60 Plus Degrees in December!

It's an absolutely GORGEOUS day in Denver. Ryan and I are here in the studio - He woke up this morning allergic to his new Christmas tree, super congested and he sounds like Tim Gunn from Project Runway. I woke up this morning feeling refreshed and I look like Heidi Klum - I'm pretty sure Seal is writing a song for me right now.

Ryan's doggie, Pooh Pooh Head is with us today...I had to grab a shot of this cutie!

That moment towards the end of the shoot...

I'm going through all my images from this past year to make a "Best of 2008" slideshow (...stay tuned...) and I came across this wondeful image:

This is from Christen & Joel's Engagement Portraits that we did up in Golden Gate Canyon State Park. We had been shooting for at least an hour at this point and this is my favorite time during the shoot. It's not uncommon that after a while of shooting, the couple gets relaxed and is having a lot of fun showing their love for eachother in front of the camera. In this photo in particular, you can tell that Christen & Joel are lovey-dovey AND their two bodies make a heart shape! (can you see it?!?!)

Ryan and I are SUPER excited to shoot up in Keystone next July - it's gonna be LOVE LOVE LOVE!

Yoga with Raven

Four years ago, Raven invited me to visit Core Power Yoga with her for a free yoga class...the rest is history. I've seen this woman grow and strengthen in her yoga practice over the years. Here is just a sampling of our shoot today:

I am fortunate enough to learn from this amazing yogi whenever I go to my spin/yoga class at Qi Gym/Seasons Fitness.

This is my favorite shot of the day:

Rich Fromm Headshots

I first met this fun gentleman when I walked down the aisle in my best friends wedding.

Here is our connection:

• Julia and I have been best friends since high school.
• Rich went to Grad School with Zach.
• Julia & Zach were married on 07.07.07.
• Rich was a Groomsman, I was a Bridesmaid. (we sang "Old McDonald has a farm E-I-E-I-O" as we walked down the aisle together! Best way to calm nerves and keep a big smile on your face!)

When word spread that I would be visiting NYC, Rich contacted me and we set up a date to shoot his headshots. His current headshot is a 5 year old, vertical, black & white - now he has some fresh, contemporary, color headshots to knock the socks off directors & producers all over New York City!

This shot below is Rich mimicking me - I would throw punches in the air to get him to laugh and move around - HA!

Getting the right laugh/smile combination for the shot take some special techniques. I always try to get my subjects to crack-up and then once the laughter has died down a bit, the smile is genuine - but it's the moments right before or after the laughing shot that are priceless!

Sara Ford Headshots

This beautiful NYC Actress just finished touring with The Phantom of the Opera as Christine (Wow!) You might remember Joanna Brickey's Headshots from earlier this summer (and she's all over most of my promo material...). Sara & Joanna went to school together at Carnegie Mellon University and after Sara saw Joanna's headshots she wanted to work with me.

While I was in New York City this past week, the two of us got together with the talented Adriana at Artistdree Makeup and did Sara's headshots.

Thank you to Julia Tobey with Partysingers.com for renting her beautiful space for us to work in while I shot in NYC.

Zach's Dark & Mysterious Headshots

Zach just finished his run in Jason & Ben. He showcased a dark & mysterious character and blew each audience away. To me Zach is the loving, funny, cute husband to my best friend. He is also a strong, passionate actor and it didn't suprise me when his agents demanded "We need a headshot to promote this side of you, Zach!"

On the fly, Zach and I scoped out some shoot sites and captured these images:

The above shot was the winner! Watch out NYC - this good lookin' kid might just creep you out too.

Newberry Brothers Studio Arrangement

I've heard of Newberry Brothers Floral before but the first time I saw them in action was at Nina & Gabe's Wedding. I was so impressed with the gorgeous centerpieces...and so was Nina :)

Today I drove over to Newberry Brothers in Cherry Creek to see where these amazing creations are born. It was a Thursday morning in November and the place was hoppin'! A cool & casual gentelman named Jake (although I for some reason thought his name was Paul and referred him that way about 5 times before he corrected me - whoops!) came and asked me if he could help me. I explained that I was part of an Open House in my building tomorrow night and wanted to decorate my studio with a fresh, fun floral arrangement. "I have pink walls, white billowing ceilings and an orchid..." I explained. "Alright, give me 20 minutes and I'll have something for you" the artist Paul...er, Jake told me.

I drove down to Java Creek to kill some time as I anxiously awaited my new addition to the studio. I just love Cherry Creek North - classy, chill & cool all at the same time.

Jake helped me out to my car with the beautiful arrangement and shared with me that he loves to shoot too. In fact, by default, he is a published wedding photographer! Here's the story: At a large wedding furnished by Newberry Brothers, Jake took photos for his own pleasure but it turned out the photographer didn't capture the photos of the centerpieces (shame on them!). Jake to the rescue!!!! The magazine used Jake's photos for their article!

I'm looking forward to the next opportunity to work with this great company again - they are definitely on my Bridal Recommendation List :)