I Heart Faces Furry Faces Challenge

This week's photo challenge at i heart faces is Furry Faces. My first choice was this shot of my son with his ferret Avery. Jason and Bobbie raise ferrets and love them like children. The ferrets even have their very own room in the house. To check out more furry face shots, head on over to I Heart Faces here.

To edit this photo, I used photoshop and added some film grain, followed by MCP Actions' Finish It action, then added a burn edge in MCP Actions Frosted Memories action.


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i ♥ faces Prop Photo Challenge

This week's photo challenge at I Heart Faces is props. I haven't photographed a lot of weddings, but with the ones I've done so far this is one of my signature shots. The kiss behind the bridal bouquet. And I always love the way it turns out! When I took this particular picture, the bride told me she liked this type of picture and would do this for as long as I needed her to :). To check out all the prop pix, or to add one of your own, head on over to i ♥ faces here.

I ♥ Faces: Best Face Photo

The i ♥ faces challenge this week is Best Face Photo taken during the month of May. I was blessed to have been able to shoot senior photos for a set of twins - friends of my daughter, and now friends of mine - and I immediately thought of this capture. I lightened it up in photoshop and gave it a gauzy, misty look. I love the expression on her face! So dreamy and thoughtful! To check out other Best Face Photos, head on over to i heart faces here.

i ♥ faces Yellow Challenge

The i ♥ faces' challenge this week is yellow. My first thought was that everyone will be sharing flower field shots, which I love!, but I wanted to post something different. I've started making scripture photos for the students - it's something I love to do and hopefully they are a meaningful addition to the family portraits. This is one of my favorites, because I love this young lady! If you'd like to see any of my other scripture photos, here is a link to my facebook album. Hopefully it will work for you.

To view all the other Yellow photos, or to post one of your own, head on over to I Heart Faces!

i ♥ faces Flowers

The i ♥ faces' challenge this week is flowers! Amy and Angie are on vacation, enjoying a little relaxation, so there is no competition this week. Just plenty of gorgeous flower shots for us to enjoy! This one above being my favorite flower shot to date!

Closely followed by this one because it is one of the very first ones I ever took. Successfully. With a little point and shoot camera that I eventually wore out.

This would be my next favorite. I shot this at a friend's house in Florida, during the summer, my first insect shot (or whatever a grasshopper is.)


Recently I visited a botanical garden in Florida where I took the above shots.


The above shots of roses were taken in Columbia, South Carolina, not long ago. Kali and I were at CIU for an NCFCA Qualifying Speech and Debate tournament - the story of our lives of late.

From Regent University near Virgina Beach, Virginia.

The flower field near our home. I love to go there in the spring and shoot pictures. There doesn't even need to be people in the shots for me to be happy - haha! That chair belonged to my grandparents, it came over on a ship from England, many years ago. The quilt top is one I made.

Back down to the swamps of Florida. Taken at sunset from the porch of a restaurant we loved. It has since closed to business, as have so many other wonderful places.

From a friend's wedding. The bride and groom are serious Florida Gator fans. The wedding colors? Orange and blue!

Not a great photo, but one I love a lot!



Random shots near home.

More flowers from Columbia, South Carolina.

Olney, Maryland, the location of Kali's national commissioning with the Institute For Cultural Communicators, this past year.

A very recent wedding :). . .

. . . and one of my favorite pictures ever! It's the wallpaper on my ipad and my laptop! Also from the botanical gardens.

To check out a load of other flower shots, or to post some of your favorites, head on over to I Heart Faces here!

i ♥ faces Soft and Sweet

The theme this week at i ♥ faces is Soft and Sweet! I immediately thought of this photo I shot in the local flower field. Such a beautiful little lady. I love this sweet shot of her and her precious teddy! To see other Soft and Sweet shots, or to add one of your own, head on over to i ♥ faces!

i ♥ faces Challenge of the Week - Hearts ♥

This week's challenge at i ♥ faces is hearts ♥. I immediately thought of this photo I took at a debate tournament. I have the honor of being the regional photographer for these events. As we entered the hall for the finals round of debate - the round that would determine the winning team - this group of students called out to me to take their picture - sweet! These are my "kids" - every single one of them! To check out the other Heart photos, go to i ♥ faces here.

i ♥ faces ~ Best Face Photo in January

The i ♥ faces challenge this week is your Best Face Photo in January. I scanned through my shots from this past month and this one really stood out to me. I love the way it follows the rule of thirds - on an angle! Fence on the left side, the young man in the center, and the stairs to the right - perfect thirds :). And the lines of the gate and the stairs draw your eyes right to the subject of the photo. This was a totally impromptu shot, taken when the young man said to me in passing, "Mrs. Hendon, take my picture!" and I did - haha! This is the best kind of picture, totally spur of the moment!

Check out all the postings at i ♥ faces here, or enter your best photo from January!

i ♥ faces Best Face Photo of 2010

The week's I Heart Faces challenge is your best face photo from 2010. I had no idea which is my best, so I just pulled my favorite from my most recent shoot. I love the contrast of the beautiful young lady among all the dead branches in the heart of winter. And, of course, that solar pop through the branches always wins a favorite spot for me! I love solar flare! To check out other Best Face Photos, or to enter one of your own, head on over to i heart faces here.

i ♥ faces Pet Challenge

This week's challenge at i heart faces is pets. This is a picture I took of Gus and turned into an email Christmas card. I love the textured look. And Gus is always up for getting his picture taken - he's such a ham! To check out all the other pet shots, head on over to i ♥ faces here.

i ♥ faces Paper Challenge

This week's photo challenge at i ♥ faces is . . . paper!
You can post any photo featuring paper in some form. It also must clearly contain a face :). I thought about a different photo I had of one of the interns with a notebook full of messed up paper scripts, but then remembered this shot I took at a speech and debate conference in North Carolina. This young man was patiently waiting while his mom judged a round and his sister competed. Tournaments usually last 3-4 days, so I was pretty impressed with how well this then five year old waited! Such a patient, and sweet, young man! Doesn't he just look like a grown-up in this picture - haha!
To check out all the other paper photos, or to enter one of your own, head on over to i ♥ faces here.

i ♥ faces Silhouette Challenge

This week's challenge at i ♥ faces is . . . silhouettes! I immediately thought of a senior photo shoot I did recently and remembered several silhouette shots from that day. This is one of my favorites (I can only post one for the challenge). We were shooting out over the bay in Tampa, although you can't see that in this particular picture. Such a beautiful morning we had with the sun still low in the sky. To check out other silhouette shots, or to post one of your own, head on over to i heart faces here.

Smirking it Up at I ♥ Faces

The challenge this week? Smirkiness. Or whatever our opinion of 'smirkiness' might be :). I had a blast this week doing engagement photos for a dear friend of ours. They asked what I wanted them to do - I told them they just needed to kiss and hug a lot! and we'd be good. Everytime he, or she, would ask what they should do next - I would just tell them, "why don't you do some more of that kissing?" Gotta love it! Head on over to i heart faces to check out all the other smirky shots, or to enter one of your own!

Week #33, Got To Wear Shades @ I ♥ Faces

This week the photo challenge at I ♥ Faces is Got To Wear Shades! My mind immediately went to this photo. It's one of my favorites shots of one of our speech and debate students. I clicked this photo at a speech conference during a simulation our students played. I love his huge over-sized shades! What a hoot he was! So funny! To check out other shades shots, or to enter one of your own, head on over to I ♥ Faces and join in the fun :).

Fix-It Friday #66, I ♥ Faces

It's Fix-It Friday at i heart faces. They post an original, straight-out-of-the-camera shot for us to take and edit however we wish.
Above you can see the original they gave us this week. The immediate problems I found with the picture were the sleeve of his buddy in the shot, and the washed out tone of the entire photo.

I don't know that I like my first edit. It looks like a school photo. I edited it to a 4x6 portrait size, and did all my basic edits in photoshop. I brightened the photo, brought up the saturation, used a brush to bring out the outline of the irises, sharpened the lines in the photo, angled it a little to the left, and used mcpactions.com magic skin/magic powder action to smooth the face.

Next, I cropped the photo into a landscape 4x6, again removing his buddy from the shot, and angling our fellow a little to the left. I used the same edits as before and added to it. In mcpactions' Quickie Collection, I used the Snap action to sharpen the features up a bit more. Then with mcpactions' Bag of Tricks I used Magic Dark to take down the brightness of the face.

Then, I took that same picture and opened the Pioneer Woman's Action Set 1, and ran the lovely and ethereal action, followed by the soft and faded action.

And last, I opened mcpactions' Frosted Memories set and ran the faded edges, low res action, followed by the toasted edges, low res action. I love the way this one turned out. I think it's my favorite of the group - a little old-fashioned looking, soft and sweet. Just like I imagine the little boy to be :).

You can find out more about mcpactions HERE.
You can find the Pioneer Woman's free actions HERE.
And to see how everyone else edited this shot, or to post your own edits, go HERE.