oh my goodness!

the good times just keep rollin!
may is going to be one crazy, insane, photographic-lly filled month!
with the end of the semester, and shoots practically every weekend,
i may not be socially around for
are you ready to see the schedule thus for?
no really, its crazy... are you ready for this?
you may but, but am i? haha.
may 1st:maternity shoot (10am) modesto
may 2nd: 1st bday shoot (TBD... sometime am) sacramento
may 4th: bridal/couple shoot (6pm) sacramento
may 8th: community rummage sale (7am) sacramento
may 11th: bridal shoot (5pm) sacramento
may 15th: engagement session (1pm) modesto
may 16th: engagement session (TBD) sacramento
may 21st: wedding (all day) sacramento
june 12: wedding (TBD) madera
and this is just what i have set in stone!
i have a few more brides as well as a family of 3 i've been emailing with and will hopefully have something set up in the coming weeks. last night i attended my first photography workshop with monica, of studio kyk in roseville. here's a behind the scenes view of her showing us all how she shoots. it was so worth it for me to go. i've got some new business ideas up my sleeve that i can hopefully put in to action for jessica&adam's wedding in may :)
p.s. you can check out monICA here at: studio kyk

bekah&desi

a sampling of what was taken over easter weekend at grandma's house. i'm so bummed it was raining outside, but we got some okay shots with the backdrop indoors. i'm having color correction issues with these photos for some reason, so please forgive me if they seem a bit intense.

sneak peek :)

tonya was a blast to work with. she took direction well, and was very comfortable in front of the camera. we walked around in old town roseville, and had some fun :) tonya is a hairstylist that works at papillion salon off of north sunrise in roseville. if you ever need an awesome and super friendly hair stylist, she's your gal! more bridals to come soon

free bridals? free you say?

that's right, it means what it says!
what:
free bridal style photos on location
or even trash the dress, if you dare ;)
who:
you! brides of the past, or the soon to be.
when:
whenever works best for you.
i'm generally free on the weekends best
or tuesdays after 2pm...
at least until the end of may, that is
where:
on location.
parks, hip & with it city streets,
anywhere we can find that will look spectacular and fun
why:
i'm looking for any and all practice photographing brides
i can't afford to pay you with money,
but i can afford to give you a lovely cd of all the edited photographs to use at your will in exchange for my use/publication in print, web, and any other means that i can find.
how:
email me at photogbyem@gmail.com to get started!

retouching experience 101

i think i have finally come to learn something useful in my classes at school that can be applied to my work. you tell me if you see a difference ;)
(homework assignment... i'm really not that vain...)on the left is the straight out of camera image. yes, its a tad dark, but i was also dealing with a dying flash. on the right would be fully edited image. exposure corrected, color balanced, eyes brightened, teeth whitened, and skin slightly softened. slight blemish removal, and a little bit of spot healers. i tried to go crazy experiment and try and remove the scar on my hand completely, but it looked a bit funky because of the location.
i hope to try this soon on some willing volunteers, since we all know there is retouching... and then there is overkill.
one class assignment down. another one will feature this little guy...

monICA talks

this april i will be attending my first photography work shop. i have been searching for a workshop in my area for awhile now, and was happy to stumble upon this one.
monICA is a local photographer i have followed from a friend on my facebook page (gotta love those "become a fan" buttons) and i've really liked her work. as well, she owns her own business, and this is her first ever photography work shop that she has hosted. what an even better reason to go :) her first time hosting a workshop, and my first time going! basically, it sounds like she's going to cover her experiences from the past 5 years of her work, what she's come across in the field of photography, what works, what doesn't work, and all that is in between. she's asked us to send questions now to inspire her for potential ideas to talk on... believe me, i've already started putting not just my .02 cents in, but more like my $1.97 worth of what i want to know. of course, wedding photography topped my list of first things to want to know more about. also, what lenses she uses for what situations. a good lens is very key in photography. crappy lens, you'll end up on judge joe brown like this "professional" photographer. haha. another one that came to mind, thanks to my TPP years, is props. Props are SO over enforced in that wretched place, its not even funny. i like the idea of props, but i don't like them to overwhelm the image. i'd love to incorporate a prop that doesn't look out of place, over power the image, or just plain look tacky. so i sent that her way. i'm sure come april 24th she'll be tired of all the questions and info that i want to know, but until then, i'll be thinking of anything and everything to ask her :)
i'm very excited, what can i say? i am still on the search for a wedding specific workshop. i think it would be particularly very helpful for me.

Aileen - 14 yr photos

my sister turned the big 1-4 this past march. we have been randomly goodwill shopping and finding her some dresses, and since this pink one was such a hit, i made her dress herself up, and go down to the park for some photos. oh, and a couple other outfits as well as her oboe for a prop... aaaaand her crazy cat mushu... who walks on a leash. ah, i do miss my days of TPP with photographing animals more often. i defn. got more accustomed to working with dogs that way. haha. although, i think mushu was more excited than she was. here is a small sampling of some of the photos :)he's such a snotty looking cat in some of these. just goes along with that quote about dogs having owners and cats having staff... at least he didn't go cross eyed! ;)

Prom Photos

Finally! Well, our hard drive came and went
some reason it is having issues staying visible on the computer
but i was able to nab the prom photos while it was there :)
have a peek. boy, these make me miss high school a bit
it appears "recovering" the files have made the colors a bit whack.
once i have the hard drive back again, i will defn fix them :)

shakin' it like a polaroid

so i bought a polaroid, right?
goodwill, 4.99 for the win. yay.
couldn't find film for the longest time
almost bought some on ebay, but then freaked myself out not knowing what i was getting myself in to. got that money refunded asap, and debated other options
-polaroid back for holga (149.00)
-instamax mini - pics were too small for my liking... and 150 for the camera.
-instamax camera - uh.. i think it was like 100...
anywhos... i ended up waiting. and waiting. and waiting.
until the impossible project finally relisted some 600 film
bought myself 4 packs (i want to incorporate it with my wedding photography)
finally went to use it today... it doesn't load the film.
so now, i am on the quest for a legit polaroid camera that functions.
checked out a few on craigslist, waiting for an email back.
and hopefully from there, i'll find something.

i tried to leave you with a photo so that this wasn't all talk
but apparently our E:// drive disappeared again. its not gone for good.
the computer just likes to play games with me...
so now, i owe you prom photos, aileen photos, and eventually some cousin photos from yesterday.
don't forget about the march of dimes special!