Preview of Summer Lookbook

Had a fun little shoot last Sunday with Courtney Scalzo. I was hoarding vintage dresses in the back just for this occasion. I make look books once in awhile just as a little marketing tool.. to basically say, "Hey, look at all the cute things I sell!" Anyway, these cute things are for sale. Summer Lookbook will be posted as the photos get edited.

Behind The Scenes

So I did manage to get some shots in with Madison before my camera died (although the battery charger is still missing in action). I wanted to show a sort of behind the scenes with her. I found this backdrop paper and stand on Craigslist for a good price. This was my first time trying it out and ideally it would be wider, but I guess that's what cropping is for! When I looked for the seamless paper, I also looked for lights, but found that they're quite expensive, and just too far out of my budget, even for the older lights. I also don't have a whole lot of space at the shop, we tried to do this while customers shopped around us, haha. So basically I am at the mercy of the sunlight or lack there of, and the rest is made up with Photoshop editing.

Before-

Once upon a time I wanted to be a graphic designer, back when I would make artsy graphics and avatars and graphic design was the new hot thing (wow that kind of ages me, but what's weirder is to imagine a world without so much computer generated design). Since then, I am not as in practice. I learned a few years ago that in Photoshop you can use Levels (under Image>Adjustments) to kind of fix the lighting if it's too dark or add some darkness for contrast (for some reason it works better than just changing the brightness/contrast.. I think). For my pictures lately, I have been using Auto Tone and Auto Contrast quite a bit. You'd be surprised the difference it makes with my photos because I have yellow lighting in my store that doesn't always make things look so pretty. I also sometimes use Auto Color although it doesn't always look as accurate. Besides that, I might Filter>Sharpen to give it more crispness.

After-


The above photo didnt need a ton of work in my opinion, besides I really shouldnt have had that sunlight in the photo, but I am not a pro, okay!? I wanted to lighten it a bit more, but then her face was getting too white. I'm sure I could individually select her skin/head, but that is getting complicated for all the photos I have to edit. I am still learning, so if anyone has some tips for me, please feel free to pass them along!

A lot of people use different filters/actions on images to make them look vintage and I am interested in learning how to do that as well, although I wouldn't use this effect for clothing I am going to sell because it wouldn't truly represent them.

So anyway, I am editing pictures and getting a few items up on Etsy! Will post more about that soon.

Blackbird Attic Holiday 2010 Windows

Finally got around to getting some window shots this past weekend. Still need to take some night ones, but you get the gist. That snow took us awhile to get right, but I am really happy with it! Luckily I have a boyfriend that comes from a family of perfectionist present wrappers.. and perfectionist pretty much everything (which can be both good and bad!). The fireplace is made out of cardboard, spray-paint, and masking tape. We tried to do the "real" fire thing with a fan and light but it wasn't working out as hoped. Anyway, our house is lacking any sort of decoration but we're going to try and get some things up this week. I love my Christmas decorations, I do.













You can see all the shots on Blackbird Attic's facebook.

Store Photos

By the power of internet connection aka modelmayhem.com, I was able to be linked up once again with a photographer. This time with someone who has been photographing for years, working for magazines, and who wanted to build up his own personal portfolio. Perfect for me, I let him have free rein with the store and here are some of the shots he took.
























Photos courtesy of Glenn Bo (http://glennebo.com)

I love these photos and am so grateful for kind photographers ; ). In other news, yesterday was quite a busy Thursday! A few people dropped off some great items including a bunch of men's shirts (but ladies, you will not be disappointed either). I am going to get everything input and out into the store for the weekend! Other things on my to-do list include contacting Etsy sellers about carrying their handmade items, decorating my store window for the holidays and getting more items online. Time to get busy..

Ps. Anyone know how to get the border off the photos on blogspot?

Photoshoot

I had a big photo shoot the other weekend with the lovely photographer, Courtney Scalzo (she has great rates, takes great photos, and brought me a model!), so that I could get started on my online boutiques. It's hard to do a photo shoot while also running shop, so thankfully I had help from fellow vintage-seller and friend Mikhaila of All the Pretty Birds. I actually met her because she brought in some clothing to consign and I found we had a lot in common. There is a little backyard behind my shop, it's pretty run-down, but it offered an interesting backdrop to my photos only a door away.

Courtney is in the process of editing photos for me, and while she does that, I am measuring clothing and posting them on my online boutique and Etsy! I used to sell my soap and other bath products on Etsy so I figured I would do a little of both with my new endeavor. If anyone has any feedback for me let me know! Otherwise, stay tuned as I update with new items.