Curry Family : Naperville, IL

I had a great time with the Curry Family! We laughed probably the entire shoot, had so much fun! We had a few tears from Gabriela and Miyah, but mostly laughs and sneaky smiles. I was impressed at how well they did, Tami! As for the rest of the family, you all did SO wonderfully! I don't think you guys gave me even one bad shot which made it so hard to narrow down all the choices, and I have SO many favorites! Thanks for braving that cold October morning with me, I hope you had as much fun as I did! And I hope to work with you all again soon!

Bare Truths: Learning from Every Experience

The wedding I last posted was shot with my most favorite wedding photographer, fromIndianapolis, Jessica Strickland and her studio manager, Erika Duncan. I was, technically speaking, shadowing Jessica: watching what she does and learning from her experience. Though, I admit, I was a bundle of nerves on my way to the Sheraton in downtown Indy, I was greeted by two of the sweetest photographers I've ever worked with. On top of that, Jess really treated me like one of her crew, which I really appreciated. She allowed me to take whatever photos I wanted and be as creative as I felt appropriate, and that in itself really helped with my nervousness throughout the day. I really had a great time shooting with Jess and Erika and I wish I could do it every weekend! Ok, maybe my limbs could only handle every two weeks, but I'd still do it weekly if I could!

...if only I lived in Indy...

When I got back to the house after the wedding, completely wiped but high on adrenaline, I started uploading the photos from my cards (something I'm usually too exhausted to do the night of). As I skimmed over the first few, I realized that there were some blurry shots, some pointless shots, some almost tourist "saw a wedding on the side of the road" shots and I couldn't help but start in with negativity and questioning, "what happened?"

Maybe I was just too nervous, getting into it.. and I went to bed while the rest of my images imported into Lightroom.

Over the next couple of weeks I did a cull of my images, trying to save as many as possible from my overly critical eye. But still, something seemed to be wrong with most of them. Something was off.

When it comes to times and events like this, I think my problem is in looking for the unacceptable in my photos. Whether it is because I feel like I'm not going to measure up to an instructors standards, or a fellow shooter's, somehow I'm always afraid of a lack of approval, and ultimately, I pin everything on myself. "I didn't do this," or, "I forgot to check THAT.." and I end up discouraging myself and feeling defeated.

After I had seen Jessica's blog on the wedding, I'm even more disappointed in myself. This time, it is more so because I've learned quite a bit since then. I've learned a little more about being a second/third shooter, after having watched Jasmine Star's CreativeLIVE workshop this summer. As I looked at Jess's shots, I thought, well, I tried to recreate her shots. Maybe I was thinking, I could commit them to memory through shooting them myself, and really I cheated myself. I know now that I should have be gotten different angles, shooting things Jess couldn't see from her angle. I felt like I didn't allow myself to experiment enough that day. I do remember thinking about it, but I don't think I new what it meant. I am not used to being able to think creatively for those types of events. I often lose my ideas to the overwhelming idea that I need to get what's important first and then I never get around to making photos for myself. I feel like I am still struggling with understanding how to be an individual artist rather than one who mimics other artists. But anyway, I know now, given another chance, I would do much better at second shooting. So, if anyone is reading who would like to give me that chance, feel free to email me. :) But until I get that chance again, I'll be working on securing my own events and making myself a better photographer.

So, counting now every experience, good or bad, as a learning experience, I'm signing off.

Lee Denim Day Gala for Breast Cancer Awareness

I'm super excited this morning because I will be participating in my first charity gala and the cause is near and dear to my heart - Breast Cancer Awareness.

In 2006, my sister,Hope, started promoting Lee Denim Day for Breast Cancer Awareness at Robert Bosch Corp. The Idea was that if one were to donate $5 to the cause they could wear jeans to work on the second Friday of October(Breast Cancer Awareness Month). Over the years, the event has grown to include a full week of activities, raffles, ect.

This year, I decided to get involved with my freelancing company, H|Photography. Many companies have donated gifts and services over the years to help promote the cause, over the years, but this year it was especially hard to find sponsors. As I talked to Hope about the event this year, and her troubles finding donations, I decided that as a business owner/ photographer, I had something to give. Not only am I going to Bosch today to support my sister's lunch gala while photographing the event, I am also raffling off a one hour portrait session in their Grand Prize Raffle!

Their theme this year is the idea that Breast Cancer affects, not only the carrier, but those they love as well. Having lost my mother in 2005 to Breast Cancer,I have first hand experience of this. Being a pastor and a missionary, my mother's death affected many across the nation and even across the world.

Someone in one of my classes, naively, stated "if I had to get cancer, I would wanna get breast cancer, because it's one of the easier cancers." Let me tell you right now, if she had sat down and thought about it, I'm sure she could have thought of several friends who have been affected by breast cancer and all of them would have told her, "There is no "Easy" cancer." Thank God for people like my sister who are willing to take time out of their busy lives to raise that awareness.

It's not just about wearing pink ribbons, lighting the skyline pink, and walking in a 5k race, it's about telling people that while it's not an easy fight, we can beat it.

So, today is Oct 8, and I am Photographing for a cause. Please take just a minute out of your day and Visit my sister's Lee Denim Day Team Page and think about donating to the cause, too! Breast Cancer never effects only one, help us find a cure.

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Ami+Neal - Indianapolis Wedding

Ami and Neal's wedding was amazing! Not only was it my first Indian wedding, ever, but I had the honor of shooting for Jessica Strickland Photography. This experience cannot be matched. It was my first time third shooting I had the most awesome time! Jessica and Erika, thanks for letting me hang out! It was a blast! And, Ami and Neal, you are an amazing couple! Thank you for the honor of being a part of your big day!

While the events had been going on all day, first on my agenda was the Baraat, or the groom's processional entrance. All of the groom's family led him to the ceremony while singing and dancing- it was really a site to see!




Of course, with Jessica catching the most important moments, I took on the role of capturing the children of the group and some overall ambiance.






Then it was on to the ceremony -



And was it a Ceremony! It even included ICE CREAM!







After the ceremony, Erika and I headed up to the Panoramic Ballroom to catch cocktail hour : It had amazing views of Indy



and the guests were so cheerful and talkative! It was great!



Such a gorgeous couple, are they not!?








So, since it had been a long time since I had posted a good, picture filled, blog, I decided to make this one nice and hearty! Plus, there were so many images from this wedding it was hard to choose my favorites! Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed it!

To see Jessica Strickland's Shots from this wedding, visit her blog here : Jessica Strickland Photography : Ami+Neal