Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Tiffany McNutt: My very first intern!

Well...ever since I started getting heavily into photography and learning the technical side of it, I knew it would be something I would want to eventually teach others. Already almost 2 years into college to become a teacher, I kept thinking about how cool it would be to teach PHOTOGRAPHY rather than a boring subject I had no passion for. With budget cuts and teaching positions getting harder and harder to grab in most school districts around me, I didn't know how likely it would be to score a position like that...so I kept my education path pretty broad not really knowing what it was I would end up teaching...
After my internship with Sarah Barlow I knew without a doubt that taking on interns and hosting workshops is something I really wanted to do in the future....as in LATER...years from now..when I'm super skilled. NOT NOW. That's why I found myself shocked a few months later as I sat waiting for the arrival of a girl I had never met who was driving 2 hours to come learn from...yours truly.
I started talking to Tiffany earlier this year through Myspace. Being young, photographers both based out of Southern California was more than enough common ground to get us talking. When we first started speaking of her possibly coming to learn with me, I was super excited but also terribly nervous. I mean I know enough to run my business successfully, but that's just what works for ME, is it the only way, or even the right way? Probably not... I figured I would just give it my best shot and teach her the way I do things, completely understanding that she might tell me she learned NOTHING and that it was the WORST weekend of her life!!!!!!
Luckily, that's not how it happened. Me and Tiff hit it off right from the start and things went smooth from there. Tiffany is originally from Kansas, but now lives with her husband and son in 29 Palms where she runs Olive Juice Photography(the story behind the name is SO cute, you should totally ask her about it!). We spent the whole weekend, covering all aspects of her business and tackling her insecurities and I am proud to say that it all went well! While she was here, she tagged along on a family session, model session, and engagement session and the images she captured were phenomenal! I was beaming like a proud mother when she gushed about how much confidence she had gained and that she couldn't believe that she shot the pictures she was staring at on her screen.
From client interaction to post production, we covered it all. BUT, she wasn't expecting the curve ball I threw to her as our weekend was ending, which involved her stepping out in front of the camera! She looked at me like I told her to go jump off a bridge as I explained that to truly understand your client, you need to be in their shoes at least once, and SHE would be the next subject in front of my lens :) Despite her hesitation, she totally ROCKED the session...complete with my hair styling and last minute outfits pulled out of my closet. Besides the experience, she also got some new bio photos for her website!
It was quite a crazy weekend, especially when we stayed up till 2 am...on nights when we had a session at 7 am....jeeze. But it was nothing short of amazing! The best part is, she will be back in just a few weeks to second shoot a wedding with me!! Doing this, totally woke up my passion to teach others and gave me a much needed kick in the butt to improve some things in my own business that I was teaching everyone else but not necessarily practicing.
Here are some of the photos from Tiffany's bio photo session. Be sure to check out her BLOG to see how amazing she is doing!







And she said she couldn't model....pshhhh....


LOVE her tattoo of her son's name on her wrist...








Tiffany, It was fun! I'm glad I was able to help you out! See you in a few weeks :)

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

The Windusts: Family.

Meet Cameron, Rickey and baby Reily :) Rickey was a friend of mine in high school and just like it always does, time FLIES, and people grow up. Because, now Rickey has a husband and a beautiful baby girl! I was pretty excited that Rickey and Cameron had their own preferences about location, because I got to shoot in some spots I would probably otherwise never think to go. But NOTHING could prepare me for the amazing garden they took me to for the last half of the session. WOW. I honestly have never seen anything like it. Their grandma's garden should seriously be made into a museum because I had no clue anything like it existed out here! Imagine a magical garden from a fairytale with giant pumpkins, 12 foot tall sunflowers, archways, vintage sheds, tree houses, and it stretches on and on....and your about halfway to imagining what it's really like. Seriously.

Here's my favorites...












And now for the lovely garden...




Saturday, July 24, 2010

Katrina: Portrait.

Ummm...WOW. Well I really don't know what to say about this session other than...WOW. I won't even try to describe or explain these images, I will just leave you with them to feast your eyes upon and three interesting facts about this absolutely gorgeous girl, Katrina.
1.)She's actually NOT a professional model. "WHYYY??!!?!" you ask?. She's actually a couple years into a long journey to become a....DOCTOR! She's got big plans to change the world and save lives.
2.) She has amazing style. All of the outfits shown are 100% creations of her own :)
3.) She is a total trooper...didn't complain and was down with all of the crazy locations I brought her to even when it got to be over 100 degrees! She's pretty awesome :)





Katrina, you could make Tyra jealous...




















Thursday, July 22, 2010

Brittany: Portraits.

This is Brittany! I did her senior pictures with little miss Brooke a few months back and how funny that they BOTH ended up coming back for portfolio headshots. Such models they are :) For this session we tried out a few new locations as well as coming back to some of my old favorites. Again, we kept it SUPER local...all within 5 miles of home. I'm starting to love this desert, there's more out there than you think! Well of course Britt made it all look good ;) I was extremely excited that she wanted to finish the session with some After Hours time...and she totally rocked it.
Just take a look....















And then the sun goes down...




Monday, July 19, 2010

The Allens: Oak Glen Family Session.

May I introduce to you, The Allens. They really should get an award for the most loving/close/adoring family ever. Really. They were so natural in front of the camera and it is so clear how much they all care about each other. Oh and not to mention...they're pretty easy on the eyes too ;) I had so much fun taking their photos! I brought home 5 HUGE mosquito bites as souvenirs, but I also bought home 12GB of AWESOME images, so it evens out ;)
Check them out....











A couple of just mom and dad.....








This is really, 100%, how they are as a family. Honestly. No acting involved! I loved it!....