Tom, Katie & Tank

Saturday I shot an engagement shoot for Tom & Katie, who are getting married on October 7th. It was a lot of fun. They brought their American Bulldog, "Tank," who made the experience a bit more slobbery than most engagement shoots I do :). Tom & Katie had a lot of fun with the shoot which made the photos turn out great, I thought. Can't wait for the wedding!

Greg & Shannon

Tonight I did a portrait shoot with my friends Greg and Shannon. Shannon has been a great friend of mine for like forever--15 years or something crazy like that. She is great. And she has also assisted me at many of my weddings. She helps me with my equipment and computer stuff and just helps things run really smoothly--it's one of her many talents :). I love her and am so thankful for her. We had a great contentedly single club going for awhile and then Greg came into her life a few months ago and now I think I'm the only one in the club.... bummer. Greg is great--he owns all the seasons of "Friends" on DVD and is basically the boy version of Shannon. They are very cute together. I completely approve.

It was a fun shoot tonight. It's amazing what having a comfort level with each other does for helping the photos to be natural and amazing. That's why I try my best to get to know my clients before the wedding day. The more we know each other, trust each other and feel comfortable around one another, the better the photos.

Thanks for your friendships and a fun night Greg and Shan!

Noah

This is my super-cute nephew Noah. He turns 6 this Monday. And that's his mom, Natalie, my younger sis. I got to hang out with them today which is one of my favorite things in the world to do. Tomorrow is his last day of kindergarten and my mom and I went to his class to visit him and observe today.

He was so proud to have us there and showed off a lot. After school we went back to his house and he promptly took off his clothes down to his underwear--which is what he always does at home--and started to play. I guess it's good to be comfy at home. Anyhow, I got some fun half-naked kid photos.

He loves being in front of the camera and seeing pictures of himself. And I think he might take after his aunt because later tonight he stole my sister's phone and went around from person to person in the house saying, "smile at me," and taking pictures with it. The only problem is he always had the camera backwards and took all super-close-ups of himself. But we're working on it. The passion is there and that's what's important. Technical skills come with time. :)

We all have to start somewhere

I love Mexican Food.

Today some photographer friends and I went to lunch at Chipotle. Mmmm. Good stuff. Jared Platt brought his son Britton. Kids are so cute. He started playing with my sunglasses and I got some fun shots. I love the shot at the top with the cup that says, "We all have to start somewhere." So true. I think back to when I first picked up a camera. I never dreamed that I would be able to take pictures for a living. I didn't know anyone who did and I didn't even have it on my radar. But God took something that I enjoyed and showed me that I could make a business out of it. Amazing! I still can't believe it. I still have so much to learn but I look back at some of my prints from my first photo class and it's amazing how far I've come. We all have to start somewhere. If there's something you've always secretly dreamed of doing--start. You never know what could come of it.

Jenna & Frank

Yesterday we shot a beautiful wedding in the toasty 101 degree Arizona heat. Despite the heat it was really fun. Jenna was such an expressive bride and her family and friends were a lot of fun to be around. The ceremony and reception was held at Silverleaf Club in Scottsdale. This is the first time I've shot there and I was blown away by how beautiful it is. It is among the prettiest reception sites I've seen. Check out a few of my favorite images and click here to see the slideshow.






Thanks Frank and Jenna for allowing me to be a part of your amazing day!

Shooting JUST for the fun of it

At WPPI I was inspired by a number of photographers. Parker Pfister & Joe Photo were two of them. They talked about "shooting for your soul." Sometimes as wedding photographers, we get so caught up in making sure we get the images that we think our clients "want" that we lose sight of shooting what we enjoy and what ultimately makes us who we are as artists. This style and uniqueness that each of us has is also what draws clients to us and inspires them to trust us with their wedding days. So really, everyone wins if we are freed up to be artists and shoot from our souls.

Parker and Joe encouraged us to get out and take field trips where we are freed up to shoot anything--outside of the wedding box. So a bunch of my photographer friends and I did just this a few weeks ago. Kim Jarman, Stuart Thurlkill, Jared Platt and I all went down to Mill and just shot whatever. It was a lot of fun! We met some interesting people. While I was shooting the pink bike, a guy on a bench nearby said, "Are you really taking pictures of that bike?" He was completely thrown that anyone would photograph a random bike on the street. And we made friend with some heavily pierced girls who were very nice and let us take their photos. The really goofy guy in some of the slideshow photos is Stuart. You should definitely think about going into modeling Stuart :). Here are a few of my favorite shots from the day. Click here to see the slideshow.

Nichole & David- NC Wedding

This last week I flew out to North Carolina to shoot my 3rd wedding there. I have a great friend, Michelle, who I went to 4th grade with, who lives there and each time I shoot out there I get to visit her and another friend, Rhonda, who lives in SC. It's beautiful out east and I love the chance to shoot outside the desert landscape of the valley (don't get me wrong--AZ is beautiful and unique so I love shooting here too, it's just fun to change it up every once in awhile). :)

Nichole and David and their families were all such sweet southern folks. I loved their accents and they were so kind and enjoyable to work with. Nichole and David are high school sweet hearts and have a great story. You can hear Nichole sing about it by viewing this slideshow. Nichole has such a beautiful voice as well.

The day had a few challenges. It rained and the ceremony had to be moved inside. So that was a bummer. But Nichole had such a great attitude and everything turned out beautifully. Below are a few of my favorite shots from the day.





Thanks for flying me out Nichole & David--I enjoyed your wedding so much!

Erik & Jenny

On April 29th I got to photograph Erik & Jenny's wedding at Grayhawk Golf Resort in Scottsdale. It was a gorgeous day. I especially enjoyed the getting ready part of the day at Erik & Jenny's house. They have a big family and included 9 children in their wedding party! A record 7 flower girls for me. It definitely kept things fun and interesting. Below are some of my favorite shots from the day.







And click here to see the slideshow.

Thanks Erik & Jenny for letting me be a part of your amazing day!