JOSIE
HAPPY GRADUATION!!!!
Thank you for everything!
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Yeah, yeah – I don’t do weddings. But for these two, I made a very rare exception. Congrats Kelsee, Devin and Bentley – you are an amazing family!!
                        no comments OK, I am SOOO behind on blogging and I PROMISED myself that if I ever got behind on clients, I would back off a bit so I could continue to provide amazing customer service, so that’s what I did! The thing is, a few more of life’s surprises have added to my decision, and now my “taking less on” is turning into a sabbatical of sorts. I know – it seems silly and crazy and everything else, considering how busy I am and how successful bloomShoot has become, but my business has to be put on hold while my children and my husband’s dreams take precedence. It’s my decision and I’m sticking to it! Here’s the basic story….my hubby (J.R.) and I are business owners. He runs an electrical contracting company. I run my photography biz. We have four kiddos. We are busy, like every other parent out there. Here’s where it gets crazy: we decided to open a portrait studio AND another business – a CrossFit gym called isoOctane CrossFit (located at 1065 South Main in Cedar City and hopelessly addicting haha). I promised I would give it all I had to make it successful, but in the end, that meant that something had to give. I made the decision to spend my time raising my children and helping J.R. live his dream….mine can wait. I have FOREVER to work once the kiddos are gone, but they are only here in our home for such a short period of our lives (though it rarely feels that way haha) – I want them to have all of me, or as much of me as I can give. In order for J.R. to keep his contracting biz and also have the CrossFit gym, I decided to put the portrait studio on hold. I’m disappointed, but it has been a wonderful change. And don’t worry – I’m not shutting my doors. I’m just not taking any new clients or marketing for more work. And I’m VERY careful about how often I can even schedule shoots. So if you have a gift certificate or a booking or any other concerns – no need to worry! I’m not ditching my camera – NEVER! And I have every intention of picking up where I left off, though it will require some rebuilding by that time, once the season returns and I feel it is appropriate. I will have my dream studio one day. For now, I’m going to try to get caught up with all the sessions and blog posts, etc. and then I’m going to workout because I am truly, hopelessly addicted to CrossFit now, and I have to say – it is a miracle of sorts! I went from spending much of my time sitting on my couch editing to spending the whole day at a gym, working out harder than I ever imagined I was capable of and feeling my muscles getting stronger and stronger has been THE BEST reward! If you read this entire post, come in to Octane Fitness/isoOctane CrossFit and get a voucher for a FREE WORKOUT + a free water bottle. You will LOVE IT! PLUG WARNING: We also offer Kenpo Karate, Jeet Kune Do/MMA Street Fighting and Boot Camps. One of our trainers offers personal training and she is REALLY incredible – especially with people like me who have major obstacles to overcome or deal with. Octane Fitness is at 1065 South Main in Cedar City. 435-590-4147 PLUG OVER.
Now for some posts….it’s about time!!!
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At almost the very last minute, the opportunity arose to attend WPPI 2012 (Wedding and Portrait Photographers International) in Vegas. I have been dying to go for several years now, but never could make it work. In the meantime, my mom (aka Gia) and stepdad (aka Pa) moved to Vegas and my baby wasn’t a baby anymore, so there ya go! J.R. was on his own for the week with the 3 boys and we (Kierstyn and I) headed 2.5 hours South to Vegas, baby!
 6 days! For 6 days we stayed at Gia and Pa’s and for 6 days, Gia and Pa took care of Kierst while I attended up to 12 hours of classes per day. (My butt STILL hurts from sitting for that long!) I’m forever indebted to them! While I learned something new and something valuable in every class I attended, I received the most information, inspiration and even hands-on instruction from Steve and Shelley Harrington of Steve Harrington Photography in Garland, UT. Theirs was a Master Class, so only 50 people were allowed to sign up, making it a much more interactive and intimate learning environment.
 Steve and Shelley specialize in High School Senior photography. And the talent within those two is….phenomenal, to say the least. They live in a very small town, but service the greater areas around Garland. Hmmmm…senior photographers living in a small town…I had a feeling their class would be incredibly valuable since my business shares those same traits. I am so glad I followed my intuition! The class proved to be so much more than simply valuable. For me, it was a gold mine of information and ideas. Steve and Shelley’s beautiful works of art are deeply inspiring. Their business philosophies are smart and admirable. Do you get that I’m a fan? Small town photographers everywhere would benefit from their knowledge, and being the generous couple that they are, they are more than willing to share it! As if I hadn’t gained enough from the class, Steve and Shelley invited us to come along on a photoshoot of one of their Senior Models, Sadie. And when I saw the finished product on their Facebook page, again, I was blown away. Simply amazing. I had the privilege of tagging along and shooting with Steve and some other fantastic photographers that attended the class. It was just our small group, Sadie and Sadie’s family. On the sidewalks and streets of Vegas. Priceless.
 So, you wanna see more pictures?!
    Here’s the only shot I captured of the man, himself…thank you, Steve!  While on location, I grabbed a few shots of the amazing effects of the light on everything around us.  And here are a few from my experience at WPPI….
   1 comment March 5, 2012 - 4:59 pm
LOVE HOW DETAIL IS SO VIVID!!!! IM BEYOND IMPRESSED!!! I was born and raised in Las Vegas. Models for friends businesses. Studio 54, Tangerine at Treasure Island, etc. OH!!! You mentioned a class? Does Steve Harrington teach classes? I bet it costs a fortune. First, I have to apologize for my brief absence from the blog! I have had some serious internet issues and have no access until Thurs or Fri of this week. NOT cool for a photographer! I typically like to write a lot more than this when we debut a Senior Model, but I’m at my sister’s house, stealing her internet and I have to go soon, so…. Sorry, Allison, but for now, I’m going to just post your pics and call it good! Here’s your Sneak Peek, you lovely thing! I had an amazing shoot!!! Here she is…our last Senior Model of the graduating Class of 2012…Allison          no comments |
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Here’s my take on Sadie in Vegas…
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