Mindy and Zach: Beauty Captured

With wedding season just around the corner, I wanted to practice some new ideas I have for my 2010 brides.  Sunday was funday with models Mindy and Zach.  We played around at a top secret photo spot close to my house.  What could have been an awkward situation for strangers, these two did an amazing job looking beautiful.

We shot in the afternoon sun.






My friend Sabrina and I did most of the styling on the shoot.  She made the accessories with purple feathers and I tried my hand at floral arrangements with this super large magnolia bouquet.

I LOVE this background.  Lots of architecture and lines.

Our final shot is on a grassy hill just before sunset.  I love the colors in this one and the way her dress shimmers in the light.

May in Maui

Mat and I spend the last few days hanging out in Hawaii. It was both our first visit, and I must say 5 days was way too short!  We stayed at the Kapalua Resort on Maui.  The second photo was a view from our hotel's lobby overlooking the pool and ocean.  Everyday the weather was beautiful in the 80's, breezy, and lots of clouds in the sky.

We went on a road trip down Hana Highway, most scenic with waterfalls and pools.  To avoid the massive groups of tourists, we got up at 4:30am.   It was kinda a good thing we were still on west coast time, just a 3 hour difference, so it really felt like 7:30am.

The mosquitoes were sure up though....  they snacked on my legs big time!  After this stop I had 35 something bites on my leg.  =(   ouch.

Mat was on a video adventure, filming everything in his own way... like jumping into the FREEZING water.  We tried out 2 new cameras: GoPro and an underwater camera.  The pictures came out pretty awesome!

Just taking some underwater pictures of the wildlife.

For some reason, the GoPro camera was much better above water than under water.

We ran out of batteries half way during the scuba portion of the photo excursion...  but trust me it happened and it was awesome.  =)  We saw lots of fish, sea turtles, and a a shark.  We toured with Lahaina Divers.  Since it was my first time, I had to take a mini lesson with an instructor and do a crash course in Scuba Diving.  It was kinda scary, but after figuring out the breathing part it wasn't so bad.



On our last night, we went to a luau.  We sat on the floor at our table and grubbed on some tasty food.









The dancers.

After the show.

Voted "Best Beach in the World"

Chillaxin on a hammock by the Ocean... enjoying a few last moments on the island.

SoCal Shootout: Cowboy Casanova

I had such an AMAZING time last night at the SoCal shootout!  The event was held at TCR Ranch in Temecula, CA (about 2 hours away from where I live, but totally worth the drive!)  The location was perfect for the Cowboy Casanova theme, inspired from Carrie Underwood’s latest music video.

We had about 50 photographers, 6 models, hair/mua, and a wonderful team of lead photographers helping everyone learn and practice different aspects of photography from technical, posing, and client relationships. I learned so much and had a blast!
Speaker: Rob Ninja-Nicholson
Lead photogs: Matthew Saville Baldon, Yvonne LeBrun, Hanssie Trainor, Gavin Wade, Erin Wade, Sarah Frenzel, Derek Frenzel

Models: Karin Lorene Larsen, Crystal Leland, Kristin Keating, Eryne Shan, Allyson Hoehl, Ashley Gregory
Event planner:  Kim Lefebvre

Hair Accessories by: Heather Lynn Wilging Molina

Hair and Makeup: Melody Rachunok, Brandie Bedell, Kacee Geoffroy

First up model Karin Lorene Larsen posing in her awesome red cowboy boots (passed down from her grandma!) She also rocked a silk black burlesque outfit. HOT! We shot her photos inside the stables near the opening to get some natural light.

The hallway was gave a nice perspective. Work it girl!


I think this close up of Karin is my favorite! Beautiful eyes, WOW!


Kristin Keating is an angelic model, very tall with a stunning smile. We photographed her in the arena and small spots of opportunity that surrounded it.


This one in the grass... FAVE! It's so dreamy. I love the vibrant colors.




Our next model Eryne Shan.


She has a soft face with beautiful angel eyes that just speak!






Allyson Hoehl was rocking the red.


This could possibly be the coolest headpiece! Heather Lynn really did a stunning job on creating these beautiful accessories. Check her out HERE. Location-scout-turned-model Ashley Gregory.



The A sisters (that's what I called them) look amazing together.




It was getting close to the end of the shoots and I was kinda sad there hadn't been an opportunity to get some shots with any horses; after all we were at a ranch! Our group started photographing Crystal Leland near a corral with a group horses and suddenly they were curious enough to come check out what we were doing! Crystal was fearless as the horses nibbled on her hair and gave her kisses. I LOVE these shots!










Technical stuff: All of the photos were shot by yours truly: Sherri Johnson Photography. Canon 5D with various lenses: 50mm 1.4, 70-200 IS 2.8L, and 24-70mm 2.8L. Processing in Lightroom and Photoshop.