This is a special week for the Love Your Shot! | Link-Up, we’ve sprung a theme on you this time! We want you to show us “your favorite faces”. To help us choose the winner…oh yes, I said winner…we’ve asked a couple of photographers to help us out. You may know them well. But you’ll have to click on over to this week’s link-up to find out more. How’s that for leaving you hangin’!

My entry this week is not only my “favorite face” but he is my favorite person, too! This is my husband, Steve. He’s sweet. He’s thoughtful. And he’s a total goof, who never fails to make me laugh (you may remember the fishing photo I posted a few weeks ago, nuff said). But most of all, he’s my world. I love you, Steve!

I shot this photo last night as the sun was going down. Steve and I decided to take advantage of the cooler air, so we went for a walk. Of course, I grabbed my camera. Steve’s getting used to the idea of my camera going everywhere with me, so he didn’t think anything of it. But I had different plans… I needed a photo for our link-up. So, in steps a bit of trickery. You see, for this photo, Steve had no idea the camera was pointed at him…he thought I was shooting the landscape behind him. Well, the cat’s out of the bag now…sorry Steve…

This brings me to my tip this week…never rule out the benefit of a little trickeration from time to time. Because hey, sometimes it just has to be done!

Photo edited in Photoshop, using Photo Veils and Textures from Love that Shot, and Soft & Faded from the Pioneer Woman Action Set I.

We have an exciting surprise planned for the Love Your Shot! | Link-Up this Thursday, September 30th. There’s going to be a theme, a couple of guest photographer judges (you may know them pretty well), and a fabulous prize for the winner! You’re definitely not going to want to miss this one…

We’d love for you to tell all your friends to join us on Thursday for the Love Your Shot! | Link-Up…because hey, what’s a party without the guests, right! Oh, and if you’re not quite sure how the link-ups work, click here for the FAQ page, or click here for the Link-Up archives. We can’t wait to see “your favorite faces”, so get out there and start shooting!

I love fall. I love it when the leaves start to fade into a golden orange, and when the air turns crisp. It’s when I get to pull out the apple cider and cozy up on the sofa with a warm fluffy blanket. It’s when I get to decorate the house with pumpkins, corn stalks, spider webs, and scarecrows. It’s my favorite time of year…aside from Christmas, Easter, and the Fourth of July, of course!

My tip for this week’s link-up is to look around you and photograph something you love. It can be the changing season, a book you love and would read over and over again, or your children playing together. Whatever it is…photograph it. Capture the moment.

Photo edited in Photoshop, using Photo Veils and Textures from Love that Shot.

Do you “Like” me?…on Facebook that is. I would love for you to join in on the fun with me! I often post links on my FB page to photography-related articles and giveaways I find interesting. I also post all of the latest Love that Shot news there (giveaways, features, new tutorials, etc), as well as my regular blog posts. And just because I love ya, I’m giving away a set of my Olde World Collection Photo Textures to one of my Facebook friends…will it be you? Click here to view all of the details!

Steve and I took a relaxing Sunday drive together this afternoon. And of course, along the way I had to stop and take some photos…I couldn’t help myself, there were these pretty little wild sunflowers along the side of the road just begging to be photographed.

Now, as many of you may know…I’m terrified of bugs. Any kind of bug really…spiders, bees, ants, the list goes on and on. I’m always very aware of where the bugs are when I’m photographing flowers. Today, there were bees. So I positioned myself far enough away from them. I thought I was safe, so I found my camera settings, moved into place, focused…and saw this little guy staring back at me! I squealed and jumped a few feet, but was able to press the capture button in the process. I’m surprised that this shot is as in-focus as it is!

So my tip for this week? When photographing flowers, check the back for bugs. And if you find one…stay calm. You could end up with a pretty cool shot!

Share your fun tips and photos with us this week in the Love Your Shot! | Link-Up.

I edited this photo in Photoshop, using Photo Veils and Textures from Love that Shot.

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas…Christmas?…really? That’s right, I’m so excited to announce my debut holiday card templates at Love that Shot! It’s no secret that Christmas is my favorite holiday. Needless to say, I had a blast designing these Christmas cards. It took me back to this time last year when I was putting the finishing touches on my wedding invitations. There is so much about this season that inspires me…when I think of Christmas, I think of curling up on the sofa with a steamy cup of hot cocoa, snow covered evergreens out my window, and the aroma of cinnamon sticks and pine needles filling the air. This was the inspiration for the textures, colors, and images you see in these little beauties. I hope you enjoy the touch of elegance they’ll add to your holiday greetings this year!

Click on over to Love that Shot to see larger images and learn more about what’s included in my new Joyeux Noel Collection.

My tip for the Love Your Shot! Link-Up this week?…look for a unique point of view. Don’t be afraid to look silly while photographing your subject! For my photo below, I was practically laying down on the side of a country dirt road. Of course, I had a spotter to make sure I wouldn’t get run over (thanks, Mom!). I’m so glad I tried this different angle…it would have been a completely different shot, had I been standing up…capturing more of a traditional landscape with fields and mountains in the distance. I love the simplicity of this photo, the grass against the blue sky gives it just the right amount of contrast.

Do you have a tip you’d like to share? We’d love to hear from you, so click on over to Love that Shot and link-up your photos!

Have you seen the giveaway going on over at Love that Shot? We have a special treat for you this week! Our brother, Ren makes these gorgeous leather cuff bracelets and we’re giving you the chance to win one! Just click on over to Love that Shot for the details! And good luck!

It’s that time again, time for the Love Your Shot! Link-Up. This week I’m featuring the color red…it’s happy, exciting, and dynamic…and it’s my favorite color. What better way to feature red than with a red rose…

Whenever I’m shooting flowers, I always look for opportunities to combine them with man-made materials, such as wrought iron fencing, gates, or wooden structures. Including these elements in the composition adds contrast and gives it a unique quality. I shot this photo in the evening and wanted to experiment with adding just a touch of grain to my photo. I used a very high ISO of 1600. My exposure time was 1/100 sec. with my f-stop set to f5.6. I love the results! And with the addition of a vertical texture from my Olde World Collection, my photo was complete.

How do you experiment with your photos? Do you try different settings that are outside your comfort zone? Do you like to combine different elements or experiment with unique compositions? We’d love to hear your tips, so click on over to Love that Shot and link-up your photos!

A business just isn’t a business without these little guys. Last night, I put the finishing touches on our new Love that Shot business cards. They’re at the printer as we speak! Although Michelle and I do most of our business interaction online, on occasion we have the opportunity to meet a few photographer peeps offline as well. So it’s always a good rule of thumb to carry a few cards with you, just in case. You never know when an opportunity will come up…and now we’re prepared to whip these little beauties out at a moment’s notice!

The photo above shows the front view of the card, as well as the back view. Cards have been printed full color on heavy-duty 15 pt. card stock, with a UV gloss coating to give the cards a bright vibrant finish.  Visit Overnight Prints for more information.