The Sky I Reach

I'd like to start this post by saying... Jasmine Star is AWESOME! Finished watching Day 2 of her 5 day Wedding Photography online seminar and I'm learning so much interesting, invaluable information that will surely prove useful in many ways. I've been busy scribbling notes down, perusing different photo blogs online, and today spent some time networking and talking to fellow photographers around the world and picking up a few more tips to add to my belt. To the wonderful people I had the opportunity to chat and exchange details with - HEY!!!

Jasmine Star is without a doubt an inspiration to me from this day forth. Not just a photographer but also a fierce businesswoman, she strives in the wedding industry and plays the game by her own rules - while still admitting to her imperfections, her nervousness, insecurities, and weaknesses. There are certainly several pages I'd like to replicate from her life story!

She also encourages me to push harder, feeds my thirst for success, and gives me the motivation to keep going. Yes, I'm going to have days where I want to throw the towel in because I feel like an utter failure... but it's all a learning experience. The only place I can move from here is up.

I feel with every photo shoot that I'm growing a little more from the experience and learning something new to take with me to the next one. For example, I realized several things, one of them being - I need to talk and direct more. I do believe years of working alone, with animals, and nature itself has taught me to be rather quiet. I wait for that moment of inspiration and I shoot, shoot, shoot! However, with portrait photography it's required of me to take an extra spoonful of assertive and work to communicate and clarify the ultimate goal of the shoot while remaining on track. As Mike will happily echo, I enjoy stomping around in my bossy boots, so I have to be able to bring that element of myself into a photo shoot knowing that it'll ultimate produce the best results possible. Ironic for a girl like myself who never seems to shut up!

Goals this year as far as photography goes:

Grab opportunities where I can to grow as a photographer. 

Don't fear failure. 

Don't underestimate myself. 

Don't be afraid to ask questions. 

Be assertive and know what I want. 

Discover and apply strategies to get my name out there. 

Lastly, as Jasmine taught me... KEEP IT REAL! I'm going to both repel and attract people depending, and I have to be okay with that. All photographers have to learn to deal with it, and dammit, I will too!

3 words which I want to describe my photography:

Vivacious, poignant, and expressive.

A few unposted shots from May (click for larger):

Apartment Modeling 101

After several months of throwing around the idea of working together, I finally had the opportunity to collaborate with the gorgeous Gio on a photo shoot! Along for the ride was the talented make-up artist Jacki (Belle Amore Make-Up Artistry) who did an amazing job of perfecting perfection, while keeping herself from strangling my cats when they eyed off her belonging with hungry eyes. 

The location for this particular shoot was my apartment, which was an interesting experience considering I've never previously opened up the door to photographing models in my living space. However, the lighting we had to work with was stunning, and the way the rays of light streamed in and illuminated Gio's complexion was absolutely breathtaking in the resulting photos. I have certainly become quite the fan of shooting with natural light!

There are quite frankly many images that turned out beautifully, so included below are some examples that I've chosen to share with you from the day. Clicky-click for larger versions. 

Lastly, lots of warm hugs and thanks to Gio and Jacki for helping make this photo shoot a success! Looking forward to working with you both again soon. <3

One of my favorite candid images from the day: 

Gio cracking me up as she attempts to make ~cool, nonchalant, make-up application~ look realistic for the camera. 

An Evening In Portland

During my jam-packed trip to Oregon, Ally and I managed to squeeze in an evening photo shoot before I headed home to Colorado. Originally we had in mind a daylight shoot either in an area buzzing with beautiful flowers in Corvallis, or an industrial shoot... but ultimately we ended up with something a little out of both our elements... which led to a gorgeous photo shoot during a Portland evening. Who could ask for anything more? 

Okay, so we -did- attempt something as the sun casted it's final rays of light upon the city, but as the mosquitoes came out to suck us dry like greedy little vampires - we had to come up with a different game plan that involved less itching and more snapping! We grabbed our stuff and strolled back to the original location we met up at... a small area filled with food booths, lights, and locals enjoying the beautiful evening weather. 

I wasn't sure how this was going to turn out. For one, Ally was not used to being photographed in public outside the safety net of a studio. Two, I was still learning how to master shooting in darker, low light conditions. And three, we were both freakin' nervous due to the first two facts but we KNEW we had to make something happen! This quickly became a step into new territory for both of us to throw ourselves into, but it also felt refreshing to know that we weren't alone in being out of our comfort zone. 

Sensing Ally's nervousness about all the possible attention we could draw to ourselves, I went all out on being a little more dramatic and trying to make this a fun adventure for both of us. I slid awfully close to strangers while grinning slyly over my shoulder and during one segment of the shoot, grabbed a white, plastic chair, planted it right in the middle of the walking area, and proceeded to lounge sidewards in it while taking photos. It worked, and in no time we were laughing, making jokes, and not caring one bit about who might be watching or what they thought of our commotion. It honestly felt pretty damn liberating!

I have to say, this was an incredibly fun shoot to do. Not only is Ally blessed with natural beauty, but she was delightful, personable, and a total foodie like me! After we finished our shoot, we proceeded to relax, chat, and munch down on some pesto mayo fries she recommended... which I assure you will have me skipping back to Portland in no time. My lord - they were delish! We cooed over the avocado & sea salt milkshakes that were up on offer, and got roped into a couple of games of Bingo with a group of people who had randomly decided to set up a game on one of the tables. 

Overall great food, great photos, and great company. Thank you so much Ally for a wonderful last night in Portland! Looking forward to catching up when you visit Colorado! <3

Welcoming Nora into the world!

The adorable one month old Nora! Many warm congratulations to Alisa and Josh. She's beautiful... as well as incredibly dangerous to my suppressed motherhood desires! haha 

(As per usual, click for larger version!)

Without further ado...