Michele Whitacre Photography

Thursday, December 11, 2014

Aryana + Alina's Sneak Peek

Yippee! I'm stoked that I get to share these adorable photos of Aryana and Alina on the blog today. This time of year is always a test of my secret keeping skills! It is my busiest season, taking tons of family holiday photos, yet I don't get to share the awesomeness until after everyone mails out their cards and/or delivers the photos that are being given as gifts. It is soooo hard to keep all the images under wraps for so long, and I was really excited when Aryana and Alina's mom said I could share their photos today.

We snuck in their session last Saturday afternoon at one of my favorite places to shoot. There are so many awesome places to use as backdrops and these fun steps are at the top of the list...

Aren't they just adorable?!...

This one is definitely a favorite...

Another fav...

ADORABLE!...

Apparently we were all about the steps during their session! I just love these awesome stairs for photos, and this one is another favorite of Aryana and Alina...

OK, I seriously ADORE this one! I just love little Alina's expression here...

Alina was starting to get tired from working so hard to pose just like we asked and from trying to give good smiles. By this point she had had enough and I love how she's trying to disappear into her big sister here...

After Alina decided she'd had enough of posing, we decided to sneak in a few shots of Aryana by herself. This girl right here. O.M.G. Can we say NATURAL in front of the camera?!?! If I ever need a child model for a session in the future I'm calling Aryana. She is an absolute dream to photograph. She requires almost no direction to pose herself into the most adorable and natural positions.

Seriously. Can she be any more awesome?

Yvonne, Thank you for allowing me to photograph your adorable girls. It was great meeting all of you and taking these photos for you. I hope you have a very happy holiday season.

Michele Whitacre is a portrait photographer serving Phoenix, Arizona and the surrounding area.
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© 2014 Michele Whitacre Photography LLC

Friday, December 5, 2014

Happy 7th Birthday, Lexi!

I'm pretty sure I start off every single one of these birthday posts saying how I can't believe that the dogs are another year older, and this one is no different. Seven! I'm in shock that so many years have passed since little Lexi was born and I adopted her as an 8 week old puppy. I really wish I had a pause button to stop life for a while so I could take some time to enjoy more of the little moments with my sweet, adorable fur babies!

As always, the pups got spoiled with some toys and treats in honor of Lexi's 7th Birthday on December 2, 2014! I get such a kick out of watching them tear open their gifts and play with their new toys.

Zoe and Lexi, waiting patiently for the fun to begin...

Tearing up the bag just might be the best part...

Sweet Zoe...

I got a little carried away on these photos of Lexi and her frisbee. When I was done editing, I realized that almost all of the photos I selected were of her chewing on it. Of course, frisbees are one of her favorite things, so she returned to play with it multiple times during her birthday celebration...

I just love all of her expressions in this series of photos...

Silly goose with a tag stuck to her mouth...

A little game of tug...

And a few of cats getting in on the actions...

As always, thanks for stopping by my blog!

Jackie's Sneak Peek

Please help me in welcoming Jackie back to the blog today! With law school graduation right around the corner, she needed some updated head shots so we met to take some new ones. It was great getting to catch up with her during her session and hearing about all her plans for the future.

We did her photos on the balcony of her apartment complex in downtown Phoenix, and opted for a mix of shots using one of my new backdrops and the buildings as our backgrounds. These first two images are my favorites. Jackie has the crossed arm attorney pose mastered!...

I was excited when Jackie opted for this background for her photos, as it is my favorite of the ones I've purchased so far.

Mixing it up a little, using one of the nearby white buildings behind Jackie here...

I really like these two with the buildings behind her, too...

And again, using another nearby building as our backdrop. I really love these in color and black and white!...

Jackie, congratulations on your upcoming graduation! I'm so happy for you that all your hard work has paid off and you're almost done. Good luck with the bar exam and your job search. I know great things are in store for your future, and I'm really excited that you've decided to stay in Phoenix. I'm hoping that means I get to see you again soon!

Friday, November 28, 2014

Self-Portrait | November 2014

I'm just going to start off by saying that this really isn't a self portrait. First, it wasn't taken with the intent of being used for this month's photo. Second, I didn't take it. It is a random cell phone shot that I asked my hubby to take for me because I wanted to post it on Instagram, and the fact that I am resorting to using it for my November self-portrait speaks more about what my month has been like than any other staged photo could.

November has been an insane whirlwind of getting ready for the portraits that Kevin and I had taken earlier in the month, combined with a very busy shooting and editing schedule as the photography season in Arizona kicks off. So, I have spent the majority of my time either behind my camera or sitting in this exact spot editing images (as I am doing in this photo). Also, as in this image, I'm usually accompanied by the dogs as my awkward but adorable arm rests (and covered in layers and buried in blankets because our weather took a very abrupt downward turn into colder temps and I've been freezing).

Also of note in this photo are the piles of stuff on the kitchen island behind me, which again speak volumes about what my life is like right now. Anyone who knows me in IRL knows that having stuff littering the surfaces of my house is highly unusual and only tends to happen when I'm crazy busy, but it is a good crazy busy as most of it is because my photography business is booming!

So, here's to wrapping up an insane but good November, and with it my 2014 shooting season!

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.

Wednesday, November 26, 2014

Arizona Summit Law School | Student Head Shots

As promised, these are the rest of the Arizona Summit Law School student head shots from earlier this month. It is my pleasure to introduce you all to another group of hard working future attorneys.

Meet Doris...