Trapped Inside Your Fairytale.

{by me}

Hope you enjoy. : )  Sorry it’s so short for a Friday post, but I’d like to believe it’s pretty enough to make up for it. ; )

New four-week set: Entwine.

Inspired by this image & influenced by the flickr group: inter}{twine.

For the next four weeks, I’d better go hunting. ; ) I’ve had this picture for a little while now & I decided this morning that I would base my next set of Tuesday posts on this idea.  I hope everyone enjoys (and that I don’t run out of creativity!  lol).

Happy Tuesday!

So, I thought I’d do something a little different today.  It’s a combination of an “inspiring post” as well as “suggestions.”  If you’ve never seen my What to Wear post, & are looking at booking a session, then please go check it out.  It’s a simple guide on ideas of how to dress for your portrait session, assuming you want to take it a step beyond t-shirt and jeans. : )

This is something of an addition to that.  It’s a list of props (and accessories) that can add that bit of personalization and pop to your portrait session.  I’m presenting images from other photographers to give you a boost of inspiration (and me too).  : )  They’re all from Senior Sessions, since we’re in that time of year.*  And, as always, if you click on the link, you’ll be sent to the web page/flickr account of the awesome photographer.

One final note before the photo goodness: if you do plan to bring a prop, which I would love, do let me know.  That way I can think about what fabulous images to take before we get there. : )

Emma from aephotographyblog.

Playful, imaginative & just a touch whimsical? Balloons. Whether a whole handful or just one lone balloon. They’ll add a bright pop of color to your photo (and we’ll do our very best not to loose them). : )

shinnphoto on flickr.

Personal & Memorable. Your instrument.  Tuba, Sax, Drums, Guitar, Flute, it doesn’t matter to me as long as you bring it.  Even if it’s large & hard to move – like a piano – we’ll work out whatever we can.  You’ve spent hours learning how to play it so there’s no reason to not include some shots of your talent.

Nasai from Gunnar Cook on flickr.

Great Accessory? Hats.  They can add a vintage touch, tell your favorite sports team, or be immeasurably fun.  (And if anyone wants to take off their high heels/converse & get into some water, definitely don’t be afraid to let me know).

Zach by Jharp242 on flickr.

Hobby or Sport.  Skateboard, baseball bat / glove,  basketball, photography.  It is undoubtedly important to you – you’ve spent all that time learning it, after all – so include it in your photo shoot.

Kristie from Sarah Lane Studio’s Blog.

Unique & just a little out of place? A chair (or other piece of furniture).  I love the bright color that the chair adds to this image (and her skirt, but that’s not the topic).  If you have a prop that’s bigger, let me know.

Likewise, if you have a chair that’s brightly colored and can be moved by a single person (me) but that you don’t want anymore, do let me know.  I’d be happy to get a chair specifically for portrait sessions, and while I have my eyes peeled, I’m looking for unique furniture & so instead of tripping over it in the garage, I’ll take it off your hands. : )  Or if you just know where to get one because you saw an awesome chair, but knew it wouldn’t quite fit with your current decor, shoot me an email!

Tracy by LaurieNowling on Flickr.

Vintagey & Modern? A bright flower headpiece, a headband made of pearls, a peacock feather clipped into your hair.  Perfect.  (And don’t forget the nice conglomeration of necklaces she’s put together).

*Although, I’d feel remiss if I didn’t add that doing your Senior Portrait session in the Fall is actually a better idea since you have more time to get ordering done, announcements made & printed, etc.  But I know that the spring semester is when the end of your senior year is in sight & you remember those little things you needed to get done. : )

Don’t get me wrong.  I love the rain & cold weather is nice… for a while.  It’s been cold a little long this winter and we’re only in January.  Of course, since we’re in Texas, it should clear up in a few weeks (haha), but I am looking forward to not having to dig a jacket out of my closet to do something as simple as run to the store.

As you can imagine, this image is a few months old.  I was digging through my archives, to delete some images that I never sorted through a while pack and stumbled upon this lovely.  In color, it’s not so fantastic, but after I switched it to black & white, I just love it!

In other news, I got my new camera yesterday.  It’s a Canon 7D.  I’ve been looking forward to upgrading for several reasons, but after taking some experiment/play shots last night, I plugged my new “toy” into my computer today & my image program couldn’t read the files.  After a moment of “oh-my-gosh-what’s-wrong”, I googled the problem & found the fix.  Thank goodness I waited a few months to get my camera (or else the update wouldn’t have been ready).  Everything is much better now, running just like it should.  Hurrah for my new camera!

My first session in 2010 and I absolutely adore the results.  (Of course, I like the subject, too, I’ve known him just about forever). ; )

Ryan is a senior in Lubbock & is planning to study music in college next year. And with good reason: he got second chair in all state choir this year.  Amazing, yeah? (Especially to me – I’d like to have musical talent, but, well…)  On to the fabulous visuals.

How photogenic is he? And if I wore glasses, I’d try on ones like that first!

There are these neat old train cars outside of Lubbock that are set up on the side of the highway & if I understand correctly some type of Christmas celebration/decoration happens there every year… but when that stuff isn’t up it’s the perfect place for some photography.

Cotton!  And look at that sky!  So blue!

Can black & white get any better? His expression, pose, & the textures – I just love it!

His expression here makes me smile every time. Just a little bit of mischief, I think. ; )

Good news. The client/ordering section of my website can now process credit cards!  : )  I’m very excited about this because I know that’s much more convenient for most people.

I’m going to go eat my lunch now (left-over stuffed peppers – yum).  Have a fabulous Tuesday!

I love the sky in this image – it was seriously so perfect for this shot (and others… you just wait!)

Wouldn’t this shot make a gorgeous canvas? (Check these examples!)  Seriously!

More on Ryan later, when he gets a full post…

Now, I have another question for you, my blog-readers.  I’m thinking of changing my official watermark. If you’ve never noticed it, check out any posts that aren’t Tuesday Posts, like this one or this one.  I want the watermark to be subtle but readable, and I’ve begun to decide that my old watermark had trouble achieving that (plus, it works much better on the bottom corners than the top corners but if the image has grass or pebbles or any texture in the bottom, then it has to move to the top).  So, I was thinking I might simplify to something more like the watermark in the image above.  After all, it’s the New Year, right?  And a whole new decade.  Changing at least a little something seems logical. ; )

Anyway, if you have any opinions, give me a comment.  : )

That’s all for this Friday.  I have some processing to do and some fun to have with my husband (his school starts back up  next week).

Starting a New Year always makes me want to be fresh & organized… but that rarely happens what with the busyness of the holidays.  So, this year I wanted to show off my husband’s project. : )  He’s been cataloging our books (all the non-fiction, I can’t decide if I want my fiction categorized since I don’t know if it will split up my favorite books & authors, but eventually I’m quite sure I’ll give in)… Although it seems a little OCD since at the moment we’ve only *officially* got 2 bookshelves, I know that it’s a good idea for the future.  He’s going to be a professor (talk about someone who collects books!) and I absolutely adore the written word (evidenced by my majoring in English)… so knowing how to find books when we have more than 2 bookshelves is a good idea.  I’m just very glad that he’s the one putting in all the effort & not me!  : )

His bookshelf looks like a little library shelf… Ever since he started, I’ve been joking about how wonderful it would be if my office (when we actually get our own place) were like a library, with rows of books and then my desk in a corner…  only I’m half-serious with my joke.  I would love to work in that environment all the time… I just love books & having them all organized on book cases would make the room look clean even if my desk were a heaping mess, and it usually is!  : )

Happy Tuesday!  I hope there’s something that seems neat & organized & fresh for your New Year (even if it’s just that you cleaned the trash out of your car – which is also something I did… more or less!)

Okay, so remember this post where I said we almost never get snow?  Well, we got some!  On Christmas Eve (after it fell, my family drove to the desert for Christmas… I was sad to see the snow vanish), but a few days later we got a sprinkling of flakes again.  We got more snow on Christmas Eve when I had to drive away, but twice in 2 weeks is pretty good!  : )  Anyway, here’s my documentation of some snow… here, in Abilene… who would have guessed?

Look, you can totally see a snowflake falling!  : )

Footprints in the Snow.

I’m super happy with the water droplets.  Pretty, yeah?

The only downside to the entire experience was the realization that I have NO snow-proof shoes… so now I’m on the search for cute galoshes that also fit me… because I can wear them when it rains, too, instead of only twice every few years, lol.  If you know where to get some, let me know!

Oh, and by the way, Happy New Year!  Hope you have a fun celebration planned.