These Are A Few of My Favorite Things....

Obviously... I am running low on blogable events.... BUT, I do want to take a minute to share some of my favorite things with my blog friends. The following "things" are some of my all time favorite. I wanted to share with you. I encourage you to share some of your favorite things with me and why they are your favorite. Let me know if you blog about it. At different times of my life..... my favorite things change, but at this point in my life.... these are some of my favs!

The first is all about my obsession and love for coffee. For our anniversary, my parents bought us a Keurig single serve coffee maker. It is AMAZING. It is one of those things that when you get it, you wonder how you lived without it.

I have a favorite perfume that I just love and have for years and years. It is Tuscany by Estee Lauder. I have tried to change, just for something different and nothing compares. LOVE it!

I am soooo not a fashionista.... that is FOR SURE. I am all about comfort. I have found these shoes called Volatile. I bought mine from Dillards. They are super cute and absolutely the MOST comfortable shoe EVER. I will say, that the first day I wear them... I have to break them in and my feet hurt a little.... BUT after the first day... I am good to go. These shoes are a higher heeled flip flop but they completely feel like tennis shoes. I just got my second pair on sale for $29.99. My mom... has a terrible time with her hips and legs, and even she loves the too!

Moving on.... I don't take care of my skin like I should. I am bad, bad, bad. I have found that these Oil of Olay cleansing clothes are soooo good. I am always rushing and in a hurry. These are perfect for quick cleansing. I notice improvements in my skin soon after using them religiously. Normally I use Mary Kay. But when I am in a hurry (which is all the time) I use these.

The next three items.. are not surprising. They have to do with photography. The first is my Nikon D90. This camera is incredible. I absolutely love this thing. It is my baby. It has taken my pictures to a whole new level. It has allowed me to make a little extra money.

The next is the 50mm 1:8 lens. Love this thing. I can get up close and have the background beautifully blurred.

The last item... My Nikon SB-600 flash. Wow, this thing is amazing. I even use it in bright sunlight to take away the subtle shadows. I prefer natural light.... but this thing is a must have, especially in low light situations.

Lastly and more important than ALL of these "things", I have a song for you. Yes, JUST for you. It is absolutely amazing. I dedicate it to all of the woman and young girls out there. Enjoy!

My First Family Session

Yesterday I had the pleasure of photographing a family.  I teach with her, and she knew I started doing photography on the side and asked if I would take their family portraits.  I jumped at the opportunity.  Such a precious family!  It was a windy day, but I was able to get some great shots. 

I am going to set up a different blog so I can update about our life and have it separate from my pictures.  Any ideas on names?  I am thinking of the oh so creative Misti Dunlap Photography.  I was hoping you might have some ideas......  any?

I wanted to share some of my favorites from yesterday......  enjoy!  Yes, as you can see, I am obsessed with sepia and black and white photographs.

Copyrighted Material?

I recently blogged about my starting photography on the side.  So far, it has been a great experience.  This is new to me and I am enjoying every minute.  

This evening I had ordered some photographs online so I could put together a portfolio.  This past weekend I had gone to South Texas to a cousin's wedding.  I was able to get some good shots.  Mind you.... I took almost 150, and ended up with a few good ones.  

My goal is to have this portfolio to show potential photography prospects my work. When I went up to the counter to pick up the photos, I gave the girl my name.  She stopped for a minute and asked if the photos I was picking up were copyrighted material.  She then went and grabbed them (there on the receipt was the word copyrighted?) She said again..... these are professional photos and we are concerned that they may be copyrighted materials (at this point she was giving me this look.... as if I was trying to cheat someone out of money by making illegal copies).  I immediately told her that no these photos are in fact mine.  She opened them and started going through them again....  by this time I am thinking..... lady, I better be leaving here with MY photos.... I start panicking and naming all the individuals in the shots.  She said because of the editing done and the positioning of the subjects, they appear to be professional photos.  I kindly told the lady that she had made by night but that I am in fact just starting out and I had printed these to put together a portfolio.  She handed me my photos and said that I may want to put a watermark on them so that they are protected.  Can you imagine the photos she sees a day?  This was a GOOD thing.... me being accused of printing off copyrighted material......  

Let me tell you.....  I walked out of there with the BIGGEST smile....  are my photos of professional quality?  No way.... I am not there yet....  but it is a pretty good start, I think.  

I am scheduled to shoot a wedding in May for a friend from way back.  I am so excited and nervous at the same time.  Wish me luck!  

Here are some of the shots from the wedding.  I can't wait to finish editing them and get them printed!  

Taking a dive into who knows what...

I have this HUGE passion for photography.  I think it manifested itself fully, when I had children.  For me, pictures capture memories and stages of my kids.  The stages fly by and I try to catch as most of the moments as I can.  I love, love, love pictures.  Granted, I rarely take my kids to get their photos professionally done. 

But I am so excited about my new endeavor.  My favorite pictures are candid shots.  I find that the best are those that are unexpected. 

I am really excited about this....  Hopefully it will turn into something.....  Who knows?  

Here are some of my favorites I've taken.....  I still have a ways to go......  but who's better to practice on than my family.....    after all..... family is everything.....  the first one of Brayden of course is post processed quite a bit.... I enjoy the post editing too although I am new to the more advance editing options.  I see photography becoming my way to relax and take time to do what I enjoy.