Thursday, 4 June 2009

New Theme - Daisy Fairy Baby

This beautiful little baby girl was photographed by the very talented Beverly Cardinal at Orange Glow Photography and provided the perfect image for me to work with....It inspired this little Daisy Fairy Baby theme!

COMPETITION TIME


Win a Magical Photo portrait PRINTED in POSTER dimensions!

All you have to do tell me how many different themes there are currently in the Holiday Gallery for Father’s Day?

Closing date is 5th of June 2009

I will randomly select a winner from all correct entries. They will receive an enhancement of their choice printed in full colour on Fujifilm Professional digital photographic paper in a 20"x16" poster dimension.

Email your answers to me atinfo@enhance-me.com With ‘May/June competition’ in the subject line.

I look forward to receiving the entries!!

Role playing fun

Playing is one of the most important ways for a toddler to learn. Through playing with mum or dad, or other toddlers, your child will begin to make sense of the world around them. ROLE PLAY can be great fun for you and your child!

One of my favourite websites for finding beautifully crafted, hardwearing and unique items for such play is http://www.knotjustjigs.co.uk/ Traditional toys with a modern twist....what a wonderful concept!

I have a one year old boy and a four year old girl and was trying to find something I knew they would both find fun, I found this lovely little carpenter's belt full of wooden tools and knew both my kiddies would love this. The complete set includes an adjustable clip fastening belt for a snug fit, a chisel, saw, hammer, wrench, square, 2 nuts and 2 bolts. Though the age is 3+ my son certainly loved it as much as my daughter, admittedly he wanted to explore most of it with his mouth but he still loved it and was enthralled at all the different shapes of the tools!

Children love pretending to be like their mums and dads and helping around the house . Now they can help with a bit of DIY, be it hammering that nail or sawing that piece of wood! At a very reasonable price of £9.99 it would also make a great gift and would be ideal for child minders or children at pre-school. My children both love it.

Friday, 15 May 2009

Fairy Treats

SO I have always had a thing for fairies (like you don't already know that!) - ever since I was little - the idea intruiged me! I was obsessed with the Flower Fairies and one of my all time favourite books is Lady Cottington's Pressed Fairy Book

I think that people who can't believe in fairies aren't worth knowing. ~Tori Amos

I have come across a number of delightful products to share all with a Fairy theme - and where better to share them than here when I am talking all about little folk!

This gorgeous Personalised tooth fairy hanger is a lovely idea and can be personalised and even better it is under £10 making a great and affordable gift.

I loved these Beautifully detailed pink sparkly fairy themes Alphabet letters from Knot Just Jigs - fun and educational! You can use them to make plaques for a childs room or they can be used individually. I think they would be a great addition to a party bag....particularly for a Fairy themed party....personalising each childs bag with the 1st letter of thier name.

I have spoken of how it can really add that extra special touch to on of my Magical portraits if you dress your child up. One of my favourite websites stocking a HUGE range of costumes is Blush fashions, their Fairy and Princesss costumes are gorgeous and very reasonably priced. I particularly like the Lilac fairy belle costume with wonderful detailing on the bodice and beautiful colours! They also sell a range of other products and I came across this delightful wee fellow while exploring the site: Bug A Boo How quirky, I Love it!

Raindrops are like fairy whispers. ~Author Unknown

Etsy is a wonderful place to explore everything and anything handmade and there are some wonderful little treasures there! I came across these Big Sis Little Sis beautifully crafted fairy wings....aren't they lush!?

I fell completely in love with the FairyTale Bird Cage one of a kind and completely unique.

Perfect for any little girls party are these Personalised Party Bags in a Fairy Princess theme from Personalised Party. Each gusseted party bag has sturdy twisted paper handles, and measures a very generous 20cm x 9cm x 25cm so there is plenty of room inside for party bag fillers, activity toys, cake, or even a substantial packed lunch. They are also 100% Recyclable!

Some other Fairy themed products I liked:



Colourart have some lovely fairy themed canvasses for childrens rooms.
Come cuddle close in daddy's coat Beside the fire so bright, And hear about the fairy folk That wander in the night. ~Robert Bird

If anyone has any other suggestions for products with a fairy theme please do leave a comment!


Wednesday, 22 April 2009

TIPS ON TAKING YOUR PHOTOS

Enhance-me take your every-day snapshots and transform them into one of a kind magical portraits.



Though I am able to get beautiful effects, re-dress people and create changes in brightness and contrast within the digital process, it really does help to have the best possible start.
A high quality photograph from you makes all the difference. It does not have to be professionally taken; in fact due to the fact many Photographers these days retain the copyrights to their work Professional shots are best avoided unless you have suitable permission to make use of them.

To begin with high resolution is the key - The photo I use must be at least 200kbs but size in MBs is much better.

If you don't have any photos in digital file format, you can send me any amount of photos by mail and I will scan them in for you. I cannot work with low resolution images or anything that is too grainy, so please keep this in mind when choosing your photographs.
TIPS ON TAKING YOUR PHOTOS

You are welcome to email several photos and this way I can select which will work best with the theme you choose.

Many customers simply select their favourite photographs they have already taken but a few of my customers actually pose their children with my portraits in mind. Both ways work well but the ideal scenario is for you to think about what type of portrait you want, and then set out to take some photographs with that in mind. Here are some tips for taking photographs:

One of the best tips I can give you is to take full body shots, if arms and legs aren’t cut off in the shot the subject can be completely immersed into a scene making it appear all the more natural.

Babies or toddlers: Get down to thier level, often the best photos taken of children are taken looking directly at them...engage them by singing, chatting or playing with a noisy toy. It is best to take photographs of them in natural lighting as this helps avoid washed out colours or photos that are too dark.
With babies, as little clothing as possible is best as this makes it easier to digitally redress them – otherwise often a baby draped with a petal or shrouded in grass can look simple yet stunning!


Often customers mention that they find it difficult to pose a baby, particularly a newborn – You can stand above them and take a photo looking down on them, propping them up with a pillow works quite well and those adorable shots of new babies taken where they are laying on their tummies with their legs curled underneath them work really well for enhancements!
For older children action shots work well – if you want a boy in a knight theme for example, have him charge at the camera (be careful!) Ask a young girl to jump up and down on the bed to see if you can get an action shot that may be suitable for a flying fairy theme!






Most importantly use your imagination and have fun!

New Themes

I have been working on a number of new themes recently, as seen below!

Unicorn Dreams
This theme is perfect for any little girl who believes in Unicorns or loves Horses!


The Wild Things
A great theme for both boys and girls, works well for a family shot.

Sail Away
Another theme that works well for boys or girls
Princess For A Day
Lovely theme for invites, children can be digitally redressed for this theme!
My Robot Friends
Fun theme for boys though can be created for girls too.
The Popstars
This theme can be done in any colours so can be created for both boys and girls
Fairy Glade
Quite a neautral background meaning it can be used for boys and girls, wonderfully magical theme!
Land Before Time
Again can be used for girls or boys, this one has been very popular!
Dandelion Forest
Beautifully enchanting dreamy theme for something extra special. Again colours can be adjusted to suit.
I am always open to suggestions for new themes, also I am happy to create custom portraits - contact me at: info@enhance-me.com

Thursday, 2 April 2009

Fairy Talk

SO it is somewhat interesting and a little tricky being able to find quality time to work these days with my beautifully inquisitive and imaginative little lady, who is now four and my boisterous bumbly one year old boy who just loves exploring Ahem, getting into everything! But I feel so lucky that I am still able to work from home! It is not easy understatement - believe me.


So many Mums out there say to me "Oh I so wish I could afford to work from home too, or find something that would allow me to stay home with the kiddies" - We sacrifice a more comfortable life financially to allow me to be able to run my business.....its no walk in the park but it is how we choose to live for the time being! And we are happy!


My Milly-Moo as we fondly call her, (she was named Milly at birth but this former name has become more familiar!) asked me today - "Mummy, why do you make Fairies?" I was charmed by her question....though she was very intent on what my answer would be, I told her "it lets me be creative and do something I love while being able to stay at home with you baby". She replied "Oh, I thought it was because I am a Fairy!!".......my funny girl!


My Milly Fairy!

Robbie is now walking and pointing and talking up a storm! They grow so quickly - I don't want to miss a minute - no matter how difficult it might be to find time to devote entirely to my work!