It’s a bit past midnight right now and I’m having one of those frantic moments where I feel like I have too much to finish, and not enough time.  I know I need to get to bed soon, but I *had* to share the images I took of Danielle the other day.  I have been eyeing this location for a few years now, and this was my first quick peek inside.  It’s a photographer’s dream!  It was almost like a teaser though, as we were literally chasing the last few minutes of sunlight.  We did these on a school night, and got out there as quickly as we could (it’s a bit of a drive), but the sun only gave us about 10 minutes before she vanished behind the hills for the evening.  I’ll be going back again though and I can’t wait!  I have so many ideas and this place was just overflowing with gorgeous light and perfect little pockets to work in everywhere I looked.

If you haven’t seen the previous images I’ve done of Danielle, you can see them here, and here.  Danielle will also be being featured on TLC’s hit show Toddlers & Tiaras later this year…I can’t wait to see her!  She is SO much fun and I absolutely LOVE photographing her.  This isn’t the last you’ll see of this beauty on my blog…stay tuned for more!

I normally don’t have too much of a problem choosing between the color and b&w version of an image to post on my blog.  This time was an exception.  I absolutely love both of them and couldn’t pick one over the other.  What’s a girl to do but share them both?

The light…the beautiful light.  I’ll be back to this place for more…very soon.  As always, Danielle is amazing.  It’s hard to not go out photographing her and come back with nothing but pure gorgeousness. :)

And who doesn’t love a little before and after action? I love post-processing almost as much as I love shooting. And if you haven’t already heard, I’m now teaching post-processing webinars. You can read all about that right here on my blog. I hold absolutely nothing back in my classes…I’m an open book. I will show you exactly how I get from the before to the after, one step at a time. If you’d like to know more, feel free to email me.

Thank you SO much Tedi & Danielle for an amazing afternoon out! I always have a blast with you guys. I’m looking forward to the next outing already! :)

I am SO excited to announce that I will be hosting my very first post-processing webinar this weekend! People have been asking me to do this for quite some time now, and I’m finally biting the bullet and taking the leap!

First things first; I announced that I was thinking of doing this on my Facebook page yesterday and the response has been nothing short of overwhelming. I am humbled and honored that so many people are interested in taking these post-processing classes with me.

I really feel like I need to lay out a better outline of what these first classes WILL be about as well as what they WON’T be about. I don’t want anyone signing up without a clear idea of what to expect. Please make sure you read this over very carefully before signing up. I’m sure there will be a few kinks to work out as I delve into this and things that I may not be able to foresee until I’ve done my first few classes, but I’m going to try my best to lay this out in an organized manner so you know what to expect.

The class length will be 2 hours. This may run longer depending on many factors, but I’m going to use 2 hours as my plan and we’ll go from there. I will set up a Lightroom catalog with several images from which each attendee may choose 1 picture they would like to see edited during the Webinar. In the future, I may allow attendees to submit their own RAW files for editing, but for now we will be editing my images. Editing will be done in LR3 and Photoshop CS4. I’ve had several questions about editing in Elements, and as I’ve never used that program, I can’t tell you what parts of my workflow may or may not be compatible with it.

This will be a LIVE EDIT class only. Please feel free to take notes for your own personal use, but there will be no recordings or screen captures. A contract must be signed online prior to attending the class.

This is an intermediate to advanced level class. If you don’t know what a layer mask is or how to work with one, this class is not for you. You should have a basic understanding of how to work in Photoshop and LR before signing up. I will likely offer beginner level classes in the future, and will announce those both on my blog and my Facebook page.

Things that WILL be covered in the Webinar:
• Adjusting color and white balance
• Correcting global color issues as well as localized color issues
• Adding just enough pop and contrast to your backgrounds
• Achieving pleasing skin tones
• Adding gentle contrast to skin tones (NO harsh skin tones here!)
• Fixing various skin issues (acne, discoloration, etc)
• Altering colors

Things that MAY be covered in the Webinar, time and interest permitting:
• Liquifying
• Alternatives to cloning

Things that WON’T be covered in the Webinar:
• Basic Photoshop principles (using layer masks, working with layers, etc)
• Black & White conversions (I may do a mini-Webinar in the future covering this topic)
• Head/body part/arm/etc swaps and composite images (again, this will be saved for a future Webinar)

The cost of the Webinar will be $350, payable via Paypal upon booking a seat. Each Webinar will be limited to 6 attendees so that I will be able to address the questions each individual may have during the course of the Webinar. You will be able to see my computer screen live as I edit, and we will be able to talk to each other. I will be available for additional support regarding topics covered during the Webinar via email after the conclusion of the Webinar. The $350 is NON-REFUNDABLE, but if something comes up, you may transfer to a future class.

A simple disclaimer: I will be teaching people how *I* edit. I don’t claim to know it all, and will not show other styles of editing other than what I do in my own work. If my style appeals to you, then this class may be of interest to you. My editing style has been described as warm, clean, vibrant, rich, and even moody. It has taken me years to learn and countless thousands of hours to perfect.

I am NOW BOOKING seats for my first two class! The first one will be held on Saturday, March 24th at 6PM PST. The second one will be held Saturday, March 31st at 6PM PST. I’m going to *try* to do one class a week. Please stay tuned to my Facebook page for the time and date of future classes. Based on the response I’ve received so far, they will fill up FAST! If you have any questions, please feel free to email me!

**ALSO, PLEASE NOTE** These Webinars are NOT open to people in my marketing area. To put it simply, if you live within 150 miles of Kingman, Arizona, please do not sign up for one of my classes. Some of these areas include (but are not limited to) Bullhead City, Laughlin, Lake Havasu City, Prescott, Flagstaff, and the Las Vegas metropolitan area. It simply wouldn’t make sense for me to train my direct competitors. Thank you for understanding!

And now with all of the technical stuff out of the way, how about a few before & afters? I’ve always loved sharing these, and am even more excited to show you how I got from point A to point B.

And last, but not least, a few testimonials from some of my first students. :)

“My experience with Lisa Holloway’s online mentoring was such a positive one! If you have always loved Lisa’s clean color processing like I have, then you will love this online workshop! Lisa goes through every step of her post processing beginning from the RAW image, from the way it’s processed in Lightroom, to bringing it into Photoshop for final touch ups. You are even able to pick and choose which image of Lisa’s that you wish for her to edit during your workshop! :) If you are ever confused on a step in her process, Lisa is quick to repeat her steps to make sure that everyone understands her process. It’s only been a week since I attended the online workshop, but I have already noticed a significant improvement in my color processing! Lisa is also more than willing and quick to respond to any questions that I have had since the workshop! Many times, when attending these types of workshops, you are given so much information, and by the time you process it and apply it to your own images, you’re left with many questions that go unanswered. Lisa makes it very easy to contact her with any follow up questions you may have about her steps. And, that is a HUGE plus and my reason for advocating Lisa Holloway’s online post processing workshop. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did, and I look forward to meeting you in our private FB page where we ask each other questions to Lisa, and she replies – we are all still learning even though the workshop is technically over. I have even been able to learn from other attendees, and I look forward to learning from all of you!

-Ashley”

“I had the pleasure of taking Lisa’s color processing webinar on 3/31/12. I have been a fan of Lisa’s work and especially her processing for quite awhile. I was very excited to be part of the inaugural webinar sessions and was not disappointed!

First of all, the class is limited to five, which was a perfect number. Each participant gets to choose from a selection of Lisa’s beautiful images. She then takes the image back to ground zero and we get to see every step she takes to process the final image. The editing for each image began in Light Room and then was finished in Photoshop. Lisa breaks down each step in a clear and easy to understand manner. She welcomed questions throughout the webinar, even if it didn’t directly pertain to the image being edited.

Lisa took her time to ensure every step was understood. I was astounded to see that I had taken 13.5 pages of handwritten notes. These notes now sit next to my editing computer and I reference them multiple times when editing.

The morning after the webinar, I spent several hours playing with my new knowledge. The biggest negative of the webinar for me is that now I want to go back and re-edit so much!

As an added bonus, after taking Lisa’s class, you will be invited to a private on-line group to exchange ideas and ask questions. Lisa takes the time to thoroughly answer follow up questions and offer guidance.

I would not recommend Lisa’s webinar if you are looking to replicate her work. Her images are amazing for so many reasons beyond editing. However, if you like the look of her processing which is clean, warm, and vibrant and want to enhance your own style, then Lisa’s webinar is definitely for you.

–Wendy Marshall”

SCHEDULING UPDATE

April color processing webinars are SOLD OUT!

May color processing webinars are SOLD OUT!

June color processing webinars are SOLD OUT!

July color processing webinars are SOLD OUT!

**Update – May 11th** Due to the huge response I’ve received, I *am* opening up a limited number of ‘silent seats’ to my classes that are already scheduled. ‘Silent’ simply means that you will not personally be able to select an image to be processed during the class, but you *will* still get to watch the 6 edits on the images chosen by the other class participants. You may also still ask questions as we go along. I’m trying this out for now as I can’t hold enough classes to accommodate everyone who is interested. I’m hoping this works out well! The ‘silent seats’ will be sold at $300 which is a $50 discount over my regular prices.

This past Saturday, I was blessed to meet Justin and his sweet Mama, Julie. This little guy was brimming with personality and tipping out the cuteness scale in a big way! Read on…you will agree with me, I promise! One thing that I try to do with each child (well, any person really…) that I photograph is to capture as many different elements of their personality as possible in the time we are together. That’s a tall order when you are just meeting a new person and will only be with them for a few short hours, but I do my best! Justin was such a joy to work with, and these photos are sure to bring a smile to your face! Enjoy these Julie! I had so much fun doing them!

See…told you so. TOTALLY cute.

SUCH a cool little dude!

“Hey lady…quit asking me to peek out the window! I’m trying to drive my truck!”

Loving the swing! Who said getting your picture taken is no fun?

So many cars, so little time…

I’m pretty sure this field wasn’t quite as exciting as the place with all the cool old cars and trucks, but we got some sweet pictures here anyways. I even convinced Julie to step in for a few, and I’m so glad she did! There’s nothing more beautiful than the love between a mother and her child!

I had to fabricate a ‘fall’ look in Photoshop, seeing as it’s still pushing 100 degrees here, but I think it worked out beautifully! Justin & Julie even brought a few pumpkins from their garden…perfection!

Bonus…a few before and afters! You know I love sharing them. :) Remember how I said I had to ‘fabricate’ fall? Well, here you go! Nothing a little white balance adjustment and color shift can’t fix! I LOVE warm editing!

This one was a result of the quickly changing lighting. It was in and out of clouds all afternoon. In this one, it was in it’s ‘behind the clouds’ phase. This resulted in a VERY cool white balance (aka blue people as I like to call it) and a bit of an under-exposed shot as I wasn’t as fast at keeping up with the lighting shift as the sun was at dipping behind the clouds. I do love the end result though!

Let me preface this post by saying that I LOVE red headed little girls. I think they are so cute and SO fun to photograph. I keep hoping one of mine will be born with red hair (they do run in my family) but alas, I’ve gotten blondes and brunettes (who I love dearly)! Anyways, wanting to shoot a red headed girl, I put the call out on my Facebook page. Amythest’s mother was the first to respond. She is as beautiful as her name is! I honestly had SO MUCH FUN doing these, and even though Amythest seemed a *bit* concerned about some of my locations (bugs? steep hills? deer? hehe) she did a fantastic job!

Oh, and I’m still looking for red headed little girls! If you have one (ages 3-10) and are in my area or are willing to travel to me, please contact me for details! It includes FREE pictures of your little ones so there’s nothing to lose!

Ok, lets get to Amythest’s pictures. Did I mention that I had fun doing these? Well, I did. :)

I don’t normally post pictures THIS huge on my blog, but I LOVE this one. REALLY love. The irony is that this one almost made it to the reject pile. I know you all love before & afters, so read on. I’ll include the before and after at the end of this post.

Isn’t she divine?

I also don’t normally put up both the color and black & white version of the same picture, but with this one, I truly do love both. There is something to be said for COLOR when it comes to red heads though. ;)

I love how her eyes almost match her hair…

While I *do* love a good serious face, I love smiles too! This is Amythest’s ‘thinking about Justin Bieber smile’. :)

I’ll include the before & after of this one in a bit as well…

LOVE this smile!

And now for the before & afters! I like sneaking them in here and there. You can see more before & afters by going to the ‘Categories’ tab at the top of my blog and selecting ‘before & after.’

I honestly try to just enhance what is already there in my photographs. In this case, her amazing hair! I really had fun editing these.

And now a before and after that is honestly a wee bit embarrassing. We had just changed locations, and thus, the lighting had changed as well. But *I* forgot to change my settings. I realized the issue a few shots in, but I really loved this picture. Did you see how huge I posted it above? I love it just that much, but ya, it needed some work. More work than I normally like to do, but I think the end result is well worth the extra effort. What do you think?

I’ve known Amy, and her daughter Maya since Maya was just a little girl. Long before I was interested in photography, I was in Mom’s Club with Amy. Our kids were just toddlers then, but as the years have passed, Maya has grown up into a gorgeous, amazing young lady. Months ago, I mentioned to Amy that I would *love* to get Maya in front of my camera. It took a while, but we finally got our busy schedules to mesh this past Tuesday.

A bit about Maya before I share her pictures (and I have to say, this might go on record as my largest blog post EVER). Maya loves cheerleading, hanging out with her friends, and music. Her favorite subject is science (obviously she has brains as well as beauty!). Her passions are life, family, and friends. She wants to be a model someday and go to college at UCLA. I have zero doubts that she will accomplish everything she sets out to do.

A bit more about Maya, as shared in an email from her mother to me…

“I don’t know if you ever knew this. But Maya had brain cancer and it was a very stressful time. So I just have tears in my eyes when I look at these pics, I thank God she is here with me and happy/healthy and growing into such a beautiful young lady.

Maya doesn’t share it with most people. Probably most people don’t know. It’s an ongoing thing, frequent MRI’s and doctors visits. But this makes me realize just what an extraordinary girl I have. :) ”

So now you have a little peek into Maya’s life; her interests, dreams, future goals, and even some of the struggles she’s endured in her life. I had to categorize this post, so I did put Maya’s session under my ‘seniors’ category, but I have to let you know that this young lady is only 14 years old. She is incredibly mature and strong for her age, and you can see it in her eyes. I truly hope my photos do her justice!

Without further ado…Maya’s photos. :)

I love how the light is shining down on her in this next picture. She looks so relaxed and peaceful.

One of *my* favorites, although I truly do love them all, and don’t think Maya could take a bad picture if she tried. LOL

Moving from the forest and trees, into a more urban location…

Another favorite…she has an amazing smile!

These last pictures were taken, just before sunset…

Whew, that was a lot of pictures! Maya, I truly hope you love these, and I really do hope that I did you justice!

Just ONE last picture (I promise, only one)…I know how everyone loves my before & afters, so I thought I would share one from this session. These were taken in a very shaded area, and I almost tossed them because they came out of the camera looking so blue/gray. A little post processing can go a LONG ways though! Enjoy!

Remember this beautiful Mama? Well, she had an equally beautiful baby girl the day before Easter! I had the pleasure of spending some time with Robin and baby Hope yesterday. She will just melt your heart! I LOVE newborns but don’t do them often, so this was a real treat for me. I wanted to get these up today, but I have a lot more to go through and edit, so I may sneak more in as I go. :)

Bill and Robin, you have a beautiful family! You guys truly are blessed! Enjoy your new baby girl…as you know well, they grow so fast!

You all know I like to sneak before & afters into my posts. Here is one from this session! Hope has the most gorgeous skin…honestly, I spent at least twice as much time haggling with my wrinkled blanket in post processing as I did editing her skin. How often can you say that about newborns?

I can’t get over this squishy face! <3

SO glad you agreed to some Mommy & baby pictures Robin. You may feel tired and ‘postpartum’, but you look stunning, and I promise you that you will treasure these in the years to come. :)

I definitely prefer ‘simplistic’ when it comes to newborns, but I had to sneak a hat & headband in here too. Nothing too crazy! :)

Gorgeous eye contact from a gorgeous baby girl! <3 I love fun color combos…