Guest Interview – Sarah Cornish (My4Hens)

Thursday, May 13, 2010

Hello everyone! I’m soooo excited to bring you our first guest interview on the Shabby Shoppe Blog!  This week we’re excited to have Sarah Cornish, the incredibly talented artist behind My Four Hens Photography.  If you haven’t seen Sarah or her work before, you’re in for a huge treat!  She’s crazy talented and oh-so-sweet!  From scrapbooking to photography and photo actions, her work is GORGEOUS!  And you won’t believe the goodies she brought to share with us today! Want a chance to win a $100 gift card to Sarah’s store? yeah, I thought so…read on to learn more!! :)

Sarah Cornish

1.  Were you a photographer first, or a scrapbooker?  How did you get your
start in the digi world?
I started my journey into photography as just a child and my love has
continued to bloom through the years. I bought my Canon S3is (not a dslr
but had a manual mode) when my younger son (now 4) was 6 weeks old and
started to pace myself but take more and more of a serious interest. Over
time I began to update my equipment little by little. I bought my Canon
Rebel xti when my son Noah was a little over a year old and started
scrapbooking around the same time. I was definitely still in hobbyist mode
but I had serious goals in place! I took things very slow as I also delved
into the amazing digital scrapbooking community and have tried hard to
juggle both. Unfortunately the scrapbooking has had to take a back seat to
the photography but I am determined to find a way to really marry the two
and find a good balance! I have just recently applied for my business
license and decided to go professional and am finally building my portfolio -
yay!!

2.  How would you define your style? What are the inspirations for your art
and photography?

I am a total creative soul! My great grandfather was an amazing painter
and though he passed away before I really had an recollection of him I
often wonder if I get that from him! I think my “style” would more or less
be softer and more romantic and whimsical! I am inspired by absolutely
everything from my sweet children to the colors in my surroundings,
magazine articles and ads, fellow photographers and scrapbookers. There is
just so much inspiration to be had!

3.  What’s the secret to get kids to cooperate for photos?? (Please tell
us there is one! LOL)

Ha! When I figure it out I will be sure to let ya know LOL!  Honestly I
just try to get down to their level (and by that I mean stooping down so I
can make eye contact when I talk to them) and befriending them from the
start. I try to keep things moving along so that they don’t get bored or
restless and I ask a ton of questions so I can bring it up during my
sessions. Things like what is your favorite TV character go a long way
because you have no idea how much a kid loves to go on and on about their
fave character LOL! I got through one of my latest sessions by singing the
Dora theme song with the most adorable 4 year old I have ever met LOL!
(besides my own of course!)

4.  For the rest of us who aren’t photography professionals, what tips do
you have to help us get the most out of our photos for scrapbooking?

I think with all things photography one of the best ways to spice a page
up is to not be afraid of experimentation! I always try to put a little
extra TLC into my photo editing because I feel like it really brings a
little extra something something to my scrap pages. I also like to edit my
photos so they are cohesive with the colors in my scrapbook page. It doesn’t
have to be matchy matchy of course! Just have a nice flow to everything!

5.  What software do you use to organize and manage your personal photos?
What is your backup process?

Okay so this is embarrasing but I don’t have a really good organization
system at all LOL! That is something I REALLY need to work on and I am
totally up for suggestions lol!! I do back up as regularly as possible! I
am currently looking to a good web based server I can store everything on
to be double covered though! I also plan on buying an extra ehd (external hard drive)! You can
never be to safe!

6.  Please share your favorite photo with us, and tell us what you love
about it!

Oh my goodness my fav?? LOL That is SO insanely hard! Well I might have a
couple of favs but I will try to keep it short and sweet LOL! This is one
of my absolute favorites!

Its just my daughter doing what she loves to run around barefoot and point at
everything she sees lol! But I am so into creative cropping! I love images
that tell a story and I really feel like this one speaks volumes to me!
I also really love this one

because it was my first real photo session with a newborn and I was scared out of my
mind but I fell in love with the images! It made me feel kind of like I
accomplished something big!! Kind of one of those aha! moments for me!

7.  What resources do you recommend to help others get started using
Actions?

I think one of the best places for installation instructions or just for
information in general on using them is Erin from Texas Chic’s Blog! She
has such a wealth of information and is so generous with it! She has even
given me some lovely suggestions on how to improve my elements Photoshop
actions which I full intend to take advantage of in the very near future!
You can find her here.

8.  What are your hobbies and interests outside of photography and
scrapbooking?

I LOVE to read!! I am a total book worm. I could seriously read my way
through the dictionary lol! Yeah now that you know I am a nerd! Honestly my
number one besides God is my family! We are very family oriented so
everything we do we generally do together. We go everywhere together. We
seldom go out. We are just very laid back and easy going people around
here!!

I hope you’ve enjoyed learning more about Sarah!  And as a special treat for the Shabby Shoppe Blog readers, she has generously shared SEVERAL goodies with us!  first is this GORGEOUS set of Photoshop/PSE actions – FREE!

Download these gorgeous actions now!

Feeling up for a challenge??  Put these actions to use and show us your before/after images!  Upload a simple LO that shows your before and after images to the Shabby Shoppe Gallery, add a comment to this post that links to your LO, and you’ll be entered into the random drawing to win a $100 gift card to Sarah’s store! Be sure to do both steps  (upload and comment here with a link to your LO) to be entered.  You must post your comment here by 11:59 PM (CST) on Wednesday 5/19 to be eligible to win.  We will randomly select a winner from all of the valid entries.  The winner will be announced on Thursday, 5/20!  Here’s a sample entry layout I created with these beautiful actions!  (note: you don’t have to include all of the actions, but you must include at least one!)

And finally – Sarah has generously provided a HUGE coupon for Shabby Shoppe customers!!  Use coupon code Royal50 when you check out to receive 50% off!!  This sale only lasts through the end of May, so be sure to visit Sarah’s store soon to discover easy ways to enhance your photos! (below those gorgeous photos on Sarah’s store front you’ll see listings of all the actions available!  freebies, bundles, PSE compatible actions, etc! click on one of those categories to get started!)

Here are all the links one more time!

Thanks for stopping by today!  We hope you enjoyed getting to know Sarah a little better, and we can’t wait to see you try these gorgeous actions out on YOUR photos!

BeckiePhotography, Special Guests, Uncategorized 61 Comments

61 Responses to “Guest Interview – Sarah Cornish (My4Hens)”

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    diabetes type 2 says:
    April 19, 2011 at 9:57 am

    Precisely what I was searching for, thanks for posting .

    Reply
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    Nakia says:
    June 2, 2010 at 4:10 pm

    Awesome interview!

    Reply
  5. 55
    Sylvia92 says:
    May 22, 2010 at 2:20 pm

    Thanks so much for these great actions ! … Hope to you use them soon !
    Hugs from France !

    Reply
  6. 54
    Sandy_in_MD says:
    May 22, 2010 at 11:19 am

    Thank you for sharing these wonderful actions!

    Reply
  7. 53
    Rachel (Rach3975) says:
    May 22, 2010 at 4:58 am

    Thanks for the actions! I use your Photographers Toolbox ALL the time and love playing with your other actions, too.

    Reply
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    Amy says:
    May 19, 2010 at 5:44 pm

    This is so awesome! I am a huge Shabby Princess & My 4 Hens fan :) Here’s my link. THANKS!!

    http://ahphotoblog.blogspot.com/2010/05/personal-m4h-sweethearts.html

    Reply
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    Claudia says:
    May 19, 2010 at 8:33 am

    Great actions, I had fun playing with them. Here the link to my LO
    http://www.theshabbyshoppe.com/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=27387&nocache=1

    Reply
  13. 47
    Lisa West says:
    May 19, 2010 at 7:17 am

    Thanks so much for these terrific actions!! I’ve been an avid fan for a while now and LOVE your actions! Here’s my entry…love the way they turned out!
    http://www.theshabbyshoppe.com/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=27385&title=random-rocks-ps-actions&cat=856

    Reply
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    Kelli West says:
    May 18, 2010 at 11:33 pm

    those are great actions. so fun and pretty to use! here is my layout…

    http://www.theshabbyshoppe.com/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=27382&title=blog-challenge&cat=856

    Reply
  16. 44
    Kylie says:
    May 18, 2010 at 10:20 pm

    Thank you so much for the free photo actions! Love them all!! Plus, I wandered over to Sarah’s website – her images are beyond beautiful….such an inspiration!

    Reply
  17. 43
    Beckie says:
    May 18, 2010 at 5:29 pm

    Thanks for all of the wonderful entries everyone!! Just a friendly reminder – please note that you must upload your entry to the Shabby Shoppe Gallery for it to be valid. For this particular challenge you don’t need to do a true scrapbook page, but if you do, please ensure that it is at least 75% Shabby Shoppe products (free kits are fine!). You can browse through the Blog challenge gallery to see examples (link below). Thanks everyone!! have a wonderful day!

    http://www.theshabbyshoppe.com/photopost/showgallery.php?cat=856

    Reply
  18. 42
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    Monica says:
    May 18, 2010 at 4:42 pm

    Thank you for the free actions!! Love them… Here is my before and after (used Mocha Chip) :http://www.flickr.com/photos/monicar10/4619032683/
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/monicar10/4619032683/

    Reply
  20. 40
    Amy Wolff says:
    May 18, 2010 at 1:32 pm

    I’m a little bit addicted to Sarah’s actions, not to mention I just love her as a person. Super sweet and super talented. Here’s my blog challenge link: http://www.theshabbyshoppe.com/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=27376

    Reply
  21. 39
    SusanD says:
    May 18, 2010 at 10:36 am

    Thanks for this fun challenge. The actions are great!

    Here is my take.

    http://susand1009.blogspot.com/2010/05/random-rocks-actions-by-my4hens.html

    Reply
  22. 38
    Tine says:
    May 18, 2010 at 8:22 am

    Thanks for the fabolous freebie! I love Sarahs actions. Here is my take on the challenge:
    http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c303/Valleygirl27/konk-actions.jpg

    Reply
  23. 37
    Tru Pettit says:
    May 18, 2010 at 6:45 am

    I love that I got to try Sarah’s new actions! They are so much fun. Shabby Shoppe is such a cool site. I dabbled with scrapping awhile ago for my step-daughter. Now all I need is a 48 hour day and I’m happy =) Thank you both for the great resources.

    I have a photo to submit and I hope I’m doing this correctly. (I tried earlier but it didn’t go through).

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/teepee68/4618262646/

    Reply
  24. 36
    Tru Pettit says:
    May 18, 2010 at 6:20 am

    =) It was difficult to post just one of the actions!. I have quite a collection of Sarah’s actions already and her current freebie is amazing! (I hope I posted the link correctly for the submission…)

    http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4032/4618262646_0d454779eb.jpg

    AND Shabby Shoppe is soooo cool! I will definitely come back and download some of the freebies. Way past bedtime for me =)
    Good luck everyone!
    tru

    Reply
  25. 35
    Lori says:
    May 18, 2010 at 4:11 am

    Thank you so much for the fun new actions. Love the interview, too!! Such a fun scrap blog! I cannot wait to purchase MORE of Sarah’s actions. I love her tool box actions, as well.

    I used All for one in this before and after
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/45144808@N03/4618194106/

    Reply
  26. 34
    Mendy says:
    May 17, 2010 at 1:30 am

    Thank you so much for the fun actions. Here is the link for my layout. http://www.theshabbyshoppe.com/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=27369&nocache=1
    This is the most fun I have ever had with actions. They worked flawlessly and gave my photo a fun and different look.

    Reply
  27. 33
    Carolyn says:
    May 16, 2010 at 8:48 pm

    Thank you so much for the wonderful goodie. Just love Sarah’s actions, she’s A-MAZING!! I made a page to enter into the contest (thank you a million times over for the chance to win, how very exciting) Here’s the page I made for the contest-
    http://www.mylifeandscrap.com/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/17948/ppuser/4

    Reply
  28. 32
    ulisa says:
    May 16, 2010 at 12:57 pm

    Thank you so much Sarah for the gorgeous actions! Here’s my entry:

    http://www.theshabbyshoppe.com/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=27364&nocache=1

    Reply
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    Jennifer says:
    May 16, 2010 at 2:13 am

    Thank you for sharing these beautiful actions! I’m so excited! Oh and pick me! :)
    http://www.theshabbyshoppe.com/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=27358&title=my-four-hensrandom-rocks&cat=856

    Reply
  31. 29
    Sarah S says:
    May 16, 2010 at 2:11 am

    These are awesome!! I love your actions. Here’s my before/after – http://www.flickr.com/photos/sarah2405/sets/72157624069289496/

    Reply
  32. 28
    Cristina says:
    May 15, 2010 at 5:55 pm

    I’m a big fan of Sarah’s actions, and I loved this new set! Thank you so much!
    Here’s how I used them: http://www.theshabbyshoppe.com/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=27356

    Reply
  33. 27
    Katrina says:
    May 15, 2010 at 5:01 pm

    Yay Sarah!! I love your actions hunny Congrats on being featured

    Reply
  34. 26
    Brenda says:
    May 15, 2010 at 3:03 pm

    Here is mine. lOvE the actions as always Sarah!!! Thank you!
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/29582904@N02/4609557090/

    Reply
  35. 25
    wulan ^_^ says:
    May 15, 2010 at 2:31 pm

    thanks sooo much! love love ‘em!!

    Reply
  36. 24
    Michelle says:
    May 15, 2010 at 11:23 am

    I love her actions. I made a quick page last night to share… http://michellescreativetreasures.blogspot.com/2010/05/lots-of-action.html

    Reply
  37. 23
    EBPitcher says:
    May 14, 2010 at 6:39 pm

    Here’s my entry with these fun actions! Thanks to Sarah for sharing.

    http://www.theshabbyshoppe.com/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=27349&title=random-rocks-blog-contest&cat=856

    I used the elements set on PSE6 and I had a few “breaks” appear where some of the things the action was looking for was “not available”. Anyone else have this problem? It did appear to affect the results I got.
    -EBP-

    Reply
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    Nikki Epperson says:
    May 14, 2010 at 9:32 am

    I can’t get the actions to download? I keep getting a blank page?
    Any help is appreciated!

    Reply
    • 21.1
      admin says:
      May 14, 2010 at 11:31 am

      Hi Nikki! I made a change to the download link in hopes that it will help you! I also have a suggestion, when clicking on the download link, a window should pop up with the message “If your download does not start in 10 seconds please ‘click here’.” (You might not had seen this previously, as it is one of my changes). If your download doesn’t seem to start, try that “click here” link. I think this should solve any problems you might have had. Give it a try! :o)

      Reply
  40. 20
    Tara says:
    May 14, 2010 at 9:17 am

    Wow Sarah! Thank you so very much Hun! They are gorgeous actions :)

    Hugs, Tara

    Reply
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    Jolanda says:
    May 14, 2010 at 6:34 am

    First I want to thank Sarah for sharing this beautiful freebie set!!! Love it! And Becky love the blog and this interview you did with Sarah!

    Here is my entrie, http://www.theshabbyshoppe.com/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=27338&title=action-preview-blog-challenge&cat=856

    Used 2 actions (mocha chip and all for one)

    Reply
  43. 17
    Elise says:
    May 13, 2010 at 11:59 pm

    thanks for the fun actions! and the great interview. you guys rock on this new blog!!
    here is my link:
    http://www.theshabbyshoppe.com/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=27337&title=my4hens-random-rock-actions&cat=856

    Reply
  44. 16
    amymom24 says:
    May 13, 2010 at 11:21 pm

    Fabulous interview! Thanks for the freebie, Sarah:)

    Reply
  45. 15
    Janet says:
    May 13, 2010 at 11:04 pm

    How awesome to “meet” someone new. I just love your creative spirit, Sarah. I’m also excited to finally learn how to install actions on my Mac. Here is my layout with all of them.
    http://www.theshabbyshoppe.com/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=27335&title=my-4-hens-actions&cat=500

    Reply
  46. 14
    pixiedust says:
    May 13, 2010 at 10:48 pm

    WOW! Her actions are top quality and so beautiful!! I loved the interview!! Thank you so much!!! :)

    Reply
  47. 13
    Linda says:
    May 13, 2010 at 7:53 pm

    Thank you for this wonderful challenge and for the set of photo actions. I enjoyed learning more about you Sarah and just love your work. Here is my layout using the actions
    http://www.theshabbyshoppe.com/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=27334&title=action-blog-challenge&cat=856

    Reply
  48. 12
    Tracy says:
    May 13, 2010 at 7:52 pm

    TY for these! Love them :) I used all of them for my LO, cos I will use this as the folder sample for the actions LOL. Any excuse to use more pics of my girl :)

    http://www.theshabbyshoppe.com/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=27333&title=actions&cat=856

    Reply
  49. 11
    Helen says:
    May 13, 2010 at 6:44 pm

    Wow!!! I love her actions! Thanks for the freebie and the discount!
    I just bought The Sweetheart collection and Soft and Sweet!

    hugs
    Helen

    Reply
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    Tambi Lane says:
    May 13, 2010 at 6:40 pm

    Loving the new actions! I hope I am doing this right….http://www.theshabbyshoppe.com/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=27331&title=my4hens-befoe-and-after&cat=858

    Reply
  52. 8
    Jodi says:
    May 13, 2010 at 6:37 pm

    Hello! I am really excited to do this. I am just wondering what is LO? It may be a stupid question! I hope not.

    Reply
    • 8.1
      Beckie says:
      May 13, 2010 at 7:46 pm

      Hi Jodi! not a stupid question at all! LO is the short way of saying “layout”. So just create a very simple layout that includes your original photo, and at least one more copy of the photo showing us what it looked like after you applied one of the actions! Just post back here if you have any questions!

      Reply
  53. 7
    Tambi Lane says:
    May 13, 2010 at 6:32 pm

    I love the actions! Thank you so much for the freebies to start playing!

    Reply
  54. 6
    lissel says:
    May 13, 2010 at 6:32 pm

    LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the actions! Thanks so much for the free actions…now I’ve gotta go get me some more!

    http://www.theshabbyshoppe.com/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=27330&title=action-playmy-four-hens&cat=500

    Reply
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    Davita says:
    May 13, 2010 at 6:29 pm

    Thank you so much for the awesome interview. Sarah never ceases to amaze me with her incredible talent and her amazingly kind and generous heart. You couldn’t have picked a more perfect person for this article. I could look at her photographs all day long! Thanks also for the freebie and the coupon. You rock!

    Reply
  57. 3
    Candice says:
    May 13, 2010 at 6:23 pm

    Wow, thanks for these free actions and this wonderful Chance!
    LOVEDDD these actions!!!!
    out of all of sarah’s actions I have, I really like 2 of these most of all!
    http://www.theshabbyshoppe.com/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=27328&title=action-contest&cat=500

    Reply
  58. 2
    Christine says:
    May 13, 2010 at 12:53 pm

    Very cool! Thanks for the free actions… I LOVE actions for PSE!

    -Christine
    http;//www.monkeycbaby.etsy.com

    Reply
  59. 1
    Shabby Princess says:
    May 13, 2010 at 11:06 am

    Sarah (and Beckie) thank you SOOOOOOO much for this! it has been such a pleasure to have you featured on the blog…you went so way above and beyond! i am so excited to work with the actions on tons of photos…and to do some more shoppe-ing to pick up any actions that i might not already have lol! you ROCK (awful pun intended lol)!

    Reply

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