Last night while on my way home from doing a little shopping I was passing by my local Savers store and just couldn't resist. So I headed inside. I didn't have anything particular in mind to purchase so I was just mostly looking.  I ended up in the children's section and found 3 pair of brand new Nike basketball shorts for my little boy for $1.49 each!  And then I headed over to the children shoes section.  When I stumbled upon these rain boots for $3.99 I knew I had to have them!  I purchased them and secretly hoped that a rain day was in the near future.  

When I woke up this morning I coudln't have been more thrilled!  I am in much need of some R&R time with my little guy! So for today - our agenda is to watch movies, go stomp in puddles, find worms, and get wet!  After all of this I hope he crashes for a nice lenghty nap so I can too! =) What are your plans this beautiful Rainy Friday?!

ps - Yes he did pick his outfit out all by himself! Ha!  He loves the boots and refuses to take them off!  

Check out our super fun New Canvas Bag Collection!!!  Our Sample arrived yesterday so here a few fun pics to introduce the new line.  There's only one little problem - we need your help to name the new line!  Check out our board on Pinterest titled New Canvas Collection, re-pin it with a name attached and check back to see if we picked the names you submitted!

You can check out our New Canvas Collection Board Here

Last night while checking out some fun craft ideas I stumbled upon this photo, I actually pinned this one a little while ago but just hadn't gotten around to it.  Well last night I was determined to figure out where I could find/buy a super cute tree so I could make this for my mom for mother's day.  We just re-did their office and it would look amazing in there.  So I googled, and searched and searched and couldn't find a single tree that would work =( . Time to utilize other resources, so I emailed my super talented friend Beth at http://bethsgreatgraphics.blogspot.com/ and asked her if there was anyway she could or would create a custom tree for me.  And she did!  

The left is my inspiration from pinterest  and the right is the custom made tree from Beth.

Here is the one I made for my self

And here is one I made for my mom!

As you can see, I chaged the leaves on this one to the same color as the tree, and I changed a few things on the birds.  I removed the wing on the bird with one beak so it can be the boy bird, and on the baby birds I just removed their feet and made them a little smaller.  After I created this picture for my mom I knew I needed to share! So I emailed Beth and she has agreed to let any Cheeky Fans who would like to, download the tree and birds for free from now until Monday! Hooray! This will make one fabulous last minute gift for your mom!!! You could even turn it into her card if you wanted! Here is what I did with mine - I printed it out on normal printer paper on my home printer, used an ikea frame I already had and viola! A fabulous gift for my Momma!

The tree and birds will only be available until Monday so hustle on over there! http://bethsgreatgraphics.blogspot.com/  Enjoy! 

Mint is everywhere and I couldn't be more thrilled! I have been obsessed with Turquoise my entire life, and mint just feeds that addiction.  I have been wanting to hit up my local thrift store so I can dye just about anything I can get my hands on, and today is the day!  I am heading to my local Hobby Lobby and will be picking up some Tulip Dye Green Vert for $2.00! and then off to savers.  I want to dye tank tops, t-shirts, cardigans, jeans, shorts, skirts, a scarf and so much more!  Stay tuned for my before and after photos!!!

If you are looking for some more fun Mint DYE ideas you can follow my All Things Mint Board here

Earlier this week I was desperatly searing for a Mum stencil to make the rug for my mom for Mother's Day, when I stumbled upon greatgraphicsdesigns.com I fell in love with all of her work.  So I purchased her mum designs but couldn't help browsing through the rest of her amazing work and that's when I found this!  Her Digital Backgrounds in Yellow and Grey.  It was love! I had to purchase it!  You get 14 different yellow and grey super duper cute designs for only $6.00!  Think of all the possibilities!!!

Here are a few different lay outs I came up with.  If you purchase some you won't be dissapointed!  I Promise!!! I had so much fun playing around with these I can't wait to purchase loads more of her fun color cordinated backgroungs.  

Aren't they so fun!!! Happy Saturday and head on over to www.greatgraphicdesigns.com to see for yourself!

Every year the Saturday before Mother's day me, my mother, and three sisters all dress

up in fun ridiculous vintage dresses, giant oversized hats and sip lemonade out of little

tea cups. We have done this for years and we all look forward to it all day long.  My sister

plans the menu, she does all finger goods and always brings her portable chocolate fondue fountain.  I provide the vintage clothing, hats, and accessories.  I have a huge obsession

with anything vintage. My twin little sisters do all of the decorating and my mother gets to

just show up and enjoy!!!  We go all out for our Mother's Day Tea Parties! I am pulling my inspiration for this year from these lovely photos I found floating around on Pinterest.  

 What are your Mother's Day Traditions?

We use vintage cupcakes every year but I love the idea of stacking them as table decorations!

I'm crazy about this color scheme. Light pink, hot pink, and blue! and I love the Mason jars!!!

I LOVE that the frosting on these cupcakes is little hats!!!! I think I will have to make these for sure!

We ALWAYS wear big floppy hats like this beautiful purple one, but i think I may need to make a hair accessory like her flower!

Mother's day is on it's way and I've been scouring pinterest and the internet for some awesome tutorials for DIY gifts that I think would make any mom thrilled but especially MY mom.

Here are my favorites so far and yes I do intend to make everyone of them this year!  I will do a fun post of them after I have created them. I am super hopeful to get them done before Mother's day so let's cross our fingers!

The first and biggest DIY craft I want to tackle is to make an outdoor rug for my mom.  She has a gorgeous long porch that leads up to her door and it is in desperate need of a fun colorful rug.  The few I have found in stores are upwards of $300!  Yikes! So, my goal is to make it for $80 or less! I'll keep you posted on this one for sure.  You can check out 2 different tutorials I am going to try to combine for mine.  Here is the first and here is the second.  Wish me luck with this one!

The next craft I really want to try is this gorgeous Bird Feeder, here is the pin My mom goes crazy for anytihng for her yard.  We always joke that she loves her garden more than her kids... I bet somedays it is true! =) 

I am also planning on doing these 2 other garden gift ideas!  The first is to make these fun garden markers out of clay and the other is to make this garden chandelier out of hanging baskets!

You can find the garden pin here and the chandelier pin here

The last 3 crafts I want to attempt are all fairly simple and super cheap to make!  Here is the Tshirt Refashion pin, here is the wooden painted spoon pin and here is the birds nest necklase pin

"Keep Calm and MOTHER ON!" What craft are you making for your mother?

I've been a huge fan of Kids and Film for a while!  My passion for photography started in a dark room in my high school.  We had a killer photography department, we were able to develop our own film, learn the entire process, and make prints with our bare hands.  For me it was love.  I could spend hours and hours in the dark room, learning how to burn and dodge with my hands.  I learned so many valuable lessons about photography and all the fundamentals that it is built on.  When you learn how to shoot film, there is no automatic setting on your camera to be your crutch.  You HAVE to know shutter speeds, aperture (F- Stops), white balance, ISO all of the above and you have to understand how they work together so you can produce the images that you want.  I learned how to shoot film on an old Fujica ST 605N. Kids and Film and I have a lot in common.  They too are passionate about shooting in Film, they are also crazy passionate about getting kids involved in this.  They have 2 main purposes The first is "the combination of learning the art of photography with the awesomeness of holding an analog camera is something that will attract kids from all walks of life and who knows, maybe even inspire the future CEO of Kodak or Ilford."  Their 2nd reason is to keep film alive! If you have a child who 18 or younger send them here to submit their photos!  I love Kids and Film for many reasons but the fact that they are a non-profit and work closely with homeless/disadvantaged kids makes me love them even more!  Head on over and like their page today so you can be informed of their next contest!!! Thank you Kids and Film for running such an awesome company! 

Are you a photographer who has been longing to be featured for your amazing children and family photography?  Are you frustrated because you don’t know

where to submit these stunning photos? Are you tired of hearing about your

friends wedding photography making it onto all sorts of sites?  Well, fret no

more - Let The Kids is here to change that! 

They are a blog that is devoted to featuring newborn babies, kids, families,

high school seniors and senior couples.  They also have great tutorials and

techniques that they share!  If youhaven’t visited their site go NOW =) You

won’t be sad you did! I promise!!!You can also become a Facebook fan here

so you can see all the fun new poststhey share! Here are a few of my favorite

images I have seen on there recently. Isn’t she to Die for???

Photos were submitted by the incredibly talented Becky Earl you can view more of Becky's work here -http://www.beckyearlart.com/

If you live in Utah and have ALWAYS wanted to attend a photography workshop but couldn't afford it because they were starting in the thousands, plus travel, and food, and all the other expenses it just wasn't practical - I have a solution! The incredibly talented Brooke Davis with Blush Photography is doing a 2 day workshop this weekend for only $650.00! This is a screaming good deal considering she is bringing 3 additional professional photographers to her workshop - which means you get the price of 3 photographers expertise for the price of one!

Here is a quick summary of what is going down at this shindig;  First thing we are doing is shooting some engagements to go over lighting, posing, and how to direct your clients to get the results you want.  We will also go over the business side of things and help you get the ball rolling for your business. There will be loads of time for Q & A which is the most priceless part of this whole event.  You can literally ask anything photography related! We are then going to tackle photoshop do's and don’ts and ( one of the best perks of this workshop is Brooke is so graciously including a DVD of everything we cover so you don't have to stress remembering every little thing!)  Then we will head out and go a gown shoot ( I am sooooo excited about this part of the workshop). 

Here is the only catch there is only 1 seat left.  So if you are at all interested in eating amazing food, meeting incredible contacts, learning mind-blowing techniques and spending the weekend with me (Summer Green) Then shoot Brooke an email as fast as humanly possible =) You can contact Brooke at blushbybk@gmail.com 

With wedding season just around the corner there isn't a better time then now to beef up your site and start booking more weddings than ever before!  Check out these awesome steps to a bigger client base that are totally free!

This is you celebrating your recent success =)  

1. Get your business on Facebook! I can't stress this enough!  There are a few reasons this is so valuable for your business.  First and foremost it lets you interact with your clients instantly.  Everyone will see when they post on your wall and tell you how much they LOVE the photos you did for them! It will work as an instant word of mouth referral to all of their friends, if you are friends with them and can tag them in the photo.  I suggest becoming friends with your clients =) Another reason is because you have complete control over how often you want to upload photos, unlike many websites that you have to contact your web builder and wait for them to have time to do it.  You can do it all by yourself and quickly.  Also another great way to utlize facebook is to do fun giveaways to build your fan base.  Facebook is so important because right now people are spending more time on facebook than any other social site.  Facebook pages are free to set up and take just a few short minutes.  I would recommend every photographer get a facebook page!

2. Set up a Pinterest account! It can be a personal or business one.  Pinterest is creating a fabulous two way road when it comes to sharing ideas. For example photographers can be pining images that they love or that give them inspiration and potential clients can use it to start collecting images for their dream wedding. If you are looking for more detailed information on how to utlize Pinterest check out this post here: http://www.themoderntog.com/ultimate-pinterest-guide-for-photographers

3. Make sure you are pulling up in search engines such as google and bing.  There are loads of local listing companies that offer free listings.  Take advantage of this and get your business listed on as many of them as you can find!  The more frequently your site is visited the better SEO rating you have and the higher your site will start to pull up organically. Ready. Set. Go. It's time to start booking weddings! =) Good luck!

One of my dear and talented friends Ciara Richardson shot these breath taking bridals

last fall and her photos have been circulating Pinterest nonstop since she uploaded them!  

I love the duo between the plaid button up and the gorgeous skirt (which was constructed

out of an old prom dress!)  This just gets my creative juices flowing!  How about you?  

Do you have a dream bridal shoot in your mind that you are just wainting for the right

bride to come along and let you play?! 

You can view the entire series here! If you love this session as much as I do feel free to pin or repin it from here!

I stumbled upon this contest on Facebook.  It looks like a super fun one to enter!  If any of you are fans do decide to enter make sure you post a photo with the link to your photos on our wall so we can all vote for each other! I want to enter and really would love to win the the 2nd prize the gift certificate to borrowlenses.com

chek out the contest here! https://www.facebook.com/guragear/app_254553244581393

Looking for some fun last minute Easter Ideas to put a little hop in your step?  These are just my top 5 ideas I found while browings Pinterest.

This First one is a picture of Strawberries dipped in Orange colored chocolate! Such a fun idea!

How fun are these?  All you need is small water ballons, colored string, and glue.                                                           

And for the colored eggs, use some plants to create these organic looking colored Easter Eggs

Looking for a fun way to spruce up the 'ol Easter Egg Hunt?  Why not use glow sticks and make it a fun Glow in the Dark Hunt?! This would be especially fun for an older crowd!

And one of my favorite Easter traditions; recycled silk tie egg dying!

Check out my Last Minute Easter Board for more fun ideas! http://pinterest.com/summertgreen/last-minute-easter/

Oh MY gosh! I had the absolute best time ever looking through each one of your boards.  You guys have inspired me in so many ways!!!! 

And the moment you have all been waiting for.... The WINNER of the Pin It To Win It Cheeky Lime Bag giveaway is-

Erin Wadsworth Anderson!!!! YAHOOO Erin we will shoot you an email shortly to let you know what bags we have in stock!

Thank you so much to everyone who participated and pinned/repinned our bags! We love our fans!!!!

Here is a link to Erin's board if you would like to check it out! 

http://pinterest.com/ewander/pin-it-to-win-it/

We have seen so many awesome pins that you have pinned to your boards we decided to start a board called From Our Fans.  Here are a few of my favorites so far!

If you want to see more pins we pinned from fans be sure to check out our From Our Fans Board on Pinterest Here

HAPPY FRIDAY!!!

Just wanted to clarify on the bag that the winner will be receiving.

Due to our totally awesome fans, we have had a large increase in traffic to our site and have been selling our bags like hot cakes so we may not be able to award you with the same bag you pinned.

However, the winner of our awesome Pin It To Win It contest will get to pick the bag of their choice from our existing inventory.

Don't be sad after all this is still a $98-$129 Value!

Happy Pinning!

If you LOVE pining as much as we do then this contest is for you!  We have created this contest to get to know our fans a little better through their boards!

Here's the deal:

We want you to select one of our bags from the board titled Our Bags and create a board tilted Pin It To Win It Dream Bag with all the photography goodies that you have been drooling over =) .  We want to see you get creative and have fun with this.

HOW TO ENTER:

- Follow us on Pinterest 

- Create a board titled: Pin It To Win It Dream Bag

- You must include one of our bags in your board and have a tleast 6 images on your board, the more the better!

- Like us on Facebook if you don't already Cheeky Lime

-Leave us a comment on our facebook Page with a link to your board

The Winner:

The winner will receive One Free Cheeky Lime bag and will be featured on our blog!

The boards will be graded on their 1) style   2) Creativity   3) Knowledge 

The winner will be announced next Thursday night March 29th at 7:00 PM

Apple released The New iPad today!  If you have been thinking to yourself.... I really need (want) one of those! Then you are in luck!  Listen to the 5 main reasons you NEED an iPad for your photography business!

Reason number 1 - I learned this little trick from a friend a little over a year ago and have watched it work its magic over and over.  Here is what you do and why you NEED an iPad.  After you shoot the wedding take your memory card and slip it into the ipad, then select your favorite 200+ images and upload them into an album.  You must have faith in your images because you can't really edit on the iPad but that's ok!  Then you take the iPad with you to the reception and walk up to a table or group of people and ask if they would like to see images that you captured earlier at the wedding.  They will undoubtedly say Yes!  Then ask them to please pass it around when they are finished.  No joke you will book a wedding from someone at this wedding who just saw your amazing raw work right there on the ipad.  I have booked a few this way and have seen friends book this way too!  It works as at instant referral to everyone who sees and plays with the iPad.

Reason number 2.  When you are meeting with potential clients it is a super snazzy way to show them your portfolio, your website, you can even upload your contract and have them sign it electronically.  This is sure to be a crowd pleaser.

Reason number 3.  You can take it to bridal shows that you are in and let every single person who walks by pick it up and play with it and scroll through tons of your images.  This not only beats the prices of getting large prints printed, but you only have to pay for it once and you can load as many images as you would like! Plus, you can load your package prices, have brides sign up for email notifications the possibilities are endless!

Reason number 4.  You can use it as a prop 

Reason number 5.  It will make a killer addition when you do the big reveal if you upload a fun slide show of images and music and hand it to the bride and her groom and let them scroll through all the images!

Check out this stellar camera strap brouht to you by DSPTCH!  

What is not to love about the military-grade nylon webbing, easy and quick release latches, and is adjustable from 32-48 inches!

The DSPTCH Strap is made in San Francisco by an independent designer who's a photographer himself, so you know it was designed with the photographer in mind.

For just $46 you can choose between black an olive and have great piece of mind knowing your strap is super good looking and doing its job well!  You can pick one up here

I have a good friend who used to do Pinterest Wedding Photography giveaways.  She called it "Pin it to Win it"  Cute right?! This is such a fun and unique idea to get your name out there, to get more followers on pinterest/facebook and to get to know your bride and the type of wedding she is planning before you pick the winner.  If you want to check out my friend's giveaway and how she did it click Here

Here are a few of my favorite wedding boards that I have stumbled upon over the past few months.  Enjoy!

Photo booths seem to be the craze right now so if you are a photographer in Utah and you are looking to add a Photo Booth to your packages check out their site here

>> Dustin Izatt Photo Booths <<

Dustin and his wife Tiffany are passionate about photography and have been doing weddings for the past 8 years. If you are looking for a super awesome couple to work with who have an upscale photo booth with the coolest props around then check them out.  They only print high quality images that are produced in 10 seconds or less and the bride and groom get to pick between color and black and white.  They have several different packages that can work with almost any budget and their booths are so large they can accommodate parties of up to 10 adults at one time! Talk about priceless photos!!! These are a few of my favorite images from one of their recent weddings! 

Wouldn't a book of fun silly faces of all your friends and family make the best wedding keepsake ever?!  I certainly think so!

Canon shooters and lovers Eat your Hearts out!!! Canon released the Canon 5D Mark III today!

Here is a list of the specifications. 

1. Sensor: 22.3 MP full frame sensor
2. Sensor Size: 36 x 24mm
3. Native ISO Sensitivity: 100-25,600
4. Boost Low ISO Sensitivity: 50
5. Boost High ISO Sensitivity: 51,200-102,400
6. Image Size: 5760 x 3840
7. Processor: DIGIC 5+
8. Metering System: iFCL metering with 63-zone dual-layer sensor
9. Metering Types: Centre-weighted, Spot, Evaluative, Partial
10. Dust Reduction: Yes
11. Weather Sealing/Protection: Yes
12. Body Build: Full Magnesium Alloy
13. Shutter: Up to 1/8000 and 30 sec exposure
14. Shutter Durability: 150,000 cycles
15. Storage: 1x CF slot and 1x SD slot
16. Viewfinder Type: Optical TTL
17. Viewfinder Coverage: 100%
18. Speed: 6 FPS
19. Built-in Flash: No
20. Additional Exposure Modes: Silent and low vibration
21. Autofocus System: Advanced 61-point high-density reticular AF (up to 41 cross-type points)
22. LCD Screen: 3.2 inch diagonal Clear View LCD II with 1.04 million dots
23. Movie Modes: Full 1080p HD with ISO 100-12,800, expandable to ISO 25,600
24. Movie Exposure Control: Full
25. Movie Output: AVI, H.264/MPEG-4 in MOV Format (Compressed)
26. In-Camera HDR Capability: Yes
27. Live View: Yes
28. Camera Editing: Lots of in-camera editing options with HDR capabilities
29. GPS: No
30. Battery Type: LP-E6
31. Battery Charger: LC-E6
32. USB Standard: 2.0
33. HDMI Port: Yes
34. Mic Port: Yes
35. Wireless: No built-in wireless, optional wireless accessory
36. Physical Dimensions: 152 x 116.4 x 76.4mm
37. Weight: 860g (body only)
38. Price: $3,499

For more detailed information visit here

We have been super excited to put this giveaway together! We wanted to show our fans just how much we love them and what better timing than just one day after the pink and teal Classic Bags were available to purchase!  So here is how it works!  Follow the link we posted on facebook or twitter and fill out the information that it asks for and BAM you're done! Now wasn't that easy!!! The winner will be announced next Wednesday night at 9:00 PM and will get to chose between the Pink Classic Bag and the Teal Classic Bag!  Good luck and hurry and go enter here!

To all of our incredible, loyal, and patient fans!  Here they are!!!! The Pink and Teal Classic bags!

These babies will hit our store tonight at midnight so if you want one, you just might want to stay up late tonight to make sure you get one!!!!

We have all seen cool gadgets that are compatible with the iPhone4 and 4S but the GIZMON iCA is taking gadgets to a whole different level.

It is made up of 32 separate Polycarbonate parts!  Plus you can still use all iPhone functions while the GIZMON iCA on your phone!  It is the best of both worlds!

The GIZMON iCA comes loaded with an iPhone case, thin mock-lens, a multi-use tripod stand, 2 rings for the strap and a pouch! If you love taking pictures with you iPhone the GIZMON iCA will take your photos to the next level!

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!!!!

Last week we posted and asked if anyone has shot a love story lately.  Here is a collection of all of our favorites from each submission!

This first heart warming image is by: Carleeh Mulholland Photography 

The 2nd image is from Renee Logan Heller I LOVE the love captured in this one!

Nicole Campbell of http://www.theairmanswife.com/blog/2012/1/30/engagement-brandi-and-clifton.html sent over this breath taking pic!

These gorgeous pics were submitted by Rachel Holt of http://saltandlightphoto.com/blog/?p=784

This fabulous sparkly photo is by Heather Williams Ottman

This  super cute one was sent by https://www.facebook.com/ArcticRosePhotography 

And last but certainly not least, these fun shots were captured by S. Sodini Photography

Thank you to everyone who posted links!!! Have a fabulous VDAY!

Want to hear a secret? Shooting babies terrifies me. I don't know why probably becasue I haven't had a lot of time behind a camera when it comes to shooting babies. Luckily in photography there are always opportunities to push yourself and try things that seem scary.  So after one of my very best friends had her baby a week ago she asked me to come and take come photos of her sweet little angel. Since my baby is a little over 2 it's been a very long time since I have photographed a baby.  But I must say I think these turned out pretty darn cute.

What are some tips and tricks some of you baby shooting connoisseurs have?  I came to the conclusion that as some of you mentioned on my status less is more, natural light is everything and patience is key.  What else helps capture those timeless moments that make a new mom look at the photos and instantly tear up? What are your favorite poses for newborns, props, backdrops?  If you had to have additional lighting what would you recommend?  

Nikon lovers and users hide your wallets!  Nikon announced on Monday that they are releasing the D800 which offers a whopping 36.3 megapixel full-frame CMOS sensor,  crazy high (6400) ISO sensitivity, plus ... wait for it... A variety not one or two but a VARIETY of High Definition Video modes!!! This camera is literally blowing my mind! 

Isn't she a beauty?! Similar to the D4 that was announced last month, the D800 uses a 51-point autofocus system that is sensitive down to -2EV.  It also has the new 91,000 pixel 3D color matrix metering and Advanced Scene Recognition System that compares the image in the viewfinder with a database of previously captured images and their exposure settings. The D800 body is identical in size to the D700 but all the rounded corners and curves make it more sleek and sexy like the D4. The resolution on this baby is comparable to that of medium format cameras which are pricey little buggars, with prices starting roughly $10,000 and that's the base price.  At only $3,000 this camera is a steal of a deal!   

A few weeks ago I stumbled upon a question on Twitter that I felt applied directly to my life and it got me thinking.  I am curious how many of our readers / fb fans are also stay at home moms that work? Here's the question-

"Those of you who work at home with small kids - how do you do it?  Do you set a schedule and stick to it with strict work hours?  Where are the kids during that time?"

Here is my response to this question, I don't have set hours, my work hours depend solely on my little guy and his mood. Some days I will wake up early and work before he gets up, other times I will let him sit in my lap and watch a movie on half of my computer screen. Sometimes he is just too demanding so I have to wait patiently for his naptime to get anything work related done. Other times I wait until the evening when my hubby can help out and I work then.  It varies from day to day. This makes me feel less like a worker and more like a mom.  My husband also works from home so sometimes if he needs to run errands like going to the bank, or other random places he offers to take our child with him.  I know this schedule wouldn't work for everyone but it works for us!  Let me know what your schedule is like and how it works for you.  

Do you wrestle with guilt while you work?  Does your family depened on your income or do you feel like it is a blessing to be able to balance being a mom while bringing in some extra money?  I know for me, I love being a stay at home mom and I also love being able to bring in a little money every month.  Share your thoughts! 

We have received lots of questions about how much equpiment the Livy bag can hold.  Here is a break down of exactly how much storage it has.  I was able to fit my:

5D Mark II Body

85mm f1.2 lens

72mm f2.8 lens

24-70mm lens

Ipad

Speedlite 580Ex II flash

battery charger

batteries for my flash

lens cleaning wipes

extra memory cards

my wallet

and my lip gloss

One of the best feautures of this bag is that the interior is easy to re-arrange to fit your equpiment as you need it. Before I got this bag I had to seperate my equipment into two different bags and that was such a bulky feeling.  Plus I love how it has 2 different strap choices.  You can carry it by the short braided straps to keep it closer to you or you can wear it over your shoulder with the longer strap.  Hopefully these pictures will show just how much storage this baby has!

I LOVE fun colorful backdrops, but what I don't love is paying for backdrops.  So if you are like me and are looking

to expand your collection of backdrops then you need to hop on over to fabric.com and browse around their sale

section.  How adorable is this little girl?! This photo was taken by Karenin of Karenin Photography she is one

talented lady!  She just so happens to be the owner of Cheeky Lime and the genius behind all of the gorgeous

bags they sell.  Yep, she personally designs every single bag inside and out down to the very last detail!

This is a photo of her oldest daughter Sylie!  Here is how she made magic happen with just some simple fabric.

First- select a location with lots of natural light, here she draped the fabric over her kitchen table that is located

right behind her glass sliding doors.  For this pic she used her cannon 1.8 85mm lens and kept her iso low to 250 

her aperture was at 1.8 (to help get the fun bokeh or blur effect) and she likes to keep her shutter speed around 200

or higher to keep her images crisp and sharp. 

Thank you Karenin for your talent and making women swoon over your camera bags everywhere. =)

This is Jessica! She is a makeup artist.  Upon arriving at our shoot my first question was "oh my gosh I love your lashes who did them?!"  She smiled and replied I did, in the car on the way here, I was stunned... So if you are looking for a way to spruce up those lashes for an up coming photo shoot but don't want to pay an arm and a leg for the salon permanent ones then keep reading! After she left I couldn't resist it any longer I texted her and asked her what brand, and style of lashes she was wearing.  This was her reply - "I just buy them at Wal-mart they are all the Salon Perfect brand and they are super cheap."  Here is a lash guide of all the info that she gave me:

So- what's her big secret?  She wore all 3!  Who would have thought to layer false lashes!!! Here is the best way to apply them she said:  Do all of your eye makeup first, then apply the lashes very last, then once they are in place touch up the eyeliner to hide the lash line. Then lightly curl your real lashes and the false lashes so they stick together. Then lightly mascara them both so they stay together and you're done! If you enjoyed these lash tips you can "like" Jessica's page here .

Didn't she make one gorgeous bride?! Yes, I think so too!  Thanks Jess for the awesome lash tips!

If you have been considering learning to shoot film or like me have been wanting to return to shooting in film then there

is no better time then right now.  Eastman Kodak Co, the company that made hand-held cameras possible just filed for

chapter 11 bankruptcy. With Kodak filing they are one of the biggest corporations in the digital world to fail.

Yes the digital world of photography can be blamed for the death of Kodak but what is so ironic is that Kodak invented

digital cameras.  Don't believe me click here

"Kodak plans to continue operating through the restructuring with the help of an 18-month, $950-million credit facility from Citigroup."

So, if you have been waiting for a motivating factor to get into film, here it is.  Let's help Kodak out over the next 18 months as much as possible!

If you are interested in learning how to shoot in film there are countless tutorials, videos, and blog posts out there to help

you get started.  First things first. you need a film camera, I'm going to tell you a little secret.  It doesn't have to be fancy, or

expensive, or stylish looking.  Chances are you can pick up one from your local thrift store for around $20 bucks! So what are

you waiting for!  A great place to start is here a blog from the talented Jnathan Canlas Called Film is Not Dead

Attention Cheeky Fans! We need your help! Congress is trying to pass two bills SOPA

and PIPA.  Millions of Americans already oppose these bills because if passed they will

stunt economic growth in the US and they would dissolve free speach that is found on the internet.

Here is some additional information  PLEASE take 10 seconds and sign this petition to STOP congress!

Have you ever heard of Studio 414?  If not, you're in luck!  Studio 414 does these killer contest where you

can win either A Canon 5d Mark II, or $2,000! This latest contest ends January 15th, and they are only

accepting 250 submissions! If you have never done a contest before, do this one!

Be sure you check out their winner's gallery you can also find tons more information about them as a company

and all the official rules here! Hurry this contest ends soon!!! If any of our Cheeky Fans win we will do a blog post

about it! So- hurry and go enter!

If you 'like" our page on Facebook then you probably saw last week we posted that we wanted to offer the 

opportunity for a photographer to be spotlighted on our blog.  The response we got was so exciting and

overwhelming in the best way possible! After viewing each website... yes all 100 of them.  We finally

made our decision on who we wanted to spotlight this time.  We decided to pick Sarah Page Photography.  

The first thing that got us excited was the fact that she offered FREE

Christmas portraits to people in her local community!  Another reason we thought she was the perfect candidate

is because her work posses so much passion and talent! She is truly an incredible artist!  Here are a few images

I snagged from her website to share with you!  The first set of photos are from her Children and Familiy Category.

This second set of photos is from her category tilted Portrait and Fashion.  This is always one of my favorites!

After I had the pleasure of exchanging a few emails with Sarah, it became even more obvious what an incredible

individual she is! She is a classically trained painter and has been painting since her mom took her to a Monet Exhibit

when she was 6 or 7. Her work is simply stunning! Here is a post where she was featured at a Photography and

Printmaking Gallery in Portland! They displayed 6 of her images! You can check it out here.  Below is my favorite!

Isn't her work just breath taking?

In her emails she told me about how her DSLR died in August, but friends, fans, and family all rallied around her

and sent her old cameras to help her.  One friend Pam sent her a 1977 Minolta and 3 lenses. Her River series was all

shot with this camera and some generic cheap film from the store.  Her husband Daniel, sounds like one great guy,

helps her lug her equipment on shots, poses for her to set her lighting, and surprised her with the Mustard Livy Bag for

Christmas!  Two thumbs up for Daniel from the Cheeky Team! Sarah and a friend just started a free Art and

Literary Publication called Midnight Muse Issue 1 will launch in 4 days!

If you want to read more about Sarah visit her page here

There are oodles of photography "photo a day challenges" floating around pinterest at the moment.  I've never done one and this one called #Janphotoaday created by @fatmumslim is for January. So I am 6 days behind because I kept draggin my feet.  But, I feel like it's better late than never! So here is the start of my January Photo A Day Challenge!

I will be posting my photos weekly so you can follow along if you would like.  If you are doing a photo challenge what are you most excited about as an artist?  If you haven't ever done one why not?! If you would like more information about this particular photo a day challenge you can visit their site here! Have a great Weekend!

If you have procrastinated getting your family pictures done and now you find your self in the dead of winter wanting photos, instead of limiting your self to either indoor poorly light photos, or giving up on your wardrobe all together, here is my recommendation.  Have fun with your layers!  I love layer.  I couldn't be more thrilled that cardigans are the hot thing right now!  I love how simple but elegant they are.  They can turn any shirt or outfit into something fabulous immediately! ! So if you are planning on taking some family photos anytime soon and it's chilly where you live don't be afraid to ditch your down winter coat and go with layers instead.  

Here are a few of my favorites that I found on pinterest.  If you are looking for more inspiration go to pinterest.com and in the search box type layers. =)

I love the bright red sweater in this one     I love how elegant this white pea coat         Who knew puffy vests were sexy right?

and I love that she has a button up shirt    is, I also love how she combined red           Love her pants and shoes too!           

on underneath with an awesome plush     pants with her mustard yellow scar. 

scarf!

I love the open cardi and open button up       I love her huge scarf, gloves, hat, and           Love the pattern of her pea coat.

on this one!                                                          sweater.  She doesn't even need a coat        Also, love that she has brown pants on

                                                                               to look all bundled up and warm!                   and how she is rocking her cardi.

I love the bokeh effect!  You see it everywhere these days.  One portion of the image is crisp and sharp but the background is all illuminated and blurry. In this picutre notice how the gorgeous Mustard Yellow Livy bag is in focus and the hands, the background and everything else is blurry.

There is something majestic about the blur that adds an extra dimension to photos.  What is the easiest way to go about achieving this desired effect?  It’s all in the aperture or other words Depth of Field. A DSLR is ideal for creating this effect along with some high zoom factor zoom lenses, and a tripod.  If you aren’t familiar enough with your camera to shoot on Manual that’s ok, start with Aperture-Priority Mode to create the bokeh effect.  In order to create the desired DOF use a smaller F-stop number.

If you want to read a killer post on aperture read this post!

If you haven't ever tried editing in Lightroom I would strongly recommend it!  Adobe offers a free month trial that you can download here. A few of my photographer friends have asked me why I prefer to edit in Lightroom.  My answer is simple, I love how fast the work flow is.  You can batch edit a wedding in just under an hour.  Yep you read that correct, with lightroom you can completely edit an entire wedding in less than 60 minutes! I have found that when I edit in photoshop I am always tempted by the tools, actions, brushes and all the other fancy stuff it comes chuck full of.  But in reality all I need to do is slightly adjust my lighting and crop photos if necessary.  I love the idea of shooting all film someday (soon hopefully) so I think the less images are edited the better.  Here is a photo I took last week in a bridal shoot here in Utah at the Capital building.  My bride was brave enough to venture outside with me and endure the 30 degree temps. 

The image on the left is raw.  The image on the right was lightly edited in Lightroom.  I added a little warmth to the picture, adjusted the exposure, and slightly increased the brightness.  Isn't it amazing what lighting can do!  If you are interested in exploring lightroom I would recommend watching a few tutorial videos before you begin.  Give yourself a good hour or so to watch a fair amount of videos and you should be good to go.  Here is one of the first ones I watched that I found to be extremely helpful in getting me started.  I hope you enjoy!

Ok - if you are looking for a fabulous cost effective way to make someone a canvas just in time for christmas check out this tutorial I did it for myself and LOVED the result! 

Here is my blank canvas I did 11x14, some mod podge, a foam brush,  my picture, wax paper and my black paint that got cut out of the picture

Here is my picture covered in mod podge and here and a close up to prove that you don't have to be a perfectionist with the mod podge.  =)

And here is the final product hanging on my wall! I am in love and can't wait to make a ton more for all the grandparents in our family! 

Happy Holidays!!!

Everyone knows taking pictures in the snow is so much fun!  There is just something magical about that flowing white blanket that just covers up all the dead things and makes them look peaceful.  So- what is the best way to get your photos to turn out white instead of blue or grey?  It's all in the exposure!  Check out these 3 samples to see what exposure can do for your winter wonderland photos! 

Personally I am going through a phase where I am in LOVE with things being blown out.  So I would go with the compensation +2 but that is just my personal opinion.  I am sure many will think the +1 is plenty white.  So if you were lucky and received some new camera goodies this year then get out there and shoot in the snow! 

Dear Utah Snow Gods - please let it snow in Utah soon, my husband is becoming very impatient  to ski and I to shoot! Thank you!

Love The Greens

If you are looking for a new lens to add to your collection then check out this Canon EF-S 55-250 mm f/4.0-5.6 Telephoto Zoom Lens!  The original list price for this bad boy is $400 but it is on sale on Amazon right now for only $199!  You save over $200 if you buy it on Amazon.  

Here's the technical stuff:

Focal Length & Maximum Aperture: 55-250mm F/4-5.6

12 Elements In 10 Groups, Including One UD-glass Element

Focus adjustment: DC Motor, Gear-driven (Front Focusing Design)

Closest Focusing Distance: 3.6 Ft

 It measures 4.3 x 2.5 x 2.5 inches; 15.4 ounces

While proceeding to the check out i did qualify for free shipping yipee! But it did say that with free shipping (the standard 3-5 business days) that my item would most likely arrive AFTER December 24th.  So lucky for me this was just an item that I am purchasing and isn't a Christmas gift. So keep that in mind while shopping!

I have a dear friend and fellow photographer Sharon Johnson, her work is stunning. Her new love is shooting birth stories. This has got to be one of the strangest but coolest trends I have ever seen emerge in the world of photography.  Let's talk pro's and con's of having your delivery captured on rich, textured, gorgeous film.  Pro - when you are in delivery it is very easy to forget the little things, having it all documented makes that impossible.  Con - it is a tad pricy.  But heck, so it having a child so might as well just add it on.  Pro- the images will most likely bring you to tears every single time you look through them.  Con - the images will bring you to tears every time you look at them.  Pro- If you hire a professional, which is a MUST, you do not want your sister's neighbors' cousins' friend to shoot these for free or cheap to build her portfolio.  That will just end up a disaster for everyone.  If you get the privilege of hiring Sharon you will see instantly why she was the perfect fit.  She is professional, talented, personable, and hilarious!  You will love her the second you meet her.

Here are a few sneak peaks of a few of her recent birth stories.  If you don't live in the Northern Utah area, do a little research to find a professional photographer who offers Birth Stories.  You will be sad if you don't.  Trust me!

I have known Sharon for a long time and when I was expecting with my little guy I had a feeling delivery would be tough.  I was dead on, after 27 hours of labor, an epidural that wore off and an almost 9 pound baby that last thing I wanted was a camera in my face. Biggest regret I have about that day.  Why? Because after the baby arrived we had a hard time focusing on anything but him.  I think we have a total of 10 pictures in the hospital and my sweet hubby took them all with his phone.  I was in some new mother euphoric place and for once in my life taking pictures wasn't on my mind.  You can check out more of Sharon's work Here

The holidays are the perfect time to shoot some great photos using lights. From Christmas trees and holidays displays, to super long exposures. Here are some tips to get you started:

Christmas Trees
Capturing the beauty of a lit tree in a dark room can be made easy with a tripod. In AV mode, crank your shutter speed up and set your ISO to automatic. For the full shot of the tree I shot it at f/22 with ISO at 1600. I actually didn't use a remote but the tripod kept it steady enough that I was able to capture the lighting without getting any trails. The snowflake was shot at 3.5 with ISO 1600, also with a tripod. Both images were done at the time with a regular kit lens that came with my Canon T1i (EF-S 18-55mm) so the slower speed was able to be overcome by being held steady.

Christmas Lights
The key to these is shooting them before it gets too dark. A little after dusk you have enough ambient light to shoot without a tripod if you have a fast enough lens (for a slower lens a tripod would certainly be useful). For this example I used a Tamron 28-70mm shot at f/2.8 with an ISO 1000. When it gets fully dark, it becomes harder to get a balance between the ambient light and the Christmas lights. For more tips on shooting Christmas lights, check out this article from the Strobist.

Light Trails
These are so much fun to experiment with. In AV mode use a slow shutter speed and move the camera around during the exposure. You can play around with various exposures and movement but you get great effects with Christmas lights. These examples were shot just a few minutes laster then the one from above and I love how they almost look like sparklers.

Above all, have fun!