That’ta girl!
By Leslie | August 1, 2008
…Or should I say, that’s my girl!
Since I had my studio set up a couple of weeks ago in a valiant effort to beat the Virginia Beach heat, I was able to con [bribe] my daughter into getting in front of the camera for a bit. Usually she doesn’t last three minutes before she’s giving me the classic “Mommmmmmmmmmm! Are we done yet?” That is why I was so flabbergasted when she actually smiled and enjoyed letting her old Mom goof around and play a bit!
She’s at camp this week. Can you tell? (Insert long, pouting, lonely Mom face here) :-( This is her fifth year at the same camp on the James River. When we dropped her off she was instantly swept up in what I like to call “teen-age-girl-friend-reunion-squeal” mode! (I think I have permanent hearing loss!)
…And, while I love that she adores camp and has made lifelong friends from her experiences there, I still miss my girl.
I know I wasn’t this beautiful at 15!
Leslie
Topics: Portrait Photography | 2 Comments »
YOU | What it is all about
By Leslie | July 25, 2008
This morning I was lucky enough to meet a young gentleman at my favorite Virginia Beach grocery store -Harris Teeter- while I was shopping for items to make my Beef Bourguignonne. [Yum.] We started chatting as he helped me out to my car. He noticed my logo on my car and we started to discuss photography.
He said it was time for senior pictures and asked if I did those. [I do.] He mentioned that his Mom loved beach pictures of her children, but that he was looking for something a little different and edgier. I handed him my card and told him to think of what he’d like to do. [I can work in the client’s back yard, at their church, at their favorite park, or downtown Norfolk.] Briefly we talked about my on-location urban sessions. He was sooo nice. What a great guy!
But, on my way home I started thinking that maybe explaining what “could” be done and how to explain it on my blog.
When photographing seniors, it really is important to capture who they are in the pictures. I can take pictures of them on their horse at their stables. I can take pictures of them with their surf boards at the beach. You name it. I’ve either done it or can do it. The sky is the limit. [Well, maybe not the sky. I’m deathly afraid of heights.] But, I always encourage people to think about what is important to them when we do our pre-session interview. Custom means customized to Y.O.U.
One of my favorite types of session is done wandering around downtown. Often urban settings provide the perfect edgy backdrop. Architectural elements set a different tone…hip, trendy, unique. Just like today’s teen!
If you’re a teen and you’re interested in hiring a custom photographer, give me a call. Let me help you decide what type of senior you are!!
Man, that Beef Bourguignonne smells good! I’ll go stir it once and then I need to get back to proofing!
Leslie
Topics: Portrait Photography | No Comments »
Happy Birthday
By Leslie | July 24, 2008
To this day Arleigh Burke is one of my favorite clients! He was just a young thing at our last session, but I remember that he was very prompt. Talk about being well-groomed. His hairstyle was impeccable. His outfit was devine. His face was clean. He was well behaved and much more eager to please than I’d expected. A photographer’s dream!
…He did lick his privates a couple of times, but I could see past that given his pedigree!
This week I got an email from an old client friend announcing that it was Arleigh Burke’s 5th birthday and requesting that his picture be placed on my blog in an effort to embarrass him! (Arleigh’s Daddy is the CO of a deployed ship right now so how could I say no?!)
So, Happy Birthday, Arleigh! I hope Mom gives you lots of treats this week!
Just a reminder….August, September and October are prime months for having portraits taken for Christmas. Call or email me and reserve your session today as space is limited and my calendar is filling up fast!
That’s all for now.
Leslie
Topics: Portrait Photography | 1 Comment »
Hey, Blondie!
By Leslie | July 5, 2008
Okay, so, I’m guilty of not updating my blog as often as I’d like, but I hope this makes up for it. Every once in a while you come across someone that makes your job SO easy you just have to blog about it!
Meet H!
This young lady from Norfolk has it all going on. She’s smart, down-to-earth, talented and beautiful beyond belief… inside and out! She was also so modest about setting multiple state track records that I had to pull it out of her. Her Italian is impeccable. This girl is the total package!
H is such a trooper that she even let me and another photographer practice some experimental lighting techniques…which is not for the faint hearted as she was contantly asked to perform tasks that would give most of us whiplash! ;-) What a joy to photograph/play with her.
Can I just adopt her? Would that be bad?
[Rats, I’ll bet her proud parents would complain!]
Tah, tah for now.
Leslie
Topics: Hampton Roads Photographer, Norfolk Photographer, Portrait Photography, Virginia, Virginia Beach, Virginia Beach Photographer, Virginia Beach Photography | 1 Comment »
Burning up: July 10th
By Leslie | June 29, 2008
Okay. So far, it has been a summer full of smoke from the Great Dismal Swamp fire.
Every day in Virginia Beach and Norfolk we wonder if the smoke is going to have blown off enough to go outside. Can today’s photo session happen or not? Is the smoke too bad to breathe at the location? [Which changes from hour to hour] It is getting kind of depressing not only for myself, but for other photographers across the Hampton Roads area as well. A real rescheduling nightmare! Can you say “studio,” anyone?
But, finally there is something burning that I’m anxiously awaiting! July 10th is the date of the Burn Notice premiere.
Honestly, I never watched an entire episode of Magnum PI back in the day. In fact, I never really got into the action genre on TV or even in movies before, but the superb, smart writing and acting on this show has really reeled me in. Heck, my whole family can’t wait for the first episode this season. July 10th can’t come soon enough for us!
Generally, summer tv is boring. Treat yourself to something good: Jeffrey Donovan, Gabrielle Anwar and Bruce Campbell as Michael Westen, Fiona and Sam.
Rent the entire first season or download it onto your Tivo from Amazon. You have time to catch up and watch the incredible finale before July 10th. You won’t regret it.
Topics: Hampton Roads Photographer, Norfolk Photographer, Photography, Portrait Photography, Virginia Beach, Virginia Beach Photographer, Virginia Beach Photography | No Comments »
Why custom portraiture?
By Leslie | June 15, 2008
Forgive me if you’ve heard me say this before, but custom photography is not for everyone.
For some people, leaning up against a carpet covered stand at a bargain photo chain and saying “Cheese” is great. The price is right. Everyone is managing to show their best forced grimace smile. Done.
For other people, average just isn’t good enough. They want more. They want something special. Something that spotlights the individuality of their family. They know that hiring the best photographer to capture the images of their family is tantamount to getting timeless, one-of-a-kind portraits that will be passed down and treasured from generation to generation. These are the people that choose to go with a custom portrait photographer.
A custom photographer that will take the time to help show different sides of your family’s personalities in your favorite surroundings. A custom photographer isn’t rushed. That means they are 100% invested in giving the clients what they really want to remember. They want to capture memories that show who their clients are.
As for the parents, they want to show Sally’s first tooth and how shy she was when she was that age. Or how adorable Baby Lucas’ tiny foot was when he was just 5 days old. Or they want their teenaged daughter to see the beautiful woman that she has become. Or they want to see how in love Mom and Dad looked during their vacation in Virginia Beach. There are as many possibilites and/or reasons for doing custom photography sessions as there are people that want them.
A while back a friend of mine passed along an article that was published in Real Simple magazine about professional custom photography. [Click on that green text to visit the link.] This article asks you to think of what is really important to you. I think most of my clients will agree with several (if not all) of the points made in it as they have already made capturing their families and their personalities a priority in their lives. They are my only session for the day. They get my full attention. They can take as many breaks as they need to rest, change clothes or diapers, snack, nurse, etc. Your child can hold their treasured “lovey” or you can sit on your quilt that Grandma lovingly made for you. Whatever you want. That is why they call it custom. …And it will be unlike any photo session that you’ve had before!
Hiring a custom portrait photographer means never having to hear:
“Sit here.”
“Chin up.”
“Say cheese.”
[Flash, flash]
“Okay, we’re all done here. …Next!”
Never!
Leslie
Topics: Chesapeake Photographer, Hampton Roads Photographer, Norfolk Photographer, Photography, Portrait Photography, Virginia, Virginia Beach, Virginia Beach Photographer, Virginia Beach Photography, custom family photography, portrait | 1 Comment »
Music to my ears
By Leslie | May 23, 2008
So, if you’re a long time reader of my blog you know that along with being a photographer, I’m a big live music fan. Usually when I’m in the studio proofing a session, music is playing in the background. Well, I was surfing some of my fav. music sites the other day and was happy to find that my boy Tony Lucca finally got his stuff out into the universe a little more! You can now find him on Youtube and Itunes.
[Click on the link below and then listen as you read on. Warning…prepare for a sentimental ramble. This is my blog, so I’m allowed!]
Often when I’m listening to music, I picture myself hanging out in what used to be one of my most favorite places when I was back home in Alabama called Judge Roy Bean’s in the city of Daphne. (AKA Judge’s to the regular Mobile and Baldwin County patrons)
Here is a painting of our’s of Judge Roy Bean’s by Fairhope artist Jean McKee.
Judge’s burned to the ground a few years back. Even though the Navy has taken me far away from our beloved Eastern Shore, my husband and I will always remember that place and the good times we had there. (Yes, my dh is also from L.A. …and by L.A. I mean lower Alabama.)
It was more than just a Gulf Coast bar. Judge’s was a southern institution! It was where most of my friends met their future spouses. Judge’s was where we could drop in on any given Sunday and listen to some of the best live music the SE had ever seen. If you were lucky, Jimmy Buffet (a local boy in town visiting his family) would just wander in with his guitar and you’d know you were in for a treat.
The iconic building itself was essentially a rickety old squatter’s shed type of a ransackled barn complete with mismatched wood, hand painted signs and a tin roof. You could tell it had been haphazardly added on to here and there over the years. You’d turn around at the $.25 Oyster bar to find a cat sitting on your bar stool. While you were outside watching a volleyball game played by intoxicated prepsters from nearby Springhill College or the University of South Alabama, a goat would be nibbling on the pocket of your bermuda shorts. (See the goat in the picture above.)
You’d see Mobile’s debutantes dressed in linen and pearls playing pool with toothless and tatooed garden variety rednecks from Silverhill. You’d hear Little Feat or James Taylor’s music playing on the speakers in between the band’s sets. During the hot Alabama summers, you could always count on being served one of the best strawberry daquiris in the county. Judge’s was where you could hobknob with judges, lawyers, retired Heisman Trophy winners, college students and smugglers alike.
Man, I miss that place! I’ve got that print of the old watering hole hanging by my favorite chair in my living room in Virginia.
…And the long winded point to this blog is that whenever I listen to Tony Lucca’s live stuff I’m reminded of that little bar made out of leftover barn material on the Eastern Shore of Mobile Bay. He would have fit right in there! Give him a listen.
[See? I told you that this post was sentimental! I really need to travel home this summer!]
Take care, listen to Tony and enjoy this wonderful weather we’ve been having.
Leslie
Topics: Portrait Photography | 1 Comment »
We have a winner!
By Leslie | May 14, 2008
I have news about the St. Paul’s Episcopal Church Youth Raffle last weekend in Norfolk, VA. Amberly Semones was the lucky winner of a free session and a 16 x 20 inch portrait from her session! Thanks to all of you that supported the SPY 2008 Mission Trip by purchasing a ticket!
I also have great news about my father Byron Yoder this week. He successfully underwent brain surgery at M.D. Anderson in Texas and is recovering quite nicely! It looks like he’ll still need to undergo radiation after he heals, but both of these should insure that he is around to harass and chase the fish along the Gulf Coast/Mobile Bay for years to come. ;-)
I’m busy catching up on correspondence that I missed last week. Yes, I am booking the always popular beach sessions now, but the available dates are limited. Call soon to ensure I can fit you in.
In the mean time, enjoy this incredible spring weather we’re having.
Leslie
Topics: Norfolk Photographer, Portrait Photography, Virginia, Virginia Beach, Virginia Beach Photographer, Virginia Beach Photography | No Comments »
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