Men's Lifestyle | Lake Monona, Madison, WI

A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to photograph Israel Lopez for a fun little lifestyle photo shoot. On a walk with a friend I had found a tee pee that someone had built on Lake Monona. I knew this was something that definitely had to be used! Luckily I have a friend that just happens to do some modeling and was perfect for these images.

Not only did I want to feature some of these images, but I also wanted to raise awareness for the Chins Up Foundation. Israel started this wonderful organization to encourage kids and give them an opportunity to have a mentor and communicate with collegiate athletes. Israel has a very inspiring personal story and history that he has turned into a passion for helping kids. Not only has he created this great organization to help inspire kids, but he has also started to speak to assemblies at public schools about his journey and how each kid matters. To find out more about the Chins Up Foundation please visit their Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/ChinsUpFoundation

Yelp's Madison Made

Hello blog! I'm sorry, I know it's been a while. I've been working hard behind the scenes on continually making improvements on the experience you will have, and as if all of the exciting updates and changes I've been doing lately are enough, there are still a couple new things coming :)

As a small business owner, I think it is super important to always be looking for ways to serve my customers better and so they do have a wonderful experience. I am always looking for ways of supporting other small businesses and one way I can do that is through Yelp! I've had the pleasure of working with Corey on an amazing event series he created, Madison Made. Corey and his team will partner with local businesses that are doing cool or interesting things and give people a behind the scenes look at what they do, but also just to get to know the great people behind these businesses. You get to see what they do, but you also get to hear why they are so passionate about what they do and bringing a quality product to our area.

I am so happy to be part of Yelp and all that they do to promote local businesses and getting people out and involved with their community. If you haven't yet, please go check it out http://www.yelp.com/events/madison. And if you don't live in Madison don't worry, the Madison Made series was such huge success that other Yelp communities around the country have started to do their own local events just like this!

Get out and go explore your local community! Get to know the awesome people that are so passionate about what they do and support small businesses in your area. One of my goals in starting this blog was to feature and promote other businesses, keep an eye out for that coming soon :)

Engagement Session: Romantic Moments

With Valentines Day coming up soon I thought I would talk a bit about engagement sessions and catching those special moments with your special someone that are more romantic.

Being at ease and natural in front of a camera seems daunting enough by itself, but then add more intimate moments? Seems impossible, but it's not :) I always start each session by going over what we're going to be doing. How I will start you in a pose, but encourage you to move around, make each other laugh, tell me a story, and hopefully laugh at the ridiculous things I may say or do (yes, I'm good at this because I do and say ridiculous things quite often in my every day life too). But I like to encourage my couples to just forget where we are, be in the moment, and remember why you love each other.

Lean in slowly for a kiss, put a hand up on her cheek and pull her in close, snuggle up and lay your head on his chest, these intimate moments where you forget I'm there and and just enjoying each other and being affectionate are the moments you will look back on and they will bring tears to your eyes. They are the true expressions of your love. You may think you're not a super affectionate couple, but even a little embrace, the unique way you hold hands, the small glances you sneak each other are all of the real and romantic moments that capture your love.

I want to show your fun and playful side, but don't be afraid to show your love for each other as well. I hope everyone has a special Valentine's Day next weekend!

Travel Diaries: Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

When your best friend asks what you're doing a certain week in January and asks if you want to go to Mexico, you say, yes! Every time. It didn't really matter where or what we were going to do. I would be leaving snow and 5 degrees for sand and 85 degrees. What do we always say? YES!

I didn't actually take that many pictures on this vacation, (very strange for me) but I thought I would share a few of them and a bit of what we did. We were staying at a resort in Puerto Vallarta and enjoying the all inclusive lifestyle. We did leave our beach chairs and margaritas behind for some snorkeling, horseback riding, canopy zip lining, hidden beaches, lots of boat rides, and whales and dolphins as we were boating to our destinations.

I am always hoping to book more destination weddings, and I hope looking through these images it might give you some inspiration to have me photograph your beach destination wedding! Just remember I'll always say YES :)

Senior Session: Madison, WI

Senior portrait sessions are a blast! It's a chance for a high school senior to really express who they are and their interests, and I like to think of them as a lifestyle or editorial session. I want to make each high school senior feel like they have been picked to be featured in a national magazine and this is their photoshoot to tell their story.

When I was going into my senior year of high school, I got the traditional studio portraits taken, and then some with my horse (no, sadly he didn't come to the studio with me. He is though one of the most photogenic horses I've seen! He was definitely meant to be owned by a photographer) but I wish we could have gone to more unique locations or made more of a story out of it.

I will spare you any flashbacks to my senior portraits, but I'm taking my experience and what I love to do now and hopefully making a more unique and less traditional senior experience!