J: Valentine’s Day Boudoir
Posted on January 25, 2014
Boudoir photography is something I have always loved. Adding it to my professional repertoire has been a dream of mine for some time now and I am so happy that I have gotten to do several of these sessions recently. The thing I love about boudoir is that is is for a specific person and all about making a woman feel beautiful and sensual.
While most of the shots from J’s session a few weeks ago are private and for her husband’s eyes only, she did allow me to share a few of the more “general” ones here on the blog.
J, thank you so much for choosing me as your photographer and allowing me to share some of your images. You are beautiful and amazing!!
If you are interested in doing a session like this and would like to see more examples from this type of session, please contact me so that I can share images with you privately (women only, please).
A Behind the Scenes Wedding Story
Posted on January 15, 2014
For the Malone wedding I photographed in July, Jackie of Photostyle Boutique was my fantastic second shooter. Jackie and I met a couple of years ago as we both got involved in PARK Project, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to Perform Acts of Random Kindness. When I learned that Jackie was also a photographer, I knew we would be instant friends. Our similar attitudes, work ethic, and sense of humor make working together a joy.
My intern, Chris, also joined me for the Malone wedding. As you may know, I am also a high school teacher and Chris was a student of mine for four years. He graduated this past May and has won numerous local, state, and national awards for his work as a photographer in scholastic journalism (he’s a great writer too).
Now, rarely am I in front of a camera lens (being a photographer means that I am always the one taking pictures, not posing for them) but shooting with Jackie and Chris gave me the rare opportunity to actually be in front of the camera for some shots at the wedding. You see I went to college with the groom, Jon, and knew some of the bridal party as well. Not to mention the fact that the bride, Melissa, is sweet as can be and we had already become friendly from their engagement shoot a couple of months earlier.
With three photographers in the room, I was able to grab a shot with both Chris & Jackie.
And take some shots of my awesome shooters hard at work!
This fun couple loved Jackie so much that they begged me to take some pictures with them and her. They were too funny!
Last but not least, I couldn’t resist some pictures with the bride and groom throwing up “the U” to represent our alma mater, the University of Miami.
Jon and Melissa are such a fun couple that shooting their wedding was more like attending a big party with all your friends rather than work. Jackie, Chris, and I had the best time!
As you can imagine, a lot goes into wedding photography. After all, the photographer(s), bride, and groom pretty much spend the entire day together, and other than the bridal party, no other person will spend more time with the bride and groom. That is why I think the relationship between the photographer and the bride and groom is such an important one. Weddings also have a LOT going on, which is why a trusted second shooter (or two) is invaluable. Hiring a second shooter allows for more coverage on the wedding day and the chance to get differing perspectives of the events.
I want to give a big THANK YOU to Jackie and Chris and all their hard work on the Malone wedding! Having them share this wedding with me was a great experience. To see more of her work, you can find Miami based photographer Jackie online at her website, facebook page, and instagram. And you can find Chris online too at both his facebook page, and on 500px.
BBCC Women’s Luncheon 2013
Posted on December 10, 2013
I have been attending Boynton Beach Community Church for 12 years now, and one of the main perks of moving back home to Palm Beach County this year is getting to attend this great church every single Sunday. My church is awesome and full of amazing, faithful women. Each year we have a women’s luncheon on the first Sunday in December to celebrate each other before the craziness of the holidays begins. It’s always a meaningful time that helps us to keep focused on the real reason for the season.
It is important for me to give back to my church community, and one of the ways I can do that is through photography.
The women of our church did an amazing job decorating our church space. The dolls on each table are vintage porcelain dolls and were donated to children in need after the event.
I have to say, women really know what Christmas is all about: Jesus and yummy dessert! The dessert table was pretty fantastic.
It was really nice to see everyone come together for such a special event.
We even had a musical guest: The Kings Academy Choir! They sang beautiful songs that got everyone in the holiday spirit.
Some of the girls from our church did a special performance of a song and dance, which was beautiful.
Lastly, I had to include a shot of Dudley and Chris Hodges, the husband and wife duo that make BBCC such a great place to be.
I love being able to share my gift with my church family. You can view the entire gallery from the Women’s Luncheon here at Pixieset.
Winter Photo Challenge Week 4: Prism Photography
Posted on November 24, 2013
I am going to go ahead and be really honest here: I am terrible at prism photography.
If you want to know what prism photography is, I recommend you go read this. The short version is that you take a prism, yes those triangle things from elementary school science class, and hold them up to the lens to manipulate your picture. Here is the hard part, you have to hold the camera, and hold the prism up to your lens, while trying to manually focus and push the shutter button. Granted, I probably should have just used a tripod, but tripods never really feel like “me” and I really thought I would be able to manage it all. Laughable in hindsight, but those are the lessons we need to learn.
When I was trying to take this week’s photo, I felt like an idiot who didn’t know anything about how to take a picture. While I think this photography looks cool when done well, it is obviously not for me. I don’t love it enough to have the patience it would take to really make a great photograph using this technique.
That being said, I really did try, and this was the best I could do:
I am not happy with this, at all, but it was the only one from the bunch that I even liked a little bit. *sigh* Here’s to hoping more success in next week’s challenge!
Forgiveness
Posted on November 20, 2013
‘Cause we all make mistakes sometimes
And we’ve all stepped across that line
But nothing’s sweeter than the day we find
Forgiveness, forgiveness
And we all stumble and we fall
Bridges burn in the heat of it all
But nothing’s sweeter than the day, sweeter than the day we call out for forgiveness
— Toby Mac
Unstoppable
Posted on November 19, 2013
We make our moves in mysterious ways
We’d rather burn up, then stick to the shade
Not of this world so we live on the run
We’ve got our heart set on what is to come
We are, we are (we are unstoppable)
We are, we are (for the impossible)
We are, we are (we are the kingdom come)
That’s who we are, that’s who we are
— Unstoppable by Toby Mac
Winter Photo Challenge Week 3: Rembrandt Triangle with Soft Window Light
Posted on November 17, 2013
Last week I missed out on week two of the Photography Awesomesause’s Winter Photo Challenge 2013-2014, but I wasn’t about to let that deter me from getting back into the challenge.
This week the challenge was to get that soft window lighting for an indoor portrait. I will admit that this posed a challenge for me for two reasons: 1) I don’t seem to get home in time for natural light indoors, and 2) none of our window shades are working at the moment, meaning that the shades can’t be opened to allow light in.
I ended up doing the challenge this afternoon with my brother as the subject, and instead of opening the window shades, I actually opened the front door and had him sit in the light that streamed in. Using a white reflector, I was able to capture a couple of shots that I am pleased with.
I would definitely like to work more on this look. I can see how in the right conditions, it can be really beautiful. Next time I just need window shades that open!
Winter Photo Challenge Week 1: Backlighting
Posted on November 3, 2013
I am so excited to be participating in Photography Awesomesause’s Winter Photo Challenge 2013-2014!! I can already tell this is going to be a great opportunity to get me out there on a weekly basis fine tuning and perfecting my photography skills. Plus, instant weekly blog post win!
This week the challenge is backlighting. For those of you that may be wondering, here is a quick definition of backlighting:
“Backlighting refers to the process of illuminating the subject from the back. In other words, the lighting instrument and the viewer are facing towards each other, with the subject in between. This causes the edges of the subject to glow, while the other areas remain darker. The backlight can be a natural or artificial source of light (source).”
Backlighting is dramatic and technically “wrong” in a lot of ways (if you are studying photography, you know what I mean) but it is also incredibly beautiful. You can see lots of examples of backlighting used properly here.
I didn’t find out about the challenge until today, but fortunately for me, I happened to be at Morikami Park this afternoon taking some nature photos, something I haven’t done in a long time. Although it wasn’t planned, I actually got a photo that fit the bill for the challenge!
I look forward to getting more creative as the weeks go by and actually getting the chance to plan out my photographs. This is going to be fun!
Happy Halloween!!
Posted on October 31, 2013
Last night I shot my church’s Fall Family Fun event, and the costumes were awesome! My favorite? Baby Elvis! He was just too cute.
Happy Halloween everyone!!
Chase: Delray Beach Back to School Session
Posted on October 28, 2013
Yesterday I shot one of my most favorite subjects, my little brother! Chase is 13 years old and an awesome kid all around. I love his style and that he is so multi-talented. He’s been begging me to take back-to-school photos of him for about a month now, and so we headed out to Delray Beach yesterday afternoon to take some fun shots.
Chase is a musical kid, but his two main instruments are the guitar and the french horn (he also plays drums, trumpet, and dabbles in some others). We brought both out to our session to capture his talent. I wish there was audio in some of these photos because he was really playing! People even stopped to listen.
Of course he wouldn’t be Chase if he didn’t get silly!
Lastly, we headed down to the beach. I love to end my sessions there, can you tell? =) I love the beach because it just calms me. The light is beautiful, you get to put your toes in the water & sand, and the sound of the ocean is so relaxing. Plus for photos, it is such a good opportunity to have some fun!
Shooting my brother was such a fun experience. It connected us as brother and sister, and gave me the opportunity to really focus on him, both through my lens and in person. I am so happy to have him in my life!
Camile Teresa | Photographer 