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

Puppy Love Project {Fundraiser Event}

Earlier in the month I had the opportunity to take some photographs of a fundraising event hosted by the members of Phoenix Style Collective...

which benefited the Arizona Humane Society....

The humane society didn't have any animals at the event, but one of the attendees brought along this little cutie to greet everyone who came to make a donation...

A $10 donation was suggested to attend the event, and as a thank you they were giving away these adorable bracelets. Love!!...

The event was held in Phoenix at Co+Hoots, which was an awesome space with a great vibe.

The members of Phoenix Style Collective gathered tons of awesome prizes to be raffled off and bid on during a silent auction...

All donated by very generous sponsors...

At the end of the evening everyone was given a goody bag full of taffy.  Yum!...

By the end of the night, Phoenix Style Collective raised almost $500 to donate to the Humane Society.  A huge success, indeed!  It was an honor to be able to attend this event and capture some photos of it.

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

Happy Valentine's Day!

Lexi and Zoe would like to wish you a Happy Valentine's Day!

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

Kara's Sneak Peek

Meet Kara, the super sweet and gorgeous wife of one of my hubby's law school classmates.  Kara and I decided to do a little old school bartering - photography lessons in exchange for modeling. Kara owns a DSLR that she's been wanting to learn how to use in manual mode and I've been admiring Kara's amazing fashion style for months and wanted to get her in front of my camera.

A few emails back and forth to make the arrangements and voilà!  Kara is on her way to becoming an awesome photographer and I get to add her beautiful face to my portfolio. I think I came out the winner on that deal!  I'm pretty much in love with every single photo I took of Kara, she's so stinkin' cute in every single one.

See...

Somebody thought Kara looked especially awesome during this set of photos, and honked at her while they drove by. I can't say I'm surprised. Look how amazing she looks!...

If I was smart I would have traded photography lessons for fashion lessons instead.  I mean seriously! How awesome are those shoes?!...

Kara, Thank you so much for allowing me to take your photos.  It was such fun spending my Sunday evening hanging out with you. I can't wait to show you the rest of the photos. :)

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

Josh + Trisha's Sneak Peek

Last night I had the pleasure of photographing Josh and Trisha, who just so happen to be one of the sweetest (and most photogenic, I might add) couples ever.  I couldn't be more excited to share their photos and I know they are excited to see them.  So, I decided to get their sneak peek done in record time.  Plus, I thought their photos would make the perfect start to this week, since Valentine's Day is right around the corner after all.

Josh and Trisha were both awesome to work with.  I just love it when I get to photograph clients who are truly excited about having their photos taken, and these two were a dream come true.  Josh and Trisha are so cute together that choosing the photos for this sneak peek was nearly impossible.  When I sort through the images from a session, the first thing I do is rate all of my absolute favorites as 5 stars.  I usually have around 20 favorites after the first round of sorting to narrow down for the sneak peek.  After the first round of their session I had over 50 photos that I'd 5 stared!  Yikes!

After much debate, I finally settled on these images to share.  I couldn't narrow it down by favorites, so I opted for variety instead.  So, let's get to the pictures, shall we?

This one definitely makes it into my top ten. I can't get over how adorable Trisha's outfit is. I just love those tights and boots!...

This one is another fav...

Doesn't Trisha have THE BEST smile?...

This is another of my favorites...

This was the very last photo that I took of Josh and Trisha, and they still both look AMAZING! Usually after two hours, clients are exhausted from posing and sometimes the final photos show it. But not these two! It even rained on us briefly during the session, and they both still look this awesome...

Josh and Trisha, Thank you so much for allowing me to take these photos for you! It was amazing working with you and getting to know you both better during our session. I hope you enjoy seeing your photos as much as I enjoyed taking them.

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