BBL 2011-2012 | Take a Photo a Day for 30 Days

#9 TAKE A PHOTO A DAY FOR 30 DAYS

Why did I include this on my Bucket List?

I've kinda been dreading writing this, and perhaps that is why it has taken me so many months to get around to marking this one off of my list.  But I guess it is confession time.  I didn't include this one because it was something I wanted to do. I included it because it was something I needed to do.

I used to be that annoying person at every single social function with a camera in my hand snapping a million photos of every tiny detail. Then I bought a DSLR camera, and stopped taking pictures.

Say what?!

I wasn't one of those people who purchased a "good camera" and then proceeded to use it in auto mode. Nope, not me. I purchased the camera, turned the dial to manual mode and never looked back.  That sounds great in theory, but not so much in reality.  In the early days, I encountered many situations where I had no idea how to properly choose my settings using manual mode so my solution was to simply not take any photos.

As time went on, I managed to master manual mode and then I decided to go pro with my photography.  Once I started my business, I felt like if I was calling myself a professional photographer every single image I took had to be professional quality.  I was no longer allowed to take crappy, out of focus, poorly composed, over or under exposed, glowing red-eye, point and shoot or cell phone snapshots.  And I didn't.  It was DSLR or bust, baby.

For a while, I lugged my DSLR around with me and tried taking photos with it all the time. However, it seemed that no matter which lens was on my camera, I always found myself wishing I had a different one with me.  Sometimes, I found myself spending most of my time protecting my camera instead of enjoying myself while in crowded environments.  Other times, I felt like my attention was constantly fractured between trying to stay engaged in the social environment around me and trying to ensure my settings were correct while taking photos and I ended up feeling detached from the people around me.  Eventually I just gave up.

Then one day I was looking through photos, and was shocked to see the drastic decline in the number of photos in my archives over the past few years.  I didn't really make a conscious decision to stop taking so many personal photos.  It just slowly happened over time due to all of these reasons.

I decided enough was enough, and added this to my Bucket List in an attempt to break the cycle and get back into the habit of taking more personal photos.

Was the experience what I had hoped it would be?

It was, and it wasn't. After 30 days of taking photos using nothing but the camera on my iPhone, I do feel like I have broken though the silly idea that every photo I take has to be perfect. I recently purchased a new point and shoot camera and I do think that I will start using it to take photos in circumstances where I don't want to lug around my DSLR. However, my daily life just really isn't all that exciting and many days I struggled to find something worthwhile to photograph. Since there really weren't any fun social events to take photos of during the 30 days, I don't know how much of an impact this project will have on reinstating my habits of taking photos at every social event I attend.

The details...

I decided that I was going to use my iPhone to take all of these photos since I always have it with me. I felt like I wanted a theme to help me stay focused on taking a photo a day and decided on "actions" as my theme. So, I tried to take a photo a day of something that represented some kind of action. I published the photos each day on instagram, and then put together a collage of all of the images to post here...

I enjoyed taking this set of themed photos and have been toying with the idea of continuing with it for a while longer. This project has also sparked an idea for a new upcoming monthly feature I want to add to the blog. But more on that later.

Do you want to see my entire 2011-2012 Bucket List? You can find it here.

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.

Kevin's Impromptu 4th of July Photo Session

Saying that my world is kinda insane these days would be a bit of an understatement. Between agreeing to work extra hours at my day job, searching for a new rental house, and planning for multiple back to back photo sessions, I've just about lost my grip on my sanity.  So, I was caught completely off guard by the fact that the 4th of July was just around the corner.  It wasn't until Tuesday evening when Kevin mentioned that he was off of work and class for the holiday, that it actually registered on my radar.

My plan was to spend my day catching up on laundry, bills, and editing.  However, I quickly threw all of that out the window when we woke to a cloud covered sky and temps hovering in the 80's.  By mid-morning, I began salivating at the amazing weather conditions and just couldn't let the perfect photo session opportunity pass me by.  I'm a sucker for the yummy diffuse light produced on overcast days!

I would have LOVED to use the amazing lighting for a client session, but of course I didn't have one scheduled on a holiday, so I had to settle for the next best thing - photographing my hubby! Surprisingly, he readily agreed to some photos with no arm twisting!  We decided on a session location, but by the time we arrived it had started to rain. Boo!  But the good thing about Phoenix is that the rain never seems to last for very long, nor does it seem to rain all over at one time.  So, we opted to drive a few miles across town until we found an area without any rain falling.

I know I said it the last time I posted photos from a session with Kevin, but it is so much easier for me to select and edit photos of him than of clients.  I can fly through the shots and pick out my favorites of Kevin in a matter of minutes, while I often spend days agonizing over which photos to select and edit for clients.  I guess it's because I know him so well, so it's easy to spot the images where he looks like "himself" in them.  Here are the shots that I picked from our impromptu session to share:

This first one is my absolute favorite!...

I know they are a bit of a cliché, but I don't care! I absolutely love railroad track shots...

I absolutely love this one, too...

I had fun playing with all of the graffiti on the buildings where we took these photos...

How about one in black & white?...

A rare smile for a photo!...

A huge thanks to my sweet hubby for indulging my obsession and letting me take these photos of him!

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.

José + Katherine + Rayne's Sneak Peak

I'm excited to introduce you to José, Katherine, and Rayne! I had the honor of photographing this adorable family this past weekend.

If you're not familiar with Phoenix, let me tell you that this is a tough time of year for sessions. The temperature is well over 100, and we don't observe daylight savings time so it gets light insanely early. Therefore, sessions either take place in the scorching evening heat or crazy early.

For José, Katherine, and Rayne's session we opted for crazy early, and met at a local park on a Sunday morning. As soon as they arrived, Katherine admitted that Rayne was less than thrilled with the fact that she was up and at 'em at that hour, and was going to be tough to win over.

When photographing families, I often start out by having them hold hands and walk towards and away from me.  I think it helps everyone to relax when the session starts out doing something instead of immediately jumping into posed shots.  Plus, I just love how sweet these photos are with the kids holding their parents hands while walking along.  So this was a definite must for this session, since Rayne needed some time to warm up to me and the camera.

Adorable, right?....

After walking along, Rayne still wasn't too sure that she wanted anything to do with me or the photos. So, we stopped to take some photos of the ducks swimming in the ponds in the park. Then she helped me to set up some of the photos by picking where everyone should stand, and before too long she decided that maybe it wasn't so bad after all.

After that she opened up and was all smiles!  I just love this photo of her with José...

And this one with Katherine...

Are those not just two of the sweetest photos ever?  I just can't get over how cute they are!

Rayne is in dance class, so she modeled some of her dance poses, and then decided that maybe it would be fun to sit down and pose for a few photos all by herself. I had a hard time picking which photo to post, but opted for this one because I felt like it showed more of Rayne's personality...

Earlier in the session, I was telling Rayne where to pose by asking her to put her pigtail against mom or dad's cheek.  So for this photo she kept wanting to put her pigtail right against mom's face like before.  We had a hard time convincing her to keep her head in the middle of mom and dad, but we finally managed and got this sweet photo of the whole family...

José and Katherine, thank you so much for allowing me to take your portraits!  I had so much fun spending my morning with your family, and meeting Rayne.

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.

Jessi's Sneak Peek

I spent last Sunday morning photographing Jessi, and I have to admit that her session is one of my favs of all time! Sometimes everything just clicks to create the perfect photos, and this was definitely one of those times.

Jessi and I started chatting about the location for her session and when she suggested the photographer's dream area that I had discovered a few months ago I was sooo excited.  Once I knew where we were going to shoot, I mentioned to Jessi that she might want to consider wearing something that was a bright, solid color to set her apart from the art that we would be using as backgrounds, and I suggested maybe a sundress.

After her shopping trip she sent me a photo of her dress, and it was like she was reading my mind.  I couldn't have possibly picked anything more perfect! Then she shows up for her session and tells me that she brought some jewelry with her but she was wanted to know if it was too much. She pulled out that gorgeous blue necklace and I about fell over.  Too much?  Are you nuts?  It's sensational!

Jessi said that she wanted a photo with one particular mural, and when she described it I knew instantly which one she was talking about since I've been drooling over it since I first saw it. We had to improvise a teeny bit since most of the mural was in pretty harsh direct sunlight but we still managed to capture the mural in all it's glory.

So here you are Jessi, one gorgeous photo of you with the the stained glass mural!...

As this photo clearly shows, Jessi isn't afraid to get out there and live life and have fun.   Seriously, take a look at those shoes she's jumping in!  When I asked her if she thought she could jump in them she didn't even hesitate to give it a try...

There truly are not words for this one. Jessi, you look FREAKING AMAZING!!!...

This is one of my absolute favs from our session.  Of course, it helps that the background is such a gorgeous blue, which is my all time favorite color, but I also love Jessi's expression here.  I was trying to get her to give me a sassy pose with one of her hips jutted out to the side.  She was barely moving, but felt like she was getting crazy with it and was laughing at me over it...

After a quick outfit change, we were back at it to capture some more photos.  This second set obviously has a different look and feel to them, and allows a different side of Jessi to shine through.  And after getting to know Jessi during our session I learned that there are definitely different sides to this girl!  She went from art major to law school!  That's certainly something you don't run into every day, but I have no doubt that she is equally fabulous at both of them.

Jessi, you are gorgeous!...

Check out those stunning baby blues...

I cannot tell you how hard I had to work to get this photo! Usually when I do sessions, I have to work to get clients to have natural smiles for the camera. So, I spend a lot of time trying to get them to laugh so they look natural. Not Jessi! It is very rare to find this lovely lady without a smile on her face, and every time I was trying to capture a more serious expression she broke out into a huge grin before I could capture it...

Jessi really was a blast to photograph. She came up with a lot of her own poses, and kept asking if she could try doing different things, which I love! At the end of the day, I want the photos I take to be all about the client so it is great when they suggest things they want to try. This was just one of her many wonderful suggestions, all of which she pulled off perfectly. Except for looking gansta, she couldn't quite manage that one. She couldn't keep from breaking out into smiles as she was trying it. :)

I hope you enjoyed seeing Jessi's photos on the blog because this gorgeous girl will be back again soon for a few fun-filled family sessions.  So, stay tuned.

Jessi, thank you so much for allowing me to take your photos, and a huge thanks for getting up at the crack of dawn and braving the Phoenix summer heat.  It was wonderful getting to chat with you during our session and I can't wait to take more photos of you and your family soon.

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.

BBL 2011-2012 | Try to Surf

#7 TRY TO SURF

Why did I include this on my Bucket List?

Every time I have seen surfing in a movie, or IRL, it looked like so much fun that I wanted to try it for myself.

Was the experience what I had hoped it would be?

It was so much better than I expected! I thought it would be really hard to stand up and balance, but it really wasn't. I never expected to be able to stand up on the board, but I was able to get to a standing position from my very first attempt.

The details...

We opted to take surfing lessons for one of our excursions while we were on the island of Kauai.  The instructors started out by showing us how to stand up while we were still on land, and then we took our boards and headed off to the water.  (Only I'm such a wimp that I couldn't carry mine and one of the instructors had to do it for me!)  Then we took turns paddling out to one of the instructors, who would wait for a wave to come and then give us a push into it and tell us to paddle and then stand up.

I'm sure it would have been much harder without the instructors telling us exactly what to do and when to stand!  Even so, I'm sure that if I lived some place with easy access to an ocean, I would continue surfing.  I had an insane amount of fun, even if I did come home covered in bruises from the board knocking me over numerous times when I was trying to wrestle with it in the waves crashing along shore.

I was too busy learning to surf to take any action shots, but here is a photo of Kevin and I after we were all done with our lesson...

Do you want to see my entire 2011-2012 Bucket List? You can find it here.

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.

BBL 2011-2012 | Cruise Around the Hawaiian Islands

#6 CRUISE AROUND THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS

Why did I include this on my Bucket List?

Because it's Hawaii. Duh!

And because I've been fascinated with Hawaii for pretty much my entire life, but thus far the only island I had visited was Maui.

Was the experience what I had hoped it would be?

A week definitely wasn't long enough to even begin to see and do everything that I would have wanted to, but it was wonderful to get a taste of the different islands. In general, the trip was a definite dream come true! But, going back to explore more that the islands have to offer will absolutely be on a future Birthday Bucket List.

The details...

Kevin and I, along with my family, took a 7 day cruise aboard the Norwegian Pride of America. The cruise visited ports on Oahu, Maui, Hawaii, Kauai, and back to Oahu. While we were there we did all sorts of fun things... we went snorkeling, swam under waterfalls, hiked through a rain forest, went kayaking, toured coffee and chocolate fields, went to a luau, went tubing, and toured Pearl Harbor. We also got to enjoy all of the typical cruise activities, like eating way too much and being amused by daily towel animals.

I didn't take as many photos on this trip as I usually do. In all honesty, I never even took my DSLR out of my camera bag! Since most of the excursions we opted to do were active and near water, I took most of the vacation photos with my point and shoot in its waterproof case. It felt a bit odd not to have a camera constantly in hand, but it was also great to feel like I was really engaged in the moments and experiencing the trip instead of worrying constantly about trying to capture the moments in photos. I'm very guilty of trying so hard to capture the prefect photos, that I often miss out on a lot of life as it is happening. I certainly didn't do that on this trip and it was a welcome change.

Of course, it is impossible to visit Hawaii and not take at least a few photos of the stunning scenery.  So, here is a peek at the amazing Hawaii landscape that I was lucky enough to experience while I was there...

Do you want to see my entire 2011-2012 Bucket List? You can find it here.

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.