Life:: A Baby Shower in Austin

My friends all moved away, which sucks. BUT I am not tied down so I can do ALL the traveling and visit them which makes me so happy. And so traveling for each others’ baby showers are becoming a thing and it’s fabulous. First Briana in San Francisco, then Amber in Winston Salem (which I regret I forgot my camera **rolls eyes**), and now Adora in Austin! And man, it was adorable. Adora and her husband Josh are expecting a little boy named Jett in less than 5 weeks!

So when Briana had a chance to return the favor of throwing a baby shower for her best friend, she really dove in and came up with a fabulous camping-themed shower, complete with s’mores and an actual tent. Not to mention, Adora’s sister Michelle is an INCREDIBLY talented calligrapher & artist who makes custom signs (check out her adorable shop MillionAyres) so we utilized her talent to make cute signs to label everything!

Anyway, we had a great time and every time I’m with these girls, my heart is full. Adora, I cannot WAIT to meet baby Jett – he’s already going to be the coolest kid on the block with parents like you and Josh (and a killer name like Jett). Cheers to you both!

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Photography:: Frank + Daniela

“Yo, that’s the hottest asian I’ve ever seen!” Those were the first words Daniela ever spoke about Frank to her best friend Nia when she met him at school orientation. But she had no idea that man would be her husband just 5 years later. They went through ups and downs, misunderstandings and hurt feelings but they eventually found their way to each other. And you know after spending just 5 minutes with the two of them that God had brought them together. I’ve known Daniela since she was in 6th grade and I knew it would take no one less than a goofy, easy going, strong man of God to win her heart; and that’s exactly what Frank is. You can see God’s hand in their relationship and it’s beautiful.

I had the opportunity to hang out with them in Miami while shooting their engagement pictures. We drank coffee, ate empanadas, and got eaten by mosquitoes.  It was a great time. Their happiness radiates from them and it’s a joy to capture. Cheers to you Frank and Daniela – I have a feeling 2017 is going to be very special for you both!

xo lovelies

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Photography:: Luis + Jasmine

It wasn’t until I was on my refreshing my apartment for rent landing page when I realized that I never blogged about Luis and Jasmine’s wedding in January. Good grief guys, can you tell how bad I am at this? I’d like to say I’ll improve, with a renewed spirit, but we all know the truth here….

So! I’m just going to say that I’ll get there when I get there…..and if I don’t get there, I don’t get there (anyone an Office fan?)

But less about me and my dismal performance as “blogger” and more about Luis and Jasmine! I’ve known Luis for several years through several mutual friends. Luis found the girl of his dreams, popped the question, and she and him planned a beautiful January wedding. 2 weeks before the wedding I get a “Hail Mary” message from Luis asking me if I was available to shoot their wedding because their friend they had booked got jury duty and could no longer shoot it. Luckily I rarely have plans on a Friday night and I was able to shoot it and it turns out, I was the lucky one. Not only was I able to witness two friends come together and start their lives together, but I was able to see old friends (and friends that moved away from me to Austin). There was dancing, singing, and my personal favorite – Cuban food (can I get an amen?!) They left the night to fanfare and confetti and as quickly as it started, it was over.

 

Cheers to you, Luis and Jasmine, as you start on your new journey as Espinosa Party of 3!

 

 

    

Life: A Baby Shower in San Francisco

I was friends with Briana for years and eventually her roommate. I was a bridesmaid in her beautiful wedding and now a soon to be aunt to her baby bun. A few great friends and I had the opportunity to fly out to San Francisco to throw Bri a fabulous baby shower and that’s just what happened. We ate donuts dripping with caramel, drank mimosas, and painted stenciled onesies for baby bun Lyndon. It was a fantastic time celebrating Bri and Jim’s new chapter and I couldn’t be more happy to document it.

I can’t wait to meet him; we all know he’s going to be quite the charmer. Cheers to you friend!

Photography: Posing, Lighting, and Beautiful People

I can re-launch a New Year’s Resolution in mid-February, right? I like to think I can. With that being said, I’ve switched blog platforms and once I have it set up to that sweet spot, with the help of my web genius best friends, I’ll be blogging on a weekly monthly regular basis.

I realize that if you read the below, I’ve said it before BUT…….I can always start over. So I’ve moved over a few of my favorite posts to this new platform and I hope you enjoy my walk down memory lane and can join me as I make new ones.

Cheers friends!

There are a few shoots and blogs that I have neglected to post in the recent months and have become inspired to start blogging with a little more frequency than, oh, twice a year….

It’s that bad people…

But it’s never too late to change that, right? Good, we’re in accord.

So in the spirit of blogging, below is a shoot I did in December before the madness of Christmas and New Years happened. In order to become a stronger photographer, I put together a list of some of my weaknesses from a technical standpoint. I’m pretty comfortable with my camera and shoot totally RAW and Manual which I am pretty proud of to be honest. However, my three weaknesses are posing, shooting backlit, and shooting in harsh light. So how do you get better? You practice. So I grabbed my roommate and her boyfriend and took them to Tree Tops Park in Davie to practice 2 of the 3 weaknesses (can you tell I’m avoiding the biggest weakness? Harsh light= Voldemort).

Now let’s go ahead and put this out there-posing is hard. I’ve worked with people before who used to be or are currently modeling so shooting them is….well, it’s almost like not even working. It’s so easy. But working with regular people…who aren’t comfortable in front of a camera…who don’t know what I mean when I say “Smile with your eyes!!” is pretty difficult.

I’m still working and improving and hope to tackle the demon of harsh lighting in the very near future but here is the result of my experimentation.

 

Umm….rawr Briana, rawr…

She is so yoga…

This one’s my personal favorite. Set them up in a good pose and then capture the natural energy between the two people 🙂