Red Rock Family Session

I am grateful for the lovely location of the Red Rock mountains. When the sun goes down, the desert is transformed into a soft light of beauty. It can also be very open and windy when the wind blows hard. My friends here and I braved it through one session here with the wind, hoping to get some good pictures. Turns out the wind is just too much of a challenge, and so we returned another day with no wind. Blessings! We had a delightful time getting away from the big city and just creating art together.

December Family Session

December has come and the year is almost done! I’m grateful I was able to help my friend out with some last minute pictures for her family. Sometimes life just gets busy, really busy during the holiday season. Pictures sometimes don’t happen, but even a quick mini session is better than nothing. We gathered under some trees and had a delightful shoot.

Photo location scouting shoot

I was off on another photo location hunt with my family. It’s tough to find pretty spots to shoot photo sessions at in Las Vegas. I try to look for any possible spots that can work with good lighting. Grateful for my little helper today:)

Desert photo scouting shoot

I needed to go search for some new spots for some upcoming photo sessions, and my entire family decided to join me on the adventure! It was wonderful to have them with me. I asked the girls to wear these certain dresses and asked my boys to aim for light colors and no logos. Oh, and I said I would pay them with food from Sonics after the shoot for their help. They all happily agreed. Food talks with kids, especially teen boys!

I wanted to practice as always having my models wear light colored clothing. I have found it to be a huge help in creating beautiful portraits. Wearing clothes in a variety of neutral/light pastel colors simply creates cleaner skin tones and no strong color casts on their faces. It also seems to enhance the light in their portraits. Ever since I began educating my clients about this, I have seen a great difference in pictures.

We parked our car near Red Rock, and took a short walk to some trees. Trees in the desert is always a gold spot to find! While I would love more lushness and green, I appreciate the grey, neutral color of the desert floor, as it produces a clean cast onto people’s skin.

I found a spot by a bush that was perfect. It had the large tree branches in the background to create some swirly bokeh, yet there was enough backlighting for a beautiful shine. I also found a nice, flat rock for the kids to sit on for some portraits.

Grateful for my kids who were good sports, even though some of them were not too thrilled to take pictures:)

Elijah and Savannah Wedding Shoot

I had the delightful experience of photographing Elijah and Savannah’s wedding this summer. Oh, my goodness. Such a fun couple. I absolutely loved Savannah’s style! Her dress was simple and vintage. A completely laid back reception with an Anime theme everywhere. They were so much fun, I mean, who has a blow up pool filled with balls at their reception? Highly enjoyed this shoot!

Edina's Headshots

It’s June, it’s incredibly hot, and I didn’t think I would be lucky to do a quick photo session in the heat of the day, but my friend Edina and her daughter needed some headshots for an upcoming play they’re in. I’m so thankful I could help.

Photo locations are getting slimmer to find in Las Vegas with all the permits being enforced, fees, etc. I brainstormed and found a lovely little spot in my church parking lot. The lighting was perfect! The shade gave us cool relief. It was so fun to have 10 minutes to be creative and create some beautiful portraits for my friends. I believe now I will offer headshots on my website! Have a beautiful day, everyone:)

Tasha and Emily's Nelson Landing Senior Photo Session

Oh, it was so good to come back down to the wonderful Nelson’s Landing, the ghost town. This location is so unique and full of interesting backdrops for portraits. I always love doing senior photo sessions here. This was a special shoot, with two best friends. They rocked it. I love the idea of a ‘strong, independent woman’ they displayed. Grateful for sunshine and for beautiful souls!

Nelson Ghost Town Senior Session-Las Vegas Senior Photographer

Part 3 of Ella’s senior picture session down at Nelson’s Landing. It was a packed day with weddings being shot nearby. We didn’t know if we would get lucky to shoot in the famous pretty cactus spot, as it is near the old chapel. The owner was so kind to tell me that after 4pm, we would have a small time slot of no weddings, and could shoot there. Joy! The cactus area to me is always deadly but beautiful. Such gorgeous portraits can happen by those desert plants. We got some winners. I always shoot with much caution, and find a path first for my client to walk in not too close to the prickly stinkers.

Nelson Ghost Town Senior Session-Las Vegas Senior Photographer

Continuing from my last post, here we are again with beautiful Ella! It was a super windy day out at Nelson’s Landing, but we did our best to manage. I love finding desert shrubs that filter light through like little jewels. Wonderful backlighting. It’s all about lighting, although this ghost town has such fun cars and buses everywhere.

There’s so many fun spots to shoot here, and I never get to all of them. Lots to pick and choose from, and always a chance to get great senior portraits! Thanks for stopping by.

Nelson Ghost Town Senior Session -Las Vegas Senior Photographer

This was a very special senior photo session. First off, any chance I get to do a senior session at the Nelson Ghost Town location is always a treat. That place is just too much fun! Secondly, Ella and her mother found me online and flew out from long distance to come specifically to this desert spot for her senior pictures. I just kept asking myself, ‘How did I get so blessed?’. They were a joy to be with, and we braved the winds and multiple wedding shoots going on to get some pictures for her. It was a wonderful adventure.

Family M Family Photo Session-Las Vegas Family Photographer

My sweet friend was needing some new family pictures this fall season. When she asked if I was free that coming weekend, I was glad I had a spot open and she was ready to go. Sometimes, you just need to plan something and go do it right away. Other things take a little longer planning time, but for pictures, I’m finding that life is just too short and it’s never too soon to take pictures with your loved ones. So glad we could create tenderness together.

Family H-Las Vegas Family Photographer

I don’t do too many extended family sessions, but when I do, they are always a delight. I love being around the grandparents and seeing them hold their precious posterity. I love the humor of the older children, who are usually grownups. I love all the different personalities of the little ones. This photo session was a joy to be apart of.

Family B-Las Vegas Family Photographer

I’ve been so lucky to take Valentine’s family pictures a few times now. She’s a wonderful mother, and is a lover of the outdoors, always taking her family out on an adventure. She teaches me how to live life to the fullest! Grateful for such wonderful examples.

D Family Photo Session-Las Vegas Family Photographer

This is my dear friend Kerri. I’ve been blessed to know her for so many years. We got together to do a photo session last fall, and we just had a blast. Older teens are so much fun. I’m constantly reminded of this. Their personalities just shine.

Kerri is a talented musican and a passionate teacher of music. She offers music classes that are delightful and give a great start of music for your children.

Neutral Clothes For Photo Session-Las Vegas Family Photographer

I recently did some photo scouting at Floyd Lamb park for some upcoming photo sessions. My golf loving son came and helped me out with finding the best lighting.

I’m thankful he wore this particular shirt. I’ve been learning about the importance of light, neutral clothing colors for better portraits. It makes a huge impact. For one, the skin tones are much better. No strong color casts from the clothing. Two, everything is lighter and more beautiful for the portraits.

What are neutral colors? They range from creams, whites, greys, pastels, tans, etc. They are beautiful and truly help create an artisticl family picture.

Here are some more pictures of our fun shoot today. Enjoy my son in his golf posing:)

Why taking a break with your photography business can be good-Las Vegas Family Photographer

In 2020, I felt the need to take a break with my photography business. I felt good about it at the time, and thought that I was closing my doors for good. A few months later, I was doing my yearly school sessions with my homeschool group, consisting of adorable headshots and sibling pictures for many families. It was during that session that I realized something important; I still loved creating pictures for others. Yes, there are demands and pressures with client work, but it still feels like a treasured honor to create portraits for someone.

I began to rethink my idea of closing up shop. Instead, I took a much needed break and rested. Later, I began to pick up my camera again and shoot for myself with my family, and in the quiet peace of my garden. I filled my cup a bit more by doing so.

Now, I am here attending to my neglected and dusty blog. I am hopeful to continue to serve the community with pictures. I am thankful for continued self education in this wonderful world of photography. I love people, and I love learning. Taking a break can be wonderful and rejuvenating. Change can always happened. Pivots are fine for your business. Don’t lose your joy of photography and become burned out. Run your business that way you see best, and continue to seek beauty through your lens to share with the world. We all need each other’s voices and beautiful views of the simple joys around us.