Friday, March 07, 2014

Befores and Afters Baybee!

Yesterday I spotted two cool pictures.
One of Jessica Alba and one of Julianne Hough.

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How about this coat!?!? It's my favorite coat I have seen in a long time.

LOVE!


I was inspired by their coolness... so when we got home from school yesterday I told Katie I had an idea.

I made her put on my sunglasses, handed her a shirt to change in to and said she could put on some colorful lipstick.

The light was not perfect BUT it was sunny and that made me SO happy.


Here are the before/afters


When you shoot into the sun you get a haze.  I needed to get the haze out so I added black by way of contrasting and levels in photoshop.

Then I played around with many different actions to find one I loved for these pictures.
I settled on one called Toy Camera by Eye Candy Actions.


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straight out of camera....haze.


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levels and contrast

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a tighter crop


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BAM!


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I like my blurry pictures.

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levels and saturation


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pre-action

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Heyyyy!!!



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Remember when I did my talkie blogs with glasses on?


Just so you know...the new haircut has not been all butterflies and unicorns....

The other morning...after the first shower with the new pixie....

Katie's hair looked like this...




And she had a melt down.
Until I helped her fix it.

This morning was another shower.
We used gel this time.
It worked great!
Zip. Zip. Zip.


This is a logo from Wichita State University.  They are the Shockers. Yes.  For shocking wheat.
Janet's niece plays volleyball for this college... and another fun fact, the Shockers just had an undefeated boy's basketball season.  They are all the talk this year.  You will hear about them come March Madness.  And hopefully you will think of Katie.  Not.

Go Shockers!


Happy Friday!







30 comments:

  1. Ahhhh, you are just amazing. I will learn photoshop, I will learn photoshop, I will learn photoshop..... xoxo

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  2. Being a huge March Madness fan, I have been following the Shockers. Love their name. Glad the resemblance to the new haircut was short lived. Oh, I have memories of my first short haircut. I cried all the way home. And I never liked it. So hooray! that she just needed a little help. She sure looks darling in the pics.

    LOVE that coat. Great colors. Very classy. I once had a linen sheath dress that had those huge stripes. Black, coral, cream and khaki. Oh, I loved that dress.

    Friday. Never was I happier to have a Friday! Hallelujah!

    Happy day all. I am keeping the lovely QLCS in my Lenten prayers! May joy and peace abound.

    Di

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    Replies
    1. I'll gladly claim some of those prayers, Di! thanks!!

      Happy Weekend to you!

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  3. Anonymous10:27 AM

    you tell that girl that she could NOT be any cuter if she tried. such a classic look, so chic and confident. wish i could wear my hair that way!! audrey hepburn for sure! love love love that style on her! sharon

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  4. LOVE the photos. LOVE that lipstick on Katie, but she doesn't need it. The girl is darlin'.

    The coat is really lovely. Thanks for sharing the happy and the lovely with us!

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  5. Haha, Donna, you make me laugh! Love the relating of Katie's hair to that mascot. Hilarious!

    It's been awhile since I've stopped by and I can't get over how OLD Katie is!! I think I started reading your blog back in oh, 2009 maybe? She was just a little thing then, and now she's all grown up! Not like I need to tell you that, haha!

    Thanks for the laugh today, and happy to be back! xo!

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  6. Hi Donna...did you notice Julianne Hough's short cropped hair. Very similar to Katie's! She looks so cute and older with the new hair. By the way, love your blog,

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  7. Anonymous10:45 AM

    You, my friend, are very funny.

    I feel Katie's post-shampoo pain. That's the only time I'm not happy with short hair. It brings out the lion tamer in me!

    Mary Z

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  8. Anonymous11:27 AM

    The BAM! closeup- Vogue worthy. You are so amazing with a camera and Katie looks so adorable with the haircut and lipstick. I love the striped coat too- it brings back the best of the 60s.

    Debbie Z.

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  9. Anonymous11:59 AM

    The coat is fantabulous. And I love the flipped up collar, the cropped black pants, the shoes and the glasses, the bag.
    The pictures of Katie are so fun! The lipstick looks great. Not that Katie needs any help, but Donna you really know how to edit photos and make them come alive. Impressive.

    Sarah P. from Iowa

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  10. I was chatting with Emma on Wednesday about how cute Katie's hair is and she mentioned the crazy morning you'd previously had with her new cut. I thought I'd share a tutorial that I think Katie could totally master. It's similar to what I did when my hair was this short. It takes away any possibility that it's a boyish cut, since I know she wants to avoid that. Here's the video: http://youtu.be/NZ9jIv5_68g The actual hair tutorial starts around 1:30 if you get tired of listening to her drag on about comment drama.

    She recommends the Bumble&Bumble grooming creme, which is kind of expensive if you don't usually spend much on hair products. You can definitely find some cheaper alternatives at Target. I would just look for something that says "shaping" and that is thick like paste. Use the tiniest amount so it doesn't look greasy.

    Happy Friday!

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  11. I love her short hair... I'm a short hair girl myself. Short hair definitely needs product to help it stay "done" looking. I love the creamy pomade from Enjoy.

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  12. Katie is such a natural in front of the camera. Miss Photogenic for sure!

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  13. Anonymous1:52 PM

    Go Shockers! Wondering about the name. Shockers are people who harvest wheat. "Shocking" is the process of harvesting wheat. A "shocker" would put several stalks in bundles . Kansas has a lot of wheat to harvest early students earned money by shocking or harvesting the nearby fields. Early football games were played on a stubbled wheat field. Pep members were called " wheaties" anyways just thought I'd share.
    Love the coat, and Katie's hair, cute with the bangs!
    Beckie from Kansas

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    Replies
    1. Love the details on the Shockers. Donna, you would have been a Wheaty (ie? ey?)

      Di

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    2. Reminds me of my mom's stories of her college summers spent as a tassler. And not in the way you'd think! :) Hundreds of college kids would detassle [?? no good way to spell that ??] the cornfields before it was picked. Learn something new!! :)

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    3. Cindy Crawford did, right??

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  14. mary e. from wheaton1:52 PM

    I've had short hair for over 10 years, since being diagnosed with a brain tumor. Had TONS of hair before I had it shaved off for the surgery. WISH.I'D.DONE.IT.BEFORE. Like decades, before! I'm petite and have a small face - and mine is so short, it borders on shaved. If I can figure out how to attach a pic, I will, but tell Katie she is gorgeous, daring, unique, and a style setter! She's beautiful with that hair - and that's only part of what makes her shine with beauty! Love your pictures of her - you truly are an artist, Donna!
    --mary e. from Wheaton

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    Replies
    1. Mary E, I would love to see your hair :-)

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  15. I'm having the same hair issues as Katie, but for the opposite reason...for the first time in my life I'm letting my hair grow. I'm struggling to deal with it; friends try to help, but give up because they don't have curly hair. I'll struggle a little longer, but may give up. Katie, on the other hand, looks adorable!

    I know how to use Photoshop (sort of), but I lack the ability to look at a picture and know what changes need to be made. For example, I had no idea I should add black using contrast and levels to get the haze out. Now I know (just hope I'll remember)! I'd love a class (not that I have the time, but...) for learning to adjust pictures.

    Missy

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  16. LOVE. HER. HAIRCUT. PERIOD!

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  17. Also ... LOVE that coat! Love. Love. Love.

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  18. She looks super Audrey! Love it.
    Claire (Di's daughter) =)

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    Replies
    1. Thank you Claire! Katie is a big Audrey fan!

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    2. Claire Bear!

      Saying it is like Audrey is the highest praise Claire can give, Katie!

      Love,
      Di (Claire's mom (-:)

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  19. She looks so sophisticated. I agree she's looking like Audrey in these. BAM!

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  20. I love Katie's short hair. It is fabulous. I think it looks like the young daughter or Erin on Bluebloods TV show... Only Katie is cuter. Love all your posts. I do not miss a day. By the way I tried the turkey and butter in the crockpot and it was divine. It is a new favorite in our home.

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  21. Katie is so lovely. I could look at pictures of her all day. : )
    I am glad you did this fun little shoot with the tiny bit of sun you found. I am excited for more hours of sunshine. I was not too excited about losing an hour of sleep though. Oy! I am waiting at the hospital this morning to photograph a little baby. Exciting. Visiting you made the wait worthwhile.

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  22. Anonymous2:51 PM

    Oh how I love your photography - of course you have the BEST models Ever - the pixie if Fabulous on Katie. I never seem to capture haze well, must do it wrong?? and the actions you mention are they PS or Elements or LR?? although I love the SOOC shots!
    Sandyleeisme

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  23. You are such a nice mom. Maybe if I'd had you to help me, my pixie haircut wouldn't have been so tragic, haha!

    I really love your blog, though I rarely comment. (shy girl waves her hand and smiles) I have 4 babies of my own and really look up to you as a mom. I want to mother my children well.... Teach them all the right things, but mainly love love love them well. At the end of the day, I just want to make sure I did my best to let them know that I love each of them and that God does too. But that is a pretty tall order sometimes.

    Anyway, I love to read about your relationship with your kiddos. It makes me want to travel to Wisconsin just so I can hang out with you and your family and learn to always be calm, cool, collected, and kind. I think that's the thing I like the best. You are kind, not condescending. I want to be that.

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