So I’ve got kind of a special treat today (if you would call it that). I’ve been spending a lot of January and February working on some behind the scenes & business stuff, with no weddings and sessions at a minimum. I just really need to prepare for what’s happening starting March, where I will pretty much be hitting the ground running until the end of the year. So anyway, with all that said, I didn’t have any new sessions to use for a before & after Recipe Mondays post. And then I thought, wouldn’t it be interesting to go back to some of my very first weddings and see how I would have edited them if I had my Totally Rad Actions? So that’s what I did. From my archives, I pulled out the very first wedding I had ever shot on my own in October 2005. I was miserably sick at 4 months pregnant with my second, and I also shot in Portland, Oregon, raining all day of course, and charged around $900 for the job. It was for a sister of my friend’s husbands, in case you were wondering. And a VERY sweet family at that 
Back then I was shooting in “Auto” mode with my trusty Nikon D70 and some kit lens. With VERY little knowledge of Photoshop, I edited & touched up most of these images with Photoshop’s “diffuse glow”. I didn’t know what else to do. Actions didn’t really exist back then. I thought I’d show you an original photo from the wedding, the way I edited back then, and how I would have edited it now -almost 5 years later.
The first image below is the original untouched image. The second one was edited with what looks like Photoshop’s “diffused glow” effect.
The original untouched image.
I lightened up the faces and some of the trees and slightly darkened his suit using TRA’s “Yin/Yang” tool.
“Green with Envy” on the trees and gray/green stone.
“Boutwell Magic Glasses” at 50 percent.
“Select-o-Pop” on the stonework.
I used the noise reduction (skin) tool from Nik Software’s “Dfine 2.0 on their skin.
I rotated the image to straighten it, cropped and used the healing brush to rid of any distractions.
“Warm it up, Kris!” at 60% opacity.
“Antique Tone” at 70%.
And there you have it!
What do you guys think?
I was at Central Church tonight and as usual the choir blows me away. As I sing along with them, for some reason, I am getting flashbacks of Living Waters Church where our family used to attend when we lived in Phoenix before May 2008. I used to sing in the worship group with my brother Genaro. As I sang tonight along with the choir, my heart ached and my eyes stung with tears as I realized how much I missed singing with my brother. I still sing at home & definitely in the car. But it just isn’t the same when you are up there on the stage, and you are blessed with this gift to bless others. I miss it. I really do. I miss the routine of going to practice Thursday nights before church. I miss Andrew messin’ around on drums and pretending that he’s this rock star or something. I miss Paul playing piano like he’s from another planet. I miss Mikey playing the guitar, and having that permanent smirk on his face when he plays. I miss Laura and her strange humor -that I totally get. I miss Genaro belting out his vocals and me wondering how it is he hasn’t been discovered. I miss Alin being the soundboard guy and being directly in front of me when I was up there singing. I miss walking over the volleyball sand court to get into the church building. I miss Youth Nights on Thursday nights. I miss Pastor Doru’s preaching. I miss my brother Francois’ preaching. I miss how close every one of the members were to each other. I miss how everyone came together to help my family when we were in need and at the lowest of lows in our lives. I miss hearing about everyone’s mission trips to Romania & Moldova. I miss being around people who were non-judgmental and loved you no matter what. I miss how everyone came to my ugly Christmas sweater parties wearing ugly Christmas sweaters. I miss everything and everyone in that church.
I’ve been asked many times why I live in Charlotte away from EVERYONE I know and love. I love everything about Charlotte except that those people are not here. And as much as I say I love it here, and I truly do, I hurt because I wish I could pick up everyone from Phoenix and move them here. Then life would be perfect. But life isn’t supposed to be perfect. I know that. I’ll have to accept that. I toy with the idea every now and then of “what if we moved back?” But I know that if we did, I’d be miserable again. I hate the desert. I just could not spend the rest of my life living in the desert.
Anyway, if anyone from Living Waters is reading this (you know who you are), know that I love you all, I miss you terribly, and I will NEVER forget you and what you’ve done in my family’s lives. But especially mine. Thank you.
Personal | Tags: arizona, az, church, group, living, memories, Personal, phoenix, romanian, singing, waters, worship
Hey there brides-to-be! So far this year, I have about 20 weddings booked, and since I do not book more than 3 weddings per month, that leaves me with a few spots available. Following are the Saturdays I still have available:
March 2010:
6th: OPEN
13th: OPEN
19th: BOOKED
20th (Sunday): BOOKED
27th: OPEN
*Room for 1 more wedding in March
April 2010:
3rd: OPEN
10th: OPEN
17th: BOOKED
24th: BOOKED
*Room for 1 more wedding in April
May 2010:
1st: OPEN
2nd (Sunday): BOOKED
8th: OPEN
15th: OPEN
16th: BOOKED
22nd: OPEN
29th: BOOKED
*Room for 1 more wedding in May
June 2010:
5th: OPEN
12th: OPEN
19th: BOOKED
26th: BOOKED
*Room for 1 more wedding in June
July 2010:
3rd: OPEN
10th: BOOKED
17th: BOOKED
24th: BOOKED
31st: OPEN
*Room for 1 more wedding in July
August 2010:
I will be in Romania on a missions trip most of this month.
Please inquire if interested in booking during August.
September 2010:
4th: BOOKED
11th: OPEN
18th: OPEN
25th: BOOKED
*Room for 1 more wedding in September
October 2010:
2nd: BOOKED
9th: BOOKED
16th: BOOKED
23rd: N/A
30th: BOOKED
*October is FULLY BOOKED
November 2010:
6th: BOOKED
13th: BOOKED
19th: OPEN
26th: N/A
*Room for 1 more wedding in November
December 2010:
4th: OPEN
11th: OPEN
18th: OPEN
25th: N/A
*Room for 3 more weddings in December
If you are a bride-to-be and are planning on getting married on one of the available dates shown, call me at (704) 208-6980 or email me at caroline@carolineghetes.com as soon as possible. Dates are booking up quickly and many of the OPEN dates above are already being inquired upon, but not booked yet. I am so excited to already be shooting so many unique weddings and some in very cool locations all around the U.S. , even in the Bahamas! Have a wonderful week!
Events, Hot Shots! Booth, Personal, Wedding Day, Weddings | Tags: arizona, availability, az, Bahamas, beach, ca, california, Charlotte, chicago, destination, il, illinois, islands, l.a., los angeles, NC, North Carolina, phoenix, photographer, Photography, St. Maarten, wedding
I am a member or the Wedding Photography Directory, and they host a creative photo contest every year. I am so happy to find out that out of over 3,100 wedding photographer entries, my photo received 3rd place in this year’s contest! Check out the finalists page HERE.
by Caroline
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