2018 was a great year! I officially began shooting again since my move to Florida, I took a break when I first moved here to focus on getting to know the area, the people, and of course my favorite Disney.
So rather than just give you one, I'm going to give you 18 of my favorite images (In no particular order, can't stress this enough, I love them all) of 2018 and the story as to why I love them. I know there will be a ton of images and lots of stories, I really hope you enjoy the read.
EIGHTEEN
This was kind of a spur of the moment photo, It was after they had gotten married and done their first dance, Rina and Danté headed back up to the alter. They just wrapped their arms around each other with so much love. There's a lot of things that I love about this image: the story told is about their love which makes it that much more special. This couple spent a lot of time to make sure that everything was perfect coming from Australia there were many details to plan including all of the hanging floral arrangements which just look stunning in the evening light.
This wedding really challenged me as a photographer, I have done evening weddings before, but typically at The Little Wedding Chapel, where I know the set up to the T. This wedding happened to be in the dark, not evening, not sunset, the dark which forced me to get creative and use the knowledge I have about using off camera & on camera flash. I have used off camera flash but I've never been comfy cozy with it until recently. The more I use it, watch tutorials and learn I keep making new pieces of great art.
SEVENTEEN
So same wedding here for Carina and Dante. Im IN LOVE with this shot. I use it for so many things. To be completely honest the couple told me before the wedding they really didn't want any black and white images but to me this photo is so much more dramatic in black & white. Their first dance was stunning, at Celebration Gardens in Winter Park. If you read the above statement from their last photo you know that it was so dark for their wedding, there was one flash behind them (I honestly don't think it fired, but it was there) and the other flash was on camera.
I love the moment, you can see their little carriage speaker sitting off to the side, the market lights she so adored, the alter they married at with the candle lit aisle off in the distance, and just under the awning the family capturing the moment themselves to make sure they can relive it for forever.
SIXTEEN
So this was a wedding that wasn't on my books. The month of May was an insane month for me and forced me back to photography. My dad had a heart-attack on May 2nd and for some of you that know he is also a full time wedding photographer. When he was laid up in the hospital I took over his weekend and evening weddings to help out at The Little Wedding Chapel. This was one of my favorite couples from across the pond all the way from England. She had a veil that went on for days so we decided to have some fun. I truly love all the greenery in the image, part of me wishes I would have taken the time to remove those pesky power lines though.
FIFTEEN
Oh this moment melts my heart! We had the full family out for their session but while we awaited Grandma & Grandpa to arrive at Lake Louisa State Park we decided to have some fun. I told them they needed to have a race and this beautiful brother sister moment came from it.
So the first race they did her brother just ran off, and she was left behind. So for the second one I made them hold hands and I couldn't be happier! her smile and his determination to get her there faster is so perfect, and the moss on the trees is an added bonus of my favorite.
FOURTEEN
This is my favorite portrait of the year! The joy, the smile, the playfulness, and even the little bit of motion in her hand. The nice thing about photographing with Fujifilm cameras is that children seem to run right up to you with the camera in your hand and thats just the moment that it captured here at this family session.
THIRTEEN
Please tell me you can see the movie scene right here...I'll give you a moment....Ok, if you didn't know this it's from Dear John. We had the perfect mid morning light for this couple and it couldn't have been better from the ocean to the breeze in her hair. and the way he looks at her is priceless.
TWELVE
On this part of Carina & Dante's session we had spent some time with some other set ups but this is by far my favorite. This was taken at Port Orleans Riverside Resort at Walt Disney World. This is one of my favorite Disney moments so far. The ears, the shoe written just like Andy in Toy Story, the inevitable beautiful fountain and location. Funny thing about this shot, the second shooter I brought with me that day didn't think that it would be all that. I love it!
ELEVEN
If you haven't noticed by now, I LOVE DISNEY. So here is to another shot at The Grand Floridian Resort & Spa. This fountain between the buildings at the Grand Floridian there is this beautiful flowing fountain these two just cozied right up. The way she smiles and the way he looks at her is just priceless.
TEN
This wedding was so exciting for me on so many levels. 1) this girl was my childhood neighbor marrying the man of her dreams, 2) the wedding was in Mexico at El Dorado Resort Royale in Riviera Maya, Mexico (Cancun) 3) I was able to photograph a wedding in Mexico. Okay, but in all seriousness this photo was taken in the salon where they did her wedding hair. Her seeing it for the first time, her mom in the mirror looking over her, her her smiling over at her bridesmaids off to the side I couldn't be happier. It's a very documentary moment and a moment that I cherish having captured.
NINE
Lindsay, Eric & their love for a good cup of coffee! The two love birds got engaged at Disney, I have had the pleasure of working with both of them in the Real Estate world and was honored to take their engagement photos. There is something about about this morning with their joy for each other.
EIGHT
So before Im sure you saw this session at Cocoa Beach, Kyle and Megan are so in LOVE and this photo so shows it. It really wasn't the prettiest of mornings, but it was a nice day for a photo session. I love this moment captured as her toes sink in the sand and the waves roll in and out. Looking down the beach with not a soul in sight and the hint of their reflection in the sand just makes me smile.
SEVEN
So this wedding was a ton of fun! From start to finish these two just had a love for the day, the groomsmen got a little out of control with the paint at the end of the night but at the end of their reception I whisked them away, I found that these glass stairs truly had some cool reflection and like the photo above I think that reflections so this moment came out of it with just one speedlight at the bottom of the stairs and an umbrella. This wedding was in a new place that I hadn't seen before, so on the fly to capture this moment was so cool, I knew I could trust my lighting set up to capture something awesome.
SIX
This photo from Cancùn, Mexico I spotted this location on my first day at the edge of their natural salt water pool (one of way to many pools at this resort), but right at the edge there is this beautiful rock landing. Im so glad we were able to capture this perfect wave crashing as he kissed her on the forehead. The perfect after ceremony moment.
FIVE
This family session was priceless to celebration their 6 month old son! This was the first time I had brought out my new lighting set up in an indoor studio setting and it couldn't have been better. Pro Tip: GEL YOUR FLASHES. Seriously makes the world of difference on skin tones. Working with little ones can be a challenge but man o man this little man was a gem to work with all smiles and would look straight down the camera.
FOUR
This was a neat event, this was Lake County Balloon Glow at the Lake County Fair Grounds. Some may call this silly others will know I was going for the perfect shot, we were standing off to the side and I thought while thats cool and all...how many people have a view of a hot air balloon from underneath? While I still don't know the answer to that question I do know that this is one of the coolest photos I have taken, while I wish the basket was slightly more centered, It's a little hard to focus when that thing above your head could crash down on top of you but all in all super happy with the balloon glow in the night.
THREE
If you didn't know I am very much a morning person, well now you know. This fall right before the time change I thought it would be an excellent time to go take some sunrise photos on the beach. I bought my dad along with me, also got my first ever parking ticket this day (I didn't have to pay it, I still had time left on the meter it was a mistake). But this morning was a dance of colors across the sky, and then we got lucky. There were Surfers that came out just as the sun began to break the surface.
When I first picked my spot to sit, I was predicting where exactly the sun would come up, and that was smart so I plopped down in the sand and waited and managed to get this moment off the pier with a surfer and to this day, this is the background on my phone.
TWO
So its our first Christmas in our new house, and of course the dogs need Christmas pictures what do I look like a bad dog mom that doesn't take photos of her children, I don't think so! So one Saturday afternoon while Jacob played video games I forced our dogs to take christmas photos, if you want to see more, theres a blog on just their photos. I still cant believe that Juliette let me tangle her in Christmas Lights, put a santa hat on, put her paw up on that sleigh and she just laid there. If you have heard me talk about this dog in the past, she's not very bright and by not very I mean not at all...but this dog didn't move, laid there and let me get the perfect christmas card/Instagram worthy photograph...Thanks Jules, you're still a butt but you made a cute photo.
ONE
If you have ever stood for the fireworks in Walt Disney Worlds Magic Kingdom, you know you are packed in there like sardines, literally. Somehow this evening I managed to elbow my way to the front of the section on Main Street, USA. I stood next to a wonderful couple from the United Kingdom that we so gracious to let me squeeze in between them right that that masking tape line. If you know me, you know I have an Instagram account called @waltdisneyphotogirl, I haven't been posting lately (this will be changing soon, I promise) but I post all my Disney spam there.
When I first moved to Florida I lived in Windermere and was about an 8 minute drive from the Magic of Disney. So most nights afterwork I would drive over to practice different types of photography. So I sat down watched some youtube videos and off to Disney I went in hopes of getting one cool shot. Turns out I had a lot and it was fun! So I didn't have as much time this year with moving in to a new house but I did go a few times to capture the magic and this is one of my favorites. At the end of the show the castle turns to stained glass with Disney Movie characters. So in this one you can see Woody, Elsa, Medira, and a few more if you look real close.
Welp, that about sums up 2018, it was an insanely busy year as I am sure 2019 will be as well. If you have questions or would like to book me feel free to send me an email or text anytime. Thanks for looking back at 2018, onward to my goals of 2019.
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