five things.

i admit it.

i've been extra motivated lately! Last week i happened upon a blog that i now can say.. i've become obsessed with! Alex Beadon. gorgeous, upbeat girl who used to photograph weddings, now she focuses on helping other photographers, not to mention a weekly video on all things business. and super great site. check it out. stalk. become obsessed. she has some useful tips and beautiful work- click on the photo below to go right to her site! 

i know i've bragged about Florabella collection before.. where i purchase Photoshop actions! but thought i'd share again in case you missed it! yes this is even for all you non-photographers too! always good to know what  products we're using. anyway, what i love about these collections.. (still saving up for some!) is how flexible they can be with mixing and matching. aside from actions, i of course have my own way of editing every photo too and mostly those steps are ones learned from other fabulous photographers! 

so it's important for your photographer to create some beautiful photographs using their great eye, equipment, lightroom and Photoshop skills. so why do so many offer photos and push to sell through their pro-printing companies? here's a great example to see! i know sometimes last minute, you just want the photo in hand. but more and more businesses are making it easier for the photographs to land right on your doorstep, packaged and at its' best color! i admit while in college, i still used wal-mart. but after searching for a wonderful lab, prices really aren't much more! something to always think about and completely accurate! i did an experiment printing the same image and so many times colors were way off. ick! so really.. we want the work at its best! especially if displaying in the home :) 

since i'm sharing some products i use, thought i'd share where some inspiration is from! so many of us have blogs we follow, or sites we look at to check on updates. as a wedding photographer, most of the blogs i follow are dealing with weddings or..photography! shocking. :) but one of the first blogs i fell in love with was cupcakes and cashmere. a fashion and recipe blog that just is all girl! It's something that gives me a different perspective and great ideas! A lot of the wedding blogs are becoming more similar only seeing rustic weddings so this blog is refreshing with new content along with some vintage feel! 

and my fifth thing.. getting coffee, catching up, and snapping a few photos.. what else?! I worked with Mike at the chapel and his little stud is Kane. although.. he wasn't sure about me, the entire time. my nickname- shannamonster. thanks mike. so this last is encouragement for you shooters! go hang out, get off the computer and create something meaningful and beautiful. 

another PLUG- there are still a few available spots for the las vegas boudoir event! seriously perfect for valentines day! click HERE for details. 

i can't believe Christmas is almost here! i'm so excited! My sister is coming to visit. thought i'd share that! i hope you're having a great day, and don't be afraid to comment below and share some of your favorites blogs, websites or places you go for inspiration! happy Wednesday!  

Blog anniversary!

Happy sunday! I hope you all are having a wonderful December so far, which seems like it came way too fast! Today marks the 1st anniversary of Davista Photography blog. eeek! 

this past year has been full of emotion to say the least with my new website; whether i was secretly (or not so secretly) crying to figure out how to run this site or screeching with joy when i first got followers! i want to continue to share my journey with you all.

yesterday's post i asked what you would like to see more of. One request was more things about me! so now all of you will have suffer :) and be stuck reading about my life as a photographer. wife. cook. and mama of two puppies even more. if you want to request some topics too! feel free, leave a comment below.  

i would like to give a shout out to my husband. i wouldn't have found Squarespace without him. thanks to his nerdy TWIT (this week in tech) shows. 

 

few stats!

written 148 posts

about 920 unique visiters per month

the way most of you have found me is: facebook

to the readers too, thank you for the encouragement with each post! i hope this year will be even better! 

Five things.

Super Bowl sunday! In my opinion, not one of the most interesting games, BUT friends over, delicious food none-the-less so i guess no complaints here, but it's a new week, and five more things to share with you! 

I've been working on some new products to order from WHCC, trying out some great stuff from them, and while designing an image box, i discovered a new font i'm enjoying. I'm not usually script crazy, i like simple fonts but this is a little bit more cute, and i'm hoping couples will love it too! 

and with that new font, here's an unfinished product i've been working on using it. Really love it with this photo! To be honest, i have NO idea how it even got on my computer, i do know Brandon got some great fonts for me one day, and now i have this one!  

I might have to round out some of my favorite fonts together one week! Also, round up some fonts to just always stay away from. yikes. there are plenty of those. It might be a great thing to know if planning a wedding and you have to decide on some design aspects of the invites, save the dates, and even menu cards! 

I shared a blog i LOVE to read when i need motivation to workout and eat healthy! This blog is inspiration for new shoots, themed, GORGEOUS ideas, and the way she edits. The more i love her work, i start to read about her life, and she's got such a love for life, people and what she does. She seems passionate and kind, and heck i don't even know her! so if you're looking for photography inspiration check out Wildflowers Photography. However i am warning you, it's highly addicting. Click on the image below to go right to the blog! 

I'm not usually a huge fan of cowboy boots on myself, but last year i was looking so hard for some fabulous boots to go with dresses, and i somehow stumbled upon these beauties. i'm still absolutely in love with them, wanted them, and then my heart saddened as i read the price tag... $500. As much as i'd love to get these boots, i think camera gear is more important, although shooting in these would be fun! Mostly i'm sharing these as a guilty pleasure that i'd love to be wearing. If you decide you have an extra 500, go ahead, i'll let you buy me these. Also if you know of some cute boots similar and 1/5 of the price i might consider it.   

Whelp, now time for a bit more realistic shoe. It's brand new for me! Just purchased these on saturday after work, late night errand run with Brandon. This has been a difficult task, and although Brandon didn't think he needed to be along, i'm glad he was there. As a hater of running, but lover of being skinny, and eating a dessert i had been getting blisters from my running shoes and it made me less excited to run. My old pair weren't really for running I actually think they were just a weight room shoe and BOY they were loud, it sounded like i was slamming my shoes on the ground; and all i could concentrate on were my feet. I have extremely flat feet, but hate anything with an arch since it just feels unnatural for me. Luckily runner husband suggested something that also bends with my feet. (he actually suggested those ones that go between your toes, but i'm just not sure i could handle the between my toe thing..) i asked around and found these basically feel like your natural feet, completely flexible, light, inexpensive, and even though this may not seem important, i felt cute! We ran this morning, and they felt fantastic so far! 

I had been using Nikes so long, and thought maybe i should try a different shoe. Adidas climacool is what i have, and oddly enough they're not pink! it's weird i know, but i'm really happy with these. Although it's too late for my shins, i've been icing them and breaking up the tissue after running, my feet are MUCH better. WHEW. 

Now snack time. Most of the time if i crave ice cream, which isn't terribly often, i'd rather use those precious calories on a salty chip snack we get all natural Breyer's vanilla. Although since i started working out again, i don't allow them in my house except today when we bought for everyone.  MEH. i figure it's not too bad, BUT i tried Almond dream a couple months ago and think it's really great! It's a non-dairy frozen dessert and really tastes like ice cream. It's made from almonds, and of course you can taste those but i find it delicious! I actually started out buying the Rice Dream dessert since we use the Rice Dream drink, but yuck, didn't like it quite as well. 

If you're lactose intolerant, doing gluten free meals,  or just trying to cut down the high fat content in dairy products like I am, this is a great treat! It's about 140 calories for 1/2 cup, still not the best snack to have but it sure beats all of the dairy ice cream!  

So i hope you had a great relaxing sunday! If you have any snack or fonts that you like! let me know, always looking for new things to try! 

Something i found while reading captivating lately...

"Just like God, woman is not a problem to be solved but a vast wonder to be enjoyed."