Sam, Michelle + Kyran {Sneak Peek}
We have known Sam and Michelle for a very long time, and were very excited to get to capture their first family photos. Kyran had a great time playing outside and was the happiest baby you will ever meet – and so talkative! We hope you enjoy their photos below as much as we enjoyed capturing them.
Brandi & Ryan are Married!
We just want to congratulate two dear friends of ours, and thank them for allowing us the opportunity to capture on of the happiest days of their lives.
The ceremony took place at their church in Safety Harbor. Although it was dreary and rainy outside, you would never be able to tell by the excitement and joy going on inside the church walls. Brandi and her bridesmaids giddily got ready in the back, while Ryan along with his friends and family relaxed in the lobby. A brief, but beautiful ceremony surrounded by their friends and family was a perfect way to start their new lives together.
After a quick trip to a nearby park, they headed off to their reception on Davis Island, where they ate cake, enjoyed a delicious meal, had a few drinks and danced the night away.
Kaley Turned 1!
You may remember about 1 year ago, we photographed a beautiful little girl named Kaley. Well, she is now 1 – I know – time flies! We did some family photos, birthday photos and smash cake photos…it was a busy day for this little girl 
Heather + Tim {Trash the Dress}
I know that most of you have probably already seen our photos of Heather and Tim’s trash the dress session, but here it is on the blog too. This session turned out to be so much more than I could have imagined. We got to our location and it was starting to sprinkle – go figure, rain in Florida! So after arriving, we decide to try to wait it out a bit before shooting. No such luck…still raining. So, what do my clients do? Suggest we start shooting in the rain – I LOVE IT! I put the camera in it’s rain poncho, and we headed out. We got some amazing shots, and I hope to continue to do some amazing things with these two! Oh, and a special thanks to Shannon for letting us use her property and to my father-in-law for allowing us to photograph some with his gorgeous horses!
Alisha + Scott are Married!
So, I know this has taken me awhile, but I am finally blogging Alisha and Scott’s wedding. It was a gorgeous, intimate ceremony aboard the Yacht StarShip in Channelside. These two were amazing and I can’t wait to work with them again soon!
I Heart Faces {Pets}
I haven’t entered into an I Heart Faces contest in awhile, but I think this one is perfect for this week. This is my daughter’s first time out at the ranch with the horses…I don’t know who had more fun, her or the horses!
Check out more great Pet photos at I Heart Faces: 
Michelle + David {Tampa, Florida | Wedding Photographer}
Michelle and David got married a few weeks ago on Yacht StarShip down in Channelside Tampa. It was a beautiful wedding with all of their closest friends and family followed by a delicious lunch prepared by the Yacht StarShip staff. These two were so laid back and go with the flow – it was great – and the love between these two was SO evident every time they looked at each other. Here are just a few photos from their wedding. Oh, did I mention that they are AMAZING dancers?! Well, they are – just check out the pics to prove it!
For even more photos, check out our facebook page!
Sophia Marie {Tampa Newborn & Family Photographer}
I have known Nicole for right around 6 years, and I remember when she started dating her husband Jose. They are such a great couple – laid back, fun, and very much in love with each other, not to mention, they will be AMAZING parents. About a year ago, they announced that they were expecting their first child, a daughter, named Sophia Marie {seriously, beautiful name!}. I was super excited and very honored that they asked me to do Sophia’s newborn shoot. Normally, most parents would request to have the session indoors, however these two wanted to have Sophia’s shoot outside {told you, laid back!}. We decided on a location, and this being Florida, it, of course, was scheduled to rain all weekend! Luckily, the rain stopped and the sun was shining for about 3 hours for us to capture some really great photos. To top it all off, Sophia was such a great sport….she let us poke, and prod her in addition to putting her in a planter and a tea cup. She is absolutely adorable and so well behaved. Here are just a few shots from their session.
I Heart Faces {A Touch of Whimsy}
This weeks challenge for I Heart Faces is a touch of whimsy. After about 1.5 seconds of contemplation, I knew exactly which photo I would enter.
This is a photo of Sophia. She is 15 days old her and her mom and dad – who are good friends of mine – wanted to have her session outdoors. I absolutely love outdoor sessions because I think it adds a bit of an organic feel to the photos and I think this is especially true with newborns. Here is little Sophia in the beautiful glow of the Florida sun dressed to the nines with her pearls and angel wings. Enjoy!
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I Heart Faces {Sun Flare}
I haven’t participated in an I Heart Faces Challenge in a few weeks – mainly because I have been quite busy (not that I can complain!). I just couldn’t resist this week’s challenge. I mainly shoot outside on location and being in Florida – that means lots of sun. Most of the time it is a bit of a hinderance trying to work around it, but every so often you get that amazing sun flare that catches you subject at just the right angle and just enough that it doesn’t take away from the photo. It was really hard for me to choose a photo, because I have several very cute ones…so……Eenie, Meenie, Miny….
Mo!
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The Art of Product Photography
Ok, so I know that the title is a bit misleading, so I should clarify. I am in NO WAY AN EXPERT on product photography, but I think it is important that people understand what really goes into shooting product photography – even from someone like me.
In this photo, you will see our entire in-home set up (we also do on location, but for this client, we did everything here). In this shot, you will see, (2) 500-watt flood lights, each with a 39″ softbox. Next, notice the Elinchrom Quadra A-Head set-up. You can’t actually see the battery pack (as it is on the floor), however you can see the two light stands with the 15.75″ Elinchrom Softboxes that are attached to the Quadra system. We are actually using a white piece of linoleum as our seamless background, which for this shot is covered with black felt – nice and heavy so the wrinkles don’t show through. You will also notice that we have our tripod set up, which is vitally important for clear product photography.
We moved the flood lights as close to the product as possible without them being in the shot, and used the Quadra system to add light to the front of the product and illuminate the background. We also implemented the use of light diffusers when necessary.
For this first shot of the set up, we used 4-5 pieces of snap together laminate flooring to make it look like it was sitting on a wood floor. To achieve the reflected look, we laid a piece of clear acrylic (available at any home depot) on top.
We played around with several ideas for this client such as just black with the acrylic, white and acrylic, and the wood with acrylic on black. I think certain products looked better on certain backgrounds. Here are some photos – the first of the set up and several final product shots. Let me know what you think!
Karen & Eric’s Maternity Shoot
We have known Karen and Eric for several years, now. The first time we met them was on 4th of July when a few mutual friends introduced us at the beach. That day (or it may have been the day before – I don’t remember!) they had their first 4-legged child – Charlie – a miniature Yorkie (you will see a photo of that cute boy below, also). They are expecting their first child, a baby boy, in just a few weeks. Although his name remains a secret, we are all waiting anxiously to meet him.
We did their maternity shoot at their new house and we thought it was very fitting, as it would be the very first place that this special baby boy will be able to call home. Karen and Eric, you are two of our closest friends and we can’t wait to meet your beautiful new baby!
Enjoy this sneak peek!
Erika & Erik
WHEW! I am tired just remembering this day! Erik got to wear this awesomely cute tux for his aunts wedding and his mom, Erika, wanted to get photos of him in it before he grows, yet again! We decided to go out to the University of Tampa campus to see what we could come up with. In the car on the way over, Erik PROMISED me that he was going to take pretty pictures for me, but unfortunately after a 5 minute power nap, this 3-year old had decided that he was not in the mood for photos. My solution to this problem? For the first half of the photo shoot, I handed the camera to my husband and began RACING Erik from one end of the Plant Museum to the other (It is a good thing I decided to change out of my flip-flops for this shoot!). After we wore him out a bit and got him in a better mood, my husband relinquished the camera back to me and I got to take a few more photos.
Moral of the story: many times to effectively photograph a 3-year old, you must become one yourself. You will notice that most of these photos are candid, in-the-moment photos (which I must say are my absolute favorite) that showcase Erik’s enthusiastic personality.
Enjoy!
Kaley {4 Months}
I never thought it would be so hard to find green grass in FLORIDA! We had planned on doing these photos outside last month, but because the weather has been abnormally cold the last few months, we didn’t get a chance until a few days ago. The down side to our 3 hours of good weather was that all of the grass has died from the cold - I guess this is kind of like fall for northerners, huh?!
As promised, here are a few of my favorite photos from the session. For those of you following, this is the adorable little girl that we did newborn shots for just a few short months ago…it’s crazy how fast they grow and how much they change!Kaley was a perfect model, even through all of her outfit changes – until the very end when she wanted to sleep and not smile
April and Prissy {Beautiful Quarter Horses}
When we were out at Lucky S Ranch shooting Cody & Megan, we also got to shoot a few photos of two of my father-in-law’s horses, April and Prissy. I just wanted to share a few photos of these beautiful Quarter Horses. Enjoy!
Lions, and Tigers and Bears…Oh My! {well at least tigers}
A few weeks ago, my husband and I took a trip to Busch Gardens. I know what you are thinking…’Sweet, rollercoasters!’ ….well, we only rode one. The reason we went was to photograph some of the animals that they feature at this park. Maybe someday soon we will get to photograph them in the wild, but until then….here are a few photos.
Tessa | Christmas 2010
What kind of parent or photographer would I be if I didn’t occasionally post a few photos of my adorable daughter
For anyone who has ever tried to photograph inside a house, you know what a problem this can be…bad lighting, flashes bouncing off of colored walls, and shadows everywhere! We shot these on Christmas Eve while there were around 10 people already at the house. This meant that we would not have enough room to set up our portable lights and would need to simply work with our hot-shoe flash. All things considered (and after a few arguments between my husband and I), we got some very cute photos of our munchkin.
I hope you enjoy them as much as I love looking at them
Cody & Megan
This year for Christmas, both my and my husband’s family decided to draw names for presents. This year I got his cousin Ronda. It’s always difficult to come up with a gift that they will love and cherish, especially when they don’t really need anything.
That’s when I decided to play to my passion – photography.
I couldn’t remember the last time I saw photos of both of her kids together and just like that, her present was born! Now for the hard part – organization. I wanted to get them done without her knowing, so I talked to her mom, and she got both kids to me without her knowing (though I think she may have had an idea ). We decided to use the Lucky S Ranch as our location. It is beautiful, and has a ton of old character including some old rusty trucks and barns. In addition, my father-in-law keeps his horses out there and allowed us to use his quarterhorse April in some of our photos. The day started out raining and a bit chilly, but once the rain stopped, we still had the overcast (which most photographers will tell you is PERFECT!) and we got to shooting.
I want to thank everyone that helped with this shoot – I could not have done it without you, and I absolutely love the way the photos turned out. We will do some more soon with her step-daughter Jessica – so stay tuned. Enjoy and feel free to let me know what you think! (Sorry, there are a lot, I couldn’t decide on my favorites)
Chantal, Mike and Kaley | Christmas Photos
You may remember this family from Kaley’s adorable newborn photo shoot a few months back. She is now about 4 months old and just got to celebrate her first Christmas. We tried to get Tyler (their 4-legged child) into the photos, but he wasn’t having it. I hope you enjoy these photos, look for more very shortly of Kaley’s 4-month photo shoot
I Heart Faces {Pets}
I Heart Faces is having their weekly photo contest again, and this week’s entry is pets.
A little background on us and our dogs: we have one big dog, and one that would be considered a horse by any normal standard. Precious, our lab mix is the black, smaller (and by smaller, I mean 70 pounds) dog that we have had for the last 8 years. The other one is accurately named Leonidas (Leo for short). When we got Leo as a 14 month old “puppy” he was already 145 pounds. Now, he tips the scales at just over 200!
For this weeks challenge, I had my husband toss some treats up in the air and let the dogs catch them. I have to say, that I don’t think this would have been nearly as entertaining with smaller dogs without the big jowels – though I could be a bit biased. As you can see, even though Leo is significantly younger than Precious, he is nowhere near as quick or light – or if we are being honest - smart. As you can see in the photo below, he thought he had already caught the treat, but you can clearly see that it is still in the air. Precious – 1; Leo – 0
I Heart Faces – Self Portrait
This weeks photo challenge on I Heart Faces is to do a self-portrait.
Most photographers will tell you that they are more comfortable on the other side of the camera, and that they don’t like having photos of themselves taken. I am not one of those photographers. I love all aspects of photography, even when I am the subject. I enjoy having my photo taken, and have no issues with seeing myself in photos. All of that being said, I have been saying for a while now, that I need to have some photos of myself, just so that people know who I am…This challenge offered the perfect solution – for the most part
For anyone reading this that is not a photographer, here is the challenge of doing a self-portrait…the camera needs something to focus on before the photo is taken. This is not an issue for anyone that has a remote trigger (which is on my Christmas Wish List ) – however, for those of us that are using our camera’s timer, it can be tricky. I’m pretty sure that my neighbors all think I am crazy.
Picture this: I am standing on our back patio (just me, myself and I) with a bar stool and a broom. My camera and lens are already set up facing the direction that I plan on using as my background. I balance the broom up against the bar stool, and go to my camera and focus on the tallest part of the handle (presumably where I will try to get my eyes to be). I then press the shutter button, run over, throw down the broom, get myself into position and wait. Finally, the shutter releases and I have my photo.
If only it were that simple….about an hour later…I have a handful of photos that I think are actually half decent. The focus isn’t exactly perfect on my eyes, but in my defense, I’m not a broom. Here is one of the ones that I really like, and I hope you like it too. I would love to hear what you think.
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