Some people have the gift of learning by hearing instructions, or even by looking at a step by step manual. I, unfortunately, don’t really have either of those gifts… I learn by doing. A lot people ask me how I started with photography, wondering if I went to college to get a degree in it. The answer to that is… I almost did. For a long time, I bought into the normal societal assumption that to be anybody, to make a decent living, you NEED a degree. So naturally, when deciding I wanted to be a wedding photographer, I assumed that I had to go to school and graduate with a degree. Well, after a lot of conversations with numerous people, through lots of prayer and deep thinking, I decided against going to school… and instead, go and do photography. I watched tutorials, I went to photographer shootouts, I read books and manuals. I did take a few college courses on business and photoshop, but all my knowledge and experience in photography comes from doing as much of it as I possibly can.

So, at WPPI, that conference I talked about in my last post, my friends and I decided to further what we were learning and actually put our learning to the test. For these photos, since I didn’t bring my own camera (Nikon), I used Alexandra’s camera (Canon) to shoot. Now, before you Nikon lovers shun and banish me to the edge of town, just know I’m even more in love with my Nikon than I was before.  But for the record, it really truly is what you do with the camera that matters…. not what brand you use.

Here are some of my favorites from the evening of shooting for fun….

(Photo Credit: Betsy Lackey)

These three images were taken with one table light to her left….

These were taken with the desk lamp on to her left, and a floor lamp held up to her face to her right…. kinda looks like studio lighting, no? Loved these photos!

Alexandra holding the lamp for the above shots…

Then I shot a few of Alexandra with just the desk light on her left… Love the soft and seductive feel of this one!

Then they both stole the cameras back and shot me, but they made me laugh too much…

So then we got dressed to attend a photographer social function and ended up being REALLY late because we were doing this….

All in all, it was rejuvenating and SO MUCH FUN to shoot just for the fun of it. I highly encourage you to have fun, experiment, and put your book learning to action…. however that looks in your own life.

I met Karli and her mom at Casper’s Wilderness Park on a sunny January afternoon. The sun shone through the trees and sparkled on the grass as I imaged it would in any fairytale movie. It had rained heavily the week prior and all the new spring grass was starting to poke through, showing signs of an early spring. As Karli added some final touches to her outfit, I admired the guitar she brought with her… a simple silky smooth Martin Acoustic. I smiled to myself noticing all of this… the perfect weather, the butterflies and birds, and this sweet girl with her guitar…. and I knew this was going to be a PERFECT portrait shoot.

Karli is one of the sweetest and most beautiful 12 year olds I have ever met. Not only is she beautiful, but she’s also a great student, an athlete, and an extremely gifted musician! You can listen to her cover of Taylor Swift’s “White Horse” here:  White Horse, Cover by Karli

We had such a fun time that afternoon… here are my favorites…

We brought out Karli’s little friend Charlie for a few photos. They’re so cute together!

Then we took a few with her parents who are some of the most supportive parents I know! They’re so proud of their little girl and it shows in how much they invest in her. Karli, you’re one lucky girl!

Look at this fierce face! Karli! You rock girl!!

The day was abnormally warm and bright for winter in SoCal (seems to be a theme this year…). I met the Korneychuk family at the beach for some family photos to document their recent move to Santa Monica from Orange County. New chapter in their life means new family photos… and they sure came out well, if I do say so myself. I’ve known the Korneychuk family since….. well, forever. I grew up with Sasha and we all have attended the same church in Irvine until recently when Dan (Daddy Korneychuk) took a new job at Bel Air Presbyterian Church. He’s doing amazing things with their traditional worship program and the family is fitting in nicely with their new community. As Maddy (the youngest) put it, “I’m good with change.”

This shoot was a little different than most family portraits because, as most families with older children know, not everyone can be in the same place at the same time. So we did their portraits in two parts…. the first part with Sasha, and then Lara joined us a bit later. These are my absolute favorites of this beautiful family…

I had to include this image…. I think Maddy’s sense of humor is hilarous. She randomly started walking like a dinosaur as we shot…

Thanks Korneychuks! I’m so glad you’re adjusting to LA life, and know you’re sorely missed here in Orange County!

It was Christmas time in Southern California when Mercedes dropped me an email asking about family portraits. She explained that this Christmas was different from their usual holiday traditions…. it was different because everyone would be there. Her parents (the original Mr. and Mrs. Cantu) would be coming, all her brothers and sisters would be there with their own families. They came from far off places like Germany and Mexico. I read her email and Michael Buble’s “I’ll be Home for Christmas” softly started playing on my Spotify feed, as if on cue. We set a date and place and made it happen! Despite some crazy intense fog that rolled into our originally planned location, we moved to plan B, and took some super fun shots at Jeffrey Park in Irvine. The light of the sunset fell beautifully on their faces, and the warm colors highlighted the autumn leaves surrounding the park. A perfect time of evening for portraits, if I do say so myself. Here’s my absolute favorites from the evening…

Cantu Family, I enjoyed practicing my German and my Spanish with you… and I thoroughly enjoyed spending the evening documenting what a unique and beautiful family you have. Merry Christmas… Frohe Weihnachten…. Feliz Navidad!