Self-Portrait | December 2013

December has been a whirlwind of insanity between Kevin's law school graduation and closing on our new house a few days before Christmas.  Most of the month was spent visiting with family members who were in town to celebrate with Kevin, combined with packing and moving everything we own, with a whole lot of scrubbing every inch of our new house thrown in just for fun.

We are super stoked to be in our own home finally, but thoroughly exhausted from the work it took to get here.  As a result, we more or less unpacked the necessities and left everything else in a big ol' pile in the garage where it is going to sit untouched until I regroup and regain an ounce or two of sanity (or until I get tired of parking in the driveway).

So here I am in the middle of the mess for this month's self-portrait.

Did you miss some of my past self-portraits?  Clicking here will take you to all of my self-portrait blog posts. Clicking here will take you to my self-portrait Facebook album.

Michele Whitacre is a portrait photographer serving Phoenix, Arizona and the surrounding area.
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© 2013 Michele Whitacre Photography LLC

Self-Portrait | November 2013

My husband and I started dating a few days before he began his undergraduate degree back in 2008, and now here we a little more than 5 years later and he is 3 short weeks away from his law school graduation.  We've had some fun and some good times along the way, but it has also been a very long journey with a lot of hard work and hard changes on both of our parts.

One of the hardest things for me was giving up my house in Indiana to move to Arizona.  I had built the house back before Kevin and I met, and it was my perfect dream house.   Leaving it behind has been very hard on me, especially on the days when I have to take everything out of a closet to reach something at the very back because we live in a tiny rental house with zero storage!

With Kevin's graduation on the horizon, we've decide that it is finally time to settle in and put down some roots here in Arizona.  It's time to buy a new house!  We are thrilled that we have finally reached this point, and couldn't be more excited at the idea of owning a house that we picked out together and will truly be ours.

However, can I just say that house hunting is exhausting!

I've been trying to do most of the research and only involve Kevin in the process when I find something that I think will be a good fit for us.  So, I've been spending most of my time this month doing a whole lot of this...

We did find one house earlier in the month that we loved, but our offer wasn't accepted.  Just yesterday we found another, and we have an outstanding offer on it. So, if you're reading this please keep your fingers crossed that our offer is accepted on this one, and hopefully next month I will be posting another moving photo for my monthly self-portrait!

Did you miss some of my past self-portraits?  Clicking here will take you to all of my self-portrait blog posts. Clicking here will take you to my self-portrait Facebook album.

Michele Whitacre is a portrait photographer serving Phoenix, Arizona and the surrounding area.
Visit Michele's Website | Like Michele on Facebook | Follow Michele on Instagram | Follow Michele on Twitter

© 2013 Michele Whitacre Photography LLC

Self-Portrait | October 2013

I don't think I ever mentioned it, but I got started with this self-portrait project because of a photographer whose work I greatly admire. After watching her post her self-portraits month after month, I finally decided to follow in her foot steps and embark on my own self-portrait project.  Just like she inspired my original journey into the world of self-portraits, she is in a round about way the inspiration for October's self-portrait.

Last month she posted her portrait along with a detailed discussion of changes she has made to her diet recently.  She discussed a book she had read that inspired her new way of eating. Everything she wrote really resonated with me, so I decided to check out the book she discussed. (If you're interested, you can find her post here.)

While skimming the book, I came upon a section that talked about a series of symptoms describing a condition labeled "spent".  The book included a list of about 9-10 things and suggested that if you were experiencing 3 of them, you weren't in a good place to start the dietary changes in the book.  Instead, it suggested that you read another book, which discusses a strategy to get over being "spent" with things in addition to dietary changes.  Since I am currently suffering from not one, not two, not three, but EVERY SINGLE SYMPTOM the book listed, I decided to purchases the referenced book and have been reading it over the past month.

I won't bore you with too many of the details, but the book is called Revive, and it is a 6 week program designed to help you get over what basically feels like complete physical, mental, and spiritual exhaustion.  The best way I can describe it is by saying that I kind of feel like I've been run over by a semi and I don't have the energy or the desire to even try to get back up.

It details pretty intensive changes to incorporate into your life - many dietary, but also other things such as sleep habits, exercise changes, reconnecting with some of the simpler things in life - friends, laughter, nature.  I know that if I tried to embark on the 6 week program as it's written, I'd crash and burn after 2 days.  Instead, I'm going to turn the 6 week program into more like a 6 month to 1 year program, as I try to make permenant changes to my diet and life style to bring about a heather and happier me.

My main focus for October involves changing what I've been drinking to eliminate the unhealthy, unnatural things.  So, on the 1st of the month I gave up all pop, on the 15th I gave up all caffeinated beverages.  And on the 30th, I'm giving up anything that isn't a natural drink - i.e. water, 100% natural fruit juices, or milk.  (And I don't drink much milk or fruit juice, so mostly it's water.)

In order to mix it up a bit, I've been experimenting with different types of citrus fruits in my water the past few weeks, but so far lemon is still my fav.  I've been keeping a pitcher of flavored water in the fridge at all times for quick access.  I decided to take my self-portrait this month while making one of my pitchers of water since this change in my drink habits as been the main focus of my month.

So here I am, squeezing a few lemons...

Did you miss some of my past self-portraits?  Clicking here will take you to all of my self-portrait blog posts. Clicking here will take you to my self-portrait Facebook album.

Michele Whitacre is a portrait photographer serving Phoenix, Arizona and the surrounding area.
Visit Michele's Website | Like Michele on Facebook | Follow Michele on Instagram | Follow Michele on Twitter

© 2013 Michele Whitacre Photography LLC

Self-Portrait | September 2013

I used to be a chronic sufferer of "I'll Be Happy When" Syndrome. You know the one, it goes something like this: I'll be happy just as soon as I... grow up, graduate from high school, graduate from college, get a job, quit my job, become my own boss, go back to college, lose 20 lbs, get married, get divorced, buy a house, sell a house, live where it doesn't snow, adopt a dog, adopt a cat, etc, etc, etc, etc.

For years, I actually believed that I would, in fact, be happy once I had traversed my way through whatever hardship I believed was keeping me from my happiness. I would picture my future self on the other side of the perceived obstacle full of contentment and be sure that if I just hung in there that perfect life was waiting for me.

But no matter how hard I pictured that perfect life, it never showed up.

There was always something else waiting right around the corner that I needed to "get through" before I was going to be truly happy. As the months turned into years and the things I had managed to get through began piling up without resulting in the happiness I was positive was coming, I starting losing faith in the notion that I ever would be happy and content with my life.

Because let's be honest for a minute. After you've moved across the country FOUR. DIFFERENT. TIMES. in search of a happiness that you never found, you can't help but realize that perhaps there is a major flaw in your theory.

Once I realized that the happiness I'd been promising myself wasn't actually waiting around the corner like I'd always believed, I just gave up.  I quit believing.  I quit hoping.  I quit dreaming. I quit planning. I quit living.  And I've been doing nothing but going through the motions of life ever since.

Only I didn't realize that I was doing it.  Until now.

So, why the wake up call all of a sudden?

I just turned 39 a few days ago.  39!

And I just might be a wee little bit freaked out about that.

When you reach the point where you no longer know if you have more years ahead of you than you have behind you, it changes the way you view things.  I'm starting to realize that I need to take a good hard look at my life and decide what needs to go, what needs to stay, and what needs to change.  I need to figure out how to find peace with myself and my life because I refuse to enter the first year of my 40s the same way I entered the last year of my 30s.

Did you miss some of my past self-portraits?  Clicking here will take you to all of my self-portrait blog posts. Clicking here will take you to my self-portrait Facebook album.

Michele Whitacre is a portrait photographer serving Phoenix, Arizona and the surrounding area.
Visit Michele's Website | Like Michele on Facebook | Follow Michele on Instagram | Follow Michele on Twitter

© 2013 Michele Whitacre Photography LLC

Self-Portrait | August 2013

Earlier in the month Kevin and I spent a long weekend at a cabin we rented in Prescott to celebrate our anniversary. We had a blast and really enjoyed our trip.  But, I am one of those people who needs to leave the house spic and span because I can't stand returning to a big mess.  So I spent the days leading up to the trip doing a ton of laundry to make sure everything was caught up before we left, and the days immediately following the trip trying to get through all the laundry from when we were gone.

To add to the insanity, we adopted our newest fur babies right before we left and picked them up from the rescue the day we returned.  A few days later, we sadly discovered that they both have ringworm.  If you're not familiar with it, ringworm is a skin fungus that cats, dogs, and humans can all get and it is super contagious. The only cleaning product known to kill it is bleach.  So, I am washing and bleaching all of the kittens' bedding every day, along with ours and the dogs', trying to get Daisy and Gatsby healed up and trying to prevent the rest of us from getting it.

All of that added up to make me feel like I'm pretty much living in the laundry room these days! So, it seemed rather fitting to capture a photo of me in the laundry room for this month's self-portrait...

I realized after I had taken the photo, that I look like I am reading the washer instructions.  I really do know how to do laundry!  I was really just trying my best to get a photo where I was actually visible in that tiny room and this was the best I came up with.

Did you miss some of my past self-portraits?  Clicking here will take you to all of my self-portrait blog posts. Clicking here will take you to my self-portrait Facebook album.

Michele Whitacre is a portrait photographer serving Phoenix, Arizona and the surrounding area.
Visit Michele's Website | Like Michele on Facebook | Follow Michele on Instagram | Follow Michele on Twitter

© 2013 Michele Whitacre Photography LLC

Self-Portrait | July 2013

If you're stopping by for the first time you might not know that in addition to my photography business, I work part time as an optometrist. I work for a practice that employees multiple doctors at multiple locations throughout Arizona. Two of the local doctors have been off on maternity leave, and I agreed to help out by working extra days this month.  Since I'm used to working only 4 days a week, the 5 and 6 day weeks just about did me in!

Since most of July was consumed with working, I decided a photo of me at my optometry office was fitting for my self-portrait this month.  It also felt fitting because after working at this office for the past year, I am soon going to be changing locations and this photo will be a good future reminder of where I spent the past year.

I thought about straightening my hair and trying to look all purdy for my photo, but then I decided doing that would make the photo a big fat lie and I didn't want that. I'm trying to stay true to my reality as much as possible in these images, and the reality is that it's July in Arizona and it's hot, hot, hot! So I'm not about to spend an hour blow drying and straightening my hair unless absolutely necessary, so my natural wavy mess is my hair style of late.

I have to admit that this isn't going to make it into my list of favorite self-portraits, but sometimes that's just the way it goes. I didn't want to cause a disruption to the office so I didn't drag my tripod in with me. The best I could do was to place my camera on a stool, but it was a little lower that I would have preferred. Oh well, the point is to capture the month and that I did.

Did you miss some of my past self-portraits?  Clicking here will take you to all of my self-portrait blog posts. Clicking here will take you to my self-portrait Facebook album.

Michele Whitacre is a portrait photographer serving Phoenix, Arizona and the surrounding area.
Visit Michele's Website | Like Michele on Facebook | Follow Michele on Instagram | Follow Michele on Twitter

© 2013 Michele Whitacre Photography LLC

Self-Portarit | June 2013

I've spent my whole life looking forward to being outdoors all summer, and it's been an adjustment wrapping my head around the idea that things are a bit different here in Phoenix.  Instead of a summer filled with baseball games, picnics, and evening walks after dinner, we spend ours inside under the comfort of our air conditioners!  Our temperatures have been hovering well above 100 degrees recently, and once it gets over 110 even I am willing to admit that it is just plain hot!

I love to read but really haven't taken the time to do much of it in recent months.  I decided it was about time to change that!  And what better excuse than the heat induced hibernation to get back to it?  So, I recently made a trip to the local library to pick up a stack of books to keep me busy for a while.  I decided that a photo of me reading one of these books was a good representation of June.

I'm also very excited that my hair is FINALLY starting to get a little bit of length to it, and I can now put it in braids.  It's still a bit too short to stay in a single braid, but maybe in a a few more months.  This growing out process has just about killed me!  If I mention getting my hair cut above my chin ever again, please stop me.  

Did you miss some of my past self-portraits?  Clicking here will take you to all of my self-portrait blog posts. Clicking here will take you to my self-portrait Facebook album.

Michele Whitacre is a portrait photographer serving Phoenix, Arizona and the surrounding area.
Visit Michele's Website | Like Michele on Facebook | Follow Michele on Instagram | Follow Michele on Twitter

© 2013 Michele Whitacre Photography LLC

Self-Portrait | May 2013

Earlier in the month I signed up to run the Nike Women's Marathon with Team in Training.  One of my lifelong goals is to run a marathon, but when I had to stop training due to injuries several years ago I thought I was never going to realize my dream.  However, my aches and pains actually feel a lot better living in the drier climate and lower humidity.  I've decided that it is now or never if I'm going to give running a marathon another shot.  Plus I've just really missed running!

I used to be a pretty health conscious person who exercised regularly, ate reasonably well, drank a ton of water, and went to the doctor every year for a routine check up.  The past few years have been busy and stressful, and I've allowed a lot of my bad habits to creep back in and take over my life.  These days the majority of of my meals come out a box or a can and I consume more than my fair share of sugar.  I never get enough sleep and live on caffeine as a result.  And, I can't remember the last time I saw the inside of a doctor's office.  While I have managed to lose a little weight over the past year, I still have a long way to go to return to a healthy lifestyle!

I can't continue to live like this and ask my body to train to run a marathon on October 20th, so I'm facing the reality that I need to make some major life changes. It's time to give up the caffeine and sugar, and start cooking healthy meals again!  I need to start getting the proper amount of sleep.  And, I definitely need to start being more conscious of how I spend my so called free time.   It is so easy to waste hours surfing the web, when that time could be spent doing more worthwhile things.  One of the hardest thing about long distance training is how time consuming it is and how much of your life you have to sacrifice to fit it in.

For this month's self-portrait, I thought it would be fun to do a photo representation of what I feel like my life has been like the past few years.  However, I want to state for the record that this photo is staged!  I don't usually sit around eating quite this much junk all at the same time or piling the wrappers up around me on the bed.  I'm bad, but I'm not quite that bad.

I don't usually title my self-portraits, but if I did I would call this one Bye Bye, Bad Habits.  I highly suspect that in one of the coming months my self-portrait will be of me running or perhaps post run, and maybe we'll have to call that one Hello, Good Habits. But for now, I give you my May self-portrait...

As I was taking this photo I decided that I am going to have to start considering purchasing a new wide angle lens.  I really like being able to include a lot of my environment in my self-portraits but the only wide angle lens I own is the kit lens that came with my Canon Rebel and doesn't fit my new camera body.  So, I'm still using my old camera for my self-portraits.  That isn't too big of a deal, except I'm already starting to forget exactly where the buttons and menu settings are as I get more and more used to my new camera.

Did you miss some of my past self-portraits?  Clicking here will take you to all of my self-portrait blog posts. Clicking here will take you to my self-portrait Facebook album.

Michele Whitacre is a portrait photographer serving Phoenix, Arizona and the surrounding area.
Visit Michele's Website | Like Michele on Facebook | Follow Michele on Instagram | Follow Michele on Twitter

© 2013 Michele Whitacre Photography LLC

Self-Portrait | April 2013

Last night was the ball at my husband's law school, and most of my month was spent trying to look my best for the festivities!  I went shopping a few weeks ago with my mom to pick out a new dress.  I went with Kevin to pick out his tux earlier this week.  I kicked up my weight loss efforts this month, and managed to lose about 5 more pounds before the big night.  And, of course, I got my nails, hair, and make-up done the day of the event.  So, it seemed only fitting that I would choose a photo of myself all dolled up for April's self portrait!

I have to admit I probably could have found a better location for my photo instead of standing by our front door!  Summer is in full swing here in Phoenix and it was just plain hot out yesterday.  So instead of wandering around melting while looking for a great background, I just opted for the first place I came to that had decent lighting.  That being said, please excuse the big sun flare across the photo!  I didn't have my lens hood on (shame on me!) and I didn't notice it in the photo until I uploaded the images to my computer.

Did you miss some of my past self-portraits?  Clicking here will take you to all of my self-portrait blog posts. Clicking here will take you to my self-portrait Facebook album.

Michele Whitacre is a portrait photographer serving Phoenix, Arizona and the surrounding area.
Visit Michele's Website | Like Michele on Facebook | Follow Michele on Instagram | Follow Michele on Twitter

© 2013 Michele Whitacre Photography LLC

Self-Portrait | March 2013

At the beginning of the month I attended a workshop where off camera flash was a large part of the focus. When this topic was covered in the first workshop I attended, it was just too much for me to take in along with everything else I was trying to learn at the time  But, when it was covered at the second workshop I was all ears!  So much so, that I immediately walked out of the workshop and bought myself some new equipment and started experimenting with it.

The thing about photography is that the learning is never ending.  The second you master one technique there are ten more waiting in the wings for you to get started with.  It's one of the things I love so much about it.  I think most of us are that way.  I can't think of a single photographer I know who doesn't turn into a complete geek the second you put a new piece of equipment or technology in their hands.

For my March self-portrait, I wanted to see if I could put a twist on one of the amazing things that we learned how to do at the workshop, which was to photograph cigar smoke.  I can't wait to try that one in a few weeks when I will have someone to pose for me and help me out.  But cigar smoking and I are never gonna be BFFs, so I opted to play around with some glitter instead.

I have to admit that this is one my all time favorite self-portraits!  My back yard is now completely covered in gold glitter, and the dogs are going to be dragging it into the house for weeks but it will be so worth it knowing that it helped me capture this fun photo.

Did you miss some of my past self-portraits?  Clicking here will take you to all of my self-portrait blog posts. Clicking here will take you to my self-portrait Facebook album.

Michele Whitacre is a portrait photographer serving Phoenix, Arizona and the surrounding area.
Visit Michele's Website | Like Michele on Facebook | Follow Michele on Instagram | Follow Michele on Twitter

© 2013 Michele Whitacre Photography LLC

Self-Portrait | February 2013

Back in September 2012 I vowed to lose some weight and posted my before photos as my self-portrait that month.  I wish I was reporting in with my after photos to tell you that I'd lost all of the weight I wanted to lose, but I'm not quite there yet.

However, I have managed to lose 15 lbs and keep it off since early November!  I'm super excited to be where I am.  On a whim I decided to try to squeeze myself into the jeans I wore 3 1/2 years ago in our engagement photos.  I had no idea if I would be able to get them on, but I somehow managed to get into them.  I was even able to get them zipped and buttoned!  I'm not going to say I could actually breathe in them, but who needs to do that?

I decided for February's photo I would show myself jumping for joy in the jeans...

On a side note, jumping like this for photos is insanely exhausting!  It was a sad reminder just how out of shape I am and it filled me with empathy for all of the past clients I have requested to do this for photos.  This is just one of the many reasons I keep going with this monthly self-portrait project.  I want the constant reminder of what it feels like to be in front of the camera so I always remember what my clients are experiencing when I photograph them.

Did you miss some of my past self-portraits?  Clicking here will take you to all of my self-portrait blog posts. Clicking here will take you to my self-portrait Facebook album.

Michele Whitacre is a portrait photographer serving Phoenix, Arizona and the surrounding area.
Visit Michele's Website | Like Michele on Facebook | Follow Michele on Instagram | Follow Michele on Twitter

© 2013 Michele Whitacre Photography LLC

Self-Portrait | Januaray 2013

January has been a whirlwind of preparing for visitors combined with scheduling portrait sessions, taking personal photos for upcoming blog posts, and photographing our adventures while my brother-in-law and his girlfriend were in town. Since so much of my month has been spent behind my camera, I knew I wanted to include it in this month's self-portrait.  I also wanted to do something to remind me of the fun time we had showing our family around our new home city. It wasn't until we were viewing the gorgeous sunset that I decided on this spontaneous, spur of the moment location for this month's self-portrait.

This photo was taken at Hunt's Tomb in Papago Park, which we visited after spending our day at the Phoenix Zoo, and checking out the hole in the rock at the park.  When it comes to playing tourist, I'm all about comfort!  So, here I am sporting pigtails, a hat, and my comfy walking shoes while holding my camera for January's self-portrait...

Did you miss some of my past self-portraits?  Clicking here will take you to all of my self-portrait blog posts. Clicking here will take you to my self-portrait Facebook album.

Michele Whitacre is a portrait photographer serving Phoenix, Arizona and the surrounding area.
Visit Michele's Website | Like Michele on Facebook | Follow Michele on Instagram | Follow Michele on Twitter

© 2013 Michele Whitacre Photography LLC

Self-Portrait | December 2012

Some months are easier than others to decide what to capture for my self-portrait, and luckily December was a piece of cake!  While most people have an insanely busy holiday season to contend with, I have the opposite situation.  Since Kevin and I don't have any family in the area, we weren't running off in a million directions attending holiday celebrations like most of you probably were.  So, I spent the entire month of December blissfully relaxing and regrouping while I was curled up on the couch watching movies.

One of my favorite holiday traditions is to watch Christmas movies and I have developed quite a collection over the years.  I usually get the movies out the day after Thanksgiving and watch them all before New Years, when I once again tuck them away until the next holiday season.  Unfortunately, I ended up coming down with a cold the day before Christmas this year.  So once I ran out of Christmas movies, I continued to run through several more random movies from my perch on the couch while I attempted to nurse myself back to health.

I opted for a bit of an environmental self-portrait for this month because I wanted to include my surroundings in the photo.  This was the first time in 3 years that I put up a Christmas tree or set out any decorations, and I have to admit that I found myself really enjoying the season for a change.  Now that I no longer have to deal with the cold winter weather in conjunction with the Christmas season, I've started to find more joy in it.  I absolutely loved glancing over at the lit Christmas tree and seeing all of my favorite holiday decorations surrounding me while I was enjoying my movies.

I was trying to make this image as authentic as possible, so I let the dogs curl up with me like they usually do when I'm sitting on the couch, pulled my hair back, put on my favorite old sweatshirt, and snuggled under one of my favorite blankets.  And I think I succeeded because when I look at this picture, I definitely see my month in a nutshell!

As I look back over my 2012 self-portrait series, I feel like I want to label them "all or nothing" because they are either shot from a wide angle and show all of me and a lot of my environment or else they are an extreme close up showing just a very small part of me. Perhaps in 2013, I can shoot for (no pun intended) a few more "middle of the road" type photos.

I can't help but look back at my self-portrait project and feel a sense of pride and accomplishment.  First, it feels like an accomplishment that I've simply managed to keep it going all this time. Second, I feel like I continue to grow and stretch my creativity month after month while taking these images. Capturing interesting photos, while staying true to myself and what is happening in my life each month is a constant but welcome challenge. I look forward to embracing it and continuing along my self-portrait journey in 2013. I hope you will continue to join me for the ride.

Did you miss some of my past self-portraits?  Clicking here will take you to all of my self-portrait blog posts. Clicking here will take you to my self-portrait Facebook album.

Michele Whitacre is a portrait photographer serving Phoenix, Arizona and the surrounding area. Visit Michele's website at michelewhitacrephotography.com. Become a fan of Michele's work on Facebook. Follow Michele's updates on Twitter.

Self-Portrait | November 2012

As someone who has spent most of my life living in places where winter = dreary days full of cold and snow, I cannot even begin to express how wonderful and amazing it is to finally live some place where winter = warm days full of sunshine.  For the first time in my life, I feel like I have found where I belong.  I was born to live here!

Almost every day this month, I have walked out the door and turned my face up to the sun to feel its warm rays beating down on me. And each time I do, I can't help thinking to myself, "It's November! I can't believe this is the weather, and it is November!"

And for all of you back home, yes, it is is warm as it looks! I was sweating up a storm sitting out there in all that black, and was wishing I was dressed in shorts and a tank top. I opted for the long skirt, simply because I'm allergic to grass and wanted to minimize the post-photo itching as much as possible.

Did you miss some of my past self-portraits?  Clicking here will take you to all of my self-portrait blog posts. Clicking here will take you to my self-portrait Facebook album.

Michele Whitacre is a portrait photographer serving Phoenix, Arizona and the surrounding area. Visit Michele's website at michelewhitacrephotography.com. Become a fan of Michele's work on Facebook. Follow Michele's updates on Twitter.

Self-Portrait | October 2012

I really struggled to come up with an idea for October's self-portrait. It wasn't so much that this month was boring, but nothing specific stood out that represented the month.  October started out with my parents here, and us visiting Kevin's family back in Indiana. We went out with friends while we were there, and also here in Phoenix. I shot and edited a few photo sessions.  I worked, Kevin went to school, we watched a few movies, and hung out at home.  In a word, this month felt normal.  Blissfully, happily, normal.

Normal is something that I haven't felt in a very, very long time.  Things have been in one form of turmoil or another for so long that I couldn't really remember what normal was, or what it felt like, but October once again brought a glimpse of it back into my life.

I would have loved to come up with some sort of creative idea to photograph normal, but no matter how hard I tried I drew a complete blank.  So, instead I opted to focus on the result of this normal feeling returning to my life.   I finally had time to stop and ask myself, "Am I happy? Am I living the life I want to be living?  Why or why not?  How can I change that?"

I realized that I've fallen victim to spending way too much time on the internet.  I've turned into an email, facebook, twitter, instagram junkie.  There are even times when I will be sitting in front of my computer with facebook open in front of me, and pick up my phone, only to open the facebook app on it, too.  When I catch myself doing this, I shake my head with wonder as to how I got so addicted to social media and what could possibly be so exciting that I need to be checking it simultaneously on two devices.

The truth of the matter is that it is mostly habit, but this habit has got to stop!  Now that my life has returned to something a little more normal, I've realized how harmful this habit has become.  It's time to kiss the internet goodbye and get out there to create a life of my own instead of watching everyone else's go by from my office.  So here I am, sitting at my desk, phone in hand, and both computers tuned into the outside world for a very realistic view into how I have been spending way too much time recently...

I'm not quite sure what my obsession is with black and white self-portraits, but as I was looking back recently I noticed that I seem to lean towards b&w more often than not.  I'm going to make a conscious effort to start adding more color into my self-portraits in the coming months!  I've also been surprised to note how many of these images I take using the stock lens that I got when I purchased my camera because it is the widest angle lens that I own.  I never use it during my portrait sessions.  In fact, I don't even keep it in my camera bag.  I think I'm going to toss it in and challenge myself to use it for some shots during an up coming session, just to see what I can create with it.

Did you miss some of my past self-portraits?  Clicking here will take you to all of my self-portrait blog posts. Clicking here will take you to my self-portrait Facebook album.

Michele Whitacre is a portrait photographer serving Phoenix, Arizona and the surrounding area. Visit Michele's website at michelewhitacrephotography.com. Become a fan of Michele's work on Facebook. Follow Michele's updates on Twitter.

Self-Portrait | September 2012

Usually I wait until the middle or the end of the month to take my self-portrait so I can create a photo that will capture what was going on in my life that month.  Only this month, I already knew what was in store for me so I took the photos on September first, and I've spent the time since then trying to work up the nerve to actually post them.

So, what is September's defining event?

I joined Weight Watchers at the beginning of the month, and I've made a commitment to lose the extra weight I've been carting around for the past two years.

My story is probably similar to most of the females out there who have struggled with their weight:

When Kevin and I started dating about 4 years ago, I weighed 25 lbs less than I do now.  I had gained a little weight while we were dating, but buckled down when we got engaged and managed to lose the majority of it by the time we got married.  But then our wedding day rolled around, and we had the most amazing wedding cake I have ever tasted!  After a year of constant dieting to fit into my dress, I took one bite and gave up every ounce of resolve I had been holding onto.  It sent me spiraling head first into an eating binge that I didn't put a stop to until now.

Oh, I have reasons (or should we say excuses?). I was busy. I was stressed. You've heard it all before.

But enough is enough.

When I weighed less I was healthier and happier.  Period.  (Not to mention that I had a much larger wardrobe.) 

So, for September's self-portrait I decided to take some "Before" photos of myself. I am more bothered by the appearance of the extra weight in my face and neck than in the rest of my body.  I considered only posting one close up photo of my face, but then that sort of felt like cheating for a before weight loss photo, so I included a few full body shots as well.

I've always known that I carry more extra weight on my left thigh than my right one, since sometimes I will try on clothing that is too tight on my left but fits on the right. However, I didn't realize just how pronounced the difference is over my entire body until comparing these photos side by side. From now on, I'm going to make sure my right side is the one facing the camera at all times!

Stay tuned for some "After" photos in the future. My unofficial goal is to early 2013, but I don't have an exact amount of weight I want to lose or a time frame to do it in. My plan is to lose weight until I feel content and can fit into my clothes again and then call that my end point. Please, wish me luck!

Did you miss some of my past self-portraits?  Clicking here will take you to all of my self-portrait blog posts. Clicking here will take you to my self-portrait Facebook album.

Michele Whitacre is a portrait photographer serving Phoenix, Arizona and the surrounding area. Visit Michele's website at michelewhitacrephotography.com. Become a fan of Michele's work on Facebook. Follow Michele's updates on Twitter.

Self-Portrait | August 2012

While the trip down memory lane for June and July was fun, this month I was anxious to return to my goal of attempting to capture more emotion with my 2012 self-portraits.  I feel like I've gotten away from that the past few months and wanted to refocus my attention with my portrait for August.

In order to explain my motivation for this month’s image I have to share a bit of a confession…. I have never outgrown my obsession with teenage girly movies, and I have quite a collection of them. Not too long ago I was watching 17 Again, and there is a scene in it where they are cleaning up after a party. One of the characters is vacuuming off a rug, and when he finishes he says something like “All done,” and then as the camera moves out, he says, “with the rug,” and you see the entire rest of the apartment is completely trashed.  That’s the look I was going for with August’s self-portrait.

Kevin and I have spent the past several weeks searching for a new rental house, and packing up all of our stuff to move across The Valley.  Instead of renting a huge moving truck and moving everything all at once, we decided to move as many of our personal belongings as possible in our cars and save the furniture for a smaller moving truck.  Unfortunately our schedules are pure insanity and the belongings made it a few weeks before the furniture so we have been living out of boxes and sleeping on a (very small) futon mattress tossed on the floor.

Things are totally insane for us because along with this move, Kevin has been taking summer classes and studying to take one of the huge tests he has to pass before he is able to practice law.  As for me, I am starting work at a new office for my day job and also made the crazy decision to attend a 2 day photography workshop in the middle of moving (more on that soon!).  Needless to say, things feel a bit out of control at the moment and I really don't deal with that feeling very well!  So, here I am in the little oasis that I have managed to create for myself amongst the mass chaos that is my world right now.

As a side note, I totally love how dirty the bottoms of my feet are in this image.  It absolutely wasn't planned for the image, but I cannot tell you how black my feet are by the end of the day while cleaning and moving into this new rental house.  It's rather disgusting the state they are in, but such a HUGE memory of this move for me!

I have to admit that my exhaustion in this photo is real, since I set everything up for the photo and then realized that my remote battery was dead and I hadn't moved the spares from the old house yet.  So, I was literally pressing the timer on my camera and hurling myself over all that junk to get to the chair before the shutter went off.

As always, thanks for stopping by!

Did you miss some of my past self-portraits?  Clicking here will take you to all of my self-portrait blog posts. Clicking here will take you to my self-portrait Facebook album.

Michele Whitacre is a portrait photographer serving Phoenix, Arizona and the surrounding area. Visit Michele's website at michelewhitacrephotography.com. Become a fan of Michele's work on Facebook. Follow Michele's updates on Twitter.

Self-Portrait | July 2012

Kevin and I got engaged three years ago this month (July 23, 2009 to be exact), so for July's self-portrait I decided to look back and remember this special time in our lives.  Our engagement wasn't exactly typical in that we decided we wanted to get married, picked a wedding date, booked our wedding cruise (yep, we got married on a cruise ship), purchased my ring, scheduled engagement photos, planned an engagement party, and then officially got engaged. Because seriously, who wants to be normal anyway?

Obviously, I wasn't too shocked when Kevin proposed to me. He opted to pop the question at a Cheap Trick, Poison, Def Leppard Concert, which also came as no surprise since Kevin is one of the hugest music fans on the planet!  So for July's self-portrait I decided to take a photo of my hands, showing my ring, with the tickets from the concert and the photo on my iPhone that we took immediately after making our engagement official in the background.

I also decided on this for my self-portrait this month because I have always been drawn to photographs of hands.  There is just something so personal and intimate about hand photos, and I wanted to create an image of my own hands for myself and my loved ones to look back at years from now when my hands no longer look like this.

I really want to start capturing images like this for my clients, as well.  I often think about it before, yet I never seem to remember during the session, and then I kick myself for it afterward.  It about killed me when I realized that I did this when I photographed my parents back in April.  Before their session, I told myself over and over to take some photos of their hands, and then I completely forgot while I was shooting.  I guess it's just an excuse for another session with them in the near future. 

I also have to say thanks to my wonderful hubby for actually taking this photo. This would have been a very tough one for me to set up using the tripod and the remote, so Kevin was kind enough to help me out. So, thanks honey! :)

Did you miss some of my past self-portraits?  Clicking here will take you to all of my self-portrait blog posts. Clicking here will take you to my self-portrait Facebook album.

Michele Whitacre is a portrait photographer serving Phoenix, Arizona and the surrounding area. Visit Michele's website at michelewhitacrephotography.com. Become a fan of Michele's work on Facebook. Follow Michele's updates on Twitter.

Self-Portrait | June 2012

I graduated from high school 20 years ago this month. Gasp! I know everyone says it, but I seriously have no clue how it has been 20 years since I graduated! It certainly doesn't feel like that many years have passed by since I walked across that stage and received my diploma, and I definitely don't feel like I am 20 years older. In my head I'm still 25 and I still look like I did back in high school.

In honor of this milestone, I decided to do something a little different for this month's self-portrait. I held a contest on facebook and asked fans to vote for which of my high school senior portraits I should recreate 20 years later as a self-portrait.

It was only after the winner was selected that I started to really consider what it was going to take to recreate the chosen portrait.  First, I was going to have to try to find some clothes that sort of resembles the outfit I had on in my senior photo.  Second, I was going to have to track down a chair.  Third, I was going to have to squeeze myself into it!

Obviously, I was never going to find the exact shirt I had on in the photo so I opted for one a similar color.  That part wasn't too difficult since blue is my favorite color and I have tons of it in my wardrobe.  Every pair of jeans I own is very dark in color with wide legs that I didn't think I'd be able to peg. But that issue wasn't too hard to solve by raiding my husbands closet and stealing a pair of his jeans.  I even still own the ring I had on in the photo, and dug that out of the jewelry box and put it on.  I wasn't about to cut bangs into my hair or get a perm, so I did the best I could to mimic my hairstyle with a curling iron.  And it just about killed me to take this photo with next to no make up on!  I didn't realize how little make up I wore back then until I was trying to copy the photo.

Next up was the chair, so I put a request up on facebook and luckily a friend offered to let me borrow a chair from her.  I knew there was no way I was going to come up with a solid white background for the photo, so I decided not to try and instead just took the photo in the backyard of our rental house.

And finally, I have to admit that the squeezing myself into it was a bit harder than I thought it would be, and I'm surprised that I don't look uncomfortable in the photo because I definitely was!  It kinda felt like I was attempting to fold myself in half to squeeze into that position and it was a challenge to resume it quickly enough after clicking the remote.

So, I give to you, Michele Whitacre

Now...

And then...

So, how did I do?

Honestly, I had a ridiculous amount of fun setting up this photo and bring everything together to make it happen. Although, it is a bit depressing to compare the photos side by side and realize that I don't quite look the same as I did back then no matter how much I wish I did.

Did you miss some of my past self-portraits?  Clicking here will take you to all of my self-portrait blog posts. Clicking here will take you to my self-portrait Facebook album.

Michele Whitacre is a portrait photographer serving Phoenix, Arizona and the surrounding area. Visit Michele's website at michelewhitacrephotography.com. Become a fan of Michele's work on Facebook. Follow Michele's updates on Twitter.

Self-Portrait | May 2012

At the tail end of April, I took a photography workshop that I found through Groupon. It was advertised as a beginning workshop for portrait photographers who are interested in going pro, so I wasn't exactly sure what it would cover. It was reasonably priced, so I decided to take my chances and sign up for it. I was keeping my fingers crossed that I would take home some useful tips, and I wasn't disappointed.

It was a fairly basic class, detailing how to select manual settings and basic posing suggestions, but what made the class so amazing for me is that the instructor showed a video of her shooting a client session, and I picked up several ideas for things to try during my own sessions. I wanted to check out some of her methods to see if anything clicked for me as an easier way to shoot.

The other great thing she shared was a detailed process of how she instructs people to pose. Instead of just verbally telling them what she wants them to do or walking up to them and moving them herself, she demonstrates what she wants them to do with her own body and then asks them to mimic her, from her place behind her camera. To get used to doing this, she suggested that we go home and practice posing ourselves. She suggested posing ourselves using a mirror, but I wanted to see the more realistic results of posing myself in front of the camera.

What I learned was that I'd need a lot more practice if I was going to switch to this method of posing people, or all of my clients are going to end up looking as ridiculous as I did in 95% of my photos! In each image, I could see exactly what wasn't working with my positioning and how I would have directed myself to change it if I could have. If I ever manage to figure out how to pose myself without being able to look at myself and make adjustments, perhaps I'll switch to her method. But for now I think I better stick to my posing method of giving verbal directions and walking up to readjust when necessary.

Since the month of May has been consumed with trying out shooting techniques and suggestions from the seminar, I thought it fitting to use a photo of me striking a pose as my self-portrait for the month.

May's self-portrait was taken at our rental house in Phoenix, and it took some major furniture rearranging to find a decent place to take the photos.  The house we are renting is much smaller than the one we sold, and it is busting at the seams.  In order to find a place with good lighting and a background that wouldn't be too distracting, I literally had to move half of the furniture out of the living room.  Am I dedicated or what?

Honesty, I had a lot of fun taking this month's photo.  I basically held a little photo session for myself and even tried a few different outfits.  I did end up with a handful of photos that I liked, but this one was my favorite.  If you are a photog and have never done this, I highly recommend it!

Did you miss some of my past self-portraits?  Clicking here will take you to all of my self-portrait blog posts. Clicking here will take you to my self-portrait Facebook album.

Michele Whitacre is a portrait photographer serving Phoenix, Arizona and the surrounding area. Visit Michele's website at michelewhitacrephotography.com. Become a fan of Michele's work on Facebook. Follow Michele's updates on Twitter.