Since wedding season hasn't officially started for me yet, I have been having a blast photographing more portraits. This particular photo shoot was such an eye opening experience for me. I haven't done a lot of senior portraits in my career, but I have to tell you...it rocked my world and I LOVED it! After I was done with this shoot and spent some serious time editing, I pulled up all of my favorite images and couldn't believe that Jenna was not a little girl anymore! She is graduating from high school and going away to college...all on her own! Immediately, thoughts just started racing through my head. That is someone's little girl who's all grown up and moving on to a brand new chapter in her life. Her parents must be so overwhelmed with joy and so proud of her. But at the same time I bet those parents have a tiny little part of them that tears at their heart whenever they think about her leaving. Do you ever feel your heart get so heavy that you just want to burst out in tears? Well, that is how I felt after thinking about this!!! And not in a sad way...in a "proud mom moment" kind of way....I just documented a very important part of someone's life and It completely rocked my world! I don't think I would ever have had that insight if it wasn't for me having children of my own and witnessing how incredibly fast they grow up. Every single day I look at my kids and cherish the moment I'm in with them (yes, even the not-so-fun moment). Before I know it, they are going to be off to college and then getting married. Then it occurred to me that I feel that same exact way when I photograph a wedding. Another huge milestone in someone's life... and I am the one documenting it. I say this all the time, but I LOVE my job. Whether I am photographing a newborn, toddler, high school senior or a beautiful wedding, I am documenting that moment in time for a family. There is no better compliment than to hear someone tell you that they love their pictures! O.k...enough rambling! Here are some of my favorite images of Jenna. You can also check out the slideshow if you want to see more!

This post is specifically geared to all photographers new and "seasoned" in this industry.....go check out Robert Evan's new website for photographers.  He deigned this to share his knowledge with us in quite a unique way...he shows video tutorials of real shoots, has guest photographers share their tricks of the trade, you get full access to member forums and student galleries, and MUCH more! Robert is a great photographer and equally as nice.  He worked so hard on this project, and it is so much fun to finally see it debut! So go show him the love and sign up here!!!  You will not be disappointed!!! Have a great weekend!

What an awesome weekend!  Sunny skies...fresh, crisp air...good friends, laughter, good wine, and SKIING!!! We joined our very good friends kary, tim, and their girls for a very memorable and fun trip to Mammoth this weekend! Planned an a spur of a moment, we packed up our SUV's and burned rubber out of our driveways in search of fresh air and good times! It was so much fun to take the kids out on the mountain to show them how to ski/snowboard.  None of the kids (all together: 5!) have never touched ski's prior to this weekend,  so we were prepared for lots of falls and mishaps!  Needless to say, they all did great and had fun learning! Here are a few fun shots with my point and shoot: Katie and I on our very first run up Chair 7 together!! Proud mom moment!  Aron, Katie, and Cole. Chillin... My kids look like bugs!!! Cole taking a jump on his snowboard...I swear this was his first time snowboarding!!! Woo-Hoooooo!!!

This past weekend I was photographing really tasteful and intimate (and sexy!!) portraits of some of my current, past, and (hopefully!) future clients who wanted something really special for their husband (boyfriend or fiance!) for Valentine's Day! We had such a  blast!  In respect to my client's privacy and out of respect for those of you who  do not care to see this style of photography, I am only going to post this one image...however...I will soon (in the next day or two) have a private link for those of you who may be interested in doing this for your honey.  I am currently taking appointments for this weekend!  Please email me if you are interested!  I would be happy to send over all of the great details!!!

I wanted to share a really cool texture that I applied to one of my images.  It's fun to add a little texture to an image to make it more interesting, and just adding a few of these in an album design would look really amazing I think! What do you think? Before: After my Urban Texture: