Capture Las Vegas

From marriage… to their first born, it is such an honor to be part of the start of their new life. What surprised me about Misty and Rob was how at ease they were as parents. Right off the bat they were ready for the shoot, they had outfits, milk for the little one, and were calm. Many new parents seem like the world is crashing down on them, but these two were just prepared. We did an indoor shoot with two lights. Hailey did great sleeping through many of the shots, then waking up at the perfect moments.

For her smiling picture- and yes, I realize this was not her debut into modeling, but likely the result of gas, but I will take any luck I can get for infant smiles- we had her cradled inside both her mom and dads hands. This was a bit awkward for both mom and dad, but they struggled with their balance, straddling the table to get an amazing look that captured a baby in the protective arms of her parents. I also positioned the light to give more dramatic shadows, which I like in black and white photography. For all three of them my favorite was the sepia tone, that was cropped tight.

The effect created a very close knit looking family. Every part of them is touching, with the central focus Hailey who is staring right at the camera. Sometimes those shots just work out right. A complete family… who you may be seeing more of, mom is looking to capture more of Hailey growing up!

From lavender flowers and bridesmaids, to a lavender flowing dress complimenting her growing belly. There is nothing I love more than following a couple from marriage, to their maternity pictures to their child. We waiting quite a while before we could work this shoot into everyone’s schedule, because it wasn’t long before her little girl came into the world. Misty was a beautiful expecting mother, completely glowing, and still so well put together. This was a great shoot. They were both excited for their daughter, and in great spirits. We went out to Lake Las Vegas to take advantage of the semi-private setting and of course the amazing waterfalls. This location always presents the challenge of lighting since there is so much direct sunlight, but we were able to find a few places in the shade. Up next… Hailey joins the party!

It’s unbelievable, it’s been a year since we first saw beautiful little Camilla. More than a year since her mom first captured her in pictures as the excited parents awaited her arrival. Now, Cami has an amazing personality, great expressions and a shared admiration between her and her parents. Her mom was set on her first birthday pictures showing Cami ripping into her cake. Sadly, Cami did not share that dream.  She looked at the cake as if it were toxic, we got a few good shots of her curiously putting her hand into the cake… but that handful never made it to her mouth. She actually put that hand on her face, into her eye, and all over her leg. She might have enjoyed the cake if she had bothered to taste it, but instead it caused her quite a bit of pain with frosting in her eyes, poor thing. I will give her an A for effort, she gave the whole idea a try, but sometimes the best laid plans can not be accomplished with a willful child who does not see her first birthday cake as a playground. Good thing mom had a princess at the party, Cami still had a great time.

So, after taking my bosses engagement pics, of course the wedding would follow. Luckily for me, I have become great friends with the newlyweds. The picture of the bride is non-traditional, very blown out, but I liked how it higlighted the outline, leaving certain areas hidden. It’s mysterious, like she has a secret. I had some fun with their pictures because they are a non-traditional couple. Their Wedding was put togteher in their backyard, a small simple ceremony that turned out to be very touching. The reception was also held in the backyard, only the chairs disappeared and the champagne was flowing. It was such an intimate wedding, but it was the small touches that made it really stand out as something special. The homemade buffet spread, the floating candles in the pool, the vegas themed cupcakes in place of a cake. It was a one of a kind wedding, with a one of a kind couple.

I have not hidden how stressful weddings can be, I prefer family shots, but when your little sister ties the knot, you are there no matter what. She worked hard for this wedding too, it was indoors inside a gymnasium. A family friend helped construct an entire alter, with draping white and black backdrops. It turned out to be quite beautiful. After the formalities we went outside to get more shots of just the happy couple. The only problem was it was the middle of August in Las Vegas. We stayed out to get as many pictures as we could before we all felt like we were sweating through our make-up and clothes. Luckily these two still had fun and we got some un-traditional shots.

The reception was held in the same hall as the wedding, and one of my favorite parts was a home constructed sign, it was so simply made, but with the back lights it looked absolutely straight from a fairytale, which fit my little sister perfectly.

After taking their wedding pictures, and counting them as friends, I would think taking their newborns pictures would be a snap, but I wanted to impress them so badly it really rattled me. You see, their last photographer was amazing, she caught great pictures on the beach of their first son, and I was just scared mine wouldn’t measure up. None the less, the session itself was a lot of fun. Big brother definitely needed some extra attention, and we got plenty of pictures of him alone. Then it came time to take little brothers pictures and he ate it up. He was an easy target, full of laughs and smiles and sadly, pee. Yes, this was one time the little boy got me while we freed him of his diaper for these shots. There is just something innocent and pure about a naked baby they are just in their element… but disaster sometimes strikes. But aside from that one accident we had a pretty fun time, tho by his third outfit the smiles were gone, and mommy looked tired. Hopefully she was slightly impressed with the pictures. After all, I was the first to professionally photograph this little one… on his mommy’s wedding day, when he was still a wee thing barely making his presence known through her wedding dress. The little baby bump only made the day more special.

This was one of the hardest weddings I ever shot, and for no fault of anyone but myself. I was working overnight, the graveyard shift, for the news and this wedding was smack dab in the middle of the day. I couldn’t say no, but it was like I was working with half a brain and trying to pull it off. Luckily for me, it was a wonderful family, who was so understanding, and most importantly they knew exactly what they wanted. The wedding was at Green Valley Ranch, but pre-wedding pics were up in a suite. It was great to have that time to capture the moments of the bride with her parents, and best friends. I nearly had a heart attack as the bride got ready, she was drinking red wine, and I just kept thinking, please don’t let her spill that on her dress. But she was a pro and we made it through the wedding with no problems. The great thing about Green Valley Ranch is their wedding area is a beautiful grassy area at the back of the property with a amazing view of the Las Vegas valley. So we got great shots there, and then the property offered wonderful backdrops, whether by their sand pool, or the vineyard, or the luscious garden area… not to mention the staircases, and foyer with classic furnishings. This couple had more photos to choose from than they knew what to do with, but we took advantage of every look… and by the end, I worked myself into a cold.