I feel lucky to have had the opportunity to continually re-connect with Paul and Leslie who’s wedding I shot a few years back.  They loved my wedding and portrait photography so much that they have done a couple family sessions with me since their wedding. I was ecstatic to have the opportunity to shoot them with their two adorable children.  Children always bring laughter and smiles to a photo shoot.  Some of my best photography and most candid shots have been when a child has done something random or offbeat that makes everyone just crack up! The Barron family was also cashing in on the all inclusive portrait session they won this past summer when I held “The Cutest Kids Contest”.  From time to time I like to hold contests and award winners with photo packages.  It is a great way for me to display my passion and love for the art, as well as give back to the people who have supported me through my journey as a professional photographer.  We shot this photography session close to the Barron family’s house for ease of outfit changes for the kids. Typically I would not suggest to wear super bright colors, busy patterns, or logos for portraits.  Earth tones usually come across and blend best. Greens, grays, blues, browns, purples, or darker yellows and darker reds I think look best. However, the Barron family’s vibrant colors worked perfect against the bland rocky desert.  We had a really fun day shooting.  The kids definitely proved to live up to their title ” Cutest Kids.” Ella was a sassy little thing, jutting her hip out to the side when I was photographing her like a little model.  Logan on the other hand, with his gleaming blue eyes was making funny faces and just being the silly little boy that he is.  I love that child like wonder.  It reminds me of the days when I was young with no worries. I love to try and capture that essence of what it is like to be a kid again. It is a special time in our lives and one that deserves to be captured…The priceless moments. 

Of all the Scottsdale photographers I received a phone call from Tim Furrier, owner of Desert Rat asking me to shoot a poster he was helping sponsor and put together for the annual CVS toy drive. Being a top quality photographer, I was glad to take on this new photo opportunity. I knew the kids would respond well to me, because I am fun to work with and enjoy to make each shoot unique and personal. This particular image was taken on a beautiful sunny day at the Shea/Gold Dust location in Scottsdale, Arizona. The poster can be seen valley wide at 125 CVS Pharmacy’s in Maricopa County, Arizona. In all my 20+ years of being a professional photographer, this was the first time the Police Department assisted me with setting up for the shoot. In anticipation of the arrival of Sheriff Joe Arpaio, the police blocked off the parking lot while we arranged the kids with the toys and presents. This was a fun shoot and it brought a smile to my face seeing how excited the kids were to be getting their pictures taken along side Santa Claus and the local Sheriff.  I am always glad to donate to charities and especially kids in need.

You can learn more about the sponsored organization here: http://www.youthassistancefoundation.org

Here are some of the other sponsors included in helping out the toy drive:

Desert Rat  http://desertrat.com/

Fiesta Bowl:  http://www.fiestabowl.org/

Sleep America:  http://www.sleepamerica.com/

Intimate. I couldn’t think of a more pertinent word to describe Michael and Melissa’s beautiful wedding photography captured creekside in Sedona, Arizona.  Melissa’s pristine white dress from David’s Bridal, was gracefully contrasted by the bold, robust red and burnt orange leaves that the fall season naturally granted as the backdrop for such a rich, meaningful rite of passage. The green and yellow trees cradled the area where the ceremony was held while the beautiful hymns of the harpist Oman Ken were strummed in the background. It was a great delight to catch a glimpse of the peaks of the red rocks dipped in what appeared to be white chocolate, as it had just recently snowed. I took portrait shots of Michael and Melissa both before and after the ceremony, as well as a few off site photos using the outstanding Red Rocks and beautiful bouquet of flowers from Mountain High Flowers Sedona to compliment the lovely couple. The guest list of 40 who flew in from around the country and all stayed at The Creekside Inn were tuned into the wedding with all their senses. Excuse me, 41 guests if you want to count the grooms father, who couldn’t physically make it to the wedding, but was still able to take part in the festivities via Skype. This was a beautiful fall wedding ceremony…The evolution of the seasons and the evolution of the couple, as they join together as a union.

Their entire wedding proof gallery can be seen at:  www.alstrinphotography.com/gallery/michaelmelissa

The amazing vendors and contributors to the beautiful Sedona wedding: 

Site and Inn: www.creeksideinn.net

Rings: www.jared.com

Florist: www.mountainhighflowerssedona.com

Harpist: www.omankenmusic.com

We shot some cool senior portraits of Tiffiny in downtown Phoenix yesterday. Tiffiny goes to Cactus Shadows School now and will go going to the downtown ASU Campus next year. We looked for locations that were old and had great textures and colors and wanted to make the images look fun as possible. In two hours we shot in a dozen different spots with six outfit changes. I shoot portraits in any and all parts of the valley. The great spring time weather made it really easy to be walking and driving around downtown creating unique portraits in the late afternoon easy and comfortable too. 

Josh and Lyndsay got married yesterday at the Arizona Bilmore Resort in Phoenix, Arizona. What a beautiful location for a wedding, especially on a cool spring day in Arizona in April.  We enjoy meeting  our Brides at the wedding location a few weeks prior to the wedding and brainstorming ideas for shots. The architecture and gardens at the Biltmore add so much ambiance to the images and there are so many unique spots to take photographs that it was hard to choose.  We think the backgrounds add so much to the story of the wedding and we always try to give our brides as much variety as we can. The Biltmore is a contemporary wedding photographers dream location.

Keith Alstrin , owner of Arcadia Photography, and one of the best Phoenix wedding photographers in Arizona was chosen to create a series of images for the fashion spread of Arizona Weddings Magazine 2010/2011 edition. Keith was chosen for the assignment because of his ability to create stunning images through the use of lighting and posing. Keith also did the post production work of adding the black and white flower backgrounds to the images. The client wanted to use only one model and show as many different looks as possible, so with each dress change there was hair and make-up changes. Keith photographed the model in 12 different dresses with 12 different looks and in addition he did other sets of shots for the magazine covers.

Arcadia photography comes up with some great kids portrait ideas and one of the most fun was photographing this child eating pudding. we had pudding everywhere and so did he. Not only did we come up with some great images the parents loved, but we made a great memory for everyone involved. Our studio still smells like chocolate.

Fall is our favorite time of year to do portraits of children. The leaves change here pretty quick so it is a short window of time, but it’s possible to get some very un-Arizona looking images that make for beautiful  and artistic portrait photos. Plus, if the photo sessions are done around Halloween the portraits are ready to give as gifts and use for cards and the holidays.

We photographed the Moehn family last week in North Scottsdale at their parents residence. The house was great to shoot in as was the desert landscaping outside and around the house. It was a really nice day and desert up by Pinnacle Peak is beautiful for Scottsdale portrait photographers, creative portrait photographers, and creative portrait photographers. I had shot their wedding about five years ago and now they have a daughter. So, I photographed them and their siblings families along with the parents and then the entire group.

Just before Christmas I created some unique portrait photography the Cornwell family at Freestone Park in Gilbert, Arizona. It has become one of my new favorite places to shoot in the east valley. There are plenty of places to shoot including a merry go round carousel, riding the train, and feeding the ducks. Photographing in the fall is best because not only the weather is great but the sun is so low in the sky you can almost shoot at any time of the day and it lends helping Scottsdale portrait photographers do some great portrait photography and to making great images.