Happy Holidays!

I just wanted to post a quick message to say Happy Holidays! It's been a busy, wonderful year for me overall and I hope its been the same for you too.

FYI - I'll be leaving for Ireland tomorrow and may be slower than normal to return emails and calls. I've got a few shoots planned in Dublin, I'll post images from those shoots and the rest of my travels as soon as I can.

Rebecca and Ryan's Engagement Session

This afternoon I had the pleasure of photographing Rebecca and Ryan. They are high school sweethearts and were a lot of fun :). They're getting married in July in Chandler.

We were at a park in Chandler, believe it or not. I know it's hard to tell from the pictures - it was rainy all day but the rain let up just long enough for our shoot.

Trash the Dress

Eva had a great idea for a way to trash her dress - CUPCAKES!! She was so fun to photograph :). She had too much fun rolling around in the mess she made. She not only trashed her dress, but 36 innocent cupcakes (okay, so we ate a couple of them beforehand...).

Here she is before the mess... look at that evil smile!

Jesse and Eva

I made a trip down to Tucson to photograph Eva and Jesse. I hadn't really spent any time in Tucson prior to this trip, and I was amazed by how beautiful it was!

I shot a lot on these stairs...

Jesse has the most amazing eyes! Such a rare color.

I had a great time with Eva and Jesse, and we got some really fun shots. Tucson was such a perfect setting :).

Jess - Bridal Shoot

This Saturday I had the pleasure of photographing Jess in Tempe. Here are a few of my favorites.

Dobson High School Fall Art Show

I just thought I would post a quick thanks to Karen Pokrandt and the wonderful students at Dobson High School for inviting me to be a part of their spring art show. I got to judge the student work for the photography category, and it was a tough job! There are some amazingly talented students at Dobson, I was very impressed with the work I saw. I can't wait to see the spring show!

Hair and Makeup Artist recommendations

I've met a wonderful makeup artist and an amazing hair stylist. I thought I would share their contact info - people are always asking me who they should use, so here are some great people to consider!

Makeup -
Victoria Kroll
victoria@elementpixel.com
602-758-1088Vicki did Kristie's makeup for our recent shoot (see more images in older posts) and I'll be working with her on some other shoots/sessions in the future!

Hair-
Erica Conan
Affinity Salon
7329 E Stetson Dr
Studio 18
Scottsdale AZ 85251
602-300-3955
ericastyles.com

Erica is not only a talented gal, but she's also an educator for the SexyHair line - she gets to train other stylists on how to do hair! How cool is that? She recently did my hair, should've busted out the iphone camera to show you, but trust me, she's awesome.

If you decide to contact either of these wonderful ladies, let them know you heard about them from my blog :)!

Arizona Weddings Magazine and the Bridal Fashion Debut

I have a new ad on arizonaweddings.com (Arizona Weddings and Magazine), a wonderful resource for anyone getting married in AZ. Check out their website and wonderful magazine! They're packed full of awesome vendors and great ideas.

Also, the Bridal Fashion Debut is quickly approaching! It will be held at the Phoenix Convention Center on Saturday 1/10/09 and Sunday 1/11/09. Check out their website - www.bridalfashiondebut.com. I think you can buy discount tickets online. If you're planning on going, make sure to stop by my booth and say hi!!

Hope you had a nice Thanksgiving by the way :).

Pin-up/retro fashion shoot

I had some ideas for shots I've always wanted but have never really gotten, so I put together a fashion shoot with a lovely model, Kristie Maclean (you can find her on model mayhem or email me and I'll get you her contact info if you'd like to work with her too!!) and a talented makeup artist, Victoria Kroll (again, contact me for her inf0). Here are some of my favorites - it was SOOO hard to choose images to post, I love so many of them!!

Vicki did an awesome job on the makeup - look at that color! The "tears" are actually glycerin, I've always wanted to play around with that.

This one doesn't really need a caption I suppose, I just love it!

Kristie is working on a pin-up portfolio, so we did some fun shots in the studio.

I love Kristie's look, and I just had to incorporate the scooter somehow. I think it's almost perfect, if only it were a Vespa...

She's just gorgeous! Don't you love the hair? Vicki did that too :)

Tim's starting school!

This is Tim. He graduated from high school last year and I took his senior portraits. At that time he wasn't sure if or where he would be going on to college, but since then he has decided to attend UTI in Avondale. We did a mini shoot to get some portraits of him in his new uniform - he's so proud, and I'm so excited for him!!

Catching up a little...

Okay, so I'm not really doing so well at keeping up with this blog after all. I just need to make it a habit somehow.

Anyway, I've been traveling and shooting and having a wonderful time in the sun. Phoenix is even nicer when it starts getting cooler - who knew :)?

I recently shot Carrie and Paul's engagement photos at the Desert Botanical Gardens in Phoenix. They are such a cute couple! We had a lot of fun playing around with the beautiful settings the garden provided. Here are a few of my favorites: