LAKE MARY, FL

Let me just take a minute to say, no plead with the pregnancy gods, "Please, please, when I am 8 months pregnant, can I look even half as good as Bristin does?" I'm so short already that with my luck, I'll look like a rolly polly in high heels. But I digress...

Bristin and Anthony contacted us for both maternity and newborn portrait sessions (can't wait!) and we couldn't have been more excited! And when Bristin emailed me with a tone bathed in worry to tell me that she was grounded on bedrest and that we would have to shoot the session at her home, I was thrilled! There's something extra cozy and romantic about shooting sessions inside our client's homes. Not only do we get a sneak peak into their lives that we would never get elsewhere, but they get to be a bit more relaxed in their own turf. Just like the two of them, their home is adorable and we were not at a loss for lovely places to shoot. After shooting some stylist portraits together, Bristin heated it up with some gorgeous boudior poses upstairs! (You heard me ladies, maternity boudoir! Rock it out!)

Anthony and Bristin,
Thank you so much for inviting us into your home and your lives to document this exciting time! We wish you days full of laughter, lots of relaxing sofa cuddles, and lovely peace and quiet (before the chaos begins!) Oh, and a wonderful New Year's as you draw closer to the arrival of your daughter! We cannot wait to meet her! We're so excited for you both!

...Now it starts to get steamy...
(Thank you Bristin for letting me share these images with other soon-to-be mothers. I hope you inspire them to embrace their sexiness during this amazing time in their lives as women!)

I feel like the week after Christmas is a lot like the week after a wedding. The excitement is over, there's nothing left to plan, the tree is starting to drop it's needless at an alarming rate, it's just a little depressing. I've been refusing to put any of our presents away because I am in denial that Christmas is over.

I did manage to put two things away. Nate and my mom conspired secretly and surprised me with a Wii and Wii Fit! I usually do not enjoy video games but, oh my gosh, it's so fun! It has yoga, and Cranium and all these surprisingly hard balance games to play. Nate received a surround sound system from yours truly and spent the last two days rearranging the furniture in our living room so that the sofa, tv, and speakers would all be at exact perfect distances and angles for optimum listening pleasure. It sounds really good, I'll admit it.

I feel like I haven't posted in forever, even though it's been less than a week. Right now we're putting the finishing touches Bristin's smoking hot maternity session and Steve and Bonnie's wedding, so expect an influx soon!

I hope you are having a wonderful post-Christmas, pre-New Year's week!

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Holiday Hours:
We will be open tomorrow (Tuesday) until 6pm.
We will be closed on December 24, 25, and 26 to celebrate the holidays with our families.
All emails and phone calls will be returned on the 27th.
Clients with a need that cannot wait may call us on our cell phone and we will get back to you as soon as we can.

Merry Christmas everyone!

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WINTER PARK, FL

Jasen and Luisa met us in Winter Park for a romantic, old-fashioned engagement shoot. They were just adorable as they told us the stories of how they met and had gotten engaged and also how they plan on getting married in the Dominican Republic where Luisa's family is.

Jasen held on to her the entire time which was beyond romantic. He couldn't be away from her for even a second! I love shooting couples in love! Every second is an inspration, a reminder that this world is a happy, beautiful, joyful place.

Jasen and Luisa, have a wonderful time in the DR this Christmas! I'm so jealous that you are going to be somewhere so exotic! We wish you all the best as you travel forward towards the destination of marriage!








After Jasen popped the question, he took Luisa all around the botanical gardens taking pictures on his iphone. We thought we'd commemorate that memory.

Hello dear friends! I am hiding out inside today because, as the last Saturday before Christmas, I know the outside world is crazy today! We have actually finished pretty much all of our holiday shopping. I think I just need some more stocking stuffers, and a few gifts for our family and we'll be done! But, I plan on venturing out during the week sometime when the malls are less crazy.

Recently I have been asked by a lot of people how we get our skies to look the way they do in pictures. I am so flattered by the question because bold skies are one of our favorite things to shoot and we take a lot of pride in the images! I'm not going to lie to you, a lot of the magic happens in the camera. A good quality lens will help a lot as well! I know you were wishing for some secret Photoshop trick but I don't really have one for you. You have got to get your pictures looking good straight out of the camera if you want them to look good after they've been edited. There's only so much you can do with a poorly taken picture. So, step one: make sure you have got your settings down in camera! The editing is the easy part! We use Adobe Lightroom and Adobe Photoshop CS3 for our post processing and we have a storehouse of textures, actions, and presets that we use for our work. For our big sky pictures, we generally use the actions from Totally Rad.

Here is a before and after from one of our recent big sky portraits with our camera settings and actions of choice:

Now go out there and capture those gorgeous skies all around you!

Happy Holidays!

TALLAHASSEE, FL

Tony has a look for Lynn. It's beautiful. It instantly lets everyone around see a glimpse into how desperately he is in love with her. Tony saw no one but Lynn all night long and it was beyond beautiful! Being in the presence of love like that makes you feel warm. And being warm was a good thing since their ceremony was outside of the Mary Brogan Museum, at night, during a cold snap.

The crowd of onlookers easily forgot about the chill in the air as Lynn took her spot in front of Tony to exchange vows. Cheers and laughs and smiles erupted as they kissed and made their was back down the aisle as man and wife. Everyone celebrated late into the evening at the Retreat at Bradley Pond amidst live music from Powder Blue, good friends, and tables full of glowing candles. And by everyone, I mean everyone! Every person at the reception was on their feet dancing, socializing, or lining up at the dramatically lit bar. It was a night to remember and by far one of the most romantic weddings we've ever been a part of!

Tony and Lynn, we were so excited to get to see you both for your beautiful wedding day and even more excited to have the honor of capturing it all for you. Thank you for letting us see the beauty of your love for each other. Have a truly blessed first Christmas as husband and wife!

This one gives me goosebumps everytime I look at it. Pure love.










Introducing...Mr. and Mrs. Planas!

MELBOURNE, FL

Katie and Pete got married at Bicentennial Beach on Indian Harbor Beach right before sunset. She wore Melissa Sweet, he rocked an untucked shirt and skinny black tie. There were ivory orchids in her hair and pink bridesmaids by her side. The ocean, golden in the sun, stretched out for miles behind them. Piles of shoes lined the site where guests shed their formalities to prepare for the intimate exchange of vows. During the ceremony, the sun transformed the sky from bluebird blue to elegant gold as it dipped under the horizon.

To say that we were inspired would be a huge understatement. How could we not be inspired while surrounded by such natural beauty and love? To say that we were spoiled rotten may be a better description.

Pete & Kate, thank you for sharing this day with us. Thank you for trusting in our vision. Thank you for entrusting the biggest day of your lives to us. Thank you for allowing us a glimpse into the easygoing, everlasting love you have for each other. Your happy, light-as-air, always smiling personas will stay etched in our minds forever and we will always be better photographers and people for having known you both! Have a wonderful first Christmas as man and wife!

The orchids that would soon be in Katie's hair




Gown by Melissa Sweet






Her vows