skip to main |
skip to sidebar
Meet Mrs. M. Love her! I know "M" from the photography group we both belong to and on this occasion, I got to shoot her in her wedding gown shortly after her wedding to her beau in Romania. "M" is from Romania and she is such a sweetheart. As you can see, she is also a true beauty to boot. 
I'd kill for those blue eyes of hers. Soooooo not fair!!! 
This old banyan tree made for a fantastic back drop on this day. What character this ol' tree has. "M" only enhanced its beauty. 
"M's" dress fits her perfectly. It is stunning on her! Of course I don't have to tell you guys that though. You can see it here for yourself.
This last shot below was a candid moment that I captured. Love her smile here and again - her eyes. So fun. So beautiful.
Thank you "M" for allowing me to photograph you on this day. I had an absolute ball with ya as did everyone else. CONGRATS again on your recent nuptials.
Blessings, Angie
I had the great honor of photographing this beautiful girl for a small smidgen of our Trash the Dress shoot out a few weeks back. I loved her style and her trendy way of standing out. Her converse tennis shoes were my favorite part of her attire. :)
A huge thank you to Miss "S" for allowing me to photograph her during our shoot that day. She was totally adorable!!!
I apologize for slacking on the lack of blog posts here lately. I've been working on some shoots for a local magazine here in Naples and therefore some of my normal blogging routines have been put on the back burner in the last week. Bad Angie! I hope to be caught up by the end of this week. Thanks for hanging with me in the meantime. :)
Much love, Angie
Last week I got the honor of photographing a young girl for her modeling portfolio. This was the first time she had ever done photographs for a modeling spread. However, you'd never know that by looking at her images here. She seemed like a natural and could have fooled me. If you were watching her, you would've thought that she had done this 1000 times over again. She didn't seem nervous or stiff to me in any way, shape, or form. In fact, she was very footloose and fancy free in my opinion. That type attitude always makes for a very laid back and casual session with no pressure. Her relaxed demeanor plays out big time in these images...
We went to my favorite spot here in Naples...what I call Secret beach. Secret beach is near the location that my friend Lacey gave me a heads up about when we first moved here last year. Her parents live here in Naples so she had told me about a spot far out of the way where little to no public traffic is present. When you go there, there are usually very few people. And when you walk farther south, you run into the end of the coast line and it opens up into nothing but vast ocean. It's a great place to go and feel God's utmost presence. It's just you, him, and the sea. I absolutely love it there.
On this particular night though, "Miss A" had a stalker. LOL! I chuckle about it now but at the time it really wasn't funny. Long story short, we were approached by a very strange man on the beach who started out inquiring about why I was taking photographs of her. He tried to pull the "Oh yeah, I majored in photography" card so that he could continue chatting a bit longer. He moseyed on down the beach for a bit but came back to us a short time later. "Miss A" was changing her clothes and while she was away, he approached us again and this time asked if he could "join in on some shots with her. If so, he said...I can position my knife I have on me to be hanging out of my mouth during the shots with her." He also mentioned something about getting in the "bushes" and taking some shots with her there and so forth. Needless to say, we were quite spooked at this point. Luckily we had another male photographer who had joined us for the shoot that night and therefore, we weren't alone with this idiot. After explaining to him that his ideas weren't an option, he eventually left but not after having stood there for what seemed like forever - just not going away. UGH! For Naples, this kind of individual was a rare breed. I've not encountered anything like that before while here. He clearly reeked of alcohol and was not from around here. By the time I got to my car that night, darkness had completely fallen and I found myself repeatedly thanking the big man upstairs for keeping us out of harms way. That could have turned into a really scary event had someone not being watching over us.
Aside from that ordeal at the end of the night, the beach was as beautiful as ever during this session. If there is one thing I can be sure of, it's that we live in paradise everyday here in Naples. I've said it before and I'll say it again...I'm so blessed to be able to call THIS my "office."
And I'm even more blessed to photograph clients that know how to work it...like this...
As I listen to everyone we know back in the Midwest talking about how the temps are cooling down and Fall is approaching...I find myself remembering that this is why we moved here. It's this time of the year that Florida is known for. From October thru May, it is the place to be. And here "we be." I'm so looking forward to Florida's Fall temps and the weather cooling down a bit. It's good to know that we'll be far far away from the snow and ice of the Midwest this again this year. Being on the beach during this shoot that night reminded me even more of why I love the shoreline so very much. How could you not love the beauty of the sand and the sea?
And for the end of this particular session, we broke out some paint. Yes, paint. This client was up for the challenge and totally ROCKED the paint idea. I mean can you get anymore gorgeous??? Just look at her...
I had a ball! Thanks Miss A. for allowing me this opportunity to work with you. I just hate it that you don't live here in Florida so that we could plan more sessions on a regular basis - minus the scary weird dude of course. Ha ha! You were way too much fun!Let me know if you are ever back in the area and want to hook up for some future sessions.
As for this evening, the "hubs" and I have dinner plans with some friends. I'm off to go conquer some errands before we head out tonight. Tomorrow, I have a fun job in another city within Florida - shooting at a Pirate Festival. I can't wait to see what kind of fun images come from that event. Then, I have a family session scheduled for this Sunday morning. Lots going on. Good times ~ good times! Hope all of you have a spectacular weekend. Until Monday, tu ta lou! XOXO, Angie
This beautiful young girls shoot was toward the end of our day. By this point, we were really "trashing" the dresses as we photographers like to say. No more staying clean, prim, and proper, it was time to get down and dirty. And when I use the term "dirty," I mean that literally...
My bride for this shoot rolled around in that bug ridden mud like it was cotton candy or something. She had no fear. No worries whatsoever about getting dirty or bit by anything running rapid on the ground. To say she was stunning is an absolute understatement. Beautimous...
We have a very large Banyan tree at the front of our neighborhood like this one below. I love them. Totally perfect for a picture spot. We utilized it and another one near the shoot to the fullest extent when at this location.
The only problem was...just about 1/2 way through this session, we noticed that the bride had tons of ants crawling up and down her feet and legs. The ants here in Florida are potent. Most of the time they are the red fire ants which bite and hurt like you know what. They attack with a vengeance. Our crew panicked. The bride never flinched even so much as flinched though...
Thankfully, we looked around and low and behold we found a garden hose nearby. The initial thought was to spray the ants off her legs with it. But one quick glance at the hose, the dirt, her, etc. and all of a sudden...the garden hose became a photography prop. A quite awesome one if I do say so myself.
Love those impromptu images. Love love love them! They are the REAL moments on a shoot.
A massive thank you to Miss B. for allowing me to photograph her on this day. You were such a trooper girl. I couldn't have asked for a better client. :) Another set of thanks to Michele Galuppo and Nancy Joseph for their hair and make-up magic with this bride. Awesome job yet again ladies.
It's about 12:40pm on Wednesday and I'm now off to tackle the rest of my to-do list before a family shoot I have tonight. I'm slowly but surely making my way through the 'must do' tasks for this week. Maybe one of these days I'll wake up with a free day with absolutely nothing to do, eh? Nah...prolly' not! :( Wishful thinking I guess.
Much love, Angie
Many of you might remember this beautiful girl from one of my sunset portrait shoots on the beach back in April of this year. I fell in love with her look at that shoot and love her even more so now. Miss "M" was part of the trash the dress event as she wore her prom dress for the day. The blue of his dress really just radiates her beauty even that much more. It is a great color on her and goes wonderfully with her hair and skin tone.
Miss "M" is just a teenager but she has the maturity level of an adult. She too, climbed right into this swamp water for this shoot with no issues whatsoever. Brave girl. Very, very, brave.
Her look is one that is a force to be reckoned with. She looks like she should be on the cover of Vogue magazine or something. Stunning girl. Absolutely stunning!
There were three other young girls who participated in the prom event as well so I snapped this shot of the three of them while out in the water. The gal wearing the ivory dress is the one who ended up with the HUGE water spider on her dress while photographing a different image that day. Ewwwww! All three girls were beautiful and exuded total confidence while out in that murky water.
I'm so blessed to have had the opportunity to work with miss "M" twice now and hope that one day our paths will cross yet again. Thank you to her and her family for allowing me to photograph her during this shoot. I had a ball! Another shout out to Michele Galuppo for the magnificent hair on miss "M" for this event. You can find Michele for your wedding style needs by going to her website HERE.
I'm off to lunch with a FAB girlfriend of mine here in Naples. Hoping everyone has a safe and fun Labor Day weekend. Until part 6...
Much love, Angie
I'm slacking on getting my blog posts up for today. Bad Angie! I attended a PTO meeting at Brennen's school this morning with a neighbor/friend and then came home to edit some images from a sunset beach session I had last night with a beautiful young girl. (more to come on that later on) Aside from that, I've been trying to edit other sessions from my Indy trip in between these most recent ones and also keep up with my current beginner photography class that I'm teaching while planning for the next ones in October. It is a crazy busy time but I found myself thanking God for the busy schedule today. I am so blessed to have met so many new friends and new connections here in Naples. It is through those new friends and networking that my business has really picked up and is taking off. I am so thankful and appreciative for those willing to help spread my name and refer me to others. Word of mouth is the most important marketing tool in photography as far as I'm concerned. Therefore, those who are referring me to others they know are scoring some serious brownie points with ol' Angie here. LOL! I always knew Florida would be a great place to plant my photography business year round and that it would just take some time and patience. That patience is really paying off now. I realize that all of this - all of the new friends - all of the connections - all of the new and wonderful clients, etc. all have to do with God's hand. He had this planned well before I ever complied with Brent's decision to move here. It was all in the works already. I'm constantly finding myself thanking God for the blessings in my life that are so not deserved yet are bestowed upon us anyway.
With that said, I'm back to sharing part 4 of the Trash the Dress sessions with you guys. This is Mrs. V. Mrs. V's hair was done by the FAB Michele Galuppo again from Wedding styles by Michele. Her make-up was done by the great make-up artist, Nancy Joseph. These ladies are some serious dose of talent and can ROCK out the hair and make-up department like nobodies business.
A massive thank you to Mrs. V herself for allowing me the opportunity to work with her. She was another perfect bride during the shoot. I'll be continuing the posting in regard to the rest of the sessions over the coming days. I have two or three more to share just from this one event alone. Then...on to some sessions from this week including the beach session from last night which involved lots of different colored acrylic paint being squirted on our subject for the shots. Oh yes...stick around. Those shots are a must see as well! :0) 
And last but not least, I've gotten several emails recently from many of you blog readers asking me how I'm feeling regarding my pregnancy. I can't thank you ladies enough for caring. So far everything is progressing as one could expect. I'm praying that God continues to allow this pregnancy to progress in an uneventful and very healthy manor. Other than feeling like Shamu, I'm doing good. The heat likes to give me a run for my money every now and again but I carry constant water on me - especially during my on location shoots here in Florida. Last night during my session, I ran out of water. (Yes, I drank all that I had brought with me up to that point) So...I made a quick call to Brent who was in the area with the kids. Him, Brennen, and Kenidi ran me some HUGE bottles of water over to my shoot on the beach along with a massive cup of ice. I was in heaven. It's amazing how much water can allow you to keep going when you feel like you might not be able to. Sitting down for a couple of minutes at a time helps as well. Thankfully the no-seeum bugs have left me alone and I've managed to avoid getting eaten alive while outdoors during the sessions. Thank goodness for the Avon skin so soft bug spray that I can use safely while preggo. Love that stuff! As for my weight gain, I'm keeping it down as well. I've gained a total of 12lbs thus far and am almost 7 months now. I'm totally OK with that amount and hope to continue to keep it low. I'm doing way better at this point than I did with Brennen and Kenidi. With Brennen I gained 60lbs. total and with Kenidi I gained 40lbs in total. Needless to say, I didn't need that kind of extra "fluff" with this pregnancy. Shame it took me three pregnancies to figure out that eating for two is really just a mental misconception. LOL! Although a great excuse to eat, I gave up that mind set this time around and am so thankful that I did. Praying the scales remain good to me as I enter this last trimester.
The next question on everyones mind is "Do we have a name yet?" No. Not really. Well...maybe. Ha ha! We are leaning toward one name in particular and it wasn't any of the options I originally posted here on the blog. So, if we go with it, it isn't one that you guys will have heard before. I'm keeping it tight lipped because I don't want anyone trying to sway my opinion of it at this point. If it works for us, I want to keep it that way without hearing why it reminds so and so of so and so or why they'll call him this if we name him that, etc. Thus why if we do decide to run with this particular name...it won't be shared until he is born. You guys know how much I love dragging out secrets and surprises here on the blog anyhow. Right? Soon. Very soon.
I'm off to get the kids in bed now and gear up for my train wreck of a show, Jersey Shore. I can't believe Brent and I watch this junk but we do. We aren't right. I realize that. There is something fun about being "not right" though. HA! Enjoy your night. Until tomorrow... Angie
If I would've had a photographer look at me and say "OK, now it's time to get dirty - let's head into the swamp pond," you would've seen me take off running like a bat out of hell. No joke! However, this bride was ready for what was dished out to her. She climbed into that muddy swamp - alligator/snake/fish pond - like it was just another tub of bath water she was climbing into. As her feet hit the squishy mud, I never heard a "I can't do this! or OH gross!" Nothing. She just walked right into it and then worked these images like a PRO!
Many of you have emailed me or posted on facebook regarding how scared you were for these brides being in this environment. Trust me...no one was more scared for them than me. Ha ha! I had my eye out the entire time for anything that even so much as moved a millimeter within that water. Aside from the baby tadpoles and the one gigantic water spider that was on one of the brides at the end, all went down without any trip ups.
Mrs. C's make-up was done by Gabby Verderamo from Salon International here in Naples, Florida. Another awesome make-up artist, clearly! And her hair was done by Daniel at Salon International as well. Such great talents!
I'm still amazed at how these make-up artists and the hair stylists got these brides to look so great after 3-4 hours in the hot Florida sun. Their make-up never ran, their hair never faltered. The rest of us present on location however, looked like a crew of fireman had just hosed us down from head to toe. Literally! There is something to be said for the work these creative masters did with hair and make-up during these sessions.
Another big thank you (again) to my Naples Photography girlfriends for holding my reflector over Mrs. C's head in some of these images as I captured the shots. I couldn't have done it without you Megan and Jennifer. You girls ROCK!
On a side note, my last set of photography classes that I'll be teaching for this year are up on my website and ready for registration if any of you are interested. The last beginner photography class of the year begins October 4 and runs for 4 weeks. If you have ever wanted to learn how to use your camera, what all of the functions, bells and whistles are about as well as learn the basics to taking better photographs, this class is definitely for you. I'm also offering one more photoshop post processing class on October 13th. This is the class where you watch me work LIVE on images straight out of the camera. We take those images from point A to point B in the post processing editing stage. If you are new to photoshop or have photoshop elements and would like to learn beginner editing basics, jump in on this class with us. There are only 10 seats available for it. Seats are going fast in both classes because everyone knows they are the last ones I'll be offering until next year due to my up and coming maternity leave. YAY! 26 weeks this week - only 13 more weeks to go before baby Seaman arrives via c-section on December 2nd. Can you tell that I'm excited? LOL!
So...if you are interested in any of the above classes or even some one on one LIVE photoshop training that is conducted privately between you and I via computer, click HERE for more details or to sign up. If you reside in Florida and would like to spend a mentoring day with me one on one, I offer private training for photography, cameras, and editing during my mentor sessions. There are plenty of options for everyones needs. I'd love to have you join me in any of my classes for last half of this year. Until tomorrows part 4 - "Trash the Dress" post - enjoy your hump day.
Blessings, Angie
And here we have part 2 of the "Trash the Dress" sessions. Mrs. R (featured here on the blog today) had the most beautiful skin ever. It was literally flawless in every since of the word. I ended up with great lighting in this particular area where I photographed her. I have my fellow photography gals to thank for that whom assisted in holding my good ol' reflector for these shots of her while I clicked away. Teamwork at its finest! LOL!
If you could see right behind where she is sitting in these pine needle type things above, you'd see that there is standing water here and there around her. I was sooooo afraid that a snake or something was going to come crawling out from underneath this thick nest of needles. I sat down there at one point to get low and shoot but then quickly got back up because the thought just gave me the heebie jeebies. HA! Again though, this bride never complained. Just like the others, she did exactly what was asked of her with no qualms whatsoever.
This woman's beauty made my job so very easy. She was a natural. Of course I don't need to sell you on that part. You can see and feel it from these few sneak peek images here.
Need I mention the gorgeous back drops once more? The area was so lush and so beautiful that when I look back on these images, they almost look fake. Trust me...they weren't. And the brides who had to crawl thru this stuff can confirm that. LOL!
I wanted to give a big shout out to Michele Galuppo of Wedding Styles by Michele. She did Mrs. R's hair for the event on this particular day and totally ROCKED it. You can find Michele here in Naples, Florida via her website HERE. When Michele isn't working on one of her own brides for a wedding, you can find her doing hair at Salon Mulberry (also in Naples). And speaking of ROCKIN' the look, Mrs. R did her own make-up for the shoot. Can you believe that? She looked spectacular. A HUGE thank you to Mrs. R herself for allowing me the opportunity to work with her. You are beautiful and I was truly honored to shoot for you this past weekend. :) Until tomorrows part 3, enjoy your Tuesday everyone. I'm off to tackle some laundry that has been calling my name in the dryer. BLAH! Much love, Angie
I'm still alive. No worries. It's been a while since my last blog post but I'm really here - just way bogged down at the moment with my kids school events, photography sessions, editing, feeling like dog crap due to a horrendous sore throat and cold like symptoms, etc. However, the positive in all this is that I'm still moving.
With that said, I'm going to be sharing some really cool photography shoots with each of you over the coming days. I had the "RADDEST" day ever this past Saturday when I shot 6 different brides and some prom girls for a few "Trash the Dress" sessions. If you are unfamiliar with what "Trash the Dress" photography is, the new fad now days is to get married and then do a photography shoot where you literally "trash" your wedding gown for the fun of it. Some old school brides cringe at the thought of this but the younger women of today want to ROCK out their gowns one more time and put it to good use on a separate day other than their wedding day. I personally wish I could have had that experience back when I got married. My dress sits in a beautifully wrapped storage box with my coordinating vail and has been there for almost 16.5 years now. It's just sitting in there - doing nothing but collecting vintage time. I've had it out of the box twice in that entire 16 years. What a waste. Therefore, I think the Trash the Dress brides are awesome and totally cool for wanting to destroy their threads even after spending thousands of dollars on them in today's age. 
For these sessions, we were granted permission to use a sanctuary type area behind a local church. The sanctuary consisted of a marsh type area with lots of wooded swampy paths. Total snake territory but thankfully the only snake I've heard of was the one in my garage - UNDER my car - last Friday night. Brent claimed he killed it once he got it "shooed" outside into the driveway. However, 20 minutes later, that "dead" snake found life again and was gone. Yes, I'm paranoid that he is now plotting revenge and looking for a way into my house at this point. So much for my snake killer husband. Epic fail! LOL!
Anyway, back to the shoots...the first hour we kept the brides "clean" and didn't do too much trashing. The images I'm showing you today are of one of the brides who stayed pretty clean for the most part. The dirt will come in the shots I share later in the week. And when I say dirt, I mean mud and alligator infested type swamp water. Oh yes...we got down and dirty in some of these shoots. Today's images were shot in the marshy type area off the beaten path. By the time I was done with this session, I had blood rolling down my legs and had sucked down two bottles of water. The blood was from the wild plants in the foliage we kept climbing through and the heat was so intense that this 6.5 month pregnant Mama was about to kill over and die. I think someone said the heat index that day was 105 even in the shade. You should have seen how sexy I looked by the time I got home. Covered in mud, blood, swamp water, and sweat. Oh yeah...I was a real beauty. The stuff we photographers do for a shot. I tell ya'! 
The backdrop for these shots was incredible. The whole property was a photographers dream. I was in total heaven - even while fearing a snake would come hissing out from underneath a log or that I'd go home with some parasite from swamp water after all was said and done. Yes, I've watched one too many episodes of "The Monsters within me" on cable. Ha ha! The fear was transferred into an absolute rush in every sense of the word. I was on a complete high throughout the whole experience. The event has had me pinging off the walls for the past 2 days. 
I commend this bride for climbing on tree logs and through marshy areas barefoot. She never complained and her make up stayed perfect in that heat. It was amazing. I looked like a drowned rat from how much I was sweating and here she sat - beautiful and untouched from the elements. In a nutshell, Mrs. A ROCKED this session to the fullest extent. 
A huge thanks to Mrs. A's make-up guru, David Frohmberg from Salon International here in Naples, for his time and energy that afternoon. He did a fantabulous job. I'd kill for eyes like what he gave Mrs. A. Stunning! And Carol from Salon International did her hair. Beautimous! Beautimous! Aside from the heat, the day was spectacular. There were a few times where my eyes glossed over and went all spotty - just like you see the moment right before you pass out. Each time that would happen, I made it a point to go sit down in the shade with some water and regain my composure before shooting any further. I knew I had to take it easy with baby Seaman in my tummy. Thankfully, I got thru all the shoots without any mishaps. An hour after getting home and re-showering, I felt like I was coming down with the flu or something. Immediately my brain went to a parasite embedded in my scalp or something. LOL! Actually, it has just knocked me back a few steps with a really bad sore throat and chills, etc. I'm praying it makes its exit in the next day or so. I'm over feeling so blah and yucky.
In the meantime, stay tuned for the remaining "Trash the Dress" shoots to be featured here on the blog this week. Thank you to Mrs. A for the opportunity to work with her. Such a fun shoot! 
Much love, Angie
