Sunday, October 31, 2010

There's a Weiner in my Bed! and Pet Photo Tips

Daisy is simply the best weiner dog in the World! Have I mentioned that lately??? Hopefully you won't get tired of hearing about her because she really is such a joy and makes myself, and my DH, laugh every single day!  If you know anything about dachshunds, you know that they are cold natured and love to snuggle up in blankets and specifically, in your bed between two warm bodies!  I'm not saying she sleeps with us every night, but it's pretty frequent, LOL! Even when we get up in the morning, after she goes outside for a quick potty break, she wants back up in the warm bed...even after I make the bed!  Well yesterday Mr. H left very early (5:30am on a Saturday???) with son Keaton for a quick overnight boys 4-wheeling trip to a new place they haven't been yet called Mud Buddy's.  I went ahead and got up too and made us some delicious coffee with my beloved Keurig single cup, and went about my day.  I started looking for Daisy some time later and pretty much knew she had to be in my bed!  So I went in there, camera in hand, to see if I could "catch her".  Below are some of my attempts as I walked into the room (facing the windows) and you will see that they are just not lit very well (images 1, 2, 3).  So I moved her to the other side of the bed, directly in front of the windows, and shot from a couple different angles (images 4-8).  Now doesn't that make a huge difference?  My camera is on manual, on the very same settings for both groups of images.  No flash at all, just window light (Camera set on Manual, ISO 800, F2.8, 1/60, 50mm lens).  I just love image 4 - she looks so sweet! I know if she was human she would look at image 6 and say "Mom - this is so unflattering, I have 3 chins!!!"  I guess even dogs have a bad side!  Image 7 is her "OK I'm so done taking pictures face"!  



My pet photo tips of the day:
1) move around and try different angles - if you look at your image and it's not what you were looking for, change your angle.  Get down at their level, move around!
2) look at how the light is falling on your subject and particularly if you can see the "catchlights" in the eyes then you know the lighting is great! (Catchlights are the little squares of light you see in Daisy's eyes - you can see them very clearly in image 4.  These are from the light coming through the windows and falling on her perfectly.)

I'm submitting this as my Mosaic Monday post at the Little Red House blog - check out all the weekly cool mosaic posts from readers everywhere!

Cheers!
Gina Hickman
Gina Hickman Photography
www.ginahickmanphotography.com
409-256-9116
Galveston Photography, Pet Photographer, High School Senior Photography, Boudoir Photographer, Location Photos, League City, Dickinson, Clear Lake, Webster, Santa Fe, Texas City, Kemah, Seabrook, Alvin, Pearland, Friendswood

Saturday, October 30, 2010

Happy Halloweenie!!!!

Ok....I couldn't resist!!! The "Halloweenie" idea came to me this morning when I was thinking about what to enter in the MCP Actions (www.mcpactions.com) Halloween photo contest.  "Actions" make photo editing and retouching in Photoshop easier and are definitely a timesaver for Photographers - I don't know how I survived before I discovered Actions but I'm glad I did!!!  I remembered this cute Halloween fleece "sweater" that I had bought for Daisy at Ross recently, and decided I could probably get a decent picture of her and incorporate MCP Actions into it somehow....didn't it turn out cute???

Here are a few more from her impromptu photo session this morning....she's such a patient little model :)





Cheers!
Gina Hickman
Gina Hickman Photography
www.ginahickmanphotography.com
409-256-9116
Galveston Photography, Pet Photographer, Dachshund Photography, League City, Dickinson, Santa Fe, Webster, Clear Lake, Texas City, Pearland, Alvin, Friendswood, Texas City, La Marque, Kemah, Seabrook,

Friday, October 29, 2010

Watch for my Cyber Monday Sale

Don’t miss Gina Hickman Photography’s CYBER MONDAY sale! On Monday, November 29 only, $100 gift certificates cost only $75! The more your order, the more you save! Email early to reserve your order at ginah728@yahoo.com with your name, phone number, and number of certificates that you would like to purchase. Your holiday shopping can be as simple as a click or call away!  You never even have to leave your computer - easy shopping!  What person wouldn't love to receive the gift of Photography???

Here is a sample of what the Gift Certificates look like - they are nicely printed and come GIFT WRAPPED in a sweet little box!






Don't forget this sale happens 1 month from today (it's the Monday after Thanksgiving)!  I will send out an email reminder on Black Friday....

Cheers!
Gina Hickman
Gina Hickman Photography
www.ginahickmanphotography.com
409-256-9116
Galveston Photographer, Family Photos, Senior Photographer, Location Photographer

Thursday, October 28, 2010

Halloween Decor

It always amazes me how fast time flies every year once school starts!  Add to this a major change like a move and BAM... its already almost the Holidays!!!! I didn't get to go all out for Halloween this year, I left behind some decorations that were just to worn out to keep for a new home.  Here is the extent of my Halloween/Thanksgiving decorations this year - I generally start with some Fall colors and add a few Halloween related pieces which will be taken down on November 1, leaving just the Fall/Thanksgiving items.







It will be fun this year to actually give out candy (I think....) - it has been quite awhile since we lived in a neighborhood!  Morgi is 13 this year and still wants to Trick or Treat with her cousins, it may not be much longer that she actually wants to do that (sniff, sniff)!

Cheers!
Gina Hickman
Gina Hickman Photography
www.ginahickmanphotography.com

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Moving & Shaking, and Getting Back on Track!

No Way! It can't possibly be over a month since my last blog... can it? Well it looks like it has but we've had a lot going on!!! We moved on October 1 from a big country home on an acre to a lovely (tiny) home in a fantastic subdivision-Tuscan Lakes in League City.  This has kept me quite busy with all the details, and the fun stuff like redecorating! So my poor blog has been neglected...
I thought I'd post a few pictures of what's been occupying so much of my time, so here are a few shots of my new kitchen/dining room:




I love, love, love my new home even though it is quite a bit smaller and has taken all of us some getting used to!  My new Keurig single cup coffee maker is the bomb!!!!!!!! I really stressed over spending so much on a "coffee maker" but since it was on sale AND I got to use a 20% off coupon at Bed Bath & Beyond, I only paid about $80 for it....worth every penny!

Seriously loving the paint color I chose for the kitching/dining/family room accent walls - it's called "Torchlight" at Sherwin Williams and it turned out beautifully!

The family room isn't quite done yet, but here is a shot where you can see the gorgeous paint color as well as this amazing canvas of "The River Walk" that I found at Rooms to Go and just had to have it! All of the colors just fit so well with our home!



That's all for now - more coming soon, I promise!!!!

Cheers,
Gina Hickman
Gina Hickman Photography
409-256-9116
www.ginahickmanphotography.com
 
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