Work of Heart Photography » Girls

announcement

wohphoto — Fri, 25 Mar 2011 16:48:06 +0000

junkyard

wohphoto — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 19:11:18 +0000

Recently, I was able to do a shoot in a local junkyard. Fun, fun. However, the rules had to change a bit in order to do so. First, had to show up hours earlier than I normally would have shot due to the junkyard’s business hours. No problem, I can work around the blazing California sun. Second, with the hot sun and cloudless sky, factor in hundreds of reflective old windshields and semi-rusted metal car parts and what you get is a perfect storm of even hotter temps and subjects who can’t help but squint their eyes due to the light bouncing from surface to surface. Very little mercy from the light! Lastly, the safety factor — a junkyard can often be thought of as a “tetnus shot waiting to happen”, but these kiddos were older and respectful of the rules. (Those who know me know I’m a stickler for safety at sessions.)

All in all, we got through it just fine and had a lot of fun doing it! These girls were so polite and helpful, as was their Mother (thanks again).

vintage

wohphoto — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 20:38:33 +0000

Still playing catch up here … I’ll never forget this shoot as it was session number three in a row during our week of 100+ degree temps here in SoCal. This particular shoot was a brutal 103 at 5:30pm and I was without my usual assistant — set up and tear down was intense, to say the least. But, as so many photographers can relate, it’s about the end results – I love the vintage look. Each piece has been bought and collected from various antique stores, yard sales, flea markets and so forth. One day soon I’ll post some shots of how all my chairs are stored (an attempt at organization).

And those of you who have been following my blog for awhile know how much I adore red-heads ….it almost feels like a crime to convert their beautiful hues into black and white format!

First, I must show off my new chair …. a good chair (at a good price) is hard to find in SoCal and I have been looking for well over a year for an upholstered chair to use in my shoots. Living back East I was spoiled by the selection of chairs at bargain prices.

been a long time

wohphoto — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 20:03:43 +0000

Wow, it has been so long since I have done a blog update I struggled to remember my blog admin password. Sigh. Apologies.

The summer has been much more “crazy-busy” than I expected – but busy is good!

Over the next few months I’ll also be sharing a bit about something I’ve recently become passionate about – educating women on the beauty & skin products they use. A good place to start is “Safe Cosmetics” http://www.safecosmetics.org/ – here you can go through their database 25,000+ shampoos, makeup, skincare, etc to see the rating of toxins on a scale of 0 – 10. A real eye-opener.

Or if you have a few minutes, watch this informative little movie by clicking the graphic below.

One last thing – for a greener house check out Sara Snow. She just had her first baby, so much information on baby products, etc. http://www.sarasnow.com/ I love her book “Fresh Living” and found it full of information I could implement right away for my family & home, yet not still did not feel overwhelmed by it all.

I know, I know … you came here for the photography, right? Well, us artist-types are known for their passion and being multifaceted (among other things) – you just never know what we will be saying next. Which is a good thing, keeps you readers on your toes a bit. *wink*

There is much to update, with many images & sessions to showcase, however I will try to stick to chronological order and begin with this beauty. This shoot was before God turned on SoCal’s “heat lamps” … much enjoyable to be loading and un-loading the car while at a cool 75 degrees.

red head

wohphoto — Thu, 13 May 2010 13:12:56 +0000

I’ve said it before on the blog …I adore red heads. Simply love them! Perhaps it all started when I received my first cabbage doll at age four — a cowgirl named Louise Belle who had a bright red crown of yarn-hair. Whenever it began, I do know I spent a good 10 years with red hair myself (thanks to my “Aunt Clariol” lol). Now that I’ve had dark locks the past few years, I feel that red envy creeping in again and may have to make a change.

Furthermore, many of you may share a similar love for literary favorite redhead, Anne of Green Gables. Admittedly my favorite books and movies (though, the third movie I’d rather forget…) all have to deal with Miss Anne Shirley and her beloved Green Gables. As a young girl I cherished the role model of a bright, strong, quick-witted and passionate young woman her character portrayed. And that hair!

This little sweetie had amazing red hair and a beautiful bounty of freckles. I know, I know, many people who have freckles don’t really care for them. I have naturally curly hair and go to great lengths to avoid that reality. *Smile* But, all in all, I couldn’t get enough of her in front of my camera.

… she’s a butterfly

wohphoto — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 18:11:03 +0000

I loved this session. Truly!

I receive a lot of questions in regards to the clothing in my sessions; yes, I do style all of my sessions in one form or another. This session features one of my favorite designers “Woven Play” ..they have such a unique and artistic take on children’s costumes (the butterfly costume below). Just heavenly!

As soon as I began to edit this session, this song “She’s a Butterfly” by Martina McBride came to mind. One of my favorites.

“She remembers when she first got her wings
And how she opened up that day
she learned to sing
Then the colors came, erased the
black and white
And her whole world changed
when she realized

[Chorus:]
She’s a butterfly, pretty as the crimson sky
Nothing’s ever gonna bring her down
And everywhere she goes
Everybody knows she’s so glad to be alive
She’s a butterfly

Like the purest light in a darkened world
So much hope inside such a lovely girl
You should see her fly, it’s almost magical
It makes you wanna cry, she’s so beautiful

[Chorus]

God bless the butterfly,
give her the strength to fly
Never let her wings touch the ground
God bless the butterfly,
give her strength to fly
Never let her wings touch the ground”

Moving

wohphoto — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 19:24:30 +0000

I’m a busy, busy woman over here …finishing up my Workshop Workbook upgrade for it’s big release, spring season for photo shoots, and the biggie …moving to a new house on the 1st. Phew!We are moving from Los Angeles County (about 35 miles outside of the city) to a small rural town in northern San Diego county and I’m so excited to have some peace and quiet (and a big big yard!). I will be doing photo shoots on our 6.5 acre property (with huge barn and lake) as well as I’m only two miles away from one of my favorite shooting locations. I swear I won’t mind not having a Starbucks .01 miles from me (right now I have one across the street) and will have to drive 15 minutes to Target. That’s about the same I had to drive back in Pittsburgh.

Plus, my family from back East will be in town for a visit and to see our new home. We’ll also be hosting them for Easter this year. Excited, but never made an Easter dinner before! Honey Baked Ham? { laughs } If you have any yummy side dish recipes, please share in the comments! Thank you!!

Cowgirl

wohphoto — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 20:29:38 +0000

I’ve been excited to blog about this session as it is one of my more recent favorites. Fresh from moving from Texas to SoCal, this girl was fun to photograph. You know she’s a Texas girl as she didn’t mind being around the cows (read: cow smell) and the gooey mud. She was a bit shy about her braces so not too many smiles, but you know me, I love the serious pensive look. I styled her clothing to compliment the country environment, complete with an old quilt (thanks Etsy!).

On another note … I’ve been receiving many emails asking when I am coming to Pittsburgh for sessions this year and I’m happy to announce soon I will be posting the 2010 dates. Leaning towards end of July and possibly a few fall sessions. Gary and I are having our wedding ceremony early October in PA so that will take most of my focus during that time. In the meantime you can go to the Work of Heart website for more information on PA sessions. Just click the “Investment & Details” page and next click “Pittsburgh Sessions”.

Ps. You can now find Work of Heart Photograhpy on Facebook!

Work of Heart Photography on Facebook

Beauty

wohphoto — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 15:32:08 +0000

Finally, almost caught up! Almost. I still have about five more sessions to blog, not to mention the new ones lining up as I head into my busy season. Although I miss living back east, I cannot complain about the wonderful west coast weather and being able to shoot outdoors all year round. Did I mention we have beautiful weather out here? (Just rubbing it in for my cold-weather friends! Actually, Gary and I went up to Lake Tahoe (my first time) this past weekend and boy I was freezing. Yes, two years ago 40 degrees would have felt like a warm front to me, but now days, brrrrr.

I am also excited to announce the coming of my new posing guide for photographers: Pocket Full of Poses. You can read more on the posing guide by clicking HERE.

Enough on all that. This little beauty was such a delight to photograph and seemed to bring beautiful light wherever she went.

The Apple

wohphoto — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 01:44:30 +0000

Inspiration is all around you, and often does not fit into the mold of what typically inspires. Myself, I am inspired by color schemes, clothing items, vintage fabrics, lighting, locations, antique shops, the list goes on! The inspiration behind this series of images came from a size 5 vintage blue dress I purchased for $20. On a whim, I grabbed a few apples on my way out the door.