The Winner of Photographing Children Contest

I am so excited to announce, after weeks of deliberation, the first prize winner of our contest on the Facebook Photographing Children Group: ABIGAIL ROMA MIGUEL of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.  She will receive Adobe Photoshop CS5, generously offered by Adobe.

Here is the very touching letter that I received after the announcement, where she talks openly about her process.

Congratulations, Abigail.  You so deserve this honor.

Hello Ginny:

This is quite unexpected but such a wonderful news!!! I'm quite speechless and just quite stunned. This has been a tremendous honor. I just got my camera last December as a gift from my husband, and then I bought your book...and that actually changed my life! Your book has been a tremendous inspiration for me and i learned a lot in such a short time. It has been a great leap from before and after your book...i have learned a great deal from your book and I really want to thank you.

This photographs was one of my favorite. I also have this image converted to black and white. One afternoon I took my two little girls to the beach as usual during sunset. I just love their reflections, the way they are holding each other, the light reflected on the water... I love taking photographs at the beach.

Once I have the image captured, i started the post process. I first tweak with the WB, the exposure, the contrast and the saturation and of course the LEVEL. Once I have done the major changes, I started the specific changes to the image. I converted the image to black and white and then when I did that, I changed the tonal contrast of the image to almost zero to make it quite ethereal. I then flatten the layers. after that I used two textures to this image from Florabella... I believe I used the Moulin Rouge first and used the Multiply blend mode at 50% opacity, and then also desaturate it a bit. And then another layer with the Vintage screen at Overlay mode at 75% opacity, saturated the texture a bit and adjusted the LEVEL to make it more golden. Then I flatten the image and unsharp it.

I hope my process made sense, i'm  not that really good in describing what I do with my photographs, I just made the changes as I go.

I was aiming to have my image look old, ethereal and a bit haunting as you perfectly describe it.  When I had the final image, i just look at it for i think 2 days and made several changes again before I sent it to you. I cannot seem to decide if I made the right choice for the texture and its colors. Textures for me are more dramatic when used in the photographs if you know what you are trying to convey and say about your image.

I hope I made sense as I don't know where to start...It just amazes me that I won!!! and of course the CS5!!!!!!YAY!!!!!!!!!

My warmest regards.

PHOTOGRAPHING CHILDREN: #1 Best Photography Books

I was thrilled to receive the news today that my book, Photographing Children, was chosen as #1 in the category of People/Children & Babies on Best Photography Books

This is quite an honor, especially considering that the book was published in 2008! I like to think of the book as a primer in photographing children, regardless of styles and trends.


IT'S ALL ABOUT LIGHT, COMPOSITION AND EVOKING EXPRESSION! So many parents have a desire to capture the spirit of their child without feeling they have to learn every bell and whistle on their camera. Many times parents begin to feel that spark of creativity when they first set their eyes on their first child.

I wanted to write a book that would stand out from all the technical "how-to" books decorating bookstore shelves, with more of an emphasis on creativity and inspiration.

If you would like to purchase the book, I would appreciate your doing so by clicking on the Amazon icon here on the right.

Don't forget to enter the contest on The Facebook Photographing Children Group Don't forget to RSVP when you get there, so that you can enter the contest. The subject is texturing in layers, and the first prize is Adobe Photoshop CS5!

Happy Spring. What a great time to be out there photographing children.

ADEPT WITH TEXTURES? WIN ADOBE PHOTOSHOP CS5!

How would you like to win the very latest version of Photoshop CS5? Adobe has sponsored our new contest by offering just that! Today, we are beginning another exciting contest on the Facebook Photographing Children Group. The subject: Textures.

The requirements: post one photograph of a child or children showing your adeptness using texture LAYERS; of course you must also reveal your talent with composition, beautiful light, and captivating story/expression!

A great deal of interest has been expressed in adding textures to your photographs of children and many lovely images have been posted to the group page. Our last two contests have offered some wonderful textures as prizes, so see earlier posts here to check them out.

To enter, CLICK HERE to join our Facebook Group and then go to EVENTS on the left side of the page to be directed to the contest.

If you don't have the book, Photographing Children, by Ginny Felch, click on the Amazon button to your right.

In love and light!

Ginny Felch

Honorable Mention #4 Photographing Children Contest

CLICK HERE FOR GINNY'S COMMENTS ON ELSA GURTON'S PHOTOGRAPH

Elsa will receive a copy of Ginny's book, Photographing Children Photoworkshop, published by Wiley Publications.

Congratulations!

Honorable Mention #3 Photographing Children Contest

CLICK HERE FOR GINNY'S COMMENTS ON AMY HAYES CORE'S PHOTOGRAPH

Amy will receive SARAH CORNISH actions as her prize.
Congratulations!

Honorable Mention #2 Photographing Children Contest

CLICK HERE FOR GINNY'S COMMENTS ON ANGELA HIBBERT'S PHOTOGRAPH

Angela will receive NICOLE VAN actions/textures as her prize.
Congratulations!

Honorable Mention #1 Photographing Children Contest

CLICK HERE FOR GINNY'S COMMENTS ON LAURIE NOWLING'S PHOTOGRAPH

Laurie will receive JESSICA DROSSIN'S textures as her prize.
Congratulations!