I can’t believe it’s time already for the Year in Review!  I used to think I could narrow the year down to a top 10 or 20, but really, that’s impossible, soooo here are my “Favorite Moments of 2013!”  Enjoy!!

(Be sure to turn up the volume and make it full screen!)  ;)   If for any reason, you cannot see the video below, click HERE to view.

Thank you so much to everyone that has made this such a wonderful year!  My seniors, their parents, my friends and family.  I could never do all of this without you and I am so incredibly thankful for each of you!

Happy Holidays everyone!  I wish you all the very best and especially for the New Year!  I know it’s a bit early, but Happy New Year!  Let’s all make it even better in 2014!

If you want to stay up to date with all the most recent sessions and behind the scenes, click HERE and “LIKE” and also HERE to follow on Instagram!

I have been soooo excited to share this with you all!!!

First, let me back up a bit and explain why I haven’t shared until now though.

If you haven’t heard of Holly McCaig and Two Pear Designs, you really must visit these sites right away.  Holly is responsible for some of the best Graphic Design Templates for Photographers, as well as some other products for scrapbookers!  That’s how I first heard of her, when searching for templates, but then I started following her on Instagram too and immediately fell in love with the posts of her dogs!!!  I could just squeeze them, they are so cute!!  :)

Back in April, Holly asked me to contribute to Two Pears Designs’ Inspire Magazine.  I honestly wasn’t sure what to say.  I was shocked and so incredibly nervous.  Could I do it?  Was I good enough?  Would she actually like anything I submitted or would she say, “Thanks, but no Thanks!”  I was also super busy at this time with it being the end of the school year and was knee deep in planning the “Once Upon a Summer” shoot.  I didn’t know how I could possibly fit this into my schedule, but deep down, I knew that I had to try.  How could I pass on such an opportunity?!

Somehow, with all of the craziness, I made it happen!  Don’t ask me how, because that entire weekend of shooting “Little Red Riding Hood” and then this shoot, pretty much made the weekend a blur!   And to top it all off, I barely made it in time for the deadline!!   Whew!!!

The actual shoot was back in May.  While I wanted to shout from the rooftops about the issue and post pictures from the day, I had to keep it “hush, hush” until the issue came out.  If you know me, you know that was the longest 4 months, ever!  ;)  Seeing the issue though in September, it was well worth the wait!!

sooo….here it is!!!

Because I took a lot of images that day, I will be sharing more soon.  It was such a beautiful session and a beautiful day!

I could not have done it without Laura, Ashley and of course, the lovely Devan!

Thank you so much for this opportunity Holly!  I am so incredibly grateful and I appreciate you asking me to be a part of this issue with so many other extraordinary photographers!

If you haven’t seen the issue and would like to purchase it, you can buy the print version HERE or the digital version HERE.  It’s a beautiful issue with lots and lots of eye candy!

Come back soon to see more images from this shoot (and some fun Behind the Scenes)!!  I am so excited to finally share them!  :)

Model – Devan Heyburn

Makeup – Laura Briscoe

Wardrobe Styling – Ashley Flores with Bloom Styling and Boutique

If you want to stay up to date with all the most recent sessions and behind the scenes, click HERE and “LIKE” and also HERE to follow on Instagram!

It’s such a huge honor and always so incredibly exciting to see one of your images published.  When I heard Denim + Grace was including one of Kayla’s images in their June 2013 “The Encore Issue,” I think I did a little happy dance.  Actually, I don’t think I did, I know I did and I’m sure more accurately, I squealed a bit too!

If you want to stay up to date with all the most recent sessions and behind the scenes, click HERE and “LIKE” and also HERE to follow on Instagram!

If you want to stay up to date with all the most recent sessions and behind the scenes, click HERE and “LIKE” and also HERE to follow on Instagram!

If you want to stay up to date with all the most recent sessions and behind the scenes, click HERE and “LIKE” and also HERE to follow on Instagram!

So I mentioned to you in Alex’s Preview that this was her “2nd Senior Portraits.”  I like how her mom described it best, the first ones were the beginning of Senior Year and these were for the end of Senior Year.   I love that!

This is a big year for all Seniors and the best thing you can do is document every bit of it!  Whether you just graduated, like Alex, or are just about to enter your Senior Year, soak in every last minute of this year.  Heck, we really should do that with all of life’s moments, but you know, and I know, we all get caught up in life and forget to enjoy the moments.  Seniors – slow down and take it all in and enjoy it!  Woopsie, I got a little off topic, didn’t I?!  Could be the coffee talking.  ;)

Back to Alex, shall we?  I love Alex’s style.  I have been a fan of her for a while now.  Her clothes and her accessories, ohhh the accessories and the shoes!!  HA!  I suppose that I don’t need to tell you how much I love accessories and shoes, do I??  :)   Also, I really love the talks I have had with her mom Marsha and her sister Shon.  The three of them together made both of Alex’s Senior sessions memorable for me and I hope that I did the same for them too!

Alex is in Colorado right now, so she probably won’t get to see these for a bit, but I’m happy to share them with you all in the meantime.  :)

If you want to stay up to date with all the most recent sessions and behind the scenes, click HERE and “LIKE” and also HERE to follow on Instagram!

Hair and Makeup by Shannon

Parkview High School’s Liz Shah and I have been talking since last year.  She first contacted me late last year, but the weather is what really kept us waiting.  During all those months, we talked about her pictures, her plans for the future, but most of all, we just got to know each other.  By the time we finally met, it was like we had known each other for so much longer than we actually had!

Liz is also my very last Class of 2013 senior.  I absolutely adore her and her mother too!  I can’t thank them enough for their hospitality and kindness.

I know, without a doubt though, Liz will be successful when she leaves for college next month and I cannot wait to see her on TV one day reporting about medicine.  She’s going to Wow us all!

And oh yeah, speaking of Wow’ing us – can she smize like you wouldn’t believe?!?!  If I had to rate all of my “smizers,” Liz is in the lead!  LOL!     Don’t believe me – check this out!  

If you want to stay up to date with all the most recent sessions and behind the scenes, click HERE and “LIKE” and also HERE to follow on Instagram!

Makeup – Laura Briscoe Makeup Artistry

“As I was looking for senior photographers, I stumbled upon Tricia’s site.  To my surprise, I found that a few friends of mine had worked with her.  I instantly fell in love with her work, and I applied to be a senior spokesmodel right away.

I talked with Tricia for several months after she contacted me back.  Because I was waiting for better weather and to get my braces off, we had quite a lot of time to plan.  Tricia was really helpful in scouting locations, helping me pick outfits that would make me look my best, and sorting through makeup looks.  She even had me set up new Pinterest boards so she could see exactly what I liked.  She was also really good at keeping in contact with me throughout the time I was waiting to be able to shoot with her.  Leading up to the day of the shoot, I felt completely at ease already.  Tricia is so sweet, and she was the reason I was so ecstatic about the pictures.

On the actual day of the shoot, Tricia and Laura, her makeup artist, made me feel like I had known them both forever.  They were funny, kind, and helpful.  Tricia made it easy for me to be myself and let loose in front of the camera.  She also was willing to climb into weird places just to catch me at the perfect angle!  To girls looking to shoot with Tricia, I highly recommend it.  She really made me feel beautiful and fierce.  Plus, she is extremely talented!”

- Liz

“My daughter Liz has always been really into research.  She always looks really far into anything she’s interested in, but as soon as she found Tricia Toker, she stopped looking for senior photographers.  Tricia brought her friend Laura to our house to do Liz’s makeup, and the two of them did a stunning job.  They talked with us comfortably the entire day of the shoot.  During the actual pictures, Liz had a hard time doing her “serious” face sometimes because she could not stop smiling.  I enjoyed talking to Laura, who chatted with me and kept me company.

I know Liz had a lot of fun with Tricia because she could not stop talking about the shoot all day.  It was nice to see how comfortable my daughter was in front of the camera because of Tricia’s kindness and friendliness.  Tricia helped guide Liz through the shoot, and I believe she captured Liz’s personality in the pictures so well.

Choosing Tricia as your senior photographer will ensure you both an experience and pictures your daughter will fall in love with.”

- Rubina  (Liz’s Mom)

If you want to stay up to date with all the most recent sessions and behind the scenes, click HERE and “LIKE” and also HERE to follow on Instagram!

Shame on me!  I meant to set this to auto-post earlier today and totally forgot!

I just had Liz’s Premier Order Session a few hours ago, so instead of a preview for her and her mother, this will have to be a preview for all of you instead!  ;)  Happy Preview everyone!

Seriously though, can she kill a “smize” or what?!  ;)

Love ya, Liz and Rubina – see you in a few weeks!

thank you Laura Briscoe for the “Behind the Scenes” action!  ;)

If you want to stay up to date with all the most recent sessions and behind the scenes, click HERE and “LIKE” and also HERE to follow on Instagram!

Happy Friday everyone!!

This Sunday, Parkview High’s Class of 2013 Graduate, Alex Osborn leaves for Colorado and the United States Air Force Academy!!

Soooo, what does one do when leaving home??  Why take more senior portraits of course…duh!  ;)

ok, ok, I kid, but only sort of, because that’s exactly what we did last weekend!

Here’s a little peek, because I can’t wait to show Alex and her mom the rest tomorrow.

If you want to stay up to date with all the most recent sessions and behind the scenes, click HERE and “LIKE” and also HERE to follow on Instagram!

If you want to stay up to date with all the most recent sessions, click HERE and “LIKE.”

“As my senior year approached, I began thinking of all of the exciting things that come with being a senior and all of the experiences that I did not want to miss out on.  I decided that one experience that I did not want to miss out on was having a great senior picture and not just your typical senior picture.  When I talked to my mom about it, we both had a vision of what we would like to have.  We researched senior portrait photographers on the internet until we found one that had the same vision that we could see in our minds but had no idea how to communicate.  Of course it was Tricia Toker!

Tricia has this ability to be able to capture the spirit of each senior that she photographs.   You feel like you know each senior once you have looked at their session.  I wanted that too!  I wanted my senior image to be captured and brought to life and I knew that only Tricia Toker Photography could do it.  My session was awesome and definitely an experience I will never forget.  Tricia made me feel so comfortable and always at ease. Although we were trying to get it all in so we did not miss a single shot, we had the most fun and laughed all day.  Not only was it a senior experience I will never forget, she made it a great experience for my mom and I to share.  There are not many moments left in my senior year, but this one I will always be able to look back on and treasure each image and each memory of the day!

Thank you Tricia, my senior pictures are awesome and I love showing them to everyone!”

- Alex

“My daughter, Alex, had the pleasure of having her senior pictures taken with Tricia Toker Photography.  When we were trying to choose a photographer, we came across Tricia’s website and just knew that she was the one that we wanted to take Alex’s senior pictures.  I wanted Alex to have these images to look back on and always remember this special time in her life, her senior year!

Tricia sees the world in a different way than the average person.  She captured the essence of my daughter and provided an experience that she will never forget.  We would not have gotten the same experience with anyone else.  I highly recommend Tricia Toker Photography for your child’s senior portrait experience.  You will not be disappointed and will be so proud to send the photos out to friends and family and to display them for a lifetime in your home.”

-Marsha  (Alex’s Mom)

Greater Atlanta Christian’s Kayla Puzas is pretty fantastic!  When you first meet Kayla, you can’t help but notice her beauty.  Get to know her though and you learn that she is such an incredibly grounded and kind young woman with a truly bright future ahead of her.  She has the most wonderful family too.  Her parents, grandparents, brothers and her little dogs!  (I would scoop those little dogs up, if they let me!)  It’s rare that you meet an entire family and feel welcomed in by them all.   That’s truly how it is being around Kayla and her family.

Then there is the athlete side of Kayla…she happens to be a soccer superstar!  It would take this entire blog post to list all of her accomplishments in soccer, but then we wouldn’t have any room left for her incredibly gorgeous senior portraits!  ;)  Let’s just say that all of her hard work has really paid off and will take her to Mississippi State University in the fall.

Let’s talk a little bit about the day of our shoot.  It was a random cold morning…and by cold, I mean ridiculously cold!  Kayla was such a trooper though and from beginning to end, she stuck with it and didn’t complain a bit!  I don’t know how she did it, because her mom, grandmother, and myself were all bundled up.  Thanks for sticking with it Kayla, because I love everything about this session!

These next upcoming images really just blow me away!  

Little fun fact…these are her mom’s earrings, that she had back when she was 18!  Aren’t they perfect for this outfit!?!  Love it!

and this has got to be one of my all time, favorite images – just stunning!  

If you want to stay up to date with all the most recent sessions, click HERE and “LIKE.”

Greater Atlanta Christian’s Kayla Puzas is probably used to all sorts of temperatures being a soccer player, but this morning was quite a different game!  :)  Hair, makeup, wardrobe, and jewelry changes!  Lots of laughs and oh yeah…lots of wind!  We probably could have been happy with less wind, but Kayla modeled like a pro!  

And of course, I couldn’t have done it without her mom and grandmother!  I had such a blast with these ladies!  

Can’t wait to see them all again soon! 

Can’t wait until this weekend to show Kayla and her family the rest!

If you want to stay up to date with all the most recent sessions, click HERE and “LIKE.”

I was beyond excited when I first received the email that one of Devan’s images was selected to be the back cover of Issue 4 of Senior Style Guide!!   I have been such a fan of their blog and magazine, so this was a very special day for me!  In addition to receiving the honor of being chosen for the back cover, a few months earlier, one of Devan’s images received honorable mention for Senior Stunner of the Week!

To have an image inside the issue and the back cover was more than just a little exciting – I was elated!  Such a wonderful day!

If you want to stay up to date with all the most recent sessions, click HERE and “LIKE.”

“Working with Tricia was one of the most memorable moments of my senior year, as it should be.  I honestly wasn’t even going to take senior photos one, because I don’t usually find myself incredibly photogenic.  And two, because I didn’t know of any good photographers.  Luckily Tricia reached out to me just in time and asked me to be a spokesmodel for her.  My first thought was that it was either a mistake or spam haha, but after looking at her website and speaking with her further, I quickly realized that she was legit!

Candace is my very first Prince Avenue Christian School Senior.  I first met her a little over a year ago though.  Back when I photographed my very first styled shoot, we had a model that had a last minute overseas trip come up.  She couldn’t pass up the opportunity and I didn’t blame her at all!  We needed another girl though.  One of the other model’s best friend happened to be available and was willing to step in and help.  To this day, Candace’s images from that day are my most requested looks from my current seniors.  I’m sure Candace probably thought we were a little crazy that day, but little did we know. we would end up where we are today.  :)

I can honestly say, Candace, her family, her boyfriend…some of the best, kindest, most genuine people that I have ever met!

I am so thankful that we met a year ago and I cannot wait to see all that Candace achieves after graduation.  She has such a bright future ahead of her!  :)

Makeup:  Laura Briscoe Makeup Artistry

If you want to stay up to date with all the most recent sessions, click HERE and “LIKE.”

If you want to stay up to date with all the most recent sessions, click HERE and “LIKE.”

If you want to stay up to date with all the most recent sessions, click HERE and “LIKE.”