Adventures in Engagement Shooting

Being from "out of town" is sometimes difficult.  Back home, in God's country, I knew where everything was.  I know if I want a cool "urban" look, I would head straight to downtown Dallas.  I could shoot for days and days, just in downtown.  Cool stuff.  Finding cool spots here is a bit challenging.  Here in Phoenix, we are so concerned with blending in with nature, that things all start to look the same.  We have golf courses, rocks, stucco, several waterfalls (normally prohibited) (not that it stops me) and tons of cactus's or is it cacti or maybe cacky? 

A couple of months ago, I took a scenic route home from the camera shop.  Truth be known, I was just plain lost.  It turned out to be a great thing.  I found a great street of "character."  Turns out, every time I've shot there, I've found several characters.  Most of them scary.  Here are a couple fun shots of my last engagement session there.  These two were so much fun, and felt safe knowing they were armed.

It Had To Be Done.

Over the summer I started making goals for myself and my business.  I feel like when I started out, I wanted to shoot anything and everything.  Over the years, I've discovered my love for shooting weddings.  Weddings are so crazy and wonderful all at the same time.  They are all predictably unpredictable and I love it.  In order to really focus in on weddings, I need to reformat a few things.  My website needs a major overhaul.  I want people to feel like they know me and what to expect, before they ever contact me.  The best way for me to do that, is with video.  The thought of seeing and hearing myself on video gives me a small twitch.  If I had to name one thing that I hate more than anything, it would be flying.  Flying is not really what I'm talking about here, so mentioning it would be pointless.  If I had to mention my top 10 things, seeing and hearing myself would be right after those top ten.  Seriously close.


Anyway, I went ahead and bit the bullet.  Jeff Cools Production, did a great job.  When I first saw it, I had to close my eyes when I saw myself.  Who is this crazy lady, and where did that accent come from?  I chose the most colorful shirt I had ever purchased and put on my pinkest pink eyeshadow, and thought that would be cool.  Turns out, when I start talking about color, there is a shot of me talking.  All I can think about is how much I look like that lady on the Drew Carey show.  Seriously, I never wear that much color.  I also love how I'm pretty much dressed exactly like the beautiful lady I'm shooting.  In retrospect, I wish I would have added dialog about how I insist on my clients that they dress like me for every shoot. 


Jennifer Weems Photography from Ronda Zang on Vimeo.

My Cute Little Devil

It's messy hair day, so only slightly different from normal style.  Not sure where he learned the "call me" pose?

OK, for all of you who hate the generic mom talk, go ahead a "x" on out of here.  Normally, this would be me, but I'll try to stick around long enough to write my own post.  I have a very lofty goal of 30 post in 30 days, so bear with me.  This is post 4 of 30, if you're keeping track.  Hi mom.  Mom?  You there?  Tap, tap, tap....is this thing on?

A couple days ago we had parent conferences.  Normally, I brace for the worst.  Abbey, somehow, has her teachers generally fooled.  They always talk about how sweet and obedient she is, and I try not to get nauseous while hearing about it.  Andrew, on the other hand, is normally a different story.  I normally hear about how disorganized he is and how he does not put in his full effort.  I also hear a lot about how he has a tendency to act like a 10 year old boy.  I know that boys will be boys, but my kid really puts the "oy" in boy.  I always have the night before confessional session.  It's only fair that they have the chance to make any last minute confessions.  I also like to know so I don't have an "I'm going to go home and beat my child" look on my face. 

When I walked into Andrew's review, his teacher was encouraging.  He has apparently turned a corner, and stopped using her classroom as a captive audience to the "Andrew Show".  I noticed that he had left me a note.  I read it on the way out to the car, and I found myself getting all mushy.  This little boy has a way of getting my heart in record time.  Please excuse the bad handwriting, it's in the gene pool. 

10.10.10

In the wedding industry, triple digit dates are big business.  I was excited when I booked my 10.10.10 wedding.  I remember it because it was at the bridal show.  Apparently I wooed them in with my cute cowboy boots.  They never really said that, but I was pretty sure that was it.  Any who, apparently everyone was booked because they came back.  Always a small victory.  These two met in Japan where she goes to school for fashion &  design and he designs cars for Honda.  After meeting, the couple moved to Cali.  I was so happy to be a part of their day, I knew it would be cool.

I love it when people see each other before the ceremony.  It's such a cool moment.

Randall had The best reaction so far.  You can actually see the words "wow" being formed on his lips.  A total head to toe check out.  LOVE it.

He was such a proud groom, he gushed over her the whole time.

Some brides just get it.  You can always tell when they have been looking through fashion magazines.

a beautiful blend of cultures

I knew I was in good company when I noticed the "wellcome".  I think proper spelling is over rated.

For those of you keeping track at home, blog 3 of 30.  Booyah.

Homework Makes A Comeback

It's no secret that homework is not my favorite thing.  I did not enjoy it as a student, and I continue to hate it as a parent.  It's an almost guaranteed fight.  Today, I heard the front door open and heavy stomps to the kitchen table.  I pretended to not notice the drama.  Papers shuffle, drawers open and shut, then quite.  I'm curious, but still avoiding the impending struggle.  I hear "oh yeah, baby." 

 Homework assignment:  Choose a snack, hold it, smell it, taste it and describe it.  What luck!  This whole assignment is completed every time this kid eats.  She completely loves the act of eating.  In fact, for her birthday she wants to have a "melting pot" birthday party with a gaggle of her girlfriends.  Talk about bringing a tear of joy to a mothers eye.

Her food of choice?  Ice Cream.  Beautiful. Wonderful. Ice Cream.  Lucky for me, she did not notice my Blue Bell stash.  Upon finishing, she declaimed her love for both homework and ice cream.  We shall see, we shall see.

Once the bow was licked clean, it was time to round up the neighborhood posse. 

Just a side note, not that I'm counting.....post 2 of 30.  Completo.

Up For The Challenge

So, last week I was challenged after listening to a fellow photographer speak.  She really gave me a much needed kick in the pants.  She spoke about the importance of a blog.  She described it as a window into my life.  For the most part, I'm an open book.  Writing about the weird things that happen to me on a regular basis, I could do every day.  Finding the time to do so with cool pictures, not so much.  Any who, in effort to jump start my renewed effort in blogging, I will blog everyday for the next 30 days.  So for now, knowing my mom is probably the only one occasionally reading this thing, I will take the challenge.

Enjoy cool post #1 of 30 complete with cool blog graphic.  Be amazed.