It’s about that time!!  Time to submit to the Chic Magazine Cover Contest!!

This issue’s theme is Couture.   I am really torn between two different images for this submission.  In the end, I have selected an image from one of Devan’s shoots.  Wish us luck on this submission for Chic Critique Forum‘s Issue 11 Cover Contest!

Here’s the original image, which I LOVE, however, I needed to crop down to specific dimensions.  I really want everyone to see the original though, because it really is one of my most favorite images!!

Go visit Chic Critique’s Forum and all of the other amazing photographers.   It’s a tremendous resource, so if you haven’t visited them before now, you are totally missing out.  Don’t worry though, you can totally catch up.!  ;)

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 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!

Well, “It’s a Wrap!”  This is it – the absolutely, positively final post for “Once Upon A Summer.”  

First, I want to thank again everyone who participated in this shoot.  If you have been following the story and the backstory, you know of all the challenges that we faced.  That’s why it makes it all the more exciting to share how all of our hard work paid off!

Not only did “Once Upon A Summer” receive a national feature on the website Seniorologie, but one of Devan’s images from the second half of Cinderella was chosen as a Top 3 of the week on Seniorologie, resulting in the Spotlight Image of the week!

Also, one of Kathryn’s images from “Little Red Riding Hood” was published in The Bold Issue of Chic Magazine!  This image was an Honorable Mention for the Cover and I couldn’t be more excited by this!

Soooo, how about some Behind the Scenes action?!

Kat, looking all super fab as “Little Red.”

If you saw the short video on Instagram, here is the extended version:

Staci working on Devan…

“Rrrrrr…”

I’m not even sure what Devan is doing here.  ;)  Flying like a bird??

One of Casey’s 8000 takes!

Awww…aren’t they the cutest!?

and….SMIZE!

Laura touching up Devan…

and then losing her mind and hiding inside my reflector bag…

And finally, the mother of all Behind the Scenes – Devan’s best Ozzy Osbourne impression!

Well, that’s all folks!!!!!!

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
Hair – Staci Gibbs- Freelance Makeup Artist
Models – Kathryn Dickerson, Devan Heyburn, Casey DeArmon

ohhh…I’m sad!  This is the final post for “Once Upon a Summer.”  Can you believe it?!?  Well, I suppose it should come to an end soon…I mean, it did take all Summer to tell the story!  ;)

I might have one more post coming up, but we must talk about the second half of Cinderella first.

When we last saw Cinderella, she was soooo sad and full of sorrow, missing her mother and having to complete all of her chores.

Now, she is off to the King’s three day festival….

With a little help from the white birds, Cinderella gets ready every evening before the festival…

And finally, Cinderella loses her slipper as she tries to quickly leave the festival and the Prince.

These next few images, aren’t really part of the Cinderella story necessarily, but we wanted to find a way to wrap up the entire Fairy Tales series.  We discussed a few different scenarios, but in the end thought that the addition of storybooks was perfect!

Because the Grimms’ version of Cinderella is different from the Disney version, I ended up taking elements of both versions to make ours come to life.  While pumpkins have a role in the Disney version, they do not in the Grimms’ version.  I am a sucker for all things Fall though and have a ridiculous amount of pumpkins at my house.  I absolutely had to incorporate them somehow!  :)

All good things must come to an end, and so does our story “Once Upon a Summer.”

I will have one small follow up post soon, so please come back for it.    In the meantime, what do you think of our Fairy Tales?

Which character was your favorite?  Did you love one character’s makeup?   How about the hair?  I would love to hear your thoughts!

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

Hair – Staci Gibbs Freelance Makeup Artist

If I had to pick a favorite from “Once Upon A Summer,” that would be difficult, almost like asking me to pick a favorite shoe or something!  I have to say though, it just might be this one.   I’m not sure what it is about Devan’s version of Cinderella that I love so much.  I love everything about it, everything.  I thought this part of the shoot was going to be very tough in comparison to the second half.  It was perfect though and the imagery is just beautiful to me.  Honestly, since the police showed up, it probably should bring back not so great memories, but really it doesn’t.  ;)  By the way, if you’re getting worried about the police incident, it really was nothing.  And the police ended up being super nice and laughing with us about it, but still.  I never get in trouble, so just the idea of them even being there freaked me out.  Seriously, I could fill a book with the amount of crazy stories I have from photo shoots, but those are stories for another day.  ;)   

I’m rambling again, so I’ll stop and get back to our story -

Again, I chose Grimm’s Cinderella for my inspiration.  I envisioned a moodier storytelling, so I told Devan to look very sad and sorrowful.  Devan nailed it, as she always does.  

This is Devan as Cinderella…

Be sure to come back for Part 2 of Cinderella and don’t forget the Miller’s daughter from Rumpelstiltskin!

oh yeah, Devan, thanks for introducing me to M.I.A. and “Bad Girls.”  I will always think of this shoot when I hear it.  :D

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

Hair – Staci Gibbs Freelance Makeup Artist

I wasn’t sure that this shoot would ever happen.  We’d been planning since last year…literally.  We had husbands building spinning wheels and aunts making custom tulle skirts and tutus.  We had model recasts and location changes.  We had to postpone three different times due to weather and oh yeah…the police showed up on the day of the shoot!

So you can see, it’s like the little engine that could – except it’s “Once Upon a Summer” and here is your sneak peek…

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
Hair – Staci Gibbs- Freelance Makeup Artist
Models – Kathryn Dickerson, Devan Heyburn, Casey DeArmon
“Helper Extraordinaire” – Parker Thompson

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.”

You have seen Parkview High School’s Devan Heyburn a time or two already!  I am not done sharing though.  :)  I was recently fortunate enough to have some of her images featured on the website Seniorologie.  You can view that feature here.   I did have a few more images from Devan’s senior session that I wanted to share though.  :)

Hair:  Lacy Wade

Makeup:  Laura Briscoe Makeup Artistry

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

“After looking for weeks for a photographer for her Senior Portfolio shots, my daughter chose Tricia Toker.  She definitely chose the right photographer.  From the first meeting Tricia and Devan hit it off.  Tricia has a fun energy that my 18 year old responded to immediately.  After the first meeting it was full speed ahead.

The day for the shoot was a cold day.  Despite the weather, Tricia could pull so much out of Devan on film.  The experience was so much fun for her: from the beginning with Laura Briscoe doing make up, to the shoot itself.  The day was full of laughter!  It was not a chore for Devan.  Despite the cold, she would have gone on forever.

Tricia can relate so naturally to a teen girl that she brings out amazing shots.  She puts them at ease.  They forget anyone is watching.  It was just her and Tricia having a blast, trying new things.  Tricia has a vision through the camera that is incredible.  This has not just been a business adventure.  I believe the two have cemented a great friendship as well.

Devan now cannot get enough time in front of a camera!”

-Doreen

(Devan’s mom)

It’s time for the Chic Critique Forum‘s Chic Magazine Cover Contest!  This time, I’m submitting one of Devan’s images for the upcoming Issue 5!

Trying to pick One of Devan’s images was close to impossible…. but here it is!

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

You may have seen a little bit of Devan’s session already.  I’m still trying to get caught up on all my blog posts, so please bare with me.  :)

Here is my official preview and a little behind the scenes fun!  Devan had me cracking up more than I can even share!

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

I just wanted to Thank all of my wonderful clients, friends, family and everyone else who made 2012 such a wonderful year.

I used to try to do a year end top 10, but I gave up that because I could never narrow it down.  I still can’t, so here are just a FEW favorites from this year:

I hope that 2013 brings each of you many more magical memories!  :)

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

Merry Christmas Eve everyone!!

I got to spend last weekend being a little Christmas elf, spreading good cheer!

I wanted to give each of my Class of 2013 clients a little something for the holidays as a Thank You and since I LOVE storyboards, I made one for each of them!

While the weather was not so cheerful that day, I hope that I brought a little joy to each of my seniors and their families.  :)

and lastly…I want to wish each and every one of you a very Merry Christmas!   

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