Cristi Owen Photography

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2009-09-05T00:08:00.004-07:00

"To Teach is to Learn Twice" ~ Joseph Joubert

2009-09-02T13:56:00.006-07:00

I have always loved to teach. At age 7 I asked my parents to install a real blackboard in my room. It was huge and there was chalk everywhere. I would come home from school and then spend the whole afternoon teaching my mom whatever I had learned that day in school. Have I mentioned I love my mom? In high-school I was a private tutor for Junior High Students. In college I volunteered in the Math tutoring center. And after college, as a dietitian, even though I had a job at the hospital that I loved and it kept me super busy, I still made sure to get a job as a nutrition instructor in the evenings. I love to teach.

For a while now I have had a few friends and clients ask me to put together a class to teach them how to use their "fancy" DSLR cameras to its full potential. I thought it would be fun since I love to teach, but I didn't give it too much more thought beyond that. Until, a past co-worker of mine emailed me and said I needed to put something together fast! Her brother's wedding was only 3 weeks away and she wanted to put her camera to use and not be frustrated with the results.
Well... I guess I could put something together... How about a "Fancy Camera Workshop"?
I wasn't sure if anyone else would show up, but they did and it was super fun!
We spent the whole morning talking about how to properly expose images using the manual setting and discussed some of the many different compositional elements used in photography. We had lunch and then headed out for some hands-on practice with our model, Luisa. I asked everyone to shoot all of their images on manual and to pick at least 3 different compositional elements to work on.
When we got back inside we talked about post processing and then shared our images and had a fun group critique.
I didn't shoot much while we were out but here are some of my images (and my own homework):

Finding Patterns/Repetition:

Changing focal length (and I guess I cheated a little and changed my perspective a tiny bit):

Something unexpected:

Panning:
Foreground/Framing:

Wide-angle lens distortion:
Shadows:
Sun flare:
Changing perspective (from the photo above):
Here are Erin, Monika and Alicja practicing getting different perspectives of the same subject. I was cracking up when I saw this. By the way, Luisa is wearing shorts under her skirt :)
And here's a very happy me with my very pretty daughter:
A huge thank you to everyone who came. You are all amazing! I had so much fun and learned so much myself. I know I just started in my journey of being a professional photographer not too long ago and I have such a long ways to become the photographer I want to be. However, I want to make sure I fully enjoy every step of the way there and I hope that I get to continue to share what I know with anyone who wants to learn.
And while I am on the topic of teachers I would like to send a huge and special thank you to my very first photography teacher and major source of inspiration, Roy Pope and to Jennifer Bowen for being the first photographer who gave me an opportunity to see first hand what it was like to be a wedding photographer and to fall in love with it . I am forever grateful to you two. Thank you.

Irma & Braden

2009-08-17T11:16:00.003-07:00

You can't meet Irma and not fall in love with her. She so sincere and kind. She's a hard worker and she's laid back. Irma and I worked together for a few months (as dietitians) and I would often forget my lunch. I know, I know, how hard is it to remember your lunch, but I was juggling a full-time photography business and a part-time job downtown Phoenix. Irma barely knew me, but she would often share her lunch with me. Her lunch that she had cooked with Braden the night before and that Braden had prepared for her. She would always say with a smile: "...really, Braden always packs so much food for me we can definitely share".

From things like this to other little glimpses I'd get about their relationship, I knew they were perfect together. And I was right.

When Curt and I were at the airport in Philadelphia coming back from Italy, I got a text message from Irma. She had gotten engaged! I called her back and we chatted a little. It was the 4th of July. Irma found out we were taking a cab from the airport in Phoenix to our house. Guess who showed up at the airport at 10 o'clock at night on the 4th of July? Irma and Braden. Braden is equally amazing and kind. Besides going totally out of their way to pick us up and take us home, they even brought us bottles of water! I am just in awe of what wonderful people they are individually and I am so happy that they will be spending forever together.

When they hired me as their wedding photographer I was beyond thrilled and honored.

We had so much fun yesterday during their session. And even though it was really really hot, they just smiled and laughed the whole time.

Irma has the best smile. Not only because it's beautiful but because it's always so genuine:

After a few fancy shots around town we drove to the desert. More precisely we drove to the exact spot where they went on their first official date together. They went hiking here:
I love it that their wedding colors are turquoise and coral. Check out Irma's necklace:

You two are amazing! Thank you for a fun session and a fun dinner.

Vanessa & Gabriel - Engaged!

2009-08-11T02:12:00.007-07:00

Yesterday I drove to Tucson to meet Vanessa and Gabriel for their engagement session. I arrived in Tucson a few hours early and met a past client of mine at La Encantada for lunch to catch up and see her now 4-month old baby Ian. Thanks for meeting me Vivi (and for reading my blog :)).

Hi Vanessa... Hi Gabriel... It's so nice to meet you! Can I please put my leftovers in your frigde?

Good thing Vanessa and Gabriel are so easy-going or they might have fired me right there and then. What photographer puts their left-over sandwich in their client's refrigerator?! Apparently I do.

The first location they chose was this really cool fast food place called Pat's. Both their grandparents live around this area so they grew up going there and have tons of good memories from this place. I LOVED it!
Oh, and how could I forget? This ball of energy is their baby Oliver :)

Vanessa is so incredibly beautiful!

They are so much fun!!
Dear Vanessa, you are beautiful.

You two are seriously amazing. Thank you so much for your kindness and for the great dinner. I am looking forward to some more fun times in Tucson in a couple of months :)

Luisa

2009-08-11T02:05:00.005-07:00

Meet our daughter Luisa. Yes, I know most people start out with babies, but not Curtis and I. When it comes to parenting we skipped straight to adolescence. Not that we ever planned it this way but it just kind of happened.

One of Curtis' friends told us that there was an exchange student supposed to be coming here for her senior year of high school but her host family for the year fell through and she asked if we would consider taking her. I said "Sure!" and Curtis looked at me in shock: "Sure?!!? Are you crazy?" Me: "Why not? :)" And so one week later our daughter arrived. I wish babies were that fast too.

Amanda & Eric

2009-08-09T11:51:00.003-07:00

I am absolutely envious of people who wake up when the sun comes up, full of energy and ready to get their day started. I have tried my whole life to become a morning person, but I can't help it but feel groggy, grumpy and tired whenever I wake up before 7. Actually, even though I am a little too embarrassed to admit it, I even feel a little that way before 8.
Today though, it was a different story. I woke up at 4:45 am and was so excited I barely recognized myself. I met up with Amanda and Eric for their engagement session this morning and had an absolute blast between the hours of 6 am and 8 am.
Who knew sunrise light was so beautiful :)?!

This is the exact spot Eric proposed to Amanda back in March. I can almost hear you say "awww"
Favorite shot of the day:

My clients are cuter than yours :)

Amanda and Eric, thank you! I am so thankful you two were responsible for my happiest morning yet.

Lee Ann (a.k.a LaFrizz)

2009-08-05T23:30:00.001-07:00

Where do I begin? Lee Ann is such an impressive woman. She is so elegant and classy but at the same time completely down to earth and incredibly funny! It's a rare combo but she really is all that! I also have to say that I wish I could steal Lee Ann's accent. I just love to hear her talking!

And a big bonus? Lee Ann used to live in Charleston and therefore was an amazing tour guide for all of us.

Lee Ann, you are amazing and I can't thank you enough for waking up at 4 am (with a big smile on your face) to take us to the airport when our taxi didn't show up. Thank you, thank you, thank you! You are amazing.

South Carolina - AKC Day Three

2009-08-05T21:00:00.001-07:00

We decided to start our last day on the beach. Unfortunately Kara had already left, Lee Ann had an appointment that morning and Amelia was still sleeping, but we still had a lot of fun.
A group shot on self-timer, point and shoot camera, all images are straight out of camera:
We were pretty determined to get a jumping shot on the self-timer. Here are a few of our attempts:

After many failed attempts and a lot of laughter, we moved on to other ideas. Here's our America's Next Top Model pose:
And in honor of Lee Ann who is a yoga instructor:

We didn't just take silly pictures at the beach. We also tried skim surfing. Two words: Not easy.
Every time I jumped on the board it went straight down and got stuck on the sand. Yes we have video of it and it's absolutely hilarious.
Here we are with "our" boards. Can you see Trina's bleeding elbow? Like I said, not an easy sport.
Earlier in the week we realized that all the blonde photographers there had Nikon cameras and all the brunettes had Canons. 4 Nikons and 4 Canons. Weird coincidence that we thought we should have fun with. Here are some Nikon vs Canon pictures that we took right before we took Sam to the airport:

By the way, Canon wins.

Here we are at the airport saying by to Sam with our "secret" hand-shake. We are such big dorks.
Trina took these pictures:
After the airport we had lunch at Poe's Tavern. I love places like this:
Me, Amelia and Lisette. Photo by Shea.

After lunch, we stopped by this really fun antique store. Shea scored some vintage chairs and the rest of us scored some fun pictures of each other:

Absolutely stunning:

I got a ton of pictures of Lee Ann while we were there so I'll just make that a separate post.
Girls, thank you so much for a fabulous week. I learned a lot and I feel really blessed to have met all of you. Looking forward to the next one!

South Carolina - AKC Day Two

2009-08-05T11:00:00.001-07:00

As you can see, the next morning we had an early business meeting to discuss finances, studio management and client relations:
After the meeting we went downtown Charleston again for a more formal photoshoot of each other. It was raining when we first got there so we spent some time (and some money) inside of this store:Some more snapshots from Joanna's point and shoot camera:
When it stopped raining, we went searching for some fun shooting locations:
Joanna is so beautiful! She's getting married next year and we all want to be her photographer. Can't you just see what a beautiful bride she's going to be!

Lee Ann got these photos of us shooting Shea:

Did you get something good JoJo? Funny story about Joanna. I met her earlier this year during a dinner at WPPI. We sat next to each other and clicked right away. She then told me she would be interested in becoming a part of Alpha Kappa Camera. A few months later, she came to Phoenix for Melissa Jill's workshop and we got in touch via facebook. I picked her up at the airport the day before the workshop which happened to be mother's day. She ended up spending that whole day with me and my whole family. So, basically, she's practically family to me :)

Trina working it again:
I had to have some touristy Charleston pics. This one is by Trina:

And this one by Lisette. By the way, Joanna and I did not coordinate on purpose.

I love it that Lisette captured this photo of me photographing Kara:
And here's what I got. Gorgeous.
My shootsac's 137th use: Carry Lisette's shoes.
(Photo by Lisette)

Amelia and I tried to recreate our Ireland pose for Lisette. We couldn't quite remember it but we gave it our best:

I went searching on Melissa's blog today and found this:

I couldn't end this post without a huge thank you to Shea who basically was our stylist for the day. Not only providing tips and touch -ups but also most of the clothes we all wore. You are awesome, girl!
(Photo by Lisette)

South Carolina - AKC Retreat Day One

2009-08-05T10:23:00.000-07:00

As I dumped the contents of my purse on my desk to get things organized again, a flurry of business cards poured out of my purse. It made me smile. It was a reminder that I had just gotten home from a business trip. As I mentioned on my previous post, last Monday I headed to South Carolina for a week long photography trip with 8 other photographers from across the U.S. This was a super fun experience as most of us only knew each other from the internet.
Now who starts their business trip with a morning stroll on the beach? These snapshots are from Joanna's point and shoot camera:

Later that day we got all serious and headed to downtown Charleston for some picture taking.

The girls taking care of business (or maybe they were twittering about how much fun we were having).

Yes, all three of them had the same shootsac cover! Jessica Claire would be proud

It was so good to see Trina again! We met last year in Ireland during Melissa Jill's Zero to 60 Workshop.
I think Joanna snapped this photo of Lisette and I. Lisette was my roommate for the week and I had sooo much fun with her. It's not always easy to share a bed with someone you've never met before but within a few hours of being there I felt like we had been friends for years and we have so much in common.

This is Shea. Can't you just tell how awesome she is?! She is just one of those rare people that has it all together. I know from the photo you can tell that she's beautiful, has some serious style going on and you can maybe even tell how much fun she is. But, she also has the most easy-going personality and is incredibly generous. Not to mention, she brought along 3 very cool film cameras for everyone to play with.

So I had this vision of a really cheesy photo, beauty pageant style of all of us with cheesy smiles all the way up the stairs. Unfortunately the other girls were already ahead of us on the way to dinner, so you get half the group - super cheese style:

When we were walking around downtown we came across a couple in the midst of their engagement session. We had the brilliant idea to act like papparazi so their photographer could capture it as part of their engagement photos. Thanks to Amelia, we have some photos of us in action.

And some photos I got of the cute couple:

We had a great dinner at a super charming place called 82 Queen - which happens to be the address of the restaurant as well. I tried grits and fried green tomatoes for the first time. After dinner we went to a rooftop bar with a great view of the city. A really great first day.

Briana's Quinceanera

2009-07-28T01:15:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday my friend (and awesome photographer) Kym Ventola asked me to photograph Briana's Quinceanera at the Glendale Renaissance Hotel with her. This was my first quinceanera. And it was a blast!

At the beginning of the reception, Briana's dad changed her shoes from the tennis shoes to the high heels, a symbol of her leaving her childhood behind. Not bad shoes to start your adult life in!

No more tennis shoes for Briana...

Getting ready time is always my favorite time of the day. The calm before the storm :)

During portraits, while Kym was working her magic on the rest of the family, I stole Briana away for a second. Thanks for sharing Kym :)

This is Briana's youngest brother and ohmygosh, he's the cutest! He held the bouquet for me and took his job very seriously!Also during portraits I looked over and saw Briana's cousin lending a hand (or actually both hands) to help out the ladies. What a great guy!

I really enjoyed the church ceremony. The priest shared some very wise words and had some very good advice.

Before the ceremony Briana had to wait for the grand entrance. She was getting a little anxious and I was feeling really lucky that the room we were in had this really cool yellow wall:
Dancing with her dad. So adorable!

After dinner, Brianna made sure to start the party right. She performed with her friends and showed off some really cool dance moves:

Yep, there was a VIP area:

I love to dance and they had an amazing band playing all kinds of latin music and it was almost like torture not being able to dance. Although I can't promise that I didn't let a few tiny salsa moves slip out.
Kym and Mackenzie, you two are always so great to work with. Thank you!

Alpha Kappa Camera

2009-07-27T14:26:00.003-07:00

I am at the airport right now. I am headed to South Carolina for a full week of fun with 8 other fabulous girl photographer from all over the United States. Allow me to introduce them to you:
Trina from Utah, Joanna from Texas, Kara from Michigan, Sam from Maine, Shea from Tenessee, Lee Ann from North Carolina, Amelia from Alabama, and Lisette from Georgia.
And I also have to give major props to Rachael Earl for our awesome logo. Rachael is a photographer but also very talented with all things design.
I'm boarding. See you all soon!

Soo blessed!

2009-07-27T00:17:00.003-07:00

How do I get the nicest, sweetest, most gorgeous brides ever?!

I'm really not sure, but I do feel soo blessed!

In between trips this summer I had the pleasure to have my brides over for a little get together at my place to celebrate their engagements (or newlywed status) and it was so great to get to know everyone better and I think they also had fun getting to know each other.

I didn't really think to take any pictures until everyone was leaving, but Trisha got this photo of me with Mary, Rachelle, Nicole, and Kristina that I just had to show off. Yes, I'm proud of my brides.

I had so much fun, I think I'll make it an annual "Cristi's Brides Get Together" or hopefully come up with something that sounds better than that! Any ideas? I obviously need help.

Thanks to everyone who came (including those not pictured-of course) and a huge special thanks to the best friend a girl could ever ask for. Trisha helped me get organized, made chocolate covered strawberries, answered my phone calls from the grocery store, and even stayed late and helped me clean up. All while wearing a huge and very attractive knee brace.

For those of you who couldn't make it, I wanted to say that you were missed. And I can honestly (and proudly say) that I feel so blessed that each and every one of you have chosen me to document your wedding day. Thank you!

Grand Canyon

2009-07-23T22:34:00.006-07:00

Last weekend my in-laws came to visit us and we drove up to the Grand Canyon.

Awesome self-portrait. Yes, I'm a professional:

My in-laws are super fit and had us hiking all over the place. Just two more miles. I promise. My mother-in-law repeated it over and over again.

The next day we hiked in Sedona, but I was smart enough not to bring my 10-pound camera with me. Therefore, no pictures.

Pam and Bill, thank you so much for the awesome bootcamp weekend. I haven't moved from my desk chair since Monday. And Pam, I just know you slipped the front desk girl a little cash to get our rooms on the 3rd floor. No elevator. But, I still love you.

Italy Part V - Pompeii and Naples

2009-07-23T22:22:00.006-07:00

Our last day in Naples we took the train to Pompeii and spent the day there. I really have no words to express how amazing this experience was.

Just in case you were wondering how cool I looked on my last day of my 2-week vacation living out of one tiny carry-on. Here it is:

Back in Naples we had dinner at the famous "Pizzeria da Michelle"

It's like the In & Out Burger of Italy. Their menu is simple and to the point. Love it.

Ciao!

Italy Part IV - Naples and Capri

2009-07-21T14:26:00.008-07:00

From Rome we took a train to Naples, the most chaotic place I've ever been to (and this is coming from a girl who grew up in Sao Paulo). We stayed in a really cool Villa outside of the city and had the most authentic italian dinner in a little restaurant near our Villa. It was for sure one of the highlights of our trip for me. The next morning we took the scariest train ride of my life and the walked to the port to take a boat to Capri.

Here's the view from our room:

And these were the views from our balcony:

After we checked in, we headed straight to beach and then went for a little walk to explore for a little bit:

The next day we rode the city bus to Anacapri and went on the lift "Seggiovia Monte Solaro":

The views from the top:

Instead of taking the lift back down, we chose to hike down this beautiful trail:

I know I didn't have the right lens to take pictures of little insects, but I am going to make you look at my photos anyways.

Because we took forever to hike down, we were cutting pretty close to the time we had to be in Capri for our boat ride. Everyone kept cutting in front of us to get on the bus, so one of the locals showed us a way to get to Capri. They have these stairs all throughout the island for pedestrians since there are no sidewalks but the entrances are hidden and they do not share this information with the tourists. I thought this guy was pretty nice to share this information with us, that is, until we started climbing stairs! Europe does not believe in handrails. It took us about 35 minutes to get all the way down I think, but we made it in time.

We charted a private boat for 2 hours that took us all the way around the island. It was so amazingly beautiful! We got to swim inside a green grotto and just relax and bask in the sun!

Here's a shot I took during our boat ride:

That night we had dinner in Capri and then thought it would be great to take the stairs back up to Anacapri to take the shuttle back to our hotel. Grrreat idea! I really don't even know how long it took us.

Curt and I are convinced we are definitely beach vacationers. This was an amazing trip altogether but our favorite part was probably laying around in our bathing suits and enjoying some sun.

Tomorrow I will post the last installment of our trip - Naples and Pompeii!

Italy Part III - Rome

2009-07-21T10:44:00.006-07:00

From Florence we left for Rome and I fell in love with this city almost instantly. From the moment we got off the train, it was so easy to find our way around, people were really friendly and we mastered their awesome subway system right away. We chose a hotel far away from the tourist sights and this was our subway station:

The first place we went to see was the Trevi Fountain. The most amazing thing about this picture is that there's no one it. Probably the only picture from Rome without other tourists in the picture :) But, seriously, this is amazing!

After the Trevi Fountain we walked over to the Spanish Steps and hung out there for a while:

Taken from the Spanish Steps:

Our first dinner in Rome:

The next day we woke up super early to make our appointment for the Borghese Gallery. The collection of art they have is very impressive but I really fell in love with the gardens around it:

Gotta have a tourist shots in front of the Coliseum. Probably my most favorite ruin in Rome.

Inside the Coliseum:

The next day in between gelato stops, we saw the Pantheon and words cannot describe how beautiful and well preserved it is:

The day we saw the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill was almost as hot as an Arizona summer day. There are some priceless photos of me with my rain jacket wrapped around my head trying to stay cool but I decided it was best to leave it off.

Speaking of brides, I'm pretty sure Rome is the wedding capital of the world! There was a bride and groom in every corner. One thing I noticed is that their bouquets are pretty different and a little smaller than the ones I usually see in States and so I thought I'd share this one with you. It might give you some ideas...

I seriously wish I could buy all the furniture for my house at this store. I took this picture while Curtis dragged me across the street while dodging the cars (note the little red guy), but I just had to share with you how cool this dinning table and chairs are. I love it that it has a modern look but with a little antique feel to it. If you ever see anything similar to this in the States, let me know!

The Vatican and St. Peter's Basilica were even more impressive and more beautiful than I could have ever imagined. I took a million photos there, but I'm sure you've also seen a million other photos taken there. And on that note I have to share that while in the Sistine Chapel it made me sad to see so many people snapping away their flash photos even though there are clear signs asking visitors to be respectful of the space and refrain from photography. To be honest it was actually hard to see since there were so many people taking flash photos. It was beautiful nonetheless.

One more picture of me as to not disappoint my mom:

The stairwell that leads you out of the Vatican is stunning!

I was kind of obssessed with all its details:

Hmm, this probably more than enough from Rome. Tomorrow get ready for Naples and Capri!

Italy Part II - Florence

2009-07-14T12:31:00.005-07:00

Our first day in Florence was actually a holiday there which I found out soon after we arrived when I tried to ask for a map and got yelled at by the guy at the tourist information at the train station. Don't I know it's St. Giovani's day and therefore his shift ended at 2 pm - exactly 13 minutes ago?! I have honestly never been yelled at like that before in my entire life. Even though there are some pretty good stories, I'll fast forward through bus/taxis/hotel check-in/dinner, etc.

After we ate, we were just sitting on the steps at Piazza Duomo people watching when a couple sat next to us and Curtis told me the girl looked really familiar, it turns out she's a teacher at the school where he works and we had a lot of fun hanging out with them that night. Here they are at Piazza della Signoria (where the replica of the statue of David is).

Next we climbed up 414 step to the top of this tower. Oh the things you do when you are tired and not thinking straight.

Here's Curt about half-way up. Note no handrails. It's all leg work here!

And what do you get when you get to the top? A very out-of-breath-Cristi and this (breathtaking) view:

Ok, so I have to ask. Does anyone know who this photographer is? He was having a workshop there and I think he's Australian. It was cool to see his workshop and it looked like they were having a lot of fun! It made me want to do another "destination workshop" soon.

When the sun was setting we went over to the Ponte Vecchio to see the fireworks. Remember, it's St. Giovani's Day!

I didn't take many fireworks pictures (too many people holding their cameras up) but behind us, this bridge was sooo pretty!Now I cannot fast forward through this bus ride. The front desk at our hotel said we could just take any bus number 14 to get back to the hotel. Some of the people we met downtown told us the last buses were around midnight. We caught this one at 12:50. After about a 20 minute bus ride I just knew it couldn't be right so I pulled out my tourist map and asked the girl standing next to me to point to where we were on the map at that moment. She took a few seconds to take a good look at the map and then pointed to about 12 inches north off of the map! I panicked a little bit inside knowing that this was the last bus and that we had NO IDEA where we were. I squeezed my way to the front of the bus and told the bus driver (again in my impressive Italian) that I was told bus number 14 would takes us to Griffone. He laughed a really good laugh and said yes, but today is a holiday! St. Giovani's day! And therefore the bus routes are different. It's a long story but we made it back to our hotel safely at around 2 am.

The following day we decided to skip the buses altogether and walked a really long ways to Galleria dell'Accademia (where the statue of David is). It was fun to walk through so many different neighborhoods. Here's Curt and all the vespas, which are everywhere, no matter where you are!

There's a lot of people asking for money in creative ways. I especially liked this guy:Later that day we were back at the Piazza della Signoria and decided to share the really yummy dessert our friends had the first day we were there (see first picture on this post). We knew it was 8 Euros for a waffle with gelato on top, but hey we are on vacation right? The girl asked what flavors we wanted and I asked how many we needed to choose and she said 3. She handed us our delicious concoction and said 16 Euros! What?! The price doubled from last night?! She replied that 8 Euros is just for one flavor and that I had picked 3 flavors, and I said but you told me to pick 3, and she said but you didn't ask how much it was, we argued a little until Curtis just gave her the money and we left. I was actually pretty mad. I then later read on our little tourist guide not to eat gelato there as they like to scam tourists. I guess you are supposed to read the guide book before you go. Here's our $23 dessert:

The sugar seemed to have a calming effect and we continued on with our sightseeing :)

Curtis begged me to buy him this car and these pants, but after our dessert splurge I just had to put my foot down:

Can you believe this is chalk art on the street?

Here's the artist. Just amazing.

And here's one more bus story for you. Our last day in Florence we were at the bus stop with all our luggage headed to the train station to make our way to Rome. We sat there for about 15 minutes when a lady walking out of the bakery informed us that there was a bus strike that day and therefore, there would not be any buses coming. I guess this explains why when we checked out of our hotel the other tourists there were mad at the front desk people that they couldn't get a taxi for them. There was another girl at the bus stop and I explained to her what was going on so we decided to share a taxi to the train station. It started to rain pretty hard and it took a few hours before we could get a taxi. Curt snapped this picture of me while we were trying to get a taxi. Yes, I just noticed my umbrella wasn't opened all the way.

And just one more image from Florence:

Next up is Rome!

Italy Part I - Venice

2009-07-08T13:45:00.006-07:00

Now that I'm getting caught up with my clients photos I thought I'd share a little bit from our trip with you all today!

We started our trip in Venice and I was so excited when we landed. To be honest, I wasn't really sure what to expect as far as how we would get from the airport to Venice and here's my answer:

This is actually the dock you board your boats from. They call them "Vaporetos". Now, please help me out, doesn't the sign clearly say to board from platform 1 if you want to go to Rialto? Well, we thought so, so we waited for a while for our boat to come. Three other boats came and left until I decided to ask in my splendid Italian when would our boat arrive. The guy asked me where we wanted to go and I said Rialto, he told me we needed to go to platform 3. As I pointed to the sign and said platform 1 says Rialto, platform 3 doesn't, he just shrugged his shoulders and pointed me to platform 3 again. As we were making ourselves comfortable and waiting on platform 3, another guy came by and told me it would be 1 hr and 15 min before the next boat came and that we were better off boarding the boat from platform 2 and just walking about 15 minutes to our destination. I should've known this was just the first sign that our trip would turn out to be quite an adventure!

Once we got off our vaporeto (from platform 2!), we made our way through the cute little streets and bridges and I really couldn't care less that we were lost because every corner we turned was more charming and full of character than the one before.

We finally made it to our hotel and here's a view from our window:

And our room:

Our first self-portrait of the trip, which made me realize they were somewhat pointless since you can't really tell where we are :). I only brought one lens with me and this was the widest I could get so we kind of gave up on trying to get pictures together. But I still love it and it brings back good memories!

The gondolas were so pretty!

Saint Mark's Square:

I couldn't believe all the people trying to get the pigeons to land on them so they could take a picture. Apparently I'm the only one who thinks that a pigeon is a pigeon regardless of the country I am in. And pigeons are gross and I'm pretty sure they carry diseases (even the Italian ones).

I was completely enamored with Venice by the second day and I was beginning to dream about living there, until I realized I would have to hang my laundry outside, including my underwear right outside my window! No, thank you. I love America and all its washers and dryers:

There I am! So happy to be there (as a tourist)! And yes, I know I'm lame for wearing the gondolier-stripped-shirt in Venice, but I just couldn't resist.

Some of my favorite scenes from around town:

This was our last night in Venice and we went to St. Mark's Square to see the dueling bands and dance under the stars. It was just as romantic as Rick Steves claimed it was going to be. Thanks, Rick! This is the band we were cheering for:
Up next is Florence!

I'm Back Home!

2009-07-06T08:49:00.004-07:00

Hey Everyone! I've missed you :)

Curt and I just got back from our 2 week vacation in Italy and I can't wait to share pictures, stories and some embarrassing moments with you all!

The above photo is from Montana from 3 weeks ago as it might be a little while before I get to the pictures from Italy.

It was an amazing vacation, but it's good to be home :)

I hope you are all having a fabulous summer!

Rebekah & Michael

2009-06-21T03:29:00.004-07:00

I just photographed Rebekah and Michael's wedding today (I guess technically it was yesterday) and I really wanted to give them a blog preview before I leave on my vacation.

I still need to go pack and my flight leaves in 5 hours!

The preparation part of the day is my favorite:

Michael and his guys were soooo great! I really enjoyed photographing them. Guys, if any of you read this, here's a BIG thank you for being awesome!

One of my favorite groomsmen images ever:

Love this one too!

Can't you just tell how great they are?!

Hot bridal party:

I love it when I have something in mind and then it comes out just like I had envisioned it. And this next image is it for me. Now only if I could have the same happen when I cook.

Michael and Rebekah, congratulations!!

Mary's 90th Birthday Bash!

2009-06-20T23:29:00.005-07:00

Last Sunday before I left for Montana I had the absolute pleasure of documenting Mary's 90th birthday celebration.

I felt honored the moment Melanie, her granddaughter, called me and asked me to be there. However, the significance of how important these memories are became even more clear that day. Right as I was getting ready to leave for the party, my sister called me to let me know my 98 year-old grandfather had passed away that morning. I was sad, but as I documented this day for them, I felt so blessed to be there and to be able to give them all these wonderful memories.

This is such a great family! They are so much fun and it's so easy to see their love for each other.

The "big bash" was at The Castle at Ashley Manor and Jessica made sure all the details were flawless:

Eli waiting for the guests to arrive:

Remember these beautiful girls? I first met this gorgeous family last November and I swear they are even more beautiful now. Here's Abbey, Annabella, Hayden, and Emily:

Noah is still the troublemaker but I love it how the other kids just totally go with it and are back there waiting for him to decide it's picture time:

With a little help from his brothers we got a nice one :)

The beautiful birthday girl:They had a really fun slideshow and it was fun to watch Mary's reactions:

There were lots of great toasts:

Melanie is gorgeous and the light here was just perfect!

This is Mary's best friend. They have been friends since they were 19 years old!

Her toast had Mary a little teary-eyed but mostly laughing:

Yep, this is when I cried. Such beautiful words:

All the great grandkids together:

Time to party:

Look who joined in:

And just a few more of the kids:

It was so great to see you all again. Thank you for allowing me to be a part of such an amazing celebration. I felt truly honored to be there.

Just a few more

2009-06-19T18:06:00.004-07:00

I know that I just posted some pictures of my gorgeous niece, Keira yesterday but I just can't help it! She's just so darn cute. Plus I think she helped increase my blog ratings too :)

We were hoping for a photo shoot yesterday and the weather was actually really beautiful but a few other appointments got in the way.

I still got some photos of her while we were just playing at the house and I know my sister-in-law really wanted to see them. So, here they are...

Matt and Melissa, we love you guys! Happy Anniversary today :)

Happy Baby

2009-06-17T23:35:00.004-07:00

I've been in Montana this week and there's just something about being here that always makes me so happy and relaxed. I love it here. Today I snapped a few photos of my niece Keira who made her first blog appearance back in March.

She's such a happy baby and I've been having so much fun with her!

We are going to try to do a photo shoot tomorrow before I leave so we are hoping that the weather will cooperate. Keep your fingers crossed for me!

Love you, baby Keira Bella!

Dana & Jeremy - Just for Fun

2009-06-12T02:33:00.005-07:00

I was so excited to meet up with Dana and Jeremy for their session. They called me last week while I was in California and just a week later here we are! Dana and Jeremy are from Texas and moved here for Dana's P.A. school.

They scheduled their session just for fun and we certainly had a lot of fun!

My favorites:

Showing off their Texas roots:

I LOVED spending time with you two. Thank you!

Amanda and Adam - Married

2009-06-08T22:51:00.006-07:00

Last Friday I had the opportunity to photograph a beautiful wedding with my friend Annie Gerber. The reception took place at the Wright House in Mesa.

Here are the girls checking out the guest book. I love her cute shoes!

Amanda is absolutely stunning:

And here's her handsome groom, Adam:

Amanda and all her girls ANTM style:

Such beautiful girls!

How precious is he?!

I could've photographed details all day! So pretty!

There was also a dessert bar by Scrumptious Sweets (sorry, no website available for them):

Cute sisters:

All the little ones:

Thank you, Annie! You are always so fun to work with. And a huge congratulations to Amanda and Adam :)

Jasmine Star Workshop

2009-06-06T16:47:00.003-07:00

After shooting Kelly and Panos' wedding on Saturday and Christina and Eric's wedding on Sunday, I drove to California with my mom on Monday to attend Jasmine Star's workshop on Tuesday and we drove back home on Wednesday!
I LOVE being busy. My mom laughs because I don't know how to not be doing something at all times. On our way back from California, traffic came to a complete stand still and I immediately said, "Oh, I can get my phone and call so-and-so back and then can you please help me write down my to-do list for tomorrow..." And then I was interrupted by mom reminding me to slow down a bit as she pointed out how beautiful the clouds looked. Thanks, mom. I still called so-and-so back, though.
After we got settled in our hotel room I went out to meet some of the other photographers for dinner. Here's the whole group:
Dustin, Deene, Dan, Erin, Mollie, Kristen, Megan, Brittney, Kira, and Emily. I really loved meeting all of you!
A quick shot of Kristen:
And proof that I was also there. By the way, my hair and California weather are true nemesis. If you think this is bad. Just wait for the Donald Trump combover you are about lay eyes on. Oh lord! It was bad!
As I mentioned before after Jasmine spoke at a 100 miles/hr in the morning, we got to do a photoshoot in the afternoon.

Afer we had been out there for a while and we were all walking back to our cars, Jasmine asked did you all think you got at least one shot that really represents your brand? Me and my big mouth said no. Oh, why do I do things like that? As I said it and felt like she was turning to me, I just wanted to run and hide but I couldn't. She's fast, really fast and she found me in the middle of the other 20 photographers. And she said, "well then let's go back so you can get your shot". I wanted to cry, but I didn't. I felt horrible because I knew everyone was hot and ready to go. I felt bad because I knew Tiffany probably couldn't wait to get out of those shoes. I felt bad because I was sure Mark was close to having a heat stroke in that suit. But under Jasmine's order I walked back and prayed that everyone wouldn't hate me. Then I got the shot below. I love the contrast of the super made-up for magazine look with their very real feelings. Thanks Jasmine for my first shoot with an audience and thanks everyone else for not throwing rocks at me on the way back to the car. I really appreciate it.
And as promised, check out my very own Donald Trump comb-over. And please, should you ever witness this on my head again in real life, please let me know. Thanks :)
P.S. The above photo was taken straight from Jasmine Star's website, which gets 10,000 hits/day. Could it get any worse? Oh yeah, it could. I blinked!

Christina & Eric - Married!

2009-06-04T19:53:00.006-07:00

I met Christina and Eric just 2 weeks ago for their engagement session and here I am blogging their wedding already!

I love Christina's style and was so excited when I saw her bird cage veil:

Remember, she's the girl who's in denial about being a "shoe girl":

Can you believe her and her bridesmaids made their own bouquets?

They are so adorable together:

The super cute bridal party:

Stunning. All of it:
Thank you two so so much for having me and I hope you love your images!

Kelly and Panos

2009-06-04T15:52:00.003-07:00

Last Saturday I had an absolute blast photographing Panos and Kelly's wedding at Gainey Golf Club. It was my first time working with Regina Osgood and she's such a fabulous wedding planner. I want to work with her every weekend! Just wait until you see all the details.

Here's Kelly getting ready:

Panos getting ready with Regina's help:

Kelly's shoes were worn by her mom when her mom renewed her vows to Kelly's step dad:

I was in love with her flowers by The Garage by Ivy:

The guys hanging out before the ceremony. They cracked me up the entire time.

It was a pretty hot day but they had adorable parasols and cute water bottles waiting for their guests:

Both Kelly's dad and step-dad walked her down the aisle:

Kelly's mom during the ceremony:

Married!

A few portraits:

We had a little too much fun with the parasols!

After a lot of begging and bribing I got some portraits of the guys, but this is much more like them:

The reception was so gorgeous. The apples on the table were candle holders:

This was the only time when not every single guest was on the dance floor. This was definitely a party to remember!

Kelly and Panos, I honestly had so much fun at your wedding! Your friends and family are amazing and it was an absolute honor to be a part of your special day. Oh and the cake was out of this world! Congrats again!

I'm in California

2009-06-03T01:24:00.008-07:00

Hi Everyone! I'm so excited to say I'm in California right now. The weather here is so beautiful. Warm with a nice breeze and just a little humid. Perfect for me. Today I had the absolute honor of attending Jasmine Star's second workshop. It would be impossible to put into words all that I've learned today. Not just about photography but about myself as well. I also met some really wonderful people.

Jasmine is an absolute powerhouse and has a heart of gold which is completely apparent from the moment you meet her. In my mind, she's like the Oprah of the photography world. Go J*!

After a lot of talk, laughing and learning this morning we all had lunch and then went out for a little photoshoot. Tiffany and Mark are some of Jasmine's clients who came out to "model" for us. Jasmine challenged us to create images that reflect our brand and it was such a great experience.

Vivian Tran styled the shoot and as Jasmine would say, I'm kinda smitten with her :)

Here are a couple of my images from today:

I also absolutely adored this bouquet! I'm not sure what the link to the website is so I'll add it on later when Jasmine sends out the info.

I only have my laptop and just realized I don't have my logo on it and a few other things I need to process these photos. I will get to the rest of them when I get home tomorrow (and I will add them to my laptop so I can be ready for next time :))

Wedding Guest Book

2009-05-27T11:10:00.004-07:00

I guess the main reason for a Wedding Guest Book is to add to the wonderful memories of your day and help you remember everyone who came. Traditionally guest books were exactly just that, a blank book for guests to write their names in. Which is what I got for my own wedding and ended up getting rid of it a few years later. In all honesty, it really wasn't that much fun to look at a bunch of signatures, most of which I couldn't figure out who they were. Plus, we had 120 guests and maybe 30 or 40 people signed the book.

The good news is that brides and grooms have tons of options now and don't need to settle for a boring guest book that no one wants to sign :). For small weddings (30 - 40 guests), I've seen albums where there's a pocket for a polaroid picture of the guest and then some room for them to write right above or below their photo. The downside to this is that the line can get long, some people give up and polaroids don't last very long. But I think it encourages guests to write a little more than just their names. I've also seen ceramic platters where everyone can use a special marker to write their names and you can later "fire" the platter in the oven. If you like this idea but is hesitant due to the fact that the platter can easily break, I've heard you can buy a silver tray instead and use an engraving pen. This is definitely not my style as I'm not sure what I'd use it for (?). Another popular variation for guest books is a framed photo with a large mat for guests to sign their names. Again, this is such a personal decision, but I'm very picky about what goes up on my walls. I guess it could work on a hallway by itself or with snapshots in the same style frame.

My favorite type of guest book is an album with the photos from your engagement session with room for your friends to leave notes and their best wishes for you.
I love it because you get to keep all of your engagement photos in one place and will never be able to misplace a photograph. Also, it will always be fun to look at not only your guests notes but also your photographs.

Here are some pictures of Aimee and Loreto's guest book. I love it that the pages are pretty thick and lay completely flat making it easy for guests to write on.

Here are some up-close photos of Krista and Kelby's guest book. The cover:

One of the layouts:

The last page:

The back cover:There are a lot of options available for these books. You can get a custom photo cover or a leather cover in a variety of different colors as well as foiling engraving on the leather covers. There's also a variety of sizes to choose from. The brown leather one below is a 12x12 and the other two are 8.5 x 11.

And thanks to my second photographer Beka, who took some of the photos below of Mary and Bret's guest book at their wedding. The other thing I love about these albums is that it gives the guests a little entertainment while they are waiting for the ceremony to start. It's cool to see everyone gathering around to look at the bride and groom's photographs.

I hope this helps some of you bride and grooms out there choose the best guest book option for you! It's important to know that it will be something that you will enjoy for a long time to come :).

Jessica and Janelle's Debutante

2009-05-25T20:15:00.003-07:00

Oh I had sooo much fun! This is Janelle (in the gorgeous teal dress), Jessica (in the fabulous pink dress) and their awesome 36 best friends! I was so excited to be a part of their 18th birthday party! These girls are so sweet, smart and so much fun to spend time with!

And did I mention beautiful:

The whole room was teal and pink:

Each one of the 18 girls lit a candle for Jessica and Janelle and then each one of the boys gave them a lily. All of their toasts were so special! Some were really funny and others were really touching. I also learned a little more about the girls from their friends toasts which made me like them even more.

After their toasts each of the girls pulled a string which had a wrapped charm at the end of it. So fun!

Happy Birthday!

These cupcakes were the best I've ever had! Sorry Sprinkles. They were made by the chef at Arizona Grand Resort.

Jessica and her dad:

Crazy dancing fun:

Thanks, girls! I hope you are having a fun summer. Good luck at U of A and stay in touch!

Christina & Eric

2009-05-17T13:20:00.003-07:00

I just met up with Christina and Eric yesterday for their engagement session and they are getting married in just 2 weeks! When I talked to Christina over the phone she said she wasn't worried at all because she knew she would find the perfect photographer. Hmm, I guess that would be me :) Anyways, I love Christina's laid back attitude which came in really handy on our way to their session since the freeway was closed and it took us one hour to get downtown!

Christina tried to tell me she's not a shoe girl. I'm not buying it...

As Tyra would proudly say: "Fierce, girl!"

Couldn't resist:

Thanks guys! Eric, I'm sorry you had to be outside on a 100 degree heat on your day off! I hope it was worth it :)

Brittany & Dave

2009-05-16T00:25:00.003-07:00

A few weeks back I got to second shoot a wedding with Megan Resch. I love to second shoot! I had never met Megan before but I had seen her work so I super excited when she called me to ask to second shoot for her. We got along soo well! I loved working with her as much as I'd just love to hang out with her. She so sweet and so much fun! (Thanks, Megan)!

On to the wedding... It was at Boojum Tree which was a first for me and ohmygod, it's soo gorgeous! I would definitely have my wedding here!

Sometimes I feel bad for other photographer because I feel like I get to have all the awesome couples so it's fun to second shoot and see that other photographers have amazing couples too. These two were so in love and so great together!

Here's their first look. I love the happy/nervous/my-heart-is-going-to-come-out-of-my-chest look on Dave's face:

Yes. I cried.

There were so many great moments from the ceremony! Tears, hugs, smiles... Here's one of my favorites right after Brittany's grandmother sang a song for them. It was beautiful!

Brittany's nephew did such a good job as the ring bearer! Isn't he the cutest?! Plus I love it when the rings are actually on the pillow!

Married!

A few details and a few portraits:

I don't usually post the "formal portraits" but I know brides are always looking for ideas and I thought it was great how they all "matched" even though they were all wearing different dresses and ties.

The joys of being the second shooter! You get to have fun even during portrait time :)

I wish I had a picture like this with my grandmothers:

First dance:

Not only can they slow dance they can also boogie out on the dance floor. Boogie is such a funny word! I don't think I've ever actually said it aloud...

Love this:

And because I loved the bouquet so much, you get another picture!

Such a great wedding!

Ian

2009-04-27T14:40:00.003-07:00

Meet little Ian. Almost two weeks old and oh so perfect!

I drove down to Tucson for this session and it was so great to spend the afternoon with this family.

Ian's mom, Viviane, is also from Brazil and prepared the most delicious brazilian meal for us. Thank you so much, Vivi! The left over pao-de-queijo didn't even make it to the end of your street :)

Sorry, food always distracts me. Back to the pictures. A close-up of his perfectness. If that's not a real word, it should be, because that's the only way to describe this:
and this would be perfection:

I'm running out of words... How about... perfectly gorgeous family:

This melts my heart:
Is that a smile?
Seriously! How cute can one be!?!!
I had to post this next picture for three reasons:

1. These are Ian's dad's, David, old shoes (which makes it really really special and therefore blog-worthy)

2. They say RUFF STUFF in the back (which made me smile and I hope it makes you smile)

3. My husband couldn't stop laughing as he pointed out to me that even during a newborn session I find a way to photograph shoes (and I thought that might make you laugh too).

Vivi and David, thanks again so so much! You guys are so great! I wish we lived closer as I have a feeling we would be BFFs :) I hope I get to see you all again really soon.

Seniors 2009 and 2010 - Promo

2009-04-25T16:07:00.003-07:00

30 people were selected to receive the above invitation for a special promotion. If you are one of them, make sure to call and schedule your session.

If you bring the postcard above to your session you will receive $50 off any print order of $100 or more (excludes albums). Please feel free to call or email if you have any questions. Talk to you soon!

cristi@cristiowen.com

602.750.5864

You can also check the website for some more senior photos: www.cristiowen.com

Beth & Matt

2009-04-25T02:50:00.003-07:00

I met Beth and Matt this last Thursday at the Desert Botanical Gardens. They wanted to do their session there since they have a lot of out-of-town guests and they wanted to show off the natural Arizona beauty. I hope I did it justice.

Isn't this soooo pretty?
LOVE:

This one is for Beth's sister:
I never knew artichokes were so pretty! I actually kinda feel bad for eating them now. Wouldn't it be cool to do a centerpiece using these:

Beth & Matt, thank you so much for your thoughtfulness and kindness. Not to mention your super laid-back and fun attitude. I had a great time with you guys and even learned a thing or two about artichokes. You guys are great and I'm really looking forward to the wedding! I hope you enjoy these :)

Kristina & Brian

2009-04-19T23:44:00.003-07:00

One of my cousins who's one of my faithful blog readers asked me a few weeks back if I really do love my clients and have as much fun as I say I do on my blog and I answered her: "Absolutely!". However, the truth is, sometimes I feel like I don't even have the words to adequately express just how much! Which happens to be the case with Kristina and Brian. But you don't have to believe my words. Just take a look at these photos and I hope you will be able to tell just how much fun they are as well as what beautiful people they are inside and out:

They both really enjoy cooking and drinking wine, so this is how we started their session:

Very hot:

Then we headed outside after a quick wardrobe change:

My favorite image of the day:

G.O.R.G.E.O.U.S.:

How many favorites can I have?

Beautiful!:

Brian trying to show off his juggling skills:

"She thinks your are super delicious". I love that T-Mobile commercial and this picture made me think of that line. If you don't know what I'm talking about. Click here.

Kristina said she felt more serious after changing into black. Love this look:

Back to having some serious fun:

A little racing fun:

It was so nice to meet you both. Thank you for the wonderful afternoon :)

Krista & Kelby

2009-04-19T01:34:00.003-07:00

I really loved meeting these two. They never said no to anything! Me: "hey, guys could you climb up on this old truck, please? K&K: Sure! Me: Now can you please sit on this really dirty, dusty chair? K&K: No problem! Me: "could you please turn your feet this way, your head that way and look the other way? K&K: Yep! Seriously, they were so much fun! And to make it even better, Krista is also a photographer and picked such a great location for their shoot.

Doesn't she have the cutest smile?

The very last photo of the day is one of my favorites:Thanks so much and I can't wait for the wedding!

Russo Family

2009-04-13T19:07:00.004-07:00

How cute are they? I had so much fun with the Russo Family this last Saturday. It was pouring rain when I first got there, but the rain slowed down for a while and we got some great images. A huge thanks to the Russo Family for being so easy going, getting wet and enduring the cold in their cute spring clothes :)

Here's Jennifer and her cute family:

This is David and his cute girls (Lindsay and baby girl Gabriella):

I LOVE this image!

Although I know this one might not make an 11x14 frame at their house I absolutely love how much Jennifer and Cooper look alike on this one:

Happy Grandparents :)

Janetth

2009-04-08T03:33:00.003-07:00

The day after my birthday I met up with Janetth for her senior session. She's just one of those girls who smiles easily and is easy to get to know.

We started her session in front of the Vans store:

Then she changed into her fabulous Betsy Johnson prom dress:

Matching toe nails? Yes, please!

One of Janetth's favorite things to do is to draw (and she's really good!)This one makes me smile:

One of her other favorite things? Her iPod:

Another past-time? Looking gorgeous:

Janetth, you and you are mom are so wonderful. Have fun at prom and stay in touch. I can't wait to hear all the great thing you'll be doing!

It's my Birthday!

2009-04-06T23:30:00.004-07:00

I'm 29! Yep, 364 days away from turning 30! Not sure why that doesn't sound as happy as turning 14, 17 or 23. It might have something to do with the fact that when someone finds out you are 23 they don't say "really, 23? you look good for 23". When you start hearing "29, really? you look good for 29". There's just something about it that makes you realize that things will start going downhill :). But honestly, I'm very happy and proud of the way I've lived the past 29 years and I can only hope and pray that the next 29 will be just as great or even better :)

I sound all happy and cheery now but I've had a little help trying to do the whole aging gracefully thing. The day before my birthday I wasn't so accepting, so I scheduled a hair appointment for that same day. I LOVE my hairdresser, Mark at Vidal Sasson. He's super talented and has the best sense of humor! So I told him I was struggling with turning 29 and his birthday happens to be just 2 days after mine, and he was much better at turning 29 than I was, so he gave me some words of wisdom and some super sassy, makes-you-feel-younger bangs or as Mark would correct me, fringe. The bangs and the pep talk definitely did the trick and I was happy to celebrate my 29th birthday the next day with my family and friends. Did I mention Mark also has a degree in Sociology? I'm sure that helped. Thanks to everyone who made my day special by leaving facebook comments, voicemails, phone calls, skype, text messages, coming over, and showering me with gifts. Life is great at any age when you have so much love around you. Now for next year I might need a mohawk.

Here I am with my much younger BFF, Trisha:

Yes, she got me a "It's my birthday button". Wait, it gets better! It was the kind that lights up. Yeah! Thanks, friend!

Baby Keira

2009-04-06T23:15:00.003-07:00

Meet my new niece, Keira! Isn't she beautiful?!

Curt and I were able to sneak away for a few days and go up to Montana to meet our first niece.

Everyone is just so in love with her! Here are a few snapshots:

This is Curt's mom, aka grandma Pam:

Curt's little brother, aka uncle Bret:
My sweet sister-in-law, Melissa and her little princess:
This, while the t.v. was on and I'm pretty sure it was sports:
Uncle Curtis:
Uncle Curtis is funny:

Great-grandma Pat:

Why are little hands so adorable?

Sweet Dreams! We love you so much, Keira!
We are all set now, a nephew and a niece! Thanks, guys :)

Grace

2009-04-06T10:09:00.002-07:00

I got to photograph this gorgeous 2010 senior a few weeks back and we had so much fun!

Amazing make-up by Celestial Williams.

Hair by Blossom Salon and I got to play stylist for a day and fell in love with all the cute stuff I got to pick out. I still need to get back to Blossom to buy this bracelet!

Grace, you are amazing. Thank you so much!

Valeria

2009-03-29T21:57:00.004-07:00

This afternoon I met up with Valeria for her senior photos. She's a high school senior at Desert Vista graduating in just a few months. As you all know, I LOVE photographing seniors and Valeria did not disappoint. Good times, for sure! Thanks, Valeria!

Tom and Trisha

2009-03-28T23:14:00.002-07:00

Tom and Trisha are my bestest friends in the world. I love them like family. They are the funniest, kindest, most thoughtful couple you could ever meet! Curt and I are so lucky to be their friends!

They just got engaged this year and will be getting married next year on some fabulous beach somewhere warm and beautiful. I can't wait!

This one makes me laugh because it is "so them"!

This is one of my favorites:

This one made me laugh so hard, I cried! As my husband said, "there's funny people and then there's hilarious people, like Trisha". He's so right! And I have this picture to prove it!

Trisha, don't kill me for posting this but I love you so much and this picture is one of the reasons why. Because you are AWESOME!

Nicole and Adam

2009-03-25T19:14:00.002-07:00

I have to say I'm one of those people who totally believe in fate. I'm always saying, "don't worry, if it's meant to be, it will be". However, I have to admit there are a few times when I get a little sad when I really want something and things don't go my way. When Nicole asked me to photograph their wedding, I was already booked and this was one of those times when I did get bummed about it. Nicole is just one of those people that you just want to be her friend and spend time with her. So... (while I was sulking) I made sure to recommend her to my favorite photographer friends in town to photograph their wedding. It turns out Nicole called me a few weeks later to tell me that they had changed their wedding date and that I get to photograph their wedding. I guess I was right all along. "If it's meant to be, it will be".

We started their session at their gorgeous home:

Then we went out for some fun:

On the way back to their house we stopped by the Brophy Chapel where they will be getting married next March:

Nicole and Adam, you guys are so much fun, I can't wait for your wedding next year and I hope I get to see you again before then :) Enjoy your photos!

Rachelle & Jordan: wedding

2009-03-15T13:16:00.004-07:00

Rachelle and Jordan were married yesterday. Their ceremony and reception was at Rachelle's parents home and it was absolutely stunning. Rachelle and Jordan did much of the work themselves and everything felt so personal and inviting. I feel so honored to have been a part of it :)

Getting ready:

Rachelle's entire family was so much fun and so welcoming. They made me feel like a part of the family. Here's her grandma. Loved her!

I love this picture of Rachelle getting ready and you can see a photograph of her great-grandma in the background.

Rachelles "to-die-for", "so-her" shoes:

Stunning bride:
A few touch-ups before the ceremony. And once again, thank you to Celestial who (as usual) did an amazing job with Rachelle's make-up:

Right before the ceremony:

Rachelle's grandma was their officiant:
A candid moment right after the ceremony:
A few portraits...

... and a lot more fun!

Rachelle and Jordan, thank you so much for being so thoughtful. It was so much fun being a part of your wedding and I truly hope you love these images for many years to come.

Opie and Cleo

2009-03-14T09:23:00.004-07:00

Oh yeah, and Gary and Amy too...

This photoshoot was all about Cleo. She's getting older and Amy and Gary wanted to make sure they had some portraits of her. Isn't she the cutest?
I do have to say that even though Cleo was the main reason for the shoot, Opie was definitely the rockstar of the day. Such a poser:

Amy and Gary, it was sooo nice to meet you. You guys are so fun! I hope you love these and let me know what Opie and Cleo think of them :)

Candace

2009-03-10T00:50:00.002-07:00

Earlier today I shot Candace's senior portraits and we had so much fun!

Candace is such a sweetheart. She's really into photography and wanted some "cute, girly, frilly, pictures as well as some graffiti backgrounds" and I think we totally rocked it! We still have one more part to her "Totally You" session and I can't wait to spend some more time with you and your family, Candace!

Yes, I know your hair is a little out of place, but I still LOVE this picture! :)

Once again, Celestial Williams did an amazing job with make-up. Thanks, Celestial!

Jodi Hatfield did Candace's hair and you can find all the cute outfits Candace is wearing at Blossom in downtown Mesa.

Kelly and Brad: Wedding

2009-03-08T19:15:00.004-07:00

Kelly called me just a couple of weeks ago to see if I could photograph her wedding. Luckily was available and I am so happy I was able to be a part of her wedding. It was a very intimate wedding which took place in her mom's backyard. Everyone was just having such a great time.

Even though I wasn't present for the getting ready portion of the day, when I saw Kelly's shoes I asked if she would take them off for a quick shot. She obliged and here's what I got:
Some sweet moments after the ceremony:

Brad's favorite shot (because he got to hold the flowers :D):
Her youngest son:
Her beautiful daughters:
Some cake fun:

And just a few more portraits:

Kelly and Brad, it was so nice to meet you. Thank you for being so much fun :)

Mary & Bret: Wedding

2009-03-07T13:22:00.003-07:00

Mary and Bret got married yesterday at Ashley Manor and I could have not asked for a better bride and groom to start off the year for me. To make it even better, some of my favorite people were there as well. Celestial was Mary's make-up artist and Scott Swanson was their officiant. If I had to choose one word to describe the whole day, it would have to be peace. Everyone was just so calm, loving and peaceful. The day was perfect, partly cloudy, warm and with a nice breeze. It was perfect. It really was!

Getting ready:

The girls:

The guys:

The gorgeous bride:

A few details:

The ceremony was very touching and funny:

Married:

I love the emotions on this one:

Just a few portraits:

And for the first time as Mr. and Mrs. Strong:

The reception was at the McCullough-Price House and details were so clean, simple, elegant and gorgeous all at the same time. I loved the organic feel of everything:

I loved this series:

Well, you two, I hope you get to see these before you leave on your honeymoon to the Cook Islands. Have a wonderful time and enjoy the beginning of your lives together as husband and wife.

Happy Valentine's Day!

2009-02-14T16:57:00.004-07:00

In honor of Valentine's day I pulled out my old journal that I have had since I was 7 years old. It has at least one entry every year until I was 21! It is so fun to read about all the times I thought I was "in love".

I also found a really fun entry about Valentine's Day and how it's celebrated around the world on different dates.

I love any reason to decorate and celebrate and if you are like me, enjoy celebrating these:

Brazil: June 12th

Egypt: November 14th

Japan and Korea: March 14th

Colombia: September 14th

Apparently us Brazilians were the only ones who didn't get the memo about the 14th being a romantic date :)

If you know of any other countries that celebrate Valentine's Day on a different date, leave a comment below. I'd love to add one more excuse to celebrate love <3

Mary & Bret

2009-02-07T01:18:00.003-07:00

Gorgeous, right?!! Bret and Mary are stunning and we had so much fun photographing at ASU where they spent most of their dating years. Thank you guys for a super fun afternoon. I can't wait for you to see the rest. We have some very hot library shots :) Enjoy these for now!

Photogether # 5

2009-01-30T01:34:00.003-07:00

Our first photogether of 2009 was soo much fun! For this year, I assigned a month to each photographer to plan whatever they want to and Annie Randall went above and beyond for her month. She organized an awesome vintage shoot with complete hair, make-up, an awesome location and 6 of her friends to model for us! I spent most of my time with Lauren and Paige and here are some of their photos. Thanks girls! You were so much fun and it was soo nice to meet you :)

A huge thank you to Celestial who did their make up. So gorgeous!

Senior Models 2010 - Style Guide

2009-01-25T00:05:00.002-07:00

I always get the question "what should I wear for my session" or "how many outfits should I bring". My answer is always the same: "bring all of the things that you love and that make you, you!"

Now, if you need some inspiration, here are some of the 2010 style trends:

Sure, scarves have been in style for a long time, but this year they will be worn a little bit differently, here's how:

You can never bring too many accessories to your shoot: hats, scarves, bracelets, earrings, bags, purses, belts, necklaces and anything else you can thing of. Here are some ideas:

For outfits, it's great to have variety. For example: 1. something simple: jeans, flip flops, white t-shirt, 2. something dressy: dress and heels, 3. prom dress? 4. a layered look: boots, leggings, shirt, sweater, coat, 4. something trendy: whatever you are into right now and we'll be embarrassed of 15 years from now! Here are some ideas:

As far as hair and make up, my number one advice is don't wear any glittery lotion or make-up. It doesn't look good on pictures. Number two advice: bring your lip gloss for touch-ups!

Last but not least: If there's anything you really like to do, for example, play the guitar, skateboarding, riding your bike or anything like that, feel free to bring it with you!

Boys: I'll work on something for you soon, but I'm sure you get the idea. lol :)

Aimee & Loreto

2009-01-24T16:51:00.004-07:00

Oh, I'm so happy that these two have asked me to be their wedding photographer! It's so much fun to be around people who are so in love.

For their engagement shoot we went to Sedona, the place where they had their first date and shared their first kiss. Oh, so special! I loved hearing their stories about their first trip there and how much they have grown together since.

Aren't they the cutest??

Aimee & Loreto, thank you so much for being so thoughtful and so much fun. I can't wait to come to St. Louis for the wedding.

2010 High School Senior Models!

2009-01-16T23:22:00.006-07:00

I'm so excited for all of the awesome changes that will be taking place in 2009!

I just got back from an awesome trip to Las Vegas to the Senior Portrait Artists convention. I learned a ton, met some great photographers and had a blast with my roomie (amazing photographer) Kim Jarman.

What this means to my senior clients is that you will have the opportunity to enter a nationwide contest to be a SPA model and win an all expense paid trip to the next SPA convention in Del Coronado.

Here are some of my images from SPA '09:

If you are a junior right now, make sure to give me a call or email me so I can give you some more details! I'd love to see one of my seniors make it to Senior Modeling SPA Event 2010!

Elena & Kevin's wedding

2009-01-07T23:06:00.004-07:00

What a way to start out the New Year! In Brazil we say that whatever you were doing on NYE is what you'll be doing the most in the upcoming year. Woohoo for me because I was doing what I love to do most! Photographing! Big thanks to Kym Ventola for having me a long. She's such a sweetheart :)

I was trying to snoop and see what the soon to be newlyweds were doing. Here's Elena... making sure no one else saw her...

So here's what was going on inside... Her dad was practicing putting her veil back. He got it down perfectly!

And here are the boys relaxing playing a game of Risiko.

Married!

My dream reception. Chocolate cupcakes everywhere!!

Her girls were super fun :)

Happy New Year Everyone! What is your biggest wish for 2009?

I wish you just that!

Feliz Navidad!

2009-01-03T22:13:00.005-07:00

This year for Christmas we decided that instead of buying gifts we would all rent a place in Mexico and spend the week together, relaxing, eating and laughing. And we did just that. I don't think I have ever spent so much time in my pj's before!

Nathan is still really into his Thomas trains:

I am obviously biased, but I think my nephew is just the cutest and his little hood makes him look like he is from medieval times! It makes me laugh :)

The birds provided a lot of entertainment :)

I was pretty intrigued by the fact that they stand on only one leg. I thought only flamingos did that.

Curtis found a starfish:

We went 4-wheeling one of the days and found this super cool spot at the end of the day after the tide went out.

My brother-in-law is always cracking me up:

We went to the downtown area for dinner and this gentleman offered to take our picture. I couldn't refuse it once I saw his camera. So here's Agostin with his camera:

A close-up of the camera, which he has had for over 30 years!

And a close-up of our pretty awesome picture!

We had a great Christmas and hope that you did too!

Xander

2009-01-01T23:48:00.003-07:00

When I got back from Mexico last Sunday, I had lots and lots of text messages waiting for me. I had to keep deleting so I could receive the next batch. Lots of them were for Christmas and Holiday wishes. Thank you so much everyone. I am sorry I haven't gotten back to you, I promise I will. Soon! And one of the texts was from Kat wanting to do a photoshoot with her son and her parents. I called her back and thankfully her parents were still in town! I am so glad we did this. I had a really great time and capture some awesome moments of this family together.

You might recognize Xander, as we did a shoot earlier in the year. Just him and Kat. It's amazing how much he has grown in such a short period of time.

Kat's parents were here all the way from Canada:

Xander is so much fun!

I think they have the same smile:

Kat is expecting again. Not really looking very pregnant yet, but we did a "belly shot" anyways:

Such a beautiful family:

Thanks, Kat. It's always a pleasure spending time with you and Xander and I absolutely adored your parents. I hope you enjoy these! Happy New Year :)

Amelia Strauss

2008-12-20T12:19:00.002-07:00

If you have read my blog before you will probably remember Amelia. We met in Ireland while attending the Zero-60 Workshop. We stayed in the same house while in Ireland and became friends really fast. There were countless amazing experiences during that time, but in my opinion what sealed our friendship was our love for chocolate brownies and Irish milk at 3 am!

This past week Amelia came to visit me. She was really excited to come visit the Valley of the Sun and get some super cool desert shots. However, it rained the entire time she was here. Sorry, Amelia! We braved the rain anyways and I got these shots of her.

The rain slowed down for a minute:

Thank you so much for coming to visit! See you soon at WPPI :)

Haas Family

2008-12-20T11:45:00.004-07:00

You might recognize Abbey from my website. We got together for portraits during the summer and had so much fun! I was excited when Christy called me again, this time for some family photos. It was fun to meet the other half that helped create all the cuteness :)

Look at her eyes! Absolutely no photoshop, this is really how gorgeous her eyes are:

Love this one:

Thanks, guys! I hope you had fun on the Polar Express!

Second Shooting for the Sloans

2008-12-16T23:46:00.006-07:00

Last Saturday I had the absolute pleasure of second shooting (actually 3rd shooting) for Matt and Angie Sloan. I've admired their work for the longest time so I couldn't be happier when Matt asked me to come along with them to Andrea and David's wedding.

So on to the good stuff...

Here's Andrea getting ready:

It took quite a few tries but the girls got the knots just right:

Loved their bouquets:

David getting ready:

Their first look:

Gorgeous bouquet:

The boys:

Their ceremony was so beautiful:

Married (!):

The reception:

LOVE this one:
Thank you so much Angie and Matt! I had a great time :) Andrea & David, it was such a pleasure being a part of your beautiful day. Thank you and I hope you had a blast on your honeymoon!

P.S. If any of you are on facebook, I'll be posting some fun "behind the scenes" on there soon :)

The McEuen Family

2008-12-14T23:01:00.003-07:00

What a fun shoot! Three families, eleven people, three kids, one teenager, one newborn and two dogs! And surprisingly it all went incredibly smoothly. The McEuens rock!

Here are a few spontaneous portraits of the little ones:
The very first shot of the day. This one makes me laugh a lot because I asked Candice if she belonged to the family on the left and she said no so I thought I had just gotten confused and placed her in the middle (as you can see below)... Well, come to find out she does actually belong to the family on the left where I had her initially (next to her dad). Good one, Candice!

LOVE this:
Thank you so much! I had an incredible time with your family. Thanks for being so much fun and it was great for me to be able to spend the afternoon with such a loving family. Thank you.

The Krager Family

2008-12-11T19:58:00.003-07:00

What's the best thing about having super cool clients?? It's that they refer you to their super cool friends! I honestly can't say enough good things about the Krager family. We met up last weekend and I had such a great time with them! They were so easy going, fun and as you can see absolutely gorgeous! So let me introduce you to the clan:

Here's Megan, their oldest daughter:

This is Morgan:

And this is the youngest, Mikaila:

The three beautiful sisters:

My sister and I often wonder what it would have been like to have one more sister and spending time with these three sisters made me wish I had one more sister. So fun!

Such a cute family!

Cutest Christmas card photo ever:

A few more of the girls:

And one last one of the whole family:

Thanks Jody, Mike and girls! It was sooo nice to meet you. I hope to see you again soon! Don't forget to send me a Christmas card :)

Kennedy (& Carlene)

2008-12-09T00:37:00.003-07:00

Is that a supermodel pose or what? The other day I met up with my friend Carlene and her daughter Kennedy. Kennedy didn't want her photos taken but I snapped a few anyways. For the "posed" photo above I asked Kennedy to show me her angry face. Too cute!

Here are some candids:

Mother & daughter:
And in case you are wondering... Yes, they dress this cute all the time! Once I'm big time, I'm hiring Carlene as my stylist.

Thanks, Carlene, it was fun. Looking forward to hanging out with you again, but maybe next time we should try for at least 45 minutes. What' you say? :)

High School Senior. Aleisha. Gorgeous.

2008-12-04T22:34:00.003-07:00

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE photographing high school seniors and Aleisha made me love it even more! On Aleisha's questionnaire she told me she wanted a little of everything for her photos "soft, graceful, edgy, trendy, fun". Sooo, we went to work and did just that. We had a blast and I love every photo, so it was hard to choose just a few for the blog. For those of you who watch Stylista, Ashley was on the losing team yesterday because she was unable to edit her photos down to just a few for the final layout. Big Mistake! So I tried to keep that in mind today, but I couldn't help it. I guess I'm on the losing team tonight.

Thanks Aleisha! Can we do it again?

Very Thankful!

2008-12-01T01:51:00.004-07:00

Thanksgiving day was certainly a day to be thankful for. We spent it at my parents' home and just did what we know how to do best: ate, laughed, watched movies, and played.

My husband's youngest brother and grandma joined us this year. Brett flew in from North Dakota and Grandma Pat is in AZ for the winter:

I have the best family and I'm soo thankful for it!

Carol's Grandsons

2008-11-30T01:01:00.004-07:00

Carol called me a while back wanting to get some photos of all four of her grandsons together. A lot of things have come up in her life and we had to keep postponing their photoshoot, but I'm so happy to say that I finally got to meet them and that it was totally worth the wait! Get ready for total cuteness!

This is Ranger, he is 3 years old:

The twins: Brady and Chase (I think!)

And last but certainly not least, this is Gunnar:

LOVE this:

Mom jumped in for one:

Thanks guys! It was great meeting all of you :)

Maloney Girls

2008-11-26T22:54:00.002-07:00

Thanks, girls, for keeping me entertained. Tina, this post is just for you!

9 kids!

2008-11-23T15:30:00.004-07:00

I had such a great time with this family. I think this is the largest group I've ever photographed. I can't believe how great they all were and I had such a great time. What a gorgeous family! Here they are:

All the pretty girls:
The individual families:

I'm sure grandpa will love his Christmas gift! Thanks, everyone and I hope to see you all again next year!

Gary & Jessica

2008-11-22T00:49:00.004-07:00

I had the wonderful opportunity to second shoot Gary & Jessica's wedding for Michelle Meyer. I LOVE Michelle and I'm so thankful that she invited me to come along.

These two were so much fun and so ridiculously good looking!

The day started at a private residence near Troon North. So many details:

This is Michelle's aunt, mom and sister:

I love this shot of Jessica's sister putting this heirloom bracelet on Jessica - which she also wore at her wedding.

Their first look:

I fell in love with this canopy by Jolie Jour Flowers:

Jennifer from Jolie Jour Flowers even made something special for their dog Lola:

Mr. & Mrs. Powers:

First dance:

So many great reactions to the toasts:

Fun times:

Gary dancing with his new mother-in-law. Such a sweet moment:

LOVED their "grand exit":

Such a fun night! Thanks so much for letting me be a part of your most special day. Michelle, I can't wait to shoot with you again! Thanks!