It's Here!!!

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

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

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

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

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

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!

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!

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

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!