Shooting Author Elise Allen

A few weeks ago I worked with author, Elise Allen, shooting the photo that will appear on the jacket of her new book, "Populazzi", a young adult novel that as Hillary Duff says,“Fresh, funny, and sometimes wrenching, Populazzi nails what it’s like to try and find yourself while navigating the crazy world of high school. I loved it."And, speaking of Hillary Duff, Elise co-wrote Hillary's novel "Elixir".

Elise's work can also be heard by watching Fozzie Bear, Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy as she has been writing for The Muppets in "The Muppets Kitchen with Cat Cora" and "The Hasty Tasty Cooking Tips with Cat Cora and The Muppets". To find out more about Elise, check out,http://www.facebook.com/l/1e446-YN-OicYyFi4r_n-bz0BGQ;www.eliseallen.com.

photo: Steve Goldstein

Betsy Shows Brides the Perfect Way To Get An Idea of How They'll Look on their Wedding Day

Los Angeles- Nov. 8, 2010- Betsy diFrancesca, a hairstylist and makeup artist in Los Angeles, provides brides-to-be a way of showing them how they’ll look on their wedding day. During the trial run , she takes pictures after each look and prints them right there. “I find that this gives the bride an idea of how their look will “read” for the camera. Many of my clients come to me because I offer a natural look, however, they don’t realize how much makeup is required to look good for the camera. By taking a “before” picture, I’m able to show them what the camera picks up when they don’t have any makeup on, specifically red tones and under eye shadows. In the “after” shot she can see how easily I can correct this with subtle changes. This also gives her an idea of how different hair styles work in emphasizing or de-emphasizing the shape of her face and what works best with the headpiece and the neckline of her dress.”

The trial run takes anywhere from 3 to 4 hours. and takes place in Betsy’s home in the San Fernando Valley. ”I have plenty of room and good, natural light. I find that holding the trial run here shows my client the setting that I like to create for her- a calm and serene atmosphere that I feel is so important

on her wedding day. The day of the wedding, I’ll bring that atmosphere to her.”

For examples of Betsy’s work, you can visit her website at, http://www.betsymh.com.

Terry Burns and Ron Kristy

While we were in Ithaca, N.Y. in September, we also photographed Patrick's youngest sister, Terry and her husband, Ron for some new publicity shots. They moved to Ithaca from Nashville about 3 years ago with their son, Noah and have been singing in and around Ithaca since relocating. You can see and hear them on YouTube by typing in Terry Burns and Ron Kristy and they''ll have a CD available in the spring. And, you can hear them separately on their websites, www.terryburns.biz and www.ronkristy.com.

The Burns Sisters

Annie, Jeannie and Marie Burns

In September, My husband , Patrick and I, went back east to visit my parents in Nyack, NY and then headed up to Ithaca, NY to visit his sisters and brothers. Three of his sisters (he's got 5 of them and 6 brothers) have a band appropriately titled, The Burns Sisters Band, and we photographed them for some new publicity shots (Patrick shot them and I did makeup). They're on tour with Arlo Guthrie right now and will be appearing at Carnegie Hall with him at the end of this month. They are truly amazing singers ( and the best sisters-in-law ever!) and, if you'd like to sample some of their music, you can visit their website at, www.burnsisters.com.

Latest from the headshot gallery...

This is Patricia Gillum actress, film producer (her recent film, "Beneath The Blue" premiered this past weekend) and good friend. We had a great time shooting with David Palmer who also had a show this weekend at Gallery 8 in Studio City featuring his amazing photos of the Getty Museum shot with a camera with an infrared converted sensor. They are part of an ongoing exhibit at Gallery 8, 4300 Tujunga Ave., Studio City. You can also see examples of his work at www.davidpalmerimages.com.

Art imitating Life

This morning, I received an email from someone I've never met. Not that that's so unusual but, it was from an artist named Miles McGrath. Apparently he had been out walking in Ithaca, N.Y. when he spotted my business card on the ground. He liked the picture of the woman on it and decided to go home and paint her. He said he didn't know how my card ended up in Ithaca ( I had been there last month visiting my husband's family) but he thought that I might like to see the painting and that it might bring a smile to my face. He's right. Thank you, Miles!

Gray is the new blonde....

A couple of months ago, I was contacted by a a former high school classmate ( thank you, Facebook!), a beautiful raven haired girl, who told me she had decided to stop coloring her hair. Apparently the women in her family go gray at a very young age and she had been covering hers since her early 20's. As her new color was emerging, her old makeup colors just weren't working. She asked for some help in choosing a new palette.

First, I asked her to send me a picture of herself with the new hair color and no makeup.I took into account her coloring ( hazel eyes, medium skin tone and her natural, pre-gray hair color which was a very dark brown). I then put a face map together with the colors and brand names that I used. I chose a dark plum shadow in the crease and outer corners and a soft black kohl liner lightly smudged, a matte beige shadow on the lid, and a soft taupe shadow applied with a brush to her brows. I finished with peach blush and a peach lipstick used with a liner in the same color. As we age, more color is needed- everything starts to fade. However, it's very easy to overdo. It's important that we define the lips with liner. The same goes for lining the eyes. That doesn't mean it has to be a thick, liquid line, just enough to give them definition.