Some of you may remember me telling you about my anniversary last year. Well, it was a month ago, today. For some reason though, this particular day seems to last all Fall. Maybe because of the wind and the leaves and wonder of it all...I don't know what it is with me and leaves and the wind but when I drive down a hill and the wind and the leaves swoosh over my car I scream in delight. Literally scream. It probably looks like I'm being attacked or something by passers by...lol...Now if only I could find a HUGE pile of leaves at the bottom of a big hill to drive through, that would be just perfect... ;-)
Well, a little over a year ago Fellowship told me they wanted to tell my story, so they got the extremely talented and humble Scott Moore with Surge Digital to capture it. Hope it encourages you!
"Just wanted to let you know how much I LOVED your Photoshop workshops. I have really been putting the skills we learned to use. My processing and editing time have been cut in half in Adobe Bridge, yet my photos look so much better than they ever have before. I think I learned more in our 3 sessions together than I could have in a full fledged Photoshop course. Every bit of info was totally relevant.Thanks so much for sharing your talent with us.
It has really been a blessing to me."
-Melissa Toms
"I just had a good feeling when I signed up for these classes that they were going to be the missing link in my work – I couldn’t have been more correct! And PhotoShop had always been a bit 'scary' to me, but after taking Melanie’s classes, I’m putting out some pretty cool stuff!" -Susan Charnley
This will open the door for all of you out-of-towners as well as those of you traveling close to the holidays. We'll be covering all the same material, it will just be two days in a row, rather than spread out over three weeks. Whether you just bought Photoshop or spend all your free time in it, we guarantee that you'll walk away with tips and tricks you will not find in your typical Photoshop class that will save you time and money!
The schedule will be from 10am-7pm, with a long lunch break and short breaks throughout the day. We'll also be sending everyone home with a manual with everything we covered over the two days so you can take it home and try it again by yourself!
For more details about the material we'll be covering and to sign up for the workshops go to this linkor click on the "Buy Now" button below. And because of the change we're extending the Early Bird Rate until registration closes on November 10th!
Last Sunday was great! I learned stuff I had never played with before like the highlights/shadows tool, photomerge, and the ever-daunting quick mask tool......which turned out to be not so daunting. =) I come home from your workshops feeling inspired and giddy. Like I said before, this PS stuff is finally clicking for me. Holla! hee-hee...you crack me up!
"Melanie's spirit is fantastic. She will bend over backwards to help you decipher your problem, and has an incredible knowledge of PS and Bridge. Without even seeing our screens, she was telling us why something wasn't working for us- what command to hit!"
"Melanie thank you so much for all your help! I am excited about playing around in Photoshop and Bridge! I loved your class! Thank you for being so wonderful!"
-Calle Pittard
"Your class was wonderful and I am having tons of fun on Photoshop; mean while I seem to me neglecting everything else. Gee, this Photoshop thing is addicting!"
"Hi Mel! You were so thorough and patient and you did such a great job. I really did get a lot out of the class and it was completely worth the time and money. I had no idea the capabilities that Bridge had before today and now I'm totally kicking myself for just buying Lightroom! =) Thanks so much for sharing your talent with us today, it was such a blessing."
**Before our workshops we asked all our photographer buddies and Facebook friends to share any Photoshop tips they have and a special thanks goes toMr. Andy Scatesfor so generously sharing his mad Photoshop tips with the class!**
This is Victoria, you may remember her from back in February. Isn't she just beautiful!?!
For all of you photographers out there, I did something I've NEVER done before and shot almost entirely with a flash as her room was just so gorgeous I couldn't pass up shooting inside. But because there just wasn't enough available light I had to use my flash and did so rather reluctantly at first until I realized it was actually turning out really well. Sometimes it pays to step out of our comfort zones- who knew!? ;-)
Well Victoria was so easy going and crawling everywhere- we had SO much fun. And at one point, thanks to Mom's genius, we decided to shoot in the bathroom while she took a bubble bath, another first for me. LOVED it- Rubber duckies and all! =)
This dress is a family heirloom and has been passed down for generations and it looked so beautiful on her...
The Velvet Trunk is THRILLED tobe offering our second round of Photoshop workshops, a two day intense workshop from November 14th-15th!
Whether you just bought Photoshop or spend all your free time in it, we guarantee that you'll walk away with tips and tricks you will not find in your typical Photoshop class that will save you time and money!Classes will go from 10am-7pm and will be held in the TN Art League building in downtown Nashville. The schedule will be from 10am-7pm, with a long lunch break and short breaks throughout the day. We'll also be sending everyone home with a manual with everything we covered over the two days so you can take it home and try it again by yourself!
Everyone who comes will be invited to stay afterward for an extended question/answer time. We'll be providing hearty snacks, drinks, and lots of chocolate- just bring yourself and your laptop loaded with Photoshop (the real deal, not "Photoshop Elements").And by the time the workshop is over, Thanksgiving will be just around the corner and you'll be able to use your vacation time to practice your mad Photoshop skills by fine tuning those family portraits and slimming down those relatives who went a little overboard on the pumpkin pie! Heck, you'll even be able to replace a few relatives if you'd like to, but only in Photoshop. Sorry people- Photoshop can only do so much... ;-)
Here are the three classes that we'll be covering in our new two day intense workshop!
Rock On Mastering Bridge (Including Color/Luminosity; Creating Presets, Color Manipulation, Creating Split Tone Images) • Tools Navigation, Shortcuts & Uses (Healing Tool, Clone Stamp, Burning & Dodging Without Losing Detail, Selection Tool [Reselecting, Intersecting, Adding To & Subtracting From Selections], Ruler [Leveling Your Images], Gradient Tool [5 Kinds Of Gradients & Blend Modes], Color Palette, Adding & Warping Text)• Understanding, Using & Blending Layers (Duplicating Layers, Blend Modes, Renaming Layers, Layer Styles)• Curves & Contrast• Basic White Balance (Grey Points, Match Color Tool)• Essential Retouching• Sizing & Cropping Images (Changing the Image & the Canvas Size Without Losing Resolution) • Automate & Script Commands (Batch Image Processing, Creating Web Galleries, PDF Documents, & Contact Sheets)
Let's Roll
This Intermediate Class Will Cover Color Correction & Management (Selective Color Tool, Workspace Color Profile) • Fixing Lens Distortion (Using & Moving Your Grid, Changing Image Perspective, Edge Vignetting, Saving Lens Distortion Fix Preset For Your Lenses) • Shadow & Highlight Fixes • Sharpening (The Right Way) • Composites (Five Different Methods Photoshop Uses To Create Panoramas & Other Composites & The Best One To Use For Your Image) • Free Transform Tool (Learn How To Distort Your Selection, Change Perspective, & Warp Images) • Layering II (Including Using Quick Masks; Linking & Grouping Layers; Creating Smart Objects)
Over & Out… This Advanced Class Will Cover Body & Facial Manipulation & Correction (Including Changing Facial Expressions, Substituting Features, Altering Clothes & Slimming)• Advanced Layering (Including Using Channels To Remove A Subject From Their Background) • HDR (CS3 & Above) • Batch Processing (Automating Actions) • Using & Saving Presets (Curves, Layers) • Working With 50% Gray Layers To Correct & Manipulate • Creating and Automating Your Own Actions • Automating Your Logo (Learn How To Automate The Placement & Transparency Of Your Logo On Your Pictures)
Sign Up For All Three Classes Rolled into One INCREDIBLE Weekend for $372.50!
Check out these Before & After's by The Velvet Trunk... Roll your mouse over them to see what they looked like before. And by the way- not a single action was used in any of these that wasn't created from scratch by us!!
Freshmen year of college. I was walking down the long hallway in front of my dorm room fighting tears. I looked up to see my RA coming towards me. So I plastered on a smile to match the one she gave me. We barely knew each others names but without thinking a thing of it we stopped and hugged and within a few seconds we both burst into tears. So we stood there in the dorm room hallway for who knows how long, crying and holding onto each other for dear life. From that moment on during my Freshman year Michele and I were nearly inseparable. To this day, we both laugh about that day as it was pretty much out of character for us both, but we figure the Lord just knew we needed each other. So if it took bursting into tears to bring us together, so be it! ;-)
To this day I count her as family, and one of my dearest and best friends. We have seen each other through the absolute worst and the best of times... I love, love, LOVE this girl and seriously praise the Lord for bringing her into my life. He knew I needed a deep thinking, transparent, big hug giving, gentle warrior to challenge me, laugh with me, and just live life with me.
A few months back Michele and her identical twin sister Melanie, and their sweet Mom, hired me to do a shoot of the two of them as a present for their Dad. The lovely and talented photographers Sarah and Christi Sidwell came along with us to help out as we traipsed around downtown Nashville, laid in the middle of streets, climbed on the side of buildings, anything to get the perfect shot! Here are the images we got - hope you like them! =)
These two laughed the ENTIRE shoot pretty much. I have more images of them laughing than I do smiling. It made for one of the funnest shoots I've ever had. They had me in stitches most of the shoot....
Michele
Melanie
Christi took this shot and I just LOVE it! Great job girlie!!
This was shot at high noon pretty much where the sun was directly overhead so there was no getting this shot and completely blocking the harsh light overhead. So instead of trying, we used the diffuser and reflector for a different purpose (see below)...
Christi and Sarah fanning the two girls to help give that windblown look- you two rock!! =)
I love this shot because it captures them so well and because I wasn't even looking through the viewfinder when I shot it. I was holding the camera out in front of me and just shooting away as I moved the camera around at all kinds of odd angles. Just wanted to see what I could capture when I wasn't looking... ;-)
Wanted to share a shoot I just finished with the most beautiful young lady. LifeWay needed a young girl for the cover of the December issue of Parent Life and when I saw Mayci's picture I called Advantage holding my breath, hoping she'd be available... She was!
She and her Grandparents drove down all the way from KY this last Friday and we headed to an open field in Franklin as the sun was beginning to set. We were tight on time thanks to a freak rainstorm, but Mayci wasn't phased in the least and went right to work! Let me tell you- this girl can move in front of the camera! She was a natural!
We had a great time and I hope this is just the first of many shoots with this little one- she's such a doll and made my job SO easy! And to top it off, she's not only beautiful on the outside, but on the inside too! And after chatting with her family, I can see where she gets her sweet spirit from!! =)
Isn't that sunset incredible?! Love the sky after it rains- thunderstorms make for the best sunsets... =)
Obviously not for the winter cover, but I couldn't resist grabbing a few extra shots...
You can see the grass all over our jeans, but what you can't tell is that they are just soaked...
Grandma & Grandpa- LOVED them!!
Mayci, you are a treasure, and a talented one at that! Your smile is absolutely contagious. I laugh when I think about how deliriously happy your smile became every time I simply said the word "horse". You put the majority of us "regular folks" to shame with how photogenic and dare I say "fearless" you are in front of the camera. I can't wait to see where the Lord takes you in life, but selfishly I hope one day we get to cross paths again.
Who knows, maybe one day we'll have neighboring ranches and ride our horses together...lol.. Hey, we can dream can't we?! Anything is possible! ;-)
Remember Melanie?.... I had the amazing privilege of shooting her little one's newborn pictures a few weeks ago and now that I'm almost settled in my new office (more to come on that later) I finally have time to share McKinly's pictures with you!
She has just stolen her way into my heart- isn't she just a doll? Seriously- newborns should not be this cute!!! ;-)
Due to a freak rainstorm (got to love the weather in TN!) we took cover inside and decided to take advantage of the wonderful light coming through the living room window. Does anyone else but me love it when it's raining but the sun is just shining?!
Laynie wanted to be right in the middle of the action and was all about the camera and McKinly....
Laynie
My Mom's always ask me for outfit advice and when I saw these pajamas I practically begged for us to shoot with them- too too cute!! =)
As I was laying on the floor shooting McKinly, I glanced up and saw Glenny (McKinly's aunt) watching her sleep. I love this candid shot because it's so evident how much she adores her little niece. Boy is this little one loved...
The rain passed (for a few minutes at least) and we ran back outside to grab the rest of these shots...
This was Mckinly's first experience with wearing a hat....We weren't sure what she would think about it, but she LOVED it. We just laughed and laughed when we put it on her and she just sat there, totally content after it shifted and completely covered her eyes. I think she would have taken it as a cue to take a nap if we hadn't fixed it...lol.. =)
I have been blessed with the most amazing clients in my job, and Melanie is no exception. She is one of the most beautiful people (inside and out) that I have ever met. A woman of faith, hope, and incredible strength. And now I get the privilege of seeing her little one grow up, and on top of that- I get to share it with you...=)
Have I said lately how much I love my job?.... =O
"The Lord has done this, and it is MARVELOUS in our eyes." -Ps 118:23
