Drowning in Pictures!

On Monday, I did a double photo session with our youngest daughter, Kylie, who is about to start her senior year. She is also a spokesmodel for my photography business, Cheri Wenger Design Photography so we did a DREAM session...twice the photos, twice the fun!

She and I are both not morning people so I wasn’t sure how waking at 6 am was gonna correlate into getting ANY good pictures, but I think you will agree that we did more than alright! She started off with a cute silky sundress to have a slightly more formal look with plans to change into shorts & a tee.

Living in Melbourne, FL provides awesome opportunities to shoot photos at the beach. We just couldn’t make the true sunrise at 5:30...no way, no how that would happen with either of us! We did some in the water, but she didn’t want to get too wet since we were just getting started. We played with bubbles. Note: it really helps to have an assistant for that shot so they can direct the bubbles while you snap away! We managed to get a photo or two, but I am gonna try that again, like planned, in her shorts and colorful t-shirt, which by the way, we never got to shoot. We'll save that for another more fun and playful photo session.

Hey, you don’t know what a success this really was. We didn’t have even one squabble AND despite sweating our tutus off, there were plenty of smiles and great shots. Now, we took a break at Starbucks for breakfast and some passionfruit lemonades to revive ourselves! Here are some of the shots taken by the Indian River along with a few from the beach session.  

You know, I have always said that I am an evening person and my daughter is just like me, in more ways than one! She comes alive in pictures and I just seem to have more creative ideas for shots, angles and lighting. No, this couldn't have anything to do with staying up late working on design stuff for my business! As you can see by all these photos, I am in picture and editing overload, but lovin' every minute of it! The handheld ponytail shots at sunset are my mommy faves, and hers too!

If you want to see the complete gallery of photos from the a.m. and sunset photo sessions, check out my  facebook page or go to my Cheri Wenger Design Photography website and you will see them as two of the featured galleries. Be sure to leave me a guest book message on my website and to hit the like button on my facebook page! Thanks.

Clean House = Creativity Interupted

When I saw this post on Facebook about housecleaning, I knew I would have to blog about it at some time or another. You see, housecleaning is one of my least favorite things in life to do. I joke that I am allergic to it, but seriously in some ways I am...well, at least to the cleaning products. The only other things I dislike more are prepping taxes and the length of time it takes to get hair color and highlights! O.K., enough dreariness for the day.

You have to admit there is a certain amount of truth to this statement. Anyone who relies on their computer for work feels at a total loss when things aren't working right. Just the other night my husband booked a hotel which turned out to be a time share with no internet. He woke up at 6:00 to go to a coffee shop just so he could check countless emails that would have taken forever on his phone. For me and the world of creativity, I can get lost in the creative process. I would feel at a real disadvantage not to have use of my scanner or computer. I still have my sketch pad and laptop to fall back on, but the day my house looks like a museum means I have quit being creative.

On the creative front, I have a set of digital Valentines called Owlentines. Yes, I have admittedly become obsessed with Owls. That is my college girl's school mascot and I hadn't designed anything with owls up until now. My 3 latest sets can be found on Mygrafico...What A Hoot, Owl Love U 4ever and my soon to release Owlentines set. Locate my shop under the designers pull down menu > Cheri Wenger :D.

These are my three favorites from that set. One is a photo Valentine that you can use, the other two are single panel printable or emailable cards. Here is a peek at those:

On another creative front, I had the opportunity to do an impromptu photo shoot of our 16 yr. old daughter, Kylie. She looked so adorable in her scarf and the jean jacket she borrowed from her sister's closet. I would say shhh, but she saw the photos on facebook and busted Kylie 6 seconds after I posted. She just doesn't like to share her possessions, LOL! My lifestyle photographs are taken with available lighting. This session had me dodging the sun’s brightness as it crept in and out of the clouds.

Photo Tip for the day: Did you know that the best times for shooting photos are when the sun is low in the sky? That means early morning hours or right before sunset. The warm glow the sun gives photos at these hours is magical. But when the sun is shining bright, tuck around a shaded corner that still has some bright light to get that warmth you are looking for with out the shadows. You can also set your SLR camera's fill flash to a low setting to counter those shadows when shooting in sunlight.

Here are my favorites from that photo shoot using a vintage effect on the photos.

Today, I regret to say that I am doing more housework than I care to be doing, but I will get it out of the way so I can get back to creating, illustrating, photographing, and just plain living life creatively!

Project 365 - Days 98-109 Eleven Days of Spring & Easter Creativity

Day 98 - Bunny Hugs n’ Wishes Set

Alas, you get to see the final version of this set whose elements I have showed

you sneak peeks of in my daily challenges. To think this set started with some b&w sketches

and developed into a pastel colored set that isn't just for Easter use!

Day 99 - Love & Hugs Cards

I created thes card samples to show you how the Bunny Hugs n’ Wishes set can be used for creating cards to share your love for someone, send them a get well hug, send a comforting hug to a cancer patient or just let a friend or family member know that you love them. When working with any digital image, think outside the box and challenge yourself to use it creatively, and not just the obvious uses.

Sometimes it just involves changing out the paper colors or embellishments. 

Day 100 - Golf Tournament Pics

If you are looking to get more creative with your picture taking, try shooting from a different vantage point than straight on. While volunteering at the West Shore Jr./Sr. High annual Golf Tournament, I have the opportunity to take photos of the event and participants. Cocoa Beach Country Club provides wonderful scenery and wildlife to photograph, too. Here are just a couple photos I took today. You can try this challenge out for yourself the next time you pick up your camera. Shoot your children from a side angle, take a close up shot of something that commemorates the event, such as an invitation, ticket stub or an article of clothing that was worn. This tip can even work for team sports and sporting events!

Surprise everyone with that shot that no one else would think to take.

Day 101 - Casual Senior Portraits of Ashley

This Saturday morning photo shoot included a few outfit & location changes.

And a few more in b&w...

Day 102 - More Bunnies on the Loose!

You know the saying about putting bunnies together...they multiply! Well, that was the case when working with these digi files. The possibilities kept on multiplying and I will warn you that there may be even more bunny cards to come! These cards show how you can combine embossed layers, ribbons and cut out digital images to create fun cards.

Hop Dot Bunny Card

Peek-A-Boo Bunny Card

Day 103 - Easter Egg Cards

Cheerful Easter Basket Card

Easter Banner Card

Day 104 - 2 Birthday Cards

Who hasn't let a birthday slip by? Here is a perfect card to make up for being late.

The verse is from a retired Stampin’ Up! brithday set. I combined it with some Noteworthy flowers from Making Memories, cardstock embossed with dot embossing folder, a punched border and yummy papers and cardstock cut outs from the Home Tweet Home collection from My Little Shoebox.

I Forgot Birthday Card

An inside view of the card with stamped verse.

Sweet Melon Birds (16th Birthday Card)

For a momentous birthday try pairing patterned chipboard numbers with patterned papers and punch outs. Just add some ribbon and a few embellishments like buttons and flowers to complete this in a flash.

Day 105 - Soft Floral Thank You Card

Below is another card idea that you can create in a flash using paper strips, a stamped greeting/message, some layered elements like ribbons, sticker flowers and a punched heart. To complete the look, I added some mini adhesive pearls to give it more bling.

Day 106 - A Mom Senior Prank

You may have heard of kids doing Senior pranks as a graduating class, well why should kids have all the fun? My daughter and her best friend, Courtney were kidding with her mom about prom hairstyles. They posted some bizarre photos. This one was the one that Ashley joked she was going to have as her prom "do". I used my photoshop skills and one of her senior photo session pics to replace her face in the picture. It wasn't until she did a double take later in the day that she caught on to my mom prank.

All in good fun, ya know!!!? Sometimes, a girl just can’t help but live life creatively!

Day 107 - Senior Prom Portraits

It seems like these days I have spent more time as a photographer than a designer, but when it involves taking photos of my girls and their friends, it is pure enjoyment.

Day 108 - Easter Cards

I warned you that cardmaking with my Bunny Hugs n’ Wishes set became very addictive. I made more Easter cards than ever this year. Use these card ideas as sketches for creating other cards.

Easter Bunny Skies

Eggsactly Bunny Card

Happy Easter Surprise Card

Day 109 - More Easter Cards

Floral Eggs Card

Hideaway Bunny Card