Oh so busy...

I've been really swamped the last few weeks. First, we shot a wonderful wedding in Eureka Springs for Becky and Russell. What a great group of people we met. They were so much fun and kind. The best part of the wedding was the garter. Becky had a little surprise set up for Russell. When Russell reached in and removed
the garter, to his surprise, a pair of panties came with it. Let's just say he was shocked. The girls had shown me earlier how they tied the panties to the garter, so I was expecting it. Very funny.

The next day, we shot bridal portraits for our friend Jennifer. Unfortunately, I can't post any of these pictures until after June 5th. In my opinion, they are some of the best pictures we have taken.

Last Sunday, we took pictures of little Jenna. She was a fireball. She was flopping around and making silly faces. I was worried we weren't going to get any good pictures until my wife showed her superior doctor intellect. She started distracting Jenna by asking her questions: what's your favorite color, what number am I holding up...etc. This worked perfectly. Jenna stopped worrying about me and had some great expressions. Way to go Ashley.

It has been a fun two weeks. The shooting was great, now I just have to get to editing all of the pictures.

The most beautiful woman in the world

I was lucky enough a few weeks ago to get to shoot an awesome model, my wife.

After reading and watching tutorials, I always get an itch to shoot and try new things. Of course, I then try to shoot my in house model. Most of the time, though, Ashley tells me to stop. She listens a lot better than my dogs, so usually this leaves me with no one.

I finally got her to do some modeling. Hopefully after seeing these, she will be more likely to work with me.

This is a new technique I read about. It is a high key beauty shot. It creates a perfectly white background while illuminating the sides of the model's body and cheeks, almost like they are glowing.

I was instructed to say that Ashely is not topless. The shot works better with bare skin, so she just pulled the straps on her shirt out of view.

I'm going to be trying some new looks and techniques soon, so come back soon to see what's going on.

Wanna get in shape for your wedding?

There are many important events in your life, but one of the biggest will be your wedding. Especially for woman, you want to look good at the wedding. Brides always want to lose a few extra pounds so they will look good in their dress.

I know this is a photography blog, but I am also big into health. Because so many brides do want to lose weight, I thought I would share my advice on the subject.

I personally believe there is a program out there that can help anyone lose weight. If you watch a lot of infomercials, I'm sure you have seen it; of course I am talking about P90x.

I've gone through this program at least 2 times now, and it has gotten me in the best shape of my life. Whenever I stop doing the program and continue working out with another program, I notice that I start getting soft. There really is nothing like it.

About a year ago, a close friend of mine got engaged, and he wanted to lose some pounds. I told him about P90x. I think he ended up losing around 25 pounds, and that was without him being strict on his diet.

If you are interested in this program, I would suggest Googling it for reviews. You will hear nothing but rave reviews.

You can buy the program from Beachbody.com or now buy it locally at Your Total Fitness Shop. YTFS just got them, and they are selling quickly. The good thing about buying it from YTFS is that you get it that day and don't have to wait for shipping. You also get it cheaper because you don't have to pay for shipping.

Yes, it is a hard program. Yes, you will be sore and tired. But more importantly, yes, you will get in the best shape of your life for your wedding. As Tony always says, "Bring it."

Walker Maternity

It's really strange how I have progressed and changed throughout my photography life. I started off as a sports shooter, and that's all I did. In my mind, that's all there really was to shoot. When people asked me about weddings, my initial thought was no way. Ha, now look at me. I never shoot sports anymore and the only thing I can think about is weddings.

This last weekend we shot something we have never shot before: maternity.

We met with Amanda and Brandon and had tons of fun. I've known Amanda since 7th grade, so it was great to get to interact with her during this exciting time in her life.

We shot at three

different locations: Dickson Street, some woods near my house, and in my house. I feel that all three locations worked great for us, which taught me something. It's not so much the location that's important, it's the people involved and the emotions being expressed. We didn't have to go to some exotic location to get great shots; some of these were done on a street, some right by my house, and the others in my living room.

At my house, I was really excited about some lighting techniques I was able to try out. It kind of made me want to build a studio, but I'm pretty sure Ashley won't allow that.

Overall, it was a great day, and now I have something new to daydream about shooting.

Karen and Daniel Engagement Pictures

I think I enjoy engagement pictures the most out of any type of pictures we do. It is the first time we really meet the couple, so we learn all about them. We get to ask about their jobs, interests, and most importantly their dogs (Ashley and I love dogs). Another great thing is that we aren't rushed for time. We can walk, chat, and try new things. With Karen and Daniel, we explored the U of A campus and found a place we didn't now existed. Up by the bus area, there is a little cement pond with giant gold fish. When we saw them, we knew we wanted to get them in the picture. Unfortunately, the fish didn't like us. Whenever we moved toward them, they would swim to the other side. Good thing for us, Ashley is a genius. We positioned Karen and Daniel on one side, and Ashley ran to the other and clapped and shouted at the fish until they swam away from her and toward the couple. We timed it perfectly and got a pretty neat shot with a dozen or so fish.

In this shoot, I also tried out some new flash techniques I have been reading about. That's whats great about photography: you can always learn something new and try something different. I am constantly striving to learn new things or shoot something in a different way. It never really gets boring.

John and Heather

Last Sunday we shot John and Heather's wedding. Yes, it was two days after Christmas, and yes, it was crazy and hectic. John was definitely stressing out when he was trying to get dressed minutes before the wedding was supposed to start, but he had to search for a book containing the reading for the ceremony. Once we were ready, we rushed to the church and practically got in the door and walked down the isle.

It was stressful, but it was a beautiful, fun time. There was so much joy and excitement throughout the whole event. During the whole ceremony, Heather had small tears in her eyes and a constant smile on her face. For the reception, we got the pleasure of watching Heather's parents dance like they were teenagers and show us all that you are only as old as you act. There was an unwilling brides maid who rejected the bouquet toss twice until Heather walked up to her and shoved the flowers into her hand. Lastly, we had the many weapons floating around including a giant sword.

It was a time we won't be forgetting anytime soon.

Importance of Photography

Recently I remembered how important pictures and photography are to life. Unfortunately, one of my former students lost his mother a few weeks before Thanksgiving, and I went to the funeral. The place was completely filled with mourners, so I had to stand in the back. From that spot, there wasn't a lot for me to see, but I was able to watch a slide show that was running. There were pictures of the family hugging, celebrating, and overall being happy. That's when it really hit me; this is what they will have left of their mother, the memories. These pictures would bring back the memories of all the times they had together and the things they did. I know personally that my memories fade with time, but the photographs keep the memories strong. It is that thought that really makes me proud of what I do; I don't simply take pictures, I save memories.