let there be music in the streets~!

~mini fall shoot~

I brought along an antique piece and two mini pumpkins as props for this 16 month old. I placed the stool under the trees where I found amazing light, the yellow leaves sparkling in the background which provided the natural backlighting.  Fall is one of my favorite times of the year to shoot, the lighting is rich, the autumn colors are vibrant, and the sun kisses everything it touches~

Under the Dome

I was in Nashville @ at Business Conference being held at the Gaylord Opryland Resort. I checked in @ night, and the next morning when I went out to check out my surroundings, I was hot with excitement! All around me lay beautiful, soft, diffused lighting. Known for their signature atrium,  the resort is designed to allow guests to experience a tropical walk without going outdoors. Under the acres of glass and diffused panels, everything looked perfectly lit, and it was all climate-controlled. Oh, how I wanted to do a photo shoot under that Dome! Veronica was happy to model for me among the tropical gardens, waterfalls, trellis', columns and benches, which are all meticulously maintained. We met @ 7am, chatted over latte's - and began our stroll/shoot.  Enjoy the images :-)

Sweet Little Family ♥

all photo shoots should be this sweet :-)

my new packaging! No Landfill Required

I am madly in love with my new packaging! My photography style is natural and casual, and when I found these products from ReBinder, I knew I had to try them.  I purchased the "RePlay"Recycled Cardboard CD case and the CD label in Brown Kraft.  I love the company philosophy, and I too want to play my part to reduce the environmental footprint :-) as well as: Made in USA~ They believe products should be made in our country, with our workers, out of responsible materials with the intention that no landfill be required.But best of all, my CD case is adorable! I got a rubber stamp made, a few different color ink pads, burned cd's with client images, and tied em up with some kitchen twine. Artful, responsible and sweet packaging.

if it rains . . . we will keep shooting

Just For Fun - Posing Practice

I wanted to just play with the early morning light, try out my new circular polarizer on my 85mm, try some off camera flash techniques and practice my posing directions - so I set up a casual shoot and I offered out a free photo shoot for these two models - they were willing to meet me @ 6:30 a.m. I hand held my SB 800, with my Nikon D700 set up in Commander Mode - and all went very well. What I wanted to improve on was taking more time to set up the poses, vs just clicking and hoping for a good shot. I am going to take this more "casual" approach with me on my next "real" shoot - I feel my images look natural even though we took the time to pose - chin down, shoulder back, chin to shoulder, bend at the wrist, hand in pocket, look away . . . etc . . .Check out some of the images from this shoot ~