Josh & Elaine's Engagement Shoot

Last night I shot Josh & Elaine's engagement photos. These two are getting married in September and they are really sweet together. The shoot was fun because we spent time in locations that mean something to Josh & Elaine. We started out in a Barnes & Noble because one of the things they enjoy doing together is hanging out at bookstores.






That was fun! I love shooting in unique locations and trying something different. Next we stopped by one of their favorite restaurants--The Greene House--which is also where Josh proposed.




Finally, we walked across the street to The Westin Kierland--a beautiful resort where they will be staying after their wedding.








Thanks for such a great shoot you guys! You two are naturals! Can't wait for the wedding!

A Wedding Guest

So tonight was a first for me. I attended my friends Sarah and Reuben's wedding as a GUEST. Very strange. I am trying to remember....I think this may be the first time I've been a guest at a wedding since I started my business 4 years ago. I have a bad memory though so feel free to correct me. But I think it may be.

It was a beautiful wedding that brought together a lot of old friends. Pictured above from left to right: Natalie--my sister, Shauna--a friend, Sarah--the bride, me, Lindsay--a friend, and Ellen--a friend who came down from Portland. My friend Laura, from Portland was also here as well as my friend Flaco, up from Mexico. It was fun but I almost didn't know what to do with myself--I kept checking out the photographers to make sure they were doing their job :).

Congratulations Reuben & Sarah! I'm so glad I was able to come and celebrate!

NEW - Gift Certificates for Pre-Registering

I'm excited to announce that I am now offering $20 gift certificates that can be used toward the purchase of prints on Pictage, my online lab, for ALL GUESTS who pre-register on Pictage to view photos of an upcoming wedding. All you have to do is go to pictage.com and search for the upcoming wedding you will be attending, then log in using your email address and a password of your choice. Then, when the photos are posted on Pictage, you will receive an email letting you know that they are available and giving you a special code to redeem your gift certificate online. It's easy!

If you're a bride whose wedding is coming up, you can send an email out to all of your family and friends, encouraging them to pre-register. Also, at your reception, I always collect the names and email addresses of guests interested in viewing all of the photos online after the wedding. Then I send them an email with a link to see the slideshow and instructions for pre-registering. So either way, whether they hear it from you or me and take the time to pre-register, they will receive a complimentary gift of $20! Exicting, huh!?

Custom Guest Book

We just finished another great custom guest book design. This one is for Julie and Rob. They are getting married in Sedona in June and I'm really looking forward to it. To see the full book, click here.

Nasty head cold

So I guess I over-did-it this weekend. Thirteen hours of shooting and yesterday I got hit with a sore throat and all that a head cold brings with it. Not fun. I've had to cancel some of my plans in order to lay low. Tonight I was supposed to get together with my friend and wedding coordinator extraordinaire, Liene Stevens. But I had to reschedule. So Liene texts me and I open my front door to find this:


HOW SWEET IS THAT? I have to say, that's over and above the call of friend duty. I consider myself to be a pretty good friend. But I never leave goodie baskets on friends' doorsteps when they're sick.

Wow--thanks Liene!! You're awesome! I definitely feel better already :).

Mad Modeling Skills

My friend Jared was trying out a Leica camera at WPPI last month so I did a little modeling for him. I guess watching "America's Next Top Model" is finally paying off.

I know all of you are going to want to hire me now that the cat is out of the bag. But this level of skill doesn't come cheap. Feel free to inquire and if the price is right--I'm all yours :).

Lindsey's Graduating!

This weekend has been packed full of shooting for me. I shot a great wedding on Saturday that I will blog on soon. And tonight I shot some portraits for Lindsey who is graduating from ASU this spring!

She's gorgeous and we got some great shots:




Lindsey also brought along her boyfriend, Robbie, and we got some fun shots of the two of them together:







Congratulations Lindsey! Great meeting you both!

Katina & Robert's Engagement Shoot

Tonight I shot Katina & Robert's engagement photos. This couple clearly adores each other. I had a lot of fun getting to know them. It was easy since they are very genuine and transparent. And we laughed a lot too.

We started out in their Scottsdale home with the other members of their family -- Kaia, an American Eskimo dog, and Gazoo, a yellow lab. Totally sweet dogs.

Here's a cute shot I got of Kaia:


And the whole fam:


Then we shot at various places around Scottsdale. Here's a few of my faves:


It's cute how Katina & Robert are always making each other laugh:


Katina is super-photojenic:



A bold run through the fountain:








Finally we ended up at a fun wine bistro for some drinks and dinner:



Thanks for the fun night Robert & Katina! Looking forward to your wedding!

Record Phoenix PUG attendance

Last night we had our monthly Phoenix PUG meeting. This group of local photographers that I lead has been meeting for over a year now and I love it! It's such a great time each month getting together and networking and talking photography. We always go out to dinner afterwards too.

Last night we had around 35 photographers which is a new record. We've had over 100 photographers come through at our meetings but never all at once. So the meeting had a lot of energy. Leo Garcia, a training specialist from Pictage, flew out from California to train us on the Album Designer and Album Design Service that Pictage offers. We also debriefed WPPI and Mandy Hank, a local photographer, did a studio spotlight where she shared some of her work and a little about herself and her business. It was a great meeting!

Community is such an important element that blesses me and my business. Owning a small business can definitely make you feel isolated and like you're on your own under an immense amount of pressure to succeed. But getting together and building relationships with other people who are in the same boat and who want to support and help each other makes all the difference.

One Light Workshop

Yesterday I was in the One Light Workshop in San Diego from 9:30 am to after midnight. It was a very full day but I learned a ton that I am really jazzed about taking home with me and applying to my photography. Above is our talented professor, Zack Arias, who really has a great handle on how to use light. His work is amazing.

We basically learned how to turn a descent photo like this:


Into a more dramatic and powerful photo like this:


By using a set-up like this:


I love how Zack was willing to lie on the ground and in puddles to get the best shot. It makes me question my own dedication :).


We hit the streets of San Diego and ran into a cool local artist who let us use his rooftop to shoot on. I took some time to shoot some photos just for fun (no workshop application here--I already know this stuff :))

A rooftop garden:


Another rooftop garden:


The view:


The cat:


Mitch shooting Ivan shooting something:


The beautiful Jasmine Star working her stuff:


I like the layers of this photo:


Zack set up this shot and let us give it a try:


Then he sent us out on our own in groups to see if we cold figure this stuff out ourselves. This is what I came up with using the very modelesque, Sara France as my model:



Pretty cool huh!?

At midnight when we were all wiped out we decided we needed to take a group photo out on Sara's front lawn. It started out all cute and normal:


Then....the sprinklers came on:



The perfect ending to a great day.

Thanks so much to Zack and all the fun photographers who attended who made this workshop one of the best I've been to yet!