Unique family portraits

Did you know that I make pictures that are called composites? Let me explain what a "composite" is in the photography world. Composites are when you take many different images and put them together to make one complete image. You have complete control over how you want an image to look. Don't like the sky in your photo? Change it! Wish you were on a boat at the beach? I can make it happen, not in reality, of course, but at least in a photo!

Here is my latest completed composite, take a look and then we'll discuss some details.

I titled this one "Laundry Day". Coming up with an idea is sometimes hard to do. Sometimes I ask others for their input, sometimes I have my own ideas, and sometimes I come up with things on the fly. Here's how I came up with the idea for this image. We have a new puppy at our house who hasn't quite grasped the concept of peeing outdoors, so he had a little accident on my comforter because I had him on the bed. My comforter is somewhat bulky and my washer and dryer never do a great job with bulkier items, so I knew I needed one of those huge industrial washing machines. I had seen a coin laundry/car wash combo place down the road from my house, so I loaded up the family and headed there. I always wanted to take some pictures in a laundromat, so I grabbed my camera to take with us. While we were waiting for the comforter to finish, I took a few photos inside but it wasn't as exciting as I thought it would be. So I went outside and started taking pictures and there is when the idea came to me. How about a lady coming out trying to get to her car, with her kid hanging on her leg, clothes dropping out all over, coins falling, dryer sheets flying, and then, the last thing she needs...a man running after her to tell her she forgot her bra! Oh, the embarrassment! What's funny is I think most of us ladies with children have experienced some sort of this same thing, and that is one thing I try to add to my images, is having people being able to relate somehow to the subjects.

This composite was made up of about 18 different images. You need to be pretty proficient in Adobe Photoshop to create these. I'll write another blog someday on how I taught myself to learn Photoshop. If I can do it, anyone can, it just took me quite a while to get to the skill level I am at today.

Hope this photo made you laugh, and hope the blog didn't put you to sleep!