I think the luck of the Irish is already working it’s magic on the prices in the ASD storefront.  For the month of March you can find designs such as the 5×5 Laken card, 10×10 Grunge album template, and numerous backgrounds such as Island, and Deerfield Beach for discounted prices.  The papers work great with both the album and card template, combining to create one of a kind designs that bring out the FUN in your photos.  With the versatile colors and designs, the possibilities are endless!

My youngest son will be turning 1 in a few months and I was stuck on what to use of his birthday party invites.  Combining the green paper from Deerfield Beach with the Laken Card created a fun way to highlight his great personality that can be turned into a keepsake once the party is long forgotten.

Great for Anytime!

Good morning, ASD-ers!!   This week I had some fun just playing with a few different ASD storyboards.  I needed to create one to display at a local school auction and it just went from there.  I even created a quick storyboard of images from a Spring Break trip a few years back…getting so excited about returning to the slopes in two weeks for Spring Break 2010! !

So here are a few easy – because Andie’s boards make it so easy – storyboards I’d like to share with you.  You can find these templates along with MANY others in the ASD shop!

Oh and one last note!  Be watching my blog over at rebekahphoto.blogspot.com!  I have a FANTASTIC ANDIE SMITH DESIGNS giveaway coming SOON!!!!

Happy weekend to ya!

I love seeing how everyone uses the products at Andie Smith Designs! When Jill e-mailed me her vacation images in the Storyboard: 16×20 #10, I had to share it with y’all. (let’s not hate her because she spent time in warm Mexico when it was snowing here!)

Thanks for sharing with us Jill!

-Andie

I love lightroom presets, I really do – and Andie’s new set – top notch. I swear, and you can believe me cause I love Lightroom presets… but the real reason i love Andie, and her work, is her backgrounds. I LOVE backgrounds. I think they are the best way to personalize albums and Andie makes some of the most versatile elements out there. Recently I got a new toy (Fundy Album Proofer – its an awesome tool – check it out! and I thought I would show you guys a few pages from a album I put together using some of Andie’s Rhonna backgrounds. Which I love for girl layouts that are a bit less prissy and way more sweet and warm – like mommy’s dream of their little girls being. So here is a cover and five pages from a newborn and maternity set for a sweet Kansas city family!




Click HERE

Hi friends!  Barb here after a week’s hiatus.  Life has been crazy for me recently, lots of sad things going on with a lot of people I care about.

Fortunately, however, when life hands me lemons, I still have Lightroom!  Taking pictures makes me happy, playing with and editing pictures makes me happy as well, and in my opinion, there is no better photo-play-toy out there than Adobe Lightroom.  My love for Lightroom was not instant, however. I must have downloaded the trials ten times and just couldn’t “get it” until I finally read Scott Kelby’s Lightroom book and then…you got it, The Light Went On, and it’s been true love ever since!

So needless to say, I was thrilled to hear that Andie was releasing a whole bunch of new Lightroom presets. I’ve had them for a week or so, but hadn’t had a chance to really check them out until last night.  I thought I’d share with you some of the magic…..

Kudos to my brother Steve for the fantastic photos.  He’s living in South Africa right now with his family on an ex-pat assignment. I’m so lucky that he gave me the thumbs up on all of his wonderful photos.

So here we go!

Here is one of the beautiful vistas that seem to be visible in every direction. The first photo is SOOC, the second one applies Andie’s Pretty Pretty Sky, Bright, and More Contrast presets. I love how you can “stack” presets on top of each other to create a very unique and customized look. I did do a bit of sharpening on the “after” images, just so you know (and I do my sharpening in Photoshop, not Lightroom).

This next one features some classic African animals that you just might recognize. The first is SOOC, and the second uses presets Golden Hour, Hypnotic, and More Contrast.

The third photo uses Depression, Hard-Knocks, and Dream Date Off. Not that these cubs look like they are depressed or have a hard knock life…

And finally, my favorite….the lemur. This dude was made to look even more dramatic with Holga, a bit of exposure lightening, and Pops. Isn’t he cool?

That’s it for me for now. I’ll be back in a few days with more great animals and South African scenery.

And remember my mantra, when life gives you lemons, you need to get Lightroom!

It’s Monday and that means I get to post my fave or faves for the week!

I thought I’d share a few of my work with Andie’s new “Work It” presets. I used 2 of my new faves ♡ …Awesome and Springtime!

Before I forget ppplease Check out my blog for a chance to win a $25.00 gift certificate to the Andie Smith Designs shop! So Check it  ☛ WIN

Thanks for the l♡ve…

Andrea

xo

P.S.

If your wondering were to get that super cute book frame I used check it out here

There are some crazy named presets it Work It, right?  Wanna go know the reasons?

Work It: Well they are work flow presets….

B&W:

Most of these are basic names…

-B&W Hard Knocks: give a hard edge…almost Dave Hill effect

-Sepia: Kendrick, Sepia; Robb are both named for Robb Kendrick an incredible photographer who shoots….Tintypes.

-Tintype: I couldn’t duplicate the look of tintypes…but I think this gives a feel of one…pair it with Sepia Robb or Sepia; Kendrick for a cool look!

Color:

-Awesome: Makes your image more awesome than it already it!

-Bazinga: Sheldon from The Big Bang Theory’s catchphrase.  The modern day “Ka-Pow”.

-Big Bang: paying homage to my favorite TV Show

-Spring Training: reminds me of the lightness of spring and hello….you want to hit a home run right?

Tints & Tones (may break my bones….):

-Bobby: Named for my favorite Dallas Cowboy Player Bobby Carpenter. (the tones are a light gray and blue)

-Five Rings: The tones are a Gray and bright blue…..like the Dallas Cowboys…..who have 5 Super Bowl Rings

-French Quarter: The tones are rich caramels…like Bourbon….Bourbon Street…..French Quarter.

-Funky Brewster: Hello children of the 80’s… you should get this one…….any one wanna guess????

-Hang Ten: The deep blues and greens remind me of the ocean.

-Knock Knock Knock Penny: Another Big Bang theory reference. The sepia tones are penny like.

Those are the names that have a story behind them…the others are kinda self explanatory.  I’m sure you will sleep better at night know all this. =)

We are going to see what king of response this gets, but I know photogs have all kinds of Technical Questions regarding the computer and software.  How do I know, my wife is my number one client!   So here is what we are going to do…Post a question in the comments or email me at john@flomdesigns.com and I will do my best to pick one or two out and answer them.  As we go maybe we will create a nice set of how to’s!

So ask away…I’ll try my best!

We have a TON of new products in the store!  I’m so excited about all of them. I’ve said it more than once…if you have a suggestion, let me know.  Emily said she wanted a 24×36 (POSTER SIZE!) storyboard that had 10 images the largest image being 16×20…..I made 2 for her (okay for you too!)

Ivy said she needed Senior Announcements that had lots of images, and lots of room to write notes…The Senior Announcement Card: 5X7 Shaypher was born in Moyah Burger over lunch. The sketch was done on some random piece of trash I had in my purse.

Kathy asked for another 16×20 Storyboard because her clients are really liking them!

Last but not least…. The new Lightroom Presets:Work It!!

ok, totally schmaltzy, but i’m new here. so, bygones.

hi … i’m michele skinner, and i’m new to andie’s party! i live in minneapolis with my geek/husband, marc, our geek-boy, henry (10), and little miss fabulous, harper (who will be five in two weeks!). i’m a canon girl, i’ve been shooting for other people for four years now, and just recently have i gotten the nerve to step into the business side (ahem). i’ve been using photoshop since 1995, and it’s well-loved. however, now that i’ve had lightroom for a year, i’m head-over-heels with what it can do! especially since andie just introduced me to presets!! andie and i met through scrapping, but continue to grow our relationship via pixels and apertures and love for making beautiful photos! and with these presets, making a beautiful photo even beautiful-er is super easy!

i played around with all the different options and combinations in the work it! set, and found i was having the most fun with funkifying images.

funkifying is a word,  yes? here, i’ll illustrate the definition:

here is my lovely daughter, being herself …

metadata: iso 250, 1/250, 50mm at 1.4

straight outta the ol’ canon. a little flat, but cute. with a face like that, though, i guarantee the photo can look even better!

let’s try a little livening up …

lightroom adjustments: 2/3 exposure increase, 2 increases to black clipping, vignette at -60 lens correction

any normal person would walk away at this point and be happy with a sweet li’l snapshot, but why? where’s the fun in that?

how ’bout we warm it up a bit? give it a little old-school plastic cheapy camera glow?

work it! toys: 110

remember those little rectangles of black plastic called a 110 camera? you slid the oddly-shaped film in the bottom, popped a clip of flashes on the top, and crossed your fingers? loved my 110 when i was a kid. but i digress …

let’s move on. what if we played with the color a little?

work it! tints and tones: lemon-blueberry

do you know that lemons and blueberries are, surprisingly, and amazing combination? how did andie know? this color is delicious! speaking of delicious and lemon-blueberry, martha stewart has a recipe for a lemon-blueberry tart that is out of this world. i craved it when i was pregnant. but i digress yet again …

while both of these photos look great with their changes, i wanted to push it even further. as i scrolled through the work it! options, my eye was immediately caught by the words “big,” “bang” and “theory.” and guess what?

work it! color: big bang theory

it was perfect for this photo!! just like the big bang theory. have you seen this show? it’s hilarious. i can’t decide if sheldon or howard is my favorite. but … still with the digressing. bazinga.

and the best part about finding my favorite enhancement for this photo? with the presets, it took me about three minutes. tops.

click … like it? yes. for this pic? well, no. okay. click. how’s this one? ooh … that’s cool. save. try another. and repeat.

so, okay. the presets are awesome with color. but … how about black & white?

well, in a word: spectacular!

here is little miss fabulous at nine months old, sleeping like a little angel, straight out of the camera:

now to make this photo even more glowing and angelic …

gorgeous.

how? layering several work it! presets … exposure: bright lights, tools: dream date on, tools: vignette more dark, b&w: mochachino.

again, less than three minutes to make a good pic great.

thanks, andie!!