Love...just in time!

I recently had the honor of shooting an emergency homecoming session for one of our servicemen, Patrick. He was released from his deployment and brought home early, courtesy of the Red Cross' assistance, to be with his family during a very difficult time! His 10-month old daughter, Adalyn, was just diagnosed with a heart condition that will require surgery soon. He also has a beautiful wife, Kim, and a 4-yr old daughter named Sophia that has been holding down the fort while he was away. It was a last minute session that not only kept the family and myself on-call for weeks, but also another OpLove photographer to fill-in just in case I couldn't attend. Long story short of lots of dates & time changes, Patrick made it home safely to reunite with his loving family! The Patriot Riders were there as well as a few Tulsa news crews. It was so great to be there for this family & capture their photos.

Here is a news link from Fox in Tulsa with the wife interview before the homecoming: http://www.fox23.com/mediacenter/local.aspx?videoid=3340838
And the footage during the homecoming: http://www.fox23.com/mediacenter/local.aspx?videoid=3340915

Last Chance for Christmas Mini Sessions

News 9 Story

Last Friday, I was featured on News 9 (CBS in OKC) for their 5pm newscast. The story was about a recent military scam, and my thoughts on the scam as an OpLove photographer. Surprisingly enough given my lack of prep time, I wasn't too bad! Click here for the link to the story: News 9 Story

The reporter, Lisa, called me about 1pm earlier that day asking about including me in the story. Of course, I jumped at the chance! The catch??? We had to film it in one hour, and it was a 20+ minute drive to the location. LOL...and to make matters worse: I was sitting on the couch, in comfy clothes, unshowered, processing session pics when she called. "Ummm, okay, sure, I can do that" was my verbal response. My mental response was more along the lines of, "Holy crap!! I'm gonna be on the news...again! I have less than 30 mins to shower, get dressed, pack my camera, get gas, and head out!"

We filmed the interview outside of the 45th Inf Museum in OKC. Lisa and the cameraman were both very nice and patient with me. I have to admit that it was a bit nerve-wracking to do such an opinionated piece about the military scam, plus OpLove, with such short notice. Luckily, they were kind enough to edit out my response regarding my thoughts on the people doing the scam as well as what should happen to them. LOL, I didn't say anything bad, just that I had no comment which could be shown on tv. :)

Oh, and we set a date/time for the Today Show interview. The story will air on Vet's Day, Nov 11th. Toe, the OpLove founder and my good friend, is flying into OKC to be a part of the interview and events. I cannot wait...I am soooo excited and nervous! Stay tuned for more specs on it!!!

Family Time with Daddy

Courtney, Jonathan, Kain (2 yrs), and Kason (2 months) met me at the Rose Gardens for a pre-deploy OpLove session last weekend. It was supposed to be a beautiful day with 0% chance of rain (ha haa). It was cloudy & overcast when we got there. So we start taking pics around the site, even though a wedding was starting in the main garden area. Both boys had just awoke from a nap, and they were not too excited about being in pics. Kain was absolutely adorable! He was more interested in watching the other park visitors, especially the Red Hat Ladies that were at the park getting their pics taken by another photographer. Although he tried to avoid smiling or looking at me, I managed to get some good ones! :) Kason was also too cute for words! Some of his expressions reminded me of my niece, Makayla, when she was a baby. I couldn't help but just "ooh and ahhh" over him. And it was very apparent that Kain was a very proud older brother! Courtney & Jonathan were awesome! They were happy and smiley despite having to take Kason's stroller 4-wheeling on the gravel. Just as we decided that the kiddos were done with pics and it was time to wrap up the session...the sprinkles started. By the time we made it back to the cars and started loading up, it was pouring! (LOL. In all honesty, it was kinda funny to watch the wedding party and guests run to the party bus in the rain!) Thank goodness, we had just finished the session pics! Here's some of my favs...

Skye & "Pawsitive Pets"

One of my recent posts was about a previous wedding client (from over 4 yrs ago) that had her dog in the wedding party. Well, I got to meet up with Brandi again and their dog, Skye, at Lake Hefner on Monday morning. Brandi owns a business called "Pawsitive Pet Services" that does pet sitting, dog walking, and training. She was needing some pics of her and a 4-legged critter for her website. Yayyy, she contacted me!! She brought her hubby's dog, Skye, which is an absolutely beautiful canine! She received numerous compliments from random strangers that passed by within our 45-min session. I'm a big dog-lover, so me & Skye hit it off immediately! And I learned a tip from Brandi...string cheese does wonders for getting a dog to pay attention!   :)  Here's a few pics from our session...

For more information about Brandi's services, please visit: www.PawsitivePetsOKC.com or email her at: pawsitivepetservices@cox.net! She is awesome and certified, registered, bonded, insured...and I'm pretty sure she's had all her shots too.  ;)

Bobby, Candice, and the "Z" kids

I met Bobby, Candice, Zoey, & Zachary at the park for his pre-deployment session. It had been a long day, much less weekend, for me so I was a bit out-of-sorts by the time I arrived. They were great and very understanding! Candice was full of ideas for different poses and pics she wanted. That makes it so much easier for me because I hate posing people; it doesn't look real. Zoey had a beautiful and natural smile that just lit up her whole face and made me smile just seeing it. Zackary, was a typical 10-yr old boy: climbing on rocks, climbing trees, and full of energy. It was very apparent throughout the entire session how much Candice & Bobby adored each other. Bobby left yesterday morning, so I wish him all the best and I look forward to his homecoming! Here's a few pics from our session together.

Tips for a Session with Me

I am frequently asked about tips on what to expect or what to wear during my sessions. The first thing I recommend is to understand that my sessions are very relaxed and playful. Expect nothing but the unexpected. Kids may run and play. Parents may get an ornery streak with each other. Geese may chase us all across the park. Regardless of what happens, it's all good! All my sessions are done on-location anywhere you want to go: a video arcade, a park, a church, your home, the local grocery store, Bricktown in OKC, the historic district in Guthrie, a winery, anywhere you can think of. If you need suggestions, I am happy to provide them based on your preference of scenery styles.

Clothing...well that's up to you, but I do have a few suggestions. Obviously OpLove sessions require the service person to be in uniform at least part of the time. Other than that, I strongly discourage busy patterns as they can be distracting from the overall photo. Matching shirts are okay most of the time, but keep them simple. And 100% matching clothing is really only cute on kids. Otherwise, it gets to be too overwhelming. Picking colors that complement each other is the best idea (ie. blues and greens, or pinks and yellows, etc). Basically, I suggest to dress comfortable and realistic: jeans, flip-flops or other comfy shoes, nice relaxed shirt (tee or otherwise), shorts/capris, etc. If our session is at the park, you may find that the best pics are laying on the grass, sitting on a rock, leaned against a tree, or even splashing your feet in the water. In those cases, a dress or slacks is really not the best choice.  :)

Other things to note...for the most part, I do not place you in positions or pose you. I prefer to capture your family's dynamics exactly as you all fall into place. I may suggest to raise your head or tilt it a certain way, but that is more for shadow/lighting purposes. If I posed you and your family, then it wouldn't be natural. And my photography is all about being natural and realistic. I want you to reflect back on the pics later and remember that they show what you all were actually like...not what I made you look like. If you are wanting a formal-type pic with a solid background, and everyone posed perfectly, and with stationary smiles...well I can do that too, but it is really not my style of photography. I prefer to capture the true nature and playfulness and love that is present in your family. If that's the type of photos you want...then I am your ideal photographer!