Aliante Discovery Park - family photos

I couldn't have asked for better models!- Little Madison was a complete ham in front of the camera and loved posing, what a darling little girl! We started at Aliante Park early, and even though it was a crazy windy day, we got some wonderful moments between this family. 

The first image is Madison telling mom a secret (she told us it was about dad) Even without me having to tell her what to do when her mom and dad kissed, she did it perfectly. 

did i forget to mention they brought their amazing dogs! poor t-bone hated to be away from Madison and would howl every time she walked a few steps away. i think he's my favorite, he even got caught too many times and fell over. It was quite the adventure this beautiful windy morning! 

i gave instructions to Jason and he couldn't have done this pose better! gotta love showing off her cowgirl boots! 

the image below is ONE of my faves. 

the one of the bottom left is my absolute favorite of her. so cute! 
 

 Megan told me the last time Madison was in a photo with both of them in their uniform, she was two. I'm so glad we were able to get some great photos and memories including their furry kids too :) 

i love spending time with families and capturing all of these moments- i have such a wonderful job! Thank you Megan and Jason for letting me photograph your family. 

What Success looks like for me.

"i'm not where i want to be, but i like where i'm going."-Jasmine Star (um yes i realize we both have the same middle name, does it make me feel more awesome about it? why, yes it does.) 

This year at WPPI was absolutely beyond inspiring. I learned so much about practical things for my business. Every piece you can imagine that goes into a photography business. Tips and tricks, posing, light, contracts, emails, service, pricing, products, vendors, website, blogs, marketing, branding, accounting, music; you name it, i took notes on how to better every aspect.  (below is Sue Bryce and me. holy cow!) 

Aside from the practical tips, i always make sure to see some of my favorite speakers. ones that not only give away a few secrets and tips, but motivate you to think differently about what success is, and what you want from photography.

a couple times i wrote down what success means to me, and what i want. i won't share it all, especially boring numbers and pages of thoughts, but i will share that i enjoy doing some work in pajamas and scheduling my own time. But what it looks like to me is this…

"i just want to be a beacon of light, helping women feel beautiful, like they're more than enough, and i want to bless people in abundance, make a difference, tell the story and connect, following what God has in store."- a few lines from my pages of scribbles and note taking.

i talk about women and beauty. a lot of you know that i've recently fallen in LOVE with boudoir/beauty shots. I'd really to do even more of those sessions, and will hopefully be doing a few of my own projects soon to show you. I just wanted so share with you, because every year i'm growing, learning and staying motivated to be the best photographer i can. I want to thank all of you who you support me, and can't wait for what God has for me in the future.

i'll leave you with this, my devotional that was at perfect timing:

a confident woman avoids comparisons. Confidence is not possible as long as we compare ourselves with other people. No matter how good we look, how talented or smart we are, or how successful we are, there is always someone who is better, sooner or later we will run into her. i believe confidence is found in doing the best we can with what we have to work with and not in comparing ourselves with other and competing with them. our Joy should not be found in being better than others, but in being the best we can. 

so what's your definition of success?

   

Adventure at Nelson's Landing

We've been incredibly blessed the last few weeks for quality time together and fun adventures, even though we spend the other time together cleaning and making the garbage man upset with way too much junk. oops.

 

Neither of us have been to Nelson's Landing, and i can't believe i haven't as a photographer, i'm ashamed. It was a fun, even though from our house it takes about 1.5 hours to get there. We had a little over an hour to shoot before the sun went down and we're already planning our next trip there. Murphy and Conner did pretty good even getting distracted by every plant and thing around them. 

Yes, we dress up, wore some bow ties, here are a few of our faves!

here's a secret revealed. mine is actually a hair clip. 

it's just who we are to be silly, even if the puppies can't pay attention. but who can blame them?- to get them to look at a camera on a stand is tough. 

brandon and i can't get enough of murphy in the right hand photo below. i was having them do tricks, murphy twirls and conner dances. Murphy looks so incredibly happy, we laugh so hard every time we look at it. silly face. 

have i mentioned how happy it makes me that Brandon is willing to go along with all the craziness i come up with? An adventure with my boys, time together and photos too?- yup it's my perfection. 

What do you do with your significant other for fun? Any dates or as we call them, adventures that you love to do together? 

i hope you enjoyed a sneak peek into the (fun part) of our weekend together, and our whole family in bow ties. i have more fun projects in mind, so now to find those models! 

Whcc boudoir book-A

You saw this gorgeous girl on the blog, and now time to show off the fabulous book she ordered! We decided a 5x5 book would be best and it turned out perfectly! She picked some of her faves and then i worked out setting up a design i thought she'd like. so here's a few of the pages!

She decided to go for the lay flat pages, and decided what the binding should say. Popcorn- a little inside love joke between her and her husband. love it! 

Im always so excited when i go to the door and there is a new product to deliver! So if you're looking for a smaller book to give as a gift, just ask!- i'd love to work with you, they make such wonderful keepsakes and are such gorgeous products! Yes i'm ordering some for me too! :) 

I hope you all are having a great week, and wondering what you all think of books and albums and if you have had any made for your family! 

Be strong and of good courage, and do it; do not fear nor be dismayed, for the Lord God- My God- will be with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you, until you have finished all the work for the service of the house of the Lord. -1 chronicles 28:20

Gorgeous boudoir photography-las vegas

I recently had another fabulous boudoir session thanks to my wonderful friend Sona. She was the one that did my makeup for my shoot and we instantly clicked!- this is a friend of hers, and we went over to Sona's house for a Valentines Day surprise shoot! If you haven't checked out Sona's work click HERE and of course see a few more below. i might just have to drag her with to Minnesota with me! ha

The gorgeous model below recently got back into working out and was already feeling great about how she was looking, i'm so proud go Advocare! :) She wanted to surprise her husband with some photos and a book (which you all will see soon!) She was one smart girl and even brought some smaller bottles of wine, and she did perfectly. She warmed up and soon was modeling with hardly any instruction.. although i'm still pretty bossy. So here are a few favorites she okayed me to share which i'm so thankful to be able to show off her sexiness! 

we did a few different styles, and she looked great in all of them! ending with the pin up style below. 

these last three are a few of my faves, they show her whole gorgeous self- but we're saving those for her husband ;) 

I'm so happy with how it turned out, and i even tested some new poses i was dying to try, and she completely nailed them all! I couldn't have asked for a better model. Girl, you're stunning! 

and again- my inspiration verse for beauty photoshoots. 

All beautiful you are, my darling; there is no flaw in you. -song of songs 4:7

* who wants to help out!?- click HERE to go and vote for Davista Photography to win vegas family favorite photographer. if i win, i'll be doing a small giftcard giveaway to one of you who helped!