“You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, ‘I lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.”
Eleanor Roosevelt

It takes courage to be a mother.  As moms we face the fear of making mistakes, not having all the answers or simply not being “good enough”.  It takes courage to put another life ahead of yours, giving up your own dreams at times so your child may achieve theirs.  It takes courage to love so unabashedly that the mere thought of your child in pain brings you to tears.  It is courage, that after the end of a very long day of diapers, crying, meetings, dinner and homework, pushes you to read that bedtime story and kiss those cheeks goodnight.  It’s courage that gives the special needs mom the strength and unending patience her job requires.  It is sheer courage that stands up to misinformed teachers, caregivers, neighbors and glares at the grocery store.  And it is immense courage that gives strength to the mom who watches her child endure chemotherapy and faces unfathomable decisions.

Yes, the job of mothering is not for the faint hearted.  It is the most important job on earth.

My mother is one of the most courageous people I know.  She had courage when she moved to a foreign country to be a missionary.  She had courage when my sister’s birth mom changed her mind about the adoption yet called for a ride home from the hospital.  In spite of how painful she knew it would be, Mom cared enough to help this poor girl get home.  During that fateful car ride she decided that Mom, was indeed, the mother for her daughter.  I wonder what would have happened had she lacked the courage to give that ride?  My mother has shown me what true courage is, but never more than this past winter.  She faced a life changing health crisis with as much grace and dignity as I have ever seen.  She was BRAVE beyond words in the face of an uncertain outcome.  Her faith and courage inspire me.  She never for one moment doubted God’s love or plan for her.  I am so grateful for my mother’s health and courage.

To all you “mother warriors” out there, and you know who you are,  know that you matter.  You are appreciated and loved and you are COURAGEOUS.

me and mom….

Does maternity portraiture intimidate you?    Learn how to pose and style maternity in a whole new way.

R A D I A N T / Exploring Fine Art Maternity Portraiture , more details to come….

Our new actions and textures have debuted along with a brand new shop!   Click here to shop!   I hope our new storefront makes your experience a bit simpler and more enjoyable.  Everything is at your fingertips including a page just for tutorials!

Thanks so much to everyone that participated in the giveaway!  WE have a winner….drum roll…..  AMANDA DESKINS,   you are the winner!!!  Congrats, we will be contacting you via email to send your actions, textures and arrange your one on one session.

Below are a few images edited with the new textures and actions.  A HUGE thank you to my fellow photogs who so graciously allowed me to share their images edited with FTT actions and textures.  You may find more from these talented photographers in the shop’s before & after gallery under “kindred spirits”.  Be looking for more before & afters soon.

I just have to say thank you so much for your support, it means the world to know that my art is appreciated.  I worked very hard on these new digital tools and I sincerely hope they will take your work to a new level.

Mandy Lynne  http://www.mandylynne.com/

Martha Schuster  http://iseethemoonphotography.com/blog/

Jessica Vaughn  http://www.jessicavaughnphotography.com/

COMMENTS ARE CLOSED-WINNER TO BE ANNOUNCED ON 4/27

Happy Monday everyone! Well, the date is quickly approaching for the debut of my very first action set- The Artist’s Workflow/the texture series vol I! The release date is 4/27/2012. The new FTT Vintage Textures & Overlays II will be released as well, and here is your chance to win it ALL!

Giveaway includes-

• FTT Vintage Textures & Overlays I (if you already have these you will receive a credit toward our next action or texture set)
• FTT Vintage Textures & Overlays II **new**
• FTT The Artist’s Workflow / the texture series vol I (for use with PSE 9/10, CS2 and above) **new**
• 1 hour online instruction session with Tamara (via Skype)

Here’s how to win-

• Like our Facebook page
• share the above image on your Facebook wall /or/ pin this image on Pinterest (download image here)
• leave a comment on our blog with a link showing your pin or Facebook wall post
• you will be entered twice if you do both, but only if you post TWO separate comments
• no more than two comments are allowed per entrant
• deadline to enter is 4/26/2012 at 11:00 pm CST.

Prize cannot be exchanged for cash. Instruction session will encompass basic texture use and the new action features. Winner will be chose by a random name generator. If you do not have access to Skype, yahoo IM may be used. Session is to be held during the month of May at an agreed upon time and date. You must have Photoshop elements or CS2 and above to benefit from instruction session. We reserve the right to cancel or alter giveaway rules at any time during the giveaway. Winner will be announced on this blog and notified via email on 4/27/2012. Prize is for digital download, no physical product will be sent. This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Facebook. You are providing your information to [From the Treetop] and not to Facebook. The information you provide will only be used for the action giveaway.

“We live and breathe words. …. It was books that made me feel that perhaps I was not completely alone. They could be honest with me, and I with them. Reading your words, what you wrote, how you were lonely sometimes and afraid, but always brave; the way you saw the world, its colors and textures and sounds, I felt–I felt the way you thought, hoped, felt, dreamt. I felt I was dreaming and thinking and feeling with you. I dreamed what you dreamed, wanted what you wanted–and then I realized that truly I just wanted you.” -Cassandra Clare

Read more about “Elevate” a fine art exploration. For more “Elevate” follow the circle to the next artist, the talented Gina Oh | Arroyo Grande, CA Photographer

 (images all edited with the soon to be released “FTT Artist’s Workflow-Vol I textures series” and “FTT Vintage Textures II”)

Read more about “Elevate” a fine art exploration. For more “Elevate” follow the circle to the next artist, the amazing Jefra Linn.

I had also promised a tutorial for the free LR presets available on our Facebook page (limited time only), and I have made good on it.  I will have to warn you that I am just getting over the FLU (bleh) and this video is a bit choppy compared to my others, but I think it’s informative all the same. ;) I hope it helps you utilize the presets to their full potential. Be sure to select HD to view it larger.

We are giving away our first ever set of LR presets for our Facebook friends!  I know that many of you have been frustrated when shooting backlit images.  Even the best photographer can angle the camera so that too much light gets in and a perfectly beautiful shot gets washed out.  In the past these were time consuming edits for me until I developed my own LR workflow fix.  I am sharing it with you now.  These presets work best on RAW files, and may or may not require some adjusting with your brightness/contrast bars.  Color and temperature should adjust easily to your preference. I do about 80% of my editing in LR, then open in Photoshop for the final artistic and skin editing processes.  I will be posting a video tutorial on how these work for me very soon.  You can get your set by visiting us at www.facebook.com/fromthetreetop or by clicking the image below. Thanks!

TIPS FOR BEST RESULTS-

• Use on RAW image files
• Adjust your exposure/recovery first
• Best on well or slightly overexposed sun flare shots
• Underexposed images won’t work as well with this set

“Life’s greatest happiness is to be convinced we are loved.”

We added lollipops adorned with layered cupcake wrappers that were left over from our baking session.  I hope you all have a very  Happy Valentine’s Day.

This session is one of my favorites from last fall.  The light that time of year is truly magical and this day was no exception.  I have been asked if I enjoy working with older children and the answer is an adamant YES!!  Children between the ages of 7-12 are usually eager to be photographed and easy to work with.   Once they feel at ease with you the rest is effortless and fun.   Take a peek at these gorgeous siblings.