Kristen Booth

I'VE MOVED!

2011-08-19T20:54:00.000-07:00

I am no longer active on this blog. Please head over to my new one:

www.kristenboothblog.net

Here you can find me newest posts!

Thanks! :)

Erika & Trevor {Huntington Beach Wedding}

2011-05-23T14:50:00.000-07:00

This is one of those weddings that I was so excited when it arrived, but also sad knowing it would soon be over. Erika and Trevor have been SUCH a pleasure to work with and honestly, if I could shoot their wedding every weekend, I so would!!!

It may sound cliche, but I really don't think their day could have gone any smoother. Everything was timely, every location ideal to shoot in. Everything perfect. Well maybe except the dog that crashed their reception, but we'll get to that later ;)

Big thanks to my awesome second shooter, Daniel, for helping out! :)
I was considering talking some more...but I guess I'll let the images tell the story instead....

The bridesmaids were beaming as Erika got into her dress! :)

I left Erika's hotel room to go hang out with Trevor who was awaiting Erika's arrival for their first look.

And let me tell you...their first look was so sweet! The love between these two is unmatched by anything else. Check out the adorable-ness as Erika sneaks up to see her groom for the first time on their wedding day....

After they had their moment alone, we started with their first mini portrait session of the day. I was amazed with how many awesome images we got in such a short time at one location!

Erika, look at you!!! Perfection!

We then headed to Corona Del Mar for some bridal party shots...talk about AMAZING location. *Drool*

Helloooo ladies!

And then we headed to Newland Barn for their gorgeous ceremony!!

This melted my heart. The look Erika's dad had on his face before he was about to give his baby girl away was full of pride and love....

Their first kiss could not possibly have been any more picture perfect. Diffused lighting from the overcast skies and a gorgeous gazebo for a backdrop? YES PLEASE.

As the bride and groom danced their first dance to Keith Urban's "Only You Can Love Me This Way", I couldn't stop thinking about how much Erika REALLY looked like a princess!!

Erika's sister and mom watched tearfully as Erika danced with her father...

And Trevor's dance with his mother was another very special moment of the night...

I couldn't resist the opportunity of an awesome night shot before leaving the reception :) Speaking of reception...I almost forgot to tell you about the party crashing dog! During dinner time, a chocolate lab that had somehow gotten astray from it's owner who was walking it past the venue, ran into the reception and went straight for the taco bar! Luckily the security was able to shoo it out and get it back to it's owner before any damage was caused! Unfortunately it all happened so fast before anyone could get their camera's ready, but I'm sure it's something that will never be forgotten by those who witnessed it! :P

xoxo

The McNutt's {Maternity Session}

2011-05-16T22:12:00.001-07:00

This is a very special post for me. Tiffany is a good friend and also fellow photographer. (Check out her blog HERE) I was superrrr honored when she asked me to capture her maternity photos with her hubby and her son. The McNutt's are expecting baby Drake at the beginning of July, but judging by Tiffany's belly, you would never guess it! She doesn't even look pregnant at all in some of the photos.

It's always exciting to photograph another photographer. Someone who appreciates the little things that normally slip by the untrained eye. But it's also slightly nerve-wracking...they know a lot of people in the business and they chose YOU. I will admit, it got me a bit nervous at first.

This was a very special and emotional session to capture because Tiffany's husband, Justin, was deployed for her first pregnancy with Luckas and was not able to be a part of the things he is this time around. I was very excited to get to capture all of those special things.

And here we go with the images...

Such a perfect mother/son moment!! :)

Helloooo gorgeous lady!!!

OH! Don't let me forget to mention that the amazingggg Sidney Morgan came along to the session to hang out with us! Seriously, you need to check out her blog. This girl is only 16 years old and already overflowing with talent. She amazes me!!!!

Hi Sidney!!

I had Sidney grab a couple of shots of Tiffany and I. This one was too funny not to post :)

And then a regular one :)

Sidney also got some images and video clips of me shooting. Some cool and some funny. Here's a couple cool ones. We'll save the funnies for a later time :)

xoxo

Rylee & Tiff {Family}

2011-05-13T12:16:00.000-07:00

This is my fourth session with Rylee and her mommy, Tiffany. I always look forward to my sessions with these two, because I know they will be dressed up in something adorable and Rylee will have something ridiculously funny and intelligent to say...
And this session was no exception.
Rylee always picks out her own outfits for the sessions and I think it's adorable! She has such good taste :) Fashionista in the making!
I also find it amazing that at the age of 4 she has her own preference to who her favorite baseball team is....and it's NOT her mom's favorite team! Quite the opposite actually...but you'll read more about that in a little bit.

For this session, I brought along my new baby....a.k.a. my EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM Lens. I purchased it a little over a week ago and haven't had the chance to use it. I brought it along for the session to give it a test run. I ended up shooting 90% of the session with it and it definitely lived up to it's expectation! I can't wait to shoot with it more! (Even though my wrists are STILL aching. Ha!)

Anyways...lets get on to my favorites of the day!

Ummmm HELLO CUTENESS!!!!

Little Miss Personality :)

Okay so let's get one thing straight. Rylee is a DODGERS fan. Even though mama is a hardcore Angels fan and I've been taking pictures of them in their matching Angels gear since Rylee was 2, she's moved on to her own team! Here's a conversation I had with Rylee about her team:

Me: So why don't you like the Angels anymore?
Rylee: Because they always lose!!
Me: Oh I see, so the Dodgers are good?
Rylee: Yeah they're good...that's why I like them!

Here's Rylee rocking her Dodgers cap...

As you can see...she was NOT happy about Mom making her get into ANGELS gear. These shots make me laugh!! :)

xoxo

"Have you ever worked with Justin Bieber?"-{My middle school career fair experience}

2011-05-09T15:26:00.000-07:00

A few months ago, a staff member at the middle school I attended back in the day, asked me if I would like to be a guest at the career day they were having(The event was on Friday).

My Response: "Yes!"

This type of thing is so up my alley. First of all...I love to talk. And it's even cooler when I can talk about something I'm passionate about, like my business. Second...I love pushing people to follow their dreams. Too many people push away their true desires and settle into something "comfortable" and spend too much time regretting it. It makes me sad.

I knew that this whole career day experience would be SO worth it, If I could put the belief in even just one student that they can do what they want to. School doesn't tell them that, Society doesn't tell them that. I wanted to tell them.

Because let's be real....I started with NOTHING. Nada, zip, zero. No experience, No camera, No connections, No clue. This is not to say I am ANYWHERE near where I hope to be in the future, but I'm definitely miles ahead of the place I started. I wanted to tell them what I tell everyone..."If I can do it, you certainly can". Seriously.

After hearing about Celeste and her styling, the staff invited her along to have a booth of her own too. And the day wouldn't be complete without me bringing along Ty to help me answer all of the questions coming our way.

And oh boy did we get questions....

It was truly an eventful day and a one of a kind experience. I got to talk one-on-one with some of the students already showing a huge interest in photography who could very well be the prodigies of the industry for their generation. I also met many future vets, actresses, marine biologists, and surgeons!

I got a lot of serious questions, "What does it take to become a photographer?", "How much money do you make?", "How did you get started?"....

But we also got some questions that were totally unexpected and made us giggle, like these:

"Have you ever worked with Justin Bieber?"

"Can you take my picture? Right now?"

"Are you still gonna be in business when I get married?"

"Is that a real wedding? Are you sure, it looks fake"

Here is Ty and I at our table. I love the sign they made me and definitely kept it!

The lovely Celeste and I.

xoxo

Shelby {Senior Session}

2011-05-04T22:14:00.000-07:00

Stacey....Sydney....Sandy....SHELBY! Yes, Shelby.

I don't know what it was about this girl's name that had me sitting in my car right before the session, staring at my phone forcing my brain to memorize it. I'm usually great with names. It's birthdays that I'm bad at. I have to ask my best friend EVERY year what the date of hers is....we've been friends for going on 16 years...yeah, it's that bad :P

Anyways....once I got the name down....(SHELBY!!!)....I got to learn more about this awesome girl and all that she has going for her. I feel like a proud mother as I sit here and brag about her and all of her achievements. But she really is amazing!!

Let's put it this way....

She's a web designer and a race car driver. Cool, huh?

She discovered her passion for graphic design her junior year in a class she took for it at her high school. She decided to take it a step further than the class by joining a club on campus called SkillsUSA, in which students in career and technical training courses can compete in their division regional and state levels. Shelby of course competed in web design and placed gold at the regionals and bronze at the state level. Then went on to place the same rankings her senior year! She mentioned that the web competition involves a 2 person team, creating an entire site for a company in 6.5 hours...from scratch! Talk about intense!!

As for racing, Shelby has been behind the wheel for 5 years. She races 1/4 mile oval tracks and has moved on from smaller cars to full size stock cars(basically what you would see on NASCAR). Not only does she now race against grown men (her youngest opponent is in his late 20's), but she also has made some other triumphs for the ladies, by being the first female to race at either of her hometracks AND by being the first and only female to race there in the full-size stock car division. But don't let this racing business fool ya...she's a total girly girl!

Okay enough talking and onto the photos! Here's some of my favorites of the day :)

Her SkillsUSA medals! :)

She brought her boyfriend along, so I was able to get some fun shots of them together too! :)

She wanted to get some shots that break the Female Racer = Tomboy, stereotype. Like this one!

Shelby's dad came along for the session, in his VW bug, without ever having the intention of use using it for anyshots. However...when I saw it there parked gloriously on the dry lakebed and how well her outfit matched it, I could NOT resist the opportunity...

And last but not least...one for dad!

xoxo

The Krohn's - {Family Session}

2011-04-27T17:20:00.000-07:00

Ohhhh my. This family is seriously too cute to be true. I could say it a million times. Too cute. Too cute. Too cute. TOO CUTE! Their basically the all-american family everyone dreams about(or at least I do!). A perfect and even four. Mommy, Daddy, Daughter, and Son. Perfect. With my full emphasis being on weddings now and the time I have been devoting to my website/branding lately, I don't take a whole lot of family bookings anymore. Their session makes me wish I did! So perfect in every way. My camera couldn't have loved them more.

Here's a little selection of the many adorable photos captured that day! :)

I just love everything about this shot!!! Isn't Little Miss Jade a cutie pie?!

I was AMAZED at the body language between these two. On the very first pose I put them in, they fell into it so naturally that I had to question "Have you done this before?!?!"

And last but not least....

xoxo

Gianna: Senior Session

2011-04-18T07:50:00.000-07:00

I really like this girl! She's beautiful, fun, has a great smile....and she's my cousin. So maybe I'm a little biased, but I think she's great! :) I was soooo excited to shoot her senior portraits, knowing it would be a breeze with how incredibly photogrenic she is.

I love her laugh in all of these photos...how it makes the image so fun and instantly adds life to it. So for future clients: Don't be afraid to laugh in front of my camera!! When I try to get a giggle out of you, let it out!! :)

So here we go, with my favorites from the session....Ahh I love them all!!!

These next two are my absolute FAVORITES of the day!! Can you say Rock Star?!?!

This is about as close as we get to "lush fields" in the desert I live in. However. my clients are surprisingly easy-going when I suggest they lay down in the weeds ;)

xoxo

Kelly & Sal: Las Vegas Engagement Session

2011-04-13T09:10:00.000-07:00

Oh how long I have excitedly awaited this session :)

If I had to describe Kelly as one thing, it would be: easy going. (Even though Sal doesn't seem to agree with this opinion). She completely trusted me when it came to locations, times, helping her pick her outfits, without worrying one bit. She did the same with Celeste, who came along to style her hair and makeup(and will also be styling the wedding!!! Yay!). Kelly is just very laid back and tons of fun. Basically, she'd gonna be the perfect wife!

If I had to describe Sal as one thing, it would be: a crack up. Since he wasn't at the contract signing & consultation, my first time meeting him was in lobby of their hotel. As he showed us up to the room where Kelly was, Celeste asked him "So, are you excited for today?" and his response was "Hell no!". Hahahha you know men and how they loooove taking pictures. I assured him that getting his picture taken for 3+ hours surely wouldn't be half as bad as he expected! However I'm sure he didn't really believe me until the end, when he admitted that I was right...it wasn't THAT bad. He had me laughing all night though with his funny remarks, like when he saw Kelly all styled and made up and said "Wow, you look better". Or when he asked me "So for these pictures I'm gonna have to like hold her and stare into her eyes and stuff?!?!". It's all a humorous front. He loves her like crazy.

I love couples I can joke with. This, being a reason why I think these two are loads of fun! :) I suggested Vegas for their session because I wanted a location that would showcase and bring out their fun side. It was the perfect choice :) SO much to shoot with! It was definitely a photographer's playground.

Kelly and Sal are so perfect for each other. Kelly puts up with Sal, and Sal adores her! ;) Hahaha. But mostly, they know how to have fun! And what's better than that?

I can't wait until the wedding, to surely have even more laughs with these two. Oh...and maybe get some awesome photos while we're at it! :)

Here's some highlights of their session!

We started our day portion off at the Bellagio and the areas surrounding it...

Ohhh my goodness. Kelly, you're gorgeous!!!!

For the night portion, we started off at the Cosmopolitan hotel. I LOVED what Celeste did with Kelly's hair and makeup. It was perfect!!

Well Hello super model....

Back out to the Bellagio, JUST in time for the water show :)

And the off to Caesars Palace :)

xoxo

Monique: Senior Session.

2011-04-07T19:21:00.000-07:00

This is Monique. She reminds me a lot of myself when I was a senior. Same school, same extra-curricular activities, same style...a lot of sames :) These similarities especially came in handy, when she was able to use my cap and gown for the session because none of the seniors have gotten theirs yet. I can be pretty useful sometimes ;)

I love senior sessions because I remember so well what it was like to be there(it wasn't too terribly long ago for me!). And it was definitely one of the best times of my life! I love talking to my seniors about their plans for the future, thoughts on their high school years, etc...it's just a really fun age to hang out with! :)

Here are some of my favorite shots from my session with Monique...

This next image totally captures the essence of what I remember feeling like at the end of my senior year and probably what a lot of seniors feel like....free...ready to take on the world! :)

xoxo

Win a FREE wedding!!! {Contest}

2011-04-02T09:57:00.000-07:00

Maybe you were tuned in for my announcements about this contest, on Facebook yesterday (or maybe not). I posted 2 posts that stated "I'm giving away a FREE wedding!!!". I, with my strange sense of humor, thought it would be funny to make a big announcement like this on April Fool's day just to mix everybody up. There wasn't a whole lot of feedback on the posts, so I'm not sure how many people actually took me seriously...but then again, maybe the lack of response is my answer! Haha.

Well here it is!!! The official announcement with guidelines :) I am sooooo so so excited and a little nervous. This is my first contest so I'm interested to see how it will go! Will a lot of people enter? Will the winner be super super excited? Will the people who don't win be angry with me?(Hey! you better not be! I'm not judging it! lol) Only time will tell....

This announcement also makes me a bit nervous because it sets me a rough deadline for my site and blog and EVERYTHING to be done! Eeeeek. I've gotta get to work. I'm super excited to share though. I'm extremely proud of everything and I've worked really hard to make it happen! To give you a little preview of what my new brand is going to look like on my website and blog....I thought it would be fun to make the contest materials out of my new branding, colors, items, fonts ,etc! Hope you like it!

Well I guess now would be time to get it started....make sure you read all of the details on the contest slides...as well as the extra info I blogged at the very end. Okay, that's all! The contest is officially open.............NOW!

ATTENTION!! Winner will now also receive FREE makeup and hair styling by Celeste for the engagement session and wedding. Check out her work on these two other projects sessions she has styled for me!!! Here and Here (Prize only applies for local weddings or weddings in which the couple chooses to accomodate Celeste's travel. Her dates of availability may vary)

Extra Info:

-Here's the link to my Facebook Page!

-These are the dates for June-December 2011 that I am NOT available:

June 4th & 11th, July 9th, August 26th & 27th, September 10th, October 1st, 2nd, & 15th.

-I will contact you within 48 hours of receiving your entry to let you know you are entered!

-When writing your entry, remember your audience. I will be reading the entries, but have no say in ANY part of the judging. You're gonna wanna target them towards my facebook fans(mostly people who really like photography!) and ultimately the panel of brides who will make the final decision. They're the ones you wanna impress!

-If you've got any questions, please ask them on my Facebook page, that way I can answer them publicly, and maybe clear up confusion for someone else who has the same question! :)

-It doesn't matter if you're my best friend, cousin, or someone I've never even spoke to....everyone has an equal chance here, people!

Project Playlist {I Do}

2011-03-29T14:26:00.001-07:00

It all started way way back with this silly game I've played with my mom ever since I can remember. It's when you're listening to the radio and you set up a scenario for the next song that comes on...for instance.."The next song is your song to your future husband" or "The next song that comes on explains what kind of year you're going to have". It's pretty fun actually...you should try it sometime! :)

Fast forward to February of this year. Ty Lamothe and I were on our way home from our WPPI Vegas trip and we were...you guessed it...playing the song game with my ipod on shuffle. Most of the things we were coming up with were hideously bad and completely hilarious (my first dance song at my wedding was a song by Eminem. lol!). But at one point we came to a song that was adorable and fit the scenario perfect...and that's when the magic happened. When that adorable, perfect, song came on...the first thought that came to our minds was "We should do a shoot of that!". After that, we continued going through all of the songs on my ipod, realizing how many would make super fun styled sessions! We could already see the images that perfectly represented each song. Some songs even gave posing cues, describing body language between two people. It was like we were seeing connections we had never seen before between these two worlds that we already adore: Music & Photography. We thought and thought about it, and...

Project Playlist was born :)

Overwhelmed with inspiration, Ty and I got our ideas together and created this project that we will be working on throughout the year and maybe longer :) What's going to happen is we will choose a song, find models who fit the part, style all of the elements of the session to tie in the song, shoot it, create a slide show that puts the final images to the song that inspired them...and then blog it for all of you to see :) I guess you can think of it as a still image music video! So...what do you think?! Will you come back to check out future Project Playlist posts? We need opinions here, people!

We have a pretty extensive list of songs we will be using, but one of my top priorities was Colbie Caillat's "I Do". I have been IN LOVE with this song ever since I heard her play it live at her concert last fall :) So the song was decided. I even had a super cute couple picked out. Nicole and Bobby...they are seriously the cutest (but you don't have to take my word for it...you'll see!). The song was picked and the couple was locked in. Now what? When Ty called me, bursting with excitement about doing the session at a carnival that just randomly happened to be in town...our problems were solved :)

So the funny thing about this session is everything was SUPER last minute and a bit stressful. Ty and I are pretty busy...so finding a date we could both do it was not easy. Getting together ahead of time to style the details was near impossible. Which left us frantically digging through Bobby and Nicole's clothing as well as bunch of stuff I had, just two hours before we were scheduled to shoot! Yeah, kinda stressful. BUT...we pulled it off :) Nicole ended up styled head-to-toe in random things I had lying around my house. Not too shabby though. (We were STOKED when the little white vintage dress fit her perfectly!).

Well it's about that time...the suspense is killing me.... here is the slide show (which is really what the project is all about...so be sure to watch it!), followed by my favorite images :) And I really mean it about the feedback guys...Ty and I really wanna know if this is something cool you would like to see more of...or something blahhh, no good, get it outta here. :P So take a minute or two and help a sister out! :)

Speaking of Ty, be sure to run by her blog and check out her awesome slide show too! :)

Okay now, HERE IT IS!!!!...

Omg....could they be any cuter?

xoxo

Karleigh: c/o 2011 Senior Session.

2011-03-27T21:56:00.000-07:00

Last week was funny. When I say funny...I mean frustrating. I had sessions scheduled everyday for a week straight..and ended up having to reschedule all but 3 due to crazyyyyy weather that came out of nowhere. Thanks, mother nature, thaaaaaanks....

But it wasn't all bad. The stormy weather kept me inside and I got a TON done, by means of working on my website, ordering products, editing, etc. AND...the sessions I did end up doing brought a whole new set of challenges for me, that left me prepared for anything that hits me in the future.

For Karleigh's senior session, we had planned from the beginning to shoot at the beach. In my head, I had dreams of glorious sunsets and amazing sun-drenched images. Those dreams were shot down real quick when I saw the forecast for the day. Clear mornings, with rain developing around 3. Being pushed for time already with her graduation being only a couple of months away, we couldn't afford to reschedule. I had no choice but to switch the session to morning.

Now, if you're a photographer, I'm sure you can sympathize with me on why a 10am-12pm shoot is not ideal for lighting. But I was up for the challenge...and things went exceptionally well! In fact there were a lot of great location opportunities we had that wouldn't have been possible if the sun had been lower in the sky. Score!

Anyways...Karleigh is so stinkin' cute. We had so much fun shooting! Especially with her best friend whom she brought along. She was able to help me get lots of laughs out of Karleigh...although I'll really never know what it was she was doing while I was shooting that made Karleigh laugh so hard haha. The outfits Karleigh brought along for the session were to DIE for. I was tempted to offer her a bonus session in trade for the bag of clothes. Seriously.

Here's my favorites of the shots I got of Karleigh!...

BFF's!!! Seriously, who DOESN'T want fun pictures like this with their best friend?!?! I certainly do!

xoxo

Christa: Head shots.

2011-03-25T21:14:00.000-07:00

It's always interesting when I get a job out of my usual routine. My usual routine being couples, individual portraits, and the occasional family session...
It's not that heads shots are SO different from a regular portrait session, but it really depends on how you go about it. Head shots are meant to be completely about the person, with the background and surroundings being as minimal as possible.
This is where it gets different for me, because the surroundings typically play into my sessions greatly.

Another thing, is that I think a lot of people typically associate head shots with studios, off-camera lighting, and lots of retouching. Which as you may know, is definitely NOT for me. But I do love the challenge...Using 100% natural light and minimal retouching to create head shots for my client that will compete in a world of more artificial images. And that's where I enjoy it. Because even though the posing and composition for head shot sessions is a lot more traditional and un-changing than a portrait session...there's still an art to it. Head shots are more or less meant to be "posed" and carefully composed...but I just can't handle the stiffness of "tilt your chin this way"..."now a little more to the left"..."HOLD THAT!"...."Now put your hand like this"..."A little higher".... And of course direction IS important, but in my opinion..genuine laughter and body language will always win :)(Especially for photos that are being used to judge them for future jobs!)

And that's what we went for with Christa. Christa wanted her head shots to be lively and vibrant...to go hand-in-hand with the type of roles she would like to target in her acting career. SO....of course we got that like by conducting a session that was...you guessed it...lively and vibrant :)

As you're about to see...this girl, Christa, is ridiculously gorgeous. It's pretty...ridiculous. It's funny too...because she looks exactly like Mary Poppins at Disneyland...no really, I mean EXACTLY. Almost like they could be the SAME person...so crazy. Take a better look next time you're at D-Land. You'll see! But you didn't hear it from me ;)

This day we did the session on, was most definitely NOT ideal. But after already rescheduling once, we refused to do it again. So despite the insane wind and chilly temperatures...we made it happen....

And finally, here are my faves that we snapped in between tornado gusts!....

At one point, the wind got SO intense that all we could do was laugh about it. And I said "Forget this, let's embrace it for a second". I love these "fierce" images of her with her hair whipping at my camera that we got when we gave into mother nature ;)

Isn't she just stunning?!

xoxo

Ryan & Maria: Wedding.

2011-03-21T09:41:00.000-07:00

A couple of weekends ago, I had the opportunity to tag along with my awesome friend, Desiree Shuey, and help her shoot one of the cutest weddings ever!!!

Okay, Brides....if any of you were to ask me "How can I make my wedding look different from all the others I see and make it match my personality?"
I would have a one word answer.....DETAIL.

Or if you were to say "I'm paying an arm and a leg for my photographer, how can I get the most out of them on the wedding day?"
My answer would be quite simple....Give them a lot of time to shoot you!!

Maria and Ryan completely nailed both of these. It was pretty ridiculous, Desiree and I were in heaven! We just about passed out when we walked into the reception site and saw LOADS and LOADS of gorgeous detail. Maria really went all out with her theme...and she did it on her own! This girl's got creativity. No need for a designer, Maria simply brought out their personalities with handmade elements and some super cute Etsy finds. I was in love with it all!

As for the timeline... they started off by getting ready super early...about 4 hours before they had to be at the church for the ceremony(which was only 10 minutes away). This eased a lot of stress for them because they didn't have to rush and for us, because we got a full hour just to do bridal party shots!! Which was so awesome!!! Since they had a morning wedding, Ryan and Maria optimized their time for bride and groom portraits with us, by doing them AFTER the reception. Pretty uncommon, but worked out great since we had unlimited time with them and got to go to a couple of different locations!! So much fun.

I am so thankful that Desiree invited me along for this amazing wedding! Ryan and Maria were such a pleasure to work with and too cute to be true!! Be sure to stop by Desiree's blog to see all of the shots she got! :)

And now, on to the cuteness...

Oh hello favorite shoe shot ever....

Being the second photographer is always an adventure. You go into the day ready to roll with the punches and be where the main photog needs you. Sometimes it means being right along side them for the whole day...other times it means going off and documenting the guys while the main photog sticks with the bride. That was the case for this day. And it gave me such a new perspective! When I'm the main photographer..I rarely spend a lot of time shooting the groom and groomsmen getting ready. I either send my second shooter over, while I'm glued to the bride...or just stop in to grab a few shots then go. This day was different because I not only documented their preparations, but also was given a whole hour to get some fun shots of them, while Desiree's was off shooting the Bride and her girls.

With a whole hour to do nothing but shoot groom/groomsmen photos, we got some pretty fun shots!!

I loved the guy's polka-dot bow ties and felt boutonnieres!

And now for some of that detail I was telling you about...

Maria's face lit up when she spotted Ryan as she made her way down the aisle...

And Ryan was beaming when he heard the words, "You may now kiss your bride"...

Maria's bouquet was UNREAL. Just the right mix of real flowers for tradition, jewel-embellished felt flowers to pull in their theme, and ostrich feathers for some added glamour...it was enough to make me swoon.

And the bridesmaid's bouquets also fit the "adorable" standard for the day...

Twilight, anyone?? ;)

For their portraits, we headed off to Victoria Gardens and Claremont Colleges...

Maria has quite the stunning smile!

Best not even get me started on that gorgeous hair piece....ohhhh man....

I just had to grab a shot of Desiree chillin on the ground, grabbing some shoe shots, in the middle of Victoria Gardens(an outdoor shopping mall)...we definitely got some stares! lol

xoxo

Erika & Trevor: Engagement Session.

2011-03-19T13:46:00.000-07:00

This is Erika and Trevor. They're so fly...like a G6! Hahahha...no really though they are! But what I'm really getting at is that Trevor is a pilot! Not your commercial, "Thanks for flying with Southwest today", pilot. Trevor flies private jets, catering only to the mega rich and famous.(now cue the "oooooooh"s and "ahhhhhh"s!). I knew from the beginning that I would want to incorporate the planes somehow in their engagement session and Erika and Trevor were so down for the idea!!! Now, I was thinking...shooting at the airport, around a plane...I had no idea we would actually get to go inside a jet! I was stoked, to say the least. Before that day, I had never been in a small private plane...so cool! I was amazed that something with an inside capacity barely larger than you're average van can get you all the way across the country in just a few hours! Now don't judge it on it's size...I'm here to tell you that the small size of it is NO indication of a small price tag...AT ALL. This little beauty costs more than most of us would be able make in multiple lifetimes. But hey, we can dream! ;)

I really enjoyed working with this gorgeous couple and I am so looking forward to their wedding in May!

Take a look at some of my favorites!

I am so thankful for the awesome opportunity I got to shoot inside of the jet! These next 3 shots are some of my faves of all time! So simple..yet so unique :)

After the airport, we headed over to a second location for a more classic/nature-y setting with some great lighting!

Erika, you're stunning! I can't wait to see what a beautiful bride you're going to be!!

xoxo

Cindy & Jesse: Wedding.

2011-03-17T14:53:00.000-07:00

Here it is!!! My first wedding of the season! And what a special day it was :) Cindy and Jesse are so silly and fun and after getting to meet the rest of their families, I see where it comes from ;) Their day was super easy going and......FUN!!! I have never had as much fun at a reception as I did at theirs, Oh Boy.
Cindy and Jesse, thanks so much for choosing me to be a part of your big day. You guys made me feel more like a member of the family than a wedding vendor! I wish only the best for you and your little ones!

Now here are some highlights of the day...

Cindy, getting her hair done. Doesn't she have the most vibrant smile?!?!

Reading a letter from Jesse...

LOOK AT ALL THOSE CAMERAS!!!! These little cuties stole the show :)

I had to grab a shot of their youngest son peeking at me from between the pews. He was looking rather dashing in his little suit!!!

AHHHH we were SO blessed by the time of day we were doing their portraits during. The light was sooo amazing!

The little flower girl hanging out in the driver seat, having a snack. Her expression made me LOL as I was culling through the photos. So cute!!

Loved their cupcake stand! :)

Jesse's emotional dance with his sister, in memory of their mother, brought tears to everyone's eyes. Especially when his father stepped in to share in the moment...

I told you that these two are silly!! This was their idea!...

Now for some behind the scenes action!

I had to laugh when I saw the one photo my awesome second shooter, Daniel Cruz, snagged of me during the ceremony. Not only am I sitting down, but I'm also shooting the opposite direction of the actual ceremony. Great timing, Daniel!!! Lol. Don't let this fool you...I do work!!

Oh man....this reception was SO lively. When Daniel and I were done with our job for the day, we couldn't even bring ourselves to leave! So we spent the last 10 minutes of the night dancing with the guests and my lovely bride and groom. Here's a photo I snapped of Daniel doing the "camera dance", that literally made me laugh till I cried when I viewed it on my camera's LCD. (He's not QUITE as crazy as this photo makes him look) Hahahhaha. Enjoy!

Jesse and Cindy, viewing their same-day photo slideshow I made for them!

This is the "We love our photographer" photo :)

xoxo

Zerrin + Mommy&Daddy: Family Session.

2011-03-07T12:01:00.000-08:00

Ohhh perfect little Miss Zerrin...with her huge eyes and all the silly faces she makes!! She really is one of the cutest kids on this planet! I remember seeing pictures of her when she was first born and thinking, "WOW, she is beautiful!". She just keeps growing bigger and bigger and getting prettier and prettier. Mom and Dad are gonna have their hands full when she reaches dating age! Oooh boy.
For their session, we decided to go with an urban/colorful feel and I about DIED when I saw Zerrin's pink and black tutu outfit!!! She was a little ball of energy running around all over the place and making us laugh with all of the expressions she was making. I had so much fun capturing it all and I can't wait till our next session! You'll be seeing a lot more of this little cutie! :)

Just a Peek :)

2011-03-02T10:22:00.000-08:00

Okay so you know how I've been posting so many things about my new blog and site and the "top secret" projects surrounding it? Welll I only did that because the release really was supposed to have happened already! Unfortunately, due to some delays in certain elements involving the site...we're now looking at a release date of late April/May. I know...I'm bummed too! BUT, it will be awesome!! :) Here's some things you can look forward to seeing...
-Brand new super fun website!!
-New bloggggggg!! (bye bye blogspot)
-My new office!
-Photos from some unreleased sessions :)
-AND a BIG contest leading up to the site unveiling! So get ready for that if you wanna win big!!

Well I wasn't planning on sharing any of the material from the new brand/site. Buttttt... since it's still gonna be awhile and I feel bad about being such a sneaky sneaker...here's a little peek from one of the styled sessions :)
P.S. Hair and Makeup styled by my beautiful friend Celeste. She is amazing!! You'll get to see her work closer in detail later!

DO. IT. NOW.

2011-03-02T09:41:00.000-08:00

How many time's have you told yourself "I'll get to it later...." or "Later on when I have time, I'd like to...." ?
If you're anything like me, you probably do it A LOT. I always seem to find a ton of things I would love to do, but can never find the time to do them. You see, these things I really "want" to do always seem to get overshadowed by the things I "have" to do or "should" do...you feel me?
Why is it that the list of things we want to do is neverending, but the time to do them, goes unfound?
The answer is simple: That's how life is.
The time is just going to keep ticking away no matter how hard we fight it. That time you are searching for, is passing you by.
I see the pattern in myself allllll the time. The book I could't wait to get, still sitting there months later without a page turned...the old hobby I'm DEFINITELY gonna take up again once I get past wedding season...the good friend whom I haven't seen in ages, that I'm FOR SURE gonna hang out with after I get a few more things checked off my to-do list...
Excuses. Excuses. Excuses.
If it's not one thing, it's gonna be another. If I'm busy today, chances are I'll be busy tomorrow...and next week...and next year!!! Especially as I take on new opportunities, my life just gets busier and busier and busier....
So I challenge you to take today to commit a little time to that special thing you've been wanting to do. (Unless you're planning on waiting till retirement!)
Do it TODAY.
This post isn't meant to be some profound message or eye-opening statement. It's simply something we've all known from the start...today is as good a day as any :)

Well...it's kind of WAY off topic, but since I refuse to blog without a photo...I thought I'd share these photos I took of Rocko yesterday, in my great-grandmother's old wig. Poor poor Rocko. He looks like a cross between an elderly woman and a disco dancer. Enjoy! ;)

WPPI 2011

2011-02-25T15:07:00.000-08:00

As I write this blog post, I'm finding it so hard to believe that my first WPPI really has already come and gone. Months of anticipation, planning, and excitement all came down to this past weekend and just like that it's passed! Pretty insane. But I've said it a million times before and I'll say it again...it was amazing!!! I headed out there with Ty LaMothe and we stayed for 3 jam-packed, AWESOME days. During this time, we hung out with some old friends, made some new ones, and filled our brains with knowledge till we couldn't take anymore!!! Let me break it down for you, day by day :)

SUNDAY:

-Crazy fun drive into Vegas with Ty LaMothe.

-AMAZING business/branding platform class from Bob & Dawn Davis.

-Dinner at the Hash House a Go Go with awesome friends. (Check out the size of those portions!!!!)

Myself, attempting to eat the ridiculous pork loin sandwich without the provided fork and knife. The guy in the background found this so funny that he came over shortly after to get a picture of it as well!! Hahah

-B School party with some more awesome friends! Here's some photo booth shots from it!

MONDAY:

-Bobbi & Mike's motivational platform class. I love Bobbi & Mike!!! Their class was my first priority for WPPI.(Did I mention that I LOVE them??!!!)

-Hung out in the Showit lounge and met some cool people!

-While we were in line for lunch, Ty and I got introduced to the Jarvie Window. Crazy stuff!!!

-Exploring the trade show and getting 10 pounds of marketing material and product samples from the companies!!

-Jasmine Star's kick-butt motivational platform class. But really...when DOESN't she rock?

Jasmine and I having a rather animated looking conversation after the class.

Someone pointed out her striking resemblance to JLO in the photo. What do you think?

-Unite worship night. A big group of photographers gathering together to worship Jesus in the midst of sin city....AWESOME.

-Great dinner and even better talks at dinner with Ty at Diego!!

TUESDAY:

-Lazy morning, enjoying our breakfast and people watching.

-Yet another visit to the Showit lounge to hangout and chat about the awesome new stuff coming to Showit this year!! SO excited :)

-I was SOOOO excited to see Bobbi & Mike in the food court during lunch and got a chance to hang out with them and chat for a bit :)

Here's myself and the Bobbi part of Bobbi+Mike.

-Roberto Valenzuela's RIDICULOUSSSSS shooting platform class. This man is a genius with a camera. And this class was definitely the favorite of them all for me and Ty! SO much knowledge packed into our brains!!

Grabbed a shot on my phone of one of the quotes he included in his presentation. Love it!

-We finished up the night with an informative pricing platform class from Jared Bauman. After that we headed back to our room to get a good night of sleep and pack our bags to head out the next morning!

So, my advice to anyone considering going to WPPI next year is.....GO!!!! Nothing can replace the experience I had there and I am SO happy that I went. If you missed out on this year, don't let 2012 pass you by too. I'll see ya there! :)

The Rodriguez's: Family Session.

2011-02-18T16:00:00.000-08:00

Last weekend I met with the Rodriguez family at a super awesome location that they picked out themselves, for this fun family session. (I will definitely be shooting here again!!). I will be shooting Cindy & Jesse's vow renewal/wedding at the beginning of March and they chose to replace their engagement session with a family session so that they could get some photos of their adorable little ones as well! Working with them got me super pumped for their wedding which will be my first to kick of the 2011 year, followed by many more!!
Check out some of my favorite shots from their session!! :)

Bianca: Headshots Session.

2011-02-09T14:18:00.000-08:00

I mean it when I say that Bianca is one of THE sweetest and most down to earth girls I have ever met in my life. It's one of the first things I noticed about her...that, and that she is ALWAYS smiling. Bianca contacted me to do these headshots for her, for an upcoming pageant she was will be competing in. As I stood in her room with her, helping her make final decisions on outfits and accessories for the session, I couldn't help but notice the LOADS of trophies, tiaras, and sashes from her previous victories. I couldn't imagine how she had managed to win so many things in her lifetime. I said "So you've pretty much been doing pageants your whole life, huh?" to which she replied, "Just since 2006". I was stunned. I guess I shouldn't have been surprised though...with her awesome personality and the fact that she is INSANELY photogenic, she makes for quite the competitor! I'll be at home watching and saying "I knew it!" when she claims the Miss America title one day!!

Here's the highlights of my session with the lovely, Bianca....

I fell in love with this outfit!!!!

Stacey&Josh: Engagement Session.

2011-02-03T19:59:00.000-08:00

I've known Stacey since elementary school and I can tell you first hand that she has ALWAYS been this strikingly gorgeous. Remember those stages we all went through...with the funky hair, baby fat, crooked teeth, etc....resulting in yearbook photos that we now would like to send straight to the paper shredder? Well Stacey never went through those stages that I can ever remember! I guess she's just been a lucky girl. And that makes Josh a pretty lucky man to call the beautiful Stacey his bride-to-be!
The funny thing about their story is that it's not your typical "boy meets girl, falls head over heels for her, and asks her to be his girlfriend" story. In fact, Stacey admired Josh from a distance for some time before ever even approaching him. Well I call it admiring from a distance...Stacey proudly calls it STALKING :) After spotting him at the hotel where he works as a valet driver, she spent the next few months looking for every excuse to drive past and look for him anytime she was remotely close to the area. Her best friend who tagged along during the session told me all about how Stacey swore he was "The One" and that she was going to marry him...before she ever even spoke to him. A lot of people probably could have called her crazy at the time...but, she was right!!
So after months of admiring from a distance...or..uhh...stalking, these two finally found their way into eachother's arms and now will be tying the knot very soon! When Stacey contacted me for their enagagement session, she said that they wanted a fun, vintage, feel. We shot the first set at March Air Field Museum, then the second half in a nearby field after a quick outfit change. I edited the photos slightly different than my usual way, to give them a bit of a "vintage" feel.
Check out some of my favorites from their awesome session! :)

Aren't they just so FIERCE?!?!

One of my faves!!!!

Kayla and The Ghostmen: Band Session.

2011-01-20T18:56:00.000-08:00

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.

2011-01-14T21:24:00.000-08:00

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! :)

Kirt&Lindsey + Jackie: Couple Session.

2011-01-11T15:08:00.000-08:00

A couple of weeks ago, I met up with Lindsey and Kirt for a fun couple session...with Kirt's dog, Jackie, too! So get this, LINDSEY purchased this session as a gift for KIRT. Yes you heard that correct. Kirt is a rare breed, a guy who is actually into photos. I love it! I know how reluctant a lot of men can be when it comes to being in front of the camera, but not Kirt! (Lindsey, you've got a special guy!). Bringing Jackie along for the session made it even more fun. He is a little ball of energy and loved playing in the water, peeking inside the silos, and getting himself tangled in his own leash...and getting everyone's legs caught in it too! Kirt came fully prepared with a back pack full of toys and treats to keep Jackie entertained. Now here's some entertainment for you....Imagine me juggling a handful of squeaky toys and my camera...while trying to get Jackie's attention with the squeaking...and at the same time trying to pose Kirt and Lindsey...all while trying to properly expose and compose my shot...it was a sight to see! But I think I somehow managed to pull it off! See what you think! ;)

Jackie you are soooo handsome!!!! ;)

Jordyn&Natalie: Family Session.

2011-01-08T21:55:00.000-08:00

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....

2011-01-05T16:52:00.000-08:00

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.

Keeping your eyes on the prize.

2010-11-21T20:18:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, a friend, whom also happens to be a photographer, IM'ed me on Facebook with one of these.... :( When I asked her what was wrong...she told me that she was unhappy with her website, blog, whole brand, everything...and she wanted to re-do it all. I was baffled. She had literally JUST re-done her brand very recently and it looked great! I loved what she was doing with her business. And just a few weeks prior, she had been happy too. So where was all of this coming from???

And then I knew.

I asked her, "Be completely honest, does this have anything to do with other photographers you know making advances in their businesses lately?". She then admitted that yes, this was a large part of it. She saw how well her peers were doing and rather than celebrating with them and using this positive energy to build off of and improve her own self...she just felt left behind...

I COMPLETELY understand this feeling. I've been there more times than I care to say. And I still find myself there occasionally, when I let my guard down. Hearing about someone else's success...how booked up they are, while your own calendar is left un-marked, seeing their brand new website, mind-blowing photographs...and feeling like...why not me?

This conversation with my friend really got me thinking about this and how much I have improved in this area over time. I think it happened one day over the summer when I wasted an entire day looking at other photographer's blogs. Don't get me wrong...I LOVE looking at blogs. But this was different...and I had been doing it off and on for awhile. I wasn't checking in on a friend's blog to see what they've been up to. I was looking at everything in comparison to myself. Looking at blogs from photographers with YEARS of experience on me, making myself miserable thinking about how long it would take me to get as good as them. I wasted all of those precious hours, that I could have spent shooting, blogging, or just doing ANYTHING productive....agonizing over everything that I wasn't.

After that day, I took a break from paying attention to everyone else and brought my focus back 100% to where it belonged. ON MY OWN BUSINESS. Things changed then. My outlook was a million times more positive. I'm back to my regular blog-surfing now, but it's all in a different light. I don't look at what others are doing to compare it to my own progress. I look out of pure interest and admiration. I see people thriving all around me...my peers, my friends. And never once since my "blog-detox" have I felt left behind. Why? Because my dedication is to my own growth, not just sitting back and watching everyone elses. And truthfully...I like to believe that success is contagious ;)

So what I told my friend is.....Don't worry about them. Worry about you. Their success certainly was not bringing her down and she knew it. She actually was happy for them. The only thing that was getting her down was her attitude towards her own business. So my hope is that this very lovely friend of mine will take my advice and remember just what this whole thing is about. Moving forward at her own rate, even if it's in different ways and at a different pace than her peers. (Friend, you know who you are! And I happen to think you're doing amazing!)

So is it a competitive market? WELL DUH!! We all know it is. Even the best of friends are competing for clients when they're in the same industry, whether they believe it or not. But here's a little something to think about...when you first got started in the business...was your goal to give your utmost best to your clients, and produce photographs that they will forever cherish? Or was it just to compete with the other photographers around you and make sure you're always doing better? I'm assuming it was and still is, the first one. If your main priority is the second one and you're aware of it and okay with it...well then maybe you should re-think your direction/purpose in this industry! Ya feel me?

All I'm saying is....Success should not be relative. If you're doing good, you're doing good...no matter what everyone else is doing.

And uh...yeah, that's all! :)

Well since I refuse to blog without atleast one photo...I went digging through my hard drive for something to share and came across this. And it made me laugh! Shannon Morse snapped this at a wedding she was shooting with me over the summer. I was showing the little girl the picture I took of her, and I love her reaction! :)

Limited Time Holiday Special + Gift Ideas.

2010-11-20T13:34:00.000-08:00

Want to give someone an extra special gift this holiday? One of the only gifts that will last forever? This season, spoil a loved one with a one of a kind photo session.... AND for a limited time, you can do it at a discounted rate :)

Until Christmas, or until the limited amount sell out, you will have the opportunity to purchase the above certificate for $150 for a total savings of $60 off of regular price. This gift certificate includes a full session, disc of final images, and an 8x10 print. If you have been thinking about giving someone the gift of photography or purchasing a session for yourself, now is the time! This is the last time I will offer a special this low...and with my portrait prices going up a bit in 2011 this is the best way to optimize your savings!

Here's a few ideas for how this gift can be given!

-Guys...give your woman a unique gift by purchasing a certificate that can be used as a couple or family session.

-Ladies...spice up the holidays for your man by purchasing a certificate and using it towards a boudoir session of yourself!(and maybe even make him a custom calendar for 2011???)

-Siblings....pitch in together and get on your parent's good side by doing a session of yourselves and giving the photos to them for Christmas OR saving the certificate to give to them for family photos of everyone!

-Parents...purchase your son or daughter's senior photo session in advance and give them the gift of personalized senior photos that will stand out from the ordinary!

-Friends and Family....gift the certificate to any loved one who is soon expecting a little one, just started a family, is newly married, celebrating an anniversary, or would simply want photos for any occasion!

Details:
-All certificates must be purchased before Christmas day.
-The receiver of the certificate must contact me by March 1st to set a date for their session. (certificate becomes invalid if no contact is made before that date)
-Extra fees apply for travel of more than 80 miles round trip.
-Extra fees apply for sessions with families larger than 5 members.

I anticipate the limited quantity I am offering to sell out quickly, so don't hesitate! Email me at Kristen@kristenbooth.net to purchase yours!

Nicole&Chris: Surprise couple session.

2010-11-19T17:33:00.000-08:00

I remember getting an email back in July from a girl named, Nicole. She told me that she had been reading my blog and loved my work and also told me about her own love for photography and her dream to pursue it as a career. I love emails like this.... chatting with aspiring photographers about ANYTHING from technical stuff to pure inspiration. I love it all. I am very open about my willingness to answer questions about what I know and give advice where I can. Which is probably why I get just as many emails from other photographers as I do from clients.....
But anyway...a few months down the road, an old friend from highschool tells me that her boyfriend's little sister is my BIGGEST FAN. When I asked her what her name was(because I had to know who my supposed biggest fan was!!!!!!!) it turned out to be the same Nicole I had talked to in email a few months prior. I thought it was awesome!
To add to the coincidence...not too long ago, I was in Best Buy shopping for yet another external hard drive and I began chatting with the clerk who was helping me out, his name was Chris. He reminded me about how we met briefly, awhile back, through Ty Lamothe. (So I might be a little young for my memory to be so bad, but unfortunately sometimes IT IS!!!!). He then proceeded to tell me that his girlfriend, Nicole, "reads my blog more than I do". And in case you were wondering...yes it was the same Nicole! I had yet to meet her, but I definitely liked this girl already ;)
So this brings us to last weekend....I get an email from Chris, Nicole's boyfriend. He was inquiring about booking a session for the two of them and I LOVED the idea. What I didn't know right away though..was that Nicole knew nothing of it and the session would be a surprise. (Which btw is SOOOOOO ridiculously sweet! Props to you Chris on your good boyfriend skills!!!) So with lots of sneaking and plotting in a short amount of time, Chris told Nicole that he would be taking her out to dinner and to wear her favorite outfit :)
On Monday afternoon, Chris brought Nicole to me.....blindfolded. After revealing the real plans to her...we went on to have an AMAZING session.(These two are model material, seriously.) And to say the least, the whole concept of this session definitely made my entire week.
OH! BUT THERE'S MORE!!!!!! During our session we chatted quite a bit about photography and Nicole's plans. She told me that she was in the market for a camera body and I gave her my advice on where to look, what to look for, etc. Much to my surprise, she purchased the Canon 50D, JUST A COUPLE OF DAYS LATER! I am so excited to see what she does and where she takes her passion. I know she will be amazing!!!
So Nicole...here's a little piece for you....
Thank you so much for being so supportive! I think it is so sweet that you have not only taken the time to look at my work and read my(sometimes ridiculously long) blog posts, but also to tell myself and other people how much you like it. I really appreciate it all! (especially that you've made me feel worthy of a NUMBER ONE FAN! hahahha). I am so excited for you as you start in your journey into photography :)

And FINALLYYYYYYYYYYYYY....let's get on with what you all came for....the photos.

Here is Chris bringing Nicole to me with her blindfold on, I could tell that she was so confused!

And then there was lots of love...

And leaves!!

Gahhhhh, Nicole, you are SO gorgeous!!!

You guys are SO SO SO wonderfully adorable!(I'm almost running out of vocabulary to describe really cute/sweet/pretty, things!)

So I don't really remember what Chris did this for, but it turned out really cute/funny and for some reason I had to blog it! Ha!

Nicole, you may think you're my biggest fan...but really I'M YOUR biggest fan..of you and your ridiculous beauty!! Oh hey Chris, almost forgot...you're lookin' good too man! (Blame it on your gorgeous girlfriend for coming in and stealing all of your spotlight). Hahahaha. You guys are the best!!

P.S. Want to surprise someone with a session, like Chris did? For a short time you will have the option to do it at a DISCOUNTED RATE, by purchasing a holiday gift certificate for a loved one! More info coming SOON!

My weekend in Chicago.

2010-11-17T15:29:00.000-08:00

About 2 weeks ago, I packed my bags and headed to Chicago to see my lovely friend Sarah Barlow and help her out with shooting a wedding. If you follow my twitter or my facebook page, you probably remember all of my excited tweets and posts in anticipation of leaving and extra excited ones when I finally arrived...because well...I was EXCITED. And for good reason. The trip was amazing....I got to see an old friend, meet some new ones, explore a new city, and soooooo much more. The weekend went by so fast that we didn't take as many photos as I would have liked but here's a few for a visual re-cap :)

THIS would be the always fabulous, Sarah Barlow. On the last day, we headed out to take some photos of each other and this is one of my favorites of Sarah. This is what she looks like 96% of the time. She's just a big ball of HAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHHAHAHHAHA!!!!!!!!!

On this trip, I encountered another HILARIOUS person who goes by the name of Emily. This girl is a crack-up. I swear, if photography ever doesn't work out for her...she's got huge potential in the comedy world!!!!

And on another note...I got a few pictures taken of myself :) But you'll be seeing those at a later time....

Can I just say that I LOOOOOOOOOOOVVVVVVVVVVVVEEEEEEEEEE the Barlow family. They are so great, I honestly wouldn't mind becoming a permanent fixture in their household. Getting back rubs every five minutes and waking up singing every morning, I love it!
Among them would be my Illinois BFF, Natalie, of course. (No need to tell me, I already enrolled for Jacket Buttoning 101 after seeing this picture, don't even worry.)

Myself with two of my favorites, Natalie and Emily!!!

Sarah and I do make a cute couple, dontcha think? For some reason this is what we thought would be fun to do while we waited for the ceremony to start on the wedding day!

I wish this was a real ornament...not just our reflections in a plain one...I would buy it!!!!!!!

And lastly, if you're ready for it..... I would like to present Sarah and I's 2010 Christmas card photo.... If you're on the mailing list, you might just get lucky enough to find one in your mailbox. HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!!!!!!!!!!

But before I forget.....It wouldn't be fair to blog about my trip to Chicago and not share the video that had us laughing all weekend. You must watch it!!! Ellen is so funny :)
"People tell me sometimes that I have the skin of baby peaches"

Ryan&Cassie: Chino Hills/Riverside Engagement.

2010-11-15T10:25:00.000-08:00

Ryan and Cassie got engaged on Christmas Eve. Dinner had just finished up at Ryan's mother's house and the whole family was around. Ryan came up to Cassie and asked her if she remembered how he told her a few days ago that the ring she liked was sold. Cassie replied, "yes", she remembered him telling her this but didn't know what relevance it had at the moment. Ryan then got down on one knee and said "They sold it to me".

I LOVE this story...just like I loved hearing other snippets of their history as Cassie shared stories with me during our consultation. It was all straight out of a movie...how they met when they sat next to eachother in Biology class in high school, fell in love...and the rest is history.

After 12 years, these two will be tying the knot in October 2011 and I am so honored and excited to be a part of it. For their engagement session, I couldn't think of a better place to shoot than the place where it all began, their high school. Check out the fun shots we got there, followed by some scenic ones in Riverside :)

May look like just another door, but this door is special. It's the door to the classroom where they first met! :)

And now for the shots we got in Riverside...

My favorite of the day :)

WORK IT GIRLLLLLLLLLLLLL.........

Don't be mistaken...this next one was not a pose. I was walking ahead, scouting out the next location, while Cassie and Ryan followed behind. I turned around and quickly snapped this. Ryan was carrying her so she didn't have to hike the paths in her heeled boots. TOO sweet, right? :)

And that's a wrap for this post! But that's enough cuteness to last you for the whole day!!! Lots more blogposts coming this week, stay posted! :)

NYC bound!!!

2010-11-11T09:57:00.000-08:00

I can't begin to tell you how much I ADORE this place. New York City. Everything about it...the energy, the fast pace, the "larger than life" feel. If you've been there..I'm sure you know. I've been there 3 times and it's never been enough. I always want to stay longer, and I'm always ready to go back, the second I board my plane. The last visit was a few years ago and I've been aching to return. There were several "almost" trips this year, but none of them ended up working out. With next month being December, I had pretty much given up hope on seeing the Big Apple this year. Strangely enough, on my flight home from Chicago this Monday I had a strange feeling it would not be my last flight of the year. Almost a certainty that I would be going on another trip before the end of 2010. I don't know what brought on this feeling...but the funny thing is....I WAS RIGHT.

Wednesday Morning. My mom asks if I have plans for the weekend of December 18th. I mentally file through my calendar and reply "no....why.....?". And she screams " CAUSE I JUST WON A TRIP TO NEW YORK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Okay...let's pause here so I can fill you in. You've got to understand my mom and her history of wins. Ever since I can remember, she has been entering every radio, online, tv, magazine contest you can imagine. She's always been a stay-at-home mom, raising my sister and I, while my dad worked. So in these years, she picked up a love for contests that grew more and more exciting with every win. Hours and hours a day of entering contests from all over. But don't think it has been wasted energy....I've lost track of her wins. Cars, trips, concert tickets, meet and greets, money, and the list just goes on.... Let's just say, life was never boring :) Most people who don't understand the amount of time she puts in, instantly mistake it for luck. Which could be alot of it. But a good amount is persistence and she definitely has it(which the whole family is always thankful for!). She's in it to win it and has never given up even after dry times when no wins come in for awhile. Because we all know they will come...and they do....

My mom's name was selected out of 5000 entries for a round trip for 4 to New York City for 2 nights. Hotel, flights, tickets to see the Rockette's and a back stage meet and greet....all incuded. It's safe to say I am THRILLED. It's still sinking in that in a little over a month I will be back to the big city. AND, at Christmas time. A time a have never been and that has been on my bucket list for quite awhile. Not to mention...just a mere week before our 3 year anniversary I will be bringing my boyfriend for his first visit to the city I love. It really is such a blessing and I couldn't be happier. On another note, our time there will be pretty short...but I will have time to squeeze in one session if you're in that area and would like to book with me! Just send me an e-mail at kristen@kristenbooth.net.

Well there's my exciting news I had to share. Best believe I've already started the countdown too :) Hope everyone has a great week!!!

Jeanette: After Hours Portrait Session.

2010-11-09T22:35:00.000-08:00

Here's Miss Jeanette...she's a spicy one. (Hahaha that looks funnier in text than it sounded in my head, for some reason). She's quite the fashion-savvy lady and is going to school to be a personal stylist. It definitely shows in how she dresses herself! She had me drooling as she pulled out the different outfits she would be wearing for the session...girl's got style. We started the session at 10pm due to highly conflicting schedules and we're practically asleep by the end...it was quite an adventure(a freeeeezingggg one). But my hope is that you would never see the struggles we experienced by looking at the photos and only know of them because I just told you ;P See what you think!

Oh you fancy, huh? (all of these photos evoke lines from hip hop songs in my mind for some reason!!!)

Breanna&Matt: Temecula wedding.

2010-11-06T20:07:00.001-07:00

So maybe some of you remember this post from my Facebook Page a couple of months ago...

Well if you do, Breanna is that Starbucks Drive-thru bride ;) She contacted me shortly after that encounter to book her day and it was great getting to catch up with her and meet the man she has chosen to spend the rest of her life with. I could see right from the start that they are a perfect fit for eachother. There is so much laughter and sillyness in their relationship and I know their lives will blend together so effortlessly. And can I just say that I LOVE shooting friends weddings, there really is nothing else in the world like it. (Note to all of my friends who plan on "giving me the day off" for their wedding: I enjoy work days SO much more than days off, MAKE ME WORK!!!!). Big thanks to my second shooter Daniel, with his super spider power, for helping out! Congratulations Breanna and Matt!

Here are some bits and pieces from the day....

The beautiful bride getting the finishing touches put on her hair.

And getting into her dress...

Breanna and Matt opted for a First Look, which was definitely the best choice for their timeline and made the day flow a million times smoother. Daniel and I chose a secluded spot with some great lighting for the bride and groom to see eachother for the first time. Here is Matt waiting, as Breanna comes around the bend(see her?) :)

And his reaction as he turned around to see his bride approaching him...

And then.....(Que the AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW's) :)

Are they precious or what?

We then moved into the vineyard for some more shots....

Breanna's aunt walking her down the aisle.

Saying their vows.

They danced their first dance to last bit of sunlight, as the night set in :)

And the groomsmen waved candles in celebration...

Stealing kisses during dinner ;)

Stephens Family + extended: Seal Beach Family Session

2010-10-26T14:32:00.000-07:00

So, if you follow my blog, you probably read about the crazy night I had a couple weekends ago. If not, you can check it out, HERE. This particular session happens to be the one I was in Seal Beach for that evening. So as you can see, there was some obviously good things about that day too! Karla contacted me a couple of months ago about doing a seasonal session with her family while she would be out here visiting. You see, Karla grew up in Seal Beach but is now in North Carolina with her hubby and 2 adorable daughters. So for the short time they were back home to visit, they could not pass up an oppurtunity for family photos! There was a total of 13 family members for this session and it was a really great experience for me to be able to document all of these people who are so rarely all together. And don't let me forget to mention that they have some great style ;) I was truly impressed with the color-coordinated yet not overly match-y outfits AND the choice of location. They nailed it!

Here's a few favorites of the many photos taken!

The ladies :)

Couldn't resist a fun sibling photo! Even though I'm sure a few years have passed since they last took a photo like this!

Sisters, Ava and Cora :)

I had NOTHING to do with this next shot :P

The guys....

The proud grandma and her girls :)

And we'll wrap it up with another shot of the ADORABLE Miss Ava :)

The Bishops: Family.

2010-10-21T13:05:00.000-07:00

The Bishops are one of my most favorite families ever and I have been photographing little Kane since he was still in mom's belly!! Kane was an adorable newborn and somehow manages to get cuter and CUTER everytime I see him. He is just bursting with personality and has a million facial expressions. I had a hard time stifling my laughter and taking the photos as Kane made grrrr faces, fish faces, scrunchy faces and huge smiles. I had so much fun photographing the Bishops yet again and can't wait till next time! It's going to be pretty amazing if Kane finds a way to get even cuter between now and then!!!

Here's the favorites....

Here he goes with the silly expressions :)

Kane and his uncle!

I just love this face here hahahaha.

A shot with Mommy and a shot with Daddy :)

Okay...so I know Kane is super adorable and he's all you want to look at...but in this next photo can we just take one quick second to pause and look at Melissa's legs?? You know, the girl who just had a baby only 7 MONTHS AGO!!!! My goodness, you are one hot mama! Okay, now back to looking at Kane :)

Here's Kane, in his costume, sitting in front of a pumpkin that weighs more than his mom, dad, and him all put together!!! Really!!!

And we will wrap this up with a shot of the proud, loving parents :)

The WORST(and funniest) night of my life.

2010-10-20T14:55:00.000-07:00

Let me tell you a little story about the series of VERY unfortunate events my assistant, Ty, and I experienced on Saturday night due to 4 very small, but very deadly mistakes....

The day started no different than any other..Ty arrived at my house a couple of hours before we needed to head down to Seal Beach for a session with an extended family of 13. We were getting all of my equipment ready and getting in shooting mode as my phone was being charged. Because for some reason, my phone is ALWAYS dying. I got a call, which caused me to unplug the phone and wander around the house talking on it, and of course...forget to plug it back in, leaving me with only a small charge for the whole day. Which leads us to deadly mistake #1....

NOT GETTING A FULL CHARGE ON MY PHONE.

We left with plenty of time and arrived to Seal Beach full of energy and ready to shoot. We used Map Quest for directions. For most trips, I use the GPS app on my phone to navigate, but I always bring printed directions just in case. Knowing I wouldn't have enough battery to get us there, we opted for the print directions and made it there with no problems.

Here's a photo of one of the adorable little ones from the session! :)

The session went extremely well and Ty and I were so pumped after, that there was no way we were ready to leave after. We decided to walk around the neighborhood, taking it all in, and walk down to Main Street for some dinner. That night, I honestly fell IN LOVE with the area. All of the homes were so unique and had so much personality. Everyone was friendly and said hello to you as you passed them on the street...oh and the weather was PERFECT. I felt like I was in a total dream. But this dream was about to turn into a nightmare as we encountered deadly mistake #2, while at dinner....

NOT REALIZING I HAD MY OUTLET PHONE CHARGER IN MY PURSE AND CHARGING IT WHILE WE WERE AT DINNER.

Here's Ty, while we were wandering the neighborhood!

By the time we were done with dinner, we were leaving WAY later then we had originally planned, but we had an awesome night and timing was the least of our worries. We got in the car and began to make our way home. I was a little concerned about the drive home because I DESPISE driving at night and I was hoping we would be able to get back by following the directions we had. My phone was had been dead for quite awhile and Ty's doesn't have internet access....those mapquest directions were our only hope. As we got onto the freeway...we didn't realize that the next freeway we had to get onto was less than half a mile from where we got on. Which leads us to mistake #3....

MISSING OUR EXIT.

But this usually is never a problem....you get off at the next exit, turn around and head back to your first location and do it all over again. It should have been that simple....EXCEPTTTTT....the off-ramp made a large curve and completely threw off our sense of direction AND we were met with several detours. Already tired, frustrated with my phone being dead, and irritated with the drive....I began to lose patience. THEN, it started to rain. The only thing I dislike more than driving at night....is driving in the rain. And here I was doing both, and on top of that...after trying to find our way for about 20 minutes, we were completely lost. Don't ask me how we got so far off track, it could have been the detours, or being so unfamiliar with the area, or being thrown off by the rain(and did I mention that my windshield wipers were doing a horrible job????) or a combination of all. Either way, we were LOST. Confronted with the choice of stopping and asking someone for directions, or stopping to get an address and call home on Ty's phone to someone with access to a computer for directions....we opted for the second one. So we pulled over to a Chevron and called home to finally end this miserable journey....which leads us to our final mistake.....

NOT CONTINUING ON THAT ROAD, WHICH WOULD HAVE INEVITABLY LED US TO OUR FREEWAY.

We got directions from our handy navigator at home and also got confirmation that we were in Westminster. And we got some great news!!! We were headed in the right direction!! YAY!!!! Now let's just head on home and everything will be great :) But it could never be that simple, could it??? As I turned my key in the ignition to start my truck....IT. WOULDN'T. START. Just gave a tiny sound of effort...then gave up. This is the point where it became funny....how could it not be funny? All of it was straight out of a movie! Here we were, 2 young girls, stranded in a parking lot behind Chevron in Westminster, in a broken down vehicle, with $5,000+ worth of camera equipment in the car. The fun was just beginning!

Ty on the phone. Totally looks like a scene from a scary movie. And that's what it felt like all of this was leading up to!

After about 10 minutes of waiting, I tried to start the truck again...and still...nothing. So I decided it was time to call AAA. Ty used my information on my card and called...only to find out that my card had just recently expired. GREAAAAAT. Luckily, Ty saved the day with hers. Upon calling AAA with her info, the operator let us know that an associate would be with us no later than 9:25...no problem, only had to wait 30 mins. We passed the time by taking silly pictures and joking about the night, because it really was comical. As 9:25 approached...we got a call with an automated tape recording letting us know that our associate would now be arriving around 10:05!!!!!!!!! At this point, none of it really mattered anymore. We laughed it off...and although we were a bit nervous, we stayed in the car and waited till our tow truck driver arrived.

Thank Heavens for AAA!

One of the many pictures taken during the miserable waiting period. Ty's beloved key necklace! :)

Upon arrival, the driver stepped out of the car and greeted us with glossy eyes, and a creepy smile. We told him where our final destination was and he said "well what are you doin all the way down here??? Parrrtyyyyinggg??" accompanied with yet another creepy smile. Ty and I looked at eachother and immediately decided we were not riding all the way home with this guy. Upon trying to start it up once, he said that it needed to be towed(it turned out to be my battery and a jump start WOULD have worked). When we got in the truck with him, I told him to drop us off at a Denny's and someone would be coming to pick us up. 5 minutes into the ride, it was no longer his character I was concerned about, but rather his driving skills!!!! He cut two curbs and swerved over into the next lane by trying to find his ringing phone under the seat and then answered it. He even proceeded to show me the facebook app on his phone while driving. Ty and I were hanging on for dear life!!!!

Bye Bye Truck!!

By the time we arrived at Denny's, I felt as if I could collapse. I finally utilized my charger and was able to use my phone, even though it was no longer useful to us. Our ride arrived about an hour later and we headed home safely and luckily made it there without anymore trouble.

Sitting on the floor in Denny's because there was nowhere else to sit that had an outlet....but I was beyond caring :P

I woke up the next day wondering if it was all just a bad dream, but got a good laugh when I realized it wasn't. It's pretty funny that those 4 little mistakes that we didn't even know we were making led us to ALL of that trouble. We could have avoided it by charging my phone all the way from the start or charging it during dinner because then the gps would have led us home. Or by paying better attention and not missing our exit. Or by driving just a little bit further before we decided to pull over. But can't dwell on all of that now! So the moral to the story is.............
BUY A CAR CHARGER FOR YOUR PHONE ;)

Keaton: Children.

2010-10-17T15:46:00.000-07:00

This is Keaton. And all I can say is he is going to be a total HEART-BREAKER about 15 years down the road. Hide your daughters!!! Keaton's mommy had the idea to do a fall themed, pumpkin patch session and I looooved the idea. The location was completely perfect and kept Keaton entertained the whole time. Keaton is so smart and serious for a little one. At one point I tried to get him to crack a smile by doing a silly dance and shaking my car keys around, and instead of getting a laugh...he gave me a look like I was a total crazy person. It was pretty hilarious! Seems like he's a good judge of character ;) hahahhaha.

Check out all of these fun shots of him and his mommy!

Wearing his Navy shirt for Daddy, who is currently overseas.

Trying to lift the pumpkin, and he almost got it off of the ground!

The sunset as we were leaving....Seriously JAW DROPPING.

Aaron&Alena: Married.

2010-10-15T00:00:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, I tagged along to shoot a wedding with my friend Daniel Cruz. There's actually a bit of coincidence involved here... When I first agreed to shoot the wedding with Daniel, I was clueless as to who the couple was and any specific details. All I knew is where to be, and when. Simple. It wasn't until a few days before, that we were discussing the timeline for the day, that he mentioned the bride's name. ALENA. Whoa whoa whoa...wait...ALENA? That's not the most common name. Could it possibly be the same Alena whom I was good friends with in high school, but hadn't talked to since? The Alena whom Daniel and I both attended high school with? Well of course, it was the same Alena. Funny how that works. But that's nothing out of the ordinary right???? You see an old friend for the first time in years and it happens to be on their wedding day. And you're photographing it. Happens all the time right?? hahahaha. On another note, the whole day was so beautiful and I loved getting to be a part of it! These two are just the cutest! After you're done with this post, be sure to head over to Daniel's blog and see what he captured!

Here's the favorites :)

Check out these beautiful bridesmaids. btw, I LOVE the pink and black color scheme! ;)

And of course we had to show off those fabulous shoes...

And here's what was going on up top while the last shot was being taken :)

Alena, dancing with her father :)

It's a super simple concept, but this still has to be one of my favorite ring shot's I've gotten!

The new Mr&Mrs.

Rylee&Tiffany: Family(Halloween)

2010-10-13T14:10:00.000-07:00

Oh Goodness...I was so excited to see little Miss Rylee again, I have done her photos several times over the last year and it is always so much fun to see the little thoughts and ideas she comes up with because she is WAY too smart for her age. Her mommy, Tiffany, told me that for last few months Rylee has been asking non-stop when they would be seeing "The Picture Lady" again. Hahahahaha, she LOVES the camera. Little model in the making! For this session, we got some shots in Rylee's fancy new dress and of course in her Halloween costume. Rylee and Tiffany dressed up in matching costumes, as butterflies, even though Rylee's original idea was for her mom to be a stink bug! She's got quite an imagination!

There was sooo many to choose from with this little cutie, but here's a few favorites I was able to narrow it down to ;)

Little Miss Attitude ;)

Birthday Fun.

2010-10-12T12:26:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was my birthday. It came around so much sooner than expected(are we REALLY almost halfway through OCTOBER???) and passed just as quickly. I had plans to do nothing more than relax and do NO work. But as the day progressed, I changed my mind and decided to pull together a little last minute bbq/get together with just a few close friends. It turned out to be SO much fun. We ate, talked, laughed and took a million hilarious pictures with the last minute "photobooth" that I was so happy I decided to set up. These pictures make me laugh till my stomach hurts and I am so glad to have all of the hilarity documented. Thank you so much to everyone who made my day special...all of the texts, calls, facebook posts, messages, cards, and good wishes! You guys are the best!!!

Now here's a little glimpse of the fun...

Becca: Senior Portraits

2010-10-08T10:02:00.000-07:00

It's that time.....School is back in and the senior class of 2011 is already a couple of months into their LAST year of high school. So now's the time to start booking those sessions for senior pictures!!!

My first senior for this year is Becca. And did I mention that she's pretty much, basically, kind of my sister?? Well actually she's my boyfriend's little sister. (but we've been together for 3 years and I've known Becca since she was a freshman, so that's close enough right???!!) Anyway, luckily the crazy weather gave us a break long enough to do her session, we had already had to reschedule once because of rain. As the new date approached, I was doing my sun dance(opposite of a rain dance!!! duh) all weekend, making SURE the weather would allow us to shoot. The session was super fun and relaxed and my favorite part was at the end when she brought out her guitar for some edgy shots with her leather jacket, so fun!

Here's a preview of some of my faves!! :)

Meet Rocko.

2010-10-05T15:04:00.000-07:00

This is Rocko, the newest addition. However not as new as you would think, my announcement of him is just a little delayed! I've actually had him a few months but he just fit into my daily routine so quickly that I kind of forgot to tell everyone about him! He is quite an interesting little thing. We like to call him "ugly cute". Either he's so ugly that he's cute or so cute that he's ugly, can't figure out which. He's a YorkiePoo and he has a LOAD of personality. You would just have to meet Rocko to know what he's really like. Anyway, I just wanted to share these pictures with you that I took of him the other day. They were all taken in a time frame of less than 2 minutes and I still got quite a bit of expression. Yeah, he's a character.

Different Perspectives.

2010-10-02T22:42:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, I came across an inevitable bump in the road. I'm finding that running a business independently is all about risks, gains, losses, failures, successes and a million other complete opposites. But really, no matter HOW MANY times you hear about life lessons and dealing with hard situations you can never fully understand until you deal with it first hand....
Several weeks ago, I found myself at a consultation with a bride and her mother. The bride was very young and her mom was there to oversee the booking and make the payment. Everything was going well, your average consultation....we talked about the wedding, life, the photography itself, and even had a few laughs. Nothing out of the ordinary. By the time I left, I had a signed contract and a $500 check for the retainer fee in hand, to reserve their day. The bride even followed up a few hours after, letting me know that she was so excited to have me locked in as her photographer. Things were lookin good!
So it's safe to say I was pretty surprised when I checked my phone later that night and found a missed call from an unfamiliar number and a pretty angry voicemail. It turned out to be from the bride's father, saying that himself and the groom were both "furious" about the cost of my services and that they weren't even getting an album. He said they wanted a refund, and we would need to get this "taken care of" within 24 hours. I sat in a daze, wondering if I had really just heard what I thought I had...how could something great turn bad in just mere hours??? I had no idea how to handle this situation.
The first thing I decided is that I would not call her father back. I would not discuss terms of the contract with someone who had no part in the booking. But the big question was how was I going to deal with their demand for a refund when the contract clearly stated that the retainer is NON-REFUNDABLE. Obviously I would keep it right? Cause I'm fully entitled to the money of course....I'll just tell them "Sorry, you already signed...either pay the rest or lose the money you already put down". Because it is MY money isn't it??? That's the obvious answer right????
Much to all of your surprise....and still to my own...I went the other route.... That money didn't feel like mine. That check sat heavy in my wallet, un-cashed. A name signed on it that already felt like it was no longer part of my plan. Just an ugly reminder of a fit that wasn't right....
I contacted the bride the next morning asking her to have her mother give me a call. Upon talking to her mother I let her know that I would return the money only because it was such quick notice and out of the kindness of my heart. I made sure she understood that I was giving her a refund she was not entitled to merely because I am a kind person and at this time, I felt it was the right thing to do.
We had a very brief meeting at the same place we had booked just the day before. I had her sign a cancellation form that I typed up specifically for this case, she returned the contract, and I returned the check. We drove away and it was done.
As soon as I put my car in drive, I already felt a huge weight lifted off of my shoulders. The slate was wiped clean....I had nothing left to attach me to this bad experience. But I certainly would not forget it. I knew something had to come from it....a learning experience.(and this super lengthy blogpost. ha!) But truthfully, I HATED the whole situation. I hated the roller coaster of emotions...excitement, fear, anger, rationality, remorse...I REALLY hated the insult I felt, listening to the voicemail from her father, making me question my worth...I also hated losing the bride, I really liked her and I know she had NOTHING to do with this whole situation, I feel bad that she got caught up in all of it(unnamed bride, if you are reading this...I hope you have a beautiful wedding day and please know I hold nothing against you!!!).
But from it all I learned a major unexpected lesson, something to do completely with being reasonable and open to diversity. That lesson is that we all look at the world from different angles and we must recognize that everyone has a different perspective. So maybe it was wrong of her parents to break the contract...and I certainly didn't appreciate the way they went about it, but I realized that her dad is certainly not WRONG for thinking my services weren't worth that amount of money. He just puts value on different things. And wouldn't it be more WRONG to expect every person in the world to value the same things? That would be no fun. I dealt with one bad situation...someone who would not spend what I charge. But in the 2 weeks prior to that, I booked 3 brides who were more than happy to pay those prices and see the worth in what I will give them. I also returned weddings discs to 2 previous brides who loved their images and I'm sure would spend the money all over again if they had the chance...
So I guess the lesson here is, don't take it personal. When you're so committed and closely tied in with your business....it's hard to separate it from yourself sometimes. But you've got to realize that things will happen and you've just gotta roll with the punches. If someone cuts down your prices or something of the sort, it doesn't say anything about YOUR worth, but rather, it speaks of THEIR own perspective. In short, clients are like boyfriends...you can't fully appreciate the right one until you've dealt with a couple of the wrong ones hahahaha.

"You don't get harmony when everybody sings the same note"-Doug Floyd

P.S. SOOOOOOOOOO excited that my awesome sister snagged me a copy of this little gem below, for my birthday. (which is October 11th in case you didn't know, but i'm sure you've had it on your calendar all year right?!?! hahaha). I've heard amazing things about this book from other photographers and I'm already loving it after one chapter!

Paulina&Juan: Married.

2010-09-20T11:52:00.000-07:00

Mother Nature was most definitely in favor of Paulina and Juan's marriage. And why wouldn't she be, when they have been dating for 10 YEARS??? I still can't get over it. Well, Mother Nature lined it up just perfect for this day...the sun was beaming gloriously but there was just enough breeze to keep it tolerable. And the weather stayed lovely all the way through to their adorable backyard reception that started right as the sun was about to set. Ahhh...perfection. One of my favorite parts of the day was watching Paulina as she took deep breaths and tried to steady her trembling hands, as she was spending her final moments as an un-married woman. I smiled to myself thinking this is probably the same way she might have looked back in high school when she first started dating Juan. The feelings were all still there...butterflies in the tummy, anxiousness, and love. But now in a completely new form..the same feelings she felt before, but intensified by a bond of 10 years together.

Here's a few favorites...

I LOVED how their son stood beside his parents and hept his arm around them as they were up at the altar for their ceremony. So sweet :)

I think she's checkin' him out ;)

DANG. Get it girrrrrl...

There truly was not a dry eye to be found during Paulina's very emotional dance with her grand father.

Congratulations Mr & Mrs Merlos, I am so happy for you!

Absence.

2010-09-15T22:45:00.000-07:00

WHERE HAVE I BEEN?????? Geeze. I feel like I have jumped on a space shuttle and left Planet Blog. And I am NOT proud of it. In the whirlwind that has been my life these past few weeks, blogging has somehow managed to slip through the cracks. And believe me....I have tons of awesome blog posts planned for you all, including the last 2 weddings I shot and some other personal things/projects. And they are coming SOON, my good people :)
So if you're wondering where on earth I've been the answer is simple: I'm vending at a bridal expo on the 26th. And being my first one, it is taking just about EVERY ounce of me to be ready for it in time! For those of you who are getting married and are local to the Laguna Hills area, you should definitely come check out the show and stop by to visit with me! I would love it! CLICK HERE for more info :) I have a few free VIP passes left if you want to get in for free!! Email me at kristen@kristenbooth.net.
Other than the expo, I have been meeting with my 2011 brides and booking tons of fabulous weddings for next year. I really CANNOT. CONTAIN. MY. EXCITEMENT. I love each of these new couples so dearly and 2011 is shaping up to be amazing!!
Alsoooo....I have been working on some exciting stuff behind the scenes involving some new things with my brand and top secret business...and maybe just, MAYBE, something to do with oh...i don't know...a new website and blog? Hmmmm...I guess only time will tell ;) Keep posted to see everything come together.
And that concludes this ultra-exciting Kristen Booth news report(definitely kidding). If you took the time to read all of this gibberish, well...you're pretty special. We should be best friends. No, but seriously if you took the time to read this, you're pretty dedicated. Let me know and I'll bake you some cookies! ;)

Here's a little teaser from Paulina&Juan's wedding a couple of weekends ago...

Dustin&Marybeth: Wedding.

2010-09-07T12:17:00.000-07:00

Oh yes fall wedding season definitely swept me away...in more ways than one. I was completely swept away by all of the amazing couples, gorgeous gowns, fun details and all of the other things tied into a wedding day. But I've also found myself swept away and into my office by all of the post-production work following these weddings. Hence my blog post delays!!!! But I catching up.
Dustin and Marybeth have been such a pleasure to work with since day one. I knew their wedding would be an easy-going, fun, beautiful day. And guess what??? I was right! The day was completely smooth sailing and I hope it was everything they dreamed it would be! I can't wait to see everything the future brings for these two!

Here are a few favorites :)

Marybeth you looked like a total princess. Dustin is a lucky man....

If I didn't love limos already, I SUUUUUURE do now :)))

What photographers do. (when you're not looking)

2010-08-26T18:37:00.000-07:00

Ohhhhh goodness. Shannon Morse and I had toooo much fun after Sara&John's wedding in July. Keep in mind, we live at completely opposite ends of California, meaning...we hardly EVER see eachother. When we do....oh we go all out. On this most recent trip I introduced her to Cactus Cooler and we also had our traditional Panda Express dinner(you know, the usual). Anyway....it all started with snapping the occasional photo of eachother during slow moments on the wedding day, and then once the wedding had ended, we still had some extra space on our memory cards...and HOW could we put that to waste??? So began a late night, exhausted yet adrenaline-filled, SILLY, photoshoot with Shannon and I...just have a look for yourself!

P.S. if you think these are funny, you should SEE some of the things I do to make my clients laugh in front of my camera ;)

Back to where it all began.

2010-08-25T13:21:00.000-07:00

There's something eerie about returning to a place you haven't been to in years and your life has changed IMMENSELY since the last time you were there. You are suddenly so aware of the person you were back then and it's almost as if this place is your own little time capsule. For me, that place was my grandparents farm in Virginia where I returned for the first time in several years while I was out on the East Coast shooting Chad&Gabrielle's wedding. Visiting again held huge significance for me, because THIS is the place I discovered photography. And this most recent trip was the first time I'd returned since I made that decision to pursue my dream.
You see, some time ago my family and I began going to Virginia to visit my grandparents once a year, for a week at a time. One summer, being a restless teenager, missing my friends, and wanting to get out of the house, I needed to find SOMETHING to do... I'll never know what it was that made me decide to pick up my parents point-and-shoot digital camera and go around the farm taking pictures of everything in sight. Whether it was destiny or pure boredom, I do not know, either way...after that week I was hooked.
Coming back for the first time since then, I was flooded with visions of myself from the previous trip years ago, running all over the farm developing a passion for something that would only continue to grow more and more throughout the years. I knew I wanted to take some pictures...but where would I even begin? I knew EVERY inch of this place...where would I start??? And once I did, you know what the biggest surprise of all was? After 10 minutes, I was done. And the reason is, something I'm discovering more and more everyday: I'm a WEDDING and PORTRAIT photographer. I thrive off of real life events, love and laughter, real emotions. It was strangely sad to discover that this place that was once my playground and kept me entertained for days...no longer did it for me. But even more, it was reassuring, because I know I've found my niche. Back then, I was falling in love with photography itself...the release of the shutter...the way the light hits my subject...the thrill of capturing a great image. But I was JUST getting started out on a road that would eventually lead me to where I am today and without a doubt, continues on further. Going back to this place, I wished I could find that girl....me, a few years younger, unsure of what to expect, scared for the future. I wished I could go up to her and tell her what I know now: "You're going to make it".

Here's the pictures I took while out on the farm...

Chad&Gabrielle: Friendsville, Maryland Wedding.

2010-08-23T20:58:00.000-07:00

WOWWWWW. Okay, so before I post these let me say..please do not hunt down Chad and Gabrielle and send them hate mail for being SO cute that they make you sick and having an absolutely PERFECT wedding. Really, it's not their fault...it just comes natural. So try to contain your rage...
Anyway, I had the pleasure of shooting this absolutely gorgeous wedding a couple of weekends ago. The ceremony and reception both took place at the Chanteclaire Farm, an adorable venue tucked away in Friendsville, Maryland. And can I just say...I was in love.
The whole day truly was gorgeous from start to finish and everything ran smooth as silk. Gabbie did an amazing job of styling everything herself, from the wildflower centerpieces to her own hair and makeup(and some of her bridesmaids too!). I was thoroughly impressed.
Check it out for yourself! :)

Isn't she just STUNNING? I know Chad's reading this and saying "Yepp, that's my wife."

The lovely ceremony...

The ladies...so you're probably saying "Gee they look like a bunch of beauty queens!" Well they are!!! You're looking at several former, current, and future title holders. Why so many beauty queens in one wedding, you ask? Well Gabbie was Miss Maryland USA 2009, so she's met quite a few other beauties along the way..So if you've kept up with the Miss USA and Miss America pageants you're probably seeing some familiar faces. Be sure to watch the Miss America 2011 pageant to see Lindsay(3rd from the left) compete for the crown!! :)

And the fellas?? They're not too bad lookin' either...

The whole gang.

Models?.

Oh bright red barn, you completely won me over...

This has to be one of my favorites...EVER.

You two are a work of art....I mean that in the sincerest way.

The first dance. It was breathtaking...kind of like the other 95% of the wedding. I was started to feel like I needed an oxygen tank or something!!!

2 thumbs up for receptions inside of barns!!!!!

Mother/Son dance...

The Father/Daughter dance that STARTED OUT as a slow, emotional, tear-jerker. but......

Surprised everyone when the music changed and it turned into a crazy dance that included Thriller, Soulja Boy, Barbie Girl, and a ton of other songs. But this was just one of many surprises throughout the night...just wait. GET IT GIRRRRRRRLLLL.

Go Daddy. Go Daddy.

About to teach that cake a lesson...

Surprise #2: With her "Miss" pageant days being gone, Gabbie's new in-law's felt it appropriate to present her with a sash of her new title. Mrs. Heller :)

Surprise #3: Chad's epic search for the garter, that included use of his toolbox and finding several very bizarre garters before coming up with the right one! All to the soundtrack from Mission Impossible :)

Surprise #4: The only one I knew NOTHING about. In fact I don't think anyone in the room knew what to expect when the DJ pulled up a chair in the center of the dance floor and told Chad to have a seat.....And then, we heard thunder coming through the speakers...Uh Oh.....

"Is that 'It's Raining Men' playing??? I think it is, but why???" Then we all knew why, as his groomsmen came running up the stairs from the lower level of the barn. Shirts, GONE. Vests and ties, yepp still on, Chippendales style...

And proceeded to give Chad a minute-long lap dance...Ohhhhh goodness.

And finally....Surprise #5: Chad and Gabrielle's choreographed Samba dance, complete with lifts, dips, spins and all that good stuff. But by now I'm sure you can see...would you expect anything less from these two?

And that about wraps it up, there's 1000 other images I would love to share with you, but if this blog post gets any longer...you're gonna need a microscope to see the scroll bar on the right hand side of this page!!

Kayla von der Heide: Portraits.

2010-08-15T19:53:00.000-07:00

There are some amazingly talented people in this world. Lucky me, I happen to know quite a few of them :) Kayla completely blew me away when she started writing and performing her own music. Really. She wrote a couple of songs and then they just kept coming and coming. And every one was better than the last. I remember her telling me that she was starting to take guitar lessons...within a few weeks she was writing her own lyrics and music. That kind of talent baffles me. I am so excited that she asked me to do her first artist portraits, and I'll hopefully be able to do them all over again when she gets signed by a huge record label in the future! Kayla, don't forget about me when you're all over the Billboard Top 100! :) To all of my blog readers, if you're interested in being one of those people who can say "oh I heard her music a long time ago before she was famous" check out her music page! "If I saw you again" is probably my favorite, but ALL of her songs are amazing. Check her out :)
Here are my faves...

Work it girl....

Oh, and I forgot to mention...she is probably one of the most down-to-earth girls you will EVER meet.

John&Sara: Palos Verdes Wedding.

2010-08-13T19:53:00.000-07:00

Well, I figure before I jump into tomorow's wedding...I better get the blogpost up from last weekend's wedding. Weird how that works. How time seriously FLIES. This time last week I was getting ready for this wedding I am posting to you now, and suddenly I am in a hotel room in Friendsville, Maryland getting ready to shoot another gorgeous wedding tomorow. Everything in between is a blur. Who pressed fast forward??????
Anyways... last weekend my lovely second shooter, Shannon Morse and I had the pleasure of shooting John and Sara's stunning Palos Verdes wedding. And Oh boy...did we have fun. Sara is one of the coolest brides I have ever met. She is so happy and full of laughter and you just can't help but love her. Oh and John? Yeah, he's a pretty cool dude! I had so much fun working with the two of them and documenting all of their laughs and silliness. They are so full of life and it was so infectious, I couldn't help but want to put my camera down sometimes and join in on the fun as a guest!! (That's what Shannon is for, right?). Despite my temptation, I stuck with my camera all night and captured the images you see below :)

I have to give these little ones the award for 2nd cutest kiss of the day. The bride and groom took the title with their amazing fountain-side first kiss...but you have to admit...these two made for some tough competition :)

Here's that first kiss I was mentioning...

The lovely ladies...

Just too cute...

There's that laughter I was telling you about...

First Dance...

Father/Daughter...

Mother/Son...

It's not a reception until you get down with your bridesmaids on the dance floor!!

These garter toss action shots really just crack me up!

Shannon and I were feeling a bit lively and well...weird. I may need to arrange a whole blog post for the photos of us from that night! They are quite interesting....

The boy in the middle had some serious moves, he owned the dance floor all night!!

As a result....TOTAL CHICK MAGNET.

Oh what a beautiful day it was, congrats John and Sara....hope to see you 50 years from now just as lively and laughter-filled as you are today!

Paulina&Juan: Engagement.

2010-08-11T12:16:00.000-07:00

Say hello to Paulina and Juan. These high school sweethearts have been going strong for ten years, and are finally tying the knot and I am so excited to be documenting that as well! I know that the amount of time they waited for this day(ten years!!!) is going to make it even more meaningful and it will be everything they dreamed of. Okay, so maybe to some of you it might seem like I'm putting alot of emphasis on 10 years, but to me that is a long time, it's half of my life!! So that amount of patience and devotion is so inspiring to me :) Spending the afternoon with these two, I would never have guessed they have been together longer than 10 months, because it is quite evident that the fire still burns just as strong as ever. Here's some of my favorites from their engagement session and be sure to check back next month for their wedding images! :)

Oh you two...

I do believe this photo brings out their highschool sweetheart-ness :)

Photographer get together :)

2010-08-10T13:25:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago, my good friend Edmund Prieto hosted an awesome get together for all of us local photographers to get together and hang out. It's a cool concept right? A bunch of camera geeks getting together to talk exposure, photoshop and megapixels...well I have to tell you, it was SO much cooler than that. In fact, the first half of the day had nothing to do with photography at all...we all put our cameras to the side and played some volleyball, ate some delicious food, and...had an egg toss. Which I lost...in the form of raw egg smashed in the palms of my hands. Yummy. But there were some pretty awesome prizes for the people who did win, and those prizes were a Shootsac(which I am already a proud owner of one!) and a [b] School Membership(which I desperately wanted to win, but looks like I'm either going to have to get better at catching eggs or fess up the monthly fee!). After all of the egg tossing, volleyball spiking, madness... we headed out to the dry lakebed for a GORGEOUS couple shoot. A big thanks to Johnny and Christin Mortimore for coming out to model for us! Also to Kaycee Marie for the amazing job she did on Christin's hair and makeup and OC Prop Girl for styling the session! The whole day was nothing short of amazing and it was awesome getting to see all of my old friends as well as meeting so many new ones! Who knew there was so much talent in our little desert! Anyway, here's a few of the images I captured from the lakebed shoot :)

It gets a little tricky when you've got 10+ photographers shooting the same subject!

Summer&Robert: Surprise Proposal.

2010-08-04T13:18:00.000-07:00

Summer and I have been friends since Kindergarten. So as you can see, we go WAAAAAY back. It seems like knowing each other that long, we have been a part of almost every important event in each others lives...birthday parties, first days of school, first loves, graduations...we've been through it all. This is why I was thrilled when her boyfriend, Robert, approached me and asked me to play a big part in their engagement. Photographing the proposal. At first I thought he meant secret agent style...hiding behind dumpsters, blending in with crowds and using a long lens to try to document the whole thing in secret from a distance. When I realized he meant setting up a photoshoot and he would propose during it...my thrill went to a whole new level. I would have control over so many more elements and knew I would be able to make things go just the way he had wanted.
I first mentioned it to her by casually suggesting that her and Robert model for some "new methods" I wanted to test out. She had no suspicions whatsoever because this was not their first time in front of my lens, they were actually the first couple I ever photographed!! We set up a day and as it got nearer and nearer I got more and more anxious. I wanted everything to go perfect! On the day of, I called up my friend and fellow photographer Jessica Mariano for a few suggestions. She did an AMAZING job of styling this session, including making the hair piece Summer is wearing, helping me pick out the outfit and loaning me the awesome bench. Thanks Jessica!!! My explanation to Summer for all of the work I was putting into a "practice shoot"? It was because I wanted to use these photos for my website if they turned out good, so I had to go big...duh :P
We arrived at the dry lake bed at about 6:30 and I was so nervous, you would think I was the one asking her to marry me! After shooting at the dry lake bed for a group session with some awesome photogs a couple weeks back(blog post to come!) I knew it was the perfect fit for their style.

And now I will let the photos tell the rest of their exciting story :)...

One of the last photos taken of her with a bare ring finger!!

When I felt the time was right, I wanted to check to make sure Robert was ready. To buy some time, I sent her wayyyyyy out in the middle of the lake bed to take some "awesome" shots of her spinning around in the big empty space. I had her pretty convinced that these were going to be epic. Little did she know these are the shots I was getting lol....However it was just enough time to confirm that Robert was ready.

I set the moment up with a silly shot of him giving her a flower, just as me and Robert had planned...

To give him time to pull the ring out and place it on the flower I had her turn her back to him and act like she was dissing him...Ha! I believe my specific words were "now roll your eyes like pshhhh I don't want your flower" lol.

What a surprise it was when I told her to turn around and look down at the flower...

"Will you marry me?"
"YES!"
:)

She was so excited, and COMPLETELY surprised.

Can you see the excitement? :)

After the initial shock and excitement had passed, we grabbed a few more shots before heading out to go celebrate.

Congratulations guys, I am so excited for you! Can't wait to balance being a bridesmaid, helping plan out all the details AND doing some of the photography. It's going to be an adventure :)

Tiffany McNutt: My very first intern!

2010-07-28T14:19:00.000-07:00

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 :)

The Windusts: Family.

2010-07-27T21:40:00.000-07:00

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...