Whole Again

My other half has finally moved back to the sunshine state and I have to say it's definitely brought on that "I'm whole again feeling". I'm the happiest I've been in quite a while and I don't think this feeling is going away anytime soon. So if there was ever a good excuse for not posting I'd say this was a good one.

Just because I haven't been posting doesn't at all mean I haven't been shooting though. It's quite the opposite in fact, I've had a lot of really fun shoots since I last updated and I've taken some really big steps towards getting serious and helping my photography grow as a business. I finally bit the bullet and made a facebook for my "business" instead of just posting work to my personal one. I'm not gonna lie, it still feels super weird calling it that. But, here's the link to the page (FacebookPage!), you can also click the facebook icon on the right hand side bar. All likes and shares will be super appreciated!

And now for the good part, the pictures! Here's a little of what's been happening since I last posted!

 

Butterfly Bliss

 It always seems that the shoots I throw together last minute turn out to be my favorites. The ones where I'm frantically making phone calls while throwing things in my camera bag and running out the front door to make it where I need to be before the sun goes down. This shoot was certainly no exception.

The morning of the shoot I made a million phone calls and finally found a man that sold these butterflies about an hour away and there was no way I wasn't going to get my hands on them. They were absolutely gorgeous and they photographed better than I even imagined they would. This is probably one of my favorite shoots, and the image above is definitely in the top ten of my favorite images in my personal body of work.  

Here's a couple behind the scenes pictures.

Needless to say, everyone had fun with the butterflies!

Happy Tuesday!

Shadow People

 I got a call around four o'clock yesterday unfortunately informing me that my shoot for the afternoon would need to be rescheduled. I was still desperately in the mood to shoot and began instantly running through the list in my mind of ideas I wanted to try and friends that might be able to meet me so last minute.  The two lists in my mind magically crossed at my friend Kelle's name and the "bedtime story" series I had thought about starting. I called her, said hello, asked if she had plans, and explained to her my idea all in one breath. And without any hesitation she replied simply with a "get your stuff and get over here". 

  With Kelle and her sweet babies' help these turned out just as magical as I saw them in my head.

*just in case anyone was wondering, those crowns took a grand total of about 8 minutes to make. Just cut paper triangles hot glued to a piece of satin ribbon.

Goodnight!

Smoke at Sunrise

 I finally got to complete the shoot that in my last post I said I was so excited about. It had a little bit of a creepy twist on it, which isn't usually my style, but I'm really happy with the way it came out.

Rachel was an amazing model and such a good sport. I also have to thank my amazing boyfriend who woke up super early and helped us with the smoke. They were both such troopers. We shot at sunrise and it was cold and we even had to deal with Collier County Police Enforcement because the neighbors thought the woods were on fire. 

 After we were finished with these and before the sun got too high we decided to try a different outfit and some colored smoke. We hadn't thought we'd have enough time to try these but I'm so happy that we did.

A super big thank you again to Rachel and Alex, you both are amazing!


I've been working so much lately and trying I've been trying to fit in as many shoots as I can, particularly creative ones, just to keep myself sane. Yesterday I had the day off and it was rainy and gloomy but I was feeling inspired so I grabbed a friend and we threw this little shoot together.

Thanks, Nina. Good luck in Chicago next year!

Catching Up and Keeping Up

I'm still trying to get the hang of remembering to update this blog regularly, so this post is going to be a little bit of catching up.

This first shoot was just one for fun. My best friend came into town during her break from school and I couldn't resist taking some pictures of her before she had to go back. She was my assistant during the previous shoot that I did with the balloons and she was an amazing help, but I have to say, she makes an even more amazing model. Thank you for everything, Femke. You're gorgeous inside and out!

 

The last shoot I did was with my bosses two little girls. They could not possibly get any sweeter.

I have a shoot planned for tomorrow morning that I'm super excited about. I've had this idea in my head for a really long time and I can't wait to actually do it. There will be a new post up soon, so stay posted!

Starting Off Right

The past year was nothing short of a world wind. A swirling twirling series of events. Through everything that happened this year I have learned more than I think I have in any year previous. About myself, my work, and where I want to go with my life. With that being said, no matter how crazy this past year has been I wouldn't have changed a thing.

I ended 2011 with one of the biggest jobs of my photography career so far. I shot my first wedding as lead photographer. It was a little intimidating at first, but the wedding was gorgeous and the bride and groom were wonderful. I felt so honored to be given the opportunity. So, thank you and congratulations Craig and Michelle!

I'm not usually one for new years resolutions, but this year I thought I would give it a try. Instead of choosing a resolution that would give me requirements of what I needed to do each week or what I'd have to have accomplished by a certain time I decided to just chose a general theme. That theme being of course photography. I want to shoot more, learn more, take risks, and push myself further.



So, naturally, I had to start the year off with a shoot. And not just a normal portrait session. I wanted to start this year off right.