Share Parents Tutorials

First off, I just want to let you know how impressed I am with your service to the families here in Utah. I have seen the work you do, and the beautiful photos you take for these sweet families you meet, and I am amazed. I’ve heard that some of you are interested in taking your photography and editing skills up a level, and as a photographer I’m happy to share my education with you.

I don’t want this to feel overwhelming at all! I’ll provide some tutorials, and you take what you’d like and run with it. Even if you decide not to use anything here, your pictures are already wonderful and cherished.

My Photography Philosophy

I’ve recently joined Share Parents, but have spent several years as a volunteer with Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep. In serving families with babies who have passed or will soon pass, I have two main goals for the portrait session. You’ll hear me talk about these often- My two goals are to 1. Share the story and 2. Deliver a few “softer” photos the family will feel comfortable sharing.

When it comes to editing, this means that I want to do basic edits to make sure all of the photos I deliver are exposed correctly, have appropriate white balance (color), and are in focus. Then I’ll choose a few of the best photos from the session- ones I know mom and dad might like to hang on their wall, and I do more extensive editing to make baby look more healthy and natural. I always like to deliver a few photos that mom and dad can share on the walls of their home- that they can look at peacefully without reliving the trauma of their experience, and that they can feel comfortable sharing with others.

I don’t do this extensive editing on every single picture. But I really like to do it on a few of them.

What Software to Use

The software you use can make a big difference in the options you have available for editing. I absolutely LOVE Photoshop. Photoshop has so many wonderful tools, and they honestly just work better than similar tools in other programs I’ve tried. With that being said, I know Photoshop is not in everyone’s budget, especially as many of you are not photographers. While my more extensive editing tutorials will use Photoshop, I will also provide a few Lightroom tutorials for basic edits. The free version of Lightroom does a fine job for basic edits to exposure, color, shadows and contrast, and is a good place to start if you don’t want to buy a Photoshop subscription.

If you have another program you love, leave me a comment and I’ll check it out! I’d love to see what you use.

Tutorial Pages

Let’s get to those tutorials! Click below to begin learning. These pages are password protected. If you need the password, ask your Share Parents group.

Actual Editing Walk-Throughs

Once you have learned the basic skills needed in Photoshop or Lightroom, Check out a few actual editing walk throughs by clicking these graphics. These are password protected. If you need the password, reach out to your Share Parents Group.