Our Holiday Family Photos

We are really getting into the spirit of Christmas over here at the Rumple home! This weekend we wore Christmas jammies, made ornaments for the tree (and for gifts!), drank hot cocoa, played in the SNOW, and listened to the children's choir sing Christmas songs at church yesterday. Bill and I also watched Christmas Vacation Saturday night which is always a favorite holiday classic! On the list for this week is a trip to the zoo lights and possibly visiting Santa? I'm a little nervous to see how the boys do this year with their Santa visit! I'm definitely going armed with bribes (aka suckers and fruit snacks). 

Another Christmas bucket list item I was able to check off this weekend was sending out our Christmas cards. I've been having so much fun shooting and editing family photos (see more of my work on my photography facebook page), I knew that I wanted to attempt to take our family photos for our holiday cards. So, I called in for back up... aka my parents. I was able to adjust the settings of my camera and handed it over to my mom to take the photos and my dad was in charge of trying his best to get a smile out of the boys (or at least to just get them to look towards the camera). 

I am definitely pleased with how they turned out, even though Bennett was in somewhat of a 'mood' during the session. I'm so glad we were able to get some good family photos and some of just the boys as well! Of course, I had to attempt the 'mini tree on top of the cozy coupe' photo! The boys are at the perfect age for it!

I mean... they are just too good, right?!

I also wanted to get some good ones of Bennett before we unfortunately have to cut those curly, golden locks 😭

We even managed to get one good photo of just the two of us...

...right before this happened...

And because everyone loves a good blooper... here ya go!

Merry Christmas!!

Love, the Rumples!

(Bill, Lindsay, Camden and Bennett)

DIY Newborn Photography Tips

I just love the newborn stage! They are so snugly and sleepy. We've definitely enjoyed this time with Bennett. It's typically around 4-6 weeks when they really start 'waking up' and become more aware of their surroundings. It's definitely key to get good photos of newborns in the first few weeks of life or else it can start to be a bit more tricky when they get a bit older. 

Let me start by saying, I am NOT a professional photographer by any means. I had taken a few photos of Camden on my Nikon dslr camera when he was a newborn, but wished that I could have gotten more. I didn't want to fork out extra money for professional newborn photos (and we had already paid for photos taken in the hospital) so that was the main reason I wanted to take them myself.

This time around, I decided to invest in an extra lens and watched a few YouTube tutorials on newborn photography, shooting in manual and editing photos in Adobe Lightroom. After a few practice rounds with my new lens and editing skills, I was ready and excited to take photos of baby Bennett!

Here are my tips for taking newborn photos yourself:

1. Use a DSLR camera and a 50 mm lens. First, if you're hoping to get great, quality photos of your newborn on your iPhone or point and shoot camera you will be very disappointed. I have had my Nikon camera for a few years and was fairly comfortable using it to take photos. I recently purchased this 50 mm lens from a friend and am so glad I did! This lens is a total game changer and really takes your photos to the next level. It helps with those close up details and gives photos that blurry background that makes them look so professional.

2. Know how to shoot in manual and edit photos. If you know how to shoot in manual and you have the correct lighting, you may not even need to do much editing. I found this YouTube channel to be very helpful when it came to learning how to shoot in manual. There are 3 main aspects of shooting in manual that you need to understand which are: ISO, Aperture and Shutter Speed. Once you have these mastered, you will be able to take great photos!

When it comes to editing, I have use Adobe Lightroom (I pay the monthly package which is $9.99/mo). The best way to get that 'newborn' glow and creaminess to the photos is to bump up the exposure and bump down the contrast and clarity a bit. I didn't go in and remove any of Bennett's flaky or blotchy skin. In my opinion, I don't like to edit a baby too much. They are perfect the way they are, flaky skin and all! But, if you wanted to go more in depth with the editing and filters there are actual presets you can buy online like this one for example. 

I also use the app Afterlight on my iPhone to edit photos from my FlashAir SD memory card. This memory card is linked to wifi, so I can download photos from my Nikon camera directly to my phone wirelessly. It is a great investment and really comes in handy!

3. Set Up and Lighting. You want to make sure you are taking photos in the best possible light in your home. This will most likely be near a big open window in the middle of the day when the sunlight is at it's maximum. You do not want to turn on any lamps or overhead lighting because this will cause the photos to have a yellow tint and will not look natural.

Decide what type of props you want to involve in the photos. For the top photo in this post I set up a Boppy Lounger pillow underneath a fuzzy blanket and positioned Bennett on top of it with his personalized beanie. For the other photos in this post I simply had him on our bed with a blanket and thought it was an optimal time to snap some detail shots while the lighting was optimal. Sometimes the most natural, unplanned shots are the best!

4. Last, but not least... Be Prepared! Newborns can be a bit unpredictable at times... And by that I mean, their digestive systems can be unpredictable! Just check out these newborn photo shoots gone wrong! It's definitely important to be prepared for the worst. Have wipes, diapers, stain remover, etc on hand just in case. I will have you know right after I took that angelic photo at the top of this post, Bennett immediately pooped all over that white fuzzy blanket! Ha!

Those are my tips for taking your own newborn photos! Of course, if they don't end up they way you like you can always hire a professional. However, it is so much more convenient (and cost effective) to take them yourself if you have the time, equipment and energy! :)

How to Edit Your Instagram Photos

Happy Monday!

Another lazy, snowy weekend has flown by! 

Not much to report on the events that occurred.

Bill and I had a fabulous dinner at the Macaroni Grill Friday night.

Saturday was filled with chores and taking Bill to the airport to send him off to Orlando 

for work (lucky dog!). I wish I could have gone with him!

Yesterday, I got to meet one of my friends' brand new baby boy! 

I love little new born snuggles... So precious!

+++

Today, I wanted to share with you how I edit my IG photos.

I've had a few people ask me how I edit them, so I thought I would share with you

the apps I use for photo editing.

First, snap a photo of what you would like to share on your iphone.

The photo on the left shows you what a typical photo might look like.

Next, download the app Afterlight. 

This is the main app I use to edit all my photos.

I use the app to brighten my photos, crop, add borders, add filters and it also 

has options for 'light leak' filters (like the photo above on the right, gives it a little light 

streak on the left side).

Here are some screen shots of the app:

There are a lot of great filters to use as well.

My favorite is one called "Breeze" to give my photos a bright / warm feeling.

Another app I love to use is called A Beautiful Mess.

I use this app to add text to my photos, like the one below:

There are so many fonts and all different colors you can use.

You can also position the text anyway you want.

The app also has different borders and "doodles" you can add.

Those are the 2 most used photo editing apps I use.

Follow my IG feed here!

Happy Monday!

Pink Peonies!

Happy Friday loves! OMGoodness am I glad it's Friday...I will not go over the gory details, but it has been one crazy week! I am ready to wind down this weekend and spend some much needed QT with the fiance. 

I do not have a Friday cocktail prepared for you today {as mentioned above, this week has escaped me}, however, I DO have some pretty photos of my Coral Charm peonies that I planted in front of our house this spring. I have been meaning to edit them for weeks and finally got around to it last night. I am pretty impressed with some of the shots I captured. There are a few from when they were still planted and newly bloomed. They were the prettiest coral / fuchsia / hot pink color! Then, once I picked them and placed in the gold mason, they turned a soft, pale pink. I will definitely be purchasing a few more peony plants in the future.

Can you believe they were the same flowers? Such a beautiful color transformation!

See more photos {here}.

Have a Lovely weekend!

Flowers + Photography

I have found 2 new loves in my life...Flowers and Photography! I wanted to share with you a few photos I took of a pink and white carnation bouquet I created recently. There is something so simple and pretty about a bunch of fluffy carnations...



 

I found these pretties at the grocery store and started arranging them in a vase. I realized how pretty they would be as a bouquet so I gave it a try! I grabbed some pretty pink tulle and tied the stems together and boom! Pretty little pink fluffy carnation bouquet success!

 

I also took some snap shots of my new Etsy shop item using the pretty bouquet as a backdrop.

 

 

 

Who doesn't want a pretty striped straw to drink from on their Bachelorette Party? Now available on my Etsy shop, I have gold/white, pink/white and black/white striped straws flagged with "THE Bachelorette" and "Final Fling".

 

 

I am so excited to announce that I made my first sale last week! I am hoping to add even more Lovely goodness to the shop very soon!

 

PS - Have you entered in My Etsy Shop Giveaway yet? If not, hop on over and do so now! I will announce the winner on Friday!