When it Rains it Pours!

       Wow! I. Am. Busy. I know, I know, right now everyone is busy. It's that time of year. We are right in the middle of the Holiday season and there are a million and two things to do. But I mean that I am professionally busy and I could not be happier!

        Tomorrow I am going on my 5th shoot in a month (not counting family shoots over Thanksgiving)! I got to shoot two weddings, some head shots, and two sets of children for their Christmas cards!

          Finding the balance between my "day job", my photography, and the holidays is proving to be though but it is so worth it! There is always something for me to be doing with my business right now! Waking up early to do some editing or to get a shoot in before work is enjoyable! I really feel like by business is growing and that good things are in the future with my craft. I know that I won't always be this busy with my photography, but even if this is the most business I will get at one time at least I can look back with fond memories of being a little bit overwhelmed with MY work!

          Here are a few shots of the two weddings and one of the Christmas card shoots that I have done. More pictures of the rest of what has been keeping me on my toes soon to come!

This is Why

      Yesterday morning I got to shoot the wedding of an amazing couple named Ashley and Kathi. I met them on Friday afternoon after corresponding through email for weeks. Soon after I met these ladies I knew that our experience together was going to be great!

      We walked around Central Park and went to go scout out the spot where they would be getting married. We went over what they wanted from me and what I was going to ask of them. After we parted ways for the night I realized that this is why I am working towards this career.

      Sure I have wanted to be a photographer since I was a little girl, sure I feel like I should be doing the career that I went to college for, but something clicked when I met these women. Meeting new people and getting to capture moments in their lives is something special, and it is why I am a photographer. It's more than doing what I love. It is about getting to do something for others.

     I feel like I really got to know Ashley and Kathi by the time I was leaving our meeting on Friday. Their wedding was adorable and I was so happy for them when they were pronounced married yesterday morning. They will forever hold a place in my heart because they chose me to capture their special day.

     More photos soon to come!

Pets Photo Contest

   This month's photo contest from I Heart Faces is Pets. My family has had the privilege of having some of the greatest pets known to man. When I found out what the contest was this month I immediately thought of this image. This is my little sister Elise with our family dog Clementine, and I actually took this image about two weeks before Clemmy passed away. 

    She was an amazing dog and took to my sister like glue! She loved us all but had a special place in her heart for Elise. She would follow Elise around the house all day. If Elise went into a different room, so did Clemmy. It's true that Clementine just had to be around someone at all times (attachment disorder), but if Elise was there there was no option for Clemmy who to hang around. This dog had the biggest heart and truly cared for our family. She will be missed a great deal but we were lucky that she came into our lives. 

   I feel that this image really shows the relationship my sister had with Clementine and that is why I submitted it to the I Heart Faces Challenge. I hope you like it as much as I do.

Yoga by the Water

        I have been shooting a lot over the last few weeks and I have been absolutely loving it! Being busy producing work is the kind of busy that I always want to be!

       Two weeks ago I was lucky enough to hang out and do a photo shoot of one of my favorite people. My friend Suzanne needed some portraits to use on her website and she asked me if I would take them for her.  It was so much fun taking shots of this yogi! Her movements were wonderful and so expressive of who she is. The best part was that her boyfriend met up with us and I got to take some shots of them together. What a great bonus!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Shots of a Shoot

      A couple of weeks ago I was able to do a shoot with my very good friend Suzanne. We do not get to see each other as much as we would like to, so it was great to be able to catch up with her while producing some new work.

      A few minutes into our visit Suzanne's boyfriend, Frank, met up with us. As I was behind the camera the whole time I was not focused on what Frank was doing. A couple of days later he emailed me some pictures that he took during Suzanne's shoot that were of ME! I was thrilled to have some working shots of myself and it was so nice of him to send them my way.

       The work from Suz's shoot is almost finished being edited so check back for the finished product, but in the meantime here are some pictures of me being a photographer!

* all pictures below were taken with an iphone 4 *

Mendez baptism

     I'm just going to say it. Shooting events is hard work. You are on your feet for a long time, you have to be 100% ready at all times,  and the pressure is really on. Yes shooting events is hard but shooting events in a language that you do not speak is much harder.

     A little over a week ago I shot a double baptism for a lovely Mexican family. The catholic ceremony was beautiful but it was all in Spanish. Now I know some words in Spanish and I can follow tones but most of the time I was guessing at what was going on. Plus there were about 10 other family's with children getting baptized, and each of them had their own photographer AND videographer with them. Think about how many bodies that is for a minute. It was a lot of dodging and weaving through people to get a shot. I felt like a paparazzi photographer!

     Despite all of that I think that I got some shots that the family will really enjoy. It was a great opportunity for me to expand my event photography know how. 

Garsils Family

     My oldest sister is amazing for many reasons. She is a kind, caring, a great baker, and an awesome mom! Over the last 4 and 1/2 years she has given my family three more beautiful girls to love. She had her youngest daughter two months ago and a few weeks ago I got to take portraits of her family.

      Even though I was working with my family that doesn't mean it wasn't challenging. My two year old niece is a hilarious handful! She is always moving!! With the help of some bribery (an M&M if she sat for a picture) we were able to get some shots to work. 

       Every shoot is a learning experience!