Kayla and The Ghostmen: Band Session.

So I'm not gonna lie, I was pretty nervous for this session. More nervous than I had gotten for one in quite awhile. It's not that I thought it was going to be unsuccessful(I have done a session before with the singer, Kayla, and she is impossibly photogenic! So I knew it wouldn't be a problem), it's just that I knew it was going to be a new challenge. This was my first band session and I really wanted to nail it. On top of that, the planning was a bit rushed. Kayla and the guys were recording the following week and needed the photos pretty quickly. I had tons of cool ideas...but all involving locations too far away...and with props I didn't have...we had to improvise!

The location I had in mind turned out to be under construction the day of the session. We arrived to the spot...band members all dressed, memory cards emptied, everything ready to go...only to find that we couldn't shoot where we had planned. I tried not to panic and quickly decided to head to another spot nearby that I had seen a few times driving by, but had never really gotten out to explore.
When we got there, the sun was nowhere near ideal and the whole spot was poorly lit. I decided we would make it work, praying that as the sun got lower it would light the location in the way I had envisioned for their session and give us the lighting we needed.

Basically, we winged it... But that's what photography is all about! You can't be prepared for everything and lots of times you will be caught off guard. Just gotta learn to roll with the punches.

Little did I know, as the sun fell lower and lower, that we were about to get some of the most AMAZING lighting I had ever had the pleasure to work with. The whole location transformed in the matter of an hour and I was feeling pretty blessed!

The session ended up going great. These three were ridiculously easy to work with and so easy-going. Definitely made a difference in the final outcome! I guess I can't take all of the credit ;)

So I present to you...Kayla, Jake, and Isaiah of Kayla and The Ghostmen.

















Kayla, you are STUNNNNNING....


My fave of the day :)

Snow Day: Couples sessions.

So if you've never been to Southern California...you're probably one of those people who seriously believes we all walk around in daisy dukes with bikinis on top 24/7. Well I'm here to tell you that's not true! While we do have pretty fair weather, we get the occasional snow here where I live. (However I'm pretty angry that those occasional snows never seem to conveniently fall on Christmas!!! No white Christmas for me yet, booohoooo). A few weeks ago, we got a surprise few inches of snow that seemed to be just what the doctor prescribed for this town. Even though it was gone after one day, that one day was one of the best. Everyone was out walking in it, playing in it, and just ENJOYING it. (I know all of you people from cold places are probably laughing at the thought of us SoCal dwellers getting giddy over a few inches of snow, but remember, It's rare for us!!!). I was no exception to the "stay outside till your toes freeze off" rule. I spent my day....can you guess....?.....SHOOTING! Oh yes. The second I saw that fluffy white powder outside of my window I was itching to take some photos. So I got the pleasure of doing 2 mini-sessions with two adorable couples that day, and ohhhh boy did I enjoy it. Part of me is contemplating moving somewhere that I can shoot in the snow all winter....Kidding! But I enjoyed it while it lasted :)

Here's a few images from my session with Jordan and Kylie! :)









And some from my session with Lauren and Nick!
P.S. It was Lauren's birthday, that day! How cool is that? Happy Birthday, Lauren! :)

Jordyn&Natalie: Family Session.

This is the second time I have photographed the beautiful Miss Jordyn and her mommy, Natalie. And I honestly CANNOT believe how much Jordyn has grown! She is going to be quite the beauty queen when she grows up! Jordyn and Natalie met up with me one morning for a quick little session and I had so much with these lovely ladies. Check out a preview of their session! :)

2010 was....

So I'm sitting here at my computer (what's new? haha). Thinking about what an insane year 2010 was and all of the new things it brought into my life. Insane doesn't even cover it...I don't think a word exists that explains what 2010 was for me...I wish I could make one up...but I can't think right now ;)
This time last year I would have NEVER guessed what 2010 had in store for me. I'm not sure I would have believed it if someone told me. It just doesn't seem possible. This time last year I was a full time college student, trying to figure out exactly what I was going to do with this life of mine. It would still be a few more months until I realized I had ALREADY started my career...and the search was over...and so was the continuation of my college education for the time-being. And there's so many more things that happened... In fact, I cant think of a better way to tell you what 2010 was like than in bullet point form. So here we go.

2010 was....

-The year I took responsibility for every aspect of my life and "became a big girl".
-More full of laughter than any other year.
-The year I interned with Sarah Barlow.
-The year I turned my passion/hobby into a career.
-An upward climb the entire way....
-The year of the most traveling I've done yet...6 flights in total.
-Blessed with so many great people.
-The year I quit my part time job to take on photography full time.
-The first chance I got to see that truly NOTHING is out of reach.
-The year I took quite a few chances....
-.....and inevitably fell down several times.........
-.....but the successes outweighed the failures.....
-.....And each mistake was a learning experience.
-The year I took on an intern of my own and discovered my own passion to teach, later down the road.
-The year I established my brand...then did it again...and am now working on my 3rd and "final" version of my brand.
-The year I learned that branding, as well as shooting, is a constant process and will continue to change over and over again.
-The year I made many friends. And thankfully lost none.
-A journey.
-The BEST year of my life so far.

I could go on and on...but I think you get the point ;) 2010 was crazy, amazing, intense, and soooo much more. I wouldn't change a single thing about it. If 2011 is half as good as 2010 was...I'll be one happy girl :)

And now I would like to close this up with a re-cap of some of my favorite photos from the year. If you've followed my blog over time or checked out my website, you've probably already seen all of these...and if that's the case don't feel obligated to look again if you're tired of the same thing ;) I LOVE posting new material, but this is my own personal little reflection on 2010 and what a truly amazing year it was. All of these pictures bring that back for me.