A few weeks ago, I had the honor to travel up to San Francisco to photograph Cristina and Dan’s engagement session. It is the city where they live and work and play, so they really wanted some images to capture who they are right now, and at this stage in their lives. It was an absolute joy to spend the day with them in that gorgeous city by the bay and get to know them more as individuals and as a couple. They are getting married here in Paradise Valley in just a couple short months and I look so forward photographing their wedding. Some of my favorites from the day:
I think this might be one of my new all time favorites:
Cameron and Daniel are getting married in South Carolina this winter but wanted to take some engagement session pictures here in Scottsdale where they currently live. We had a fun session and I think got some cute images of them :-)
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
I’m trying to dust off the cobwebs on this blog.
For some reason, the backend of this WordPress blog will now only load 3 images at a time before timing out. Despite a few people looking into it, we cant figure out why the media uploader keeps crashing. If there are any WordPress guru’s out there willing to help, I will take any input I can get :-) Suffice to say, we might be posting less photos per post in the weeks to come until we can get it figured out. Coupled with our moving into our new studio (Yeah! We are officially now fully in - photos to come soon…), some travel, sick kids and the start of wedding season, it’s been a busy March. But we do have lots of great stuff in the coffers, so you should see some new activity on this thing starting about… now.
I had such a great time with Katie and Emory at their recent engagement session, who are getting married this fall here in Paradise Valley. They are gorgeous, funny, so sweet and have a blast together, so we really had a fun session.
Nicky and Chris were married at the end of January at St. Mary’s Basicalla in Phoenix with the party and tented reception that followed at the Wigwam Resort & Spa in west Phoenix. Chris, who is a professional baseball player, grew up visiting the Wigwam each year with his family, so the venue had special meaning to him. Their wedding day was a clear reflection of who these two are: fun, full of life and laughter, beautiful, and each with close knit relationships with their friends & family. The day itself came off without a hitch, in large part to Cicely Rocha-Miller and her excellent team from Life Design Event Planning. Everything was easy going, gorgeous and well planned out.
Here are some favorites from the day, with all the vendors who helped make this day so perfect noted below.
Event Coordination: Life Design Event Planning
Ceremony Location: St. Mary’s Basilica
Reception Location: Wigwam Resort
Floral: Events by Showstoppers
Hair: Lisa Pontillo
Make up: Adriana Fontes
Band: Shining Star Band
Photobooth: Arizona Photobooth
Cake: Classic Cakes and Confections
Rentals: Classic Party Rentals
Cocktail Hour Music: Simply Three
Friday, February 17, 2012
Last month my rockstar Associate Jenny Bishop photographed Erin and Iain’s wedding at a beautiful 1930′s Spanish-style home in the Arcadia area of Phoenix, Arizona. Amazingly, Erin planned the entire wedding in about one months time – all the way from Canada. Her vision was that she wanted her and Iain’s wedding to feel more like an intimate dinner party and the lovely home they chose definitely provided the perfect setting to achieve her wish. Fifty of their closest friends and family watched as the two exchanged vows in the home’s beautiful courtyard and then celebrated the rest of the night with an amazingly delicious dinner at Maestro’s City Hall.
Due to their short engagement, Erin had to buy a wedding gown off the rack in a size that was at least 5 sizes too big and was engulfed in toile. After some careful redesigning on her part (Erin works in retail and design) the final dress was absolutely gorgeous and fit her perfectly. Love the simple, classic elegance of Erin’s hair and dress with the setting of the vintage home.
Erin sharing a very touching first look with her Dad – with whom she is very close.
Another unique twist to Erin and Iain’s wedding was that Erin hadn’t seen her wedding ring until Iain actually put it on her finger during the ceremony. The ring was designed to look like a Tiffany’s engagement ring and was absolutely stunning and it was clear that Erin loved it!
After the ceremony and cocktail hour everyone headed over to Maestro’s City Hall where Erin and Iain had reserved a room to treat their family and friends to a delicious dinner. We have photographed quite a few weddings for Canadian clients and have come to love the tradition of having one of their guests be the MC for the night. It adds a very personal touch to the evening and usually involves a lot of jokes, laughter and heartfelt emotion.
Jenny loved photographing Erin and Iain’s wedding. In her own words: “Congratulations to Erin and Iain! Thank you so much for allowing me to photograph your wedding and for truly making me feel like a part of your extended family for the day! You were both amazing to work with and I’m so glad to have met you! And I’m still convinced that Erin and I somehow know each other from the past and are long-lost BFF’s!! I wish you both all the happiness in the world!”
Thursday, February 2, 2012
In case you missed the emails, Facebook or Twitter posts about our new & improved photography workshop name, website AND format, I wanted to share with you again!
My business partner & workshop co-host Kim and I announced back a few months ago that we changed the name of our workshop from Create Better Images Photography Workshops to Refocused Photography Workshops. We think the name better illustrates what we do and teach overall. Below you can read more about these workshops, including how to register. But if you hurry over to our Facebook page and “like us” – you’ll find a special coupon code inside that will save you some booku-bucks off the registration cost.
1. The Beginner Workshop is 3-hour interactive, hands-on class where we teach new SLR camera owners how to get the most out of their camera. Over the years we have had so many requests from people who had just bought new cameras with interchangeable lenses how to actually use them, or get the most out of them. So in 2008, Kim and I decided to start a workshop to show people how to take those cameras off the automatic setting and shoot a little more creatively by teaching the fundamentals of photography. Once you understand how light, shutter speed and aperture interrelate, you can pick up any camera with any lens and effectively manipulate the light to capture a look that you may want.
It’s about more than just asking “What button do I put my camera on?” – its about understanding the very core of photography. Other areas we talk about it are what lenses will produce what types of images (ie, if you want a lot of “background blur” so your subject really stands out and pops), how to find great light in and around your home, creative composition, how to turn off the automatic flash that always pops up if you want images that have more feeling and depth, how to adjust your settings to photograph in manual mode (and how to get to manual mode in the first place). Plus much more. Click here to get all the nitty gritty details and find out how to register!
2. The Intermediate/Advanced Workshop: Now aptly named the One Day Intensive, this workshop is a 9 hour very hands on and interactive learning experience. We have now taught over 100 photographers around the US, many of whom have gone on to become successful and busy photographers. Some had already started businesses and were stuck on certain concepts or styles of shooting, others were just branching out and wanted a roadmap on how to create the best images possible with the best gear possible.
- Several tips for lighting, creative composition, and posing
- How to work with subjects and clients before, during and after the shoot
- How to speed up your digital workflow and post-process more efficiently
- Recipes for successful portrait making
- (NEW) MARKETING (branding, networking, getting published, getting your name out there, setting yourself apart, social media, and more)
- (NEW) THE BUSINESS OF PHOTOGRAPHY (goal setting, effective workflow, post-processing, pricing your products and services for profit, paying taxes, setting up your company more)
- (NEW) ALBUM DESIGN (tips for fast and efficient album design, companies to use, and more)
- How to apply many of these concepts to a LIVE MODEL SHOOT!
- In addition, after the live model shoot, you will have the opportunity to process your images via Adobe Lightroom with Jennifer and Kim and then share them with the class.
- Both will offer hand-on guidance, and share useful tips for working with these programs.
- Lastly, we’ll have open Q&A time!
Click here to read more and register for this awesome workshop!
CASTING CALL!
For our live model shoot, we are looking for an engaged or married couple!
Are you a couple that recently got married but wish you had more fun/urban/trendy magazine style pictures of you? Or maybe you are just a super-cute engaged (or non-engaged) couple and want some new and fun images? Either way, this is your chance to get some free images by serving as models for a photography workshop!
Couples must submit a few low-res images of themselves (close up and full length if you have one – snapshots are fine) as well as the attire they plan to wear for the shoot. We need couples who are very comfortable in front of the camera and affectionate with one another.
The session will last approximately 45-60 minutes and be in Mesa on Saturday, Feb 18th in the late afternoon. We will provide more details on when, where and what to wear once you are confirmed as a model. You just need to be available on that date between the times of approx 4:00-6:15 PM.
To apply as a model, please email 2 low resolution images of you both together to info@refocusedworkshops.com
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
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by jenjoaz
2 comments
jenjoaz - Thank you so much Elizabeth!
Elizabeth McDonnell - These are so beautiful! Wow! I had tears in my eyes and I don’t even know them! You are ever so inspiring! Keep up the amazing work. :)