2009 December | Alyse French Photography | Houston-Based Wedding and Lifestyle Photographer

Monthly Archives: December 2009

2009: A Year in Review

Thursday, December 31, 2009 Posted in Personal

This post may be more for me than for you. (I’m pretty sure a blogger is not supposed to say that.) But hey, that doesn’t mean to stop reading. :)

In 2009… I turned 21. I came down with mono, and was pretty much incapacitated for an entire month while Dylan took care of me. SU beat UConn 127-117 in six overtimes (just had to have that in here!). I celebrated my one year anniversary with Dylan. I worked my last summer at Price Chopper (hallelujah!). I started my business. I started my senior year in college. I got engaged.

In 2010… I will read more. I will get abs of steel. I will begin my last semester EVER. I will turn 22. I will never get mono again. I will finish up my senior portfolio. I will graduate. I will shoot more weddings in a month’s time than I ever thought possible. I will become Dylan’s wife. I will ride a plane for the first time in my whole life (I know, not many people ever believe it!). My little brother will graduate high school. I will move away from home. I WILL get a puppy dog. And perhaps, I’ll actually feel like an adult.

As I write this, laying on the couch, covered by the blanket I’ve had since I was 9 years old, I’m not sure I fully realize all the changes that 2010 will bring. I’ve never been good with change. If you’re one of my close friends, you’ll already know this about me. But this I am sure of: God has had this whole new season of my life planned since the very foundations of the world. And I’m so excited to enter into it! Come on, 2010. Bring. It. On.

I leave you with the fun that awaits me tonight, as I share a quiet New Year’s Eve with Dylan!! Happy Thursday, and Happy New Year!!

by Alyse

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Before Meets After Debut

Wednesday, December 30, 2009 Posted in Photography

I thought it might be neat to start documenting every so often how I use my Totally Rad (Photoshop) Action pack to edit my images. Who knows if any of you are actually interested. But blogging is fun, and so is shooting and editing. So I thought I’d share a bit of my post-processing with you all. :)

Here is an image straight out of camera (SOOC from here on out).

I happen to LOVE the candid emotion of this shot, and the beautiful light pouring onto Ryan and Molly’s faces. BUT, it could still use some work! The lens I was using at the time could only stop down to an aperture of 2.8. I typically like to shoot wide open, because I love the creamy goodness that results from shallow depth of field (DOF). Another great thing about shooting wide open (meaning, shooting at your largest aperture, which is the same thing as shooting at the lowest numbered f/stop on your aperture ring) is the natural vignette it helps achieve. However, here, a 2.8 zoom lens didn’t really cut it, vignette-wise. Here’s where post-processing comes into play!

Before doing anything else, I must always first convert my .nef (RAW) file to a .jpg in Photoshop. (There are many advantages of shooting RAW, but maybe we’ll get into that some other time.) Then, with my trusty little Totally Rad Actions, I am able to achieve my desired effect in a matter of 60 seconds. First, I bump up the color using TRA‘s “Punch Out!!!” at 20%. The key to TRA‘s is NOT using effects at 100% opacity. You have to play with it until it looks natural. Second, I’d like for an even greater vignette to highlight the light on my subjects’ faces. I use the “Burn Out” action at, get this – 70%. I like, NEVER use this action at anywhere near over 30 or 40%. But for this image, I wanted as much of a vignette as I could get without it feeling artificial. Third, I throw “A Better Web Sharpen” into the mix (100%), and then do a little airbrushing (more on my airbrushing technique at some point if anyone is interested). The last step (although, it could have been done at any step in the game, is knocking down the exposure of the entire image by -0.15. Although I love the light in the photo, there’s a bit of harshness that can be controlled by decreasing exposure in post-processing.

And voilà!! Here is the final image!

Recap: Punch Out!!! – 20%; Burn Out – 70%; A Better Web Sharpen – 100%; Exposure (not TRA) – -0.15

I hope this is helpful to those of you looking into different post-processing techniques. To check out Totally Rad Actions, go to: GetTotallyRad.com!!

Happy Wednesday! :)

by Alyse

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Tidbit Tuesday # 7

Tuesday, December 29, 2009 Posted in Personal

Tuesday, Tuesday. So good to meee. Every other day, every other day, every other day of the week is fiiiiine. Yea-ee-yeah. But whenever Tuesday, but whenever Tuesday comes. It is awe-awe-awesomeee. Yeah, I’m pretty sure that’s not how the song goes. But whatever. :)

So, I’ve been noticing something lately. Something that has been taking the world by storm. It’s been happening pretty consistently for the past few months or so. Everyone, literally everyone, is getting engaged!! Okay, nix the “literally” part, but it sure feels like it! I can rattle off to you about 10 friends with rings on their fingers. It’s so very exciting, but it’s caused me to ask why. Why, all of a sudden, are all my friends marrying off? (Including me. Yes, I am my own friend.) Turns out.. We’re all getting old. We are legit adults. And it feels soo strange.

I am SO excited for this week. It’s a short one, so that means I get to see Dylan sooner! :) And we get to be together on New Years!!

Did you know that the year ends in three days?! Crazy!! I haven’t even thought of what my resolutions are going to be. I may not be a resolution keeper a lot of the time, but it’s always fun to decide on a few new goals for the year. One year, I resolved to smile more. Wasn’t long before I had old men at the Price Chopper check out commenting on my smile. (Not sure how to feel about that one.) Another year, my mom resolved to try a new brand of ketchup, since she knew it wouldn’t be that hard to keep. :) This year, I think I might just resolve to graduate, get married, and move away. Should be easy, right? Readers – what are your New Years’ resolutions for 2010??

New favorite song: Little Secrets by Passion Pit. (Warning: It’s a really weird music video. But then again, the song’s pretty weird.) I triple dog dare you to play this song and NOT bust out a move. Only thing is, I have to listen to it in secret, because Dylan says the song’s off limits. :)

I just ordered my head piece for the wedding. AHHH. It’s b-e-a-utiful!! I will be veil-less, but still fabu-lous. And another thing! I need super-cute shoes. Shoes I am not finding, no matter where I look. They need to be flats, and they need to have pizazz. Anybody have suggestions?

I think I talk about my wedding too much, don’t I?

LA Ink is the coolest show ever. I wonder what I’d look like if I was covered in tattoos. I don’t know if I’d ever have the courage to get even one. But just the idea is fun. Kinda.. Sorta… Maybe..

I feel like I haven’t posted any shoots in quite some time. But never fear, I think I may have more shoots over this one month break than I can handle! (But I sorta like it that way!) :)

So I never told you about one of my favorite Christmas gifts from this year. My sister got me an apron from Anthropologie, because I’ve been complaining that I need to learn to cook for Dylan once we’re married. I seriously love it. And I’m excited to attempt to cook while wearing it!

I bet I check literally every 10 minutes to see if my grades from this past semester have been put online. What a dork, right?

I think I might start the whole “before” and “after” image thing I’ve been talking about this week. Hmm…

So for those of you who think my brain is just that random, I want to inform you that Tidbit Tuesdays do in fact take a while to write. It’s not like I just sit down on Tuesday morning and all of this craziness flows out of me. Want to know a little secret?? (Tidbit Tuesdays are actually written on Mondays and published on Tuesdays. But shhh, don’t tell anyone!) ;)

I’m sitting here, just looking at our Christmas tree, and all of the stockings hung up on the fireplace. And I can’t help but want to take it all down. “But Alyse, you Grinch! It’s only four days after Christmas! How COULD you?!” But seriously, isn’t keeping up your tree too much of a tease for next year’s Christmas? Good grief, it’s 360 days away!! I have better and sooner things to look forward to. Aka, my birthday: 33 days. Booyah!!

Okay bloggy readers! Hope you’ve enjoyed your little dose of Tidbit Tuesday! See ya’ll later this week. But first, a picture. :) Here is my sweet dog, Sarah!