February 3rd, 2010 | by admin
This weekend I’m going to be in St. Louis and I am getting so excited! If anyone from that area would like to have dinner with us on Friday night email me so I can give you more info. I love love love meeting new people so anyone is welcome!
This weekend my husband and I were having quite the conversation. I swear every January we are so unhappy living in the cold North. I’ve lived in Minnesota my entire life and every winter about a month or so after Christmas is when I think everyone starts to get really antsy. (This is why we put up our Christmas tree right before Christmas and leave it up longer than most people b/c it seems to make the long winters go by faster for me. lol) And so we were talking over breakfast after church about where we could move. I would love to move somewhere that is warm and doesn’t snow. I’d also love to live where I could charge more for my portraits. (wouldn’t everyone!) Anyway, there are so many ‘ifs’ about moving. It’s just one of those things that you just talk about but never do.
I was just talking to my friend Dawn McCarthy today and was telling her about this same subject and she said it’s like cutting your hair. It’s like you always want to do it but you are too chicken. lol But it’s funny, I chopped my hair and gave myself a new cut today maybe because I know deep down I will most likely never move. And I needed something new!
Anyway, I am working on some ‘NEW’ things for Rock That OCF and I hope to be able to announce it very soon. I am finishing up all the details in the next week or so too. It’s taking me a lot longer to get my work done now with my husband out of town so much and I don’t have much help with our daughter.
I hope to announce this very soon!!!! I am so excited about what’s coming up!
ali
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January 25th, 2010 | by admin
Did you guys enjoy the tutorial on my processing? I hope so! I really don’t do much to my photos. I feel like when I shoot OCF that it already produces an incredible look SOOC that I don’t want to futz with it much! Anyway, I thought I’d ask if there are any other questions out there. I’m always for helping!
Weight loss update: I’ve been sort of stuck at about 26 pounds now for a while and I know why it is. My husband has been leaving for 4 nights out of the week for work and I’m super dedicated to my work outs and food choices but as soon as he comes home I’ve been eating whatever I want. Now, why in the world would I waste all those work outs and work my butt off during the week and then screw up over the weekends. I told my husband that I can’t eat any pizza, ice cream etc when he’s home and he can’t bring it home. If he wants something he can go out with our daughter and do a treat. So hopefully, I will be unstuck and start losing again. If any of you are struggling or stuck stick with it and change up your work out routine!
Salt Lake Peeps: I will be making an announcement very soon about signing up for the workshop in June. I’ve had over 20 people email me that they want to come so I need to have confirmations. If you are interested in attending, please send me an email with SLC in the subject.
Group Buy: I have been asked to do another group buy. Just want to see how many people we can sign up. I will do it exactly the same way as last time.
If you want in on the group buy please send me an email with Group Buy in the subject line.
10 people 75.00
20 people 50.00
30 people 40.00
Please do not send an email if you aren’t really going to purchase.
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January 18th, 2010 | by admin
A lot of you have asked about my editing. I really don’t do much and it’s funny most of the actions that I use were free that I found in different places.
Here’s a rundown on this image that I processed today. It’s the same way I processed the fashion shoot from the other day.
I usually open my photo and I shoot in RAW. I don’t do too much in ACR but I do bump the Clarity a bit.
Then, I run portraiture on everyone. I downloaded actions from portraiture a few years ago and that’s how I’ve always used Portraiture. I run the medium action and then erase the eyes, mouth, hair and background. I’m sure there are easier ways to do this but that’s just what I do. Then I lower my opacity to usually around 70 to 80 percent.
Then like 98% of the time I run a free action I got off ILP years ago. It’s Andrew’s Free Optimizer. It basically just brightens up the levels a bit.
Sometimes, when I’m shooting OCF outside, this is the only thing I run on my photos. Then I end up doing some dodging and burning but that’s it.
I felt like when I did Andrew’s action it was just a little to bright on her so I turned it down a bit. Maybe at about 80%
Then I ran another free action that I picked up probably on ILP but I’m not totally sure where I got it. It’s called Silver Luminosity by Marmalade a great photographer in Chicago.
I just brought the opacity to about 45% on this photo.
Then, I went back to portraiture and did the Enhance Glamour action. I run this at a very small percentage because you can see in this screen shot it’s crazy.
And here’s the final image:
Here is the Beauty Dish that I use. As I look closer at the actualy beauty dish and alien bees site, I don’t see the one I use on there. I use a matte beauty dish. I have the silver one too and only used it in New Orleans so I haven’t had enough time outside with it to see if I really like it or not.
The beauty dish is really an ‘edgier’ modifyer. Your customer must have very good skin to pull this off. If you have an acne prone kid it won’t do them any good. A softbox is better on older people if you want to soften the wrinkles or minimize acne etc. The beauty dish is not for everyone but for me I prefer it now. I love it. This is why I don’t shoot outside with my speedlites anymore when I’m shooting for my sessions. I prefer my beauty dish over my softboxes b/c of how edgy everything looks. It’s just my style I suppose.
How do I get power to my lights outside?
I use a Vagabond from Alien Bees. It’s 300 bucks and well worth my money. I honestly get very tired of my speedlites because they run on 4 Double A batteries and I’m always changing batteries etc.
Some people ask me at my workshops if I have an assistant. I don’t. I carry everything. Yes, it’s heavy but seriously, I personally love it so much that I’m willing to work a little more while shooting. I spend a lot less time editing than I would shooting natural light too.
Some gals were daring me back in Salt Lake to show them how I carried everything. haha! I did it too. Just to be a show off! j/k
Anyway, keep the questions coming. I’m always here to help.
OHHH! I almost forgot! My friend Courtney DeLaura is coming out with something super awesome. On the 20th she’s rolling out Get Schooled A School Portraiture Guide!
I know many photographers like myself are thinking I’m a Custom Photographer and I won’t do that but seriously let’s think about this! This is an incredible way to make more revenue for your family! Step out of the box! Buy Courtney’s Guide on how to get started in doing School Portraiture.
This is a complete guide to developing a School Portraiture Division of your Photography business. High End School Portraiture not only creates a good source of revenue but it opens the door to many more clients. Once they have you shoot their child’s school portrait they will then find out you do more then just school portraits and hire you for family sessions, weddings, etc. School Portraiture is a marketing tool that you get paid for! The guide will take you step by step. from booking the schools, to creative ideas to stay in contact with the families long after you have photographed their school!
And guess what? I have a code for you to buy Courtney’s Guide at a nice discount. To get the discount you need to purchase between January 20th thru January 25th.
0125GS14
You save 15% on the guide!! So use that code and save some money!
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January 17th, 2010 | by admin
Last night my babysitter came over to watch my daughter and each time I took a pullback shot I accidentily erased the darn pictures. Anyway, I asked her if she’d just pop in for the photo so I could share with everyone on my blog.
I primarily use my Alien Bee 800 or 1600 and my beauty dish with a reflector. On the beauty shots I posted the other day, this is exactly what I did for lighting.
I shot these with my 24-70 so you could actually see the set up but when I’m shooting portraits, I always use my 70-200. I never use my 24-70 on close up portraits anymore. I never realized it until someone pointed it out to me that I was making my clients look bigger than they really were with the wide angle lens. The longer the lens the better. I sneak in there between my beauty dish and reflector.
I will share my processing in another post b/c my family is needing me now.
And here’s a photo of my sitter with the exact same set up.
Here are some questions I’ve been getting. Hopefully, if I answer here they will help other people.
Have you ever used or know anything about there “cyber syncs”
I have not used the cyber syncs. I don’t think I had heard of them when I bought all of my pocket wizards. I know people who use the cyber syncs and they seem to be totally fine.
Can you show a quick set up of your indoor stuff?
I actually pretty much shoot exactly the same inside and outside. I just don’t use my reflector outside because it’s usually just me. I don’t have an assistant. I wish I did but I don’t. Sometimes, if the mom comes they will hold the reflector but in the studio it’s a bit easier b/c of the stand I have.
How far do you have your light from your subject?
It’s probably 2 to 3 feet. Basically the distance of that reflector so more like 2 feet. If I’m using my AB 1600 in the studio, I literally have the power all the way down so I can shoot at 3.2. Outside, the distance will vary a lot more because it depends on where we are shooting. If we are in a super weedy field it will be totally different.
Here’s a pull back shot of me in the field with one of my seniors.
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January 15th, 2010 | by admin
I’ve been getting a lot of questions on how I do my lighting inside my studio and even outside and seeing some diagrams or something. I’ve also been getting questions on how I do my processing. I will do some setup shots very soon on this and then start to share my processing which really isn’t all that much but I will share it anyhow.
I did take some set up shots but accidently erased them so I have to do them again.
I also wanted to ask if there are any other questions you have for me that I can answer for you. Please leave me a comment on anything you’d like to know and I will start sharing.
Being completely inspired by Dawn McCarthy. I just listened to her live on Phaunt and she talked about all of her blogging and that she does it up to 4 times a week! I’ve got to be more involved in my blog. She even does video blogging so you should go check it out!
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January 7th, 2010 | by admin
Well, seeing it as though that I live in Minnesota it’s very hard to shoot outside in the winter months at least comfortably. So, I just feel like sharing some photos I took in my studio on Tuesday. I had 4 girls come in and we just had a model shoot. They wanted photos to update their modeling portfolio and I’ve gotten to know them pretty well over the last year so I told them to come on in.
It’s funny, how all of these girls, I tried recruiting as senior models but all 4 of them went somewhere else. I used to take it pretty hard when people said no but you just have to keep pushing on. They are all very nice girls and I’ve gotten to know them better thru facebook etc. I don’t treat my seniors like just customers. I treat them like they are my own personal friends. Anyway, I can’t believe I admitted that all 4 of them turned me down but it’s funny how they like me now. lol Keep on pushing on! One of the girls, gave be a whole bunch of 2011 names of girls in this school that I love. Sometimes, doing things like this will get you further.
Also, one of my past seniors, is home on break and I bought her lunch yesterday and we just hung out for a while. It was so nice to catch up with her and hear about the boys at college and how she’s been doing. I absolutely love my seniors. My goal this year is to have obviously even more seniors but to personalize it even more. I’ve never been good at organizing etc and staying on top of things but my goal for 2010 is to do such that and to give my clients little gifts or when they are in my ordering session they say that they love a photo but their budget won’t allow it, I will throw it in there and just give it to them. It feels so good to give like that!
Anyway, I will stop chatting!
The first two girls are identical twins, just in case you were wondering. lol
Update on Weight Loss: I am FINALLY off the plateau! I’m now down 24 pounds. Since, my husband got a new job and he’s traveling 4 nights out of the week, on the nights that I’m not working, I wanted something to do and also to have my daughter play and get a break from me. lol anyway, I signed up at a gym. I signed up 3 weeks ago and finally last night I went. I was so nervous to go. But, I went and I had a great time. Just did a 2nd work out last night and going to go again tonight. Hopefully, it will start coming off faster now!
Don’t give up if you are trying to lose weight! Don’t give up! I took a break because of Christmas. My MOM sent us home with tons of chocolate and knowing me I can’t have any in my home. I was upset and told her not to give us anymore junk food! I just can’t be trusted b/c I know my weakness! lol
Hope you are all having a great start to a new year!
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December 30th, 2009 | by admin
I haven’t posted on my blog in a little while. I’m trying to get accustomed to my husband’s new job and my daughter got the flu yesterday too so it’s been pretty busy. But, I wanted to just throw out a sale on the book till tomorrow if anyone wants a copy before the end of the year for write offs. I know I’ve been trying to think about what to get if anything so I can write it off!
If you want a copy of the online book the code is newyears. It’s only 40 bucks so go ahead and purchase.
On another note, I know I’ve been very personal with you all about weight loss. Since the holidays, I’ve been struggling big time. I’ve been stuck at a 21 pound loss and I am just kind of stuck. I’m actually excited for the holidays to get over with so I can get back on track. Between gettings tons of chocolate in our stockings and eating yummy food for Christmas, I just want it to be over. I don’t know if anyone else feels that way either but man I’m tired of it! I’ve had no motivation to work out and with my daughter being sick and caring to her I just have been super tired. Hopefully, some normalcy will come back! But I just wanted to update you on all of that. I’m glad I wrote about it on here b/c it’s keeping me accountable.
So, I know most people are setting New Year’s Resolutions. I have two main ones. 1. To continue to lose weight. 2. To organize my studio. I’ve been so busy this year I have got to get a better system! If any of you have great office’s I’d love to see photos for inspiration!
Happy New Year and I hope you all have a safe and happy holiday!
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December 13th, 2009 | by admin
I just want to thank every single person who bought the online book over the past couple days. If you ever have any questions you are always free to email me!
Just in case no one could get to their computer by yesterday, I’m leaving the code up until Monday. The code is thankyou
On another note, I have been looking all of you guys up on Facebook and I’m pretty surprised at how many of you don’t have Facebook. This for me has been an excellent tool for me for marketing. I get about 90% of my seniors from Facebook. I upload photos to my page and tag them and then their friends see them with my name on it. Facebook, for me is probably the best marketing tool I have. I don’t spend much money on advertising etc. I get a lot of word of mouth clients but seriously, if you don’t have facebook, I would tell you to get it!
Weight loss update. I’m now down 21 pounds and I’ve just bartered with a personal trainer that’s coming into my home. She’s coming into my home 3 days a week to help me do resistance training. I’ve never been so serious about being healthy and losing weight. I am so determined to get the weight off! Thank you for all the emails and stories of weight loss. I’m here to help anyone in their journey to lose weight too. I know it’s hard so lets do it together!
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December 7th, 2009 | by admin
My husband just came home from work and told me he had to pay $900 for his truck today. That was completely unexpected so I decided to help my husband pay for it that I’d do a group buy on the online book.
10 people 75.00
20 people 50.00
30 people 40.00
Please EMAIL me at ali@rockthatocf.com with the subject line Group Buy.
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December 4th, 2009 | by admin
Here are a few photos from New Orleans. Since I’ve been home I’ve been inandated with work. I haven’t had much time for anything!
I hope everything is well with all of you guys and that your Christmas season is coming to an end. I know I need a break!
On the PLUS side of things…… A lot of you know if you’ve been reading my facebook my husband was offered a job the other day back in the field he’s used to working in. It’s been a year and a half that he was laid off of his job from of 10 years. He’s meeting with the boss today to talk about everything but my husband and I are incredibly excited because he will have paid vacation, a company truck that pays for his gasoline, sick leave and health insurance. We haven’t had any of that and it’s been very rough!
Also, on the weight loss topic. I have been working literally my butt off! haha Seriously, I’m almost at -20 pounds. I’ve been very frustrated b/c my goal was to have 20 pounds off by tomorrow but I don’t know if I will make it. As of two days ago I was -18 pounds. I have been working out almost every single day for a minimum of 45 minutes up to 75 minutes. We have a exercise bike and a treadmill.
A fitness gal, Wendie Pett, who I photographed not to long ago that I’ve also become friends with. We talked yesterday on the phone and I told her about my progress and was telling her I was frustrated but she told me I was doing more than good at the rate of losing weight. I started October 5th and tomorrow it will be 2 months. Hopefully, tomorrow when I get on the scale it will be -20!!
Since, I’ve been doing all of this the confidence that has always been shoved way deep down is finally emerging. I’m having more confidence in myself and I can’t wait till my jeans are too big and I can go shopping. And if you know me. I absolutely hate shopping. I’ve despised it for years. When you are a bigger person it’s very hard to feel good about oneself especially when you see all these awesome clothes out there and you know you’d look terrible in them.
As promised, here’s a photo of me in New Orleans. I was at -15 that weekend. Normally, I’d completely say absolutely no photos of me but with this new confidence I was just messing around with Renee when she took this photo of me by giving her a funny look.
Here’s a list of the upcoming dates again for the workshops.
St. Louis: February 5-7th 1 spot left
Houston: February 19-21
Chicago: April 23-25th
Michigan April 30th to May 2nd
Canada (Ontario) May 14-16 (Full)
Salt Lake City June 18-20
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