Miller Family Session

I am sooooo pleased with this shoot! Especially under the circumstances! This shoot was twice rescheduled due to total down pour and we were limited with days since they were only to be in town for a week. The very last day we had to do the shoot, it was complete over cast (my favorite) and I was feeling good about it all. It was originally supposed to be on the beach but the second you walk ON the beach, you were practically taken away by the wind. I could barely see through my camera because of the mess my hair was in, MUCH LESS my client! NO bun would have kept our hair out of our eyes. The boys didnt have that problem. Bailey (the mom) and I are both thinking of using their barber! *wink wink*

Luckily, we found little nooks and cranny’s on the path to the beach that saved the whole shoot!

Don’t be fooled! It wasnt us out-smarting the weather that made this shoot come together!!! I mean just look at this family!!! They are colorful, happy, close, laid-back and FUN!

Go ahead… say it… I am lucky photographer!

Can I get an AMEN for these ocean blue eyes! Hold on to your heart, ladies!

HOW ADORABLE IS THIS FAMILY???? {photo below} All 3 of them make me want to move in their living room for good!

So much LOVE,

Liz

Crawford Family Sesh

Now, THIS was a FUN one! There’s nothing like having a family that is totally comfortable in front of the camera! It gives a photographer room to really express themselves. Not only are the parents some of the best looking people OUT but the little girl exudes quietness (I’m sure her parents heads turned sideways when they read that. HAH!), introvertedness, innocense and preciousness! She is one of my favorite types of children to photograph. Pensive stares, anyone???

I hope you enjoy this session and would LOVE to hear what you think!

I made a script{ure} overlay for the background of this photo (below) that says, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to such as these.”

It’s from Matthew 19:14.

I believe that it is something that should surround this precious girl (and all children) at all times sooooo I portrayed it in the photo, whimsically. 🙂

This one (below) takes my breathe away! As anal as i am about a tack sharp photo and the focus falling in the perfect spot, I am REALLY REALLY REALLY LOVING an intentionally, slightly blurred photo to add emotion.

SO MUCH LOVE!!!

Your photographer,

Liz

Sweet Cheeks, Brianna!

Good Golly it’s been too long since I have blogged. I didn’t even blog my junkyard shoot! I will definitely have to do that this week! 

Well, as some of you may already know, I sent Big Blacky (<— my camera) off to be cleaned, calibrated and repaired. I spent 3 loooooong grueling weeks with out him! 😦

During those 3 weeks I kept my head down in some business/photography books in an effort to continue to grow and know. The books I have are UH-mazing and I am overwhelmed with information! It’s going to take me forever to finish them.

Now, that my boyfriend (Big Blacky) is back, Im pumped and ready to “shoot my brains out”. 

This Sunday, I was able to get together with the most precious little girl. The kind of one year old that a child photographer feels lucky to have been able to capture. Her name is Brianna but you can call her “Princess Brianna” like I do or “BRANANA” like Kingston does! 

I hope you enjoy the images of this beautiful baby…

See what I mean???

I would LOVE TO HEAR your thoughts so leave me some love here or over on MY Facebook Fan Page, please!

 

So Much Love,

Liz

Rock the Shot | March Photo Challenge

A few months ago, I mentioned that I had become a member of http://www.rocktheshotforum.com. There is a wealth of knowledge and resources, behind the scenes, as a member! I am so grateful to be there!

Rock the Shot holds a monthly photo challenge with prizes from the most amazing vendors! 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners get something awesome! I’ve never entered a photo into a challenge before but thought why not! It’s way more motivating than a 365 or 52 Project, for me.

This months theme for the challenge is Spring! 🙂

This photo is a little outside of my element since I’m so passionate about portraits but it was what satified me in the end. The weather was overcast (right before the storm). I used my 50mm 1.8 @ f/3.2, SS 1/1600, ISO 100. I used Tuesday+Sunlight from FloraBella Lux II Collection! *droOoOol* Then, I took a risk by adding a grunge canvas texture. I don’t have too much experience with textures but I love them!

I hope this photo makes you feel how Spring is upon is!

Much Love,

Liz

Everyone! Please make room………… for Carter!

Okay! It’s obvious. The kid is just beyond cute! I think everyone bugs his poor Mama to get him into modeling. Ill be honest, this is one kid that I had crossed my fingers to be in my portfolio! He just makes ME look good, doesn’t he?! Haha! Just playin’! (okay, no I’m not)

Here’s a little about Carter’s shoot:

1. He had just come from a hair cut and FELT SMOOTH! Yes, my friends, he knew he looked good and he FELT good! ❤
2. If you haven’t noticed, he loves to dance. Particularly, the “booty drop” which in a couple photos may just look like a squat. Ya know, that might be a bad idea during a shoot with me! How am I supposed to get any shots when Im so tempted to do the “booty drop”, too? Booty shake = Camera shake.
3. The only other time I can remember laughing so hard at my subject was when I did a shoot with his Aunt and Uncle over 2 years ago… at the exact same location, actually!
4. I’ll admit. I was trespassing on the property with the red barns and 2 people showed up for 15-30 minutes each to give me a hard time. Not good if I were running a legitimate business an this we’re a paid shoot! The first one let me go. Probably because Carter was insistant on having a conversation with him and totally “hammed” him over. The second one was respecting the owners wishes and asked us to leave regardless of Carter’s “hamminess”.  😦

Each photo has the oppostie conversion of color or B&W. If you are interested in seeing those, please stop by my Facebook fan page.

I hope you enjoy the photos. I KNOW you’ll enjoy Carter…

Much Love,

Liz

Ashleigh’s Lovely Lady Lump

When I met Ashleigh, she was 4 years old. She’s my best friends little sister (and mine too) so this shoot was something special! As you’re browsing, you’ll notice that it wasn’t hard to get an amazing photograph of her. She. is. GORGEOUS and although she’s not a model, professionally, she rocked the camera like she had been all her life! During the last half of the shoot Chase, her love, showed up and spontaneously hopped in a couple of the photos. We are planning to do another shoot, with him completely involved in it, at a location that he loves.

My post processing is kind of all over the place in this shoot. I pretty much chose an editing style per location. In the golden field I processed towards the golden hour look. I got a bit contrasty and saturated in the shots with her colorful clothes. I aimed towards a choclolately B&W conversion with these and some may even seem a little blushy. To see the color and B&W conversion and  some that were not shared on here, stop by my FB fan page….. and please, don’t let this be a one way conversation!

Meet beautiful Ash…

MUCH LOVE,

Liz

Baby Kaiden {take 2}

I had another practice shoot with sweet baby Kaiden. I had intensions of getting shots with the parents interacting with the baby but we only got a few. I got a few good ones of the baby awake and that was what made the parents the happiest so it’s a winner. Im sure you’ve seen some of these poses before. This was my first time trying them and Im pretty satisfied with the results. I would love to hear your thoughts as well.

 

I converted each one into a B&W version. If you are interested in seeing the rest of the shoot. Feel free to stop by my FB fan page and don’t forget to let me know what you think!

Much Love — Liz

 

The dead of Winter CAN be beautiful!

Yea… I keep telling myself that! I really need convincing during winter time! Something I do love about this unappreciated season is the fact that if you dressed someone up SUPER COLORFUL and threw them anywhere outside, you’d get an awesome contrasty session! Stay tuned…. 😉

Well first things first, I should probably fill you in since I haven’t blogged in 2 weeks. Sorry guys! Im learning! Im learning!

Three really awesome things have happened to me this week (or did I happen to them?)!!!

1. I got an 85mm 1.8 added to my bag! Now, I just need a couple more lenses and a new bag! ;P Silly girl!
2. I am officially a member of Rock the Shot! Can I get a WOOT WOOT???! I am SOOOOO happy! EEEEeee!
3. Keep Calm and Price On by Alicia Caine has arrived in the mail!!! HOH-yeah!  This e-book is going to guide me through pricing fairly (for myself and my clients) while portfolio building and the first couple years of being in business. Then, Ill be moving on up to Easy as Pie and Happy Place by the same author.

Do you know what this means??? I WILL BE  moving onto the next phase of business building in the next couple months! Charg-iiiiing!

Alright, alright… back to the dead of winter. While browsing in Rock the Shot forum, I ran across another photog sharing his shoot that he did to kick himself out of the winter blues. Well, Im not super passionate about landscape photography and photographing “things” so I don’t take the time to practice on those kinds of subjects. I really have the need to capture people. Well, my friend in the forum sure did kick me into gear. I found his shoot very beautiful. The colors in his processing reminded me of brick and teal. I found myself going back to look just to stare at the colors more. Deep and rich and dark. There were a few things working against him in an effort to get a great quality photo (wind, freezing) but he pulled some emotion out of me and I was inspired. SOOOO I had to do my own “Winter Funk Booster Shoot”! Totally outside of the norm for me but I was on a mission to ‘capture the dead’!

Played with a little texture.

Bokeh wants to marry me! ❤ ❤ ❤

Luh–huuuv the lines!

I think this one is my fav! Light pink with a texture!

Not sure what I was thinking here…

and the bald weeping willow. Id be weeping, too!

Happy Valentines Day!!!

2nd Newborn Shoot: Sweet Baby Kaiden

My dear friends just had their super cute baby boy! It’s about time! I’ve been waiting forever for him to come! Sheesh! *wink wink* Thankfully, they agreed to let me do their newborn photos. I tell you what, this line of work is hard for someone like me! In a position where I love the parents and anticipated the baby’s arrival, all I really wanted to do is sniff his no-neck and kiss his irresistable fat cheeks off! SO distracting, y’know?!

Well, this is only some of a session. I will post all of them at My Facebook page if you would like to see the few that I don’t display here. I will be meeting up with the family again, this week, to practice a couple more newborn shoot ideas we’ve had and get some with the parents so that you can see how super hot they are! I hope you enjoy these and would LOVE to hear what you think!

Here is Chubby Luvins Baby Kaiden at 11 days old…

Keep me… Protect me… Share me…

Did you know that Kodak is going bankrupt? After watching the video below, it really got me thinking about what a tragedy that is!

This is a 2005 Kodak ad that just stirred my good juju vibes up so much that you should want to be hanging out with me right now!

or you can just attempt to catch them by watching it for yourself…

Truly, this is what every shutter shut means to me!

I hope that your photographs move mountains in people (and yourself)! If not, hit a sistah on the hip (<—no. i don’t have a pager anymore)! It’s my sole mission to create power images from here on out!

Wish me luck on my second newborn shoot this Wednesday! I hope to create some jaw droppers! *sayin’ prayers*

Taken in 2001 of my first child and only girl with my first SLR (35mm) that I got in 1996. Not as grainy in person. It might have been the scanner?