly fits right in.

Here's to answers that Kelsey had to my questions prior to our session.

If you could hop on a plane right now, and take a trip all expenses paid…..where would you go?

"Cape Town, South Africa"

What kinds of activities are you involved in? Hobbies?

"I like soccer and being active."

Do you have after graduation plans?

" I am going to Malibu Younglife camp, and a 6 week summer program at Gonzaga"

What’s your favorite type of music? Favorite band?

"I try to be open to all types of music, but have always loved country and Rascal Flatts"

What are 3 words that describe you?

"random, active, excited"

What do you most want to remember about your senior year?

"Making friends with new people"

Did this girl ROCK her session or what!?

And OH those shoes!!

Thanks for a fabulous session Kelsey! Good luck to you in whatever you choose to do with your after high school plans!
Now.....how about leaving Kelsey a little blog love!

Darn Fanciful Anniversary Week giveaway!

2011-05-26T23:53:00.000-07:00

My Etsy and Facebook friend Renata is having a giveaway from her shop "Darn Fanciful", and since she doesn't have a blog to host it on, I offered up my blog for the event! I first "met" Renata when I made a purchase from her awhile back for my newborn photography. If you're looking for cuteness and great quality and prices, you'll want to check out her shop!

So now on with the details of the giveaway!!! Here's the post from Renata.............

Darn Fanciful Anniversary Week Finale May 27-28
Two years ago, on May 23, I gave myself a wonderful birthday present - I have created “Darn Fanciful”

It had been two wonderful years, meeting my customers, working with great photographers and doing what I REALLY LIKE to do - KNITTING.

During the past couple years I have also met Sylvia, who so graciously lent me her blog for this giveaway. Thank you DearJ

I hope I have shown my gratitude to my fans and customers with mini giveaways and discounts during this week.

When you looked through the items in my shop, was there one knit that caught your eye in the special way? Is there a prop that you keep going back for a second, third look? Now is your chance to have it for free!!!

Here's a sampling of what you'll find in the shop!

In this MINI Giveaway the prize is:

Your Favorite knit from my shop!!! The Winner gets to name their Prize!!!

Then onto the FUN!!!

Here are the Rules:

1. The giveaway runs from midnight May 26 until midnight May 28 PDT (West Coast time zone)

2. Entry: Please like Sylvia Cook Photography, and my FB page: Darn Fanciful. Then come back here and comment on your favorite knit from my shop and with your email address [so I can find you easier to notify if you are a winner.]

3. Bonus Entries: Each purchase completed (paid) today in my Etsy shop www.darnfanciful.etsy.com , gives you 3 bonus entries. Please comment about the purchase you’ve made and number your comments 1 through 3. It will really help me to keep track of all the entries.

To make the bonus entries easier for you I am having a 2-hour random sale on May 27 and May 28. So keep your eyes peeled for announcements on Darn Fanciful FB page.

The 20% discount code to my store will be: BIG2ANN. It will be valid for 2 hours only on May 27 and 28. I will announce the start and end of the sale on Facebook.

…and until the end of May, shipping in the US is FREE, Canada -$.50, $.10 for each additional item; Other Countries $1, $.25 each additional item.

4. The winner will be selected from all the entries by Random.org

While you are making your entries and visiting our FB pages, stop at Sylvia Cook Photography to say hello and peruse Sylvia’s wares on Etsy. They are SOOO worth your attention.

Visit:

http://www.facebook.com/SylviaCookPhotography

http://www.facebook.com/DarnFanciful1

www.darnfanciful.etsy.com

Disclaimer: This event is in no way associated with Facebook or their affiliates.

I Heart Faces Challenge :: Yellow ::

2011-05-23T12:59:00.000-07:00

On to another week and another I heart Faces photo challenge.
Yellow was this weeks theme, and I remembered this little girl from her spring session last year. We were in a field with some daisies, and I had my yellow tutu and fairy wings....perfect with her beautiful blond hair to make for a light and bright summery shot!

Head on over there to see all the entries!!

First feature!

2011-05-17T08:34:00.000-07:00

I'm honored and excited to tell you that I'm featured on the blog "Moms who Click".
Quite a few of my fellow friends and photographers have already been lucky enough to grace this blog, so I really am in good company!

Please have a look at the post, you might find out some things about me that you didn't know. And for sure you will see photos:) Spread the word!

But how can I do a post without some photos? Not possible. It's been awhile since I've posted some updated pictures of Bennett (my grandson) so this is the perfect opportunity!
He spent 6 days with me last week while his parents were out of town, and we had a couple nice days to get out and enjoy some sunshine. We went to 3 different parks, and of course I had to update my "Bennett folders".

this one is right in my backyard...finally things are beginning to bloom!

I Heart Faces Challenge :: Motherhood ::

2011-05-09T09:57:00.000-07:00

In honor of motherhood, the I heart Faces Blog has made that the challenge this week, so fitting of course!
Everytime I think of motherhood, I keep coming back to this image. It's probably one of my all time faves to date of my daughter and grandson. We went to a local park right before it started raining so I could try my new lens.
This was back last May, when he was just 4 months old.
Now he's 15 months and staying with me for a week while his mommy is out of town. Just a bit sad that she wasn't with him for Mother's day, but he has the next best thing...me and his Auntie:)
It's going to be a fun and busy week!

He has alot more hair now by the way, and is cuter than ever! I love the way their noses fit together in this shot:)

Happy belated Mother's Day to all the mothers out there!
And check out the I heart Faces blog post!

Magaly :: 2011 Kennedy HS senior :: Seattle senior photographer

2011-05-08T10:00:00.000-07:00

I'd like you to meet yet another of my beautiful HS senior girls from this Spring! Magaly came to me via another gorgeous girl I had a session with back last fall, maybe you remember her? I've had an amazing month of lovely girls, and they've all been so fun to work with!
We met a few evenings ago, and lucked out with a bit of sunshine at the beginning of our time together. The gardens were beautiful, and flowers were beginning to bloom everywhere.

I do love doing senior sessions! If you hurry, and haven't yet done yours, there's still a little time!

Now on with Magaly's story and photos!

If you could hop on a plane right now, and take a trip all expenses paid...where would you go?

"I would go to Paris, France"

What kinds of activities are you involved in? Hobbies?

"Right now I’m not involved in any activities, but during high school I have been involved in cheerleading and lacrosse. My hobbies include running, reading, and hanging out with friends."

Do you have after graduation plans?

"My after graduation plans are to go with my classmates to the all night senior grad party."

What’s your favorite type of music? Favorite band?

"My favorite type of music would have to be anything from Katy Perry to Ke$ha to Phoenix and Rooney. I don’t have a favorite band exactly but I like listening to almost all types of music."

How would you describe your style...?

"I would describe my style as fashionable and effortless."

What are 3 words that describe you?

"Happy, Kind and Fun"

What do you most want to remember about your senior year?

"I most want to remember having fun times with my friends and being happy."

Well, I certainly hope the remainder of the school is fabulous for you Magaly, I just know all your friends will remember you!

Lauren :: Kennedy HS senior 2011 :: Seattle senior photographer

2011-05-01T08:30:00.000-07:00

Last week was so busy for me! I had 4 portrait sessions, all different kinds! A newborn, 3 little girls, a couple, and another senior. Talk about variety!
Lauren is another of the Kennedy HS girls that I've photographed recently. I'm telling you, this campus is filled with gorgeous girls.

We headed to a park nearby her house, a place that was new to me. The weather was iffy, and we did have a period with a few sprinkles, but my bubble umbrella came in handy!
So here's a little peek at Lauren, and some facts to get to know her. And hey to Lauren's friends and family that are here, how about clicking the little FB like button so this is shared on your wall?

If you could hop on a plane right now, and take a trip all expenses paid…..where would you go?

"Europe" (the most popular place it seems)

What kinds of activities are you involved in? Hobbies?

" Soccer, exercise and art."

Do you have after graduation plans?

"Vacations and to go to the University of Arizona."

What’s your favorite type of music? Favorite band?

"Pop music"

How would you describe your style?

"Relaxed, natural, preppy-ish"

What are 3 words that describe you?

"Outgoing, humorous, hard worker"

What do you most want to remember about your senior year?
"My friends!"

Thank you Lauren for yet another fantastic senior session. Have fun with your summer plans and best of luck at the Univ of Arizona!

Under the Tuscan moon : : Seattle couples photography : :

2011-04-25T08:58:00.000-07:00

Jon and Eva, a bottle of Italian wine, a Seattle beach...all went together to make for a fun couple's session!
Eva called me to take some photos of her and Jon to share with friends and family to announce their recent marriage. It sounded like a fun session, another evening on Alki, and another cold night!

Here's a bit they shared with me about their history.
"Jon and I met after a Mariner's game almost 10 years ago and have been inseparable ever since. We went to Italy in October 2010, and while in our favorite Tuscan hillside town of Cortona (of Under the Tuscan Sun fame), one beautiful moonlit evening while looking out over the Tuscan valley, Jon got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. The wine in our photos was some of the same wine we enjoyed while in Cortona and the Montepulciano region. We have lived together in West Seattle for over 7 years and it's a big part of our lives. That is why we wanted our photos taken around the area."

Well the story is so romantic isn't it? A proposal in Italy, on a moonlit evening overlooking the gorgeous Tuscan countryside? Does it get any better than that? And I gotta say, Under the Tuscan Sun is one of my fave movies!!

It was such a pleasure to photograph these two, and lots of fun for me since it was actually my first "couples" session. Here's to many more! I hope you two enjoy your sneak peeks!

the wind was blowing so hard, I caught the wine pouring sideways!

Probably the last time I'll be able to capture the pretty spring blossoms in my sessions. And the sun made an ever so brief appearance! Just long enough to get some flare!!

3 sisters and some bubbles : : Bellevue childrens photographer

2011-04-23T09:00:00.000-07:00

Last week I had a mini session with these 3 cute sisters at the park! We moved around to a few spots trying to corral them all together, no easy task for sure. Bubbles played a part in the morning, and I ended up getting some fun shots of that.
Here's just a few from the session! Aren't they adorable?

Rachel : : Kennedy HS senior : : Seattle senior photographer

2011-04-21T10:38:00.000-07:00

I am not exaggerating when I say I have had the cutest, coolest, loveliest senior girls this Spring! They have been all so much fun to work with, and make my job easy! As you'll see below, Rachel is no exception.

We planned our session on Alki in the evening, hoping to have some nice "sunset color". Well, that just wasn't in the cards. In fact, it was cold, windy and cloudy. Poor Rachel braved it all though for the sake of the shots! And did we get some great ones!! My initial look at the images made me go WOW on quite a few occasions. There was hardly a shot I tossed, making it very hard to pick some for the blog post....I wanted them all...lol. And it was a breeze to edit:)

So this is what you get....complete with Rachel's questions and answers. Here we go!

If you could hop on a plane right now, and take a trip all expenses paid…..where would you go?

"I would love to go to Miami and get on a Caribbean cruise for 10 days during the summer"

What kinds of activities are you involved in? Hobbies?

"I have golfed since I was 7 years old, I am a cheerleader for my high school and I am involved in activities at school. I love to wakeboard and snowboard, especially anything in water."

Do you have after graduation plans?

"I plan to attend the University of Washington"

What’s your favorite type of music? Favorite band?

"I like alternative, hip-hop, rap, and rock. My favorite artist is Jack Johnson."

How would you describe your style?

"I'm preppy and athletic."

What are 3 words that describe you?

"Energetic, outgoing, and mellow."

What do you most want to remember about your senior year?

"I want to remember my friends and my experience with cheer."

and for fun, we found some cool looking cars!

I loved this session! Great work Rachel...and best of luck at the UW!!

Crave this contest give away!

2011-04-19T08:46:00.000-07:00

One of my very favorite photographers is having the giveaways of ALL giveaways this week!
I've entered, but fully expect to see about 10,000 entries by the time the week is up.
Andee Tate of CRAVE Photography is giving away a 2 day mentoring session, all expenses paid!!
Ooh la la, would I love to win that!
So to increase my chances with one more entry, I'm linking with my blog....yay me!
Even if you are not a photographer, or have no intention of entering this contest, you should have a look at the Crave blog. You will be. .blown. .away.
Fingers crossed:)

welcoming Easton : : Bellevue newborn photographer : :

2011-04-18T12:02:00.000-07:00

"A new baby is like the beginning of all things....wonder, hope, a dream of possibilities"

A couple days ago I spent the morning with 9 day old baby Easton and his family. Recently arrived from the midwest, this baby boy is number 2 in the family. His big brother Owen already seems to enjoy being a helper with him. Owen got in on some shots at the end of our session, you'll see him below also.

Congratulations and welcome to this lovely family, both on your new addition, and also to Seattle!

Natalie : : Tahoma HS senior : : Seattle senior photographer

2011-04-07T20:28:00.000-07:00

Part 3 of our 3 part blog post with the other half of my senior session from last weekend. To see Emily, look HERE. And to see the post of them together, look HERE.

Up this time is Natalie, who also goes to Tahoma High School.
This was really a fun session with these two gals. I think they had a great idea in planning their session together.
In fact, they've given me an idea for a new promotion. I just have to have some time to work it out.

Anyway...here's Natalie's questions and answers.

If you could hop on a plane right now, and take a trip all expenses paid.....where would you go? (ready for this answer? are you thinking Greece? Nope, Natalie broke the mold!)

"Spain! I really want to go to a Spanish speaking country"

What kinds of activities are you involved in? Hobbies?

"I played volleyball for 6 or 7 years, am an NHS officer and an amateur sailor."

Do you have after graduation plans?

"I'm going to UW!"

What's you favorite type of music? Favorite band?

"I like almost anything but alternative bands are probably my favorite."

How would you describe your style?

"I guess I'd describe my style as casually cute, and sort of girly."

What are 3 words that describe you?

"Outgoing, loyal, and driven."

What do you want most to remember about your senior year?

"The once in a lifetime experience that it is!"

Thanks again girls for a fun (but cold) session. Best of luck to you with your college experience at the UW Natalie!

Emily : : Tahoma HS senior : : Seattle senior photographer

2011-04-06T11:08:00.000-07:00

Part 2 of 3 for these two senior girls that shared a session last weekend. Since we did 2 girls with joint photos, and their own individual photos, I wanted to blog separate posts for them.

First up is Emily....with gorgeous red hair. Emily answered her senior questions for me and guess what? She is joining the list of senior girls that have Greece on their list of top places to go! So here we go!

If you could hop on a plane right now, and take a trip all expenses paid...where would you go?

"I would go have a really hard time deciding where I would go because I want to go everywhere, but if I had to choose where I wanted to go first I would go to Greece because I have wanted to go there the longest. I would want to see the ruins and other historical sites and the coast and Athens and eat Greek food."

What kinds of activities are you involved in? Hobbies?

"I play on the Tahoma Girls Varsity Golf team. I also love to snowboard and play soccer. My absolute favorite hobby is sailing and having coffee with my friends."

Do you have after graduation plans?

"After graduation I plan to go to a four year college, most likely University of Washington, and study political science and something else involving economics or business. After that I want to join the Peace Corp then go to law school."

What's your favorite type of music? Favorite band?

"My favorite type of music is something like alternative/pop. I love The Maine, The Summer Set, Every Avenue, A Rocket to the Moon, Rooney, and Ke$ha. I also like popular music, some rap and hip hop and some oldies."

How would you describe your style?

"I would say that it is casual, comfy and cute."

What are 3 words that describe you?

"Silly, smart, motivated."

What do you most want to remember about your senior year?

"I want to remember having fun with all my friends and enjoying new experiences."

Thanks for the fun session Emily! Good luck with all the new adventures in your life, and I hope you make it to Greece one of these days. I know you'll love it!!

Friends : : a senior session : : Maple Valley senior photographer

2011-04-05T08:25:00.000-07:00

We had another gloomy Seattle weekend, but these next couple posts will be sure to brighten up your day!

I had an inquiry a few months ago from a couple of senior gals that wanted to have their sessions together. Best friends for years. Sounded like fun!!

We postponed the date by one day, hoping for a break in the rain. We didn't have any rain, but we sure had wind and cold, for April anyway. These two braved it though.....well mostly. They did wrap themselves up in my quilt for awhile. Some of our shots looked more like a slumber party on the beach than a senior photo shoot. But it was all good.

I have twice as many photos to sift through and edit of course since this was a "double session" but I couldn't resist getting this cute collage up of the two of them first. I think I'll give each of the girls their own blog post for their individual shots, but for now....a few that I liked of the 2 of them!

I LOVE this collage! Aren't they fun?

Danielle : : 2011 Kennedy HS senior : : seattle senior photographer

2011-03-24T09:28:00.000-07:00

So here we are again with another fantastic senior session! I've been extremely lucky lately to have a string of very photogenic young ladies in front of my camera.

Danielle and her Mom met me at Seward Park for her photos last weekend. I was hoping for a little bit warmer of a day, but we managed to pull it off even with the wind blowing pretty hard. I think if Danielle wasn't so cold at the end, there might have been some water shots! The ground was pretty wet and soppy from a hard rain a few days before, but the blooming cherry trees we found nearby made it all worth while.

As usual, we have some questions and answers from Danielle to go along with her photos.

If you could hop on a plane right now, and take a trip all expenses paid...where would you go?

"Italy, Spain and Greece! I have always wanted to go to those places!"

(wouldn't you know it...another vote for Greece!)

What kinds of activities are you involved in?

"I play soccer and volleyball and used to play lacrosse. I also coach my sister's volleyball team!"

Do you have after graduation plans?

"I am going to WSU!"

What's your favorite type of music? Favorite band?

"I listen to lots of different music. I like rap, hip-hop, alternative rock, anything with a good beat and puts me in a good mood."

How would you describe your style?

"Girly, trendy and athletic!"

What are 3 words that describe you?

"Outgoing, friendly and funny"

What do you most want to remember about your senior year?

"I want to remember all the great times I had with friends!"

Thank you so much Danielle for choosing me to document your memories of your senior year. It's been an honor, and I wish you much success in the future!

Jessica Drossin Textures ::new Illuminations release ::

2011-03-23T19:24:00.000-07:00

I think I've made it clear as mud that I LOVE textures on my images. And I think I've mentioned Jessica Drossin Textures a number of times! So far Jessica has released 4 texture packs, and I have them all.
They are by far some of my favorites...the ones I go back to time and time again.
There's just something about them that seems to work on my images no matter what kind of photo it is.
Jessica puts so much time and effort into making her texture packs really spectacular, you get so much for your small investment.

Right now she is having a contest on her Facebook business page to download a free texture and use it on a photo. Winners get the new texture pack "Illuminations". Needless to say....I WANT IT!
It will be my next purchase whether or not I win, but it sure would be nice to win:)

All submitted photos will be in an album on the Jessica Drossin FB page, and judging will begin on March 30, 2011. Voters will have two days to select their favorite images and winners will be announced on April 1, 2011.

So...there you have it. I'd love for any of my readers to vote on my image during that time period (3/30-3/31).

Here's the photo I entered, one of my most recent senior sessions.

I highly recommend you check out Jessica's blog with all of her texture packs. I don't think I can help you out by suggesting my favorite though, because I love and use them all.

Chloe : : Kennedy High School Senior 2011 ::

2011-03-22T07:59:00.000-07:00

Chloe and I had a great day for her senior session.....nice weather, some beautiful spots for her photos, and a very helpful and fun friend along! Thank you Alex for being a super supporter, reflector holder, clothing stylist, and carrier of equipment! We couldn't have done it without you:)
I've had THE BEST seniors to photography lately!!

Here's some info about Chloe that I gathered before our session:

If you could hop on a plane right now, and take a trip all expenses paid...where would you go?

"Greece- beautiful water and scenery"

(It seems every senior girl I've photographed wants to go to Greece! Do they all know I've been there a long time ago?)

What kind of activities are you involved in?

"Varsity tennis, skiing"

Do you have after graduation plans?

"Attending a 4 year university- possibly UCLA or Vanderbilt"

What's you favorite type of music? Favorite band?

"Country music, Taylor Swift and Brad Paisley"

How would you describe your style?

"Trendy but relaxed, also athletic"

What are 3 words that describe you?

"Hard working, friendly, and organized"

What do you want most to remember about your senior year?

"The great relationships and friendships I built, and my style."

It was great spending the afternoon with you Chloe, and I wish you much happiness and success!

Colton : : Puyallup newborn photographer : :

2011-03-14T13:31:00.000-07:00

Last week I had the privilege of photographing 7 day old Colton. He's the new little brother of this little girl I photographed back last year. What a cute, sweet baby boy!

I did get a few also of big sis while Colton was eating or getting clean up, so I have to post some of those too. She's going to make a wonderful big sister, and I think she's even more adorable than when I photographed her the last time:)

Sophie : : senior 2011 : : Puyallup senior photographer

2011-03-06T20:02:00.000-08:00

Sophie is a senior at Charles Wright Academy, and we enjoyed a fun day of family portraits , then her senior session. So poor Sophie had to smile for hours....and hours!
What a natural she was, didn't seem the least bit nervous or self conscious.
She's the kind of girl that makes the job fun and easy!

As you can see from these photos, she's a natural beauty. I have so many from our session that I liked. I finally just had to stop and pick some for the blog post or I could put the whole gallery up here!

We started the day at her house and wandered around the beautiful property. Then we headed downtown to get some urban looks. I'm so glad we did, we found some great grungy spots with some gorgeous color!

Fix it Friday :: on I Heart Faces::

2011-03-04T08:19:00.000-08:00

Another Friday, another fun photo to edit!
This was the photo that was up for editing on the I Heart Faces Blog for Fix it Friday.
As soon as I saw it, I knew what I wanted to do. High drama and bold colors!!
{original photo belongs to Dana Suggs Photography}

Here's my take on it. I love the grungy urban look for teens, so this was just perfect.

I used the new Michelle Kane actions mostly on this image, and wow!!! What a difference wouldn't you say?

More before and afters on the I heart Faces Blog....go have a look!

8 days new : : baby Ava : :

2011-02-28T16:33:00.000-08:00

What a sweet little peanut this little girl was, though she fought going to sleep for the most part!
Our original session date had to be postponed due to snow and bad roads, so I'm glad it didn't take too long to clear up. We all know how quickly those babies are out of the newborn stage.
Ava is actually the first baby that will be in my Babies First Year Plan. So how lucky am I that I will get to see her again in another 5-6 months!

Please meet beautiful little Ava and welcome her to the world. What lucky parents she has!

By the way, Dad did have his shirt on for the photos (no...really) but Ava decided to pee all down his front the minute I put her in his arms (I actually had to edit off some of the yellow stuff from Dad's arm in one of these images. See right below, where my logo is. Pee was dribbling down between his fingers). But that was only after she peed all over Mom while she was holding her....lol. Oh and once all over one of my wraps. The joys of newborn photography....and new parenthood:)

Spring mini sessions :: only for April ::

2011-02-24T17:35:00.000-08:00

These sessions are perfect for little ones that have a short attention span, a quick update to the family album or to have some new images to take care of Easter or Mother's day photos!

Any product may be purchased a la carte in addition to what is included in the 2 above options.
This includes 3x3 mini accordion books, wall prints, or full resolution digital files. The % off is only for prints however.
The digital files offered in the second option are NOT suitable for print over 5x7 size. Any attempt to do so will result in poor quality,
and Sylvia Cook Photography will NOT be responsible for the outcome.

Due to the limited time for these sessions, clothing changes will not be possible.
**If you have a family of over 4, you may add $20 per person above that number**

Though I have not set aside special dates for these sessions, they must all be done within 10 miles of Bellevue (98006), and I will set up multiple sessions on one date. I will be happy to take your suggestions for locations.

Please contact me as soon as possible to secure your time and date. Fill out THIS FORM to reserve a spot, and in the "additional information box" type in "Spring Mini Session".
Payment may be made below via paypal.

Jared : : 2011 senior : :

2011-02-22T20:07:00.000-08:00

I'm so excited to get these images up here on the blog!
Jared is the son of one of my co-workers, and we had a great time with his senior session!
As usual, the late winter Seattle weather can be somewhat iffy, but we managed to squeeze out just under 2 hours of photography and driving to different locations before the wind and rain kicked in. Lucky us!!

I'm still waiting on Jared's trivia info to post with his photos, but I'm too impatient and wanted to get these up anyway! We went to some cool locations, and had some nice variety. I think Jared looks good no matter where I ~~forced~~ asked him to stand, and I'll bet you agree:)

Photo challenge Red (at I heart faces)

2011-02-13T22:17:00.000-08:00

Another weekly photo challenge on the I ♥ Faces blog, this week is "red".
This beautiful little girl is my most recent favorite image with red in it!!
Isn't she gorgeous? And those blue eyes are to die for!

Enjoy looking at some others on the I Heart Faces blog!

loving black and white

2011-02-10T08:56:00.000-08:00

I was lucky enough to spend some time with Bennett yesterday, and the weather was lovely, so we got outside for a bit and took a little walk around the neighborhood.
He's at a very fun and curious age, babbling and interacting with his surroundings more and more.

I got some cute shots, and decided to play with my new Florabella actions and use the black and white ones for a change. I do love black and white, but find it hard to leave the color image, especially with Bennett's big beautiful blue eyes!

Here's a few of what I worked on.....

And because I can't resist those eyes..................

before and after

2011-02-05T08:20:00.000-08:00

I've been having some fun trying out my new Florabella LUXE II actions, so thought I'd post a before - middle - and after.
Obviously (!!) the bottom of the 3 is the SOOC image *yuck*. It was late in the day, just as it was getting dark, during rain (we were under cover) and with almost no available light.

The middle image is my clean edit using levels and curves, and skin retouching/softening. I didn't mess with the colors or tones because I planned on running an action next.
The top image is my edit with Florabella "Pollyanna - city girl" run on it. Seriously, I think I tried all the actions from the set on this image, and I liked them all. It was extremely hard to choose which one to go with!! I decided on one that was a little more dramatic than soft, because I think it suits this particular image best.

This image was definitely not shot in the best of circumstances, and was right at the end of the session. But I liked it so much, I thought it was worth saving! And it gives me some good practice editing a tough shot. Surprisingly, not really much time had to be spent on this one to go from blah to beautiful!

All the way down at the end, is the same image with a texture applied to give it a more painterly look.

Image with texture

and the winners are.....

2011-01-26T08:30:00.000-08:00

Update....A new winner for package #3 has been drawn since the previous winner has not contacted me. The winning comment is # 466 Jennie Carey Photography. Jennie, please contact me at sylvia@sylviacookphotography.com within 24 hours (8pm Jan 28th) or yet another name will be drawn!!

First off, I have to THANK big time all the awesome ladies/friends/vendors for participating in this great giveaway!

The idea came to me a few months ago, as Bennett's first birthday was approaching, and I was gearing up for all the excitement. Basically pretty much everyone I approached about donating something said yes. Some came and volunteered. And everyone has been so generous!! I couldn't have asked for a better response!

So I think all 5 winners will be very pleased with their prize packages. I had so many things to offer, I was able to divide up into multiple packages. I personally like contests where there are multiple winners anyway, more fun for everyone! I hope everyone continues to follow here on the blog and FB. Every so often I upload a freebie card or album template for my followers:)

Thank you everyone that entered, shared on FB, posted to their blog, and left such lovely comments for little Bennett. He's such a treasure! I wish you all could meet him personally:)

So today is his real birthday and I'll leave you with one more photo of him before announcing the winners below.

Package #1 goes to the first comment drawn:

your choice of 2 Chasing Dreams texture sets
One texture set from Jessica Drossin
Florabella gift certificate for $50
Knotty Baby Wear gift certificate to the shop for $20
Just be Happy - Rock star hat
Jewelery and Baby Bling by Dara - $50 gift certificate to the shop
Georgianna Lane Photography - a fine art print from the Etsy shop
EW Couture - $50 gift certificate towards one of the senior card collections
Sylvia Cook Photography - ceramic coaster set

The winner is COMMENT #62 Kara

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Package #2 goes to the second comment drawn:

Soul Glow texture set
your choice of 2 Chasing Dreams texture sets
One Willow - $50 gift certificate to the shop
Pamela Topping Photography - $50 gift card to the shop
Whimsy Baby Designs - hat and leg warmer set
Kamieo Creations - $25 gift certificate to the shop
Pixel Studio - Baby card template pack
Kristen Caldwell Photography - 20x20 grey shag fur
Mandy Chiappini Photography - hand made necklace

The winner is COMMENT #222 - Monet

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Package #3 goes to the third comment drawn:

Soul Glow texture set
your choice of 2 Chasing Dreams texture sets
MCP Actions - $25 gift certificate to the shop
Filigree and Flower - silk rosette flower clip
Custom creations by Blessed2009 - Sweetheart beanie hat
Pamela Topping Photography - camera love necklace
Pixel Studio - Marketing set
Kristen Caldwell Photography - 20x20 butterscotch shag fur
Sylvia Cook Photography - 3x3 mini accordion album template "Emma"

The winner is COMMENT #502 - Saria

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Package #4 goes to the fourth comment drawn:

Soul Glow texture set
your choice of 2 Chasing Dreams texture sets
My 4 Hens - $100 gift certificate from the shop
Trinity's Tutus - and item from the shop
Bows by Mia - Vintage Ranunculus headband
Claire Penn Photography - a desk calendar and 8x10 fine art print from the Etsy shop
Kristen Caldwell Photography - cloud tutorial and 5 high res images
Glorious Nature Photography - collection 2 textures and overlays
Sylvia Cook Photography - newborn headband

The winner is COMMENT #956 - Lisa Snow (what are the odds of the very last comment being picked...and 4 minutes before the contest ended!!!)

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Package #5 goes to the fifth comment drawn:

Soul Glow texture set
your choice of 2 Chasing Dreams texture sets
Jessica Feely Photography - blogging actions set
Darn Fanciful - hand knit newborn cocoon
Little Diva - $20 gift certificate to the shop
EW Couture - LUXE Signature Vintage Valentines Collection
Sassy Designs - $100 gift certificate to the shop

The winner is COMMENT #383 - Kristin

***********************

Congratulations to you all, you have some fabulous prize packages!!

All of the 5 winners have until 8pm pst on the 27th to contact me at sylvia@sylviacookphotography.com.

If I don't hear from you by then, another name will be drawn.

Innocent wonder {at I heart faces}

2011-01-24T11:05:00.000-08:00

Wow, I went over to the I ♥ faces blog to have a look at the photo challenge for this week before I posted, and there were already 365 entries!! And it just opened this morning! It took awhile for the page to load with all those thumbnails.

The theme for this week is "innocent wonder", and I thought right away of some of the shots I took around Christmas time of Bennett seeing all the decorations and lights for the first time in his life. The one I finally decided on was while we were waiting in line to see Santa. All the decorations and lights and people and music made for alot of stimulation!!! He was pretty much in awe! A magical holiday as experienced for the first time by a 10 month old!!

Cake smash day!

2011-01-23T17:31:00.000-08:00

Bennett really enjoyed his cake, can you tell?

He had a really special Mickey Mouse cake made by his Aunt Nichole, but this was his own little one for the cake smash! Love all those different expressions!

Bennett's party was a Mickey Mouse theme because one of his favorite things is the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse on TV. He loves the theme song, it gets his attention from where ever he is in the room!

Here he is in his birthday suit!! There's nothing sweeter than soft baby skin!

Bennett and his cousin Alison

Cousins Alison and Amy with Bennett

Mommy, Aunt Alissa, and Daddy with Bennett

He's starting to walk just in time for his first birthday!!

Such a fun day....Happy first birthday little Bennett ♥

Fix it Friday :: on I Heart Faces::

2011-01-21T10:33:00.000-08:00

I just had to try and edit this fun jump shot from Angie Arthur Photography!!! It’s Fix-It Friday, a weekly event where contributors edit the same photo and participants can join the fun by editing that same photo their own way and linking into the party!
I've done a few of these before, but since I don't have an extreme wide angle or fish eye lens, this was fun to work on.
I knew because this was a dramatic shot, I wanted to edit in a pretty dramatic way!! So I used quite a few techniques. I opened in ACR and did basic edits of levels, contrast and saturation, then took it to photoshop where the rest was done.
I did quite a few things there actually to achieve this look, combining a few actions I have plus just some more color. Some of what I used was MCP dreamy color, a vignette layer from Florabella, and the cloud layer from Sue Gary.

I think I like the dramatic results!!!

By the way....all three of the fabulous people I just mentioned are part of the BIG PHOTOGRAPHER'S BIRTHDAY bash giveaway right here on this very blog!! If you want to enter, there's still time, comments are open until Jan 25, the day before my grandson's birthday. It's the post before this one, just follow this link! Over $1400 in prizes, with multiple winners!!

Be sure and click the little camera to go to the I Heart Faces blog and check out all the other entries!

: : a birthday giveaway : : the little boy is turning one!!

2011-01-17T08:00:00.000-08:00

Edit: blog winners are now announced HERE!

Most of you know by now my little grandson Bennett. I've posted enough photos of him:) He's been the new love of my life this past year, and I can't believe how fast the year has gone by! Here he is (just in case you haven't seen him yet....lol). Take a good look at these photos, because there's gonna be a quiz at the end!
But before you scroll........ all.........the..........way......................down........to the bottom........can you click the little facebook like button up there to the left? Please and thank you!!!

and some with his mama, my daughter Mandy (who is also one of the contributors to the prizes)

In celebration of his birthday, I'm having a blog giveaway with some fantastic vendors!! We have quite a variety here, from photographer's textures and actions, to gorgeous fine art prints for your wall, marketing sets and cards, gift cards to shops, to cute baby props including hats and tutus.

I can't thank all these generous people enough for stepping up and providing such wonderful gifts for you all....each and every one of you are so awesome!!! We have over $1400 worth of products here!! And because I was able to get so many vendors, there will be multiple winners!

I  really don't like the giveaways where it's one winner takes all, so for  this one, the prizes are being divided up into groups, and we will have  5-6 winners!! I'll be working on the different prize packages during the week.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Now on to our fabulous contributors!!!

I'll get the show on the road by offering a ceramic coaster set featuring 4 of my floral images from my Etsy shop.

PLUS the 3x3 mini accordion album template "Emma". It contains inside and outside spread, front and back, fully layered psd files.

And this headband that I made especially for the giveaway!

From Mandy Chiappini Photography (my daughter and the lucky mama to this adorable little boy) a hand made necklace! Mandy has also started writing and sharing some actions (for free). You can find those on her blog too.

From Isabelle LaFrance Photography- her newest set of textures, the "Soulglow Light Layers" containing 8 light layers, and 8 textures. You will love what these do for your photos! Be sure and take some time to check out all of the other action and textures that Isabelle has on her site. You even find a bunch of freebies, and tutorials.

From Georgianna Lane Photography , a fine art wall print of your choosing from her Etsy shop, up to an 8x12 size. You will absolutely fall IN LOVE with Georgianna's beautiful images, and trust me, have a very hard time choosing! And did you know that she is a published artist? Several times in fact? Don't these images just make you swoon?

From Knotty Baby Wear, a $20 gift certificate to her shop. Lots and lots of adorable baby leg warmers!

From Pamela Topping Photography, a generous $50 gift card and a camera love necklace. Pamela has a whole list of action sets from which you can choose with your gift card.

An example of the action "starlight" before and afters

camera love necklace

From Whimsy Baby Designs , a custom newborn size beanie and leg warmer set.

From Pixel Lounge Studio, a fabulous new marketing set that includes: Business Card back and front, a Bookmark, a CD Label, CD Cover back and front, Gift Certificate and a Storyboard.

Plus a Baby Card set ( 6 front cover psd files, at 2100x1500 pixels, the text can be changed and the templates can be used as Babyshower Cards, Birthday Invites, Announcement Cards)

From Jessica Drossin Textures , choose one of her 4 gorgeous texture packs! From my own experience, any one of these is fabulous, trust me....I have ALL FOUR! You can't go wrong. These textures will take your art to a new level.

From Filigree & Flowers, a new item in her shop....and wasn't she sweet, she named this one after me! Here's her description: The 'Sylvia' flower clip is made with a silk flower blossom, two rosettes: one printed fabric and one silk. Flower cluster is detailed with pearly beads and layered lace. Flower cluster is sewn together than backed with matching fabric and set on an alligator clip.

From Trinity's Tutu's, pick any item in the shop from newborn to size 5. You'll find some of the prettiest tutu's around here, for your prop stash, or for your own little girl! There is also an Etsy shop!

From Chasing Dreams Photography, Colleen has been most generous and each winner will get their choice of 2 of her beautiful texture sets!! She has 6 different sets for you to drool over! Below is just a few of them. I have and use all of Colleen's sets, but I 'm partial to the new Italy and Ireland one and the sheer overlays! A 20% off coupon is being offered as well during the time this contest is being run for any purchases in the Chasing Dreams shop. Use code cook20.

From Claire Penn Photography, a custom desk calendar to start any month you want and an 8x10 fine art print. Claire has the most AMAZING images you do not want to miss. Anything from her shop would be a beautiful addition to your home! I personally have the print in the lower right of this collage, and it's gorgeous!!

From Darn Fanciful a cute little hand knit newborn cocoon photo prop! Won't your next little newborn look all snuggly in this?

From Just be Happy, a custom made "Rock Star" hat from her Etsy shop. Winner can choose size and colors.

From the fabulous Sarah Cornish of My Four Hens Photography a $100 gift card to her shop of lovely actions!! Wow, how generous is that? You will spend hours looking around at her website full of goodies!

From the one and only Jodi Friedman of MCP Actions, a $25 gift card to her shop! These are "can't live without" actions and photoshop tools here! Everything you need to know about photoshop, you can find on the MCP blog! I use MCP actions all the time, and especially love the skin one!

From Jessica Feely Photography an absolutely fantastic Creative blogging action set! I can vouch for these actions because I use them myself all the time!!! (All the photos of Bennett above were used with these actions). There are 33 total actions that you can use to help speed up your blogging as well as for inspiration to tell a story with your post. Other actions that are included are, Contrast Boost I,II,III, three different black and white actions, flattening action, web sharpening, print sharpening, 2 haze actions, vintage action, convert to sRGB action and a detail pop action. Your blogging will never be so easy!
Here's Jessica's actions in action! And Jessica has kindly offered a discount coupon code if you want to pick up her blogging actions right now. The code is slc50off and it expires on Jan 27th.

From Kamieo Photography and Creations a $25 gift certificate to her awesome Etsy shop! Lots of fun and cute hats and hair accessories for you!

From Custom Creations byBlessed2009 a cute little Sweetheart beanie with choice of red, white, light pink, or hot pink clip on satin bow. This will be newborn size and ready to ship to the lucky winner!

From Bows by Mia, a Vintage Ranunculus headband for your next newborn photo shoot!

From One Willow Boutique, the talented Jessica Paige is offering a $50 gift certificate to the shop. And this is the perfect time, because at the end of this week, a brand new preset for Lightroom is being released! One Willow Presets are beautifully designed to enhance images that are processed in Lightroom and ACR. The presets are available in various Collections and come in both RAW (for Lightroom and ACR) and JPEG (lightroom only) versions. The RAW version of the Newest Timeless Collection, designed with portraiture in mind, is scheduled for release this week with the ACR and JPEG version soon to follow! To view before and after galleries of all the Preset Collections please visit the One Willow Presets site.

From Little Diva Boutique, a $20 gift certificate to the shop. You will love Roxana's things, they are SO pretty, and I speak from experience, because I have several of her beautiful items!

From Kristen Caldwell Photography's Boutique, 1 piece of 20x20 3" Long Grey Tipped Fur Shag, and one piece of 20x20 2" Butterscotch Shag Fur. Babies just love laying on these, and it adds wonderful texture to your photos. Plus Kristen is adding in her video tutorial for adding clouds to your image and 5 High Resolution Cloud Images to get you started! You can also use code FIFTEEN for 15% off any purchase in Kristin's shop until the end of this contest!

From Sassy Designs, a $100 gift certificate to the shop! If you aren't familiar with this shop (I can't imagine) it offers unique, original, and fresh greeting card, invitation, and announcement templates as well as promotional, advertising, and identity design. And I might add, the best assortment of digital papers anywhere. I think I've bought about 75% of the shop myself!

From Jewelry and Baby Bling by Dara, a $50 gift certificate to her shop. All kinds of hair accessories, tutu's and baby bling of every style you can think of! Also along with this offer is a discount coupon for 10% off in the Etsy shop, the Artfire shop, or on the web site. The coupon code is JBBDCOOK and will work in the artfire or Etsy shop. For the web site you can enter it in the paypal note and it will be refunded back to you.

From the EW Couture Collection, the LUXE Signature Vintage Valentines Collection - pre-release (part of the Exclusive EW Couture LINE of products for Miller's Lab Design Market)

The EW Couture Collection designer templates and marketing materials for photographers are classy and elegant, blending the victorian and grunge with sophistication.

Beyond the designer templates, EW Couture Collection is a great place to find resources and inspiration for the professional photographer.

Check out some of the free template downloads, and sign-up for the EW Couture Collection newsletter to get the monthly inbox goodies.

Elena Wilken, the designer behind EW Couture Collection, also designs an Exclusive EW Couture LINE of products for Miller's Lab Design Market.

And a $50.00 EW Couture Collection gift certificate valid towards one of the EW Couture Senior Card Collections

From Florabella Collection a $50 gift certificate to Shana's beautiful shop of textures and actions. And just in time, because the new Luxe II set is soon to be released! I personally can't WAIT for this set. It will be my latest addition to all the other Florabella actions and texture sets I already have.

From Glorious Nature Photography, Collection #2 of fine art overlays and textures, with a little extra! Susan doesn't have a FB business page for you to like, but you can have a look at her blog with her textures and beautiful photography.

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Here's all your Facebook page links to make things easier for you to visit each one and "like" them. While you're there, tell them I sent you! Instructions below!

Sylvia Cook Photography
Mandy Chiappini Photography
Isabelle Lafrance Photography
Georgianna Lane Photography
Knotty Baby Wear
Pamela Topping Photography
Whimsy Baby Designs
Pixel Lounge Studio
Jessica Drossin Textures
Filigree and Flowers
Trinity's Tutus
Chasing Dreams Photography
Claire Penn Photography
Darn Fanciful
Just be Happy
My Four Hens
MCP actions
Jessica Feely Photography
Kamieo Photography and Creations
Blessed2009
Bows by Mia
One Willow
Little Diva Boutique
Kristen Caldwell Photography
Sassy Designs
Jewelery and Baby Bling by Dara
EW Couture Collection
Florabella Collection

********************************************************************

Now, what in the world to do to enter?

For entry #1 (Required) on this blog post tell me which of the above photos of Bennett is your favorite! I numbered them for your convenience:)

Optional extra entries!!

2. For entry #2....follow all of the links above to the Facebook pages, "like" them all, and tell them I sent you! . Come back to this blog post and let me know (in one comment) that you've made the rounds and liked them all. (Because you really should like them all anyway, everyone is very likeable)

3. For entry #3... post on your FB wall this status update: Don't miss this HUGE photographer's giveaway with @Sylvia Cook Photography, I've entered....have you? (be sure you do the @ sign so it posts on my wall)
4. For your entry #4, you can tweet or blog (with a link to this page) about the contest. Make sure you come back here and leave the link so it can be verified! If the link does not go to a real post, the comment will be deleted.

There you go....4 chances to win!

Comments will close Jan 25th at 8pm pst.

Winners will be chosen by Random.org and announced by 10am pst Jan 26th and will have until 8pm on the 27th to contact me. It will be your responsibility to check back here on this blog post for the winners. If I don't hear from you within that time, another name will be drawn. Thanks for entering everyone!!

email me at sylvia@sylviacookphotography.com

I heart faces: favorite face of 2010

2011-01-02T20:51:00.000-08:00

I had forgotton about getting this post ready for the I ♥ faces challenge "Best Face of 2010".
How could I possibly decide?? I have so many favorites, from all the client sessions to all my faves that I've taken of my little grandson. After some indecisiveness, I finally settled on this one!
I did go with a shot of Bennett, my grandson, but even narrowing them down was tough!!

I picked this particular one because I LOVE everything about it! From the beautiful fall colors and bokeh, right down to the drool dribbling over his little pouty lip. And that hair, and those eyes!! Oh and those cheeks! Don't you just want to pinch them?
I didn't even especially plan on taking photos that day, but have learned that I should never go anywhere without my camera, or I would have missed this shot!

I'm sure there will be lots more fantastic faces of 2010, so follow the icon to I ♥ Faces and have a look!

Fantastic giveaway on EW Couture blog!

2010-12-30T19:32:00.000-08:00

I usually don't do a blog post about a giveaway, but this one is too good to pass up!
Posted on Elena Wilken's blog.....EW Couture, it has some of my all time fave photographers offering some of their products as prizes.

Here's the line up:
Jessica Drossin and 2 of her texture packs..awesome!
Millers lab with accordion minis
Easy as Pie pricing guide
Michelle Kane's action sets ...wow!
Skye Hardwick's workshop workbook ...double wow!
Crave Photography mentoring session ....triple wow!
Shaun Paul ...20% off music licensing
Organic bloom frame
40$ gift certificate at Marketing and Props
Skye Hardwick posing guide
Millers lab rep cards

Whew!! That's alot of great prizes!!! I entered, have you?

a years worth of cuteness

2010-12-29T16:54:00.000-08:00

A reminder first of the Valentines Day couples photo session contest now going on HERE!

I was going through my files today, cleaning them up....deleting some, editing some I've never gotten around to.
It's hard to delete ANY of this little cutie pie, no matter how bad they are!
It was very glad that I started in the beginning by organizing all the photos that I've taken of Bennett over the past 11 months by having individual folders labeled by the month in which they were taken. Otherwise, yikes how would I ever find anything!

It's hard to believe the little tyke will be a whole year old at the end of January!! It's been so fun to watch him grow and learn new things on a monthly/weekly basis. Walking will be the next accomplishment, he's very near!

So I though it would be fun to make some collages with some of my fave shots of him, one from each month.

Here you have him, from Jan of 2010 until Dec 2010. I didn't think each month he could get cuter, but he did:)
I'm so lucky to have him in my life now, and to be only 15 minutes away from me.
Love you baby boy!!!

Valentines Day couples contest!!

2010-12-28T16:07:00.000-08:00

Something new for this year!! A couples contest!

There's something about contests that I LOVE! It's fun to see people get all excited and 'competitive' and it just shakes things up a bit.
I'm looking to expand my portfolio from the newborn/child/family area that I have been mostly doing, and thought couples/engagement would be fun. What I REALLY want to do is a "vintage" couples session, but that will not be a requirement for this contest! A bonus yes, a requirement no. (If we do a vintage inspired session, you will also receive a free 11x14 mounted wall portrait....contact me for what I envision a vintage inspired session to be, and check out this blog post!)

So read the post and the rules below, then at the bottom is the submission form. Very easy to fill out!

The contest will be canceled if there are fewer than 5 entries!! So share this post by clicking on the share button on the bar down below!!
Entries start NOW and will be accepted until Jan 16th.

Family Christmas

2010-12-26T10:45:00.000-08:00

Can it really be over already? Well I guess not, until the decorations are all taken down and put away.....a job I'm not looking forward to!
This Christmas was so fun, with Bennett being a part of our family this year. Brought back memories of the early Christmases when my girls were little.
He was all wide eyed, loved the lights and sparkly things on the tree. A little too young to be ripping open the presents himself, but he definitely had some favorites, like his new toy cell phone and his Mickey Mouse!

I'm so fortunate to have the family that I do, wonderful daughters and great sons in laws! And the cutest little grandson there ever was!

Plus....there is still time to enter the CALENDAR GIVEAWAY on the Inspirations blog!

I hope that everyone had a wonderful Christmas, and thanks for being a blog follower!

before and after {at I heart Faces}

2010-12-17T21:40:00.000-08:00

This week was another irresistible photo for me to have a go at editing. It was submitted for editing by Michelle Johnson.

This is most of my steps:
Started adjusting the curves and levels to improve contrast and pop the couple better.
I then added 2 textures from Jessica Drossin, "dante's campfire" and "murmur", both from the latest texture pack. I've said it before and I'll say it again....Jessica's textures ROCK. For that matter, using any textures in the right way will take your photos to a whole new level of ART!
I did a little urban processing to bring out the cool tones, then lastly added a sunflare layer from the Kaleidoscope pack from Patti Brown. I just recently got these, and haven't played with them too much yet.

I basically wanted the couple to stand out more, to bring out the background too, but with a 'halo' of light to draw the eye to the couple. This was such a great image to start with, and fun to edit such a beautiful twosome!
Wish I could have been there on the original shoot!

Have a look at the rest of the photos that were submitted at I heart faces!

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