Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category

The “Habitat ReStore” is part of Habitat for Humanity Greater Los Angeles (HFH GLA) that sells new and used home furnishings and building materials to the general public. I had the privilege of shooting this private event last month. The event was held to thank the many friends and family members, including donors and board members of HFH GLA.  The Habitat ReStore is there to provide an additional funding source to support the low cost housing that HFH GLA provides to the community and families. Read more about the mission here. All of the items sold at this store are marked at 50% below retail value.  It’s worth a stop if you are looking for something specific for your home, or just want to browse. They are constantly receiving new items. My main focus was to take pictures of “stuff”…may I say such cool stuff I wish I had another home to decorate.   Here are just a few of the pictures I took that night.

These last few months have been overwhelming to say the least.  Taking care of an infant is the most exhausting job in the world.  I’ve had very little “umpf”, hitting the wall around 7:30 p.m. every night.  At 3 months old, Emma started sleeping 7 hours straight, and I instantly felt like a new woman.  With this new status, I decided it was time to start working towards my dream of being a stay at home mom, and having my photography business up and running.  As many of you know, starting a business takes work, dedication and drive.  But, ultimately I believe you must have passion to pursue your dreams and make them happen.

I decided to celebrate getting over this major milestone by running a simple contest, and showing the world that I’m back in the game.  I’m starting to book sessions again, and have a few fun things around the corner.  If you haven’t seen it already, it’s easy to enter my contest.  It will take a few minutes of your time, and the prize is a free Portrait session worth $300. You can use the portrait session for a family shoot, headshots, pregnancy shoot, children, senior session, or anything else that you may need that would fit into a 1-2 hour session.

Here’s how to enter:

  1. Login to your facebook account
  2. Go to my Facebook Fan Page “Miamarisaphotography”
  3. Once you’ve gone to my page, click on “Suggest to Friends”.  It’s directly under my logo.
  4. Suggest my fan page to your friends.
  5. Lastly, leave me a note to let me know you did it.

It’s that simple!!!  Good Luck. The contest will end on April 16th.

Blogs are better with pictures, so here’s a picture of the family on Easter.

2 Months Old

March 3, 2010

Yes, it’s true.  Our little foster daughter is already 2 months old. Can you believe it? She’s really starting to smile all the time, and coo. I love it.  Here are some recent pictures of the kids, along with pictures from our visit with my brother and his family.

My sister-in-law Staci and my nephew Isaiah.  He’s a doll!

My brother Josh and the baby.

My niece Ella loving on the baby.

Eva is such a ham!  I love this little one so much.

Blowing Kisses…

Our little foster daughter.  I love these pictures of her.

My Sister’s Family

February 10, 2010

After 3 long years, my sister is finally moving back to California.  I hadn’t seen her for over 1 year, and hadn’t met her son Dominic.  He’s 1 years old, and so cute.  We had such a great visit, as they are out here finding a place to live. They’ll be moving out in a few more weeks, and I can’t wait to have them close to home.  Here are just a few snapshots from our time together.

Here are Samantha’s kids.

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Look at that face.  He’s just looking for trouble.

Alyssa loved the baby. Grandma was enjoying her grandchildren.

Jeff and Eva messing around.

Me and my girl.  I love her so much.

{Family Portraits} My Cousins

November 24, 2009

I was so excited when I heard that my cousin and his family were moving to California.  You may not know this, but I lived in Pennsylvania for two years while I was finishing college. During those two years my dad’s cousin Ron graciously let me live with him and his son.  Growing up in California I always felt somewhat removed from my east coast family.  My dad grew up near Philadelphia and that’s where most of his family still lives. Those two years gave me a chance to reconnect with my dad’s side of the family. I loved the family dinners cousin Denise cooked and seeing everyone during that time.  When I heard my cousin Sal was moving out west, I was ecstatic.  It’s been fun to see them in the past few months and get to know his beautiful wife and children.

We decided to shoot in Seal Beach where they are living. Yes, east coast family, these pictures were taken this month and “YES” they are barefoot.  The temperature did start to drop as the sun went down to a cool 60 degrees. But, as you can see we had a good time.

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As you can see, Tori loved modeling. I think I may hire her for my next shoot. She’s a natural.

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{Boudoir} Pin-up

November 19, 2009

I remember years ago, playing dress up with my friends, imagining what it would be like to be a woman.  One of my favorite things to do was to dig through my Mother’s closet, and hide in the bathroom, practicing with her make-up for what seemed like hours in my mind, which was actually only minutes because my brother would start knocking on the door annoying me.  Even to this day,  I love to get all dressed up and feel beautiful.  It doesn’t happen very often when I get to put on a pair of high heels, or sassy boots, dawn the bright red lips, and go out for a night on the town. But, when it does, I still feel like that little girl digging through my Mom’s closet, and trying on her make-up, excited to feel beautiful again.

Boudoir style photo shoots have always intrigued me.  I love how I feel when I’m all dressed up and love to captures a woman’s beauty.  The opportunity I was given was amazing.  My girlfriend’s sister owns the Ultra Lux Salon and Lounge in Redondo Beach.  You walk in and you immediately feel like you’ve stepped back in time. From the red and black wall paper, to the pink hair dryers, and old vintage prints, the owners Tricia and Deanna put their hearts and souls into this place.  They graciously opened up their second home to us, provided the girls with killer hair and make-up to make our photo shoot amazing.

A big thank you must go out to the Ultra Lux Salon and Lounge family, without you this wouldn’t have been possible. Thanks also must go to Ming, Alice and Noah, my fellow photographers for providing support and talent for this shoot.  A big thank you to Pin-up Girl Clothing for providing the outfits.

And I can’t forget our models Jennifer, Allison and Kaylie for rocking the shoot and giving us some beautiful images.

Jennifer is our first model. I grew up with her and her twin sister and have known them from Junior High.  Most of the pictures were too sizzling to post. But here are some of the tamer ones. :)

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Allison is a good friend of Jennifer’s and had such a great look that I loved.

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Kaylie has joined us before on some of the previous shoots. She’s a college student just wanting to break into modeling.  The girl transforms and can move her body so beautifully.  She’s definitely a favorite among my photog friends to capture.

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What are the Uilleann Pipes you may ask?  When one thinks of bagpipes, you instantly have an image of a Scottish man, dressed in a kilt, playing the “Highland” bagpipes. But, what many people don’t know is that the Irish also have bagpipes.  The differences are quite distinct.  The Scottish play with their mouth, forcing air into a bag, and then pushing the air out with their arm. The Irish don’t use their mouths at all. Instead they have a separate bellows that forces air into the bag in which they press through the pipes. The sound is much more subtle than the Scottish bagpipes. The Scottish traditionally used them in times of war.  The Irish use them in times of song and drinking. :) But, don’t quote me on these facts.

My husband became obsessed with bagpipes after seeing a band from Australia called “Brother” play the Highland bagpipes. It was a great mix of rock and bagpipes. Looking to purchase his own set he stumbled upon the Uilleann Bagpipes. He soon found a club in Southern California that meets to play and learn about these beautiful instruments called the “Southern California Uilleann Pipers’ Club”.  

We had the privilege of attending an amazing concert held down in San Juan Capistrano of some very talented artists playing these amazing instruments.  The first was a man by the name of Ivan Goff. He’s originally from Dublin, but now living in New York.  The second guest was Kevin Rowsome.  To hear some tunes check out this website and enjoy the sounds of the Uilleann Bagpipes.

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Ivan and Kevin playing a few tunes together.

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As you all know adoption holds a very special place in my heart.  Adopting our beautiful daughter was such a gift from God.  Our very close friends adopted a little boy the same year we did.  Our lives have been parallel in many ways, from marrying the same year, to our shared infertility struggles, and now as we both approach adopting a second child.

The adoption of their son was different then what we have experienced and what is normally experienced when adopting through the County. They’ve become good friends with the birth parents of their precious son, and have built a close relationship with them.  Much to their surprise, on a Sunday afternoon when the birth parents came for their monthly visit, they announced that they were expecting.  The birth parents had thought long and hard about this new baby, knowing that they are in a different place then where they were a few years back, but knew in their hearts they wanted to give this baby to Jen and Andy, and for little Lance to have his full biological sibling.

It’s amazing how things happen.  Neither one of us, 11 years ago when we married, thought we would have each adopted a child let alone a second one.  We are so incredibly happy for our dear friends, and can’t wait to welcome this precious baby into our hearts and lives.  By the way, IT’S A GIRL!  Lance prayed for a baby sister for over 1 year.  God hears the cries of his little ones, and HE does answer our prayers!

Jen’s sister-in-law Tina, threw such a beautiful baby shower.  I loved all the details and the location.

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Here’s Tina and Jen, sharing a hug and kiss after Jen gave her a thank you gift.

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Jen’s a hair stylist, so this gift was so perfect.

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Here’s the family, Jen, Andy and Lance.

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In the past few months, I’ve had so many opportunities to grow and stretch myself as a photographer. With the help of many photog friends, last night was no different.  I have to say, I was a little terrified walking into an actual studio for the first time.  Strobe lights, sensors, and back drops are foreign to me in the world of photography.  All of my experience thus far had been using natural light and the occasional external flash. Thanks to my good friend Ming that invited me to tag along, I learned about off camera lighting and how to adjust my camera settings to get the “shot”.

Here are some of my favorites from the day.

Model: Ali

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Model: Valentina

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It’s funny to see the faces of people when I tell them about a “Trash the Dress” photo shoot.  Most people have never heard of this, and can’t understand why you would want to trash your wedding dress. But, for newlyweds that want to get those super sexy pictures post wedding, it’s a great concept.  As part of the So Cal Photog ShootOut group I’ve had some amazing opportunities to build my portfolio, meet some cool people, connect, network and learn from others. As always, a big shout out goes to my friends Hanssie Trainor and Matthew Saville for organizing a spectacular event.  You guys rocked it this time!

There are many people to thank for this amazing shoot.

Jay’s Catering: Served a great dinner and can take care of all your catering needs.

Venue Concierge: Mary Lalland who found us the venue.

Bella Collina: Our amazing venue for a wedding or event.

Kacee Geoffroy and Kim Bragalone: They made all the models look fabulous.

Bows-n-Berries Hairpieces

Jay Jensen Floral

Avery J Productions: They took video of our event.  You may see me in it. :)

Joe Photo: Our guest speaker.

Here are some photos from the “Pre-Trash” session:

Models: Stevie Marshalek and Joseph Sandoval

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Model: Chelsea Ravitch

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Models: Tiffany Amber and Micah

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Here is the “Trash the Dress”.  The “Trash the Dress” session I picked was themed “Dirt”.  Although Lindsey didn’t get all that dirty, we used many “dirty” elements and props to help her out.

Model: Lindsey Addie

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Lindsey was such a rock star and climbed into a tree.

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“Water” theme.

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“Wedding Cake” theme

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Model: Megan Bibbo

“Picasso” theme

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