Pittsburgh at Home Family Photos

Meet this beautiful family of 8!

You may remember this family from their photo session last year... and what is so remarkable to me is that this family has been getting yearly family photos taken for 14 years now! Mom says it's her favorite day of the year, and I would think it just keeps getting more meaningful as her kids keep growing older.

I am truly amazed at the determination of mom (Elizabeth) - this was my first year getting my own family photos scheduled, outfits coordinated, making sure we were on time, etc. - and just with three people it was tough enough! Our own family photo experience has given me a whole new respect for families who set aside the time yearly (or bi-yearly, or really, EVER!) for family photos.

A big thanks to this family for inviting me to their home again for mom's favorite day of the year!

PS - if you aren't sure where to have your photos taken, your home/property is always a great choice! It's meaningful - and it's easier than packing everyone up in the car to drive to a separate location!

How to Edit Senior Photos in Lightroom and Photoshop

As a senior, family, and wedding photographer, I showcase many photos on my website and blog - all of which are completely edited, color corrected, and retouched. I love sharing the final product of the work that I produce for my clients! However, today I wanted to share a behind the scenes peek at just how those photos go from their unedited state to what you see in all of my blog posts.

Showing an unedited image sort of feels like one of those dreams where you get up to give a speech and realize that you’re in your underwear 😂 But alas, I do think it’s helpful for clients to see how much time and energy goes into making sure their images are beautiful!

Ultimately, this blog post might be of interest to you if you are a photographer (I love seeing how others edit their images) - but even if you’re not, it might surprise you how much time and effort goes into the details of each image you may see on my website or blog posts - or on any photographer’s website! Some may edit more, some less, but all photographers do retouch their images to some degree. I hope this give an understanding for the love and effort that goes into each image!

Also, if you’re interested in seeing a highlight blog post from this stunning senior’s photo session, feel free to click here!

And for anyone who may be interested, in this editing tutorial, I use two editing programs: Adobe Lightroom and Adobe Photoshop, both on my desktop computer. Enjoy!

Before & After

And for anyone who might be interested in seeing the before and after without watching the entire tutorial… I’ve included the images below just for you! 😉

Before Editing (Raw image format, straight out of camera)

After Editing (JPEG image format - after color correction, spot removal, skin softening, eye enhance, fly away removal, and glowy corner addition)

Interested in seeing more content like this? Feel free to let me know below! Or, if you’re interested in seeing some additional editing tutorials, feel free to check out my Youtube channel by clicking the link below.

For more resources for photographers, seniors, and engaged couples, click any of the photos below!