Welcome to my new blog..
I'm a wife, a mother, a teacher and a photographer. These are just a few words that define who I am. The love of cooking and international cuisine give me inspiration along with sweet memories of cooking with my Sicilian grandmother Eleanor. Homemade manicotti, spaghetti sauce with homemade meatballs cooking for hours, and Italian wedding soup are just a few of the dishes served at my house. Whether cooking, teaching, or taking pictures, my spontaneity, passion and creativity will be unleashed.
You can see more of my work on my portfolio website (miamarisa.com). Please follow me on twitter and @reply me or contact me by email so that I know who you are. :) Cheers!
Meet our friend Chris. I call him my husband’s brother from another mother. They are best buds, and not only have been mistaken for one another, but love to write, record and play music together. We are so blessed by his friendship. He needed some pictures, and I desperately needed to get out and get behind the camera. It’s been since early December, and OHHHH how I’ve missed it! We only had 45 minutes, but had fun on our mini shoot.
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. 
Allison is a good friend of Jennifer’s and had such a great look that I loved.
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.
I have to tell you, I’m getting pretty spoiled working with all these amazing models, make-up artists and photographers. Every shoot, I learn something new. This shoot was no different. Through the help of a photog friend, I’ve just purchased some off camera lighting. It was so fun to play around, mess with my settings and try to get it just right. If you don’t have any off camera lighting and are looking to purchase some items without spending a fortune, check out the “Cactus” trigger. It’s only $30, and it worked great.
A Big Thank You:
Thank You Alicia and Rita for putting on this amazing shoot. You thought through every detail and made your vision come to life.
Kelli Benson
Make-up Artist:
Crystal Roberts
Crystal, you made everyone look so fierce.
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Jarred and Valentina
Kaylie and Bryan
Kaylie
Valentina and Kaylie
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
Model: Valentina
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.
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
Model: Chelsea Ravitch
Models: Tiffany Amber and Micah
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
Lindsey was such a rock star and climbed into a tree.
“Water” theme.
“Wedding Cake” theme
Model: Megan Bibbo
“Picasso” theme
What do you get when you combine roller coasters, ice cream, 30 photographers, and a dozen models? You guessed it, a great time! Back in March I joined a photography group that gets together to learn, grow, and help each other. The group has grown in membership. They just started a San Diego group which I had the privilege of joining up with on Tuesday.
Each time I attend I walk away from the experience with more knowledge, along with the knowledge that I have so much more to learn. I find out my strengths and weaknesses on these shoots and this pushes me to be better and to continue to hone my craft.
Stephen Knuth and Yvonne LeBrun organized a great event. Thank you both for an amazing evening of learning, laughing and growing. All the models were amazing and so patient with all of us. You make our job look so easy. A big shout out must go to The Youngrens, Jeff and Erin, who spent the entire afternoon and evening with us teaching us about posing, lighting and giving us a fabulous presentation. Oh, and I can’t forget Evan Bishop and his wife for opening up their beautiful home.
By the way…can you please let me know which one is your favorite image. The Youngrens will be picking out their favorite image from those submitted.
Make-Up: Kacee Geoffroy
Models: Rachel Amara and Mark
Model: Nastaja
Models: Shaun Beach and Veronica Alessandra Flores
Model on the left: Kaylie Wilson Model on the right: Brooke Conlin
