I just spent the last week in Tennessee. We went from Nashville (the perfect combination of yummy food, fantastic live music & great company) up to Gatlinburg (an amazing lodge retreat in the middle of the Smokey Mountains). Spending the day in the mountain air with a group of amazing women (the babbling creek and campfire made it almost surreal) was just what the doctor ordered. I can’t thank Misty enough for having me out or Jen for being the perfect travel companion…
and, of course, our adorable little models…
gatlinburg | TN
Quick note: This is the last day to get the early registration price on the Gatlinburg TN workshop. Sign up here!!
I was contacted a while back by a new publication, The Fort, to do a feature for their magazine. The premise… “An imaginative and adventurous photography magazine showcasing boys in their element”. How fun is that? Their goal is to show you that photographing boys is an amazing experience filled with imagination and adventure. I couldn’t agree more…
They asked me to share some of my favorite boy images and a little bit of the why & how behind my shoots with the little men. The issue just premiered… take a peak :)
If you don’t see the issue of The Fort below, refresh your page!
Jacob Venard: Awesome and fun! Hope this publication is still around when my 5 month old boy Leighton is a little older. (03.15.2012 08:16pm)
Laura: Shannon, thank you for being in this issue, we loved featuring your work!! Thanks so much for helping us promote The Fort! You ROCK!!! :) (03.15.2012 08:39pm)
Proof that I am really friggin’ funny… ;)
zalaine: Never doubted it for a Moment. XO (12.06.2011 05:55am)
Roxana: Haha, this is fabulous! :D You are adorable and fun and very talented. Just sayin'. :) (12.06.2011 08:31am)
Kara Layfield: Super cute family!! (12.06.2011 01:49pm)
Kathy Carlisle: It's all fun and games talking about Drew's love for Eliza...until she starts looking this old and the talk starts to turn to the possibility of reality:) lol Awesome shot! (12.06.2011 09:10pm)
First… the winner of the ZozoBugBaby dress is… Ela Dominguez!! Just email me your address and I will get it shipped right out :)
And next up… I just got back from a whirlwind trip to NYC. West coast to east coast and back in 36 hrs… the amazing thing is that I fit SO much in. I got to hang out an entire evening with my very dear friends, meet amazing new people through a friend here AND do a workshop with a SUPER fun group. We even had the talented & charming Rosanna Wolff come in and talk with us for the day. All in all, one of my best trips to NYC yet (though I would really love some good weather one of these trips- please? brrrr….).
We ventured out with four adorable models to hit the streets of Manhattan and take on a little punk, urban theme. Couldn’t do punk & urban without thinking Knuckleheads (of course) and we also added one of my favorites pieces ever by Bits ‘n Pieces by Kristin- come on.. what little girl wouldn’t LOVE a Beastie Boys dress?? (sorry guys- my little lady already has this one claimed) ;) Thank you so much Lisa for having me out and to all the ladies that came. I loved every minute and can’t wait to come back!
wardrobe: Knuckleheads Clothing & Bits ‘n Pieces by Kristin
new york | NY
renee: This is so my kind of shoot!! LOOOOOVE it!! XOXO (11.02.2011 06:11am)
Zalaine: Awesome. Pink, girly and fabulous, Miss S! (11.02.2011 10:54am)
Marci Yochum: Love how these turned out Shannon! So fun to get to hang with you behind the scences too. Claire had so much fun getting styled and modeling for the shoot. The silly string fight and meeting some new friends was definitely a favorite as well. Thanks again. (11.02.2011 11:21am)
Kara Layfield: Oh my goodness this is just too much!! I so love the urban little punk theme!! These girls have got it goin' on!! :) (11.02.2011 01:27pm)
Jennifer Beitchman: Shannon-thank you for being so kind and sharing yourself and your talent with us. It was such a great day and I really loved it and didn't want it to end! We were so lucky to stumble on that gated wall! Its like it was there JUST for our shoot! <3 (11.02.2011 04:11pm)
Louise Friedman: Just gorgeous Shannon! You are so talented and the girls absolutely love working with you. They would never complain about the cold with you.....can we see you again in August....hopefully warm? (11.02.2011 04:49pm)
Emilyn Guillermo: Thanks so much Shannon for sharing your talent with us. I came out of that workshop feeling so inspired. My mantra now is "Do what makes YOU passionate". I'm back home in Anchorage. Can you believe the thermometer registered 10*F!!!! Hmmmm, having a workshop in Hawaii would be nice....i'm totally there!!! (11.02.2011 06:50pm)
Rosanna: Crazy beautiful, your eye and direction are spot on Shannon. Hard to pick as they are all super amazing but my favorite are the last two. (11.02.2011 09:43pm)
Lori: Hello Shannon! Just wanted to thank you for a very lovely day on Sunday. Your workshop was incredibly inspiring and I am honored to have met you! Best always. (11.02.2011 10:23pm)
Lisa: I love these photos!!! Thanks so much for sharing your creativity and knowledge with us Shannon. (11.03.2011 04:45am)
Ellie A.: How fun are these pictures! Those colors are amazing.I can feel that NY Swag in those pictures. Could you ROCK anymore? OH MAN ..JUST love it!!! (11.05.2011 01:51pm)
Work flow… let’s talk about it.
I am not a person that likes to spend a lot of time in the digital darkroom. I would much rather be out creating things to shoot or, let’s be honest- doing nothing photography related and living life ;) I have been doing the same basic post processing since 2007 and have gotten it down to a science. There are a couple of things I can guarantee when you look at one of my images… 1) I shot in manual. This is the best way to ensure that you are exposing & creating the images that YOU want (not what the camera thinks is best)… 2) I have edited the shot with one of Nichole Van’s Flourish Actions. Her Essential Color Pop is on every single image you see. Even if I ‘play’ beyond, I use her for a base. There are many FANTASTIC actions sets out there… I just found when I was trying to get my work flow as simple as possible that hers allowed me the greatest control in the least amount of time. I love that you can erase parts of layers, adjust the opacity, turn them completely off… she gives you a bundle of goodness that you can completely individualize to your taste (& video tutorials on how to use them). I also love that she updates her actions and comes out with new creations that are already customized to work with what you have. Aaand she just updated everything! She has a new batching feature with the color pop action I use (loooove… SO much quicker) and all new goodies for you to check out!
Here is where it gets good…
If you go visit her site and then come back and leave a comment on which product you like best and why then you are entered to win a $75 Flourish gift certificate! In addition she is offering my blog readers the coupon code ‘Flourish2011′ for 25% off. If you combine that with her current multi-item discount that will give you up to 50% off. Nice, eh?
You can check out Flourish Emporium here where you can find all of her actions, textures, presets, borders, and templates (plus the new versions of her Essential Color Pop, Essential Black & White, Antique Vintage and Urban action sets that I mentioned). And if you visit her Facebook page here, you can download a freebie action, texture and template!
Hope it this helps some of you with the editing questions that you’ve sent. I really do like to keep things simple (& pretty) so thank you Nichole for creating something that does that perfectly ;)
Don’t forget to check out her new site and comment below to win the gift certificate!! I will announce a winner this Thursday :)
Nicole Voth: I like Essential Color Pop v2! (07.17.2011 08:21pm)
Kristin Cook: I need her b/w actions! (07.17.2011 08:30pm)
Susanne: Essential Color pop for sure!!! I (07.17.2011 09:19pm)
Ashley Sisk: I love essential color pop - gosh, what a great action! (07.17.2011 11:31pm)
Shannon @ Lifelong Impressions: I'd love the studio set since I'm now doing more studio stuff. (07.18.2011 12:26am)
amy: essential color pop and the black and white! brilliant! (07.18.2011 12:38am)
sarah c.: I would want the black and white set. I love the "moody bw" one! Thanks for posting; I didn't know about Flourish before. (07.18.2011 01:23am)
Lisa: I adore her studio black and white! WOW-E! (07.18.2011 02:29am)
chrissi richards: My #1 is the essential indoor color pop. Great product. (07.18.2011 02:32am)
Lori Ferguson: Seeing you work your magic first-hand with her actions, I'm going to buy the color pop! Guess now I will wait until Thursday to see if I won :) (07.18.2011 02:40am)
angela f: I love actions, I am off to check out the site. (07.18.2011 02:43am)
Nataly Harris: Gotta have all her stuff... but especially the Essential Color Pop! :) (07.18.2011 05:08am)
Sara from L.A.: Thank you for letting us in on one of your secrets. (07.18.2011 10:38am)
Miranda Porter: Essential colour pop....please :) (07.18.2011 11:12am)
Michelle: Love essential color pop too ..... I upgraded to the new version and love the gentle pop :) (07.18.2011 12:55pm)
Chelsea: What a great new site, I've been a fan of her work for a long time! I admire your ability to keep things simple... I'm not there yet. I would love all of her sets, but would really like to try the Urban and Textures v2 with the fake tilt shift and textures, I think they make such artful images. (07.18.2011 01:45pm)
Hannie: Who wouldn't want these fantastic actions? I know I do!! They are fantastic. (07.18.2011 02:57pm)
Jenna S: The essential color pop would be fab to have. (07.18.2011 03:12pm)
Dina: I love Urban with Texture! love her site and actions! going now to visit her on fb! (07.18.2011 05:53pm)
Melissa Willick: HOW to choose?? I love them ALL! My new favorite action player!! (07.18.2011 07:13pm)
Esther: I loooove the flourish brushes!!! They're awesome!! :) (07.18.2011 07:43pm)
Nicole Evans: I'm a new user of Lightroom and just recently purchased Nichole's Presets... I can say that I am quickly falling in love them, just like I have with her PS actions! I mean, with a name like that, how can you go wrong? ;o) (great site, btw!) (07.18.2011 07:46pm)
Sue Gerard: I LOVE the essential color pop set. Use them on most of my pictures! (07.18.2011 07:52pm)
Dreaming Hollow Photography: I have been using Nicole Van's actions for a year and a half now. Since I am an action "junkie" I have bought and tried a bunch of different actions sets from other designers but I have ALWAYS come back to her SOFT COLOR POP action. As has already been mentioned, it offers fantastic tweakablity and it just plain makes my photos look Awesome. Every. Time. The time you save editing is just amazing. And she offers great customer service too. Her texture palette's are one of my very favorite artistic enhancing shortcuts....they are just plain cutting edge cool! I wouldn't use textures near as often but her palette's make it so easy, only takes a few seconds, and voila! Work of Art! LOVE all her stuff! (07.18.2011 08:13pm)
beka: I like the moody black and white! Thank you for the chance to win! (07.18.2011 08:31pm)
Amber: I went through them all and I think the Color Pop actions would be my best bet! They look like just what I've been looking for for my workflow. Thanks! (07.18.2011 08:39pm)
Amanda: I LOVE the essential color pop!!! Right now I layer a couple of actions... but I'm definitely looking for a quicker work flow and I think this set could be a great base for my images! (07.18.2011 09:40pm)
Troy Guillory: I use the Color Pop actions every time I sit to edit photos! (07.18.2011 10:19pm)
Donna Litchfield: LOVE LOVE LOVE The Essential Black & White set and specifically moody b+w - it saves me so much time. I also love tints & textures. (07.18.2011 10:32pm)
Andrea Kell: Love the color pop, really brings out the eyes! (07.18.2011 11:39pm)
Janlle: I like the b/w actions. They look really clean and crisp. (Also love the Essential Color Pop v2.) (07.19.2011 01:31am)
Nancy K: I love her indoor color pop and her b/w actions! (07.19.2011 05:15am)
Simona: I edit in pse for now and Iam in love with the worn out vintage look. I Love the Heirloom texture and the color pop action is awsome! (07.19.2011 05:45am)
Bev Robison: I use the Essential Color Pop Indoor on just about everything! Love it!!! (07.19.2011 05:47am)
Dave C.: I really like Urban set! (and I actually prefer your example to what she did in her video..) (07.19.2011 08:52am)
Anna Nilsen: I really love your work Shannon. You are such an inspiration. Thank you for sharing your wonderful pictures with us. I would love to have Nichole's Essential Color Pop. Gorgeous :) (07.19.2011 10:22am)
tabitha: just bought her presets! amazing!! (07.19.2011 11:38am)
Jenni: I love you work! Thanks for sharing your processing tips. My favorite Flourish actions are Essential Color Pop v2 and Essesntial BW v2. I love your last post too--Jack and Beth live around the corner from me! The pictures are adorable. (07.19.2011 05:14pm)
Stacey Atkin: I would LOVE her b&w actions! (07.19.2011 08:45pm)
Becky: I love how you keep things simple! your color is always natural and beautiful! (07.20.2011 01:27pm)
Tanya: No questions, no doubts - Essential Color Pop v2 is most impressive and provide with gorgeous results. Proofing for LR is also amazing. Don't forget take a look on PS templates. It worths every penny you spent. 100% period! t will not make a bad image great, but will make a good image better. It is very easy to use and the results are fantastic. I could use it on every image I have. (07.20.2011 07:34pm)
Adia: Nicole is amazing! I have bunch of her actions and love the Color pop! Her work is amazing! It was extra fun to also see her on the Framed show recently as well! (07.20.2011 08:38pm)
Vickey Weiss: Don't know what I'd do if I didn't have indoor color pop :) (07.20.2011 10:07pm)
ali wood: I love the color pop! It will be perfect for my style! thanks for sharing the love! (07.20.2011 11:21pm)
Tabitha H.: I would love to get my hands on the Lighting Workshop-in-a-Box :) But on a smaller scale, I like the Essential Color Pop for PSE because Elements is all I have to work with at the moment. Love me some Nichole V! (07.21.2011 01:36am)
Natalie Clayshulte: I'd love the essential color pop! (07.21.2011 04:38am)
Kristin Cook: These are precious! Love the styling w/ the boy in boots! (05.04.2012 09:33pm)
sonya: i really love every thing about these photos! the models, colors, location! awesome! (05.04.2012 11:03pm)
Kelsey: Oh man! Love the boy and the tree! (05.05.2012 12:36am)
Tania: These are gorgeous as usual. I so, so love the way you embrace sun and shoot with it. I could only dream to try! Hope you had fun! xoxo (05.05.2012 11:30am)
melody dowdy photography: i had a fabulous time in tennessee & i came home both inspired and challenged. thanks for sharing your gifts with us!!! i would highly recommend your workshop. (05.05.2012 12:51pm)
Tara S.: ooh, i love, love, love these pics! the shots of the boy hanging from and behind the tree put a big smile on my face. the frog, too :) i need to send you a pic of the canvases i had printed for my living room. i look at them and think of you every single day :) (05.05.2012 07:08pm)
Kasandra: I love these and I loved spending the day with you ... you're exactly how i had envisioned you to be ... kind, smart, and real ... thanks for sharing so much with us! When Abe and I got in the car, he said, 'well that was a good day ... i got to play in the stream all day and you made new friends' ... he's completely right! (05.08.2012 01:29pm)
more workshop fun » bonny and blithe photography: [...] to learn from her. Her work astonishes me. So a week or so ago I spent all day at a workshop in Gatlinburg, Tennessee with several other photographers absorbing her philosophy and approach to working with and styling children’s portraiture at [...] (05.11.2012 07:57pm)