Alex + Olivia's Sneak Peek

How about photos of the most ADORABLE couple ever, just in time for Valentine's Day?

A few weeks ago, I asked for a couple to volunteer to brave the cold and snow to be subjects for a winter photo session and Alex and Olivia were brave enough to agree to a session with me.  I warned them that they could expect to get cold and wet during the session, and I did not disappoint.  By the time the photo shoot was over they had been sitting, laying, and tromping in the snow piles, but I think the end result is some pretty great photos.

My awesome hubby, Kevin, was kind enough to tag along with us to the session to hold my camera bag and props for me, since I couldn't just sit them in the grass like I do during warm weather shoots. He was a real trooper, especially because our photo session got started bright and early at 8:00 AM!

This first one is one of my husband's favorites from the day.  I have seen a lot of photos of Alex on Facebook, and he always has THE BEST smile in every photo, and today was no different...

Kevin and Alex have been friends for a long time, and the two of them kept Olivia and I entertained during our ride between shoot locations with stories of their bike riding adventures from when they were kids.

I love this photo!  It was so awesome to finally see a little bit of blue sky peeking out after weeks of nothing but grey. Plus Olivia's gorgeous pink coat looks amazing against it...

Can we say adorable?...

Alex and Olivia are both college students. Alex wants to be a dentist and Olivia wants to be a dental hygienist. Sounds like a match made in heaven to me!

This is another of my favs. They just look so sweet, don't they?...

I fell in love with Olivia's scarf the moment I saw it! What a great accessory to add some fun and brightness to the photos on a cold winter day...

As we were walking by, Olivia pointed out this awesome tree to me. Once I saw it, I knew we had to get this photo in front of it!...

I asked Alex to sit down in front of this fence, not realizing just how much snow was piled up in front of it. He sank in with just his knees and torso sticking out of the snow, but he just went with it...

Both of these two were amazing to work with. They were so willing to try anything I suggested, and they were nothing but smiles the entire time.

When I asked for volunteers for the winter session, I suggested that the potential subjects be able to rock a winter hat. I'd say Olivia more than succeeded, wouldn't you?  She is totally rocking this adorable pink hat. And how about those GORGEOUS eye? I could see how amazing they looked in this photo through the lens!...

Thanks again for volunteering, and for being so accommodating to all of my crazy requests. You guys were awesome to photograph.  I wish you both lots of luck with your future careers. And, I hope you have an amazing Valentine's Day together.

Michele Whitacre is a portrait photographer located in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Visit Michele's website at michelewhitacrephotography.com. Become a fan of Michele's work on Facebook. Follow Michele's updates on Twitter.

Feeding Frenzy

I SWORE to myself that I wasn't going to pick up my camera today for anything other than today's joy of love class assignment. I am thoroughly enjoying the class, but it is time consuming taking photos for the class every single day.

For me, being behind my camera is an addiction. The more time I spend behind it, the more I want to be behind it, and before I know it all I'm doing is taking photos and editing photos, while the rest of my world is falling in around me. Kind of like it is right now! And I still have a little editing to do on the baby shower photos a took a few weeks ago, and on the winter photos I took a few days ago. So, I promised myself no more personal photos until I was caught up.

Things never work out according to plan in my life!

I got home from work this afternoon, and Lexi would not stop barking at the windows. I finally got up to see what had her attention and saw that there were TONS of birds swarming around outside. I went into the kitchen and there were probably 40 - 50 birds in the tiny cherry tree right outside the window, feeding on the cherries that were still hanging on the tree.

I grabbed my camera and ran outside to try to get some photos, but I scared half of them away when I opened the door so this was the best I got...

As I continued trying to take photos, more and more of the birds got scared off. I'd go back inside and they'd come back to the tree, but they'd fly off as soon as I'd go back outside again. I finally decided to just pop the screen off of the window and take the photos from inside. Luckily, the windows weren't too dirt!

You can see from the photo above that the sky had a distinct line between the bright blue sky and the clouds, so depending on where in the tree each bird was located, the background varies.  It almost looks like the photos were taken on different days!

Here are a handful of the awesome shots I got...

Michele Whitacre is a portrait photographer located in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Visit Michele's website at michelewhitacrephotography.com. Become a fan of Michele's work on Facebook. Follow Michele's updates on Twitter.

Bare Branches

This afternoon I ended up with some unexpected free time, and decided to head to downtown Fort Wayne to shoot some winter photographs.

This was one of my favs that I captured today...

Nothing says winter quite like bare tree branches topped with snow.

Michele Whitacre is a portrait photographer located in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Visit Michele's website at michelewhitacrephotography.com. Become a fan of Michele's work on Facebook. Follow Michele's updates on Twitter.

Getting Inked

Recently, I had the opportunity to photograph my husband getting a tattoo from Donny Manco, owner of New Republic Tattoo in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Donny is an incredible artist and an all around great guy. If you want a tattoo, or know someone who does, I HIGHLY recommend Donny. He is great to work with, and his art is amazing!

As they say, a picture is worth a thousands words, so instead of continuing to ramble on about Donny's awesome work, let's just show it off, shall we?

Kevin, getting psyched up for his new ink...

Donny, working on the outline (Kevin's other tattoo was done by Donny back in August 2010)...

The detail in Donny's art is just incredible. It was fascinating watching him work!...

Donny, hard at work...

Kevin, looking surprisingly happy and relaxed...

This photo is my favorite of the bunch, by far!...

I loved having the opportunity to photograph Kevin getting his tattoo! So, thank you to Donny for being so awesome about having a camera in his face for most of the time that he was working on Kevin!

I hope you enjoyed seeing the photos as much as I enjoyed taking them.

Michele Whitacre is a portrait photographer located in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Visit Michele's website at michelewhitacrephotography.com. Become a fan of Michele's work on Facebook. Follow Michele's updates on Twitter.

Welcome!

Welcome to Michele Whitacre Photography's home in blogland! I'm so excited that you are here.

I have always had a great love for pictures, and an interest in photography. Even as a child I was fascinated by taking pictures, and I can still distinctly remember the first camera that I owned.

Over the years, I’ve thought about purchasing a DSLR camera and taking classes to learn how to use it, but life always seemed to get in the way. I was too busy, or the camera was too expensive, or the idea of learning seemed too overwhelming. One excuse after another stopped me from pursuing my dream of becoming a photographer.

Until now.

I finally decided that it was time to make that dream a reality, so I purchased a DSLR camera, took a photography class, read everything I could get my hands on about portrait photography (and continue to do so!), and decided to start Michele Whitacre Photography.

This blog is where I post sneak peeks of client sessions, and other businesses related details.  I will also post some of my other photographs from time to time.

I hope you’ll stop by again soon.

Michele Whitacre is a portrait photographer located in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Visit Michele's website at michelewhitacrephotography.com. Become a fan of Michele's work on Facebook. Follow Michele's updates on Twitter.