My First with Finao

While aimlessly walking around the trade show floor of Imaging USA, I came across the oh so cool Finao booth. After seeing the same old wedding albums over and over again, their album displays really caught my attention... refreshing to say the least !! I immediately became a member and have been up to date with the releases on all of their new products.... like this image preview box you see here : 

click image for a larger preview

all images are copyright protected and

property of John Michael Photography

This is a hand made, Silk Wrapped,

4x6 Slim Line Deep and can hold up 

to 300 images

Their customer service was incredible and their turn around time from upload to delivery (note: they're located in Australia) was 3 weeks !! I am extremely pleased with the quality of this product and highly recommend this company to those who are looking to go above and beyond their competition : )  

Precious Little Gift

Several years ago my older/only sister Amanda and her husband Brian were ready to start their family. After consulting with numerous fertility doctors, following ALL of their instructions.... they just couldn't get pregnant !!  So they took the next step and looked into adoption. 

On June 5th 2006, about a week after they were "certified" my sister received a phone call from the state saying there was a 10 week old baby girl that needed a home. My sister immediately called me. Her emotions were all over the place !! She was scared, overjoyed, anxious.... I remember her asking me "do you think I'll know what to do?" Without a doubt my response was "oh yeah.... moms just know." 

Our entire family immediately fell in love with this precious little girl named Summerlei !! She was a dream come true.... literally : )  Always smiling and laughing, and her bright blue eyes just captured your heart... what a little Angel !! 

After several heart wrenching "oh no, she may have to go back" situations, the state granted full custody to my sister and Brian !!  And today July 31, 2008 it's official !!

She is now (legally)  Summerlei Grace Corley : )

This journey hasn't been an easy one.... but who said life is suppose to be easy !!  Summerlei not only brought a refreshing happiness to our family but also a whole new perspective on life.... Anything you want, is worth fighting for !!   

THAT GIRL : unplugged

                                 

Hey Y'all !!    ; )

It's been a while since I've posted... (bad Sarah K ), but I've been extremely busy. And any of you with children will totally understand, the summer takes over !!  It's been great : )

So I've been designing for Terry White (Mr. Creative Suite himself), I know you're thinking "why is SHE designing for Terry?" it's that whole cobbler's children had no shoes thing... he don't have time... that's what I'm for !!  After months of working with/on Terry's beautiful models it was my turn to be in front of the camera.... OMG !! So I was off to Detroit : ) 

I'm SO not model material, but I had a blast "pretending"  

Being from Georgia, (and the fact that I say "Y'all" ....ALOT) it's automatically assumed that I own Cowboy Boots/Hats... ugh ... well .... I do !! Although I don't typically fall into that "southern gal" stereotype...I thought it would be fun to play it up !!

I have to say it was incredible to shoot with Terry and be a Detroit Diva for a day !! But I wasn't leaving The Motor City without meeting his family..... and eating at The Original Pancake House (insane eating).  When I met Terry's lovely wife Carla she smiled so big and said "oh, listen to her accent...." it was hilarious !! Very sweet family : ) 

And of course our session wouldn't be complete without the Terry White Rocks shirt:

My First Motion Graphic... woo hoo : )

Okay I was WAY too involved in an album design today and decided I needed a break, so what did I do to ease my mind ??? Created my first motion graphic...


Thanks to my friend Corey Barker (this guy is ridiculously talented) and his Photoshop CS3 Extended Photoshop in Motion DVD. I watched it once and got down and dirty with my own. Remember before you press play... this is my first one... they'll get better. I say it everyday... the possibilities are endless !! Enjoy : )

It was a good week.... ; )

WOW !! I'm just getting back from the 2008 TPPA School in College Station, Texas. What an amazing week. I took a week long class from the legendary Ralph and Ryan Romaguera. There was some classroom time where Ralph taught us everything from lighting and posing, that was immediately followed by Ryan showing us how to apply it in the studio and on location. We had speakers come in from Nik Software, Ron Nichols Digital Solutions, Canon USA, and PPA just to name a few. Each speaker was full of useful information to help make our (photographer's) life SOO much easier... that's what I'm talkin' about !! If you're interested in taking your photography skills to a whole new level, I would definitely suggest Texas School... well worth the investment !!

Applying the KISS Method...

I was talking with one of my friends yesterday about photography and design (surprise surprise)
and he asked me "have you ever heard of the KISS method ?"

KEEP IT SIMPLE STUPID

Because we all know what it's like to be WAY too emotionally attached to our work, and we end up over analyzing everything... So the KISS method just works. Remember, the next time you start on what seem to be an overwhelming project.. Keep It Simple Stupid

: )

My Favorite Subject....

Sweet Sweet Baby.....











no session would be complete without
ice cream from The Dairy Lane !!

Natural Highs....

• Falling in love.
• Laughing so hard your face hurts.
• A hot shower.
• No lines at the supermarket.
• A special glance.
• Getting mail.
• Taking a drive on a pretty road.
• Hearing your favorite song on the radio.
• Lying in bed listening to the rain outside.
• Hot towels fresh out of the dryer.
• Chocolate milkshake (vanilla or strawberry).
• A bubble bath.
• Giggling.
• A good conversation.
• The beach
• Finding a 20 dollar bill in your coat from last winter.
• Laughing at yourself.
• Looking into their eyes and knowing they Love you
• Midnight phone calls that last for hours.
• Running through sprinklers.
• Laughing for absolutely no reason at all.
• Having someone tell you that you're beautiful.
• Laughing at an inside joke with FRIENDS
• Accidentally overhearing someone say something nice about you.
• Waking up and realizing you still have a few hours left to sleep.
• Your first kiss (either the very first or with a new partner).
• Making new friends or spending time with old ones.
• Playing with a new puppy.
• Having someone play with your hair.
• Sweet dreams.
• Hot chocolate.
• Road trips with friends.
• Swinging on swings.
• Making eye contact with a cute stranger.
• Making chocolate chip cookies.
• Having your friends send you homemade cookies.
• Holding hands with someone you care about.
• Running into an old friend and realizing that some things (good or bad) never change.
• Watching the expression on someone's face as they open a much desired present from you.
• Watching the sunrise.
• Getting out of bed every morning and being grateful for another beautiful day.
• Knowing that somebody misses you.
• Getting a hug from someone you care about deeply.
• Knowing you've done the right thing, no matter what other people think.

I'm Back....

WOW !!

Just as expected, Photoshop World ROCKED !! It looks as though all I did was take pictures of my sister and myself, but I did attend several awesome classes. For an overview of the week my friend Jenn Bontempi updated a daily blog for everyone that wasn't able to attend. You should definitely check it out right here. Also go ahead and start clearing your calendar for Photoshop World Vegas. Seriously if you want to take your photoshop/design skills to the next level... this is the place to be !!

Click on the photo to view more of my pics from Orlando !!

I'm off to Photoshop World....

Yep !!

I'm off to Photoshop World in Orlando, Fl. This will be my 4th one in a row. Like I said in the "about me" section of my blog, I'm a total dork when it comes to this stuff. If you're unfamiliar with Photoshop World, to sum it up... it's where the world's best photography/photoshop instructors gather in one place and bring you the latest in photography and design. I have to say, it's my FAVORITE conference that I attend all year... I'm gonna try (yes, I said try) to keep you updated while I'm there... if not, I'll fill you in when I get back... Maybe I'll see you there : )

Golf Golf Golf

I had the opportunity to photograph David Robinson a few weeks ago at the Twin City Country Club golf course. I had an awesome time and I have to admit that David was the most pleasant golfer that I have ever photographed....well he's the only golfer I have ever photographed actually. So that makes him the greatest : ) He's also my best friend Lauren's husband... so that helped too !! Anyway, I just wanted to share some of my images from that shoot and brag on David just a bit. He is a Pro Golfer... (poor thing, huh guys?) and he is currently on the Tarheel Tour, where he just won the first tournament of the year , and also on the Hooter's Tour. I have no doubt that he'll be on the PGA tour in 2009 !!

You go D-Rob
: )


Click on the image to view more from this session : )

Web Conferencing with BRIO

Adobe is now offering a service called BRIO. With this service users are allowed to host/attend a live web conference. So of course after reading Terry's Post about this, I immediately signed up and started using it...

Since I've become somewhat of a Photoshop Help Desk ( I love you guys, keep em coming ) this was perfect for me. Rather than staying on the phone, and going "no, select all, edit....." (and I hate to admit I would actually point to the screen where I wanted them to click, like they could see me) I can now share my screen and show them how it's done... or take control of their screen and work on their computer. This is just one of the features (my favorite), but there are several others that you can read about, download, and start using right here.

PhotoPresenter : )

Hi again : ) Okay it's hard to begin these posts and not sound like a total dork... so here goes

This morning I was reading my friend RC's blog over at Layers Magazine and saw his post on this really cool photo presentation software... so... I BOUGHT IT !! It's such an easy way to share your photos... it's just basic drag and drop. A couple of minutes and you're done !! If you would like to know more about this software click here.

Check out my Wedding Album Design...

What's not to love about my job !!

Take a look at my latest wedding album design... and let me know what you think !! : )
Photography by John Michael Hannan.

Woo Hoo, I went to Mac World : )

I was also able to attend Mac World in San Francisco in January !! It was a busy month for me....
Okay so Mac World was an incredible experience. I attended the keynote where Steve Jobs made the big announcement about the MacBook Air (and some other stuff, but this was the best to me). I was overwhelmed at the Expo !! It's like as soon as the keynote was over, everyone rushed to the Apple booth and never left THAT booth. WOW !! I also met up with my friend Terry White
and went shooting the city. That totally ROCKED !!

Imaging USA

Okay, so I was able to attend Imaging USA in Tampa Florida in January. Wow !! What an incredible experience. The classes rocked and the trade show was unbelievable !! As you see I was able to meet up with some friends while I was there, which is always nice : )

Imaging USA 2008 in Tampa FL.

Photobucket Album

Let's just see... : )

Okay,

Guess you gotta start somewhere huh ?
Well here I go.....

: )


Sarah K