Mini-Vacation

I hope everyone had a fantastic string of holidays & shopping madness during the month of Decmeber!! A very Merry Christmas, Happy Kwanzaa, Frohe Weinachten, Happy Hanukkah!

Seems like everyone was on the road this year, luckily no major horrific storms kept people from their destinations. I'm here in Marina, CA for an undetermined amount of time, visiting family! Family time during the holidays was absolutely fantastic

Photographically, I've not touched the camera, so no new photo- posts lately. Also, tried hard not to think about work, websites, blogging, or anything else photo-related. Its really important that we all give ourselves those "just say no' moments. Fighting the urge to check email & ditch blogging made the family time much more precious.

Meanwhile, my little sis is beginning to have contractions, we think little Kyle may be on his merry way into the world! In case you were wondering what happened, we're just chillin', soakin up good family time.

Bottoms up!

Last Photo Shoot of 2007

Our last shoot of the year went out with a bang!




P.S. I love her shoes!

This is an example of tasteful boudoir photography . To find out more about sessions, visit: www.aprilgreer.com

Keri & Walt

Check out the feature:

http://test.phoenixbrideandgroom.com/www/ws2008-wi_02.asp

Blanco Lounge

Its almost ready-not quite, but getting closer by the day. This is our Blanco Lounge, a place for people to sit comfortably and view wedding pictures, chat, and absorb themselves with art. I can't wait for it to be finished! The lounge requires a bar, window treatments, HUGE canvas artwork, a hella girly chandalier, 1 swanky coffee table, and a nice rug. For now, here's a little sneak-

Best of 2007 Wedding book, FREE!

note: payment plans available. please inquire for details.

Man Duties

With Ray away in training, the household has seemingly fallen apart. Serious challenge: 1 leaky dishwasher. When this ambitious blonde took charge, I managed to pull everything out except the power cord and shimmy the dishwasher from its mold as far as possible. I poked a flashlight around and assesed a very important thing: I know nothing about dishwashers. Google helped me find the right person, I then picked up the phone and called what's known as an "appliance specialist" who was happy to charge me money to assess what I already know "your dishwasher is not working properly." duhhhhhhh

I attempted to unplug the power cord from the dishwasher but I just couldn't. One too many licks to a battery as a kid. Eelectric shock isn't all its cracked up to be! I will just have to wait until the real professional shows up tomorrow. *sigh*

Since July

My name sat on a waiting list since July for a custom blog. We're almost ready to seal the deal as part of a studio re-branding campaign. For those of you business owners out there, you know the branding process. Its a bittersweet challenge!

When its all said and done, new ads will be unique & modern. The brand will spread to albums, dvd's, packaging and so much more.... lots more artwork will be available online. I only wish we could've done this sooner; but its not a quick fix. I didn't want my brand to look as though it were tossed & thrown together. As a weekend-shooter, things like branding didn't matter. Weddings were an extra source of income & a cool hobby. Since moving to a full-time studio career, branding became integral for attracting our niche clients, especially since I discovered a LOVE for weddings. Thankfully, the finish line is in sight, you'll be the first to know when everything's ready!

Spend your benjamins wisely

I went to Costco for wrapping paper today. Costco is located near the mall in Tacoma. Besides the honking wackos in traffic, I witnessed a wild shopping frenzy inside the warehouse.

Imagine: flourescent lighting, screaming children, shopping carts EVERYWHERE, old people wandering the isles with coupons. I turned my car around and drove back home. Once home, it occurred to me that I forgot to buy what I need. GAWD I am SO BLONDE! I went back to the store for a second dose of insanity.


Because I'm not shooting this time of year, at all, pictures will be replaced by real-life experiences in this blog. So, today is your lucky day! Here's a funny little tidbit to make you feel better. Follow this man's instructions and you may feel better when your bank account takes a dive.

Get $40 in small bills.
Pile it on your floor.
Get hammered.
Roll around in the bills naked.
You'll feel better, I promise!


*that was written by matt*

Thank you Matt.

Seattle Wedding Show

http://www.weddingshow.com/

January 5th & 6th, 2008! Don't miss out, lots of great things to see & no pressure to buy, only try!

You'll find:

• gown sales
• cake tasting
• tuxedo rentals
• Dj's
• limo's & party buses
• venue shopping
• personal trainers
• photography comparisons & albums
  

Its a great time to save, many coupons passed around, and its fun to witness wedding frenzy!

Like Brothers

I love this picture from a family session last Friday-the boys have grown pretty tight! Its fun to see kids change during the early years. I think they're cousins, but they could practically be brothers, they're so close. The younger one was FAST last year, literally couldn't keep my camera pointed long enough to get him in focus!!! I came prepared this year. :-)

December turned out to be a little chilly, but quite nice for family photos!

Kat von Awesome

A classy lady that turns heads. That's Kat. I looooove her smile and her gorgeous curly red hair!

This is the perfect season for attacking the long list of creative to-do's!!! yay!!! Check out these different lighting scenarios and how it affects the mood of each shot. The 3 shots above were taken with a very small softbox for drama. The shot below: showered her with light from 3 sides.

Light recipes for pictures below:

on the L: beauty dish high above our heads, reflectors all around.

on the R: ringflash at eye-level.

Same chick in every photo, many different looks. Have an awesome Thursday!

Random Thursday stuff

I hope this picture is not too hard to see- I loooove these 2 shots from Russell James, he's the director/head photographer for the show THE SHOT by VH1. Did you know the Bosnian contestant lives in Seattle and graduated from the Seattle Art Institute this year? Wild. I had no idea he lived here.

SO, what are YOU up to today? Hopefully something interesting and not the daily grind. Me? a shoot is scheduled in just a few hours. Who's it with? Hint: she's a redhead! curly hair....pretty eyes....smokin' bod......you'll just have to come back and see....

Chandlermeister

Over the weekend I had the opporunity to rock out with my good friend Kelly Chandler and her assistant Tammy. Kelly's a foxy mother of 2, beautiful wife, amazing artist, phenomenal business woman. We jammed for this Christmas-ish wedding in Snohomish. She had all bases covered, I was second shooting for fun. As I drove up during that afternoon, the brownish-green meadows were already frosted over!

Bless Desiree's heart she was standing in this weather with nothing on her shoulders!!! She was all of 100lbs. soaking wet.

She toughed it out in the name of pictures, but if we could've had it any other way...heat would've been nice.

On Saturday, I originally planned to enjoy weekend doing nothing. Guilt & boredom crept up on me. Dawne on me that just like athletes practice all the time, I don't see why I shouldn't do the same to improve, which is why its nice to have friends who let you tag along! Thanks Kel!

I also shot RAW for this wedding, which I normally don't do.Yaddah Yaddah, its still easier for me to shoot JPEG and get the colors I want straight out of the camera looking exactly the way I want them especially considering the volume of images. Just thinking out loud here!

here's a little sum-sum for your wedding-aholics...

This is something I saw JC do one time, I'd love to incorporate these portraits in the future. Don't you think it makes sense to photograph the bridal party individually-You never know when you'll need a good photo of yourself, right?

Notice how all of us are dressed in at least 3 layers while the bride is wearing light fabrics in the middle of December?!!

Last but not least...THE LEGENDARY.....

Beefcake

We had a little visitor last week, I'm kinda late posting this... Crystal & Joey brought their precious little Callie to see our T-town mansion (ha-ha).

I wonder where she gets her little cheeks from?

Katie & Dustin's album design...

I'm sooo sad this is our last wedding design for 2007. *sniffle*

Let it go out with a bang! This one was a real treat. Thank you Katie & Dustin! You're beautiful & fabulous!

Sneak Peek

Here's a preview of Katie & Dustin's album design.. I've been wrestling with this design for more than a week! Its a blast to work on, but I think its finally in wrap-up phase. The designs start each time from SCRATCH to guarantee each album is a unique work of art. Maybe check back Saturday?! Sorry to keep you hanging, but it ain't over till the fat lady sings (me).