WPPI 2010

(in camera radial blur, no photoshop... taught to me by Miss Jessica Kettle)

I had the most amazing experience at WPPI this year. It reminded me of why I made the decision to become a photographer. I love making something beautiful for someone else and I love that they'll be able to hold on to a moment that they don't want to forget. It made me re-evaluate the way I was running my business as well... in a good way! :)

I'm so happy there are so many talented and smart photographers out there that are willing to take time out of their lives to share what works for them. I swear in every class I was like... "I wanna be more like that..." or "I wanna do that!" There was a lot of good stuff going around! But mostly, I want to connect with my clients. I think on some levels I do, but there are times that I know I could do better. So that is my goal this year. I want to implement fun and meaningful experiences in my shoots and I'm hoping with each one I can accomplish that.

This is probably what I looked like the whole time... just in awe! LOL!

Now on to the fun... These are the lovely ladies that I got to hang out with while in Vegas and let's just say we're all posers!!

Good 'ol Victoria's Secret... yes, we did some shopping. Much needed girl time.

Tip that I learned from Audrey Woulard... all of my pictures were shot in jpeg vivid. I don't know if Canon has the setting listed exactly the same in camera but on Nikon you can change your Picture Control to VIVID and it is pretty amazing what your SOOC looks like. For some reason with raw you lose the brightness so you have to shoot in jpeg. I barely did a thing to all of my pictures and the color is pretty powerful. Try it!!

Here is Miss Marissa Vargason...

Annie West.

Malea Ellet.

Natalie Steed.

Kacee Preston.

Ashley Hawkes. This night we actually were lucky enough to get to hang out with the lovely Ali Hohn from "Rock that OCF." And so these shots take on a totally different feel using off camera flash at the Venetian. Thank you Miss Ali for showing me the ways... you are so talented, lady! And so fun too!

Thanks for a wonderful trip, ladies! Until next time! Muah!

Isn't she beautiful?

My husband's aunt has a foreign exchange student staying with her from Japan. She sat across from me at our Easter brunch and I could not stop admiring her gorgeous face. After we finished eating... I pulled her aside and said, "I need to take your picture!" And I'm so glad I did! Wow!

Photo Challenge: Self Portrait

Here's the setting: tri-pod, camera on timer mode, up in the canyon... no one but me. And I probably looked like THE biggest idiot trying to pose for my camera, then quickly running back and forth to check the shots. Oh well... I guess I'll do anything for a photo challenge! :) Well, maybe not ANYTHING.

The hardest thing to master on this was the focus, obviously. So I think most of the time I just got lucky. But oh how I do love my little black dress! One of my favorite finds!

Head Shots

How about this girl for your real estate agent? Pretty much a bombshell if I do say so myself. We got together today to take pictures for her business cards and then some fun shots, you know, just for fun! :)

Here's the winner for her business cards.

Lookin' sassy for the camera... so cute!

I have to laugh...

because my 3 year-old daughter took these pictures of me. What?!! Yeah, I'm shocked too. Please be aware that we did have the tri-pod so that helped but she loved pushing that button. And I have to say that I'm impressed with her work... ha! ;) So here's a post just for fun showing how unbelievably talented my 3 year-old little girl is. We like to teach 'em young around here.

Oh, and her middle name is Kanani, too... aw, special!

Just Playing...

Tonight I went location searching with my sister in law and mother in law. Once we got here I pulled out my camera to take pictures of my sister in law and she said, "no, let me take pictures of you this time." I was actually quite shocked that she was so willing to take on my camera. I showed her a couple settings and this is what she came up with...

yeah, I'm pretty proud...

I'm also very excited to use this location again. We met some really friendly guys who were so nice to let us roam around their property and play.

Another most excellent class...

I had the opportunity to spend the evening with some pretty lovely ladies. We spent the evening learning from my sweet friend Marissa Vargason. I learned so much that by the end of the night my head was spinning. But the best part is... we found some pretty sweet locations and I'm excited to use them again!!

This gorgeous girl is Karina {KO Photography}
Not only is she a super talented photographer... she's a total babe! We kept saying it's like you're in a Pantene Pro-V ad because she really does have such fabulous hair!!

And here is our little model for the evening... Marissa's daughter. Doesn't she look like she could model for Aeropostale? Hmmmm... we might be on to something here!

My favorite thing about this picture is her little freckles. Aren't they adorable?



Loved it in b&w too!



Thanks for another very informative and fun class!!

(btw, my pictures thank you, Marissa, for saving them from the very blah and very dull life they were taking on in blogger... what a difference you have made! Yay!!)

Happy Birthday, Jen!

It was my sister-in-law's birthday and I was so, so, so excited to give her the present I made for her this year. Remember this photo shoot? Well, it has been one of my favorites... these two have passion that they are not afraid to show and I love it! So I decided to make Jen a book of our little photo shoot and this is the finished product... (I love it so much I almost just wanted to keep it for myself!)

The front and back.

My favorite shot...

And how could we display this fun birthday present without the birthday girl herself? (Just getting home from the gym and still looking gorgeous!)

Enjoying her new book out in the garden... awesome!

Photog Friends

Tonight I was a mentor. That just sounds weird typing it. I would never say that I'm qualified to teach any sort of photography class or teach anything super technical about photography but I am happy to share the information that I do know. It's crazy to see how much I've changed and I hope that I'm able to continue to keep growing with each photo shoot.

I was asked by one of my friends if I would help her understand how to use her new digital SLR. And, of course, I jumped at the opportunity. Anyone who knows me knows that I love to talk photography any chance I get. It's so intriguing to me and there is always so much to learn. I also have a fellow co-worker (that's right, I have another job other than this... fortunately, but unfortunately!) that also recently purchased a new digital SLR as well and has been wanting to take some new pictures for practice. So the three of us got together and did our own mini photo shoot. They were both very eager to learn and I was happy to teach. Although the photo shoot was mainly for them I was lucky enough to get a couple shots for fun too.

First, is my friend Rachel.

Love this faded one in color and b&w. She was workin it!

This last one is soooo Rachel.

And, second, is my friend Tashina.

We had such a fun night and were so sad when the sun went down...

Oh, and you just might see me on their blogs as well... posing my little heart out like I was a rockstar, ha! Thanks, girls, for such a fun session!

A day of learning...

I am about to share one of the most awe-inspiring days of my life! Just two days ago I had the opportunity to spend a day with a super fabulous photographer... Jessica Kettle. She is actually the very reason I went out and bought a camera and decided that this is what I want to do. So how excited was I when I heard that she was offering mentoring sessions for fellow photographers!!! We spent the day working on lighting, shooting in manual, composition (a huge eye-opener for me), posing, focusing, and photoshop editing. My goal is to master all of these things, obviously... but for now, enjoy a little taste of our day. And a huge "thank you" to Jen, my sister-in-law for posing like a rockstar in the chilly weather. Seriously love that girl!

I absolutely love this first shot... she is such a gorgeous girl!

This girl is not afraid of the camera... I love how her mouth is slightly open so perfectly like she's thinking, "yeah, I'm hot."

This was my first experience using backlight and I LOVE IT!! Makes for a much more interesting picture. I think I will have to use this technique a lot!

Believe it or not, we're in a parking garage for these last three shots. The lighting was so soft. This is why Jessica is so talented because she finds the most random places to take such amazing shots. I learned so much just from watching her and I appreciate her sharing her knowledge with me. Now let's just hope I can apply it!!

Thanks, Jessica, for such a fun day!