I had the opportunity and honor of photographing this lovely woman a couple of months ago.  She was interested in the My Beauty Campaign  that I got involved with about 1 year ago.  It has been my desire for quite a while to make beautiful photos of women for women because I truly believe that every woman deserves a beautiful photo of herself.  So, I was thrilled when Jenny contacted me and said she had been referred thru the My Beauty Campaign.

Here are a few of my favorite shots of Jenny.

Jenny is a fine jazz pianist and we were able to use my grand piano in these shots

Silver scarf and fall background

Look at those gorgeous brown eyes.

I love the bright pink on her!

Jenny brought a few outfit changes that made her feel beautiful.  I think she chose wisely.

My dog, Obie, fell in love with her

While she was waiting around for me to get my lights settled, my trusty dog, Obie, went over to get some good scratching from here.  This was a test shot, but I loved the look on her face and he is obviously in heaven.

Again, the strong color brought out her eyes and her lovely skin color

I had a great time getting to know Jenny and photographing her.

If you are interested in being photographed thru the My Beauty Campaign, please go to their website and see what it’s all about.  If you are looking for a gift to give a special woman in your life, this is a great opportunity.

If you are a woman and have not had your picture taken in a while (does high school yearbook ring a bell? Wedding?), this is a gift you can give yourself.  The My Beauty Campaign is not about getting your picture taken.  It is a process where you learn that you are beautiful.  You don’t have to lose weight or get a new haircut or update your wardrobe in order to do this.  You are beautiful, just the way you are.  However, feel free to pamper yourself during this experience by getting your makeup done, hair coiffed, nails done, new scarf or other item that makes you feel beautiful.  You won’t regret this.  I promise.

 

 

Facebook Share|Tweet Post|Email Post|Contact Me

Anyone who knows me and has been to my house around Christmas time (or seen it in pictures) knows that I love Christmas.  I always have.  Thus, my children love Christmas.  And now, my children’s significant others will be forced to love Christmas just like I forced my adorable, but Christmas hating, husband to love Christmas.

And, if you’ve been reading this blog for the last year, you will remember a little elf I acquired last season from a small retailer in a remote location in Nevada.  I thought I was adding to my small collection of stuffed elves (I was able to purchase about 4 or 5 of these cute Annalee elves at the remote location in Nevada.)  However, Edmond Elf was just a bit different.  You can go here to read more about his antics last year.

A couple of days ago I was shooting my annual Awkward Family Photos with a nice couple that I know…

Happy Couple

And she inquired about Edmond Elf.  I remember when I was storing my Christmas decorations last year that he seemed to be missing.  I’m not sure where he has been for the last 11 months, but I did hear a rumor that he had gone to the North Pole to seek his fortune.  He tried to help Santa, but things did not work out so well, so he ended up back here.

Edmond Elf “helps” Santa

After she mentioned his name, he magically appeared.  I think it was because he saw that I had my studio set up.  He felt that he needed to have some profile pictures taken for Facebook, so I agreed because I felt a little sorry for him after he lost his job with Santa.

Behind the scenes of Edmond Elf Photo Shoot

My adorable, and now Christmas loving, husband was in New York for several weeks working with some of the hurricane victims and when he returned it was time to start getting my many boxes of Christmas decorations down from the attic.  Then, as I was working on some editing, I heard a little rustling in the room where the Christmas boxes were stacked waiting to be opened and the contents removed.  One of them happened to be my stuffed Christmas Characters box.  When I walked into the room here’s what greeted me:

Edmond helps elves to escape

And so I watched:

Edmond offers to lower unsuspecting elf to floor

And watched…

At this point, these little elves were just glad to be out of the box and were looking forward to doing helpful elf-like work.  Edmond suggested that another elf should be helped out of the box at the same time.

Soon, there was quite a collection of interested parties.  I felt like I was witnessing a soon-to-happen train wreck, but I just couldn’t tear my eyes away.

And sure enough, Edmond couldn’t quite hold on to both elves and he lost his grip and…they were dropped dropped to the floor.  I think I heard Edmond cry out, but these elves are only stuffed with cotton and wire, so there were no bones broken.

Edmond and his brothers

Edmond called out to make sure the other little elves were okay, but they were already scurrying off to see what kind of Christmas work needed to be done.

And this is how it begins around here…

(Stay tuned and check back frequently)

If you want your own Awkward (or non-awkward) family photo session, contact me at schmautzhaus@sbcglobal.net.  Edmond says you can add him to your photo session at no additional cost.

 

 

 

Facebook Share|Tweet Post|Email Post|Contact Me

What a beautiful day for a photo shoot. Meghan had this great red chair in her house that we dragged outside.  It was a perfect prop for her photo shoot.  She was a little amused with me because my lights seemed to have a mind of their own.  But, eventually they cooperated.

We were able to incorporate her flag in some of her photos. She was really good at flag twirling,  and I had her throw the flag multiple times so that I could capture just the right angle.

Meghan throws her flag

I loved the sun coming behind her because it showed off the flag and added a great glow to her hair.

We got some sun flare which made it look like it is raining rainbows of color. (She has a great smile.)

As the sun went down, but before it got too dark, we ventured out to her front yard on these great steps and then down to the rope swing.

The above shot was one of my favorites because of the movement, the colors and the expression on her face.

Loved the expression on her face and the fallen leaves everywhere.

Another outfit change and we have a whole different look.

Meghan was such fun and she had some great ideas for her shoot.  Thank you so much, Meghan, for letting me shoot your senior pictures.  It was a great time.

Contact me at schmautzhaus@sbcglobal.net if you are interested in a senior photo shoot.

Facebook Share|Tweet Post|Email Post|Contact Me
  • December 7, 2012 - 6:23 pm

    Beverly - I love these photos. I love the one of Meghan on the stairs.

What a pleasure it was for me to photograph this young man, who will be graduating from High School in June.  He has been a close friend of my youngest son for many years…probably since they were 4 or 5 years old.  I have watched him grown into a creative and very handsome young man.  I’m not going to do any “I remember when” statements, just know that I do remember when.

The above photos were taken in one of my favorite locations…a small creek near our house.  It is particularly beautiful in the fall because of the colors.

I also had the pleasure of teaching him piano for a couple of years.  he is very naturally musically talented and was quite eager to learn.  However, he appears to prefer the guitar over the piano.

I liked this photo because it had a beautiful reflection of some of the fall leaves on his black guitar.  It also gives the impression that he is moving forward in life but able to look back without regret.

Nick had an idea that he brought to me that he wanted to bring his amp and electric guitar out on a lonely road out in the middle of no where.  I thought it was a great idea and I had a great place to shoot. I love the way he seems to be jamming and is perfectly comfortable with his surroundings and his music.

A little different, more upscale look for this shot in yet a third location.

Nick also brought along two special people that he wanted to add to his shoot.  I was happy to oblige.

Nick and his main squeeze

Nick and his mom

Congratulations, Nick, on your hard work towards graduation.  I wish you much success in life.  Thank you for the opportunity to shoot your senior photos.

Facebook Share|Tweet Post|Email Post|Contact Me

As I have mentioned in previous posts, I love Autumn.  I love the colors, the weather and all the things that go along with Fall.  So, it was a real treat when I was contacted to do a scary Halloween type photo shoot in a cemetery to highlight  local Make-up Artist, Danae McGowan.

It took Danae several hours to apply the make-up on both of these models.  I think she did a wonderful job.  Take a look at these…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thank you so much, Danae, for giving me this fun opportunity.

True Love

 

Facebook Share|Tweet Post|Email Post|Contact Me
M o r e   i n f o
C a t e g o r i e s
N o   B e g   J u s t   L i k e