Nearing the end of June.

Unfortunately, things have been slow for me the past two weeks. You'd think that at (almost) 8 months pregnant I'd enjoy the lull, but I've been going crazy! I'm used to a busy schedule and I LOVE taking photos so when I don't have sessions on the books, I tend to get a little sad. The good news is in July I have 4 sessions in three weeks and they are all very different. I've been doing some brainstorming for them and have found some really great blogs out there.


One session I have that's coming up is an engagement/wedding session. The couple is getting married in August and want some professional pictures taken before the wedding. We're going to take them in the Bromeliad garden in St. Pete and I'm SUPER excited about it. I haven't done a lot of couples lately and there are several portraits that I can't wait to try. It's also a new location for me which is always exciting.


Another session I have is of one of my longest and dearest friends, her husband & her one year old girl - who is RIDICULOUSLY adorable. I've learned that you can't really plan too much out with children but I'm praying we catch her in a great mood and have some good weather. That's all you can really ask for!


I'm also doing a maternity session soon. I found this blog and I'm loving these inside shots...
http://www.photojj.com/blog/?p=933


I'm not really loving the see-through crocheted dress that the woman is wearing, but the angles, lighting and poses are great. Now I just need to come up with a good location to shoot at and I'll be set. 


One thing about being a portrait photographer is you kinda feel left out of the loop. There are SO many blogs and magazines on wedding photography... which is great, but I don't do weddings so there's only so much inspiration I can gather from them. 


Although I have to say I'm absolutely in love with this blog: http://www.100layercake.com/blog/


These are pretty inspiring as well, but more from the graphic design side:


http://ohsobeautifulpaper.com/
&
http://yespleaseblog.blogspot.com


Oh, and I am running a special right now! If you book a session for October, it's discounted to $199! So book a Christmas session now and let's make a deal. :)


Jordan

First Friday randomness...

So each first Friday of the month our city does an event downtown. All the shops stay open late, the galleries have show receptions, there's stuff for kids to do and a theme. This last one was a bike theme so there were stunt bikers in the streets, people biking from end to end and all kinds of crazy old bikes as well. I decided to snap some photos of the fun and post them, so enjoy!

Antique Car show.

This guy was in a bike carrier cart just hanging out. Too cute.

The O'Briens, Lakeland & Ice Cream

So one of my favorite things about shooting families is that it's always a challenge. You can never go in with your little list and expect all of your shots to get done and come out great. You have to go with the flow and be on your toes.

I got to photograph one of my favorite families, the O'Brien's on Saturday. They just adopted a little girl, Rakiyah, so they wanted to celebrate with new family photos. She's adorable and her brothers take good care of her... but let me tell you - capturing three four-year-olds smiling and looking in the same direction is quite a feat. Even though there aren't many posed and "formal" pictures they definitely show the personality of the O'Briens - they are not posed and formal people! But they sure are happy, joyful & full of life!

I love how Rakiyah's look says it all.

At the end of the "formal" pictures we all went to get ice cream!

I love the kids faces in this one!