Designing Twitter and Facebook Pages

There’s been a blank Facebook canvas on our company page, awaiting the proper time and inspiration to not only design it, but actively maintain it. Last week, we finally took the plunge. BOOM.

Consistent branding across Social Media is important. So we started with the phenomenal original design that my Husband did for our Twitter page. Here’s a bit of the artistic process that went into creating the Twitter page.

This project started with a picture of a lighthouse.  The lighthouse is not only part of our company logo, but it bears great symbolic meaning to me. Lighthouses reflect and radiate light, and lead people in the way that they should go.

Perusing our images, I found a picture I snapped during a trip we had taken over 2 years ago down to South Padre Island while we were wedding planning. This is the lighthouse you see as you pass through Port Isabel to get to South Padre, where we celebrated our marriage. Awwwwwww

This is proof that even an iPhone picture can provide what you need to get started. This photo does have a filter applied in iPhoto, I believe it is Antique.  I then further edited the photo in Photoshop – applying different colorization techniques.  Here’s what I sent over to my Hubs, Mike, and he loved it. This is the focal point that the whole design revolved around.

Mike then deconstructed the photo in Photoshop, where he removed a lot of the trees and surrounding buildings using the Cloning tool. He isolated the Lighthouse and the land mass it stands on.

The rays were from a Vector illustrator file, and the sun was constructed by Mike. Here’s an early mockup.

I liked the idea of a little Biplane flying over with a banner of our logo. Another early mockup:

Then comes the layers of waves and the starry night in half of the picture, which was inspired by religious art illustrator.

Mike found another Biplane that he preferred, so switched that out, polished it all up, and here’s where it ended up. To get the full effect, incorporating our cover and our Twitter feed icon, head over to our Twitter page, and why not follow us @illuvint while you are there!

Our Facebook page was much easier, as all of the elements were already completed. I mainly had to rearrange them to fit and create a balance composition within the 851 x 315 pixel cover. Also I had to navigate around the space where the profile picture overlays it (hence why it cuts off so suddenly). Facebook has a sizing guide here with the specifics. The waves were redone as only one tone, the plane moved central, and our tagline added.

Our profile picture was trickier, if you can believe it due to the sizing. Facebook says it is 180×180 pixels, but it kept appearing either too large or off-center, and just not right. So Mike the pro stepped in and got it just right.

This was actually different than our original Twitter feed icon (bottom), so I made him change it there too. Consistent branding, right?  See how all the elements blend together on our Facebook page and be sure to LIKE us while there.

Has this been helpful? Any questions or suggestions? Hit the comment box with feedback. Thanks!

The Final Push: Will Third Time Be A Charm?

This is it, friends! It’s the final 2 days of D Magazine’s (D as in Dallas) BEST OF BIG D, where a very talented photographer friend of ours could possibly grab the title of Best Family Photographer, on her 3rd nomination. You can see some samples of her incredible photography and hilarious captioning skills below, and learn of her awesomeness. The link to vote is (and she is MIETTE PHOTOGRAPHY, on PAGE 6 under “Who is the best FAMILY PHOTOGRAPHER”): Best of Big D Services Ballot

WILL THE THIRD TIME BE A CHARM FOR DALLAS FAMILY PHOTOGRAPHER?

Miette Photography, owned by internationally recognized photographer Jayme Nourallah, has been nominated for the 2013 Best of Big D Readers’ Choice Poll for best family photographer.

This is Nourallah’s third nomination, and she wonders if three will be her lucky number. “Even after all these years, I continue to put so much of myself into my photography,” she says, “I hope people see that passion, and respond to it. I cherish the families I work with, and D Magazine provides a broader platform to reach, engage, and capture more of them!” 

Inspired by both graphic design and modern art, Miette’s owner has been behind the shutter for over 20 years. An artist to the core, she gets her ideas from art magazines and books and especially enjoys galleries and trips to museums.

“Photography is no different than fine art to me,” she says. “I consider myself a painter first. I use my camera and the tools of photography to balance the elements of an image, including the color, texture, visual weight, and negative space. This gives my photos a definitive look that I think separates me from most of my competition.”

Her customers are among her biggest fans. “It’s rare that someone comes to the house and doesn’t comment on [Jayme’s] work of [my son],” says Bill.

Tasanee notes that Nourallah works well with her subjects: “My daughter gets apprehensive around strangers and Jayme was perfect. The two worked together very well. I want her to photograph my daughter every year of her life!”

Jayme handcrafts many of the backdrops used for her shoots. Pouring her passion and creativity into her sessions, it’s so much more than taking a family photo, but rather capturing the essence of each unique family member every time. It’s no wonder she has named her business after her daughter — Miette is a French term of endearment meaning “little crumb” — as she nurtures it like a mother.

Nourallah feels strongly that her talent with photography is more than a business. She has recently returned from a mission trip to Costa Rica, building housing as well as relationships with the village children. “Giving back is part of who I am. With all that I’ve been given, it’s the least I can do.”

Nourallah’s photography has appeared in Time Out New York, Dallas Modern Luxury, Der Spiegel Germany, D Magazine, La Gazetta dell Sport Rome, Time Out London, Alternative Press, and the cover of the Dallas Observer. Her portfolio can be viewed at MiettePhotography.com or on Facebook at  facebook.com/MiettePhotography.

The link to vote is (and she is MIETTE PHOTOGRAPHY, on PAGE 6 under “Who is the best FAMILY PHOTOGRAPHER”): Best of Big D Services Ballot.

Gaining Mad Photo Skills

With 2,000+ images from a client shoot over 4 days in California, photo editing work can be a bit daunting. A Pro Photographer I do not claim to be; yet I possess an Artist’s eye and a penchant for learning. I’ve been working hard on gaining some “mad photo skills”.

Here I give you a couple samples of my latest digital photography editing work. I am using Photoshop along with a plugin a photographer blog recommended called RadLab. I am testing out RadLab with a 14 day free trial, and loving it!

Here’s a couple samples to see what a difference learning and applying photo editing can make!

BEFORE: Age to Age Concert: Curtis Stephan, Steve Agrisano, and Dan Schutte

AFTER: Photoshop + RadLab Plugin Editing

TOP IMAGE: BEFORE – Bishops with Archbishop Gomez of LA.

AFTER: Photoshop + RadLab Plugin Editing

Well, back to editing I go!