After limiting my photo sets the past year due to a family illness and then the grief process that followed, I am once more ready to recharge and take focus.

It has been a season of self awareness and personal development, as is often the case in the event of a personal loss in life.

Though most of us understand these are natural steps in a persons journey, it is not without a great deal of reflection that I now move forward.

Prior to the temporary time out of my professional photography endeavors, I had been on a quest to secure weddings to add to my portfolio. However, I discovered no matter how much I had assisted in weddings previously, without a full blown sampling of my own personal wedding photography, from an actual wedding from beginning to end, few clients want to be the first when it came to such a milestone, life event being caught forever through a lens.

I totally understand this mindset, as we supposedly had one of Colorado's best at my wedding 35 years ago... But much to my dismay, our special day turned out to be that photographers worst nightmare and left us with less than warm and fuzzy feelings at viewing the captured images of that most important day of our lives.

However, as is often the case in life... The harder you work to secure what you want the more it eludes you! As was the case with my wedding bookings, or lack there of!

Let the focus change and as in my cases in life, hit a time where you are not focused at all on that certain quest... And VIOLA! Yes, in the midst of my down time and grief, in which I was not even accepting private settings, I was booked for spring and summer weddings for 2016. Go figure!

Isn't that how it goes... I thought at that time before, I may wish to change my focus to specializing in wedding photography; knowing I would insist that no one end up with an unsatisfactory wedding package I experience! I thought to myself, I would take the time to see the events through! I would include engagement photos as a free gift to my wedding customers. But beyond this, I would add a small fee to accommodate any events leading up to the special occasions, from bridal showers, to bachelor parties, rehearsal dinners for those who chose the full package plan.

In addition, what seemed obvious to me, the ceremony AND reception would always be a part of a basic wedding package. However, I learned that reception photos were often very limited and generally came at an additional charge from many wedding photographers.

In the end, I like my thinking and hope to make these services available from beginning to end for those who wish to add such things at a price they can afford. In fact, I am getting ready to go on the wedding dress hunt with camera in hand, to capture the moments of bride to be, with mom's and/or other special individuals helping in the quest for the perfect dress for one of my bookings for a late summer wedding. And truly looking forward to sharing these special moments with my clients!

But in the bigger picture, I don't want to lose the fulfillment of creating a lasting memory of those special stages in life. One particular set that stands out in my mind, shooting photos of a child with special needs who they had struggled to get photos of with any smiles or happy emotions shining through. I hoped I had not over estimated my ability to work with children and families as I booked it with optimism. In the end, that family set is still in my top five favorites for outcome and personal satisfaction!

With this thought, the wedding schedules and packages will be a lot of fun to pursue and admittedly a lot of work... I remain confident that when it's all said and done, the outcome will be spectacular!

Even so, I don't necessarily think they will ever totally replace the level of satisfaction I feel when doing family shoots, children photos and senior/graduation sets. Sets where as a photographer, I come to know the people I am capturing on film in a more personal and intimate manner. Getting to know what these individuals see as their strengths and weaknesses, their vulnerabilities and more. Then being able to build on that knowledge to create a renewed and positive self image, as they see themselves and the beauty I find in each of them, through the photos I capture.

Here is to a new chapter in my pro log and all this implies! Thank you to all my previous customers and a promise that I am truly looking forward to meeting those of you to come in the future!

Happy Easter and Spring to all!

It seems the natural time of year for professional photo opportunities! From School Pictures, to Senior Portraits and family portraits, could there be a better time to schedule a photo session?
The colors are beautiful for outdoor photo shoots and the lighting is about as good as it gets with the fall sun hours.
With Christmas nearing, who doesn't like to receive updated portraits, photo calendar, or even a small photo album of fresh new photos?
I like to give customers copy rights to create whatever they choose and save a lot by ordering directly!
This gives you the option of taking the disk to your local Walgreen's/Walmart or other photo facility to choose whatever you want to order from a wide selection of photo gift ideas from ornaments to coffee cups! It is a win win situation full of savings!
On the other hand, I can assist in this process if you would prefer and will be happy to assist in ordering and delivery for an additional fee.
So what are you waiting for? Send me a message or call me to set a time for your photo needs!

Many people just assume, if you're a professional photographer all your pictures are going to be the best. But the truth is, photographers are just people too.

I have come to learn that what each person sees and takes away from a photo is vastly different from one person to the next, professional or not.

Some folks like a lot of special affects that digital photography offers today. While others prefer candid, caught in the moment photos. And of course, many will still choose a traditional, forced smile portrait that rivals their ancestors.

A photographers opinions and vision could be vastly different from your own and what they see as their perfect photo, you may discard into the delete files of your computer.

Therefore, when determining to have photos taken, or if you are going to take photos for someone else, be certain you discuss what the desired result is.

A good way to do this is to find other images in magazines, photo albums and beyond and discuss what you like and what you don't like in advance.

It is a great idea to make sure the person behind the camera and those in front of it are all on the same page to help insure the desired result is achieved.

My husbands aunt and uncle had the misfortune of experiencing a home fire. Unfortunately, living a long ways from any municipalities and/or fire stations, they lost the house and everything within. The positive in this tragedy was no lives were lost.

However, as the ash and smoke settle, the realization began to resonate that treasured memories were lost forever. I recall her stating the thing she was the saddest over was the loss of all their pictures.

With this stated, I have made a point of saving my photos on line and other back up storage options, to prevent such tragedy from stealing away our captured memories.

Additionally, it is nice to share photos with other family members, which provides another recovery option for the future if needed.

There are many options for saving your photos and I strongly suggest you begin now, saving your photos in more than one place!

You may believe such tragedy will never happen to you, and I pray you are right. But remember, photos can be lost to more than just fire!

I lost several items when a water line broke in our basement one year. Additionally, I have lost more than one project on old computers without any natural disaster being the cause.

Hopefully, this post will help others to not be caught at a loss of treasured memories by starting today!

Summer means FUN IN THE SUN!!!

Here are a few tips on creating the best sets for those posed summer memories.

1.) Love the trees and flowery backdrops! But look before you click! Branches, posts, or other items that will appear to be growing or emerging from the person's head or other body areas need be moved or avoided!

2.) Blend into the setting naturally, but be sure you have some color contrast so the subject stands out in shaded areas.

3.) Before clicking, smooth out clothing, turn subject at a slight angle and check view finder to be sure you have their best side! No one wants to look bigger than necessary in photos!

3.) Shoot against the sun to avoid over exposed sun spots.

4.) In partial light, watch for light rays and move subject accordingly to avoid them.

5.) It may seem obvious, but you'd be surprised... Check your perfect spot before you put your subject in place. Unsuspecting aunt dens, wasp nests and the like, are no fun for anyone!

6.) Most of all, have some fun with those you are photographing to make for lasting memories!