Those of us that have straight, straight, utterly straight hair know the glory that is...curly hair.  Lucky.

I've been having fun playing with these commercial shots for Gilding the Lily, a brand-new clothing line designed for...greyhounds!  A few cross-processed samples are shown below. 

Pictured above -- the Diva hat (starting at $25), the Uptown Hound (formalware starting at $99), and the raincoat (starting at $49).  Leave comments for the lovely creators of these pieces, Barbara and Susan!

On a photography note -- LIGHTROOM!  I finally installed that bad boy, and WOW!  It cures my need for instant gratification, as it's even faster than Photoshop at making my images look poy-fect.   

Isn't he the cutest?

These two were in the studio a few weeks ago -- and, while they charmed the bejoobies out of me, I haven't gotten around to blogging them until now.  Finnegan is *hysterical.*  He makes all sorts of silly expressions -- and no, I didn't ask him to pose like a GQ model.  That comes naturally.

Reese is an overachiever.  She's crawling and standing with help and generally advanced in motor-skills for her age, all while being unbelievably cute.  I've been playing with my own form of processing for portraits, so I hope you enjoy it!

Little Crinkle-bug!  I love the way Reese smiles! 

Someone asked me this week what my favorite thing about my job is, and I said, "I STILL fall in love with every kid I meet.  STILL."  Which means I'm exactly where I need to be, doing exactly what I should be doing. Thanks for making that possible. 

Meet Hatcher.  He wasn't sure he liked me (not even a little), then he took a snack break and loved the camera right up.  Isn't he just friggin gorgeous?

And this totally cracks me up...little chub-uh-lub!

I want to thank all of you for your kind words about the studio lately...we've put some major effort into upcycling household items to make them useful again, and also changed out lots of displays and product offerings!  (Yes, my desk is a door.  A really, really neat door from an old house.  And I heart it.) 

Now that Vanessa has three kids, she never gets to sneak a peek at her studio images after the shoot...so I chose a few favorites to post. 

 

And then she was done with me...

 

Megan Kristel changed my mind.  I hadn't worn heels in a long time.  I hadn't busted out pantyhose and 'professional' attire since I finished teaching two years ago.  I heard her talk at the eWomen Network meeting in April, and...I've worn a dress to work THREE times this week.  It's unprecedented.  Megan has this perfect, funny, endearing way of making you feel really, really sorry that you haven't been dressing like a rockstar each and every minute of your life.  Visit her personal shopping/image consulting/general fabulousness here.  

Oh, and her family came in for a shoot this week!  They rocked the studio, and Miss Maddie made me giggle furiously.  The results?

...and yes, I've been blog slacking, people...truth is, I've been at my computer a lot less than usual this week...installing, moving, and changing things in the studio big time.  The place is looking ROCKIN,' and is improving by the minute!  Much thanks to Mr. Hoge, who rocks the casbah with his know-how and phone calls that start with, "I hear you need a screwdriver with a man on the end of it.  How about I come over in half an hour?"  I can only hope I'm that awesome at 70-plus...

After back-to-back-to-back-to-back sessions, I'm a little tired. But this shot makes me giggle...alright, guffaw. 

Ellie's slideshow is done!  Click HERE to view.  {You may have to download a plug-in before it will play.  Download it, it's legit!  Also, you need to click on Ellie's picture or press play for the show to start.}  Happy viewing!