Perle Family

Here is a sneak peak of today's evening photo session with the Perle family. Look at those cheeks, don't you just want to squeeze them? I know I did.

Dulesky Kids

Today I had the pleasure of working with these beauties. It was a little cold, but we managed through it. This little boy loves the outdoors and felt right at home. I felt like I could take pictures of him all day, he was so compliant and didn't seem to mind the cold one bit. Enjoy these pictures of their first outdoors photo shoot.

I love to naturally frame my clients with flowers. Don't you just love it?

Buchanan Kids

Sneak Peak of today's session. This family had such a beautiful home, which was nicely decorated. Thank you for allowing me into your home today Buchanan family. Aren't these kids gorgeous?

Christmas List

As Christmas quickly approaches, Abiguel wants to make sure she is good to go with Santa. Here is her Christmas wish list.

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone! Hope everyone has a great time with their family and friends today. Please remember that at some point during your busy day, pause and give thanks to God for everything you have, whether you do it as a family or privately.

 Always remember when you think you have nothing, someone else is praying for what you have. Today I am thankful for my family. I love my three little girls and husband so much. I couldn't have asked for a better family.

In this picture Miss Abiguel was in my tummy.

What To Wear Wednesday

Happy hump day everyone. I know everyone is eager preparing for Thanksgiving tomorrow so I will be quick. These neutral colors match mother earth well. Dont you think? They would look nice sitting on this throw rug for a make shift picnic at a park or infront of the Colorodo River. For the price of the rug of $22 at Wal-Mart you can not beat it. Everything here can be found at Wal-Mart.  Happy cooking!

Castillo Teaser

Happy "Twilight" opening night America! As for me, I am working.

These two were headed to the Marine Corps Ball, but made a quick stop to take pictures.  Love, indeed was in the air.  Who needs Edward when you have a Marine!

Small Business Saturday

Do you know what "Small Business Saturday" is? Well first, there is black Friday, then Cyber Monday was created. Last year on November 27, 2010 was the first ever Small Business Saturday. Small Business Saturday is the day we celebrate the Small Business World. It's a movement to encourage shoppers to shop local across the U.S. In honor of Small Business Saturday, I will be selling my $100 package for $50. Yes, you read it right! $50 for  my largest package, which includes 35-45 digital images, 2 story boards, or as some people call them collages, 2 Cd's with all your images, which is great to give one away as a gift or keep for yourself as a back-up CD. I will only accept cash, check, or money order. Only one per person, must be used by the buyer,  and must be used before 10-31-12. Excludes newborn sessions.

Please email me at ct@chriseldasimages.com if you would like to purchase.  Due to the nature of my business, and that I only accept cash, check, or money order, I will start this sell Thursday November 17, 2011 and it will end Sunday November 20, 2011.  I will be in San Diego on Small Business Saturday that is why I am doing the sale this weekend. Happy Shopping and thank you for supporting a small business.

How it works: Once you have purchased I will send you a E-Voucher to your email. Then, when you know when you would like to use your E-Voucher we can set a date.  Finally, when a date & time have been set print your E-Voucher and bring it with you to the photo shoot.  You must have your E-voucher with you. Please keep it safe and don't lose it.  No refunds can not be made once purchased. Expires 10-31-12

                                       

In addition, please take time to visit other small businesses. If you or someone you know is looking for an amazing wedding photographer in the San Diego/ Oceanside area please visit Lauren Nygard's Website. Are you a model and looking for some amazing head shots or pictures to add to your portfolio? Visit Pol Santos.  Let them know I sent you.

What To Wear Wednesday

It's Wednesday again.  This color palette was inspired by Target's clothing line. These royal colors go well with a casual look for the fall or winter season. They are not your everyday "fall colors",  but the deep colors keep it great for fall or winter because you really wouldn't want to wear them for spring or summer.  They make great contrasting colors for vibrant fall foliage and they are absolutely comfortable and would really be great anywhere.

Happy Birthday USMC.

Happy 236th Birthday to the United States Marine Corps and to all the Marines past & present. My husband has been a Marine for 12 years now and continues to serve his country. My daughters are so proud of their daddy and feel like princesses next to him when he is in his dress blues. Happy Birthday to our very own Marine. We love you!

What To Wear Wednesday

Happy Wednesday, Hope everyone is doing great. I want to do something new this month and post something like this for the next 3 Wednesdays. The number one question people ask me after they book a session is "What should I wear?" The colors below are perfect for the holiday season and coordinate well with each other. There's no need to buy new black or brown pants, just go shopping in your closet, because I'm sure we all have some hanging up.  This could cut your expense in half and save you time from going to the store.  Notice the socks for the baby boy; yes, baby's can get away with wearing socks, they even make socks that imitate a shoe, how cute is that! You can find lots of shoe imitation socks at Target & Ross. These comfortable lightweight outfits pictured below are all from Old Navy. These colors would be perfect to wear at a park filled with lots a fall scenery, such as brown trees, shrubs or even a brown or black colored wall.

Storyboard Name

How cool is this? I'm excited to offer this 5x15 storyboard print to my clients. It is a unique way to display your child's name or your family's last name with pictures from your session. This creative 5x15 storyboard will be priced at $35. This storyboard is only available for print. It will not come in your CD with the pictures included from your session. Stay tuned for more stuff to come.

Baby Boy Castillo

Adorable Baby Boy Castillo was very active today and at only 8 months is already taking steps. Can you say WOW!

Sofia

Here is sneak peak of this adorable baby girl. I just wanted to squeeze her chunky baby legs. What a cutie! She slept so soundly just like a newborn.

The Fuentes Girls

My week was filled with photo shoots of adorable little girls. I had so much fun with all the girls I took pictures of. Here are some pictures of these sweet girls. They "rocked it", can you tell?

  

The Salguero Family

Here is a sneak peak of the S family. I just love frilly things and everything pink.

Cowgirls & Bows

Today my girls and I played dress up. We did hair, painted toe nails, put make up on, and finished off the day with a fun photo shoot. They had lots of fun. They just love the camera, can you tell?

Give away Winner

The winner of the Shutterfly giveaway, which was selected by random.org, goes to Angelica Caro. Congratulations. Please email me at ct@chriseldasimages.com to claim your free code for a 7x9 photo book.

The White Family

Yesterday I had the pleasure of working with a beautiful family.   The sun was shining, the river was flowing and it was VERY hot!  But, the White family stuck it out and allowed me to take wonderful pictures.  Their son was very cooperative and such a little trooper, not letting the heat become an issue. 

Volunteers Wanted

Look who was featured on the Help-Portrait Blog?......I was! I hope this inspires other people to be the change that this world so desperately needs. If you would like to help out on December 10, 2011 please sign up here. Help-Portrait Yumasun We need volunteers, hair stylist, make-up artist, & photographers. Spread the word!  Lets make this years Yuma families feel extra special. If you or anybody you know would like to help please have them sign up.  Give back this Holiday season.

 

Giveaway!

So here it is, my first giveaway! Are you excited?
Today I am giving away 1 free 7x9 20 page photo book from Shutterfly.  Shutterfly is a printing company where you can print photos and turn your favorite memories into photo books, how cool is that?  Shutterfly launched their all new custom path photo books which allows you to customize your photo book just the way you want; it has new backgrounds, layouts and even embellishments.  I ordered 3 photo books from shutterfly, and I love them.  It is a great keepsake for many years to come.  You don't have a shutterfly account?  Well, don't worry, signing up is free and when you sign up you will get 50 4x6 free prints.  Now, how to win, go to your personal facebook account and update your status with "I just entered in a giveaway from chriseldasimages.com", and tag my facebook page.  I will select one winner by random Sunday Sept.18, 2011  at 8 pm central time. Good luck!

                                        

                                                                 This giveaway is in no way sponsored by shutterfly or facebook.

My Dream Camera

If I could have any camera, this would be my choice.  The Canon 5D Mark II is my dream camera and as of now that's all it will be. This camera is top of the line in Canon which comes with a top of the line price.

The EOS 5D Mark II, has a stunning 21.1-megapixel full-frame CMOS and an ISO Range of 100-6400 which is expandable. It also has movie recording in full HD & I have got to say the HD recording is what attracts me the most to this camera. It will be a long time before I could get my hands on one of these, but it's definitely on my wish list. Until then, I will see you in my dreams!

A Day in my Life

My girls started gymnastics and they love it!
In this photo my youngest is excited about going and asked if I would take her picture. Of course I said "yes."  Aside from gymnastics they are also in ballet & are equally excited about it. I dream about the day when they are teenagers and dance with such poise but I'm not to eager for them to grow up so fast just yet.





Alaways Remember

9-11-01

What is RAW?

What is RAW & is it better than JPEG?

When shooting in RAW the camera saves every piece of light and detail that hits your sensor. The best way it was explained to me was, "I wouldn't serve my family raw meat?"; "hmm...would I ?"  Absolutely not! You would add some spices to it and cook it to your taste. Well the same goes with a RAW file. It's a raw piece of file that needs to be fixed up/ edited to your taste. RAW allows you to always fix your white balance and bring back details that were blown out. (over exposed)  You can only edit a jpeg image so much before your image becomes grainy. In raw you can edit to the extreme and still get a perfect looking image. I only shoot in RAW and if you are looking into taking pictures dont be afraid to ask your photographer if they shoot RAW or JPEG. RAW is the way to go!
Now, when your reviewing your image on your camera in RAW it will not look as good as a jpeg but don't panic this happens because the small screen on your camera cant show you every detail.

Now my favorite part in digital photography is the photo editing. How I love to edit and manipulate pictures to make them look there best. This is where working with RAW files comes in handy, so you must have a software that can read RAW. Photo editing is great to remove distracting pieces from your image, correct your white balance, or just add some flavor. Don't be so boring. Be unique! Seeing how people can spice up there own images in there own way is what I like to see. Its amazing to see the difference of my untouched picture next to the edited one. Check out the power of editing.

This first picture of our lovely couple is straight out of the camera (sooc) and is completely untouched. The sun was setting so the light was behind them. 


This second picture of our lovely couple I used my software to touch it up. Doesn't she just look like she's glowing?


This 3rd picture of our lovely couple is the exact same picture as the one above but I added texture. You can find some nice and free textures on Flickr. Like I said be creative. Ask your client what they like and their preferences. This picture would look great on a canvas.

Thank you to our lovely couple for this little demo. Also a big CONGRATULATIONS to them as they are expecting their 1st baby.

The Big 5

Happy 5th Birthday to my Princess Chrisiana. We made minion cupcakes for her classmates today and they loved them. These cupcakes are too cute & we cant wait to make them again.