Personal Style - Emma Block

I love these illustrations from London-based freelancer, Emma Block.  

 How awesome would it be if you could commission her to do portraits of women in your own life? 

I know a few certain fashionistas I would love to see done. 

Would look amazing framed! 

LookBook!

I was beyond happy to work with Tina Nunez of the soon to be opened DAG Fashions boutique in Gilbert, Arizona. 

I love working with people are who are creatively motivated and

following their bliss - this is Tina! She loves fashion and has great taste. I am thrilled that there will be a boutique in the area that will carry all of the looks you see here, and of course much more.

When Tina mentioned that she needed pictures of some of the styles she would be carrying, we decided to have a model contest to help us find the right girl for the job.  

The winner was Adrianna Martinez and she was awesome.

I can't wait for the boutique to open up - 

I will definitely be a customer with all the cute stuff available. So excited!

Here is a preview of some of the looks:

I had a hard time picking a favorite, but I think it would have to be Indigo Blush. 

Which look is your favorite? 

 DAG Fashions is set to open in late August or early September. Stay tuned for grand opening details!

How to find your passion

I remember when I didn't know what my passion was. 

I felt lost, and although not unhappy, I was not feeling fulfilled. 

 I wanted to feel happy with what I was doing on a daily basis. 

I wanted to do something fun & creative but I didn't know what it was that could fill that void. 

Some people say that your passion is right under your nose, that you don't need to look far into distant places; that your passion isn't hidden in secret nooks and buried underneath deep layers of wonder and puzzlement. 

It turns out that my passion was under my nose, almost literally.

Shapes From Light

After seeing this neat trick on Pinterest, I wanted to attempt it myself. It took a couple of tries but I did it! 

I followed each of the steps here, first tracing my 50mm 1.8 lens on thick scrapbook paper, then drawing handles that would allow me to attach the paper to the lens with a rubber band. Make sure the handles are long enough, you can always shorten them later.

 You'll need sharp scissors to cut out your preferred shape, and it should be no bigger than a dime. 

I waited for it to get dark out and then turned on the Christmas lights we have hanging on the back porch. I used manual focus and made sure the lights were as out of focus as possible, then snapped away. I think this would have worked even better had I used dark paper and a tripod. I shot in aperture priority with the f-stop 1.8. 

I can't wait for Christmas to come - I will def be having fun taking pics of the tree this year! 

Here is the original link that I saw on Pinterest - Photography: Shaped Bokeh

I hope my photographer friends try this! It was really fun!

:) 

Jaiden Rae, July 2012

Sigh... my little girl is growing up. 

I can see her changing right before my eyes. 

Becoming her own person. 

I know that soon, she won't want to go with me everywhere, yelling "shotgun!" with her tangled her and flip flops in hand as she runs out the door. 

She'll stop telling me every single detail in the latest Good Luck Charlie or iCarly.

She'll stop trying to sneak into my bed in the middle of the night.

But as she grows, I hope she doesn't stop drawing. 

Or talking to me non-stop.

Or trusting me.

Or sending me "I love you" text messages in 10 different fonts.

Or stop being her curious, free-spirited, smart, giggly, wonderful, beautiful self. 

XOXO

Erianah & Chloe, Take One

It makes me sad when a session doesn't go as planned. 

I was able to catch only a few good photos from my session with Chloe & Erianah, since they weren't feeling well. A suitcase full of chalk lifted Erianah's mood but nothing could help little Chloe - poor thing was sick :( 

I'm excited to re-shoot these girls and determined to get some bigger smiles next time :)

Thank you Veronica & David for coming to Tempe for your photos - up next, round 2!