I had the pleasure of participating in the 2nd Chrys Q Workshop last month, which was held at the fabulous W Hotel in downtown Dallas.  The Chrys Q workshop is a chance for photographers to come along and help shoot the catalog for the latest collection of Chrys Q slipcovers. These are stylish slipcovers made for wedding and portrait albums so that clients can have something just as unique as their awesome album. I really believe that all wedding photographers should consider offering these in addition to their wedding albums, presentation is everything, and you want something that is unique and memorable that your clients will be proud to show to their friends and family, what better way than to have a handmade designer slipcover! Nobody is paying me to say these words, I just really believe in what my friend Chrys Q is doing and think that it is such a great addition to our presentation of the album. I know for me personally, my album company sends my stuff in a cardboard box, almost like a pizza box, not the most exciting thing to give to a client. Go check out these slipcovers yourself and get your clients excited!

As far as the workshop is concerned, it was different the second time around. The first workshop we basically got to watch Ben Q shoot the entire catalog and we got to ask any questions we wanted along the way, during this workshop Ben brought all the same gear but this time he left the entire catalog for us to shoot! I did not know this going into the workshop so when I was told I have two of the new slipcovers to shoot and I can do whatever I want, I got a little overwhelmed to say the least. So as my mind kicked into overdrive I was constantly looking around for places to shoot and since I wasn’t the first one to shoot I seemed that another photographer would shoot in a location I had in mind. But in the end I found two great places to shoot that I made work and I am happy with the way they turned out. This was my first experience using Profoto lights which is some of the best lighting equipment you can use, I am only used to using tiny speedlights or at best maybe some Alienbees. So it was great to get to use this really nice gear and learn how to use it thanks to Mr.Ben Q.

Here are a few of my favorite images. The first image in this post is actually in the header of the Chrys Q website, so go check it out after you are done here!

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Living in an area known as the “bible belt” you hear the word ‘Christian” thrown around a lot. There are probably a good majority of people in the area that would label themselves as a Christian. Sadly for many it never goes past the label and into an actual lifestyle. It may be one of those things that is hard to identify within our self but boy does it hit you in the face when you see it acted out in everyday life of individuals. You think to yourself “man, now THAT is a Christian” or “boy, does that person have something different inside them than me” or “wow, that person is going above and beyond anything she/he has to be doing”. We know it when we see it but lots of times it just stops there.

Meet my dear friends Darren and Lindsey Smitherman, tomorrow they are embarking on a 6 month journey around the United States (and some of Canada) to find out what God is doing in the lives of people. People who go beyond the label of “Christian” and take into the lives of everyone around them through love. They will document their travels through video and photographs which will then hopefully transition into a wonderful book. They will be embracing the beauty of God’s creation with there cute little dog Gabby and they will be doing it in a stylish VW Minibus named Lulu.

You can follow their adventures by visiting their website: On the Good Road. They aren’t asking for any donations to fund their trip but you can donate money to buy them a cup of coffee. You can see the route they plan to take on their website and e-mail/call them if you know of any great organizations, people, places they HAVE to meet and see. If you are outside of Texas and reading this blog and are the type of people who love having a couple of strangers and their dog over to crash on your couch, they would LOVE to be those strangers. Go visit their blog and show them some love.

I met up with Darren, Lindsey, Gabby, and Lulu yesterday to wish them my best and I brought my camera along for a little mini-session. Here are my favorite images, make sure you click the link at the bottom to see all the pictures!

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Meet my friend Daniel, he is one of my old roommates from college, I had the pleasure of being his roommate for 5 years. Daniel is probably one of the smartest guys I know personally, he has a unique perspective on everything and just sees things pretty much the exact opposite as I would. Daniel was needing some photos of himself for a new business venture he is partaking in, so we met up at the Gaylord Texan in Grapevine, TX for a portrait session. He did a great job in front of the camera and had some awesome outfits picked out. I wish him the best  even though I know he doesn’t need it because he is just great at everything he pursues. Enjoy some of my favs.

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I spent Easter with my Dad’s side of the family this year and got to see Alicia and Mike, and they wanted to spend just a little bit of time to get some one year anniversary pictures. I couldn’t believe a year had already gone by since I shot their wedding, but sure enough in a couple of days they will celebrate their one year anniversary. Here is the slideshow from their wedding in Houston last year. Here are my favorite shots from our time together on Easter. Enjoy.

I am blessed to be in an industry that is so supportive of each other, the wedding photography community that I have become apart of have become some great cheerleaders and a constant source of encouragement as I travel along this self-employment road. I am sure this is not the case everywhere and I am sure there is drama to be found out there, but at the place I am right now it is no where in site, and I couldn’t be more thankful. Last week another local photographer Valerie Valdez asked the photography community if anyone would want to take some headshots for her new website that she just launched. I let her know that I would be happy to help her out and take some pictures of her for her site. This was my first time shooting pictures for someone who is already a photographer, so I was a little nervous, but we had fun in the Arts District in Dallas. Here are some of my fav images from the session. Enjoy!

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