Photo(s) of the day... before and after!

Today's photo of the day is actually 2 photos! My husband has complained that I have teased him several times on here, like when I talked here about his muffin joke. So, I figured I owed him one!
This will be a before and after....



This is Copper, my husband's dog. He is a bloodhound. He was about 3 months old in this picture. Cute, huh? He was such a sweet puppy, even though he chewed everything in sight. When he chewed on my china cabinet I was ready to kill him....



Different dog, huh? This is more what Copper looks like now. This was about 6 months ago. He will be 2 in July. This dog is ENORMOUS! He has since been moved to a pen in the backyard. He was just too big to have in the house, plus the kids and I are all allergic. I wouldn't have any furniture left and I would be sneezing all day! He is still cute, but my interaction with him is limited. My husband is training him as a search and rescue dog.

So, this one is for you honey.

How to Wednesday!

Ok guys, today I am going to keep it simple. It has been an extremely busy week this week! As you can see I am late getting this post up today. I promise to do better next time!

Today I am going to talk a little bit about color.

Sometimes people will ask me how I get certain colors to "pop" in a photograph. It can actually be pretty simple. Just keep in mind that it will depend on the photograph, but once you play with it a while you will get the hang of it.

So, pick your image, and let's say we want to enhance the grass. But, we do NOT want to enhance anything else.

First you will need to grab your tool that looks like a cowboy's lasso. This is actually called your
"lasso tool." It works much like a pencil, only you are using your mouse. You will want to start tracing around the part of your image that you want to enhance. Click and hold while you draw around that entire area. DON'T LET GO! If you do you will have to start over..... Honestly, this part takes some practice so don't worry if you have to try more than once to get exactly the area that you want. If you mess up just right click and then click on "deselect" and start over.

So, once you have it outlined you can let go of your mouse and you should see that your area has been selected. Now, there are a couple of things we can do to it from here. The first will be the "saturation" or basically how much color it has. Look at the top of your screen and click on "Image", then scroll down to adjustments and then look for "Hue/Saturation." Once this is open you can play with it, turning the saturation up and down. Grass, for instance, should get greener or darker. When you are done with this just click OK.

Next we are going to click on "Image" and "Adjustments" again and look for "Brightness/Contrast" or Ctrl-B. Try turning up the brightness a little and then if you really want to make it a little more edgy you can play with the contrast. Depending on the image you are working with you will just need to play with it a bit until you get the desired effect.

When you are satisfied with all your adjustments you will want to right click with your mouse and scroll down to "Deselect." Then make sure to save your work.

You are done! You will find that this is very useful, especially when part of your image may be a little darker than you wanted or you just want to give it that little extra something...... see how the grass is a little greener and a little more vibrant!


Happy editing!

Photo of the day - Monday, April 19

Look at all these Tulips! Aren't they beautiful! There were literally THOUSANDS of them! I took this last year in the garden area of The Biltmore.


I am very blessed to have some wonderful friends, who I take a trip with each year. This was where we went last year and had an amazing time.


If you have never visited The Biltmore, it is really something to see. The mansion is amazing on it's own, but the garden area is just breathtaking! I never imagined anything so beautiful. This is a location I highly recommend visiting!

Photo of the day! - Sunday April 17

I just love the look of spring and early summer. Everything is blooming and coming to life. Now is the time to make your appointments for family portraits!

Today's photo of the day is of the Green family, taken early last summer.
What a lovely family. I really enjoyed working with them! Plus, when they arrived I noticed that the ladies were wearing the perfect color of pink. It matched the flowers in the rock garden by the bench. This shot turned out to be their favorite and now hangs in their home.

www.tammyfisherphotography.com

Photo of the day - Saturday April 17

Wasn't today just beautiful in Nashville! I love days like today. We spent the entire day outside, working in the yard and just cleaning up a bit.

So, today's photo relates to that in a way.



This is Caitlyn. She is such a sweet, beautiful girl. Actually, she is my sister's niece. She comes to visit a couple of times a year and I am always thrilled to photograph her. She lets me try new stuff, which I LOVE to do.

So, last year I was dying to get a picture of my neighbor's flower bed. It is full of these gorgeous, purple Iris. So, I put Caitlyn right up beside it and I think it turned out great!

What does this have to do with today? Well, one of my many chores today was to plant some of these lovely flowers in my yard. They are not blooming and looking as great as my neighbors' just yet, but that will come. Until then I guess I will just continue to borrow hers....

Photo of the day - Friday April 16

I know you are probably thinking "huh?"

Today's photo of the day is one that I took several years ago. My husband was fortunate enough to qualify for and run the famous Boston Marathon. Since it took most of the day for the runners to be taken by bus to the start and then actually run the race, I had a lot of time to spend wandering around town.

I spotted this old church and just thought it was beautiful! It was so enormous my camera could not possibly catch it all from where I stood. I was just thrilled that I caught a portion of it. One thing I love is old architecture. They just don't build things like this anymore...

cattle and crayons

Hang on to your seats, it's time for the Friday Fives at my friend Beth's blog again! Today's topic is 5 things you may not know about me. Here we go!

1. I HATE crowds!
Not sure where that came from considering the number of crowded concerts I attended in college. For some reason, though, now the thought of going somewhere amongst hundreds or thousands of knuckle-heads I do not know just annoys me. Seriously, have you ever sat and just watched the general public? People are CRAZY!! I don't like feeling like cattle in a herd. Rather than paying $50 to see a concert that requires binoculars or standing shoulder to shoulder with some sweaty drunk just makes me gag. I could get a nice steak dinner, alone with my hubby for that!!
(ok, I will stop ranting now!)


2. I have an addiction........ to school supplies!
I know! This is totally bizarre. I also know that I can't help it. For some reason, when the stores start putting out their stock in July/August to get ready for school I get so excited! The idea of getting loads of pencils, tape, markers, glue sticks, etc. (and on SALE!) just makes my day. I seriously have so many packs of pens and highlighters my kids could never really use them all. I even had my sister come over and help me organize them. What fun that was! (I know, that is strange too. I guess it runs in the family! :)


3. I am terrified of the Dentist.
I know this probably seems childish, but oh well! I will readily admit that I am a complete wuss when it comes to the dentist. I would rather give birth again before going to the dentist. That doesn't mean that I don't go, it just means that I HATE every second of it. The idea of needles or anything else sharp going into my mouth just makes me sick to my stomach. If only insurance would pay for those places that will knock you out! Now that is something I could get used to. I can deal with the numbness and soreness afterward, that is why God gave us Advil! I just don't want to be awake while they do it!!!


4. I LOVE true crime stories.
No, I am not a sicko, but for some reason this has always interested me. For as long as I can remember my sister and I were watching movies, documentaries, and reading books on various true crime stories. Sadly, we were barely in high school and could name all victims of the Manson family... I guess in another life I would love to have worked in behavioral science, studying this stuff and trying to figure out the "who" and "why". Don't get me wrong, these crazies scare the daylights out of me but I figure someone has to take an interest in it if anyone is going to catch the people out there doing these horrible things. At the same time I think it has made me more aware of my surroundings and the people I encounter. More careful. If that helps keep me or my family safe, who can argue that, right?


5. I am scared to death of snakes!
I don't mean just a little scared..... I mean you should see me react when I encounter one!! I am a little better at the zoo when they are behind thick glass, but not much. Last year when visiting the "Farm" with our friends, one of their children found one near the house and captured it. They thought it was just hilarious that I refused to come outside. Then, when I finally had to go out there they got a huge kick out of taunting me. This is the stuff I have nightmares about! In my opinion, they are evil. Check out Genesis, it's right there!