Congrats! Get that work!

Shot of child actress headshot client in action

Screenshot of her first acting gig! More details to come!

Yep, I know that Picasa has a right click context menu option to edit in Photoshop and many other programs. However, you can’t control how that list in populated.  Photoshop could be missing from the list, or buried down low. This is a one-click solution.  And for those of us who do it often, all the clicks add up.

I’ve seen many of these around the net, specific to version CS3 or CS5, but this guy was nice enough to make a universal button that works for all version of Photoshop.  He saved me an hour and a half of trying to learn Google button API and tinkering.  Enjoy!

https://www.185vfx.com/2010/12/mac-picasa-to-photoshop-button/

Here are the other two dogs I photographed recently.  The dog from an earlier post was already rescued from the pound. This dog, named Candy, is a Berger Picard,  a sort of rare French sheep-herding breed.  She was quite spry and had a lot of bounce in her. She was initially only interested in running around the yard, but by the end, she was very affectionate and interactive with us.  Her information is easy to find by clicking her name Candy, but her official West Valley Shelter id info is (A0860696).

This dog here, Minnie, held a special place in my heart because she shares the name of my recently deceased Yorkie. When we were looking for dogs to take photos of, we picked friendly dogs who’ve been in the pound longer than some of the new recruits, thus need to be adopted sooner.  So when I looked at her information card and saw “Minnie”, I told my compatriot that she (Minnie) was my pick. This American Staffordshire Terrier’s id at the West Valley Shelter is (A1419749). She was a really pretty dog.  And had lots of energy and was quiet sweet and tame. Not intro treats much, though. LOL.

I lucked up.  Okay, maybe it wasn’t luck.  It was law of attraction manifesting.  And after having done the cute preschool girl and appreciating that so much, the universe sent me  a variation on the theme.  I had the pleasure of photographing a tween girl, Miss A., from Sherman Oaks.  She’s a child model / actress and needed some headshots, so we went out to the park, and voila!

She’s a pro, she keeps it moving instinctively and I hope she gets a lot of work!

I belong to an organization that photographs shelter dogs, so that they can be seen at their best and improve their chance of adoption. Most of the photos taken by the shelter itself are of a very frightened dog, in an unattractive surrounding with fluorescent lighting. We take the dogs outside in the shelter yard, let them romp a bit, wait until they are tired enough to give us the time of day and then try to catch their personality on film.

For instance, this dog, Sasha, is part German Shepherd and part Pembroke Corgi. But if you only saw her face, you’d think she was a large dog, thereby erroneously scaring off people who don’t want a large dog. So I attempted to get her body in the shot so that you see she’s a German Shepherd head on a Corgi body. LOL. He/she (I swear I can’t remember – the name Sasha is a boy’s name in Russia, girl’s name everywhere else) was the sweetest little house dog. You could tell by the way she sat on the park bench as if it were a sofa. Lounging is a learned skill for domesticated animals, and she was lounging very comfortably and accustomed to being petted, especially behind the ears.   And she was all about the treats, unlike some of the other dogs who eschewed all manner of bribery. I don’t know why her owner surrendered her, but she was loved before she got here, that’s for sure.

This is just my initial post – I’m in a hurry, but I will update this with her shelter number and links to other pages with information on her, as well as photos and profiles of the other two dogs I photographed that day.

UPDATE:  This dog was saved from the shelter by an area rescue! Not sure which one, but if you’re really interested, I could find out from my shelter contact.

I will not post the best picture first.
I will not post the best picture first.
I will not post the best picture first.

I have to remind myself to not ruin the presentation of things by getting to the dessert without an appetizer or main dish first.  I always zero in on something I like and work on it and can’t wait to show the client, but I’m trying to curb my natural responses, so I’m posting a nice, casual outtake.

Working on editing a headshot session I did for a really pretty tween aged girl. I’m a singer, so I’ve done tons of promotions photos, and what I know from doing that is that I am not a model.  I don’t think like a model, I don’t even understand the concept.  And although I’ve gotten better over the years (make sure there’s a smile in my eyes, tilt my skin down – but not too far), there is nothing naturally photogenic about me.

This girl, however, reminds me of an adult model I’ve shot before.  She instinctively knows to keep it flowing, to give me something different every so often.  She’s fluid and keeps altering teeny things – a head tilt here, a smile there.  Natural model.  The girl I did before was a natural model for a toddler. Totally the correct modeling aptitude for a little person, but there is a different level of expectation for older models.  And Miss A. knows how to work it.  Instinctively, little direction needed, no lessons or anything contrived – just an innate concept of what having your photo taken is about.