ShutterSisters Update!

When I linked last week, it was to the wrong address. They're still working out a few technical kinks, so for now you can find the fabulous site that has become ShutterSisters, HERE. Please come visit!! The site is already on fire! Look what Jen Lemen at BlogHer had to say about it. And, right now, if you sign up for email updates, you'll receive 20 free prints and a leather bound album from Snapfish. So come over and play already!  

Just a quick note to say...

that there are only 2 spots left for the Brighton Family Photoshoot on February 16th. If you are interested, call me as soon as possible. If you don't know what it is, go to this post and scroll down. Then call me asap.

Santa Monica

I know you won't want to (because I never do). But PLEASE indulge me, and play this song. It will brighten your moment. And make you feel the possibility of things.

You know, I think it's easier to blog every day. Otherwise life piles up and there's too much to say at once. I'll start with the definite highlight. I got to shoot Brooke Burke in her new nursery that Katy designed! The shots might be used for Pregnancy and Newborn Magazine. The whole experience was amazing, but also intense. To make a long story short, photographing products is WAY different than photographing people. So it was a huge shift in perspective for me. It was also a lot of learning how to do things I'd never done before (like upload FTP files). Actually that one doesn't count because we still never figured it out. On top of that, our hotel (in the year 2008, in the heart of Santa Monica, mind you) did not have a WIFI connection! That made the next-day deadline crazy stressful to meet. We worked through it, but I have to give a special shout out to Katy. She is completely BIONIC in the amount of work she can handle. 8 months pregnant, she pushed harder than any of us. She is so cool under pressure, and pretty much STEAM ROLLS over obstacles. It's amazing. She deserves every bit of goodness that ever comes her way, and more.

I also got to (finally) meet Tracy Garcia, who was on the trip too. She does the most beautiful murals and canvas paintings for children's rooms. I'd been admiring her work from afar, since her appearance on The Living Show a while back. So it was great to finally see that the person behind it all, is just as cool as her work.

Then there was Little Miss Sunshine DD Cobb. Everyone needs to pack her in their suitcase for trips. She can make you laugh, even when you feel like crying. It's great, except for when she drops your $100 flash tubes on the ground because she has a finger cramp. (brat)  :)

Okay, I've rambled ON. And I can't show any photos until the magazine comes out. But I do still have a ton of Hot Mama shots to post. So here are a few. 'Bout time we got some pictures up in here!!

DD-lisciousness.

Katynator.

Angelia

I'll be posting all the BEAUTIES throughout the week. Today is Miss Angelia. Remember when she had her boy's photos taken at the tractor yard? I read her blog yesterday, where she said she almost didn't come to this shoot. I totally get it. I for one, am the WORST PERSON ON EARTH to sit in front of a camera. In fact, I was supposed to get a self portrait to Tracey for the Shutter Sisters bio page by TODAY and am still procrastinating it. So, I completely understand that moms feel strange about having photos taken of "just" themselves. It's like we think we're only valid in the context of our family. And I'm not knocking family portraits, obviously. I just think that our high school senior pictures don't need to be the last photograph we ever have taken. And we don't need a reason for it either. There doesn't have to be a husband's desk to put it on, or a mother to send it to. There only has to be a YOU. Can you tell I'm really passionate about this? It's because as moms, we focus so much on the needs of everyone else. It's easy to forget who we were (and ARE) in the midst of it all. Do you feel me? I mean seriously...I cannot imagine now, Angelia not having these images of herself. Angelia, you rocked this OUT sister!

If you're interested in the March shoot, email me soon. Also, I'm tossing around the idea of doing a San Francisco shoot in April. So if you're in the Bay area, and would like to get on the list LET ME KNOW!

Haute Mamas

The Haute Mama shoot was awesome! I love it when ideas grow into results. It makes life feel full of possibility. It was a ton of work...the lugging, the organizing, the trying to stay on time. By the end of the day, I was exhausted. And it was SO worth it. These kinds of shoots are like breathing to me. Whether I was posing my (poor) friends on chicken coops, or doing makeup for prom, or working at glamour shots, this has always been a part of my life. And I didn't realize how much I missed it, until this weekend. So, I will definitely be scheduling another one...probably sometime in March. The next time, I will be limiting it to ten people. And there are already five on the waiting list. So if you're interested, email me soon! I'll be posting photos throughout the week. For now, here's a sneak peak from behind the scenes.

Shelly Miles getting her hair done, by my favorite Tonie...(and me as the stalker in the background). I know I've gone on about Tonie before. But Saturday made me love her even more. She is that RARE combination of stylist who can not only rock a cut and color, but she can actually STYLE hair. No more re-doing your hair in the rear view mirror ladies.

And she can bust out any style you throw at her too. Like, notice the magazine page on the table above? Melody brought that in as inspiration for her pin-up girl session. Look how well she interpreted it.

Ladies, if you haven't called her yet, you're missing out!

And I didn't get any pictures of her, but my new friend Robyn from Lancome did all the makeup. Having done makeup for 14 years, I'm really picky about it. I like it when shadow is blended well, and shows definition. Not when it looks dusty, as if someone just slapped up some color on your face. You know? But I was really impressed by her. She is a true artist and made everyone look amazing. She manages over 100 Lancome reps, and is extremely busy. So we were really priveleged to even get her for the day. Thank you Robyn! 

 Another shot of Shelly that we took on the roof.

And all the girls watching while we took the shot above. From left to right: my amazing friend Tina, who did all the catering. And who is too good not to do it professionally, so send her a note to tell her to just do it! Michelle, who helped bartend and set up, Katy, DeAnna, and another Michele.  

Thanks again to everyone who helped to make the day such a great success! Check back soon to see how the photos turned out. And if you want to see more behind the scenes shots, you can go here or here.

See you soon, baboons.