{ Happy New Year! } -- Mesa / Phoenix Photographer

{ New Year, New You -- How To Achieve Your Goals This Year } -- Mesa, AZ Photographer

{ New Year, New You }

How To Achieve Your Goals This Year

In less than a week, we will be in a new year.

2012

Doesn't it seem like it was just turning the millenium with year 2000?

It sure feels that way to me sometimes! It feel like time passes quicker than we can blink.

I've made some good New Year's resolutions in the past that I've been able to keep:

Be more positive.

Open a photography business.

"LIVE" and "BE", not just "DO".

I've also made resolutions that seem to go strong the first week or two and then fizzle into oblivion by the end of January:

Lose weight. { Ha! }

Get more sleep. { Ha! }

Treat myself to a home manicure every week. { Ha! }

Okay, so some things don't totally go as planned. Sometimes we start off with all the motivation in the world....but what is the secret to actually achieving those goals? What makes such a big task possible?

My secret from last year is to:

Write. It. Down.

It sounds simple enough and like it wouldn't really make any difference, but oh, it DOES.

I was able to achieve 75%-80% more last year from my goal list--things I once only dreamed about doing--because I wrote those things down. I typed them into my phone and added to the list throughout the year. It committed me to doing them because I actually SAW them throughout the year.

It challenged me and reminded me that New Year's was coming around again at the end of this year and I didn't want to celebrate another year passed as unfruitful.

What are your goals for this coming year?

When 2012 ends, what will you say you've accomplished that you've always wanted to do?

It seems daunting at first, when you think of it as the "Big Goal." But when you slice and divide that Big Goal into tinier, Smaller Goals....then suddenly it becomes easier to achieve what you'd like to do, because you take it one step at a time.

For example, last year, I knew my "Big Goal" was to get started as a photography business. I had that broken down into smaller goals like:

-Buy business cards

-Open a website

-Get business Trademark

-Get EIN

-Open blog

-Network like a crazy person

-Do (x) amount of shoots per month

-Earn (x) amount of $$$ per month

-Quit full time job { gulp } and move into part time job

-Etc.

Did I achieve every goal?

No.

There are still some that I'm going to aim for again in 2012 such as purchasing new camera gear. But did I get things done that needed to get done to push me closer towards that goal?

Yes.

And that forward motion is what's important.

Are you moving yourself closer towards your Big Goal?

Are you taking those smaller steps towards achieving what you'd like to do?

Here's a way to break down your Big Goal:

1. Define what your Big Goal is and label that as the goal for the year.

2. Then, break down what could be done each month to reach that Big Goal.

3. Then, take those monthly goals and break them down even further into weekly goals.

4. You guessed it. Break those weekly goals down into daily goals.

5. Think I'm crazy? Break those daily goals down into hourly goals or minute goals.

Remember, every little step you take towards accomplishing your Big Goal and your dreams can launch you that much closer to it. I typed my Big Goal into my phone, as well as all the little things that needed to be done to achieve it. I set it up under my "Tasks" folder and checked them off as I went. You can do this on your phone too or use good old fashioned pen and paper. The key is to write things down somewhere you can see it often.

And at the end of 2012, if you keep taking those smaller steps towards it, you'll find yourself feeling refreshed and in awe that you accomplished so much more than you ever thought possible....all because you did what you could and bloomed where you were planted.

Take it from this level to the next...and the next...and the next...and the next...

And never give up!

I can't wait to hear all about what you're going to achieve in 2012!

: )

{ "1 Day Workshop" -- November 5th, 2011 -- Hyatt Place / Tempe, AZ }

More details on my Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/BebaPhotography#!/note.php?note_id=223103164403652

{ Be An Original } -- Mesa, AZ Photographer

{ Be An Original }

"Be a first rate version of yourself and not a second rate version of someone else."

--Audrey Hepburn

I love seeing all of the different styles that photographers have created and interwoven throughout their work. There is a magical charm about each style and it's fun to see the personalities of each digital artist coming out through the work that they are presenting. The truly masterful have created a style set apart from the rest.

As a photographer, it is vital to develop a style that is uniquely and intensely "you" -- something that sets you apart from the rest as different and something that echoes the ramblings of your heart at its very core.

Too often, photographers are tempted to go with the popular and many a time, a person will find themselves looking at a series of photos that look entirely beautiful....but all the same.

The same props.

The same lighting.

The same costumes.

The same poses.

Though beautiful, it becomes repetitive and in time, it's hard to distinguish one photographer from the next because everything is shared and the same.

When Anne Geddes first arrived on the scene, babies everywhere started getting put into giant flowerpots with flowers on their heads. It was a nice gesture to Ms. Geddes and I'm sure quite flattering....but the creativity of so many photographers became stagnated by copying ideas for their own work. It was probably just as beautiful as Ms. Geddes work, but the same, nonetheless.

That's not to say that a photographer cannot glean inspiration from photos that he or she likes.

But they key is analyzing what makes the photo so appealing -- the individual elements that unify together to make it so pleasing to the eye -- and trying to capture the essence of those things and put them together into his or her own work with a personal spin on it. The goal should be to glean techniques from and not to replicate. To capture the essence and the feeling of what's being displayed without copying it.

It's a challenge for sure!

But it's oh, so worth it! Each person and each photographer is so uniquely different and the variations in people's work is so refreshing and appealing to one's senses to see.

What makes you, "you?"

What is your own personal style?

What do you look at and say, "That's SO me!

Everything about it describes my personality and who I am as a person!"?

What do people see in you and say, "That's so "you"?

That is an important key to finding your own individualized photography style. Finding out your own style first.

I'm starting to offer $15 mini style sessions to photographers who are struggling to find what makes them, "them." I accomplish this through a special questionaire and then spending time researching photos, colors, design applications and ideas online and putting them together into a style board on Pinterest which can then be repinned, placed into a pdf and/or printed out as a hard copy.

I did a test group with photographers and there were multiple style matches.

Here are two quick examples:

Photographer: V.G.

http://pinterest.com/bebaphotography/v-concept/

"I loved the images and they really reflect where I want my brand to go. I had already pinned some images on pinterest and the ones you found for me matched exactly the ones I had found already. I could help go ooh and ahh at every pin. Thanks again!"

Photographer: A.G.

http://pinterest.com/bebaphotography/a-concept/

No official statement has been written yet but she said it in a separate message that it was a perfect match!

If you would like to hire me to find your style and what makes you "you," then email me at:

alicia@BebaPhotography.com

{ The Eyes Have It } -- Mesa, AZ Photographer

{ I'm Convinced He Must Be Part Human }



I have never seen a dog with more expressive eyes than Roscoe. Sometimes I look at him and have to try and convince myself that he's NOT human.

I photograph him often because I love capturing the eyes on my subjects. Whether it be pets or people, there's something so stirring about eyes to me. When I was an art major in college, eyes were my favorite thing to draw because there's so much depth that's hidden there. There is a story in every person's eyes and you can see so much about a person when you look into them.

I find myself wondering:

"What has this person's eyes seen in his or her life?"

"Has it been good things?"

"Has it been bad?"

"Have these eyes filled with tears?"

"Have they lighted with joy?"

"What places around the world have these eyes seen?"

"Have they seen the birth of someone they love?"

"Have they looked into the eyes of another and seen love

 reflected back?"

"Do these eyes lower in shyness, flash in anger or twinkle with delight?"

"Do these pair of eyes see dreams unfolding or shrinking back?"

SO many questions.

SO many thoughts to ponder.

SO many stories in one pair of eyes.

Whether it be a puppy's eyes or a client's eyes.....I feel like I can best hear the story when I capture their eyes in my pictures.

People often say that the "eyes are the window to the soul" and I totally agree.

Each set of eyes, whether blue or brown, green or gray, black, hazel or violet....each tells it's own special narrative and each are like little pools that reflect the waters of emotion in a person's heart.

The joy of being a photographer is that I get to capture the reflection with my lens. It's kind of like looking into a mirror that's bounced off another mirror, that's bounced off another mirror:

The eyes reflect what the heart sees.

The camera lens reflects what the eyes see.

And the world reflects what my pictures see.

{ "But I'm Not GOOD Enough!" } -- Mesa, AZ Photographer

{ Just Because You're at Point A & Not at Point Z, Doesn't Mean That You're Not a Photographer }

I hear the same lament of discouragement from SO many photographers:

"I'm not as good as they are."

"I'll NEVER be good enough."

"I'm totally fooling myself. I'm not a photographer."

"I don't want to say I'm a photographer and then have people say that I'm not."

"I don't want to sound like an American Idol wannabe."

A lot of photographers have convinced themselves that they aren't photographers just because they're not at the
place in their journey that they'd like to be or they feel far behind where others are at in their own journeys.

In other areas of life, this would sound silly, if not ludicrous:

Imagine an Olympian in training looking at the current Olympian and thinking, "He or she is { SO } far ahead of me. I should stop training. There's no way I'm going to get there."

Silliness.

The only way you can get from a training athlete to Olympic gold medal is by trying and training and pouring yourself out into making yourself better step by step.

I used to beat myself up so badly on the inside and would get so discouraged that I'd swear off ever shooting again. I'd think, "What's the point? I'll never be as good as him or her. So why try? I quit."

The problem is that I was not allowing myself to see the potential that has been invested into my life and I wasn't giving myself a chance to cultivate that talent and see what I could do with it.

A lightbulb that hasn't been plugged into an outlet remains a dead bulb. The potential is sure there, but without a power source, it remains useless. Wasted energy.

I didn't want to be that unplugged lightbulb. I wanted to plug myself into training myself as a photographer and trying to grow the talents that God has invested into my life. I wanted to dig my heels in and see what my life was made of.

The Bible talks about a master who gave his servants a certain amount of talents each. Each was to be responsible and invest those talents and grow them. Two of the servants invested them and yielded a return and were blessed with so much more. The third, however, buried his talents {$$$} and brought back only the unused amount he was given.

How many dreams are packed away on the shelves of people's hearts, collecting dust because they've been afraid to dream--because they feel like someone else's dream is so much bigger and better than their own? How many talents are we waiting to see and experience in our own lives because someone's packed them away and aren't using them?

When fear gets in the way and stunts growth, it takes away a piece of beauty that we all could have enjoyed and relished in.

Still not convinced?

Think back to kindergarten when you first learned how to tie your shoes. I'll bet you felt pretty clumsy tying them for the first time. You probably had to try several times before you could even get it CLOSE to looking like a decent bow. If you had gotten frustrated, you could have given up....but then you would still be wearing Velcro shoes even now as an adult because you weren't willing to be uncomfortable for awhile to learn and grow in your skill.

You are unique.

You are special.

You have a gift that no one else has.

It's up to { you } to discover, develop and cultivate those things and grow them until they reach their full potential.

How will you know what potential lies in something unless you try and invest into discovering it?

Here's my challenge to you photographers out there:

 { For all you who doubt your talents and who feel like you fall so short of other photographer's skills }

1. Stop comparing yourself to other photographers.

You should never want to be like them.

You have something unique of your own to bring to the table.

"Always be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of somebody else."

-- Judy Garland

2. Be patient with yourself.

The photographers that you admire did not get to where they're at overnight and neither will you. It takes patiently applying yourself and getting better at what you do one step at a time. Commit yourself to growing and guaging your own personal growth.

3. Look at other photographer's blogs.

Find photographers that you like and look at their very first blog post ever. Then look at their most recent. I promise you, you will see an amazing transformation. This was one of the most freeing things for me to do because I realized that each of the people I was admiring had started off in a place that is very similar to where I'm at now. They are where they're at today because they tenaciously applied themselves to growing their craft and skill and didn't stop growing. Look at your own first post and where you are at today and you'll see growth.

"Don't get intimidated. Get inspired." --Jen O'Sullivan

The college president at the college I used to attend encouraged me to follow my dreams. I encourage you to do the same. A lot of times your success will be determined on whether or not you believe that you can { or cannot } succeed. We're more likely to succeed { or fail } based on what we first believed in our own hearts.

Believe that you can do it.

It will take time and a lot of effort, but commit yourself to learning and discovering your untapped potential.

I can't wait to see the gifts you share with the world one day.

And remember......

 

"Everyone starts somewhere." --Pati Pakulis

{ The Princess Bride } -- Mesa, AZ Photographer

{ The Princess Bride }

Many little girls grow up wanting to feel like a beautiful Princess on their wedding day. I'm sure a lot of us at some point in our childhood has put on our prettiest dress, strapped a pillowcase to our head and grabbed Grandma's silk flowers from the vase so we could stand in a mirror and admire our reflection as "the most beautiful princess bride ever." Some of you may have even twirled around, pretending like you were dancing with your handsome prince.

{ I sure did when I was a little girl! Only my "veil" was one of those netting things that pops open to cover food and keep the flies away. I did things a little differently as a child. Ahem. }

Whether we wore pillowcases, food covers or even toilet paper, we all wanted to feel like the beautiful Princess Bride who was swept off her feet.

But then life happens.

We all grow up at some point and either go to school, enter the career field or become stay at home Mommies. We enter the world of responsibility and it feels like those precious moments of longing for beauty are left behind when the playroom door closes.

But isn't there a little piece of that longful wishing in *all* of us that still wants to be the beautiful Princess in a story? Brides all over the world work for months to create a beautiful environment for the day they wed their heart's true love and will search until they find *the* perfect dress that makes them feel magical and beautiful....and very much like a Princess.

This special bride is looking forward to that magical feeling....and being the Disney fan that she is, she is going have a replica type Princess Aurora dress from her favorite movie "Sleeping Beauty" made into a beautiful wedding dress for her special day.

I got to be a part of her pre-dress fitting { the real dress will be adapted from this mock-up version that was made from a linen-y material. This is kind of the "test run" dress before the real one with real fabric is made } and watched as the designer worked like Flora { one of the fairies from Sleeping Beauty who made Princess Aurora's dress } and pushed pins here and gathered material there.

Arms had to be lifted. A pretend first dance had to happen to make sure that she could waltz with her prince at the reception.

With a little more pinning.....

...and a the finishing touch added to this beautiful bride's ensemble....

......that beautiful "Princess Bride" feeling began to take over and you could see it on her face that she did indeed feel like royalty.

As women, we *all* carry a little piece of nobility around in our hearts. We were more attuned to it as little girls, but it's still there, even when we get older. We deserve to be treated as precious and with love, gentleness and dignity.

Just like a Princess.

{ Beba Quote } -- Mesa, AZ Photographer

{ Have Faith Eyes to See and Believe }

"Just because a bud is not fully grown, does not mean that it's not a flower....and just because a photographer is new at what he/she does, does not mean that there's not a professional tucked inside. Watering, nurturing and fertalizing will make a bud grow into a flower and practice, encouragement and tenacity will grow a hobbyist into a professional. You have to see a person for his or her potential and commit to digging the beauty out of it. Dreams come true for those who have faith eyes to believe that a seed can one day become a tree." --Beba

{ Beba Quote } -- AZ Photographer

{ Beba Quotage }

"So much talent is lost by the false demands of perfectionism. A baby doesn't learn to walk on it's first try and dreams don't come into being overnight. But just like a baby, we have to get up and try over and over and over again until we get it. I don't know about you, but I don't want to be stuck in Pampers for the rest of my life and the only way I'll grow out of them is to risk falling on my rear." --Beba

{ Photo Snobs }

{ Photo Snobs }

I may get some heat back for this one as a photographer, but it's something I'm sounding off about because I feel passionate about it.

Increasingly, I've come across friends who have been snubbed by other photographers in the profession because they lived within a certain zip code and and they didn't want competition encroaching on their territory. A friend of mine was denied a workshop because she lived "too close" to the photographer offering it. Other photographers have written to me and lamented about how other photographers were tight lipped with offering them advice. The photographers viewed them as competition and didn't want to be trumped in their own work.

As a photographer who's { so } graciously been given help by other photographers, it's disheartening to hear that some photographers are being snubbed by these "photo snobs."

{ Teamwork }

I always love sharing information I know with other photographers because I see us all working together as a team. I don't see other photographers as a threat--I see them as a blessing. My thought is, "If I give this photographer information and they end up being better than me or better a lot quicker, then that's because God gifted them to be more gifted than me." What I say or don't say won't be what makes that happen. That's something that will happen anyways because it's something that comes from the inside out. They will inevitably find their information somewhere and flourish anyway...and if they do flourish at a quicker pace, I can learn from them.  I want to encourage people to follow their dreams and to use the gifts and talents that God has given them and I love being a part of helping others find success in their work. So many other photographers have been so incredible in helping me with my own photography and I'm so grateful to them for their time and help. Why shouldn't I give back when I can too and help others?

I always want to be a team player and be an encouragement to others in the same way that others have been an encouragement to me!

{ Photo Snob. }

No photo snobs here. ; )

"In helping others, we shall help ourselves, for whatever good we
give out completes the circle and comes back to us." -- Flora Edwards

Do you have a story about being snubbed by a photo snob? How did you handle it?

Have you been helped by another photographer that you want to give props here to?
Give a shout out to these champion team players!

I'll give my own thank yous to some awesome photographers who have really poured a lot of themselves out to help me, whether through personal advice, mentoring or posting so much help information on their blog--thanks girls! You have gone more out of your way than others and I so appreciate your help. Gold star--you girls are the rockstars of the photo world!:

Thank you Pati Pakulis!

&
Thank you Melissa Jill!

&

Thank you Jen O'Sullivan!
&
Thank you Jasmine Star!
&
Thank you Brienne Michelle!

{ Encouragement to Live Your Dreams From Celebrity Makeup Artist, Kandee Johnson }

{ A Little Encouragement From Kandee Johnson }

Celebrity Makeup Artist

I love this youtube video from Kandee Johnson! This girl breathes the very breath from my heart! Following your dreams and goals is the very heartbeat of my life and I love encouraging others to follow theirs....and she does it so well! I'm still at the start of my journey, but she's totally been there and is living it in a big way! 

She's overcome so much to get to where she's at today and tells her story very candidly. She shares how she followed hard after her dream and became wildly successful because of her tenacity to keep following it, no matter what.

I hope that you do to.

{ Follow your dream. Follow your passion. }

{ Bless the world with the gifts that you've been given. }

Thank you for sharing your heart, Kandee!!

{ My Journey as a Photographer } -- AZ Photographer

{ Growing }

It's exciting to see growth in your work and have the satisfaction of knowing that you're getting more knowledgeable with what you're learning.

I see this whole photography experience as a journey.

I'm not where I want to be yet, but I'm definitely not where I was.

I wanted to write this blog to inspire other photographers who are just getting their start in photography. Obviously, I have a long way to still go to get to where I'd like to be. But I believe that I WILL get there. For now, I'm learning and growing into this role of "photographer" and I wanted to encourage others who were just getting their start, that they can get there too!

When I first started shooting photography, it wasn't a perfect start and there were a lot of learning bumps along the way. Now that I have started, I keep going and I hope that this encourages you to keep going too. This is my photo journey from where I started and where I am at today....and I can't wait a few years from now to post where I will be, Lord willing! : )

YEAR: { Pre-historic age....wasn't high school forever ago? }

When I first started shooting photography, it was years ago as a high school yearbook photographer. It was my first attempt at photography, but definitely not something I was considering as a career. { Looking back, I wonder why I didn't consider it then, since it gave me such a thrill and joy, even back then when I was 15 years old}.

YEAR: { 2000 }

I had a LONG period of not photographing anything. I was too interested in learning how to figure-skate and was too wrapped up and focused on becoming an animator. I wanted to be an artist and photography hadn't even entered my mind. But, my college was offering a class on black and white 35mm photography and I needed a creative class for my degree, so I decided to take it.

Something happened.

Something sparked inside of me and just like when I was shooting photography at age 15--I felt happy and alive. I loved seeing my pictures after they'd been developed and couldn't wait to shoot more and more pictures!

But I HATED developing pictures. The "stop" chemical stunk to the high T and I hated standing for so long in a darkroom. Oh boy, booooring. I loved shooting pictures, but hated developing them. So, photography went back on the shelf and I kept pursuing a degree as an artist.

YEAR: { 2003 } -- Enter Digital Cameras and My First Attempts at Photoshop....Gulp.

{ Be kind please }

I didn't know the first thing about digital cameras or Photoshop and my amazingly sweet photo subjects were so patient with me while I tried to figure out how both of them worked.  My first year was a little disasterous.....

I honestly didn't know what I was doing and I wasn't taking any classes to help guide and direct me. I was purely a try-and-fail student. And oi.....'nough said. ; )

BUT! { Yes, there is a but! Thank goodness! }

YEAR: { 2005 }

2005 rolled around and I had continued to try-and-fail with my camera and Photoshop and I started to get the hang of things more and more. I was shooting photography as a fun side hobby, but it wasn't something that I was considering as a career at that point, because my images still weren't looking how I wanted them to. Closer, but not close enough. I took a portfolio photography class, but failed it. A big fat "F." A photographer? NO. Definitely not at that point.

YEAR: { 2008 }

I continued shooting as a hobbyist and found myself liking photography more and more, but still hadn't considered it as a career...Until....I took a wedding photography class with Jen O'Sullivan (http://www.jenosullivan.com/) and learned the business side of photography. That was it! I could marry (no pun intended) my love for entrepreneurlship with my love for being creative! The perfect left-brain/right-brain balance which was perfect for me since I'm a left and right brain mix of person!

I was hooked!

I had my first "real" engagement photo shoot with Jen's class and found stuff just "clicking" (again, no pun intended, lol. I'm just full of those tonight, aren't I?). ; )

Suddenly, I wanted to photography everything all of the time!

Still, I didn't have the confidence that I could make it as a photographer. I was terrified that I would be like one of those people on American Idol that THOUGHT they could sing and really couldn't....I didn't want to say, "I'm a photographer" and have someone tell me that I wasn't, so I held back.

But with the encouragement of others, I started to look inside for confidence. I told myself, "No one is perfect when they first start. You CAN do this. You'll have to grow into your role, but you know that this is what God is calling you to do and you CAN do this."

I still wrestle with that sometimes because I'm not where I'd like to be, but I have to constantly remind myself that it's a journey and show myself just how far I've come. I don't have to look to the outward (people's comments) to tell me whether I can make it or not. I believe now that I can. It will take a lot of hard work, but I know that I'm called to this and will grow into my role, just as I have been doing all these years.

The President at my old college wrote me a personal letter that included that quote that says something like, "Shoot for the moon. Even if you don't reach it, you'll at least land among the stars."

That is my challenge to myself. I'm not in a competition with anyone else because we all have some special gift to bring to the table and all have a special way of interpreting photos. But I am committing myself to learning as much as I possibly can. I want to reach MY highest potential. I want to see where I can go with this.

I owe it to myself to try because I love it so much.

{ May 2011 }

{ May 2011 }

{ May 2011 }

{ August 2011 }

{ October 2011}

{ November 2011 }

What about you? Where are you at with your photography? If you love it, don't give up! Keep trying, keep growing, keep learning and keep burning the fires of passion in your heart and keep dreaming your dream!

If you try, you can only get better and better!

{ I Love Lists } -- Arizona Photographer

{ Lists }

These last few months have been quite a whirlwind for me! Lots of photo shoots, Photoshop tutoring sessions, blogging and fulfilling orders filling my time. I've got some new things stirring up in my mind that I'd love to accomplish by the end of this year. I love organization and love lists! I love the feeling of being able to cross something off my to-do list and say that I've accomplished it.

Last year, when I decided that I wanted to pursue photography as a career and start a business, I created a list. It included things like:

1. Get business cards made.

2. Write a Terms of Service contract

3. Get a website.

4. Start writing a blog.

5. Etc, etc.

It was about a full page of things that I wanted to accomplish before the year was over. It felt so amazing to cross those things off my list and do what I only used to think about doing.

I was committing my thoughts to action.

Now 2011 is in full swing and I am doing the same thing. At the start of the year, I wrote a list of things that I'd like to accomplish. Some of the goals that I've already accomplished are:

1. Get licensing.

2. Become Trademarked.

3. Be part of the Ultimate Women's EXPO.

4. Switch from a full time to a part time job.

5. Get business cards made (this one took me some extra time). ; )

6. Book almost every Saturday.

7. Blog at least once a week.

8. Etc.

There is a { LONG } laundry list of other things that I would like to accomplish this year, some of which I am already putting into practice. Some little dreams, some bigger ones. But whatever size they are, I'm dreaming and putting them down on paper.

I've found that as I've committed my thoughts to action, that I get more done. I accomplish those things that I had only "thought" about doing. It forces me to stretch and grow and accomplish those things I was thinking about doing and to go out and actually DO them.

What would YOU like to accomplish this year?

Have you written those things down?

Imagine how much more you can get done this year if you do!

{ Happy Easter! } -- Celebrations

{ Happy Easter! }
Happy wonderful and beautiful Easter everyone!

When I was younger, my family and I used to get up super bright and early and go to a sunrise service at our church. This year, we're sleeping in a little bit and going to a later service with a big group of family and friends and then going to a party afterwards. This morning, I'm getting ready to go do a photo shoot for my sister and her husband who are expecting their very first child in a few months. For me, Easter is all about miracles and I can't wait to capture this beautiful time in their life where they are expecting their own little miracle. I love how full of life everything is on Easter Sunday! Everything is so bright and beautiful and I'm reminded of a very special miracle that happened the first Easter morning. He is risen. : ) Have a great day today everyone!







{ A Bride On Her Wedding Day } -- Arizona Photographer

{ A Bride on Her Wedding Day }

I love the excited buzz that surrounds a bride on her wedding day.
Excited anticipation fills the air as she transforms from an already beautiful person into to a beautiful bride.

Admist the hair pins and lipstick, eye shadow and blush, something seems to change on the inside along with the outside.

As a bride is being decorated on the outside, there is some sort of magic starting to happen on the inside of her at the same time.

Have you seen it before?

While she is getting ready and preparing herself to see her groom for the first time that day, she starts to wear glamour and beauty
like she walks the red carpet at the Grammy's everyday of her life.

You start to see the bride's actions change with each piece of jewelry she puts on or with each tuck of the hair that the stylist makes.
You start to see that she begins to carry herself a little differently.

She was already a vision of loveliness and now she becomes a picture of elegance and regality.
All of her movements are graceful and she moves with grace and ease like a ballerina in a dance.

It's something I couldn't quite put my finger on until recently, but I think I've learned her secret.

I believe that a part of this transformation happens when a bride suddenly becomes aware of her own beauty as she stands before the mirror and realizes just how very stunning she is.

She holds herself differently.

She smiles a lot more.

Her eyes twinkle.

Something about her makes you stop and take notice and everyone around her sees it. Not only is she beautiful on the outside, but she's also got confidence and some kind of inner grace that shines from the inside, out.

She is loved and is content in knowing that her groom will love her for all of who she is and that he's about to be floored by the vision of his loveliness when his elegant and beautiful bride steps outside to see him for the first time on their special day.

She always has been beautiful and now that she sees it for herself and knows that her groom will love what he sees, she transforms and is radiant on her wedding day.

Cinderella, Disneyland & My Dream -- A Lesson From 2009

{ A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes }

Disneyland, CA -- 2009

I came across these photos of some great Cinderella statues that Disneyland had on display in the shops on Main Street's windows back in 2009. At the time, I began toying with the idea of becoming a photographer, but it was only a dream in my heart then.

I love the story of Cinderella because she believed in her dream, even in the face of adversity and even though her dream seemed unattainable.

I've been juggling working full time and pursuing this dream of becoming a photographer together for a long time and was finding myself with no time to really pour myself into my work and grow.

Until recently.....

I heard the call to step out of full time work, step into the carriage and down the road of following my dream of becoming a photographer.

I left behind the safe because I believe that dreams are made for coming true. I left my full time place of employment to take on a part time position so that I could pursue this deep desire in my heart.

"A dream is a wish your heart makes....have faith in your dreams and someday, your rainbow will coming smiling through. No matter how your heart is grieving, if you keep on believing, a dream that you wish will come true."

I took a chance on my dream and am so glad that I did! It may be the biggest mistake of my life or the biggest blessing, but I won't know unless I try. I didn't want to look back and say, "What if?"

So, onward!

I've always believed that dreams can come true.

Sometimes those dreams take time to come true.

But I believe that they will happen if you believe they can.

Dream it. Believe it. Acheive it.

A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes.....

....so what is your heart dreaming?

What goal would you like to accomplish?

What dream do YOU wish you could see come true?

....Have faith in your dreams and someday.....

....a dream that you wish will come true.

I'm so glad that mine did. : )