friends. models. love.

Dry lake bed shoot

 This was such a great day to meet new photographers, to be with friends while we shot some great models! I'm sharing a few of my favorites then on to my crazy friends and husband, a slight look behind the scenes and what it's like to be around us. Hope you're prepared! It's a great glimpse into my crazy life and friends! 

I'm hoping to do a lot more fun shoots like this again when summer comes around, and if you have something in mind, let me know i'd love to photograph even more! 

Here you go ladies and gentleman, like i promised in the last photo post, danette and dominique, back in action! along with my husband, and friend/photographer alyssa! I'm thinking we all had a pretty good time.. for most of it anyway, there is one of brandon assisting and getting super distracted by his IPhone. He's wonderful though and i love him. he's always willing to help out.  

After i put up a photo of my cute husband assisting (and not the one jumping over dominique) i realized there was a great article that i read recently on Davello Photography blog called "where are all the men?" It made me especially proud of Brandon for being so supportive of me and my photography. He's so helpful and even has learned along with me how to use a camera on full manual settings, he knows how to set it up! the only thing we differ on is, he admits he isn't creative, but he knows how to make the lighting correct for any time of day, and i'm so thankful for a great man in my life! the article said to take a photo of our significant other and share, i've done that before but now you can see him helping out! I also admitted there are times when i'm frustrated without his opinion but when it's important, he always is giving his input. I'm one lucky girl.  

Be ready once again for more friends shoots, and lots of photos of the beautiful Alyssa!

When you're out shooting do you have assistants with, particularly close friends too? Do you get the chance to hang out with other photographers to shoot? For the non-photographers, does it make you more nervous having more than one photographer around? 

I've also been thinking lately of the most recent shoot at the dry lake bed, the trash the dress shoot, and it's one of my favorites still! so check it out here. 

Here's an update that i'm going to share because it motivates me, i'm down 3-4 lbs officially! workout/eating healthy for life has started! 

Hope you're having a fantastic Tuesday! God Bless.  

beautiful friends.

what a great way to spend a day! 

a day driving out to lake Mead followed by some photos at dominique and danette's house= perfection. These two girls have been such a blessing to have as friends since moving to las vegas. They make me feel so welcome and anytime i feel lonely i feel so encouraged and loved again. that's not meant to sound sad! ha. also I need to mention how fricken talented they are? yup. you've heard of danette in previous posts... and can see the Amberlight Collective Blog here. BUT Dominique is also full of mad talent, she's an amazing drummer! So here's the first post dedicated to their beauty. the next post.. will also show them, but a bit more silly, so stay tuned! 

Dominique is first here. and like always looking gorgeous. it's a really tough life for these two.. being so cute. 

And these next two, i realize are the same photo, but i couldn't decide does she look better in black and white or color!? either way, still fabulous. 

Below is Danette! she was actually shooting another friend who was there too! so i got this smile while she was laughing at Lauren. i've learned so much from her. awww right? 

And these next few of Danette is her being.. herself which is crazy! Love her for that. It was so much fun! Danette thought to buy all of these props and we went into her backyard and shot for a bit. actually a photo from this day that Danette took is on a nice big canvas at her house. (and an 8x10 in my bathroom.. since i'm only allowed one pink room in the house)  This day was so much fun because we spent most of the day just hanging out, on a mission to shoot but before we could we got to put on some fake eyelashes too! It was my first time wearing fake eyelashes, and i'm now in LOVE. Proof-- ask anyone i work with, i tend to take photos of bride's eyelashes, especially if they're fake! 

And one more of Dominique! 

I couldn't wait to share some photos a little different from what i usually do! Don't forget i'll be sharing more of these two (and more friends!) next post when we shot out at the dry lake bed.  

 

random piece of info, got my living room painted today, BE READY for some decorating updates. SUPER CUTE.  happy wednesday! 

If you have any places in Las Vegas you love shooting at, please share! i'd love to try something different!  

Melting ice cream and orange fanta

Best Friends at Floyd Lamb Park.

what a wonderful day with my best friend who visited Las Vegas for the first time from Minnesota! wow! so i've been wanting to do a photoshoot with her for a while. i feel like anytime we get together, it's so busy and crazy! so we finally made time to get some shots of her and her boyfriend michael. although i think both of us would've liked some pin up shots, and elaborate set up, we wanted to make sure to still go out on the town too! 

we sat on the couch, very lazy deciding what would be best. what they did together as a couple. just so you all know, they have done some pretty cute dates, like recently; they went on a carriage ride. yup. pretty awesome! but what they enjoy most is really just being together, lots of movies, and really just cuddling. so we went the simple route, ice cream, fanta and books in the park. it was a beautiful but crazy windy day! the puppies tied up to the tree weren't too fond of the idea, but they kept busy running around trees!  

Before this weekend, i hadn't been around michael for more than an hour, so i wasn't sure how he'd do in front of the camera, but he sure cuddled up and did a great job at making Rachelle laugh; but if you know Rachelle, it doesn't take much. love you Rachelle! 

click on image to view more details! and i know i posted a lot, but come on.. it's my bestie! (ever since she drove us to wednesday night youth group in high school) 

 

so i might have wanted to post SO many, but i had lots of favorites and wanted to show off some of the images! Plus after 45 minutes i told them how long we had been shooting and they were shocked how fast time went! which made me happy! 

Do you have a favorite image from this shoot!? if so let me know which one! you'd be surprised how fun shoots end up being when you're just having fun with your significant other. so let's set up a time to photograph! 

Also have to share a few things we got to do! Their last day here was my favorite. During the day we headed out to red rock for a little light hiking and change of scenery, not to mention we got to bring murphy and conner, and they hiked like little puppy machines! After we got ready to go the rest of the night was called... Fancy Schmancy night. and it was! we went to a show, out to strip steak to eat, and then to ghost bar in the Palms (thanks for Joe!) It was an amazing night in Vegas! 

i'm so glad my best friend got to visit! i miss her already. sigh.. but so glad for all the fun things we got to do, and she finally got to visit. 

Trash the dress!

Marie Antoniette styled shoot

finally it's here! I'm so excited to share this post with you! and finally some more and NEW photos! what a fanastic shoot! a little chilly for the models, poor things, but they were troopers and looked stunning. So Chelsea Nicole put together a trash the dress shoot for las vegas area photographers, and lots of people showed up! lots of fun, and something different. we split up into groups to shoot different models and areas set up. a special shout out to all the team that help put this together with Chelsea. Floral: Layers of Lovely, Cake: Gimme Some Sugar, Hair and Makeup: Your Beauty Call, Table and Decor: The Pottery Shop. 

everything looked beautiful and it was such a fun time to shoot and looking at some of the photos under the facebook group it's great to see all the different styles, angles, and ways to edit those photos! lots of good inspiration. and so glad Danette and i could go! very thankful for extra shoots for fun! 

so with each of the three models, we had a little time to shoot, unfortunately the sun was going down so quick, but i think we all got some great shots, and in one of the "stations" Steve Fogarty local lighting expert brought along some of his lights to teach us too! so not only was this a fun way to get some shots in, and meet some great area photographers while shooting GORGEOUS models, we were there to learn as well!

it was my first shoot-out with this group since moving to las vegas, i found this group through Chelsea Nicole, and contacted her before i moved here (from mn) and she invited me to this group! i went a few times, and it's a great way to really grow, and have some fun, and most importantly be encouraged. so i'm hoping to attend more group meetings to hang out with everyone and make some amazing photographers. this shoot completely inspired me for more shoots! so if you're interested, don't hesitate to ask! 

Did i forget to mention... a surprise! at the end, the girls had a fight with this amazingly beautiful (and might i add delicious!!) cake! just a few of the MANY of this cake fight. so cute. and the COLOR of that cake. too much, i fell in love.

do you have a place you go for inspiration? 

these are just a few of my faves, do you wanna see more!? 

let me know what you think. personally i'm so excited about these photos! thank you everyone who helped make this shoot happen! beautiful.

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Mates of State!

it's already been two days since i posted. i guess this weekend is just busy! but i was excited to share these photos. you might have seen them on my facebook page already, but i wanted to explain even more! Mates of State were in Las Vegas for three days, playing at the Cosmopolitan each night. i went twice, wanted to go all three nights, but it landed on 11-11-11 and any photographers or wedding venues know that day is a bit crazy especially in this town, and my 15 hour day at work didn't allow for it. 

but i had been waiting to see mates of state, i hadn't seen them play since i lived in mn, and i wasn't going to miss them again! 

they're amazing musicians, and their new album "mountaintops" is my favorite album on the planet right now. so check it out! 

i have one thing to boast about. They're my cousins. so not only are they inspiring musicians, i get to look up to them as family. 

Brandon met Jason at our wedding but that's always a crazy day, so we got to spend a little time with the two of them. and, it was great! Finally seeing some family, who i missed so much! and a couple who i really look up to. being around them just made me admire them more. this wonderful couple who are absolutely crazy about eachother and are the most down to earth people. yup i'm proud. i took a few photos during the concert and wanted to share a few. seriously.. check them out! 

i got plenty more, but just wanted to share a few! so check out their music! and any photos you want to see posted? remember any that i've done in the past and need to share?!