sweet amy ~albuquerque maternity photgrapher

amy grebe.
sweet amy grebe.
we met over email in 2008 and struck up a friendship.
it wasn't long after i befriended her that i realized she was "the calvary girl."
when i say "the calvary girl", that's the nickname laurence and i had given her when we first heard her angel voice sing back in 2002 at calvary chapel's on wednesday nights.
during wednesday night services, her voice made us weep.
laurence and i would leave the services always talking about "the calvary girl" and her beautiful, angelic voice.
you gotta hear her sing, people!
fast forward to '08 and i came across her photography site and was awed.
wow.
this girl has talent.
fast forward to a friendship and her third pregnancy and you have a maternity shoot.
bethany and monique and i met up with the grebe's on a bitterly cold evening for some maternity shooting fun.

and her ya go.

winter ball ~albuquerque teen photographer

i'm a little behind on blogging these pictures.
volcano vista's winter ball was a few week's ago and these cute girls were so fun to watch get ready for it.
it reminded me SO MUCH of all the times me and my best girls would get together to get ready for a night out.
i was totally reliving those memories.

XOXOXOXO

PROSE FOR PORTRAITS!!!!! WINNER ANNOUNCEMENT! ~albuquerque family photographer

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!!!!

let me first start by saying it was SO SO SOOOO HARD for us gals to choose the winners of these shoots.
it was really hard.
no, like REALLY hard.
of course when there are more nominations than photogs, the sadness that some people will be left out starts to set in.
i hate that part.

but after lots of conversations and then prayer...and then for me just picking!--i have chosen the NITAFAN FAMILY. it seems like 2009 was a pretty rough year and we need to start 2010 off with a great big blessing.

(picture "borrowed" from facebook:))))

and if that's a no-no, i blame amy (because it was her idea. and a really good one!)

hello, elaine? are you out there? are you hearing this? i wanna shoot your precious family and get some really big prints up on your wall. k?
i'll be calling you this week to schedule.

more to come on the nitafan's.
stay tuned and have a lovely lovey day.

p.s. don't forget to check on the other winners!

AMY

MONIQUE

PAM

TAMMY.


XOXOXOOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOOXXOXOXOOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOOXOXOXOXOX

inspiration vs. imitation

this post by angela crutcher really resonates with me. CLICK HERE to read it.
i have had to deal with this issue first hand (and the names i won't mention here.)

taking pictures has been something i have loved to do since my parents bought me my first camera when i was a 5th grader. (a disk camera, remember those?)over the years i have become more and more passionate about photographing my family...which led to this wonderful small business i have now.
(my dear friend chrissi was a huge influence when it came to going digital and experimenting with pictures of my children.)
i love what i do and what i've created.
the pictures i take for my friends and clients are pictures that i know I would want to have of my family.
laughing together.
being together in our element.
hanging out.
it means so much to me when people entrust me to capture their families. truly, it's an amazing compliment and i don't take it lightly.
sometimes i lay awake at night before a shoot and think of ideas to really make this next family's shoot special and unique to them. i pray about it.
i get the butterflies before every shoot.
and then something wonderful happens each time and the excitement is overwhelming.
i can hardly ever wait to get home and work on that shoot.

when i first saw tara whitney's work five years ago, i was awe struck. (my friend andi introduced me to her.)
her work made me FEEL something.
i had never seen anything like it in the world.
she has inspired me in so many ways, and i've sent her emails telling her so.
i give her a lot of credit for being 'my oprah' in photography.

since starting this business, i have met so many people (locally and nationwide) who have this deep passion for photography as well.
some of these friendships have become invaluable to me because they've become a support system for a job that is pretty much solo.
i appreciate these people who share ideas openly and give words of encouragement.
i can only hope that i offer the same support to them as well. and what i love about them is that they are all ORIGINAL and we all have our own visions for our small businesses. the amount of time and money that we've all invested in this is colossal.

i have (unfortunately) had the experience of reading my bio on another local photographer's site.
i've also seen my packages.
and several pictures that were unique to my clients.
and i can't say that hasn't bothered me.
i have worked REALLY HARD to be my own person in this.
and i think it is sad when other's don't have the dignity to do the same.
(ESPECIALLY LOCALLY!!!)

apparently it happens often enough in this industry that other photographers have posted their thoughts on this issue too.

inspiration vs. imitation. there is a line and it should never be crossed.

when it is, it only hurts the imitater in the long run.


just some food for thought.


XOXOXOXO

avery and family ~albuquerque family photographer

who doesn't just LOVE a beautiful, sweet, happy baby girl.
ummm, i sure do.
(hello?! mom of three boys, remember?)

so here i (accidentally) showed up 30 minutes early and the awesome ragland's didn't even bat an eye.
they were so fun and excited for these pictures which totally rubbed off on me.
i quickly got into 'the zone' and was snapping pics left and right that i just knew i would love.

and i really do love these.

my favorite kinds of shoots are ones where the family is just hanging out like they normally do. you can't go wrong photographing people in their element.

so we moved around the house with it's beautiful light and mom would say "we like to hang out in here..." and off we'd go with the camera.

and baby avery made the perfect model, see?

here she is showing off her kicking skills. girlfriend has moves.

i reeeeeeeeeeeally love when dogs get in on the fun. there isn't a more candid soul than the family dog. no poses, just real. and the way avery reacted to her dog was pure gold.

i had the sweetest break in january and now i am back to work and really excited for 2010 photography.
XOXOXOXOXOX

PROSE FOR PORTRAITS!

AMY, MONIQUE, PAM ,TAMMY and I have been reading your heartfelt nominations and are looking forward to choosing the winning families.
there will be FIVE chosen families to receive a custom photography package from us.
just 10 more days until we make our choices.
if you know anyone who would benefit, please email us.

winners will be announced on VALENTINES DAY on our blogs.