They say a picture paints a thousands words. But, sometimes, it just has to paint one:  Baby. 

This image of Aubrey, my niece's beautiful daughter, was captured initially in my home studio with a relatively simple set up.   A single soft box, feathered across this little tutu baby! How to pose a toddler is always a bit of a challenge, unless you toss in a little treat.   In the original photo, she was nibbling on a cheerio.  I simply removed the treat in photoshop.   The tutu itself was pretty meager.   By selecting a portion of the fabric, and copy and pasting it onto the original image, I was able to blend it to create the illusion of a fuller skirt.  I composited the ballet shoes to add to the story. 

In keeping with my photographic artistry, I decided to take this image one step further, placing her in a background that I created from a texture I photographed a few years ago.  Working with textures is pretty extradorinaiy.   If you combine several, and just the color overlays, you get a truly unique background. Occasionally I overlay textures from other artists. Below, I will give you a link to one I really love!  In any event, the below images illustrate the image shot in RAW, followed by the edited image.   The final represents the digitally, hand-rendered version.   I hope this inspires you in your art! 

Create relentlessly, my friends!  Never be afraid to just go for it!  If you have to, duplicate your images mulitple times in photoshop to push yourself!  You have nothing to loose, but everything to gain.  Scroll down for a link of my favorite "acids" to put on my backgrounds!