Not that I don’t love Grand Rapids- I do…but when you’re looking for different places to shoot and the per capita of photographers here…well, that doesn’t leave much! So Chicago – as well as many other cities…put me into visual overload and I love every minute of it! So when Kristen wanted a Trash the Dress session…(aka-”you spent way to damn much on that dress to only wear it once” session I immediately volunteered to shoot in Chicago where she lives!! You can see we found fabulous locations and yummy light ….an afternoon of perfecta for Kristen’s dynamite modeling skillz….enjoy a taste of my favorites ~

ps…you CAN’T miss all her fabulous shoes….even on the taxi!

Here is her SLIDESHOW **CLICK HERE**

So, I did post this a few days ago…but my blog was acting up and deleted it?! These are a sampling of the great time I had shooting at my workshops last weekend at the new studio!!! I had so much fun meeting all of you and know you all walked away with a little more knowledge and inspiration! Because these workshops are so popular – and already have inquiries for the next one – I have one more planned this year and will not have another until spring.

The next will be *basic* November 6th @ 2-7p and *advanced* november 7th @9-6p sign up is on the blog, under payments!

**On another note — I have been asked by a few to do “portfolio” workshops, or trash the dress workshops….so I would like to present the idea and see what serious interest I have. Here’s the deal – it would be similar to the video on my wedding site. We would have 5 brides (real & models), professional bobbi brown make-up & hair, and as always – fabulous *sometimes risky* locations to shoot, with guaranteed individual time with each model. I will arrange everything, you just show up and shoot! Why? **these are my favorite! Cost ~ $350 *max 7 photogs – no exceptions – *this will need to be paid at the time of sign up – I will not save spots….Sign up is not available yet – but I would like you to email me if you’re interested….and we’ll go from there. Possible dates are September 27th or October 18th *I always do these on sunday because most places I would like to shoot are not being used.

Oh what fun!! I met Justin and RyAnn at Ben & Abby’s wedding in August last year…and Justin secretly hired me to shoot their NY Eve wedding, even though they had already booked a photographer, and politely asked for their deposit back….gotta love the love! We had breakfast at Wolfgangs when they came into town, and I had such a blast with all their friends and family at their wedding, and then this spectacular fun afternoon with grungy lovliness…thanks so much!

Here are a few of my faves and a link to **slideshow** …music just makes it more fun!

I have soooo many ideas circulating with newborns!!! I need your help finding babies 10 days old or younger. I am looking for dark skinned babies too! (with lots of hair hopefully!) Please let me know if you know ANYONE who has a new baby and is patient! I am looking to shoot these anytime in the next two weeks, during the day at my studio or in their home if they have enough light. I can’t wait to try out some new things!

forgot to add **there is no session fee! …and prints will be available at my normal portrait pricing!

Tattooed Brides….I want a woman with a ton of tattoos and / or sleeves…..and I will find her a wedding dress! Please let me know if you know anybody! Thanks!

….and I leave you with a few new marketing pieces that have developed from the new logo and tagline~ it’s been kind of fun! The first one is the front of the card….and then all the different variations are below. Fun Fun! I am loving it!

oh ~ so nice to reminisce about this wedding!!! My husband went with me and shot with me…he has shot quite a few with me now ~ and has captured a few $$ shots, as we call them! We truly had a great time with J & A’s friends + family, and after seeing all the fun they had together, would love to get our own friends and family together on one vacation ~ what a blast! Deb @ Airport Tour & Travel helped book and arrange everything for them and even came along to make sure everything ran smoothly ~ that’s service! Ok are you ready?! It’s quite a huge post….I am putting notes above each photo…

**side note** to those dreaming of a destination wedding…My prices to shoot these are not any more expensive than the packages that you see on my site, I love to shoot in new places and would love for you to take me! If you are thinking about one for the fall or next winter please contact me for *special* pricing!

**funny how guys are so picky about their beer here…beer snobs almost…then you get them to the DR, where they only make one kind ~El Presidente~ and it’s free…they’re drinking it non stop….I found that quite humorous and picture worthy! …and yes, that amazing beach bed….we spend a whole day in that with little dips in the water…drinks and lunch right there on beach…seriously paradise!

Alison and her girls getting ready!

Alison used her mom’s dress to make her own….she changed the top portion into a halter…to personalize it. Fabulous beach dress!

I really wanted this shot and then we got *busted* by the moms….they said “oh it’s their honeymoon already…” I cracked up! oops!

pure bliss….

Put me on paradise Island and I still find the grunge and torn down….one of my favorite shots of the day!

Could their outdoor showers be any cooler??? They were everywhere…now if only I could have turned it on….

Really that picture of them in the lobby….should be in a magazine….

They had a little cocktail hour and DR music, while we were running around shooting…

Then we went to one of the many resorts restaurants for their reception dinner….very fun!

The last night they all got together again and had a goodbye dinner in another one of the restaurants, the view was gorgeous!

Well, I have had a lot of inquiries for my next workshop…and other inquiries to find out if I’m covering anything new, can we come again? Because I have so many of you at different levels, I want to gear my workshops for exactly what you’re wanting to learn, instead of cramming it all in. Sooo…here’s what I have come up with! You can reserve your spot by paying on my blog I will send you a confirmation email with more details!  I will have an additional website link with all of this info and  a calendar for the pro sessions, it should be up by the end of the week!

Basic ~ May 8th 2-8pm $175 *dinner inlcuded

For those of you who just got our camera, don’t even know what ISO means..yep that’s you, or the hobbiest who wants to step it up a notch!

Advanced ~ May 9th 10am-6pm $175

This is for the portfolio building photographer ready to start a business and needing to refine your camera and PS knowledge **professional editing software is a requirement**   lunch included.

Pro ~ “shoot & shadow” ~ $250 *up to 4 hours

This is for the photographer who has complete knowledge of all previous and wants to shadow & shoot a complete session on location with me and then return to my studio for a complete edit of the entire session. These will be scheduled within 30 days of registration, and will take place at the discretion of the registars and the client. Each session will be limited to two attendees max. bellies, newborns, kids, brides, engaged couples are all available!  Please call me to sign up for this class.

And one pick from earlier this fall….

The workshop went great! It was very cold, so I we decided to stay inside for most of the shooting practice. Which I thought was great, because my studio is not a natural light studio..it only has 3 medium sized windows….BUT…what a great situation to learn in! What help would I be if I was trying to teach in a well lit area! Although, we did venture outside for a short bit as well. We had lots of models to practice on…Ryan & Holly, a k-zoo photog team, posed as our engaged couple…and did a great job! Kristen a local photographer was our bride, and Tina, another local photographer brought her 3yr old daughter for us and threw on her dress for a few as well. Then Anne brought her 20 month old and 5yr old daughter for a few at the end! phew! I told you we had a lot of practice!! Practice makes perfect! I really didn’t have as much time to “shoot” as I normally would…I was helping all the workshop ladies! I did happen to grab a few favorites though..here they are!

Any of the attendees….if you have any comments about the workshop or questions about these photos…. feel free to share below! Please email your favorite photo if you want or any photos of the group shooting as well! (photos of me being your guinea pig–not wanted–!) Thanks everyone for coming and I hope I have set you in the right direction!

There are more coming….a beginner and an intermediate (where you get to come on a live shoot at someone’s home – or DT) stay tuned!

ok…so she’s been married for a while and has three kids, but her wedding was in the winter and she hardly had any photos….so this is her make-up…her photographer would be sad he missed out on these….is she gorgeous or what?! Beth is a photographer who is just starting her business and came to a workshop of mine last year, she has huge potential in photography & modeling apparently! Here are a few of my faves and a link to her **slideshow** ! This was way back during the first snowfall of the season. Enjoy!

TRASH THE DRESS 2008!!!

Here are my favorites….the video be will up later next week (which is actually my favorite part of the day…thanks to John over at Coastline Studios! …and yes, for those of you who are wondering…that is Jen Kroll in her wedding dress….I still can’t believe she said yes to this! Thanks Jen! Kristi, Lauren, Kerri, and Jen did an amazing job…and were total rockstars!! Ryan Prins was to thank for the fabulous train yard idea….just leave it to me to find a way to sneak in! and we weren’t arrested – Pheww! The laundromat totally kicked us out…everyone got a shot at that except for Jen. Yesterdogs was all excited and had arranged for us to be there on Sunday when they were closed and a few pics to hang up in there. If you’ve never been there…you have to go…hotdogs from heaven. Enjoy, and let me now what you think…