Provo

Provo Family Photos

   

Family photos... in the winter???  This doesn't look like winter!

 

I have been pleasantly surprised this year with the lack of winter in Utah.  Being a native Texan, I always dread shoveling the walk and defrosting my car, not to mention driving on those icy roads!  But that hasn't been a problem this winter (YET!)  It's made for some amazing Fall-looking photos even though we're several months past fall.  I'm a very happy person this winter because I get to see the sun, go outside without worrying about a heavy coat, and we have happy subjects for a photoshoots!

 

This family was amazing.  We shot all around south Provo - mostly by Nielsen's Grove Park.  The kids were full of personality, and I had a lot of fun trying to show that off.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

See all of their photos HERE

 

 

 

 

 

 

Contest for free photo session!

  Doesn't matter if you are one, two, or 5 people, wearing wedding clothes, street clothes, or halloween costumes, this contest is open to everybody.  Here's the deal though, this is not for traditional portraits, this photo session is a themed shoot.  The challenge: suggest a unique and interested idea.  Based on the outfits, the activity, the location... something's got to be unique, but it's up to you.  Here are some ideas from shoots I've done in the past:

 

Halloween costumes:

 

 

Career photos:

 

 

Destroying a cake:

 

 

 

Longboarding:

 

 

 

Playing in water:

 

 

 

Fireworks:

 

 

 

Baseball:

 

 

 

Finger-painting:

 

 

Cool cars:

 

 

 

 

Please post your idea as a comment to this blog below. We will choose the best 10 ideas, and then there will be a vote for the winner on our Facebook page.

 

Here're the deadlines:

Monday Dec 12 at 6am - all comments must be posted on the blog, this is the cut off time for new entries.

Monday Dec 12 at 11pm - the top 10 will be posted on Facebook.  Tell all your friends to vote for your idea (we'll have details on the facebook page on how to do that).

Thursday Dec 15 at 6am - the voting ends, we will review the number of votes for each idea and...

Thursday Dec 15 at noon - We will announce a winner.

 

 

We're excited to see what ideas you come up with!

 

 

 

Why I love my job

   

I love happy people. Growing up, most of my closest friends were theatre-folk. Expressive, confident, and happy. I like being around people who enjoy life and like being with each other.

 

Doing engagements for Alishia & Tyler made my day! These two are just plain adorable. And I love that everyone can see how in love they are.

 

   I got a greeting card once that said "Growing old is mandatory; growing up is optional." It was so much fun to take photos of Alishia & Tyler swinging and riding in the little red wagon, I got all sentimental remembering my childhood!

 

My favorite was a facebook comment on Alishia's page where she posted the photo below: "This picture looks most like my experience with you as a quasi-roommate. Approval++"

  

 

We had this magical mix of those bright late-summerish greens and all the awesome fall colors for the shoot. I honestly could not think of a better or more vibrant background to show off how awesome this couple is.

    

  

 

Be sure and check out their full engagement gallery here. The first half of their photos are up, and the remaining ones will follow.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jessica & Luke: Engagements in Utah County

   

Luke just finished his MBA at BYU and was headed out to a job in Chicago (congratulations Luke!), so we had to get these engagements taken ASAP.  We met up and ran around downtown Provo- it was fabulous!  I have had the chance to see a variety of relationship dynamics, and it's fun to see how in love Jessica and Luke are.   They really are cute together.

 

 

With all the rain we had, Utah Lake had completely flooded and the streets were pretty wild.

 

 

Jessica works as an ASL interpreter, and has been teaching Luke all the important words.

 

  

 

 

 

I loved all the variety in looks and expression this couple had.  Happy, silly, dramatic- they could do it all!

 

    

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Something Vintage, Something Blue...

I got an urgent call last week from Jodi at Utah Linens: "I just set up for this wedding, and it is gorgeous!!!  I need photos of it, because I've never seen something so well put together."  The wedding was at Le Chateau in Provo, and the details were put together beautifully.  Here are a few of my favorites.

Lovin' in Provo

A baseball love story...by Emily the Intern.  

 

Danica and Ryan were a super cute and super fun couple. I arrived early so I had the opportunity to hang out with them for a few minutes before Whitney got to Provo and they seemed suuper shy. Danica even warned Whitney earlier in the week that she was going to have to work her magic with them and claimed that she and Ryan were going to be awkward. That couldn't have been further from the truth.

 

 

 

Here's the deal--if you're totally in love and could stare at each other for hours and love to laugh and have fun with each other, you're going look awesome in photographs. Having Whitney as your photographer helps, too. Not only was this a great shoot for me as a budding photographer, but it also helped me get some ideas of what poses I wanted for my own anniversary shoot that Whitney was doing for my husband and I a few weeks later.

 

We started off on Center St. in Provo and seriously, I love downtown. They've really improved it since I first moved here (five years ago as a freshman at BYU) and I love all the nook and cranny awesome and beautiful places you can find while walking around. It's also so fitting that we shot the engagements there, since these two met at a music show nearby.

 

 

Can I just tell you how much I love this shot shown above? One, I really love Danica's shoes... and maybe her skirt... and belt... and cardigan. Two, Whitney totally concocted this shot on a whim--this was just where Danica and Ryan made an outfit change and it was in-between locations. As they were changing Whitney scoped out the area and I could see her mind racing with ideas of poses. Three, I love the adorable-ness (yes, totally a word) of them holding hands underneath the table. It's like they were having a little moment and forgot we were even there.

 

And now for the finale. Little did I know, Ryan is a super devout baseball fan and a huge Boston Red Sox fan on top of that. Since my husband (whose name is also Ryan...confusing, I know) also loves baseball I asked him how big a fan he really was he said something like, 'Think of the biggest baseball fan you know. Now think of the biggest Red Sox fan. Put them together and I'm even more.' I wish I could remember his exact words, but he said something like that and he totally wasn't kidding. Even though my husband, Ryan, is at the top of his fantasy baseball team (whoop, whoop, haha) I would definitely have to agree that Danica's Ryan is the biggest baseball fan I know. And Danica's got a soft spot for the sport as well. She played softball in high school and as Whitney was suggesting poses--like, having Ryan show Danica how to hold a bat--she quickly tossed the suggestion out. She could totally hold her own and knew how to hold a bat thank-you-very-much. So they're totally a perfect matched and it showed.

 

 

Congrats on being awesome, Danica and Ryan!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Perfect Touch of Winter

It looks like Xinling and Daniel's photos are going to be making an earlier appearance than I anticipated!  I loved these photos so much, I put in a late night to get them done so that I could share them with y'all.  Even though we shot these photos just recently, we happened to pick a day and location that was covered with the absolute perfect amount of snow.  We spent 90% of the shoot just above Sundance in Provo Canyon, and it was breathtaking.  It wasn't bitterly cold (given that it was the end of April), it was lightly snowing (just enough to give those awesome specks and add a romantic "je ne sais quoi"), and there was the perfect little layer of snow everywhere.  

As Xinling and Daniel were actually married in December, the winter setting was just right.

I love this next photo.  Love love love.  It captures the feeling of the day to a T.  Not a worry about the cold, no concerns about the possibility of getting the dress a little dirty- just plenty of love and excitement for photos to show it off.  There's nothing I love more than a sincere laugh.  To me, that is the face of beauty.

Look how gorgeous she is.  Daniel is a lucky man!

 

When we headed down the canyon to finish the shoot we found out that it had warmed up a bit and suddenly everything looked like Spring again!  I promised a look at Xinling's traditional chinese wedding dress, and here it is...  The red and gold was amazing- super brilliant colors.

Take a look at all of Xinling and Daniel's formals here.

 

 

 

 

 

Xinling & Daniel

Xinling and Daniel were married last December, but their reception is scheduled for next week.  They wanted some photos for their reception to show off how fabulous they are and how much they are in love with each other, and I have to say these do the trick!  Xinling is gorgeous, and you can almost hear how awesome her laugh and how sweet her personality are just by looking at her.  Daniel was fantastically supportive, and you could absolutely tell that he was willing to do anything to make his bride happy.

We spent the entire time in Vivian Park up Provo Canyo.  I love this train that they have there... it makes for some great lighting opportunities!

Xinling had a couple of super cute outfits, but I loved the chinese dress she wore for the more formal part of the engagements.  She had another one that she wore as part of the formals- you'll have to check back and see that one when I get those done!

 

I also loved the different scarves that Xinling had for her outfits- just a perfect dash of color for each.

Take a look at the rest of Xinling and Daniel's engagement photos here.  The photos from their formals session will be making an appearance on the blog soon!