They Had That Spark.

I had the wonderful opportunity to shoot my friends Frank and Ana's wedding last weekend. It was the largest wedding I have ever shot, and it was an amazing experience. Ana and Frank are young, and so in love. I loved being able to capture their moments together on their wedding day. Every time I snapped a picture of them, they both had ear to ear smiles and looked so incredibly happy. Ana and Frank, thank you for letting me be your photographer. You two are so perfect for each other and I wish you many happy years to come. Congrats! Enjoy.

Round Two.

Baby Grayson is about to make his debut and I was lucky to have the opportunity to shoot Krista and Jared for the maternity pictures. Ray was a little spitfire, but any time baby Grayson was mentioned, she was all about what was going on. It took some gummy bear bribing, but all in all she was a great sport. The wait has begun for Grayson's arrival. Stay tuned. Enjoy.

Coming To An End.

I know that it has been a while since I have posted anything. I am in my FINAL semester of school, and things have just been crazy trying to get everything done. But, with graduation right around the corner, final portfolios are coming up and I have started working on mine. Im taking a large format photography class, which is a film class, and it has been putting me through my paces. As always though, I am learning more about photography than I ever thought that I would know, and it reminds me why I even pick up my camera. These are the first two shots I have done for my film class final, and I am in love. Joe and Sarah were the first two models I had sit for me, so that I could use them as test rats for the ideas I had for this. They were good sports as always and once again have given me great images to add to my portfolio. Thank you, Joe and Sarah, for getting ready at the last minute for me. Your guys' willingness to be ready at a moments notice is the reason that I am able to have shots like these.
I started school in 2009 with nothing more than my DSLR and the drive to learn more about my craft. I cant tell you how many times school has made me laugh, cry, scream, or drove me absolutely crazy. Even with all of the issues that I have had over the last five years, nothing has changed the fact that I love what I do. When I walk across that stage in May and am handed that simple piece of paper that will justify all the blood, sweat, and tears into all of this, it will make everything more than worth it. I cant wait to finish my college career and have many doors open to me for my photography. Looking at my entire portfolio to see everything I have shot since the start, is a humbling experience. You dont really know how far you have come until you see where you started, and I have come so far since I started this crazy adventure.
There will be more to come before the semester ends. I cant wait for all of you to see the rest. Thank you for following, liking, sharing, and creeping on the images I have put on here. You all are the reason my shutter keeps clicking. Enjoy.

Older and Wiser.

It has been a hot minute since I have posted anything. School has been taking up most of my time this semester with my film class, so I havent been able to shoot much digital stuff. However, my most adorable nephew Grayson turned one in February and I had the chance to have a shoot with him for it. He is growing up into such an adorable little boy. He is full of giggles, smiles, and of course more cute than any kid should be allowed to have. These are just a few of the shots that I got, but I am more than happy with what a great model he was. This little boy is going to be a gentleman, but he will certainly be a heartbreaker too. Enjoy.

Because Its What You Love.

It has been quite the roller coaster for me lately. In my commercial class this week, my teacher went off on a rant about how no matter what you are shooting, you need to take time to shoot something just for you. He told us that, for him, he shoots flowers. He isnt very good at it, but he does it because that is what he loves to shoot. This is important because when you do what you love as a job, you start to lose yourself in always having to do it and not doing it because you want to. I think that this really hit home for me. I have been so caught up in everything that has been going on in my life, that I forgot to stop and take a breath to take pictures that I love. So much of my photography lately has been for school or for a job and it wasnt until my teacher made the point to always remember why youre doing what you are doing, that I really realized that this is what I have been missing. I love photography. I love capturing people. I love stopping time, because so often I have no control over what I am spending my time on. Today, although this was for an assignment, I felt in my element. Happy to be doing what I love. Stopping time. Andolyn, Joe, Justin, and Sarah were all awesome models today, and getting the time behind the camera that I got today was such a great feeling. Thank you, you guys. For coming through for me with these shoots. Its people like you that make me love what I do, and letting me capture you reminds me why I am doing what I am doing. Enjoy.

California Boy.

This is from an old assignment earlier in the semester that I havent had a chance to post yet. Ryan helped me last minute with the assignment when my other model bailed, and really pulled me through for this shoot. Ally was a trooper, we had her running up and down the streets for a while trying to get the right shot. By the end she was so tired that her tongue was hanging out of her mouth, but she loved being the center of attention. Ryan is a Cali boy through and through, long boarding with his dog like the beach is right around the corner, livin the dream. Enjoy.

In Your Dreams.

This week I had an assignment for my make up class called fantasy. Originally I thought that the teacher had specific requirements on the style that he wanted us to shoot with, but midweek he sent out an email to clear up some confusion that a few of the other students had with the assignment guidelines. While it was a good thing that I could change up from what he had shown for examples of the assignment, it was also a bad thing because that meant that I had no idea where to go with this assignment. Bryanna had volunteered to sit for me when I showed her the original pictures, so I decided to go to her and see what she thought we could do. The first thing she came up with was this idea and I went with it. Once again, she helped bring everything together for me and it came out much better than I could have done by myself. My mom helped with some of the outfit when I came to her with what Bryanna had come up with, and this was the result. Thank you Bry, for helping me to kick ass on another assignment for this semester and for being the easiest and best model I have ever dealt with. Shoots with you really make my job to get awesome portraits all too easy. Once again. Enjoy.

Check Out My Kicks.

This weeks assignment was a product shot with a model. Showing that its not always just about who is being shot, but what is going on around them as well. I wanted to go with a double whammy, making it a good product but also having an awesome model. I was stumped for a while, not knowing what to shoot or how, and then this idea hit me. Bryanna was up for another shoot for me, and as she is a runner this set up was perfect. Because in all honesty, wouldn't you be wanting to buy a pair of shoes if you looked this good wearing them? I would. Enjoy.

Glam It Up.

I have learned a lot of things in school that have really improved my photography up to this point. But one thing that they don't teach you to really appreciate, is a good model. I often run into the issue of the best way to pose my models for school assignments and I think that this was one of the best shoots that I have done in a while because Bryanna knew what she was doing. I didn't have to say much to her and I was able to get these beautiful photos of her while still learning several new things from someone who has more experience with posing than I do. Even though she has been a little under the weather this week, she was willing to glam up for this weeks assignment for me, and made my job all too easy by being such a great model. Sparkly heels, sequined dresses, and a stunning model make for a happy photographer. Enjoy.

Living In The Wrong Era.

School is back in full swing, and I will be posting most of my assignments for class again. Im finding that the further into classes that I get, some of the assignments are duplicates. This was another "clone" assignment where I had to take an image and duplicate it in the best way that I could. Chris helped me out here and dappered up so that I could duplicate the top image. As always, it was quite the learning experience for me. I am happy with the image that I was able to get though, and Im glad that I was able to learn so many new things. Enjoy.