Photography by S. Hayat

The Big 1- Part I

2010-01-23T16:05:00.005-06:00

Shame on me for not posting sooner, but I've had a lot going on. The winter months have been slow and not much camera clicking has taken place, but here are some photos of CG. He is now a toddler and we went outside one chilly day to capture his big 1 year old milestone. Enjoy some of my favorites!

Pictures with Santa

2009-12-03T20:40:00.003-06:00

Secret to getting a squalling child in the same picture with Santa and even a semi smile on their face... take the focus away from taking a picture with Santa! I simply asked this cutie if I could take a picture of her in her pretty dress next to the tree- right by Santa's bench ;) When Santa snuck in you can tell she wasn't sure, but she wasn't running or crying!!!

Adeline is 1/2 a year!

2009-11-07T21:20:00.004-06:00

Sweet baby Adeline has grown up so quick... it's been 3 months since I last took pictures of her and she has changed so much! She is still just as cute, but her personality is definitely showing through! Here's a sneak peek into our fun fall shoot!

Jack

2009-10-18T23:04:00.005-05:00

I had the pleasure of taking pics of Jack, Sasha & Tim's first born who turned one last month! We had so much fun playing outdoors with Jack's truck, his wagon and the neighbors pumpkins! We even attempted to get some pics of Jack and "his" cows, but the cows were being shy... when we went to take pics in front of the fence, the cows went to the other side of the field- and as luck would have it, as I was driving away- all of the cows migrated back toward the fence :( Maybe next time!!!

Here's a peek...

Fall Family Sessions

2009-10-16T00:20:00.001-05:00

Exicted

2009-10-12T19:19:00.005-05:00

This week's challenge over at I ♥ Faces is all about excitement!!!! I haven't entered any contests in a while- with grad school, teaching, mommying, and wifing <---- the latter 2 verbs are words in my book ;-- but with this week's challenge I knew I had an absolutely perfect picture of my sweet baby boy that I took of him a few months bak for his 9 month old pics. Enjoy!!!!

Sugar, Spice and Everthing Nice!

2009-10-09T23:17:00.008-05:00

Oh Em Gee... little girls are so sweet!

About a week or so ago a co worker allowed me to play with her daughter! Carrington is one of the sweetest 6 week old DIVAs I've ever met! Thanks Shirelle, maybe next time we can get some LSU shots! Check out a sneak peek of our shoot.

Next featured is the 8 year daughter of one of my good friends. Jaidah was full of spunk and new exactly what to do in front of the camera. (I see modeling in her future). I had the pleasure of taking Jaidah's pictures on her birthday! Thanks Tavie and Jaidah- maybe next time we can get the whole family! Here she goes...

"Beauty"

2009-08-28T22:31:00.004-05:00

It's been a while since I've partcipated in a Fun Friday at I ♥ Faces, its been really long since I've actually posted anything to the site :( I will update you all sooner rather than later, but for now a quick post with some editing fun!

Tell me... which is your favorite? <------ I'm taking a vote!

1.
2.
3.
4.

Check out other great edits over at I ♥ Faces!

i HEART faces giveaway

2009-07-30T23:38:00.002-05:00

Head on over to I Heart Faces to win a fabulous giveaway! Simply Couture Designs is giving away a $50 gift certificate for your favorite Photoshop templates! It is so easy to enter and win, just click on this link: http://tinyurl.com/nj8d5h Good luck!

Little Miss Adeline

2009-07-17T10:39:00.005-05:00

I enjoyed taking pictures of Miss Adeline... she is such a diva! She is also the most precious baby girl, I can't wait to meet with Meredith & Adeline again!

2009-07-12T18:20:00.007-05:00

Two of my good friends got married on the 3rd of July... I had the pleasure of taking some photos of the wedding! Enjoy

2009-07-12T00:15:00.003-05:00

This past weekend while home in KY I had the opportunity to do a photo shoot for my good friend Addie & her family. Her and her husband recently had a precious baby girl "Addison" and they wanted pictures of all the kids together! This by far was the hardest shoot to do... 5 children (9, 6, 3, 1, and 6 weeks) whoooo wears me out just thinking about it ;) Trying to get Baby D (3) and Isabelle (1) to stay in one place and focus AT THE SAME TIME was the hardest part. But at the end of the night we got some great shots! Enjoy the slide show and let me know what you think!

I ♥ Faces "Just for Fun"

2009-06-29T10:07:00.004-05:00

Here is my silly boy CG enjoying the powder that someone let out and opened.... I couldn't take it away from him until I snapped a few pictures. This one is by far my favorite from the batch but is just a bit blurry... any suggestions on how to fix it would be greatly appreciated!

Head on over to I ♥ Faces to see more great and fun pictures!

2009-06-22T23:51:00.004-05:00

I had so much fun doing these engagement pictures. Jamale is my brother in-law and I am really loving the idea of having a second sister by marriage! These 2 are so in love... you can feel it just looking at the pictures. I look forward to shooting the wedding in March!

2009-06-22T05:05:00.004-05:00

Here are some pics from a shoot I did of my brother in-law, his fiance, and their son!

I ♥ Faces Giveaway

2009-06-17T12:37:00.003-05:00

This week over at I ♥ Faces they are having an absolutely fabulous giveaway- the Kodak ESP All-in-One 9. Who wouldn't want to win one of these babies!? Think of all those precious pictures you can print from home, for free (or at least for the price of a print cartridge every once in a while)!

I ♥ Faces "Sepia Toned"

2009-06-15T22:11:00.006-05:00

This week's challenge was Sepia toned! I knew immediately which pictures I wanted to enter, and the kicker... they were both already edited- YAY ME! So without further delay:
Kids Category:

Adult Category:

Head on over to I ♥ Faces to see more wonderful entries!

Before & After

2009-06-11T22:18:00.004-05:00

Here's a shot of a great model during her Senior photo shoot
Here's the after... using Lightroom 2.0

Fix It Friday #16

2009-06-05T21:42:00.007-05:00

Here is the original image of "Sweet Grin"First I made some initial edits using CS3:
Used spot healing brush (size 5) to correct a few blemishes on cheek and nose
Reduced noise: Strength 6; Preserve Detail 17%; Reduce noise color 100%; Sharpen Details 61%
Then I took the edited picture and made some more edits in PSE 7.0:
Use Smart Brush tool and create a screen layer to "brighten eyes" (reduce opacity to 50%)
Smart Brush Tool Details- select pupils and outer edge (dark line) of iris; layer style soft light; opacity 50%
Repeat above step this selecting the eyelashes and the eye line (where you put eyeliner)
Smart Brush Tool- Lipstick (color f09090); layer style overlay; opacity 6%

Lastly I opened the completely edited image in Lightroom 2.0 and had some fun:

I hope you enjoy this fix, head on over to I ♥ Faces to see some other fabulous fixes!

2009-06-03T22:52:00.004-05:00

So my husband is by far by BIGGEST supporter! He gives me honest critiques of my work and encourages me when I don't do so well. Not too long ago a friend of ours mentioned to me that he was going to start his own photography business and that he would probably need some help <--- I was fine with this. Recently my husband has made mention of me going into the photography business for myself. I need honest opinions and feedback. I honestly love to take pictures, I think others think I'm better at it than I really am, but I'm hard on myself. I have looked at other photographers work in the area and strongly feel that I could do the same work, if not better. What are some suggestions on getting started and getting my name out there. I do have a full time teaching job, so this is not something I want to do FULLTIME, but it is a hobby that I enjoy and would like to make a little profit from. Please leave a comment!

Oh and for my followers in the Mboro area, if you need pictures or know of someone who does please email me!

Fix It Friday #15

2009-05-31T10:32:00.004-05:00

"Little Precious" Before

"Little Precious" After

post signature

2009-05-19T01:01:00.000-05:00

Reflection

2009-05-19T00:49:00.000-05:00

Go to I ♥ Faces to see other entries!

2009-05-19T00:48:00.001-05:00

Before & After

2009-05-19T00:48:00.000-05:00

Check out the before and after pics of [CG]... he is such a good subject- no biases whatsoever ; ) At any rate, I enjoyed shooting the pics and editing them in Photoshop. Before: After: As always... Let me know what you think!

Silhouette

2009-05-19T00:47:00.000-05:00

I know it's been a while since I posted : ( But I have been out of the game for a while (uninspired I guess), but this past week I took some pics of my Baby Boy for his 6 month old birthday and just so happens that one of the shots I got was perfect for this weeks theme @ I ♥ Faces (click here to see more entries). At any rate, after our photoshoot we went to the library to pick up a book for CG and afterward I wanted to get a few shots by the fountains (which didn't happen) but CG was so mesmorized and relaxed by the sound of the water and Daddy was so thoughtful looking, I couldn't help but to snap a few shots- here is the keeper for the week!!! Enjoy

2009-05-19T00:46:00.000-05:00

Here are my favorite pics from Part 3 of CG's month old shoot! As always, enjoy and let me know what you think...

2009-05-19T00:45:00.000-05:00

Here are a few shots from a Senior Picture shoot I did with my good friend Kristi and her partner Holly (check out their other work over at Cogknitive Images)

[CG] Photo Shoot edits

2009-04-29T20:50:00.004-05:00

Check out the before and after pics of [CG]... he is such a good subject- no biases whatsoever ; ) At any rate, I enjoyed shooting the pics and editing them in Photoshop.

Before:

After:

As always... Let me know what you think!

post signature

Fix It Friday #11 "Cooing Baby"

2009-04-28T12:05:00.001-05:00

This week's fix it image was of a precious baby boy... here are the before and after pictures!

Before:
After:

post signature

2009-03-19T11:07:00.001-05:00

I like my photo shoots to be relaxed and fun! I want you to be yourself, feel free to bring what you want and who you want. At the conclusion of all shoots I will go through and touch up all photos. Prior to each photo shoot I would like to talk with you so that I can get an idea of who you are and what you like. If you have a particular picture in mind, just let me know or bring a comparison picture and we can take care of that.

Most all of my photo shoots take place on location or at your home, I have done a few shoots in my home with solid backgrounds. I use natural light with all my shoots, which means I do not schedule shoots at night.

The style of your photos depends alot on where the shoot takes place. If you are not sure about where you'd like to take photos, I can suggest some places for you or we can just try a few on!

Please call or email me with any questions you have! I look forward to working with you.

Sid Gentry aka S. Hayat

About this Blog

2006-04-27T22:06:00.001-05:00

Ok... so I wanted a place to showcase my "namateur" photography. <--- NAMATEUR- not novice (I've done this before) not amateur (still developing my ability) So at any rate, I had my first son back in November and for Valentine's Day my husband got me the Sony a200! It was an exciting time, because I had been trying to capture good pictures with my little point and shoot and it just wasn't cutting it! So here I am 2 months into having my "professional" camera and only a dozen- thousand pictures later, and I have decided to share with the world (or at least those who will take the time to look). PLEASE leave feedback about my pictures, I am a very good at accepting constructive criticism. I want to know what you think and any suggestions you might have for me to develop my skill! Happy browsing and keep looking!