hillside studios

Tonight, I read an article titled, “Engagement Photos Are Stupid” on a random website that I had never seen before. It really touched a nerve with me and I wanted to put in my two cents about engagement photos and what I feel they really are and mean. I understand everyone is entitled to their own opinion but I disagree.

The article stated there were two reasons to take engagement photos: to show off the ring and show people how in love you are. They lastly added that it was a waste of money. I believe there are lots of reasons to take them and they really depend on you! As for a waste of money, well, that’s all a matter of opinion as well.

Here’s why I think doing engagement photos are a good idea:

1. You develop a closer relationship with your photographer. Most times, your engagement photos are taken by the same photographer who will do your wedding. Having your engagement photos done allows you to get to know them a little more and become familiar with how to act in front of the camera. It can be intimidating to have that big camera on you all the time so this is the opportunity to get rid of any jitters and become easy with the process. Also, it allows the photographer to get to know how you interact together, what makes you tick, and what you like about your photos. Personally, it makes me feel like I “know” the couple better on their wedding day and helps me do a better job of capturing their personalities.

2. You get personalized professional portraits. This is your chance to really express yourself and get unique and individualized portraits of you and your love. I love to try to make each engagement session personal to each couple. Granted, you don’t have to have some elaborate, or any, idea for your engagement photos. But some people do! And I love that. The photo shoot is all about you and the sky is the limit when it comes to how imaginative you want to be. I’m not your hoaky, old-school photographer who shoots at one single location and uses the same old poses that have been out of fashion for 30 years. I know that I personally hardly have any professional photos of me and my husband and wish I had more. How often do you think about doing it? Besides, you will want to pass photos down to future generations. Your kids will want to see how young, beautiful and in love you were.

3. They make wonderful invitations. I have a lot of couples who use their engagement photos in their invitations or save-the-dates. Instead of shopping all the traditional non-unique invitations out there, make your own! You can have fun making cards, calendars, magnets, etc, etc, to send to your invitees. If you feel like you aren’t creative and can’t make these, or know where to start, let me know and I can help! I have a graphic design background and use exclusive-for-photographers vendors who make amazing products.

4. They are fun. Lastly, and truly, I’m sure I could think of more reasons but here’s where I’m going to end it, it’s just plain fun. I haven’t had a couple yet tell me they hated every minute of having their photos done. In fact, most of my couples make new memories and have a great time doing it. Think of it like a unique date that you both go on. Sometimes it can be adventurous or in a place you don’t often go.

These are just some of my thoughts. I don’t think it’s egotistical to hang photos of yourself in your home or to document how in love you are. It’s certainly not a waste of money or time. It all depends on you and what you deem as important or worth spending on. People don’t think twice about spending money on frivolous things they don’t need or that maybe they don’t have anything to show for it after. Photos last a lifetime and become family memories and items to be cherished. Why shouldn’t you invest a little in them?

Here’s some engagement photos of mine that I thought I would share.

Happy Friday, everyone! Hope you have an amazing day.

Ok, so my post isn’t original. My photographer friend, Sara, posted something along these lines the other day and I was jealous I hadn’t thought of it first. So I told her I was stealing the idea. I don’t know how one goes about organizing a post all about quirks so we’ll see how this all goes. Maybe a bullet list would be best? Anyway, there are some funny (and dare I say, endearing) traits about myself that I thought I would share with those of you who may become my clients and hopefully friends down the line! So here goes.

- I am a slob in a lot of ways but dammit, I can’t scribble when I write. A clean piece of paper is pristine and it drives me crazy when I mess up and have to scribble something out.
- In that same realm, when I buy a new pretty notebook or sketch pad, I am hesitant to make the first mark…why? I’m really not sure why I’m mental about it.
- I believe sarcasm is an art form and really have a tough time curbing this in inappropriate places/times.
- I have a sick sense of humor and often find things amusing that maybe aren’t so amusing to others. Take these signs from Ireland, for example. These cracked me up. Especially the guy falling off the cliff. Um, duh? Like someone needed a sign warning them of this? I think instinctually we should know better.

- My dog has about 100 nicknames, but I am happy to say, only half were made up by me. The rest my husband. His name is Blue, a.k.a. Boo Boo, Blue the Brown Dog, Bluecephus, Blueberry Hill (clever play on our last name, eh?), Blucifer, Boobookins, Boo Boo Bushybottom (hubby), Poopsicle (hubby), Poopster (also husband…not sure the fascination…), and many many more, depending on mood. Oh, and he has a hairy condition on his backside (he’s a Sheltie) that we call an “ass-fro”.
- Also, the poor dog is often our muse for making up songs with his various names, it’s amazing where it fits. Besides the obvious, “Blue Suede Shoes..”
- I believe that loungewear, yoga pants, sweatshirts and workout wear, makes an excellent daily wardrobe. If I don’t have to go anywhere, that’s usually what I’m wearing.
- I hate reality shows with the exception of the Voice, Biggest Loser and What Not To Wear. I am addicted to series like True Blood, Game of Thrones, Dexter and the Tudors.
- I channel an inner geeky love of everything medieval and Renaissance and yes, I do love the Renaissance Festival and do own a reproduction Marie Antoinette gown, although I have not ever really worn it because it’s way too big for me now.
- I am a bookworm.
- I cannot stand tunafish yet love tuna as sushi.
- I love coffee shops (and coffee) and typically frequent them but hate the way I smell after hanging out in one.
-  I would celebrate Christmas all year if I could and torture my family from Thanksgiving on with Christmas music on KOSI101 FM. (Note: I hate the DJs though).
- I pretend to be cooler than I really am.
- Wow, I tend to talk wayyyyyyyy too much. If you are still reading, I applaud you!

So after noticing how long this list is, I thought maybe I should end it here. Happy Wednesday, everyone!

I know I’ve said it more than once, I love my clients. I am especially blessed to have made connections with people that I don’t just view as a “client” but as friends. I’m not sure how I’ve gotten to be so lucky! I am happy when I make a special connection with my “peeps” and am over the moon when I make their day with my photography. I thought I would share a couple thank you notes that I have received and the people that are behind them.

That lovely note was from Alyssa & Ted. I did their wedding last summer. I especially connect with their quirky humor and general silliness. They are awesome and loving people and I wish them the very best! Here are a couple shots from their wedding.

This next one is from Lindsey & Daniel. I am sad that I do not get to shoot their wedding as they’re getting married in San Diego but I am honored to have done their engagement session. We had a lot of fun and beautiful weather for the day.

Lindsey and Daniel were amazing to work with. They are so much in love and it shows in every shot. I wish I could share their special day with them! Lindsey & Daniel, I wish you the very best and hope to someday photograph some babies!

Looking at these notes has made my day! I just thought I would share.

Happy Wednesday, everyone!

You may or may not know my story of how I got to be here. It’s all still so new to me and such a blur. I never knew photography would be the career that saved me from the monotony of a non-creative desk job that I hated. I always had visions of self-employment but to be honest, it never included photography as the vehicle. I am an Illustrator. With a specific love for children’s book art. I draw. I paint. I love to make cute anthropomorphic animals. Like this one:

And creating flying elephants, like these:

Or delving into a different style and pursuring Celtic design in Adobe Illustrator for a dragon project I will someday do:

I found this “job” very difficult to do while working full time. Sure, I had gotten to illustrate a couple children’s books by self publishing authors and received some notice by a couple gallery owners and showed my work proudly but I wasn’t finding that big break that I needed. Not only that, but I live in the Denver area, not in NYC, where big publishing houses make decisions about using illustrators such as myself for their projects. It’s a tough industry to get into. That’s why they call us “starving artists”. Don’t get me wrong, I will continue to be the artist that I am and I still have projects up my sleeve of things I would like to get noticed someday but the road to self employment in this field was slipping away from me and I was afraid I would have to wait until I was retired to pursue it.

Then, a new path appeared for me. I had always taken photos for fun and always put the effort into being more artistic with them than just snapshots. My husband and I would sometimes frequent art galleries in the area to look at local artists’ work. He noticed the amount of photography in some of these galleries and asked me, “Why aren’t you doing this?” And I simply said, “Because I’m not a photographer.” I just played around with a camera and tried to take cool photos. He disagreed and told me he thought I could do more with it if I tried. That year, I got my first digital camera for Christmas and enrolled in a class at the local community college with an instructor who is a fine art figure photographer. It was fun to challenge myself every week with the new “word” we had to photograph and I was very abstract most of the time. My instructor kept commenting on my eye for composition and how that can’t really just be “taught”. I would laugh and say that I sure hoped I had an eye for composition since I paid a heck of a lot of money in tuition to become an illustrator. But he said it seemed to be more than that. I had a natural eye. It was encouraging that he thought so and it bolstered me to keep working on it. Later, we did figure work, which I was not excited about AT ALL because I didn’t want to shoot people. BORING. Ha ha. Who knew that would change my life? The second I started shooting the model in his studio, I was all fashion-photographer-incarnate. I LOVED IT. I was on the floor, up on ladders and chairs, finding every angle that I hoped would be artistic. The results? A really great in class critique and the instructor pulling me aside at break and encouraging me to pursue shooting people. Here are a couple from the first two studio sessions we did with models for our class. Please keep in mind these are with a VERY limited quality digital camera 4 years ago. This is summer 2008.

I went home and told my husband, I know I was glowing with excitement. I started asking a couple co-workers with high school seniors if they would like senior portraits done. It spiraled from there, with me doing 12 high school seniors within those first 3 months. Then came on the family portraits and babies, etc. All of a sudden, I was running a business. My husband and I sat down and laid plans as to where I would go from there. I think this is when he first said his favorite mantra for me: ”Begin with the end in mind.” All of a sudden, self-employment seemed within reach again. In February 2010, I photographed my first wedding, a repeat client who asked me to do it. With much trepidation, I agreed and once again, when I got over the nerves, I had a blast and haven’t turned back since. I have grown by leaps and bounds. This is 2012.

I have had my fair share of doubts and fears, pursuing this business, and I still fight with inner thoughts, but I think we all do. My husband constantly grounds me and brings me back to center when fear takes a hold of me. He believes in me. Always has. He is my rock.

I haven’t looked back since leaving my full time job to do this. I have been so blessed to be able to do something I love, a creative career, for a living. Most of all, I enjoy bringing happiness to my clients with the images I create for them. It is such a personal thing on both sides of the camera. I make new friends with my clients and am able to get a glimpse of their love and lives. For me, the work I create is my art and my passion. It makes me happy to create it.