It’s Summer time (for at least 3 months)!! For a photographer in Jackson Hole that means it’s time for weddings and family portraits. The big question when it comes to family portraits is WHAT DO WE ALL WEAR? Rachel Williams from Photographic Designs has a really great way of putting it, “While we hope that you feel as though your family functions much like a team, we don’t want your family portrait to look like a team shot! Rather, your family portrait should portray a sense of solidarity with the right blend of individuality.” In other words, please do not run out and buy matching tee’s for every family member! Allow everyone’s personal style to come out. If your 3 yr old absolutely refuses to wear anything other then cowboy boots and a leotard (yes… this was my little sister when she was young… she would also only eat PB&J and french fries) then by all means…let her wear it! (just buy it in the appropriate color scheme). As a general rule, pick a color scheme and work from there. Start with “Do we want to do dark or light?”.  Gray tones, neutral colors, earth tones, shades of spring pastels…all good options!

When I photograph it is my goal to make you look as fantastically awesome as you are! It’s easiest for me to do this if you wear clothes that are form fitting rather then really loose or baggy.  Please do not wear black and white as your color combination and also avoid wild prints or really trendy clothing (unless you are a family that gets a yearly photograph…then, by all means, go for trendy!)

Bottoms: Pants, skirts, leggings, jeans, kahakis…really anything goes here as long as it’s done in a neutral color. Don’t wear bright red pants…that’s the only thing you will see in the photo!

Tops: Personally, I love layers. They add a depth to your outfit that lends itself to a great style but don’t go overboard here. Of course it depends on the time of year and temperature but feel free to mix it up here allowing everyone’s personal style to come out.

Accessories: Ties, hats, scarves, belts, great shoes (but no white shoes please!), jewelry etc… These all add a lot to the photograph.

Thanks to Pinterest (a photographer’s best friend) I have complied a few color ideas!

Feel free to have fun, be creative and I give you complete permission to wear something that you normally wouldn’t wear!

Every summer I fall back in love with photographing outside on a gorgeous summer evening. Jackson Hole winters can get long and as much as I love to shoot in my studio nothing compares to the golden evening backlight. Add a little breeze, a gorgeous girl and a well behaved horse and it turns to magic. My beautiful friend Tessa honored me by asking if I would photograph her and of course I said yes. Our friend Jim Walter was kind enough to let us use his house on fall Creek Road and the one and only Melvin (his beautiful pony). Melvin is as his name implies…quite a character as well as an excellent rope horse and all around good mount and it turns out he is quite the model as well. Tessa and Melvin got along exceptionally and it made for a fantastic photo shoot!

Photography is a lovely art. Not only is it a form of self expression as well as incredibly creative but it also documents history, captures time, strength, beauty, class, endurance, power, love, joy…and everything that it means to be human. I never get bored with my job and almost never unhappy with the final shots, however, there are those rare shoots that come along that remind me why I do what I do and why I love it so much.

Cat Caldwell, a great friend, the owner of Curves fitness center in Driggs, Idaho and all around fabulous woman asked me to be a part of celebrating National Women’s Health Week and come and do photo mini sessions with the members. Of course I was more than happy to do this since women are my favorite subject to photograph. I needed a makeup artist to come and do makeup on the ladies (including false eyelashes…something they were all very excited about!) before their shoot. Cat inquired with Dena Bjoux, a friend & Mary Kay representative, if she would be interested in working with me. She said yes and we were set.

At the time, it’s my understanding that she had zero intentions of being photographed herself. After some debate, the Curves ladies convinced her to sign up for a time slot with me. I called Dena to chat with her about doing hair and makeup and what I wanted before I had met her. She was light hearted and ambitious on the phone and I was excited to be working with her. We talked makeup for a bit and when I turned the conversation to hair she laughed and said “well I don’t know how much help I’m going to be in that area cause I don’t have any hair”. At first I thought she just meant that she had short hair and didn’t ever do it but she went on to tell me that she had lost her hair due to chemotherapy.

Dena is a gentle soul and slightly reserved but defines the words ambitious, gracious, gentle and warrior. When It came time to do her shoot she allowed me to do her makeup and of course the first thing I asked her was if I could photographer her without her head scarf on. She looked at me and said “ugh I knew you were going to ask me that!… sure, go ahead.” I helped her remove her wrap and there before me was the most exquisite embodiment of feminine grace and character that I have ever seen. When her scarf came off it was as if power, and courage and beauty and strength all came flowing out of her beautiful perfectly shaped head. The only thing I could say was “Dena, you are so much more beautiful without your head wrap.” And I meant it.

It’s a scary thing to be in front of a camera but she did it beautifully. I’m not sure she realized what I saw in her at the time but despite that she allowed me to pose and twist and contort her, push her chin forward, pull her arms back and she trusted me to do it. After the shoot she sort of shyly asked me “can I see some of the bald ones?” I smiled inside cause I knew what was coming next. The ladies that were mingling gathered as I showed her the images… There was a little gasp and she brought her hand to her mouth to cover her smile and then her tears.

That moment, that teary moment, is why I do what I do. It’s why I love to photograph. Those tears represent the moment when a woman’s soul is filled with joy when she, in that instant, see’s how God see’s her. Dena’s shoot was God’s gift to me. With all of my heart, I thank you Dena.

The mother’s day giveaway turned out to be much more difficult to choose from than I had originally anticipated. Here’s why…

So after a great deal of deliberation I decided that there was no way that i could choose only one. Therefore I have decided to give a shoot to all of these beautiful moms and I couldn’t be more excited! Thank you so much to all of you who entered your mom…oh, and HAPPY MOTHERS DAY!!!

A MOTHERS DAY PHOTO GIVEAWAY! For all of you still looking for a mother’s day gift I have just the thing! Hop on Facebook and between now & Friday, post a picture of your Mother on my wall with a caption of why she deserves a photo shoot. She will be entered into the drawing for a free family photo session to be given away Friday night!

It’s finally up! My new Website and Blog have been a long time coming. Please be patient with me as I transfer over old blog posts and get all the glitches and kinks worked out but most of all ENJOY! And feel free to send me your thoughts!