Happy Spring!

ps--that's not Greyson, its a sweet boy from a recent session.  More to come!

Under The Boardwalk, Down By The Se-e-a

Las week was Spring Break for me, so I got to take Greyson to California to spend some much-needed time with my family.  It was great to get away, and the weather was beautiful!  To see some family fun photos from our trip, head over to the DeZago Family Blog and check them out.  On Tuesday, we all headed over to Monterey to take in the amazing vistas.  The weather couldn't have been more perfect and we had such a great time!  Here are some pretty scenic shots from the day...

We don't get green like this in AZ...

Fisherman's Wharf

The amazing waves

Oh The Amazing Hannah

This is one beautiful girl!  Hannah is such a sweetheart, inside and out and it truly was a pleasure to photograph her.  When Hannah and I were talking about styling her shoot, she mentioned she loves the store Forever 21 and how they capture a natural and vintage look.  We tried going for that, and I think she did a pretty awesome job of being one of their models!  Hannah is a rock star dancer and journalism guru and wants to be an editor someday.  She is definitely going places!!  Check her out...

Because of her love for books, Hannah brought along this adorable vintage one, that looks great in the photos!

Sweet, right?

Also, we tried something different and hung up a white curtain in this tree for a little different backdrop.  I think it looks pretty cool.

Showing off her amazing dance moves...

The many faces of Hannah :)

And her sweet mom had to sneak in for a few!

Thanks, Hannah, I had so much fun!!

Behind The Image - Hannah

This is Hannah.  Isn't she beautiful?  I am in the middle of editing her session from Saturday night and I thought I would do a little "behind the image" post to show off what goes in to editing an image to perfection :)  Or close to it, at least.  So, above you see the final product.  

Here is the image straight off the camera:

Not bad, but really flat, with blah blue undertones.  No spark to it.  Definitely needs work.  So, after selecting the best of the best from a session, I do a quick color-correct, fix exposure, and contrast boost on them.  Here is that step completed:

MUCH better, right?  Still not done.  After color correction, I run the Pro Retouch Action from the Totally Rad Actions that I can't live without.  I do skin correction as needed (as you can see, Hannah needed almost nothing).  Next, I run the two TRAs that I run on all my images, Lux (60%) and Oh Snap (60%).  I get this:

Ahhh, much better.  A majority of the time, I am done after this step.  I love that look and it is quick, easy, and gorgeous.  For this shot, I still wanted to spruce it up a little, so I did a few more things to it.  Next, I ran the action Green With Envy and brushed that as needed to brighten the greens in the grass and the golden tones in the lighted parts of her hair.  I also added a little lens flare above her head at 38% opacity.  I also decided to run Warm It Up, Kris!, which I don't normally do, but I wanted to play with the warm tones in the light.  And then, finally, I ran Slice Like a Ninja at 70%, which just sharpens the image overall, bringing out the details a little more clearly.  So, then, we have the final product!  Here it is once again: 

Senior Rep #1!

So, not only is Hilah stinkin' cute, she is my very first senior rep!!  I am so excited about this, and I can't wait to see what this new program will do for my business, and for some lucky seniors out there!  This summer, I would like to pick one senior from each high school in Gilbert (or Higley or Chandler) to be a "Senior Rep" for their school.  Their job is to bring in referrals and their payment is a free senior package!  So easy, and so fun!  So, here is what Hilah has been equipped with.  Fun, huh?!

Hilah - Gilbert High Senior Portraits

This is my girl Hilah.  I LOVE her.  I have known Hilah since the summer before her sophomore year when I was her camp counselor in San Diego.  Since, she was one of the girls in my amazing small group and has become a sweet friend.  Hilah is beautiful not only on the outside, but on the inside as well.  She is passionate, driven, talented, genuine, and such a kind heart.  She loves Jesus so much and makes choices that reflect that every day.  Friday night, we drove all over Gilbert in search of "pretty" and "green."  Think we found what we were looking for?  I think this is the greenest shoot I've done yet, which is so appropriate for sweet, vegetarian, environment-loving Hilah!  Enjoy the "fruit" of our orange grove adventures.  :)

Love this light!