Out with the old....

Hey Guys,

If you love this blog, you'll love the new blog ten times more!!!

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Living for the 3 Day weekend.

So after many days of no posts, I'm finally back after a great Labor Day Weekend.

I had some of my oldest friends in town and per usual we laughed, danced, drank and even did a little yoga. These are some of the most amazing people I know and I'm glad they decided to spend their holiday weekend with me.

Beaches and Logos

Emery Burke (The Fly Samurai)

Check out Emery as he tries to pull off a Sunglass Campaign and then kicks it as a corporate Ninja...

(This is what happens when I'm bored on a Sunday)

I Fell in Love with Photography.... and Broke up with Running

I've pretty much been a runner my whole life. My parents tell me stories of me as a 2 year-old kicking over my stroller and opting to run in order to keep up with their walking pace. This running continued all the way through high school and college as I geared up for the track team.

I've always loved running and although I haven't raced competitively for years, I've still found time to incorporate a few early morning runs into my schedule.... that was until I found photography.

After I picked up a camera a few months ago, its been so hard to put it down. I recently looked at my camera meter and I've taken over 30,000 pictures... some good, some bad and some I'm just embarrassed I even took. Regardless, photography has become my newest passion and is quickly growing into my own business. 

This new love for photography, however, has nearly killed any free time I have for running. I have gone more than 2 weeks (the most in my life) without going for a single run. As I stare at my neglected Nike Pegasus in the corner of my room, I realize that I need to spend time with my old companion.

So I've done the unthinkable.... I signed up for a HALF-MARATHON!!! That's right, yesterday I registered for the Palm Beach Marathon and have opted to run the 13.1 mile version (26.2 miles was just a little too ambitious for me). I figured by having a goal to reach I would be more committed to find time for running. The marathon isn't until December 7 (which is ironically Bobby Staten's B-day, one of my motivators) but I'm on a 4 month plan to get in prime shape by then.

I'm sure this is going to be one of the hardest things I've ever done but you can never really get over your first love....

I'll keep the updates comin'!!

Curissa + Larondo

I can't thank Curissa and Larondo enough for giving me the chance to shoot their wedding. Even though this is only my second wedding shoot, they fully trusted my judgement and vision for how I wanted to tell their story. 

Luckily, they couldn't have picked a more perfect day to get married. We started at the crack of dawn to capture Curissa as the sun was rising and I have to give it up to the girls for being up and ready at 6 am. Not only did I have the opportunity to get to know this amazing bridal party but we also got some great shots in as well.

The wedding pictures turned out ten times better than I could ever imagine and I can't wait to share these pictures with everyone! 

If you want to see more pictures go to my website, click on "proofing" and the password is "curissa"

Jessica

Jessica is a model, actress, singer and DJ from Melbourne, Australia. 

Kim Brown

Meet my good friend Kim. She is the reigning Miss Black California. When she's not busy volunteering for numerous charities or speaking to young girls on the importance of education and self-esteem, Kim is actively pursuing a career in music. This girl is blessed with an amazing voice and I can't wait to see what she has in store musically.

She wanted a shoot that was inspired by one of her biggest idols, Beyonce. Here are a few pics of Kim I took in Atlanta.

I'm Official!! (Part 2)

After weeks of waiting, the gracious people over at Leather Craftsmen have approved me for an account!! Leather Craftsmen is the standard when it comes to wedding albums and for good reason. I had the opportunity to meet with my Leather Craftsmen rep, David and was floored by the detail and beauty of their books. The covers are genuine leather as you would expect, but the books themselves take your wedding pictures to another level!! They have a story book quality that you have to see to believe.

Although, these books will ultimately increase the cost of my wedding packages, they are WELL worth the investment in my opinion. I am excited to bring my clients the very best in photographic expression!! 

Samples coming soon...

Random Inspirations: L10_001

I think inspiration is one of the most important things in this world. It spawns creativity, beauty & art in our daily lives and I wanted to start sharing some of my inspirations with you all. 

The funny thing about inspiration is that it can come from anywhere and anything. How many times have you seen someone in great shape and been inspired to go to the gym? Or heard a scripture at Church and been inspired to live a better life? And I know every woman reading this has been inspired by Oprah in one way or another.

No matter where you find your inspiration, its what drives you and the world to constantly move forward. 

Now, I call this segment of my blog "Random Inspirations" because they may seem like they come from left field but like I say, I try to find the beauty in everything. 

This American Express Commercial featuring clothing designer Diane Von Furstenberg is AMAZING!!! From an artistic perspective, the lighting, cinematography and flow of this commercial is impeccable. I love the opening when she's photographing the trees and they slowly come into focus, I love the simplistic piano music playing in the background and I love what she's saying. Her very first words are: "I didn't really know what I wanted to do, but I knew the person I wanted to become". This is exactly where I am in my life and I'm sure a lot of you can relate. 

This commercial has not only inspired me to follow my dream, but more importantly I am inspired to Become my dream. 

"Become your Dream" - De La Vega

Courtney + Shawn

This morning I headed to downtown Hollywood for an engagement shoot with Courtney & Shawn and had the time of my life! Shawn's mom, Camille was the one who actually found me on the web and told me what a great couple they were... she couldn't have been more right. From the first picture I could tell that not only were they totally in love but best friends as well. 

In my opinion, this shoot was amazing! They were more than willing to be guinea pigs on a few new ideas and the pictures turned out better than I expected. I have to admit, although Courtney was great, Shawn was perhaps the best male model to date (he must have practiced in the mirror before he came).

I can't wait to shoot their wedding this November!! Enjoy

Kim + Jayson

Remember the post I wrote about my first wedding.... well this is the couple! Kim and Jayson are two of the most down-to-earth people I have ever met and were great to work with. I do think I put my foot in my mouth when I told Kim I was an early bird because we started this shoot at 7:15 am. They had a lot to do on their wedding day so we had to get the pictures in early. 

This was a totally new location for me but we all adapted pretty fast and knocked out some great pictures. I have to give a special thanks to my consultant/assistant Janeka. She woke up at the crack of dawn to help me out and made a lot of these pictures possible. I'll be posting a few of their wedding pics soon.