I had a spur-of-the-moment shoot tonight with my soon to be cousin Rebecca.  She is a beautiful and talented dancer and I've had the idea for these shots rolling around in my head for quite a while....

Sometimes it's so fun just to relax and shoot for myself, with no pressure and no timelines.

She is FIFTEEN years old.  FIFTEEN.  Say wuutttt?

BEAUTEOUS!

Thanks for modeling Bec!!

I upgraded to the 50mm f/1.4 lens from the f/1.8 a few weeks ago but I haven't had a chance to really play around with it.  Some of these are soft because I'm not used to shooting at f/1.4 but I don't think Gillies minds too much :-)

I am wayyyy glad you can't hear the howl associated with these first few.  If you are planning on getting a beagle, I hope you have ear plugs.

Still going...

f/1.4 doggy nose.

Our handsome pup!  Really looking forward to getting the hang of this lens for my upcoming shoots...and YES, I'm aware that this was the most boring post of all time, OKAY!?

Oh my poor blog, how I've neglected thee!  Sorry for the lack of posts lately, but in all honesty, there hasn't been much to share.  I gave myself the month of January off so I could refresh and relax after the craziness of last summer/fall.  My weekends have been spent sleeping in, reading and working on some behind the scenes things for my business; one of which is doing a little research on some lenses and equipment I want to purchase for my 2013 weddings.

There is only one thing about photography I don't like:  professional grade lenses and cameras AIN'T CHEAP.  I highly recommend renting or borrowing equipment before you spend the big bucks and that's exactly what I did when it comes to the 100mm macro lens I've been lusting after.

Tricia lent me hers to play with and boyyyyy oh boy, I might never give it back.  This isn't the kind of lens I would have on my camera every day, but it works great for capturing the tiniest details on a wedding day - specifically the rings!

Five minutes with my engagement ring and I think it's official:  I'm about to get poorer.

It was a p.r.e.t.t.y. good year.  I met some amazing clients (many of whom I'll be seeing in 2013) and photographed a ton of cool people.

I feel really blessed personally and professionally as I reflect on 2012 and I'm super pumped for all things 2013!!!  Happy New Year :-)  Here's a little video collage of some of my favorite images from the last 365 days.

Probably the coolest thing that's happened since I started my business is the photogafriends I've made along the way.  It would be easy to assume that photographers in the same area would be competitive and guarded - but I've actually found the exact opposite to be true.  I have been fortunate enough to connect with a cool group of peeps who share information about shooting/workflow/business ops and more.  

Nicole is a photogafriend who 2nd shot for me during Rachel and Bo's wedding and helped keep my sanity intact when, on the way there, I missed the exit and drove 100 miles out of the way.  Panic ensued.  Real live, stuttering FREAKING OUT panic. We ended up JUST making it on time but I owed this gurrrlll a favor big time.  She mentioned recently needing some headshots for her new website so BLAMMO here we are:

Oh, did I not mention that Nicole is freaking GORGEOUS!?  

London fog?

Ta-da!! Happy hump day :-)

Rebecca is taking Intro to Photography this year in high school and when I found out she needed a 35mm film camera I jumped at the excuse to take a photography-themed day trip into the city!  We hit up the used departments of both BH Photo and Adorama and scored with a great deal on a Canon (yayyyyyyy Canon) 35mm in perfect working condition.  The sales guy loaded the film (yup, no clue how to load film....go ahead and judge) for us and away we went!!

I am so jealous of Rebecca getting to take this class that I have considered looking for an Intro to film photography class for myself.  There is a look to photographs taken with film that I LOVE and simply cannot be replicated digitally.  It's like that old, scratchy, bass sound you get from a record - juusstttttt not gonna happen on an mp3.

YES.  My future business partner!  Here she is in action.  CAN'T WAIT to see her shots!  We burned through 50 city blocks and a whole roll of black and white film.   

City gurrllll.

ELMO!!!  Elmo totally followed us to the car.  Creepster.  The real Elmo would never do that.

Stay tuned for Rebecca's shots from the day.  Hope everyone had a great weekend!!

You know that scene in "A Christmas Story" when the Dad is waiting for his major award to arrive?  That was me waiting for the UPS man to bring me my new toys from B&H Photo.  The most coveted of which being the 135mm 2.0 lens.  Luckily, it finally arrived while my favorite model was over for dinner.  Without really asking, I threw a bottle of water and some bug spray at her and dragged her into the fields around the corner.

Here's Rebecca standing in as my beautiful test subject: 

Verdict?  This lens is a keeper.  Oh, and Rebecca is BEAUTIFUL and should probably frollick in sunlit meadows more often.  That too.

Today I've decided to blog about one of the best investments I've made in the history of my business.  The "Lyric" camera bag by Epiphanie.

I've had about 5 different camera bags since getting my first DSLR big girl camera 3 years ago.  Some were too small, some were too big, some were too manly or just plain bulky/ugly.  The lack of a good "system" in terms of carrying my gear was driving me insane, so I began a quest.  A quest for the perfect bag.  I was so traumatized from all my stinky bags of the past that I hesitated every time I found something I *kind of* liked.  Then one of my photogafriends posted something on Facebook about Epiphanie bags.  I was instantly in love, and it wasn't long before I ordered one of my own.  In plum.  LOVE IT.

I am so obsessed with this bag.  I love the braided short strap/long messenger strap convo.  So versatile.  BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE!

There are customizable velcro dividers on the inside, which is lined with a padding to protect my lenses and assorted photography junk.

I can literally fit everything I need for a session in one lightweight bag.  Heaven!

I have been caught many many times wearing this bag when I don't even have my camera gear on me.  It's just so cute (aka...I'm too lazy to move my wallet/keys/etc to my regular bag) that I don't mind rocking it everywhere I go.

Females everywhere:  If you are a professional, hobbyist, semi-pro or just a Mom with a camera, this bag is PERFECTO for carrying around a DSLR.  Enjoy!

People are often surprised to learn that when a session is wrapped up, my work has only begun.   Once I am back on the couch with my memory cards and computer it takes hours (HOURS ya'll) to edit and blog the images.  It can be a painstaking process to open and edit each chosen image but I love tracking the evolution of my favorite shots.  Of course, nailing a photo in-camera is always the goal but getting them into Lightroom and Photoshop to apply my "special sauce" is what really makes them come to life.

I've done a post like this before but it's been awhile since I've shared some behind-the-scenes action.  I think it's always fun to see before-and-after editing samples from other photographers so here goes!  Here are a few of my favorites from my shoot with Casey and Claire:

Here's a good example of getting it right in-camera...everything is pretty spot on, I just bring it into Photoshop for a little extra  "umph."

These next two of Claire were a little dark and cool for my taste.  Some warming and brightening and YAHHOOO extreme cuteness.

It has taken me a long time to learn that editing software is best used sparingly.  When it comes to Photoshop, there are literally THOUSANDS of things you can do to a photograph, but that does not mean you should!  I aim for bright, colorful, timeless images.  Editing styles, just like the neon capri pants you are wearing, tend to come and go pretty quickly.