Alyssa and John's Wedding!

I recently photographed my best friend's little sister's wedding in our hometown.  Her parents created the most beautiful ceremony in their back yard and my great friend Jaymi and I photographed it together.  And we had so much fun we created an event site that day - MegJay Photography - we were a dynamic duo!  Here are a few shots of the flowers and the happy couple - more to come!

New Portraits!

The amazingly talented designer Jordana Silver asked me to take her portrait when I was recently in NYC.  Because I needed to pop up a studio on the fly, my dear artist friend Sasha Kinens offered her studio as a space for us to shoot.  Jordana looked gorgeous as always and after we finished the photo shoot we spent the afternoon eating prosciutto, drinking wine and looking over her images.  Like always, the shoot was so fun, but the civilized charcuterie plate and yummy moscato took the afternoon to a new level…I'm thinking it's the way I should wrap every shoot from now on…

I loved the moodiness in the shot above.  I turned off the strobe and just let the light happen in this one….I like the juxtaposition between this dark outfit and moody light and the images below which are really bright and happy.  It's nice to see both sides of someone...

Check out Jordana's newest collection of shoes and interchangeable shoe clips! www.jordanasilver.com

Portraits a la Playa: Part 1

My good friend Jaymi and I were goofing off after a very satisfying Memorial Day BBQ and found ourselves striking a pose at the beach near the pier in Santa Monica.  She has posted some fabulous photos this week on her blog, Live Love Travel, and I thought I should post some of my favorites from behind my lens.  I always have so much fun shooting with her & it was fantastic photographing her while the light fell across her face…

I am actually falling in love with California more and more as I've moved back...the light quality here is so different than the midwest.  There's a warmth that I missed. During the magic hour, while the sun waits to set, I'm completely content with my camera and any subject that will let me photograph them.
Trying to capture that warmth is the least I can do….

I love how contemplative she looks while setting up her perfect shot

the way every good day should end - with jumping...

Want to check out Jaymi's blog?  http://jaymiblog.blogspot.com/

Lipstick & Curlers

A few weeks ago I photographed some gorgeous girls, Natalie and Kelli, for hairstylist, Kaleen Ugai and makeup artist, Damien Salter.  We haven't sorted through all of the photos yet, but here are a few that I liked from the shoot. Check out more of Kaleen and Damien's work by clicking on their links!

Cutie and a kitty

I was on an interior shoot in Santa Barbara recently and one of the homeowners had her granddaughter in tote. She turned out to be an adorable little model.  There is something so mature about her, yet completely childlike and full of curiosity.  She was not afraid to stare right into the camera lens & let me in, so I just ate her up!  

I sent some photos over to her grandma today and just had to share a few of her sweet little face...

Say Cheese

With all the portrait focus this weekend (see post below), I started looking at some of the "maybes" in my portrait folder for my new website….My friend Jaymi did a great job (click here to see) photographing my friend and I at the beach.  Some of her concerns about placement and directing as she photographed reminded me of my first client shoot.  Getting behind the camera and directing was much different when I was moving couches and objects in houses around, and at first I was intimidated to tell clients how to move or pose.  Over the years I have definitely gotten comfortable directing and I actually enjoy photographing people as well as inanimate objects!

Here are my maybes as I finish up my new website:

So, who are these people?  Click on their photos to see what they do and who they are.  They all have one thing in common though - they are all great clients!