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Some girls collect shoes....

Well, truth be told, so do I but for totally different reasons. I have a ridiculous assortment of totally unworn or highly worn shoes that just haven't made it to where they belong - Goodwill (or the trash, lovingly). But of my meaningful collections are coffee cups. I love - can u guess? - Starbucks coffee cups - like a totally mismatched, random assortment of beautiful SB coffee cups, the only requirement being size. They MUST be the big cups, big love handles...perfectly fit to a huge cup of SB coffee in the wee am. This is truly a case of life's little pleasures, but it makes my morning to wake up to these, to sit with a cup before the house is filled with noise and chaos, before the rush of the day sweeps through and carries us in it's current. Here's to my last sip of my SB coffee from my SB coffee cup as I begin the day's journey. Happy Monday!

oh yeah, and did I mention my honey made my coffee this morning so when I walked down the stairs it was into the fine mist of freshly brewed joe....now, that's the good life.

August/September Promotions

I just realized we released two new promos this weekend but I forgot to post here! Sooooo....here we go...

1. Capture Your Cutie - Book a session before August 30th (session dates available for late Sep/early Oct) and receive 48 free wallets ($90 value). Sweet!

2. Prom Night Fashion Shoot - seniors - book The Ultimate before Sep. 15th (session dates available for late Sep/early Oct) and we'll come meet you on prom night for a mini fashion shoot. Limited availability.

To book a session or for questions, please email studio@llfotos.com.

Things We Love!

It's the product girl again! Another cool new item to add to our product line - the Image Art Box. Think of it as a beautiful leather sanctury for your treasured images - we frame your images in 8x10 mats and provide an easel for easy display. The cool thing is, if you're like me and love change, you can pick a different image to display each day. Or better yet, pick up multiple easels and display throughout your house. So lovin' this one!

Taking Our Style to a Whole New Level

A few months ago I began a serious evaluation of my business image but it wasn't until I attended the Free to Succeed Tour in SF with David Jay and Jasmine Star that I got the kick I needed to make some changes - as in, like, now. Anyone who listens to them - especially the extremely charismatic JS - who doesn't feel a kick to wring in some new action is seriously checked out. I made the drive home with my mind going 100 miles an hour and trying not to let my foot match my mind because even at that insanely late hour of the night, I was ready. If I could have commanded my body to snap to, I probably would have even set to work the minute I pulled in at 1am or so.

But reality check - in addition to this great job, I also have a spouse and three very talkative, happy, awake children at (if I'm lucky) 7am in the morning.

So, after getting some sleep, and meeting some extremely happy, awake children at 7am the next morning I set to work. Not wasting any time, I found a graphic designer for my logo, another designer for my blog and a brand, new, spiffy website (truth be told, I think I actually found it the week before but for the purpose of this story, to add to the motivation, I found it on the same day :)).

Besides my extremely supportive, understanding spouse, and happy, talkative children - this has been my life for the last 10 days. I mean, eating, breathing, thinking, sketching, playing, pondering my - as Jasmine said it - brand. I'm putting a brand to my business. After a year and a half in business, I finally feel like I'm getting it - my business, who we are, who we want to be. It's scary, fun and exciting all at the same time.

So - this is where we are at - my logo wrapped today (with big, huge thanks to Designs by Christa who was extremely patient with me and who's final design I'm beyond thrilled with and can't wait to share) and my blog is in the works. My website will be the last piece to settle into place.

[good] Sigh. The adrenline rush is wearing off...as is my usual style, I'll be crashing shortly, getting some much needed rest and then starting up again. But before I crash, back to editing I go - working on the cutie below this post.

Oh yeah, and those pics up top are, once again, my absolute fab fashion star wearing her absolute fab, awesome new shades.

Good night beautiful peeps!

SNEAK PEEK!

I have to tell you, I was SO excited for this session! I photographed Marv when he was 18 months old and totally fell in love! He IS sweetness. There is just no other way to put it. He is truly just a beautiful child through and through. Mom actually signed up for the Lollipop Club so I knew I'd be photographing him again soon (which is - selfishly - one of the reasons I love this club - I'm guaranteed to see you guys again and be a part of watching your kiddos grow which is so much fun) but when they pulled up and I saw him in the backseat, saw that adorable smile and twinkling eyes, I melted - again.
It's just a great package deal all the way around with this family because mom (Anissa) is so easy-going and so wonderful to work with. Both times we've had a session, I've walked away thinking - wow, I so need to learn to talk to my kids that way! She is clear and precise yet brief. And totally calm - which made our session an effortless work of collaboration because I'd explain what I was hoping to do and she'd help communicate it to Marv. I love this! I know some photographers prefer that parents stay in the background or even out of sight and with some children, this definitely works. I like parents around though because they know best how to talk to their kids. And often times, these little verbal exchanges provide the best smiles or little characteristic looks especially when parents get on a familiar subject or bring up a favorite character or subject of conversation. Then it's fun for me to just step back and watch for the moments.
Anyway, I'm rambling as usual so I'll sign off here by just saying - check out this cutie!!!

Me, taken by Cindy

Just a few more fun pics to share from my Georgia trip - these were taken by Cindy. She blows me away! I have to say, I'm the WORST critic of myself in pictures but I loved these. She took a ton of fun ones - I'll share more later but for now, thought I'd post these.
ps- I took total liberties with post-processing - we were playing with overexposure when we took these but I took it to a whole new level for fun!

Beautiful Ellie

So, beauty is definitely a family trait here! This is my friend Cindy's daughter Ellie who, although tired from a long day, was nice enough to be our model for a few hours during my visit to Georgia a few weeks ago. I've seen pictures of Ellie forever and I have to say - I was SO hoping she'd model for us! As you can see, the camera loves her! Thanks Ellie!
ps - what I wouldn't do for a little slice of town like this around here! Just look at all the textures and colors...so cool! I can't wait to go back - there wasn't enough time (and Cindy has four more gorgeous children who I hope to rope into modeling for us next time (hehe - that's a warning :)) and seriously, can you believe this lady carried FIVE children and still looks like this?! Wowzers!

Who's Your Celebrity Face?

This is hilarious! My friend Megan finds some of the coolest things - for a good laugh, check out who you resemble HERE. A few of mine where Jessica Simpson, Lucy Lawless (right on - total kick-butt chick!), Daniela Pestova (that's just hysterical and soooo off - when this came up, I was convinced it was luck of the draw - this chick redefines beauty IMO - I've worshipped her since she first made the fashion scene years ago), Veronica Varekova (feeling like I should know who this is but have no idea) and Valeria Mazza. Try different pictures for different matches - fun!

Just a little blue...

It's funny, years ago my spouse and I were talking to a friend and she mentioned how she had just returned from vacation - by herself. We thought it was so odd. She is married with two kids and in our minds, back then, before kids, we were like - who would go on vacation without their family or at least their spouse?

Flash forward to 2008 - here we are, three kids under four years of age and we're finally in the know - you know, the KNOW - as in, you don't KNOW something until you experience it. So, this is the KNOW - getting away for a relaxing vacation with young kiddos is hard. And getting away without them is virtually impossible unless you're Brad and Angelina and have a dozen nannies and an airplane at your disposal. Rock on - how cool would that be? Hold on, let's take a moment of silence to pretend and daydream....ahhhh......it's lookin nice, isn't it? :)

Okay, so this is why I'm Just a Little Blue...my spouse is on vacation - without me. Yep, we are our friend. We get it. The last time we got away together it took three shifts of different people to cover different days....and it was nuts. I worried the whole time. And the last time we took the whole family somewhere....welllllllllll, let's just say it wasn't exactly the definition of a vacation. I'm thinkin - give the kiddos another year or so and then we can talk fun vacation but as it was, it was more a labor of love with the emphasis being on labor.

But in the spirit of vacation and wishing my spouse the best time ever, here is a pic from that family vacation we did take a few years ago....

Happy Friday everyone!

Jeannie: SKD

Last week I met up with Jeannie for some updated pics for her portfolio. Our original plan was to meet at the Capitol, check out a favorite alley of mine (truly odd statement, right? I mean, who other than a photographer could say they have a favorite alley?! :)) and follow up with some pics in the park. But if you're a local Sacatomatoian then you know we've had some seriously warm weather - like 95 plus clouds and humidity that day. When we met up, we were both sweating just from the walk from our cars (of course, it didn't help that we both had a ton of stuff with us - her with a suitcase full of clothes and gear, me with my photo stuff which I always overpack) - within minutes we quickly determined this wasn't happin. Lucky for us, Jeannie had the hookup and called her friend Eric of IMAGE in downtown to see if we might stop in and use his space for some pics which ended up being awesome - thank you Eric! Not only did we get a reprieve from the sun, but it was a fun challenge for me considering I didn't come with studio gear and only had one off camera flash. But Jeannie was game and we gave it a go and got some great images. IMAGE provided the perfect backdrop - lots of color, as you can see, fun textures and they just so happened to have some huge fans which we loved!!
And I can't end this post without giving props where they are due - something people may not know about Jeannie besides the fact that she's obviously gorgeous - she's an absolute sweety! Although I met her earlier this year for this project, this was the first time I worked with her one-on-one and it was a blast!

Special Shout-Out Request

I have a special request, well, two actually: one, a client of mine who's family I had the pleasure of photographing last month just had one of their family members pass away this past Sunday. It all happened rather quickly and I know this family is going through a lot.
Two, a member of my own family is at the hospital today having tests done for a spot that was found in his lung a few weeks ago. Several of our family members are there as he will be there most of the day for testing.
So, this is my special shout-out request - I strongly believe, no matter what your personal belief system is (God, Buddha, etc) that positive community thinking (praying, etc) can have an extremely powerful effect. If you know me or even if you don't but stumbled upon this blog by accident, please take a moment to do your own form of a shout out for these two people and their families.
It's very appreciated! Thank you! :)

New Monarchs Player!

I'm so excited to finally share these! We photographed DeMya when it was still "top secret" that she was joining the Monarchs team. It was especially fun because she showed up with her two honeys and since we were just photographing her, we had a little extra time for some fun shots. :)
Things are busier than ever here - lots of cool things in the works, details to follow shortly. I'm on my way to SF today for a workshop with the extremely talented and cool David Jay and Jasmine Star. Now call me a weenie, but I'm a bit nervous because I have to navigate getting to the Wharf all by my little self. It's been some time since I've done the city drive, so wish me luck (and safe driving especially since the workshop doesn't end until 10pm which means I'll be doing the midnight drive!).

Back from Georgia!

You know that old saying, time flies when you're having fun? That was most definitely my weekend! Friday I boarded a plane and met up in with my friend Cindy of Cindy Harter Photography in Georgia (see post below for link to her website and amazing work!). Besides lots of girl chat (which was so great since it's been a long time since I've had girl chat!:)), it was a blast to be able to live, eat and breathe photography with another person who also lives, eats and breathes photography. A typical thing that we both laughed over...we drove to Atlanta for a day of shooting, parked the car, walked less than a block, saw this building and the gorgeous light and ended up spending the next few hours there. By the time we were done, most of our day was gone, we were drenched (wowzers, is it hot and humid there!!!! my knees were leaving prints on the floor just from kneeling while doing pictures) and it was time to head back to Cartersville.
And check out my hot mama friend!!! Isn't she stunning? She told me she was awkward in front of the camera - yeah, whatever! I don't know about you but I don't see anything awkward about these.


I love these last images...we were driving around with Cindy showing me some of her favorite shoot spots plus ones she has looked at and never explored. This was one of those. As we drove up, she said "you can see it, can't you?" I will probably never forget that because I remember looking at the field of grass and dirt and long buildings with no color or any particular character and saying "uh, well, I trust whatever you see." But we hopped out and began to play and before long, I was seeing all kinds of cool things. It reminded me how fun it is to just go for it sometimes - not to overanalyze, but just jump in and see what happens. Cindy is awesome at this - she told me she often takes her seniors and says 'lets just drive and see what we see.' I took her attitude to heart and brought it home with me. Thanks for the great reminder Cindy!

Au Revoir!

Friday I'm off in the wee morning hours and tomorrow looks to be a very busy day so I'm signing off now. I'm off for the weekend to visit my friend Cindy who I was supposed to hook up with in June along with a few other friends...and then my kiddos got really sick and I had to cancel. SO, we are finally getting together! I'm so hyped! I'm sure I'll come back loaded with tons of fun pics so until then - av revoir and have a wonderful rest of the week!!

Speaking of the personal touch...

I've talked a lot about a group of women who have had a substantial impact upon my life. We found each other through our common passion of photography but what began as simple shop talk grew into deep-rooted, bonded life friendships. I never speak lightly when talking about what a talented group of women I know them to be - nor when talking about the power of our friendship and support to each other.

One such lady is my friend Teresa Lee. We've known each other through many ups and downs both professionally and personally and although our hectic lives often find us out of touch for stretches of time, we are the type of friends who once we connect again, it's like there were never days in between. How she manages to keep everything together with three children and a thriving business I'll never know but somewhere in the midst of all of that, she even remembers my birthday. And not only that, but sends me the most exquisite, sumptuous gifts such as this decadently yummy candle above - which came wrapped like a work of art. I remember taking it out of the box thinking - I should photograph this so I know how to do it next time! :)

In any case, she has the personal touch down which is only one of the many reasons she is this months featured artist under Friends and Inspiration.

What's Rocking Your World Right Now...

The Parachute Band! I'm sitting here right now with headphones plugged in listening to my absolute favorite song Mercy as I edit. Check them out here. The coolest part - they are currently on tour and I saw them last week! Let me tell you, they brought down the house! Talk about an amazing live performance!

Rainbow Light

It kills me how blogger totally flattens color...in any case, I will share some highlights of this session on my homepage when I'm finished editing but wanted to post this one - I was working for a little sun flare here from behind mom (Dana) and Coley (his name is Cole but she nicknamed him "Coley" which I thought was adorable)...anyway, the light was this beautiful rich orange/red color which, when I processed it and saturated everything, picked up a lot of the surrounding colors as well...so, taking it a step further, I took total liberty and saturated the heck out of the beam of light which turned mom's hair into this rainbow cascade (she has this insanely long beautiful hair anyway as you can see).
I'm not sure what it is about an image sometimes - maybe that it fits all the rules so nicely or it hits on a purely emotional level or sometimes even because it's the complete opposite of everything you expect to see in an image...whatever it is, this picture hits me...or maybe it's the personal experience and remembering the sound of Coley's adorable laughter as we took this image.

The Personal Touch

I love notecards. I don't know about you - maybe it's because we live in a world where so much communication is handled remotely - email, texting, voicemail - but when I get a cute notecard or greeting card in the mail with a handwritten note it makes my day. I have been known to display fun cards on our mantle for weeks, tuck them in keepsake boxes or even cut off the front page and frame it. And those are just store bought, ordinary cards!
So, how cool is it to send out your own personalized note card? Well, I'm officially addicted. I usually have several on hand and always include them with orders as well as notes to friends and family and anyone else that I can say hi to and show off (usually) my cute kids. :) Hey, I said I love bragging about the people I love so there you go. And speaking of....recognize this cutie? Just had these made up with the saying (which you can't read in this image) "Put a little sunshine in your life."

I

Sacramento Monarchs Shoot - University of Phoenix

As mentioned in an earlier post, last week we photographed the Sacramento Monarchs at The University of Phoenix in Sacto. They'd had a full day of practice and another photo shoot so I wasn't sure what to expect when they showed up but it shouldn't be surprising that they were super laid back, ready to pose, laugh, smile - whatever was needed. And looked to have a lot of fun together in the process. From all appearances, this seems like a team built on good humor, friendship and, of course, serious dedication and talent. It has been a blast to watch them in action and be a part of this season.
At this particular shoot we were after a few key shots - as this was classroom-themed, we needed one of all looking at the camera, one of them while coach taught the classroom, and one of them laughing and goofing off supposedly behind the 'teacher's back.' This last shot proved to be a little too much fun at the expense of everyone in the room at some point being pummeled by paper balls and squishy hand basketballs. I think the laughter in the room reached throughout the building and provided a good show for the fans who showed up. I know I had a blast and I was stuck behind the camera! :) In any case, here are a few from last week's shoot...

Mayhem breaks loose.

This one just makes me laugh - being the fun group they are, I asked the creative team to jump in for a last shot and this was our very last one of the day after a sequence of them being pummeled by the players. From left to right - the man in the middle throwing the basketball - Dhon S., on the floor Casey C., and standing above Heather V.

Peace Out

Yah! Don't you love the weekends? I know I do. Ever since I was a kid, Friday signaled something special - when I was little, we skipped the formal dinner routine and would eat in front of the TV and watch movies. And our prime time treat was frozen yogurt with syrup drizzled on top. Maybe because of those times, I've alway associated weekends with at least one night of watching movies and having a special dinner (or non-bake, easy dinner, aka: takeout). Usually, it's Fridays for us but tonight was a work night for moi (edit, edit, edit) so the weekend party will start tomorrow instead.

In any case, it's 11:30pm, my kids will be up in less than 7 hours energeticlly calling me from their room and requesting breakfast be served upon the spot :) so it's time for me to high-tail it to bed!

Peace out all my beautiful people! Have a great weekend!

Meeting with the President

I love bragging about the people I love :) but I think you'll agree that today I have TOTAL, absolute bragging rights. My nephew (pictured here in previous post) is meeting the President today...as in, the President of the United States.
As mentioned in a previous post this month, he is one of the firefighters who has been working insanely long, dedicated hours fighting all these fires in California. Last week his crew of six were picked to meet the President on a visit. I'm so proud!!! I mean, I don't care what your political affiliations are, that's just cool. :) And I so wish I could be there...hum! (that's me stomping my foot). Have fun today Nick!

Like a Kid at...

Christmas...yes, it seems to be my theme this month. Maybe because this heat has me wishing for some of that cool December weather....
In any case, if you're a Sacramento Monarchs fan (and why wouldn't you be? :)) then you may have known about a little event taking place at The University of Phoenix yesterday, but if not, I'll be posting more later this week. Needless to say, we had the best time photographing the players who showed up after a long day of practice and straight from another photo shoot with smiles and good humor.
I also had the pleasure of working with a couple of my favorite people - Heather V., Casey C., and Dhon S., from the Kings/Monarchs team. As if that wasn't awesome enough, they showed up with these posters (photo below)! These are from a photo shoot awhile back and I have to say, I have been, like a kid at Christmas, anxiously awaiting their release (just ask Heather who I hounded more than a few times :)).
For posterity's sake, a picture of my goofy happiness. I realize I'm probably supposed to act more blase' about these things, but that'd make me a total poser and I'd rather be a goofball than a poser, know what I mean? :)

photo courtesy my SIL (thank you Robin!)

They'll probably kill me for this...a behind-the-scenes shot I couldn't help taking.

and a few others that weren't used but were fun...