Nick Class of 2014 | Valley High School Senior Des Moines Iowa

We had the most BEAUTIFUL October afternoon to shoot Nick's senior photos.  And his choice of location was PERFECTION!  I loved the urban feel with his serious demeanor, it totally fit HIM!  Check out some highlights from his senior session!

Graham | Des Moines Newborn Photography

Ummm, yeah.  It's been, what...two weeks since we last posted.  I'm a blog slacker, I admit it!  We have been CRAZY busy.  Hubby and I just completed our first marathon (did I say CRAZY yet?  CRAY-ZAY!)  It was really hard (duh!) but I wasn't expecting HOW hard....I am so excited that we finished and although that day we SWORE we would never do it again, we are already plotting to do another one (Chicago?) in a few years....

And on top of all the crazy life stuff, we have had SO many awesome photosessions!  I posted a sneak peek of Graham a few weeks ago and here is more from his session!  I am a bit bias I know, he is my cousin's first little one, but he is seriously one of the cutest babies I have EVER seen!  Good  job mom and dad!!!
 Here is a quiet little look into the life of Graham, just a few days new!!!

Congrats Frannie and Eric!  He is absolutely beautiful and you guys are going to be the most wonderful God-honoring parents! 

Sneak Peek | Theo | Des Moines Children's Photography

What a HAPPY baby!!!  LOVED this mid-day photosession with Mr. Theo!  He was so stinkin' adorable and full of cute faces and smiles!!!

Carr Family Photos | Des Moines Family Photography

We were so thrilled to help the Carr family update their photos!  We had the privilege of shooting their family photos 2 years ago and were excited to see how much the kiddos had grown and changed!  We were shocked to see that they had gone from quiet, shy little ones, to spunky, outgoing kids!  It was a blast to laugh and giggle about monkeys dressed in tutus, Nascar, and birthday parties!

Graham Family | Des Moines Family Photography

Every year for the past 3 years now, we have had the privilege of photographing the Graham family.  It is always so much fun to see how kids grow from year to year, and this family is no exception!  Seeing this stunning young woman and handsome young man really start to blossom into teenagers has been amazing!

And mom and dad were awesome this year being playful and loving!  LOVE that!  If you haven't considered getting photos taken for those "in between years", you know, the ones in between 1 years old and senior graduation, you really should!  It's SO fun to see how your kids are changing!

Fresh & Fun Wednesday | Wedding Bells and Christmas in July

Hey guys!!!  Okay, seriously, have you BEEN outside?  If you are local, you will know that we have FINALLY had some relief from the horrendously hot days and have had some beautiful weather!!!  Yesterday as I was running I saw SO many bikers on Ragbrai!  Did any of you bike it?   It has been awesome weather for it!!!

So here at Urban Wings we have been CA-RA-ZAY busy!!! Seriously, it SO awesome to be busy, no complaints here!!!  And I love all the variety we have had lately!  One year old cake smashes, weddings to shoot, senior pics coming up this next week, school photos, new website changes, and more website changes to come, collages, photo books, marketing material, and MORE!

PHOTOGRAPHY FRESH & FUN

These last few weeks we have had the privilege of celebrating a first birthday with a little one, with a one year old cake smash session!   HAPPY BIRTHDAY HUDSON!!!!

We have also been getting new equipment (woo hoo!), shooting family photos and getting ready for a wedding shoot this weekend!

We also did a small site redesign to update some outdated pics and information!!!  I hope you guys will check it out!!!  I wanted to note that we have made the decision to offer digital packages now!!!  AWESOME!!!  So now if you want your ENTIRE photosession on disk, that is available!

CHECK OUT OUR SITE REDESIGN

I will say, you will probably notice quite a bit more site updates and changes in the next few months!  We are going to do some major construction in there soon and we are SOOOOO excited about it!!!  More updates on that soon!!!

DESIGN FRESH & FUN

Jingle bells, jingle bells.....YES, it is THAT time of year....NO, not ACTUAL Christmas!  But CHRISTMAS IN JULY!!!  And boy do the girls over at the Creative Pixel have some great sales and challenges ready for you!!!  Come join in on all the fun there!!!  Here are some Christmas packs we have popping into the Creative Pixel store!!!

So give us a call and schedule your photosessions for fall!  We are open for taking appointments!!!  And if you are looking for a custom photo project, we would love to talk to you more about that!  We have been working on custom wall canvases and photo books for our own photography clients AND for some that live to far away to have a photo session with us, but wanted their own photos put in an awesome collage for canvas or photo book!  We can help you with that!!!  We would love to hear from you!!!

Come say HI on Facebook!  Hope you all are having an awesome Wednesday!!!!

Hot Styles Sunday | Preppy Hipster-- Boy Edition

 

Hey guys!!!  Nicole here with some HOT STYLES to inspire you this week!  So, one of the biggest trends I have been seeing around his hipster!  I LOVE it!  I love the geek-y but totally cute vibe that the bow-ties, suspenders, vests, and cardigans give off!  So this week, embrace your inner geek and check out some cute hipster styles I found on Etsy!!!  These are some great piece to work into your photo session or to dress your kids in!  Lots of great texture and colors that will photograph AMAZINGLY!!!  All the links to the products shown are on our pinterest board 

What to Wear | Clothing Inspiration

 

Come join us on FACEBOOK for more fun and inspiration!!!!

Fresh & Fun Wednesday | Marathon, Photos, & Designs

Hey guys!!!  Nicole here!  So I did it.  I forked over a ridiculous amount of money and I am officially signed up for the IMT Des Moines Marathon.  The. Whole. Thing. 26.2 miles.  YIKES!  This is my FIRST marathon ever!  I have done 1/2 marathons before, but this is like the big one.  The one thing on my non-existent bucket list....that would be on said-bucket list if I had one.  Something I have wanted to do for a LONG time...but never have.  Sooooo keep me motivated until October and share with me your marathon stories, encouragement or if you are running this marathon or ANY marathon or races (long or shorter) this year tell me about it!!!  We can keep each other motivated!!!!

And speaking of motivated....(did you like that goofy segway)...... we have been UBER motivated this week with photography and design projects....here is a recap of our last few projects and what's been going on at Urban Wings Art!!!

PHOTOGRAPHY FRESH & FUN:

Cake smash birthday photoshoots.  Family photoshoots.  Kiddo photoshoots.  Lots of pictures being taking recently.  But even more than that we have had LOTS of requests for our Photography Books and Photo Canvases.  If you haven't seen these or heard about them yet, they are GOR-ORGEOUS!!!  We are working on lots of designs for our photography clients for coffee table books that we are SO excited for them to see and display!  Plus we have designs coming along for some out of state clients who sent us THEIR photos for a wall canvas!  WE DO THAT TOO!!!  We love helping you create ART for your homes!  If you have a photography/art project, please inquire with us and we can give you a personalized quote!!!

DESIGN FRESH & FUN:

Some great new products are hitting the Creative Pixel store this week!!!  Here are a few to whet your appetite!

And here are some recent amazing layouts that were recently created by the Creative Pixel members with some of our products:

And we have also been busy doing some graphic design projects!  Some cute invites lately!  Here is a little peek at one of our recent designs for a bridal shower!

Hope you guys enjoyed seeing what the Urban Wings Girls have been up to!!!  Please let us know if you have any questions at all or would like to chit chat about your design and photography needs!!!  Have an awesome day!!!!  COME LIKE US ON FACEBOOK FORMORE DESIGN AND PHOTOGRAPHY FUN!

Tutorial Tuesday | Instagram Toaster Photo Effect in Photoshop

          

Nicole here.  And yes, my love of Instagram is rearing its ugly head again!  Are you as addicted as me?  It's so fun to capture those everyday life moments and then add a cool photo effect!  Don't you agree?  So I thought it would be awesome to replicate some of those photo effects in Photoshop, so I can add some awesomeness to my big-daddy camera photos!  One of my all-time fav effects in Instagram is Toaster.  It is so warm and just makes me all happy inside!  So here is my attempt at recreating the effect in photoshop!!!  Ready to follow along?

First here is the before and after on my phone

BEFORE Instagram Toaster Effect:

AFTER the Toaster Effect is add on Instagram:

Instagram Toaster Effect in Photoshop

1. Open a your photo in a new window.  Open> and browse until you find the photo you want to work with.  Click OPEN.

2.  The first layer we are going to add to our photo is a CURVES layer.  I will go through each of the individual settings for Curves.

Starting on your RGB Curve.  Pull the center of your curve up to approximately an output of 132 and an input of 121.

Next switch your Curves drop down to Red.   Starting at the bottom.  You are going to move your bottom left corner up to an output of 33 and an input of 0.

Your center point of your line is going to be moved up to an output of 133 and an input of 107.

And your top right corner of  your Red Curve is going to be pulled to the left with an output of 255 and an input of 226.

Next switch to your GREEN Curve dropdown.

The only point we are changing on our Green Curve is the bottom left corner.  We are going to change the output to 5 and the input remains 0.

Next we will switch to our BLUE Curve.  Starting with our bottom left corner point we are going to change the output to 66 and the input to 0.  Make a point in the middle of the line and change the output to 143 and the input to 156.  Next at the top right hand corner change the output to 221 and the input remains 255.

2.  We are now going to add our second next layer.  We will add a GRADIENT Layer to our photo. 

Start by adding a Gradient Layer.  Click on the color scale at the top of your Gradient Menu Bar.  Your first color for your gradient (on the left hand side) is a dark blue/purple.  I used the color #190a51.

On the right hand side of the gradient I chose a yellow-y orange color.  I used color #ffc436

Next we need to make sure that the opacity for the entire Gradient is 100%.  So click on the arrows at the TOP of the gradient color slide to check the opacity.

Click on one of the bottom color arrows (the blue or yellow ones at the end of your color slider) and a small diamond will appear in the center below of the gradient slider.  We are going to move that diamond to the left to about a location of 40.  This will move how far the yellow gradient goes out to the edges.

Click OK to save the colors and locations of the colors of the gradient.  You should still see your Gradient Menu open.  Change the Style to RADIAL.   Change the angle to 128.  And click REVERSE in the boxes.  Click OK.  You should be able to see your gradient right now and NOT your photo.

Next we are going to change our layer style to OVERLAY at 71% opacity.

4.  Now we are going to add one final layer.  Another CURVES layer.  This time we will only be working on the RGB Curve.  Starting with the bottom left corner change your output to 0 and your input to 18.  Make a point in the middle of your curve and change the settings to an output of 155 and an input of 118.

And that is IT!  You have Toaster-ized your photo!!!!  What do you think?  

"Toaster" Effect in Photoshop:

Feel free to adjust the settings until you have the perfect combo for your photo!!!  Let me know what you think!!!  And be sure to LIKE us onFACEBOOK to see more tutorials, more products & grab our current freebie!!!