A Crane Clan Photomerge

This past weekend my family and I were lucky enough to all be together for Fathers Day. See that adorable beautiful family, those are my peeps, The OG's (Original Gangsta's). As my dad would say, "yup, that's the whole fam damnly." My dad likes to make jokes, always.



So, anywho, the family pic above, how does it look? Anything out of the ordinary? Besides my brothers face? Just kidding bro. ;)

Well, the truth is, it's a lie. I wasn't going to say anything because I figured I could get away with it but it's been eating at me. I didn't sleep at all last night and this morning, I swear my alphabet cereal spelled out the letters f-r-a-u-d. I can't take it anymore... so here it is.

That's not the original photo.

On fathers day, we took a couple family pics but one in particular was my favorite. Everyone looked great but unfortunately, Tiff (oldest sister, far right) was the only one who got caught in an awkward mid-smile (see below). There was another pic taken where my sister has a perfect beautiful smile (see below the one below) but unfortunately you can't see my sisters full one-piece denim jumpsuit, which is obviously unacceptable. So, in order to fix this family portrait faux pas, I cut off my sisters face. Wait, that sounded bad. What I meant was I performed a face swap. It's kind-of like that show Wife Swap but way less disturbing and more practical.

Below are the two pictures I merged to get the final picture which is shown above. It's not perfect but I'm pretty happy with it considering I taught myself how to do it. (Sidenote: I may have an unusually small head, but head size does not correlate with brain size. I know because I asked a doctor.)






How I did it:

In Photoshop...

First, I cut out Tiff's smiley face with the lasso tool feathered at 5. Then I copied and pasted it onto my preferred photo.

Next I adjusted the size of her face to fit appropriately only to find that the color tones didn't match.

I adjusted this by adding 2 adjustment layers to my face layer. One for hue and saturation and another for brightness and contrast. I tinkered around with those two settings for a bit until I found a color that matched the original.

I finished it off by using the eraser tool to fix the places where the face didn't quite match up perfectly and then voila, I gave my sister a gift that only doctors and Gods can give, a new face. (If you're wondering, yes, I did just compare myself to both doctors and Gods.)

So, there you have it. The Crane Clan Photomerge. If anyone has any other tips or tricks for performing a face swap, send 'em my way, I'd love to hear them!

My Moma

This is a picture I took of my mom when I was visiting a couple weeks ago. I love this picture of my mom.

I particularly love this photo because it is so simple and so real. Her crooked little smile is so perfect and you know it's genuine because you can see it in her eyes. She is so pretty. She is the prettiest person I know. People tell me I look just like her, that makes me happy.

She Said Yes!

My best friend recently got engaged, this is the ring.


This is her Boy.


Ooops, wrong boy. This is her with her other boy.... The boy she is going to marry.


They love each other very much.


I couldn't be more happy for my best friend.


I know they will live happily ever after.

New Beginings

When I made the decision to go back to school to study digital photography, I realized that I would have to find a job that would allow for a more flexible schedule and take up a little less brain space. Leaving Terralever was very tough, but I knew that if I was going to give this photography thing a fair shot, it would have to be my priority.

So, I applied for an 'on call' poolside server job at the Intercontinental Montelucia. My first day was last Thursday and... wow... what a change from what I have been used to for the last 3 years. I basically went from one extreme to the next. I've gone from sitting inside at my desk for basically 8 hours a day, to running around in the hot sun like a crazy person, all day and into the night. I must admit, it is hard work, but I appreciate the change. I love being outside (the heat doesn't bug me), I love having the opportunity to interact with people constantly and I love being on the move, all day. So far, I feel it was a great choice - The Intercontinental Hotel Group seems to be an awesome company and the new schedule and new faces provide me with a fresh perspective.

Step 1 of new Journey: Find a fun, flexible, well paying job. Check.

Amelia Learns How to Play Soccer

See that precious little frizzy-haired blonde girl? The one in the bright pink.

That's my niece. Today, she's learning how to play soccer.

Eye's open little one!

Did I mention these are the cutest jumping jacks I have ever witnessed in my life?

Seriously, there aren't many things more entertaining then watching 5 year olds do jumping jacks.

This is her friend. He keeps distracting her from practice.

I think he has a crush....

You should hear her giggle... she has the cutest giggle.

And at water break....

She popped her little noggin' over the fence to say hi.

Now, it's game time.


And when they score....

Boy does that little girl celebrate.

I believe that was a high-kick...

straight into a booty shake.

The game continues.

She battles for the ball.


And when they score again...

Yes, more celebrating.


Not sure what we call that move...?

When her team gets scored on...

Amelia is quick to let them know, "We're not supposed to let them score on us."

The game ends and she announces that she is sad that she didn't score a goal. Look at that face, it's heartbreaking.

But she quickly forgets and joins her team in a cheer.


I am so proud of my precious little frizzy-haired niece.