VLV Photography

Well, it’s Friday and as promised, here is Ashlee’s sneak peek!  I figured since I was leaving this Sunday for my photography seminar, {Woo-Woo-sooooo excited!!!} I should probably not be cruel and post this before I leave.

Ashlee, from what I can tell, has a personality she wears-on her face-ALL. THE. TIME.  I think she’s seriously the first person I’ve ever met that naturally wears a smile-all the time.  I wonder if she’s still smiling when she gets into arguments.  Actually, she probably never does.  She’s just a sweet, laid back, not to mention smiley, mid-western girl whose vibrant personality is contagious.  I think she’s one of those people that….you know that expression….”lights up a room .”  I would hope people would say that about me, but I don’t think they do.  I think people say “if there’s a closet you need organized, Victoria’s your go-to gal” or maybe that I’m the life of the party.  Yeah, I think I like the second one!  It is a fact that if there’s music, I just have to dance.  And you know, I never tried out for drill team back in the day because I was so afraid of forgetting the moves.  I probably didn’t have much rhythm back then though anyway.  But today, I’m the one you pull up next to in traffic and being the only one in the car, my mouth is moving and I’m thumping the steering wheel. LOL!

ANYWAY, enough about me and my killer moves.  LOL!  This was actually a split session.  Ashlee had some puppies that were all to be given away but one and so this first image is one from this Spring with her dog.  For the life of me, I cannot remember this dog’s name.  He’s not so little anymore though.  I’d bet my big toe his name starts with an “M.”  I WILL update this when I find out!

These next ones were my first attempt at taking sports-related images like this and in a gym as well using lighting.  I love the control strobe lighting gives and the different “look” it provides.  The next thing I’d like to try with my lighting is out in a field or just outdoors with a family.  But these images were so much fun to set up and create.  A shout out to Ashlee’s mom Carrie and her aunt Sara for making the net shot possible.  Oh and extra kudos to her mom for removing the leeches from Ashley’s feet.  That’s one thing NOT in my job description!  Ew!!  I’m just glad Ashlee didn’t fall in the water!!

 And then there were leeches….ew!

This next shot in full sun would’ve turned out wayyyy cooler had my lighting been set up, but it’s just not that portable.  Eventually there’s a small light I plan to purchase and that would be ideal for a shot like this in the middle of the road!

 Thanks Ashlee and crew for the fun session!  I hope you enjoyed the sneak peek!

I’m FINALLY getting this sneak peek up-sorry Emily!  I’m sure you’ve been anxiously waiting! lol!

We had perfect weather for this session.  We had initially scheduled for the morning but then mother nature intervened.  It was a good thing though, because like I said, it was gorgeous out!  The session just flew so fast.  Before I knew it, it was after 9pm already!  The summer nights are sure dwindling rapidly it seems.  It seemed to take forever for us to get summer-like weather and then when we do, a wrath of storms and heat come with it!  So we really just need to enjoy and appreciate those perfect days when they do come around.  When days like that do come around, it’s hard for me not to think that it’s a perfect day for a session or a wedding.  In fact, during Emily’s session, I said to her mom that it was “wedding weather.”  LOL!  It’s hard to turn off my photog brain sometimes.  I should be saying it’s perfect lake weather with the kids.  Our summer has just been super-busy though, we haven’t had much time for a lot of fun. This Saturday though I think we’re going to check out Transformers 3 at the drive-in.  We haven’t been there yet this summer and this time, I’m taking my camera!

Anyway, enough of my rambling….onto the images of sweet Emily.  She was shy at first;   not sure what to expect or what to do I suppose, so then ”wise me” tries to give guidance, when really…Emily knew what to do all along.  So I just went with it, let her do her thing and we were golden. I just had to realize to keep my trap shut!   Look at those eyes!!  BAM!  And such a fun style too!  Up until a few weeks ago I still had clothes from Plato’s Closet.  A voice said in my head, “HELLO, you’re over 30 give up the Abercrombie already!”  I clearly don’t follow trends but Emily sure has a style all her own.  I LOVE it!  Edgy, comfy, and fun!

I think this is when I finally got Emily’s sparkling personality and inner diva to come out!  We were having a staring contest.  True story.  Victoria=1, Emily=0, I win! Neener, Neener!!  And this is my first attempt at a “studio” shot.  Granted, it’s set up in my hubby’s future “man-shop” but it worked.  I think I will go into stealth mode one night, dress like a ninja woman, and hang sheetrock, paint, put in some comfy chairs, some beautiful, vintage finds, my closet full of props and gear and call ‘er the “Tog Shop!” LOL!!   It would be a fun prank though!   Oh, the things I think up!

You’re such a sweet person Emily!  I hope you have an awesome senior year filled with a ton of memories!

Anyone with me when I say I was ready for school to start like yesterday?  I think it’s time for school to start when my kids go outside to play and they get bored!!  Seriously?  I would be outside all day long at their age and only come inside to eat, then I was gone again.  My brother and I would spend hours playing cars, trucks, and tractors and making play roads in the gravel alley by our house.  There wasn’t an ant hill that didn’t meet its demise either! lol!  Oh…the good ol’ days!  I still do play with ant hills when I’m out with the kids.  I find their teamwork just fascinating!  Really, I could just be easily amused! LOL!

So it’s been a while since I posted a “My Life Monday” because I’ve had sneak peeks to post instead.  Tomorrow I will have the sneak peek from my senior session with Emily from over the weekend though.  We had a great time but more on that tomorrow.  Today you get to read about my boring life!  BUT…I guess it’s better to have a boring day than a bad day!  Right?

For the past 20 minutes I’ve been sifting through my digital images looking for some lightning shots I had gotten from one of the recent storms but haven’t been able to find them. :/  So instead I’ll share some cute little hands & feet. We recently had some concrete work done and of course we had to put the kids’ hands & feet in it!  I had to literally wrestle with my youngest though.  She just wouldn’t have it but I wasn’t about to just have the two kids.  You can especially tell with her foot prints!  MOM=2/Jozlyn=0  Moms rule, end of story.

In other news, a while back I had shared a link to a blog post by a husband & wife photography team on my Facebook fan page.  It was all about “The Reveal Moment” or as I like to call it “The First Look.”  Anyway, I mentioned I would share my thoughts on it in a later blog post and this is that blog post.

In a nutshell, I really feel that if you want to really be able to share a moment, be able to soak it in, express your emotions to your loved one and be able to embrace about it, then having a “First Look” is the only way to do that.  When my husband and I got married we had a “First Look” and I was so glad we did.   I don’t think I would have been as relaxed otherwise.

For selfish reasons, as a photographer, I prefer when couples choose to have a “First Look” because it does allow me more time with the bride and groom.  Time aside though, I think it sets the tone for the rest of the day.  When you’ve had that alone time, you’re able to tell the one you love how beautiful or handsome they look the moment you see them, as if they just stepped out of a magazine.  You can shed a tear together, talk about what the day means, and possibly exchange gifts.  All those things you COULD do that you can’t do when you first see each other at the start of the ceremony, really add an element to your day, that I think, will mean so much later.  It’s really hard to remember the first moment you see each other as you come down the aile because you’re either too busy looking at the guests on either side of the aile or looking down because everyone looking at you makes you uncomfortable.  More often than not, those walking up or down the aile are usually looking down or to the side, rarely straight on.  This includes the bridal party!  Most people just aren’t comfortable being “the center of attention.”  If you’ve had the time to ease your nerves, talk to the one you love, it really will show in the images and you will also get images you never would have gotten by not doing a ”First Look.”  Plain and simply-the images I get when the bride & groom see each other for the first time at the start of the ceremony, are just not as storytelling as when they have a ”First Look.”  I’m a fan of the ”First Look.”  There, I said it.   Here’s an example I posted previously in a sneak peek from Sami & Dion’s wedding.

Alright, so in other business news….I’ve been mentioning to clients this welcome packet for portraits & weddings I’ve been working on.  So, just to prove I’m not making it up and there really are some good things in the works, here’s a little sampling of what will be included in my portrait welcome packet.  Wedding welcome packets will be a little different but ultimately I wanted a cohesive look for my brand.  When you see something across the room, I want you to know it’s in reference to VLV Photography.  I have been a “green” business, doing everything online for over the past year, but I have found that the information was getting lost among all the other emails my clients receive.  So, in order to have information to refer to at their fingertips, I decided to put some information together that I will mail out once someone books with me.  I’m really excited to get this all squared away and once I get everything designed, ordered, and photographed, I will surely share pictures here!  I’ll be too excited not to!  The image below is the backside of my welcome note.  I have to blur out the text because there are not-so-nice people out there that like to copy copyrighted text.  But you get the idea.

Alrighty, well I hope everyone has a great evening.  I have to say evening because this post would have been posted at 4:30 this afternoon but then ended up losing 1/2 my post and had to re-type it.  :/  The joy of computers.

Until tomorrow….Live, Laugh, and Love the one you’re with like every moment is your “First Look.”

I was very much looking forward to this session simply because it was going to be very different than any other. I was also planning to bring my portable power that I had yet taken out on location so that only added to my excitement!

I should add that Liz’s mom was a classmate of my brother’s and I also had worked with Liz’s grandmother {hugs to her} back when I cleaned rooms at the Wishek Inn. Someday I’ll list all the random jobs I’ve had in my life and selling Kirby vacuum cleaners is not excluded-lol! Hopefully this photography gig sticks though! Anywho, so actually there was a history there with Liz’s family and myself and I was thrilled when her mom called me to do Liz’s senior pictures. And I’m even happier to know that it’s all because of Liz’s grandmother mentioning me that I got to work with Liz in the first place! It’s crazy how things come full circle and where I’ve ended up.

So I’ll start out by saying Liz is just beautiful. Liz, you’re beautiful and don’t ever let someone tell you differently. Someday I would love to see that face without all the makeup as you certainly don’t need it! There was a time when I had skin like that-sunscreen people!!!! Also, as I’m writing this I’m torn between writing it as Liz is reading it, directing it to her or writing it as if it’s to my readers {if you’re out there}. So I apologize if I jump back and forth. You’ve probably noticed that is a trend throughout my posts. So okay, Liz is beautiful…what else is she? Hmm…well, she’s a natural in front of the camera as I really didn’t have to give much direction. She just seemed very comfortable. It was, however, tough to get a laugh out of her. It wasn’t until I took a shot I loved and naturally, I yell out “that’s HOT!” She busted a gut and that’s when I got this series. I love it. Anyone who has a session with me will probably hear me say “that’s hot” at least once during the session. Or I just get really excited and into the session and yell obnoxiously! LOL!  I tend to roll my tongue really loud too-usually to get people’s attention! LOL!  I love this natural series of expressions.  And her face is framed perfectly in this top image too.  Thank you gentle breeze.

I really had such a fun time with Liz and her family. I hope you enjoy your sneak peek and love your gallery even more. Thank you for your patience as I was getting my lighting set up and for all your assistance as well!

Enjoy your senior year Liz, it goes by so very fast!  Now onto the rest of the images!

This first set includes what used to be Liz’s dad’s Chevelle and my studio lights being used on-location outdoors for the first time!  Yay!  I can’t wait to do this again-I might just have to make my children my guinea pigs!

I LOVE this next one & the little wisps of hair.

It took me a few tries to get this next one, but I think I got it!

I hope you enjoyed your sneak peek!  Thank you Liz & crew for the amazing session!

I have to apologize now because this will probably be my longest post ever.  Okay, that’s probably not true as I do tend to get “diarrhea of the mouth” – just ask my husband! lol!  But anyway, there were just so many little details to this wedding and I still find it hard to believe I got them all in under 900 images.  I like to wait for the moments rather than “spray & pray” as some would say in the photography world and I also like to get all the little details I can.  If the bride spent time/money on it-it should be photographed.  That’s how I see it.

I probably shouldn’t advertise this too much {knock on wood}, but my streak of beautiful, wedding day weather is getting a little freaky.  There was a 20% chance on Saturday and again-not a drop.  And there was this breeze that really made one shot in my mind come true.  When I saw Sami’s cathedral veil…I was like “YESSSS!”  Add that to the bike-built-for-two that was refinished by Sami’s wonderful father, Errow and I was really stoked! BTW, if you’re reading Errow-I love your name.  You might just be the only Errow on earth!

I have to add too, that if anyone needs a wedding planner-Sami is, without a doubt, your go-to gal.  I really think you have a side job, Sami, if you want it!   Between the two of us the day went so smoothly.  There were few details that Sami hadn’t planned ahead for and arranged.  Kudos to Sami and all those that made every effort to make Sami not hyperventilate!   lol!

I enjoyed this day start to finish.  Thank you Sami & Dion for giving me the opportunity to capture your day.  Also, thank you to Carrie {Schmidt} Nelson for mentioning my business to this wonderful couple.  Without you, they may have never known/chosen me.   I love referrals and I have built my business solely on those that like what I do enough to share with others.

Sami & Dion-I wish you the best in your life together.

The image of the card in the lower right corner are cards that Sami had ordered from VistaPrint.com.  She had set up a gallery where wedding guests could share the images they had taken with her and Dion on their big day.  How clever is that?  I knew of a site a long time ago where this was possible but I’ll have to look it up and include it with my bridal info.

This next one shows why I love small towns.  You can’t walk down the street or drive by someone and you probably know their name.  See the purple car in the reflection?  I’m pretty good at faces, just not quite so good at names and I’ve been in the area almost 2 years.  I suppose with time the names will start to stick.   I loved Sami & Dion’s idea going to a section line.  Here are a couple from that stop and in case you’re wondering…yep moose ears.  Dion-that one is for you!

Loved this next idea.  Thanks for the recommendation Dion!  And LOVE.THAT.BIKE.   Thanks again Errow!

 Sami & Dion’s wedding day was day 1758 since the day they met.  The theme were pictures and the number of days they have been together.  On each table were collages put together with the number of days they had been together for that specific collage of pictures.  I can’t imagine how much time all this took.  Also, rather than a traditional guestbook, Sami will be collecting the index cards guests signed with their name and message and putting them with their picture that was taken at the reception under 2 beautifully decorated arches.  She will then make her own guestbook with the messages and the picture of the one who wrote the  message.  How clever is that?  And I can’t imagine how long that will take too!  I admire your dedication Sami!   You’ll notice too, the 4×6 prints under the vinyl tablecloth-how genius is that!  LOVE it!  That would be a neat idea for parent’s to do as well for their graduating seniors at their open house!  The cake was delish too!

I’ll close with the first dance.  I actually had more images to post but I had to re-do this post because it wasn’t posting them all.  Apparently, Wordpress has an image max for blog posts?  Who knew?  Unless it just decided to hate me again today.  Regardless, I hope you enjoyed the sneak peek Sami & Dion.  I apologize for keeping you waiting!   I hope you spend the rest of your lives dancing together!

THE END.

Oh my goodnes, has the start of this week just totally kicked my butt.  Better yet, I set my alarm for 5am this morning to get some much needed photography stuff done.  When I went to turn my alarm off I totally felt like I had aged 30 years overnight.  I have NO idea what I did to my back but it’s a hurtin’.  My favorite chiropractor {Dr. Sara at Active Live Chiropractic} is in Bismarck, so I may just need to make a special trip before the wedding of Sami & Dion this Saturday.  Usually a little crack here and a little crack there is all I need and I’m good to go.  If you’ve never had your ankles adjusted/cracked, it’s really quite weird feeling but you never think how much easier your joints move when they’re adjusted-and that includes your ankles.

So anyway, my 4th was awesome!  I never really realize how much I need time off until I get it.  It hasn’t been easy crackin’ the whip and getting back to work though.  And I totally did not get this post done in a timely manner either.  Forgive me for being human.   But honestly, I realize too how pre-occupied my mind is on a daily basis.  I think about photography a lot.  I think about my business a lot.  And often times, I’m not living in the moment because I’m thinking about my to-do list a lot.  I absolutely love what I do and I love the freedom it provides me to be creative.  I love all the people I  meet and the permanent memories I can create.  However,  what I don’t love is the pressure I put on myself.  So it was very freeing to be able to let my t0-list go, not think about my business, and just live in the moment.  The fireworks display was absolutely amazing this year, as it has been the past few years.  And I really sat there in that moment and really appreciated where I am in my life, the family and friends I have, and the place in which we live.  Hague may be a little forgotten town to some but to me it’s home.  I’ve lived in several places but I never felt like I was home until I was in Hague.  And anyone who knows me thought you know what would freeze over before I would ever live in Hague.  Believe me, after almost 2 years of living here, my husband and I still look at each other at times and say out loud “I can’t believe we live in Hague, ND.”  There’s no place like Hague, ND.  And THAT should really be on a t-shirt!   Next year, if you’re reading this and you’ve never been to Hague for the 4th-come to our little slice of heaven on earth and check out a fireworks display like you’ve never seen before.  We sure know how to put on a good show for a little town!

And with that….I’ll close with some snapshots of my kiddos from the 4th.  I took these with my first descent point and shoot canon.  That’s right, I didn’t take my “big gun” and it was a little freeing.  I love that little camera-although the slow recycle time compared to my dslr drives me nuts-it gets the job done.

[Determination does pay off-finally got this image in this post.  Phew!  That only talk ALL stinkin' day to accomplish!]

I hope all reading had a great 4th and enjoyed being in the moment as I did.  And now to crack the whip-I’ve got a wedding to prepare for {seriously,  it feels like just yesterday the bride updated me that it was 19 days away-where did June go?}, images to edit, a to-list to tackle, and orders to ship!  Eek!  Check back next week for the sneak peek of Sami & Dion!  Enjoy the heat wave everyone!

When I was asked by my sister-in-law if I would photograph their wedding, I was honestly reluctant at first.  I was more concerned with everyone {mostly the kids} taking me seriously during group family pictures!  I was thinking it would take much longer than I planned and I didn’t want to be the cause of things not going right.  We ended up doing a family picture later and although time was not on our side on their wedding day, the beautiful weather was.  The whole point of the day wasn’t to take a million pictures but rather for Loretta to marry the one guy that seems to have stolen her heart.  Anyone that knows Loretta knows she gives 110% of herself and it’s nice to see someone in her life that’s giving 110% of himself right back to her.  For that, I’m incredibly happy for her.

It was fun too to be able to dance at the wedding dance!  With every wedding I photograph, the dance is like torture for me because I LOVE to dance.  But because I usually don’t know many people, I stick to the sidelines and photograph everyone having a good time.  That is totally my job-I get that, but again-it’s torture. lol!  This dance was so much fun because not only was I surrounded by people I know and love {finally got to dance with my hubby} but the DJ’s were ROCKIN’ IT!  They got out into the crowd, you could see they were having a good time too.  One of the dj’s was showing me some Michael Jackson moves-his hat flip thing and the moonwalk.  It was just so much fun and future brides-I personally recommend them as your wedding reception dj!  But you’ll want to request to have Jesse & Ethan from Midnight Express.

On a side note, I plan to compile a whole vendor list from flowers to cake to music.  I will post this information under the Info tab under Weddings.

So, Loretta and Bryan-I wish you two a life full of love and adventure and it was a pleasure being your photographer on your beautiful wedding day.  I hope you enjoy the sneak peek!

I wish you a beautiful life together.