Model Shots: Maddie and Sammie

It is always a pleasure to work with these two lovely ladies. This last weekend along, along with pictures of their lovely pups Oz and Gracy, we took some portfolio shots of the girls. They are truly beautiful and shine in front of the camera!  

I love how quickly I became close to these girls, they are such dear and sweet friends. Keep your style, your confidence, and your amazing smiles girls. I can't wait to see you both rock it as professional models someday soon!

Seriously, that girl has some sass in that leather jacket!

Model in the making, I'm sure we will see her on the runway someday!

Pet Love: Macy Grace

The Bob family (Oz's parents!) have talked about wanting another Stafford Bull Terrier since I met them. This last weekend they brought home Macy Grace! Macy was adopted from Jefferson County Kennels, it was a nice long drive to just "look at the dog", but we all know what that means! Macy is a great addition to the family, she has already been nicknamed Piglet which fits her cute little self perfectly. She is a sweet little love that I am excited to get to photograph more in the future!

 

Pet Love: Oz Bob

This is one of my favorite darling dogs, Oz. He is the sweetest thing you will ever meet! He is slightly clumsy indoors and hates wood floors because he can't get traction, and his head is also slightly balding. But everyone who meets him adores him. I love his long nose and he always gives you these giant Bambi cartoon eyes when he wants to be cuddled. He is just the most lovable beast!

Inspiration: Part 3 Photographers

I think with art and especially photography its important to always be looking and be inspired by other photographers work. So much of the time artists have a very hostile reaction to having their work copied and having to be on top and the best in their field. While "imitation is the best form of flattery", I understand this to a point that we all have our original ideas and need to find a way to stand out in such a competitive business. 

In such a competitive field I have been blessed to find some incredible photographers who have been more than willing to share their inspiration, ideas, and knowledge with me. These are some of those artists and their stunning work, along with a few of my other favorite photographers whose work has always enlightened and motivated me. 

Thank you to every friend who has been willing to share your insight and inspiration with other artists and myself, I appreciate it more than you could ever know.  

Amanda K

Sue Bryce

Paper Antler

Theresa Bendetto

Sarah Joann

Grace Adams

Vanessa Powell

Savina Gost

Meggan Joy

Inspiration Part 2: Color Quest

Jasmine's next assignment was to photograph colors we like. While I've tried, this has been so much harder than you would expect! So in order to get some of my assignment done I used my handy best friend Pinterest. Oh, do I love Pinterest! I created a board just for my color quest and went to work. 

While I only created my logo and color scheme a year ago, just through this small assignment I've realized nothing seems to actually fit me. I was actually really surprised, I thought that what I had created was a perfect professional visual depiction of me. Until now, when stepping back I see that I will be heading into an entirely different direction. 

So here is what I have created and the colors I have currently chosen, which I'm sure will change and develop again. I'm excited to see if I can change this into something that I truly love and depicts everything about me. Again, feedback is always appreciated!

I'm thinking in the new packaging that glitter also must be involved. In all honesty what fits me better than glitter!?

LensRental is Awesome

I had known that about photographing Nicole's party for a while, but I decided kind of last minute I wanted to rent a wide angle for the bar location. I figured small dark bar needed a wide angle for the light and to fit everyone in the group. I am so glad that I did! Not only am I in love with this lens, LensRental was fantastic about helping me with my order and getting it to me on time. The whole thing was fairly simple and I really enjoyed being able to try out these great products for such a good price. A big thank you to Michael for helping me with all the confusion! What a seriously awesome company.

Here are a few shots of my favorite puppy models, Rosie and Lily. Love the 2.8f stop. Ugh! Someone buy me that lens ;)

ReSTARt and The New Year: Also known as Inspiration Part 1

I've been putting a lot of thought and work into my business lately. Even with all of the amazing clients and work I've had I've been considering taking a big step back and looking at what I am really creating with my photography. I think most other creative minds understand that while you are improving your work constantly it can become difficult to convince yourself that you can keep improving and that you are creating something meaningful. It becomes very easy to get discouraged and that is when your work begins to suffer. You need to believe that you can keep developing and you are creating beautiful work that people appreciate.  

Jasmine Star recently hosted her first session of ReSTARt on CreativeLIVE (which I sadly was only able to catch small bits of!). What I did see however has inspired me to continue with looking at my business and to keep working and to keep going. So over the next few weeks I will be following her assignments and other CL sessions as well as some other personal posts on what inspires me and my work. At the end I'm hoping to put together a stylized shoot that will encompass everything I feel creatively and wholly describe myself as a photographer and what I have developed my business into. It may also result in some logo and website changes. I know it seems like I'm always changing my logo! Just working toward perfection ;)

So to start! Here are the three words I have chosen to best describe my business, along with a selection of my work that I feel fits these words and the feeling that I am looking to create for my photography business. 

Luminous

Alluring

Sensitive

I always appreciate feedback throughout this entire process. I'd also love to hear the three words you would choose for my business, so please feel free to comment.