good point.

here is a little inspiration for your day...

Oh me, Oh my!

Hello Everyone...

         This photo-shoot for my advanced commercial photography class was themed "lost in the woods" with an emphasis on fashion. When planning for this shoot we decided to just go camping and that way we could wake up early to take pictures right there on location. So that is exactly what we did! It was such a great time and I loved it because I got to spend time with and get to know my models! We built a fire and made s'mores! The next morning we woke up at sunrise and began the magic process! I absolutely love new experiences and making great memories :)

sincerely,

julie.

C + B

      Hi everyone! Meet my favorite couple, Caleb and Beth Lewis...

          Caleb and Beth are two very amazing people and make the perfect couple. Beth is a very dear friend of mine and we lived together for a while during college. I was lucky enough to be there the night Caleb and Beth went on their first date and even better when they got hitched! Now, years later their love for one another still shines and these photos are perfect evidence. I'm so very happy that I had the opportunity to capture their special love. 

sincerely, 

julie.

Being thrifty...

I went thrifting over the weekend and found some really awesome things! Also, I only spent about $30!

the perfect dress I'm using for my next Pin Up photo shoot after some alterations!

i know, right. 

All my great treasures!

International Festival

UCO held its 57th Annual International Festival Thursday at the Nigh University Center ballroom. UCO has international students from over 100 countries studying here! Some of those were showing off their different cultures at the festival!

First of all, my mouth is still feeling spicy from all the food I ate! It was so delicious though! Seeing everyone in their cultural outfits was great and watching all the dancing was very entertaining! You might have seen me with my little video camera to the side of the stage! I did a time lapse of the whole festival that i will post later after i put it together.

Napali student dancing

Vietnamese student showcasing her culture

blonde girl in undershirt - egon schiele

Inspiration for this photo shoot came from a painting by Egon Schiele titled 'blonde girl in undershirt.' His work is very simple but so elegant at the same time. During this photo shoot I just tried to keep the mood very gentle and simple. I never like to make things very complicated anyways, but I wanted the pictures to have an elegant feel as well.

"my bad"-Eve

     When I think of Adam and Eve, I picture Eve taking a bite out of the apple and then saying, "oops! My bad!" This session is from earlier this year and I was just looking back at old photos and decided to post these!
   
     Let me introduce you to one of my good friends, Rachael, who is modeling for me ever so graciously. This was an assignment I did for school with the title "unique fashion." So basically I just decided to take matters into my own hands, literally. I wanted to try for a sexy jungle woman, but soon went in the direction of her playing the role of Eve to add that "spot red" with the apple.

Want to know how I made the leaf top?

     I began with a green "bando bra" and a bushel of leaves from Hobby Lobby. Tip: get the leaves with wires in them so you can bend them to shape around boobs and give the "curves" effect. I cut all the stems off the leaves and began to sow each leaf on by hand one at a time. I continued to layer them and make sure each placement was perfect. I didn't go all the way around with the leaves - instead stopping just underneath where the arms lay straight. I couldn't have been happier with the outcome.

Thanks for being beautiful Rachael!

How to be "posh" according to Alan Smith

"If you're too stupid to use the apostrophe, then you're too stupid to have a degree from this university!" 

   My blogging class at UCO had the pleasure of hearing British writer and teacher, Alan Smith, speak to our class yesterday! Alan is a writer for one of the world's best newspapers, The Guardian. He writes a lot about prison because he used to work in a prison so he has seen things in quite different perspectives. Smith didn't start writing until he was 50 (and let me tell you - he barely even looked 50 to me) so I was quite surprised to hear this! Before he started writing he worked construction pouring concrete. He explained to us that one day he was walking home from work and he looked up in a school building and through the window saw a student leaning against a rail talking to his professor. He explained how relaxed that conversation looked and was envious of them. So he decided to go to school and become a teacher. 

   At 49 years old Alan Smith started writing his first novel because he had planned to have it published by the time he turned 50. He told us how he made 400 copies trying to sell his books and get them put on the shelves of bookstores, but at the end of the day he "came home with his heart in his boots," and never sold one copy. By the end of the week he ended up selling the film rights of his novel for $1,500.00. Unfortunately, the film never actually got made because the man who was suppose to make the film went on to make the Harry Potter movies. He made a joke about seeing the man now excepting an Oscar on TV for his movies, and he was standing their guest speaking to a University in little ole Oklahoma.

   The main things I took away from hearing him speak was the importance of never giving up and basically not taking no for an answer. He told us to "always write for something - don't ever write for free." He explained to us how he called every agent from A-Z, and not giving up because he found an agent by the name of Patrick Walsh (hints the "W" being at the end of the alphabet).

   The end of his rant was all directed towards education and grammar. He said, "you have to be able to spell, know how to use a semi-colon, and the apostrophe. Using an apostrophe is like putting on the right tie for the day. It separates the stupid from the intelligent. Apostrophe is the perfect dish to get into the posh club and the posh club pays." 

Happy Halloween Everyone!

Clete, Lyndi, & Honey

This last week I had the pleasure of photographing this cute little family. Lyndi contacted me for fall pictures that she could use for christmas cards this year. And she hadn't had any photos of her and Clete since they got married a few years ago. 

I actually was friends with Clete when I was in high school and they are from Muskogee, which is the area I grew up in as well! So I was really excited to shoot this session because I knew that a ton of people from my home town would see them on Facebook. I am just really proud of my work and I want everyone that ever doubted me to see that I have actually learned how to produce good work! 

When they showed up to the session to my surprise they brought their little doggie daughter, Honey! She was just the best little model ever! And of course, I had to win her over with treats first. :) Clete and Lyndi were very happy with their pictures so now I am shooting their entire extended family next weekend... with my camera of course ;)