I’d like to take a moment and share with you some of the photographers whose work I really really admire. These people don’t know it but they have been incredibly influential in the development of my photography over the past 6 months. Though I am confident that I am learning to master a style of my very own, I would not be where I am right now without the inspiration of these talented artists. I admire each one of these photographers for different reasons and I think they each have a unique artistry. Check ‘em out and let me know what you think.

http://www.gabrielryan.net

http://www.jamiedelaineblog.com

http://wwww.jessicakettle.com

http://wwww.amelialyon.net

http://www.michellemooreblog.com

http://wwww.wearethebloggers.com

http://www.jessicaclaire.net

http://www.tarawhitney.com

There’s still time to book a session with us before Christmas. In fact, we are extending our Holiday Promo until December 23rd! This is a very streamlined package that includes a 45 minute mini-session with us and 15 high-resolution files to print and duplicate till your heart’s content. Additionally, you’ll receive between twenty to thirty photos in a low-resolution format for sharing over the web.

Space is extremely limited so please contact us at bookings@graceleighphotography.com as soon as possible to book your session.

And how do we feel about the rounded corners? (Minus the chopping off of our watermark that is.)

We are happy to announce our next promo for the upcoming Holiday 2009 season! This promo will book up fast so please contact us at bookings@graceleighphotography.com to reserve your slot. We will be hosting sessions on Saturday mornings and Sunday evenings until the first weekend in December. Click the image below to purchase your Holiday Mini Session with Grace Leigh Photography and be sure to specify your date in the comment area.

EDIT: This promo has expired.

Lately, I’ve been spending a lot of time experimenting with and perfecting my post-processing techniques. I find that I am leaning more towards that luminous, saturated look that is achieved when you brighten and boost. (lighten + contrast) I have also been learning how to sharpen my photos more judiciously in hopes that they will look more naturally crisp without looking like I just ran an unsharp mask. I know that not everyone agrees with the philosophy of post-processing but we here at Grace Leigh Photography are incredibly huge fans of the extra artistic touch that it adds to our images. We feel that photography is an art that includes not only the light-capturing & shutter-clicking but the creative development after the fact. Here’s an example of a SOOC (straight out of camera) shot compared with it’s processed version. Is it a drastic comparison? Yes. Is it over-processed? I believe that is relative. I would say “no” since I intentionally wanted a heavily saturated, high-contrast look. You may feel differently. Check it out:

Here are a few additional images I’ve been working on that represent this luminous look I’ve been trying to achieve. I feel they have been tastefully processed and the end result is simply a clean, clear, pretty image.

Last night we had a photo shoot with the Old North East band.  The band consists of Tony, Jackson, Cameron, Renee and myself (Brie.)  With that cru…Oh my. To say we goofed off might be an understatement but Carissa was a dear to put up with our shenanigans, and she might have even joined in. *giggle* It was fairly ugly outside and, as Carissa and I  kept chanting, we were “losing precious light, people!!” But I think the pics turned out so good considering we had NO plan. We do have plans to schedule a “proper” session at some undetermined future date, but really, you can’t beat a fun, rainy, crazy, un-planned Sunday evening with 6 bee-effs and a hawt camera. 

Tony D. gettin’ holes at Foolish Pride Tatoo Co. in downtown St. Pete. UPDATE: It must be declared that said holes will be stretched and not filled with teeny tiny sparkly studs. (happy, Tony?)