Our community LOVED this adorable Easter image by the talented Susannah Cornelissen. So we asked her to share a little behind the scenes magic with us all! Here is what she had to say:

Props Used:

• Sky/Sun/Grass: Swaddles from Lou Lou & Company

• Tree: Newborn cheese cloth wraps from Red Owl Photo Props

• Bunny/Carrots/Eggs: Michaels

• Clouds: Courtesy of my dog ripping open a pillow

Set Up:

I created this setup on the floor of my daughter’s room. Her room has the best afternoon light and I wanted a strong directional light that came from a bit higher up to even out shadows on my daughters face. My son and I started with laying the sky and grass then added in the sun, clouds, tree, rabbit, carrots, and eggs.

Taking the Image:

• Camera Equipment: Canon 6D with Sigma Art 35mm f1.4

• Camera Settings: SS200, f/2.8 , ISO250

Because my images usually involve squirmy babies/toddlers, I begin my process by taking a photo of the setup without kids in it. This way I have an image to use if the kids move or ruffle something, or if I want to extend my image in post processing. 

I then placed my daughter in the middle of our setup, and let her hold an egg as a distraction. My son hopped up into her crib and waved egg rattles above her to keep her attention away from mauling the rabbit. I stood at the top of a 3-step ladder and used Live View withe Face Recognition turned on. The window light came from camera-right.

Editing the Image:

• PhotoMechanic: used to quickly cull, organize and rename my images.

• Lightroom: small adjustments to white balance, exposure, highlights, and shadows

• Photoshop: Began by adding a Jessica Drossin texture overlay and adjusted to preference. Adjusted vibrance, saturation, exposure and contrast (just small amounts). Added a curve layer to slightly pop highlights. Lightly dodge and burned highlights and shadows around the entire image. Color adjusted the sky and grass to be a bit more rich. Added minor adjustments to skin and eyes (smooth/sharpen/lighten/remove purple hues) and finished with a sharpening layer.