May we all be every so lovely and happy when we are pregnant!  This maternity session was done recently.  Here is a little preview while I work away at editing them up.  It’s hard to pick a favorite, but I love the first one here.  More to come!  To book your maternity session use the contact form and get in touch now.

More photos from the styled wedding portrait session in the Las Vegas Desert!  This lovely couple did a great job posing out in the wind and cold, but it was worth it.  To book your own styled wedding, engagement, boudoir or family shoot contact us now via the contact page.  We are based in the Miami South FL area but are available for travel.

Ask about our new metal prints!  They are lovely and best of all…ECO-Friendly!  We love eco-friendly products at Persian Kitty Kat Photography and are pleased to offer you this unique archival way to display your treasured memories!

Eco Friendly & Archival!

• Scratch resistant
• Water resistant
• UV resistant
• Will NOT warp or yellow with age
• Contains no VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds)
• Contains no lead or other heavy metals or phthalates
• Aluminum panels are 100% recyclable!

More Options!

• Metal Prints As Is
• Metal Prints with 3/4″ Float Backing
• Easels for sizes 11×14 and smaller, including 8″ and 11″ circles
• Standard sizes from 4×6 up to 30×40
• Circles: 8″, 11″, 16″, 20

Grace Murray Hopper quote - A ship in port is safe, but that’s not what ships are built for.

This old photo I took reminded me of that quote.  It’s a good one.

She is a belly dancer that also does traditional Persian Dance, check out her site! www.bellydancebyamiramiami.com

Amira is available for weddings and other events.  She works in the South FL Miami Dade county and Fort Lauderdale areas.

He is awesome.

I think they might be a mother and child.  So cute!  The older one went to all the little ones and appeared to kiss them.

I want this tree.  Someone tell me it grows in South FL.

There is my husband Stephen trying to find out where we are.  Versailles is so big you can actually get lost.  But what a lovely place to get lost in!

OK please tell me mine is not the only husband that does this move.  He stretches or something like this.  It looks so funny.  Maybe it’s a tall person problem.  ::shrugs::

This was neat.  They have these little small ballroom looking things in the middle of the garden areas with large windows and doors on all sides to bring the outdoors in.

I never saw these strange yellow flowers before.  Not sure if I really like them, but wow are they vibrant.

There is one in every family…  ;)

More on my adventures in Versailles in another blog!
Prints for all my photos are available by request.

While wandering the animal farm areas in Marie-Antoinette’s fake peasant village on the grounds of her Petit Trianon at Versailles, the Hameau, I found this charming Frenchman fixing a fence.  As I paused to snap a quick photo of his crack a French woman walked up to be laughing her heart out saying “naughty, naughty” and shaking her finger.  Then she smiled and laughed while I giggled and walked away.

The peasant village is absolutely a dream come true.  If only I could recreate it someplace private (modernizing the kitchens and bathroom obviously) it would be heaven on Earth.

Yes, Marie Antoinette had her own bunch of BUNNIES!  So cute and cuddly.

More adventure awaits, and cute animals in my next blog post on the fabulous peasant village of Marie Antoinette!

No one seems to be able to picture just how their photo enlarged will look in their home.  Here’s a little help.  Hope you find it useful in visualizing your favorite photo somewhere displayed in your home.

http://www.xrite.com/custom_page.aspx?PageID=75

Equipment

A reliable monitor cannot be stressed enough. Manufacturers such as NEC and EIZO are preferable.
Color management experts recommend a monitor be no older than a few years and cost no less than
$500. When it comes to monitors, you get what you pay for! It is a cardinal sin of color management to
view or edit images on a laptop. Laptops are neither consistent nor reliable for profiling and proofing.
Remember to keep your monitor’s brightness in check (your prints don’t emit light!) and shoot for 6500
Kelvin.

Your monitor’s light is not enough – you need simulated daylight in your workspace. Bulbs manufactured
by Solux provide consistent and reliable industry standardized lighting at the ideal 5000 Kelvin. Beware
of bargain bulbs labeled “daylight”.

View
To see what your lab will see, view your images in daylight with the lights on. Remember that your
monitor and your print are inherently different. Your monitor emits lights, whereas your print absorbs
light. View your print in the same light that you edited your image.

Calibrate
Calibration in its least refined form requires matching the white from a print to the white of a monitor.
However, since you are a professional photographer and not a professional calibration device, monitor calibration must must must be executed by an actual calibration device for reliable, practical, and
consistent results. Colorvision Spyder devices and the X-rite i1Display2 are great options, however this
technology is constantly changing and updating, so keep your ears and eyes peeled. Follow the manufacturer’s specifications for the best results.

Calibrate to the following recommended specs:
Gamma: 2.2
White Balance/Color Temp: 6500
Brightness/Luminance/cd/m2: 120

Embed
An image without an embedded color space is worthless. Always embed your chosen color space. There
is no “right” color space in digital photography. It all depends on your image, your substrate, and your
output device. However, chose practically – neither too large nor too small. Common spaces like sRGB
and Adobe RGB 1998 fit well within the output capabilities of well profiled professional imaging labs
and include an impressively wide color range. Larger color spaces like ProPhoto RGB require special
attention in editing and proofing.

Soft-proof
Proofing with your lab’s soft-proofing profile allows you to see your images through the eyes of your
lab’s printer. During editing it is helpful to toggle proofing (command+y in photoshop) to see how your
image will look as it comes off the lab’s printer. Keep your eye on wide gamut colors like yellows,

Repeat
Congratulations, color manager! Your workflow is now officially color managed. Once a workflow like
this is initiated, maintenance is your next step. Calibrate your monitor about every two weeks and keep
your eye on the industry for technology and developments for color managing your art. My favorite resource for how-to and how-come questions is www.colorwiki.com.

Thanks to Pro-DPI for all the great tips!

For our first ever newborn photography session we offered our special friend a little session with her little one.  I was expecting a sleepy brand new little bundle, but since she had to spend some extra time in the hospital by the time she got to me she was an excited and curious little baby.  She looked around the entire session for mama with her bright eyes.  She was about 3 weeks old for her session.  Newborn sessions are best before 11 days old for those sleepy poses.