It has been crazy long since I posted an engagement session – May, to be specific – so I thought it was definitely time to add some new ones to the blog! Jessica and Charlie asked me to go to the home of our alma mater, Texas A&M, for their engagement session, and I happily agreed. I’ll take any excuse to return to Aggieland, especially when I get to photograph two gorgeous people while I’m there. Here are some of my favorites:

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People are always asking me what’s my favorite thing to shoot, and earlier in my career, I probably would have said that Bridal portraits were tops in my book. There’s something so rewarding about taking photos of a woman who looks and feels so beautiful, and showing off that inner glow that brides have when they slip on their dress. It’s a magical thing, for me, and I could shoot a thousand bridal sessions and never get sick of them.

However, lately I have been booking and shooting quite a lot of elopements. I know from current experience that planning a wedding can be overwhelming, stressful, and expensive, and the lure of abandoning all the planning in favor of a simple, intimate elopement ceremony in a beautiful location is definitely appealing. That’s exactly what Jacqueline and Danny had in mind when they called me up asking if I would be willing to come with them to a small local park where they used to walk their dogs early on in their relationship to make their love official, and I jumped at the chance. Jacqueline has an amazing aesthetic and sense of style, so of course her wedding details were ethereal and lovely. I’m thrilled to share them on my website, now that Style Me Pretty has featured them! Here are some of my favorite elopement photographs from their beautiful day:

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I’m thrilled to announce that I will be having an encore of my Mind Your Business workshop, geared towards small business owners (especially photographers) who are in need of some help getting their business on track. This workshop is chock full of real, practical advice that you can integrate from Day One to help you book more clients, book better clients, and book them at the prices you want.  I will help you get legal, get your finances and taxes in order, show you multiple ways to keep costs and taxes low so you keep more of what you earn, and build packages and prices that will make your profit margin skyrocket and be far more enticing to brides.  We’ll work together to identify your target market and discover ways to specialize your marketing and advertising so that you are getting your name out to the type of brides you want to book.  I’ll tell you how you can adjust your shooting style to make your images more enticing to the top blogs and magazines, and what you need to be doing (and NOT doing) to get yourself published.  We’ll look at real life examples of photographer success stories and failures, and what you can do to integrate the lessons learned from those stories into your business (and avoid the pitfalls that put people out of business!).  We’ll talk about Search Engine Optimization and what I did to get myself to the #1 spot on Google for my key search terms, and how you can get there too.  We’ll discuss when and if you should go full time, and how to get there as quickly and smartly as possible.  I’ll share all of my tips for album design and sales and how I’m able to sell big, beautiful albums (and why you should, too).  And, most importantly, we’ll talk about how to make money doing what you love!

A few quotes from attendees of the January workshop..

“I was glad to hear you say that yes you love photography, but you’re in it to make money…..I was feeling guilty about having those thoughts!”

“I learned so much from your workshop!!  I have started meeting every 2 weeks with several other photographers in my area…which has proved to be priceless.. I have booked about 8 shoots simply from their referrals.  So again, Thanks you have transformed my business!”

“Thank you so much again for sharing all your wonderful information at your workshop and for being so approachable.   A lot of your insight and knowledge is going to help my work flow tremendously!”

“The workshop yesterday was insane, my brain hurts from all that info!!!  I have been to so many workshops and this is the only one that gave me my moneys worth.  Im so sick of hearing people tell me to be myself and charge what Im worth but not telling me how to actually DO that, and you did!  Thanks so much for being completely real and genuine and open with your information.  I cant thank you enough!!!”

“Thanks so much! Your workshop is one of the most helpful ones I have been to. You were so organized and gave great information. Thanks for being so open and informative. It was great!”

“What an amazing workshop!!!! I loved it and got great information.  It was totally worth every penny!  Thank you for offering it!”

“Thank you for putting on the workshop yesterday.  You have definitely have given me a lot good info!”

“I talked to my friend last night after she got home from your workshop – she was RAVING about you and couldn’t stop talking about how much she got out of it.  She said she felt so inspired, motivated, and ready to take her biz to the next level…all because of your encouragement!”

“You’re amazing. Today was over the top, information overload. I know a ton of photographers that say they’ll reveal everything, be absolutely transparent with others …and it’s a complete gimmick. The workshop ends up being about a whole lotta nothing. You are the real deal, sista! THANK YOU for your absolute honesty. I appreciate that you held nothing back and shared your heart about your LIFE as a photographer. My brain is completely fried and I don’t know if I’ve EVER taken notes quite like that before, but the EXPERIENCE was fabulous and I had a great time. I can’t wait to talk to you again…I’m sure I’ll have questions once I start processing all the info you gave us. “

I am so completely confident that you will walk away from this workshop satisfied with your investment that I will offer a 100% unconditional satisfaction guarantee.  That means there is zero risk – come to the workshop prepared to learn and ask questions, and if you don’t feel like you are walking away with the tools you need to transform your business and make more money, then just say the word and I will refund your registration fee.  In addition, after the workshop ends there will be an optional dinner where all attendees can come and bring their portfolio and/or pricing and I will review them personally to give you my feedback on how to improve.

The workshop will be held on Sunday, November 14th at the NYLO Hotel in Plano.  The price for the workshop will be $550 but from now until October 1st I’m offering a discounted signup price of $450!  For more information on the workshop, click here, and to sign up for the workshop, click here.  I look forward to seeing you all there!

Every now and then, there’s a wedding where you walk into the room and your jaw literally drops.. Yasmin and Ahmad’s wedding was one of those occasions. It was so entertaining to watch the guests walk into the ballroom at the Ritz Carlton, and see their faces just fill with wonder and amazement at what DFW Events, Garden Gate Floral, Beyond Lighting, and Prashe Decor had created. Yasmin and Ahmad put together one of the most talented teams of wedding vendors I’ve ever seen, and as the photos clearly show, when you hire the best you get the best! Yasmin and Ahmad had a traditional Muslim wedding where the men and women were separated so that the women could remove their veils, and so to honor their privacy, I can’t post any photos of the wedding festivities. However, with their permission, I couldn’t resist showing off their incredible details!  Thanks to Celina Gomez who helped out as an additional photographer for this wedding.

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Beautiful bride, beautiful dress, beautiful location.. I really get far too much credit for taking pretty photos – with a bride like Jessica in a place like this, taking stunning bridal portraits is child’s play. I’m especially in love with Jessica’s two piece Winnie Couture wedding gown, as well as those FABULOUS blue suede shoes! Shooting at Villa Antonia in Austin is always a pleasure – everywhere you turn is a new and even more lovely spot, and the incredible views of Lake Travis are the perfect backdrop for a wedding or portrait session. Here are some of my faves from her session:

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