Sunday, December 18, 2011

Landscape Saturday Night

My hubby is usually THE BOMB when it comes to landscape portraits.  No joke.  I will take 20 trying to get the camera settings just right and none of them will look awesome.  He will take 1 that will blow me out of the water.  Seriously.  Most of our contest entries for magazines and art galleries are his landscape shots.  (Now just don't ask him to photograph a baby.  That's a whole nother story.) 

SOOooooo, I was really surprised and proud of myself when I imported these on the computer today.  - My daughter's dance school moved into a new building that is on the outskirts of town.  Every week when we go, I think to myself that the landscape would make for pretty pictures, but we are always running around like crazy.  I have never bothered to try to photograph it.  Then this week was their last week of class, the one where they do a little performance for the parents.  Naturally, I brought a camera.  On the way into ballet on Tuesday, I was blessed with this awesome sunset:


I saw how pretty the sky was and just snapped a couple (yes 2, not 20) pics on my way in.  This one is pretty much straight out of camera - I had to convert it from a raw file to a jpeg.  But other than that, this is exactly how the sky looked.  Oh so pretty! 

Then on Thursday, we pulled up to see the sun just breaking through the overcast sky.  It made those awesome rays coming down, and I always think of them as God's rays.  I think some people call them God's fingers, but whatever they are, I think they are heavenly.  It makes me warm and fuzzy inside when I see them.  So naturally, I had to snap a picture of that! 



Amazing!!  I love it!  Again, it only took me a couple of shots to get this.  (Happy, warm & fuzzy sigh.)  Can I just say I love my camera and I love being able to capture beauty with it?

Well, happy Saturday night.  Oh - well happy Sunday morning now.  LOL.  It's close enough right!?



Friday, December 16, 2011

I'm becoming a Grinch

I was hoping to write a big blog post today about all the things I want to work on for my business for the new year.  I have come a super long way in the past year and I am proud of how we have grown by leaps and bounds.  But you know what?  My dryer died.  My husband was rear ended the other day.  He also needs a $190 textbook for his next class.  My computer got a virus and is out of commission.  It needs to be wiped clean and everything has to be backed up before I lose it.  I never take the time to back up my own family's pics.  Ugh!  My beloved and ancient weenie dog is covered in tumors and doesn't want to go up and down the stairs to go outside.  It's Christmas and I refuse to put him down.  As much as I am trying to see the "glass is half-full" view point, I just want to cry.  And in all of it - there aren't enough hours in the day for a super long, well thought out, professional blog post. 

This business is super hard.  It is super time consuming.  It doesn't pay that well (which is my own fault, but I'm working on it).  Yet, I do love it and I keep chugging away at it.  I hope picture deliveries tomorrow along with watching my kids sing Christmas carols will help to get me out of "Grinch mode".  I hope I've also had enough bad luck this week to last me for another year.  So I am off to get a few hours of sleep before I try to juggle mommy duties and business owner duties. 

And because I can't write a post without a few pics, here you go! 







Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Furry Faces

Holy smokes!  I haven't written a blog post since Thanksgiving.  That's just completely crazy!!  I couldn't believe it.  I've even missed the last couple of photo challenges because our studio has been so busy.  I am so thankful for the work and the opportunities to get to photograph such great people.  I am also super thankful to get to photograph several furry faces too!

This was one I just adored b/c she looks so much like our little dachshund.  Her name is Bella, and she is truly a beauty!  I love her all decked out for Christmas. 

So I promise to work on writing a few more posts soon.  I have loads of ideas in my head - I just need the time to get them out and onto the computer.  Eeek!  Merry Christmas everyone!
X0X0 -T




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Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Laugh Out Loud!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!  We got to share ours with our family, and enjoy a few days of time off.  But now we are back into the swing of things, and that includes the weekly photo challenges.  This week's theme is actually called "Bust a Gut", and all I could think of when I first read it was popping buttons off of clothing after all of that turkey and pie!  I suppose I associate everything with food.  The actual theme however, is just a burst of laughter from the gut - and I have the perfect picture! 


This is Jimmy.  He is a sweet boy with special needs and is very camera shy.  I'm not sure if he has ever had professional pictures done, but I know his family was really worried if he would be able to cooperate for me.  I even had some concerns because I hate scaring kids with my giant black camera and large flashes.  But I kind of let Jimmy do his thing, and the end result was that we got fabulous pictures!  His aunt and I worked really hard to make him laugh by talking about everything from Spongebob to boogers in our nose, and by the end of the session, he was a pro.  This picture was one of the first ones of him that I snapped, and I knew it was going to be a breeze after this. 

I am so glad that I get to share in capturing emotions like these.  This is what my job is all about!  Thanks for letting me get to know you Jimmy. 

For more fabulous pictures this week, head on over to I Heart Faces by clicking on the button below:

Monday, November 21, 2011

Fall is in the Air

I swear that I take pictures of other people and other people's children.  Honest.  I really do.  But Kenzie is such a beautiful child and so willing to be in front of the camera, I just can't help myself.  Normally, when I get these great big ideas in my head and want to do themed or styled sessions, I have only a few willing participants.  Many people are traditionalists, and want traditional portraiture.  I am slowly convincing clients to come over to my way of thinking, and the more that I do, the better my sessions get. 

I just adore getting to be creative and think of all the ways to capture the essence of a person.  This session is a perfect example!  Kenzie and I played all sorts of games - Simon says ("Simon says touch your hat", "Simon says blow the flowers at me"), peek-a-boo with leaves, and "let's see who can throw the leaves the highest in the air".  We had so much fun doing it that she (almost) forgot she was in front of the camera.  The end result is this beautiful collection of fall images that I will cherish forever.  I hope to create more images like these and to convince others to let me do the same. 

So happy photographing, happy playing, and have a happy fall!  

Enjoy!
  









Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Autumn Splendor

Living in Florida (especially southwest Florida) means fall, leaves, changing, and autumn are really things we read about.  Yes, it was 90 degrees again today, and we are halfway through November!!  I have to admit it is better than it was over the summer, but we are SOOO ready for cooler weather.  I am also SUPER jealous of all the awesome pics my photographer friends have been posting from around the globe - you know the kind: The ones where the leaves are all amazingly yellow, red, and orange.  It just doesn't doesn't seem real to me.  So when we decided to head out to do a fall themed shoot, I tried to look for some real leaves.  LOL.  I know, crazy right.  The oak trees are all still green.  But we did find a couple of trees down the street from out house that had dropped all their ginormous leaves, and I was blessed with this picture of my Kenzie Kay playing peek-a-boo with me.  Ahhh....fall in FL. 




Wednesday, November 9, 2011

What-to-Wear

Hello everyone!  I hope that you are fabulous this week.  We are working hard and having fun taking loads of pictures this week.  We are also getting ready for our first Christmas mini-sessions on Nov. 19th.  I only have a few spots left, so if you want to jump in on the action, email us - timelessmemoriesarcadia@yahoo.com or call us ASAP! 

One of the questions I am constantly asked is, "What should I wear?"  Or "What should should my family wear?"  "Should we match?"  While that is ultimately your decision, I am more than happy to guide you along.  The latest trends in photography is to coordinate but not match completely.  This allows each person to express their personality, but it still looks great in pictures.  The best thing to do is to pick 2 or 3 colors and stick with a mix of them.  Here are some style boards to guide you along:





Thanks to the other photographers for sharing!

A BIG REMINDER:  If you want to order Organic Bloom frames, we are including the print for FREE with any frame order this month.  If these are meant to be Christmas presents, then you must order by Nov. 21st!!

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Black Photo Challenge

This week's photo challenge snuck up on me super fast and caught me off guard.  I am usually way more prepared with a ton of ideas for a shoot.  So here is one I snapped at a fabulous and fun western wedding that I did over the weekend.  Nancy and Scott are a lot of fun to work with and they let me do whatever I want picture-wise, so I got to test out a new little video light I just got.  I made this beautiful image with it, and I am thrilled. 

I should have more peeks from their wedding up on the blog soon!  Keep an eye out!




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Friday, November 4, 2011

It's November!!

It's my birthday month and I couldn't be more excited or busier!  It's the busiest time of year with the holidays coming up.  I am super excited about all of the awesome shoots we have planned this month - especially the weddings that we have the privilege of photographing.  We've put a lot of work into them, and it will be amazing to see it all come together on THE day.   

Since it is my birthday this month, we will be giving out a free metallic print with any Organic Bloom frame order.  Just pick out the size frame, and we will add the print for FREE!!  This is a huge discount and a super deal, so be sure to tell your friends about it and grab it in time for the holidays. 

Just giving a heads up - it looks like we will have our first Christmas mini-sessions on Nov. 19th.  Disks will be included with 5 images from a 15-30 minute shoot. Contact us now for available session times.

Also, we are booking quickly into 2012!!  There are very limited dates left this year, so if you want a full session, jump on it asap. 

Thank you to all of our wonderful customers for making this year spectacular.  I feel so blessed to have each of you in our lives. 

-Tanya

On that note - I have to share this session of a gorgeous little girl.  She was a bit camera shy at first, but wow!  These images are nothing shy of amazing.













Monday, October 31, 2011

Happy Halloween!

I just want to wish everyone a super Happy Halloween!  Keep it safe and have fun!

We are soooo not ready for Halloween at our house this year.  We usually go big and decorate it with a million pumpkins and lots of Disney themed stuff.  Last year we did several photoshoots all around the pumpkins and lots of fall festivals.  This year has been spent dealing with extreme heat, shuttling kids back and forth all day long, and getting ready for our wedding season.  It's funny how life changes like that.  We have yet to put out a single pumpkin and my kids are costumeless.  (That will change by the end of the day - hopefully!)

While I am missing out on the typical fall leaves and pumpkin pictures, I have been focusing more on themed ideas.  I want to create these awesome scenes that tell stories.  These generally require great costumes and lots of props, so I don't always get to do them.  It also requires a willing participant and parent to let me take an idea and run with it.  That's why I was super excited when I was contacted about doing a session around a Captain Hook costume.  Being the Disney nuts that we are, I had this great idea to start grabbing all of this stuff that we had in the house (the Tinkerbell from Kenzie's jewelry box, the croc from Drew's bed, the candle latern in the bathroom...) and create this session.  It is one of my favorites to date, and I am especially excited to share it with you on Halloween.  

Have fun believing and playing dress up today.  And if you decide that it's much more fun to stay that way, and not to go back to adult responsibilities, go visit Neverland.  I do believe it is the second star to the right and straight on til morning!
 















Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Let Them Be Little



Little babies are always such a joy to have around!  Certainly, they don't stay little for long.  Father time has a way of going faster when they are near.  That's why I love to capture every little expression - including the smiles and the tears.  I love to catch their silly antics as well, because, well, they are only little once. 

Newborn baby Josie was a doll to have in the studio, but this little smirk tells me she's going to be a handful soon!

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Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Pink

It's October!  That means it is breast cancer awareness month.  As someone whose loved ones have been personally affected by this illness, I want to take the time to remind everyone to get checked!  Please go have a screening and make sure "the girls" are healthy. 

In the spirit of thinking pink, this week's photo challenge over at http://www.iheartfaces.com/ is - you guessed it! - PINK!  What is more perfectly pink than a bunch of tiny ballerinas in pink tutus and pink dance slippers in a pink room?  I love that most of the girls in this picture are in line and listening to the instructor.  They are thankfully oblivious to my camera and me.  However, beautiful little Bella in the center is certainly aware of my camera clicking away, and the fact that she is different from all the other girls makes this picture interesting.  I love capturing little slices of life like this!


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