A Little Life Update

Hi Everyone,

I have been slacking on these blog posts lately. I wanted to jump on here quick to give a quick update on whats been happening. Life has been pretty hectic lately. I am getting married this summer to the love of my life and wedding planning is crazier than I ever anticipated! I have also been gearing up for my first Edmonton Seminar on April 6th (sponsored by Canon, Elinchrom and Vistek) followed by Calgary on April 13th. And unfortunately I have been dealing with the loss of my gorgeous boy Mac. I wrote about him in my last blog post. He had been getting better in January but for the last little while things just got worse. My family and I had to make the hardest decision ever. 

Anyone who knows me personally knows that Mac was my everything.  I love my dogs, I am a huge animal lover. My family and I got Mac when I was 16, he was such a blessing. He made our family whole. All of his life he suffered from heart problems. During the last little bit he had spondylosis which eventually spread all over his body. From the moment we got him we said we would never EVER let him suffer. He was our world. A little over a month ago we had to say goodbye. In the blink of an eye, my world completely crumbled. Mac saved my life, he taught me how to love and he listened to me when I needed someone. He was my best friend. Forever would not have been enough time with him by my side but I am so blessed to have spent almost 9 years with him. He took a piece of my heart with him, but he left a piece of his with us. Its taken me all this time to write about it. I have never experienced heartbreak and pain like that ever. My little girl Chloe is helping us all with the grieving process, and vice versa. She misses her best friend. 

Anyway, I am gearing up for my first seminar in a few days and thats helped keep us busy! I am super excited, I am working with amazing teams I cannot wait to tell you my story.

I will be a little quiet on social media for the month of May as I get prepared for our wedding. Keep an eye out for sneak peeks of images from my seminar!

Until next time,

Lisa-Marie xo

Run free my precious boy. My light, my love, my life, my Mac <3

Growing as a Retoucher and Photographer

Hey Everyone!

Hope you are all doing good! Over the last 6 months or so I have been experimenting with my retouching. Photographers will probably understand where I am coming from but after some time I get tired of editing the same way. That time came for me a few months ago and I decided I was going to try new things. I watched Youtube videos for days, researched other photographers and read some books and then I started up Photoshop and took some old shots and started experimenting. I also started using my Wacom tablet and oh my word it has changed my life! How did I edit on a trackpad for so long? lol!

I started editing some old photos with my Wacom and honestly I almost gave up. To go from editing on a trackpad to using this tablet was, I'm not going to lie, frustrating. But the more I practiced and persevered the more I loved it and my editing time became quicker. For my natural light portraits I attempted a more 'fine art' approach and honestly I love it and have continued to edit this way. I even created a few of my own actions that I use on almost every shot right now. 

My beauty photography and retouching is something I am focusing on at the moment. I love beauty and studio work right now.  Studio photography used to scare me, I'm a natural light shooter and being in a studio with all of these lights made me uneasy until very recently. Now I prefer studio work and can't wait to keep experimenting with lighting. Don't be afraid to try new things, get some friends together and try different lighting. Try different angles. Experiment. Don't let it make you uneasy, get behind your camera and go for it. I'm glad I did because I can see my work evolving and growing each time I do a shoot in studio. 

Photography and retouching always requires you to grow and learn. There's always something new. I love that about this industry. I always worried that I didn't have a particular style but now looking back at my work, especially my newer work I see a distinct style there. To all you new photographers, don't hold back! I was told in University never break the rules and honestly now I love breaking the rules because your vision is YOUR vision. 

Here is some of my old editing style vs my new editing style. I love going back and seeing how much my work has grown over the years. There's nothing wrong with the old photos, I still love them but the newer work represents my style right now. 

Until next time,

Lisa-Marie xo