melissa barrick photography

It's Here!!!

2009-03-18T20:51:00.003-04:00

It's finally here!!! Remember back since October I had been promising you a new website? Well, it's finally here! With the help of a very talented Mr. Zane Perry, my new Photography Blog/Website has arrived! It's bigger, it's better and it's just beautiful!
I will no longer be updating on this blog as I have completely moved over to my new blog. BUT! Before you go anywhere just yet... I'm offering a Website Opening Special!

If you book a session with me TODAY through Tuesday, March 31, I will give you $20 worth of prints from your session for FREE!!! Book fast because this offer is only valid until March 31!

So, ladies and gentlemen, it is with great pleasure that I announce the Grand Opening of my new Photo Blog:
www.MelissaBarrickPhotography.com

Thanks for stickin' with me. I love you guys!

Mod Pink

2009-03-11T20:43:00.002-04:00

Some people have been asking me how I get my pictures to look the way they do! I use Photoshop "Actions" to do all sorts of things to my pictures: boost the color, make eyes sparkle, increase the sharpness, create texture, black and white, etc. Most of my actions come from The Pioneer Woman and are free for download, and some of them come from Totally RAD.
As you saw in this post, I used one action almost exclusively for all the pictures. They had a sort of 70's feel to them, and it's becoming one of my favorite to use... it's Polaroid-esque and primitave, but comforting at the same time. I used that same action (in combination with a few others) to create this look on one of my beautiful neices. What do you think?

Wintry Mix

2009-03-08T17:18:00.004-04:00

Isn't Maryland weather strange?! I've had about enough of the cold... so thankfully, it was a beautiful 70-75 degrees this whole weekend! I hope that you were able to get outside and take a walk or wash the salt off your car, or even just open up the windows and take in some fresh air!

Unfortunately, this good thing isn't lasting long. It's back to the 30 degrees range before next weekend. I can't wait for more warm weather so I can get outside and take pictures of some more pretty things!

If you haven't already heard, I am running a special until April 30th! If you book a portrait session BEFORE April 30th, you get me for TWO hours and 30 of your favorite session hi-res images for $100! I'll come to you and we will have some fun! Think Mother's Day portraits, engagements, pregnancy, newborns, or "just because it's Spring!" Hurry and book soon as my calendar is booking up fast! Send me an e-mail at MelissaBPhoto@gmail.com to book your session!

And for now...I hope your weather is as good as mine is!

13 Going on Cool

2009-03-02T18:00:00.015-05:00

Remember what it was like to be 13 years old? Carefree, silly, "cool" yet sometimes awkward, high metabolism... oh, to be 13 again. Last Friday night, I had the opportunity to be the main event at a 13 year old Birthday Party for a friend of mine! I packed up my Mary Kay make up samples and my Canon and headed off to be swarmed by about 10 middle school girls! I first did a demo "make over" for the birthday girl, Anna, then went around to each one of the girls and did their make up. After a round of "mini manicures," we set up for a photo shoot to capture the glam of funky eye shadow and sparkling lip gloss. And PJ shorts. I think I had more fun than the girls did, but they certainly worked it for the camera! They all wanted to do cheer leading jumps, funny poses and impressions for the camera. After our hour-long photo shoot with each of them, I went home and edited like crazy, then dropped a CD off with the images. In the morning, the Mom had picture frames for each of the girls to take home with their favorite shot from the night before. What an awesome idea!!! Seriously, it was so fun and the girls loved it! Here are some shots from our crazy night!

Here's Anna, the birthday girl. Doesn't she have gorgeous eyes?

From melissa barrick photography

Recognization

2009-02-26T21:43:00.005-05:00

You know what I realized the other day? I don't have watermarks on any of my photos. Not like any of you would take my photos... but you never know with the internet. So that's why I decided to have a three hour fight with photoshop to let me create my "watermark" and put them a-top my photos. This is also, nonetheless, an step to make my pictures look more official. So here you go! What do you think?

Also, just a reminder to those looking to get Mother's Day pictures or Easter pictures, my introductory package is good until April 30th!! Make sure you book before then as dates are quickly filling up! Please e-mail me for more details on this amazing package!

*Please note, the water mark shows up on the photos on the web page, however, if you receive pictures via a photo session, the watermark will NOT appear on those images.

Hello, Baby Aidan

2009-02-21T23:31:00.009-05:00

Don't you just love babies? I met one of the cutest babies ever on Friday afternoon, along with an old high school friend, Ramsay, and his wife Allison. Baby Aidan is only a week old, and it just amazes me how small, precious and innocent babies are. While I was snapping (and in between a feeding), Ramsay and I got caught up since we hadn't seen each other since we graduated High School! Ramsay and Allison's story is quite romantic, actually. Currently, Ramsay is deployed in Iraq and Allison has been living with her parents while she's been pregnant. Thankfully, Ramsay was able to take a few weeks of leave to welcome his first born into the world. I can't imagine being away from my husband for as long as they've been apart, but it just made me smile when I saw Ramsay and Allison interact together with their new, sweet baby. I used a lot of black and white this time around because it just fits. This session was rather serene and quite deserving of the clean and peaceful mood of a black and white classic. I hope you like!

Hello, sweet baby mouth. Your cheeks are so dear.

"Hush little baby, don't you cry..." Beautiful.

This has to be one of my favorite. So masculine, but soft at the same time.

Aidan has a full head of jet black hair... no surprise there as both Ramsay and Allison have very dark hair.

Holding Mama's hand.

Family = Love

To give you an idea of just how itty-bitty Aidan is!

Love, love, love this one. Chubby little baby hands!

Nana (aka Mrs. Leigh) is just thrilled about her new Grandson, she was so sweet with him!

Last, but certainly not least... the complete Leigh Family!

Thanks again you guys! Congratulations and I wish you a good night's sleep and lots of energy (and many blessings, too!).

Candice & Andy are Expecting!

2009-02-17T20:10:00.006-05:00

Here they are, folks. The most beautiful expecting couple I've ever seen. I'm somewhat biased because Candice & Andy are close friends of ours down here. However, I think just about every girl can attest that Candice is one hot (soon-to-be) mama! Both of them are so excited to have this little baby boy who is expected to arrive in late April. I have already volunteered to babysit for the little guy on every single day we have available. May I also tell you, readers, that during our session, it was a mean 40-some degrees outside and Candice was willing to bare it on a cold, February afternoon. Bravery!

Classic Maternity Shot.

How many pregnant women do you know can pull off a silk cocktail dress and FABULOUS patent, high heels?

I told them to "play footsie" for this one and they looked at each other, laughed and told me "What if we don't play footsie?!" Duhh...

This is my favorite! It's so calm and peaceful... quiet moment in the nursery.

Baby Feet.

This one is beautiful too!

I love the way they look at each other! So sweet.

Thanks again, Candice & Andy, for letting me hang out with you guys to capture your excitement for little baby Peterson! I can't wait to meet him!

Sneak Peek: She's having a baby!

2009-02-15T21:27:00.006-05:00

This afternoon, I met up with my good friend Candice and her husband Andy. They are due with their FIRST baby in April and could not be happier! I don't think I've ever seen a more pro-active Dad-to-be get ready for a baby, it's really sweet. Candice is beautiful and she just glows even more with the impending baby boy. So for now, here's a sneak peek of what our afternoon looked like! More to come...

Andy & Candice... they were very sweet with each other during our shoot!
See?! Isn't she just beautiful? Every pregnant girls' dream.

Check back later this week for more!!!

Belly Laughs: Rob & Laura

2009-02-09T21:57:00.010-05:00

If you tuned in a few days ago, you caught a little glimpse of Rob & Laura's Maternity session. The lovely Laura is due in only 4 short weeks and she looked fabulous. I made the poor girl sit, stand, lay, crouch, etc and she did it all! I was very impressed. Anyway, I can tell just how excited they both are to have their little baby girl! Rob and Laura were very cute throughout the session, giggling with each other, smiling... it's obvious that this little girl will have no shortage of love when she arrives!

The most handsome father-to-be... Rob

This is one of my favorites... she has such a beautiful smile!

I love this one, it's very serene!

This one is kind of sassy... love it!

Little baby footies! Laura kept saying how amazing it was that a baby could be so small as to fit into those little things!
Classic Pregnancy Picture!
My Favorite picture from this session, hands down... this is so beautiful!

Thanks again, Rob and Laura, for letting me spend the afternoon with you guys! I wish you both the best of luck here in the next few weeks!

Sneak Peek: Rob & Laura (and baby!)

2009-02-07T19:48:00.003-05:00

This weekend, I had the pleasure of working with Rob & Laura who are expecting their first baby (a girl) in just a few weeks! This is just a sneak peek of so many pictures that were taken today so look back later this week for more!

Fun with Kelsey

2009-02-03T20:16:00.004-05:00

...and Photoshop! Kelsey is Katie's fun and fashionable little sister who tagged along for our little photo shoot. I think she spent most of the time trying on all of my shoes. If she was even remotely close to me in size, then I'm sure she'd have tried on every single thing in my closet!! She kept on my yellow T-Straps for most of the evening and the girl is now a pro at jumping in heels (like that will ever become a useful skill for her)! Anyway, she is so sweet and smart, I'm so glad she came to hang out!!

Introducing, Kelsey!

I love this silhouette. I know Kelsey will love it too, because it's PINK! A little Andy Warhol-esque going on here.

I swear, this girl is a born model! Please note my favorite yellow shoes that are twenty times her size.

Skinny-minnie!

Jumping...

In heels! Just wait for the landing... thank goodness there were no broken ankles!

Thanks for humoring me, Kels! You were such a great model and all your smiles turned out so pretty!

Confessions of a High School Girl

2009-02-02T20:27:00.012-05:00

This girl is beautiful. And she just so happens to be in the family. This weekend, Bobby and I had the pleasure of hosting Bobby's Aunt and two cousins for dinner and some pictures. Krazy Katie is in high school and LOVING it. The girl has so many talents, too: she just landed a role in the neighboring school's play (Footloose!), she plays Field Hockey and she's the big sister to a newly expanded family of four (kids, that is)! Katie and I get along GREAT because we share a very special bond that only exists between girls: clothes and shoes.
Anyway, she was gracious enough to lend me her smile (and several wardrobe changes!) for the evening! Thanks Katie (and Amy and Kels) for driving down for the night!

Katie looks just like her Mom here...

I bought this dress like five years ago and could never fit into it. Lucky girl took it home to wear for one of her "mixers." I love this shot...

This girl has KILLER blue eyes!

One of my favorite... excuse the slight blur...

Field Hockey Pic...

Couldn't resist the cat, sorry!

It's ALL about the shoes here...

Katie and her dimples! So cute!
Thanks again guys!!! It was so much fun!

Coming Soon...

2009-02-01T10:45:00.002-05:00

...to your newest {favorite} photography blog:

The Story of a High School Girl!

Stay Tuned!

The Long Road Home

2009-01-30T20:22:00.006-05:00

For twenty-one years, I've only been able to call one place my "home." I got married, packed my bags and headed South to be with my husband and to make a new "home." While that has been quite an adjustment for me, it's certainly been an adventure. It's almost good enough to be a sappy Country song...
On the occasions that we get to come back and visit, my mind is flooded with memories. Every road, every park, every sign has a memory attached to it. How many times have I driven down Benfield Boulevard to the local Safeway, or pedaled my bike up Lynwood Drive to putt-around Kinder Park (the KP fence is pictured above)? For you Severna "Parkies" out there, you probably know what I'm talking about and have those same images.
The last time I went back to visit for the day, I took my camera to capture those images on film...I was certainly delighted to see how much my hometown has NOT changed. It's a comfort thing...
More stories attached to these images can be found on The Barrick Times . Enjoy!

The Shipley's Choice cut-through in Chartwell at the round-a-bout...

Part of the Chartwell Golf & Country Club. Although we didn't live right on the course, we certainly took advantage of it's hills when it snowed out!

Corner crossing.

I walked down this road for almost 10 years... first to Benfield School, then to SP Middle. They've since updated the sidewalks so small children don't fall between the cracks, but it's still the same view I dreaded every morning for so many years.

My FAVORITE picture of good ol' SP... keep going down the road and there's a short cut to get to St. Andrew's pool! That was the shortest route to swim practice in the summer... but the trees. Oh how I miss Severna Park trees.

It's Official!

2009-01-20T19:05:00.005-05:00

Thanks to all of your help and encouragement, I am proud to announce that I am an official photographer... if now possessing business cards makes someone an official anything! So, since I have only released a few copies of my business cards, you bloggers are really the first people to see it!

Ain't she perty?! So, dear friends, feel free to pass this on, call me, e-mail me, "blog stalk" me, whatever! I'm here to serve your photography needs. What might some of those needs be? Well, let me just name a few:

- Children, Babies, New Borns
- Families
- People and their Pets
- Engagements
- Small-Scale Weddings
- Senior Pictures (not in a studio, obviously)
- Birthday Parties (or just parties in general!)
- Landscapes for home decorating

I'll pretty much do whatever you ask of me and I'm always up for a challenge! I will continue to post glimpses of photo sessions I take, so keep checking in for updates now and then.

Thanks again to everyone for all your support and kind encouragement. I couldn't have done this without you!

A Variation

2009-01-14T20:36:00.005-05:00

First of all, I want to THANK YOU for all of your votes last week!!! You really helped me narrow down my choices for a logo. The top two logos that you voted for were my favorites, too!

SO, I think I've decided to combine the top two favorites to create one logo!!! Please drop me a comment to let me know what you think! Do you like this one better? Do you like one of the other ones better? Do you hate it? Be honest, because I'm having business cards printed and I feel like this is a life or death decision!!! It's really not, but still...

What do you think?

New Year, New 'To Do's'

2009-01-04T13:38:00.004-05:00

Now that school is finished, Christmas is over and our apartment is finally cleaned, I have no excuses to begin working on my new photography biz! A few of you have been asking for business cards or even an official website, but I'm working in baby steps here!

So, my first order of business was to establish myself as an "official" photographer, like for-real. To do this, I thought I'd put my graphic design skills to the test and design myself a logo. However, I've made four designs so far and I can't decide which one I like... if I even like any of them, so I need your help. My four logos are below, labeled #1 - #4. I am going to put a poll up on the sidebar for YOU to vote on which one you like the best. Remember you helped me pick out which colors to use for this photo blog?

So my friends, here are your options. Oh and by the way, if you have "skeeelllsss" (translate: skills) in graphic design and can totally school my designs, I'd love your help AND your feedback on my existing designs! You will have ONE WEEK to vote on your favorite!

Ready,.... GO!

DESIGN #1:

DESIGN #2:

DESIGN #3:

DESIGN #4:

Family Christmas

2009-01-02T23:51:00.005-05:00

There's nothing more I love than spending time with family at Christmas... it's even better when kids are involved. Lucky for me, we have seven of them in my family, which makes Holidays crazy, but fun nonetheless. Christmas day this year, Bobby and I spent time with my family and I was able to try out my new lens! Hope you had a nice Christmas too! Enjoy :)

Miss Mary Claire and her bright, smiley blues.

My brother and his girl... the classic, "I don't want to walk, so you need to pick me up, Daddy."

Mary Claire again, I love her little button-nose!

My brother and his girl again... love this!

Jacob... out of all my nieces and nephews, he is the only one with brown eyes. We share that!

Ah! Love this one too... precious moment.

To Catch a Deal

2008-12-22T20:52:00.003-05:00

Can you believe that Christmas is at the end of this week?! What happened to December?! Anyway, Bobby and I are making our way up to the Baltimore/Annapolis area to spend the Holiday's. If anyone lives in the area and would like to meet up for a photo session, contact me and we'll meet up!

Here's how I do:
2 Hour Photo Session at location of your choosing
A CD of all the images: cropped, edited, etc.
That is a deal, I must say...

Also, some new business cards and a cool logo are in the works... look for them after Christmas!

Baby Face

2008-12-06T21:12:00.007-05:00

If you've already checked in with The Barrick Times, then you already know what I was up to today! I had the pleasure of working with NINE people today and taking all of their pictures! It was so fun because of many reasons, but most of all, babies were involved. The rolls, the giggles, the belly laughs, the nubbin teeth, the lack of teeth, the big, cheeky smiles... love it! Anyway, the family was so photogenic and fun. They are all so close to each other and it's so nice to see family like that! It was tough to get shots of all the kids together, they move constantly! But here's a preview of what our afternoon looked like.

The siblings!

Jessica and her family. I think Jessica was like the 2nd girl I met down here in SOMD! She makes me laugh and I miss seeing her every day!

The kiddos

Beautiful Sievers/Adams/Wathen Family:

This kid is all smiles... I love a good tooth-less grin!

This kid is hilarious... every time I pointed my camera at him, he would say "Cheeeeeeeeese!" His parents worked him good, I tell ya!
When I told BJ to scoot over some, Aubrey corrected me and said, "You have to call him DADDY!"

Another proud Daddy! I don't think I've ever seen a Dad so smitten over his boy...

Had to get all the Daddy's in here... Johnny and his beautiful baby girl:

I love this silhouette... classic 'baby playing with mom's necklace' picture (Jackie Kennedy portrait flashback, anyone?)

I don't know why, but I love this picture!
Thanks again guys, I had so much fun!

The Giggles

2008-11-30T09:57:00.012-05:00

This is my sister, April, and her family. I will be referring to them as "The Giggles" because of their three children. The entire time I was taking their pictures, the kids were giggling! It was so funny! Anyway, very joyful kids and very loving parents does a great picture make! Enjoy "The Giggles!"

This one is my favorite of the day!

Proud Mom and Dad...

...or maybe this one. I love the face of the brother in front!

This boy cracks me up! He's so animated.

Mama and her girls...

I love this one too, they each have their own little personality and it's clearly shown in this picture!

Happy family again!

The "Giggler's"

All in the Family

2008-11-24T20:04:00.006-05:00

This weekend, the Wise side of my family celebrated a pre-Thanksgiving since we won't be spending actual Thanksgiving Day with each other. With the excitement of my new-found "hobby," I begged and pleaded my brother with his family and my sister with her family to let me take their family photos! If it was warmer out and had we had more time, I would have loved to take thousands more... but here's what came out of only a few minutes of photo time! Enjoy!

I love this girl's smile!
My new favorite Picture...
Cute family!

Aw, so happy!

I love this one! They are all so happy!

Rolling Hills of Virginia

2008-11-16T18:54:00.005-05:00

Bobby and I ventured out to the Shenandoah Valley this weekend for a Mountain get-away! We stayed in a "luxury mountain cabin" overlooking the beautiful valley. Although the weather was less than ideal, we made do with other activities!

We visited the estate home of James Madison, "Montpelier," which was built in the 1700's by his grandfather. After Madison's presidency came to an end, he moved back to Montpelier with his wife and made some additions to the house. With the help of his good friend, Thomas Jefferson, Montpelier became quite a masterpiece of architectural design. Not only was the house beautiful and full of history, the gardens (reproductions of what was originally there) were immaculate. The trees were original to the time when the Madison family took residence.

The Historic Ruins at Barboursville Vineyard.

You can see additional pictures on The Barrick Times!

Black & White: Sister, Sister

2008-11-10T20:35:00.005-05:00

Every day I fall in love with Photoshop more and more. I love the look of natural pictures, but hey, I'm a modern gal, and I like to change it up a bit! I was playing around with a few different features and came out with some pretty cool looking photos! What do you think??

Sister, Sister

2008-11-09T20:43:00.012-05:00

This weekend, I was able to take pictures of my friends' children! Serving as my first "formal" photo session with kids, I was just hoping they'd turn out ok. It certainly helps when your subjects are photogenic and willing!! These girls were awesome and so beautiful! The lighting was really cool today - it gave the pictures a really cool (as in temperature), fall-ish type feel.

Look at The Barrick Times for more pictures!

Leaves!!
I love this face!! She is so giggly!

What's a day with sisters without some good ol' fashioned teasing?
I love the colors in this one...
Such a beautiful girl!
This one is so sweet, I love it!

Thanks guys! You were such good sports!

Engaged! Josh and Kelly

2008-11-02T23:57:00.009-05:00

Friday marked an important day in photographic history for me... sort of. I had my first "unofficial" photography session with my friend Kelly and her new fiancee, Josh! I begged her to let me take their engagement pictures so I could get some practice. They kindly obliged and we got some great pictures out of the evening! Thanks guys AGAIN, and you can check out some more on my other blog, The Barrick Times.

This is one of my favorite from the day... just beautiful.
Sweet Kiss
I love this picture... it reminds me of "The Secret Garden"
The lighting here was AWE-SOME!! Right behind that tree, however, were about 4 of the biggest, loudest and meanest dogs I've ever seen. They were kind of ruining the mood so we only took a few pictures at this spot!
So cute! They had so many kisses that day...
We had to capture the bling...
The famous "leg pop"

Welcome!

2008-10-31T00:09:00.001-04:00

...to my new {preliminary} photo blog!

This blog will be dedicated to my photographs and experiences as an amateur photographer. Please feel free to critique, suggest, complain, vent, laugh, cry, or throw spit balls as you see fit. My life is an open book and now, so is my camera.

Enjoy!

Melissa

Like my blog template?? You can find more at LeeLou Blogs.