Paige: Sweet Sixteen-Gilbert, AZ

My job as a photographer has taken me across the country in recent months, which was thrilling and new and required tons of planning, packing and long weekends away from my family. The last three weekends in a row, however, I've been equally as happy as I walked the short distance across my street to do sessions for my neighbors.

The most recent was for a Sweet Sixteen Party for my very sweet and B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L neighbor, Paige. The theme was Denim and Diamonds, and I can tell you that Paige and her mom Rocked it. The decorations were adorable, the cake amazing, and the DJ had the party going before they even opened the doors.

We started off with some portraits of Paige with her new car:



Detail shot of the party favors. Love this!


Her cake rivaled any I've ever seen:



We brought her parents out for a quick shot before the party started:


Paige's friends arrived before everyone else:


And finally the party began:




To see the slideshow, click the play button below:


I decided to do another version of the slideshow. Paige, this one is for you:

Lifestyle Family Photography: Mesa AZ

I think it was serendipity, or kismet, or the cosmos at work. It also could have just been a simple turn of events in our ever-expanding-internet-world, but whatever it was I am grateful for how things happened.

Last year before we moved to Phoenix I was online gathering information about the area. I wanted to know things like which schools were best, which neighborhoods were most kid friendly, and what to do about scorpions should I ever encounter one. That last thing, in fact, was HUGE to me. I am scared to death of all things creepy-crawley, and scorpions top the list.

I came across a blog post on just this subject written by KPHO morning news anchor Nicole Crites. She explained that you can go scorpion hunting with a black light because it makes the critters GLOW IN THE DARK. So you can get 'em and squash 'em and kill 'em dead before they get you. Because that is what they deserve.

I left her a quick comment to tell her thanks for the awesome information because I knew my two sons would love a good scorpion hunt. She followed up with an email, complimenting me on my website. After a few more emails back and forth, it was decided that I would do a session for her once I arrived here in Phoenix.

We've been emailing each other for months now, and I finally had the chance to shoot a Lifestyle Session of her and her husband, along with their A-D-O-R-A-B-L-E daughter, Callie. As is the case with my last couple of shoots, it rained on that day, but I think that made it a bit more interesting that the usual sunshine we have here.

Soon after I arrived, Nicole and Callie disappeared into the bathroom to change Callie's clothes. Knowing I might catch some intimate mommy/daughter/daddy time, I followed them and was not disappointed:




Yes, that is a baby bump that you noticed! Nicole is expecting a boy in a few short weeks.




Reading is serious business:

These are the kinds images that make me love what I do:

By the time we took the following shot, Callie was DONE taking pictures so we left her in her high chair. I love how it turned out:

It's Ok, you can be jealous. Nicole looks fabulous!

Nicole, you are beautiful. Seriously.

Nicole and David, thank you so much for putting your trust into me, a perfect stranger, and allowing me into your home to capture these for you. I can't wait to photograph your new little one in a few weeks.

To see the slideshow, click the play button:

Family Lifestyle Photography Session-Gilbert, AZ

It feels so good to be shooting regularly again. I've had a couple of shoots here in Gilbert recently, and I have a few more lined up for the next few weeks. I think that now that the holidays are behind us I'll be able to fill my calendar much like I did back in San Antonio, and I couldn't be happier.

My most recent shoot was an absolute blast. My across-the-street neighbors, Heidi and Ron, took advantage of the fact that their whole family (minus one who had to work) would be here for a weekend visit, and booked a Lifestyle shoot so that I could capture all of them. With seven adults, two kids, one toddler and two infants, it was CRAZY. There were a few tears, a lot of laughs, and I think they got some great images.







To view the slideshow below, simply click the "play" button:


I hope all of you had as much fun as I did!

Freestone Park-D & K Portrait Session-Gilbert, AZ

I have an incredibly difficult time getting photos of my own kids that I love. The reasons are varied; sometimes I don't have my camera with me, or my kids aren't cooperating, more often we just don't have the time to devote to it. It's a crying shame though, and I get chastised by my friends when they stop by my house and notice more images of clients than of my kids.

Last week I took a step to fix the situation and did a session of my oldest daughter D. She invited her friend to come along, and I really love how it turned out:





















And here is the slideshow:


Today I'll order prints and frames, and I plan to have my new art hanging on the wall by next week. So that is one kid down, three to go. Wish me luck!

The Islands Daddy/Daughter Dance-Gilbert, AZ

On Friday night I donated my photography services to our neighborhood's Daddy/Daughter Dance. I wasn't sure what to expect, but I was sooo surprised by how many dads were there. It was the sweetest thing.

Here are a few of the formal portraits:



Yes, this is my adorable daughter and my husband, making a VERY rare appearance on my blog:






The DJ was amazing:








I was the only mom at the dance, and the entire night I kept thinking how much the other moms would have loved to be in my shoes. I hope the pictures give them a little glimpse of the truly special evening our daughters had with their daddies.
To see a slideshow and the rest of the images, click here.

Your Grandchildren Will Be Upset With You

I am a heavy blog reader, and every now and then I come across an article that I would love to share with my clients and friends. The following blog post is one of them:


Author: Fred Molesworth, Salem, Oregon

I’m willing to bet your grandchildren will be upset with you. Here’s why. Imagine, 50 years from now, as your grandchildren or great grandchildren are going through the boxes in the attic. They are enthralled with the treasures and keepsakes they find and how they tie into the story of your life.

Amongst all the old items, they find a number of round silver objects. Some have writing on them, some are blank, but they resemble some kind of a small platter about 4″ across, with a hole in the middle.

Puzzled, they take them to their parents. “What are these, Mom?” they ask. “Oh, I think those are all of grandma’s photographs. Yep, here’s one labeled ‘My Wedding’. Here’s some more labeled ‘Family Photos,’ and some more labeled ‘Vacations’.”

“How do we look at them?” they ask.

“Well, I’m not sure we can. First of all, no one has the device that reads these anymore. Besides that, I doubt after all these years that they’re any good anymore. Being stored in the attic, the heat and cold probably ruined them.”

The kids are very disappointed. Nowhere amongst all the treasures are any actual prints. All that history is lost. Their connection with the past and all the wonderful stories that might have gone along with all those photographs are gone as well.

Along with all the wonders of our digital age come some significant problems that most people have never thought of.

Did you know that over 90% of all images taken on today’s digital cameras are NEVER PRINTED? I’m guilty of that myself. I have gigabytes of personal photographs that have never been seen other than on a computer screen.

In the old days, film went to the lab and everything that was printable was printed. Even if it was a bad photograph, it still was a hard copy, a part of your family history and it had permanence. Even if they never went in an album, they at least went into a box, to be discovered as treasures years later.

The same problem exists in professional portrait studios today. Many people are simply asking for the images on CD. “I’ll print them later” or “I’ll design my own wedding album” are common phrases. Usually this is done with the thought that they’ll save some money by doing it themselves.

But you know what? Most never make it into any kind of an album. Life gets busy and 20 years later they’ll be looking for some way to read those disks.

I bring this up only to point out the importance of what we, as a professional studio do. Our job is not just to create the images, to create wonderful story telling photographs about the people in front of our camera; it’s to create a final product, whether it be a professionally retouched and printed single image, a family heirloom wall portrait, or an incredible storybook album using a collection of the images that were created.

It doesn’t matter whether it’s a wedding, a newborn baby, a senior or a family. Having the final product created for you is important. To do less is to leave the job half done and to short change the customer.
-Fred Molesworth

In addition to running a full time portrait studio in Salem Oregon, Fred Molesworth is a small business teacher and advisor, and the author of the Portrait Studio Marketing blog (www.portraitstudiomarketing.com). He’s also a nationally known business and marketing speaker in the portrait industry, and past president of the Professional Photographers of Oregon.





The article above really struck a cord with me, and so for 2010 I am now offering a print credit in my wedding and portrait packages. I want to make sure that my clients end up with beautiful, retouched prints from every session I shoot.