Merry Christmas! Here's what happened to me in 2011!

Hi everyone,

I hope you had a great Christmas , and are having a great Hanukkah this year. I have been thoroughly enjoying the first year celebrating with my fiance and my puppy at home. We have been having a blast developing new hobbies and hanging out. Matt has been playing his bass a lot, and is thinking of starting up a band with a couple of friends. I got this shot while they were practicing. Sometimes I feel like I'm living in a movie.

This whole year has been one of the best of my life. I just got hired as the manager of an art studio up in Madeira, teaching art classes and learning about marketing and product photography. It's been a lot of fun, broadening my photographic interests into still-life photography and formal portraits. Up until now, I've been doing more on-site projects, but I recently bought a backdrop system and I'm enjoying the kinds of shots I can get from it, such as this self-portrait I came up with.

Right now, I'm developing curriculum for a brand new class at Creativities: photography! We're considering merging our Sewing & Fashion Design program with Photography for this class. It will be called "Make it and Take it!" The concept is this: sew a self-designed piece of clothing or accessory, then design a backdrop and props for a collaborative photo shoot! The students will learn about studio lighting, camera controls, sewing, and the fashion design process! Throughout this whole process, Creativity will be coming out their ears!

I'm also getting into product photography, like I said, and I've been photographing products for Creativities since they opened 2 years ago. It's hard to believe we've been open for 2 years. It's been a whirlwind since I joined the team and I've loved every minute of it! I've also developed and maintained the email and web marketing campaign, which has taken me more into the world of graphic design and web design. I started making graphics from my photos, such as this one:

The things I photograph at the studio are so ridiculously creative. I always feel challenged to display them in an equally creative way. For example, we have been running a lot of classes and workshops for little girls who have American Girl Dolls. They can make accessories, clothes, and furniture for their dolls at a quarter of the catalog price, and learn creative skills while doing it! We are running a workshop this week that features doll-sized "Ugg" boots, and scarves. Here is my promotional photo:

I'm planning on getting into display design at Creativities soon. We just ordered a ton of new fabrics, and I'm planning on using some folded paper forms to arrange with the fabrics to create an interesting display for our vintage-themed textiles. I created the forms for my last class at DAAP: installation art.

Did I mention that was my last class at UC? I am now DONE with school! Graduated! It's been 5 long years, many jobs simultaneously held down, Deans List status almost every quarter, and this last quarter, joining a class 3 weeks into it, and STILL emerging with an A! I feel so proud of myself, and I'm in a great place in life.

Another one of my classes was screen printing, which I am also hoping to expand at Creativities. We have gotten into t-shirt screen printing in the past, and I would like to incorporate it into the next class session of the Draw/Sketch/Paint class. I dove headfirst into this process, and produced a print that is 4.5x6 FEET, and is made up of thousands of tiny monkey heads. The print is titled "Dunbar's Number" and is a depiction of how big our social groups can get, depending on our brain size. If you want to read more about this fascinating study, here's more information on it. This is what the whole image looks like:

Here are some detail shots of each part of the print. Each monkey is roughly 1" wide.

I also made a print combining ink with white charcoal. I wanted to explore the physiological side of humanity, so I made a diptych print showing the anatomical [in]side of two people:

As if all this weren't enough, I'm also planning my own wedding for April 2012! of course, since I work at a ridiculously creative art studio, I am planning on doing a LOT of it myself, or with the help of my close friends and family. I'm so lucky to have such great people around me at this point in my life. It makes everything easier and so much fun!

So, everyone, that's a not-so-short update on my life, and what I'm getting into! 

Have a great New Year!

My brother is a high school senior- how did this happen?

My other brother and I were discussing this today. Our youngest brother is graduating from high school this year. How is it possible that this is happening already? I'm getting scared by how fast time started moving after I turned, like, 21. I will always remember this kid knocking over my block towers and telling on me. Quintessential little brother stuff.

He is now a much more mature fellow who loves speaking Spanish and acting in his school plays. He performed Dracula tonight, and was a wonderful Briggs. I am so proud of how this kid turned out. I am so glad that he asked me to take his senior photos, because I knew we'd be in for a fun shoot. I was right! Playgrounds were our backdrop, and he has just the best smile. 

I appreciate you, Tim, and I'm so happy I got to take the photos that represent this exciting stage in your life!

Zach's senior photos

These are some of my favorite shots from Zach's senior photo shoot. That kid has the best smile.

Sneak preview on my own engagement shots!

It was a little weird to be on the other side of the camera when it came to Matt and my engagement shoot! My good friend Lauren Macke shot some photos of us at a recently knit-bombed city street downtown. It was the coolest location ever! Colors everywhere, goofy things strung between trees and even lampposts donning a comfy cover!

The photos were taken by Lauren and edited by me.

Nashville with Meredith

I recently took a road trip to Nashville with my good friend Meredith, and she inadvertently became my photo model for the weekend! I love how the light came out all of these! I just asked this lovely girl to be my bridesmaid in my wedding coming up! I'm so excited!

What goes into a photo shoot? From a bride-to-be to fellow brides.

My fiance Matt and I decided who to choose for our engagement shots: Rachel at Glass 29 Image! Her shots have a very similar style to mine, and I love the bright, fun environments she shoots in.

As a bride-to-be, I just attended my first bridal show. It feels strange to be in the position that many of my clients are in: choosing vendors with a dual focus on price and quality. As a photographer, I notice quality first, and the price tag second. I can usually predict what the price range will be, based on the professionalism of the photographs displayed. I know how much experience a fellow photographer has had (which also bumps up the price a lot).

I wish that photographers were more up-front about the reasons behind their price. It seems silly to attach a $2,000 price tag on something without explaining why that price is so high.

A wedding usually takes about 6-8 hours to shoot, from bride and groom preparation to the final dance moves at the end of the night. This is only about 10% of the time it takes to prepare wedding photos for presentation. the editing of around 500 wedding photos takes close to 80 hours. Take a look at the difference between my edited and non-edited photos:

As an artist, I'm very particular about how my work is presented. I usually edit out background distractions, as well as touching up complexions (though I always keep natural marks such as freckles and moles- those things are what make you unique!), enhancing eyes, and editing out glares from flash.

I'm not sure if many photographers do this- but I always test-shoot a venue prior to the actual event. I visit around the same time that I'm shooting, so I get an idea of how to handle the lighting, and know what equipment to bring. I even checked out COSI, which was 1 1/2 hours from my house before the wedding pf the bride shown above.

Being a bride-to-be, shopping around for my own photographer, has made me very conscious of my own prices and what I can offer to my clients. I consider myself on the low end of the price scale, because I'm an independent photographer (not associated with a big business or team of photographers). I want to offer as low a price as I can to my clients, while still respecting the time I spent refining the photographs.

That's what you can expect from my photographic services- dedication to detail and beautiful, refined shots that reflect your personality and values.

Sweet cafe, sweet couple

Remember Stephanie and Dave? They threw a party for all their friends to celebrate their marriage, and had it in this fun little joint in Covington called York Street Cafe. They had a band, some food, brews and wine, and just had a blast. It was so much fun to shoot their celebration, after being with them for their wedding. This is one of the reasons I love being a wedding photographer- you get to know clients very well. Not just their personalities, but you meet their whole family at weddings! you get such a well-rounded view of them as a person, and how they work as a couple. That is a magical thing to capture through a lens.

Anyway, here are some of my favorite shots from the night.

Alicia's Wedding

It's strange to be on the other side of the camera during a wedding! I was a bridesmaid in my roommate's wedding this weekend, and I couldn't keep myself from snapping a few photos while we were all getting ready!

This was a lovely group of bridesmaids, and one gorgeous bride! I feel lucky to have spent all day with them and celebrated my friend's special day together.