last one… at least for the night! we’ll be back to blogging super soon, i promise! we’ve already got a wedding, maternity, and family photographs, and the night just wouldn’t be complete if we didn’t have any baby pictures — so behold baby warren!
briana’s elementary school best friend is the mother of this handsome boy (who looks so snuggly after being a little fussy)! there is some true nostalgia between briana and taylor seeing as they grew up together and now they are both married and taylor has welcomed her first child. it’s such a long way from them swimming together in taylor’s backyard and getting their swimsuits mixed up!
enjoy!
xx,
michelle
keita + rafael -- family portraits
we’re on a blogging roll, can you tell? seriously we’ve got a lot of catch up on, and i know you guys have missed seeing briana’s beautiful photography. one of my favourite things about doing all the blogging and (some of) the social media stuff is the fact that i get to see so many different people, and the photography is always breathtaking — duh!
here’s another little family that briana knows through her mother, and they are gorgeous aren’t they, especially little kali who looks like a doll in these pictures! mom also has such a radiant smile, brother looks like a little prince, and dad looks like a true gentleman! i hear this was something of a short session, but it doesn’t seem to matter, the pictures turned out lovely!
enjoy!
xx,
michelle
marina -- maternity
we are in the mood for another blog right? we’ve got a lot of catching up to do after all. here’s a maternity session with a lovely lady named marina. funny story, my name was marina for two whole days. my mother originally named me marina michelle and i spent the first forty-eight hours of my life named marina, and right before we left the hospital my mother changed my name to michelle nicole. needless to say, i adore the name marina.
also, i adore dogs, and briana told me a funny little story of how this gorgeous dog that marina and jeremy have only wanted to jump in the pond at the session. any one with dogs know how hard it can be to get them to cooperate, especially when it comes to something like pictures! alas, there is a picture with that stunning husky, and it’s definitely my favourite!
enjoy!
xx,
michelle
maddie + lee
Hey everyone! Long time no blog! I went on a little vacation to California. Considering the big move out west is coming up faster than I can keep up with, I went out there for an extended weekend with a friend of mine to sightsee, look at some apartments, and get used to the neighborhoods. Considering I am the resident blogger for Briana, you all have been left without blogs. But fret not! I am back with another set of beautiful pictures from Briana.
This time we’ve got gorgeous wedding pictures of Maddie and Lee. Briana and I both know Maddie — Briana used to work with her at her previous Chili’s, and Maddie has subbed in at the Chili’s we both work at currently. Maddie is such a fun-loving, smiley person, so I am sure she was absolutely easy to photograph! From what I hear, the DJ left early because he was only booked for an hour and plan B of Maddie playing music herself didn’t work out either because the speaker wasn’t loud enough! Still a fun and lovely wedding though!
xx
michelle
behind the scenes
Last Wednesday we did our normal thing; I pulled together a blog, she did some editing, we did some more website rearranging and we got to talking — wouldn’t it be awesome if we did a behind the scenes post on the blog? Coming into this, I didn’t know much of anything about photography, all I knew was that I loved blogging, and I thought it would be so cool for her clients to learn exactly what happens behind the scenes!
There’s so much that goes into capturing memories for people, you want them to be absolutely perfect because your photographs are something that they will have forever. It all starts when a client gets in touch with Briana one way or another (usually by Facebook message or a text) and they discuss how they heard about Breakfree Photography, what exactly they are looking for in terms of sessions, and what packages are available.
In the days leading up to the clients’ session, Briana makes sure to keep in touch with them, exchanging ideas and discussing potential location. The night before to the session, batteries are charged, memory cards are located, and equipment and props are packed up. I remember when she was on the hunt for a new camera lens because she wanted sharper, cleaner images but camera lenses can be on the super pricey side. When you run a photography business, however, top-of-the-line lenses are an absolute must. One of our managers at Chili’s found her a deal for the exact lens she wanted on eBay, and I know that she loves it, she was so excited to show it to me after it came in the mail!
Once the session itself is over, it’s time to begin the editing process, which is more than just some hours spent behind the computer, it literally begins the moment the session ends. Briana starts looking through the photos of the session in her car, mentally making note of the ones that she would like to keep as part of the gallery. Once she gets home from the session, the pictures are immediately uploaded onto her computer and she begins editing them through Photoshop.
Since briana and I started working together, I’ve been present for a few editing sessions and it’s such a fun, but exhausting process.
when you are looking at a picture on a 27-inch imac, you start to notice little imperfections that you didn’t notice in real time or on the back of the a camera, and said imperfections must be corrected. for some pictures this takes a bit more work than others, but one thing that always happens is when briana finds a stunning picture with an imperfection, she does her best the correct the imperfection and make the picture even more beautiful. she puts up little sneak peeks on facebook of the most adorable moments, makes me a collage that will be apart of the blog, then uploads them to the client gallery.
it’s such a long and rewarding journey, but it’s worth it to help people build lasting memories.
xx
michelle
Wednesdays have become the unofficial day for friend dates between briana and me. I usually come over her house in the late evening and we chat, eat, chase a few bunnies, and get a bit of work done. I’ve only been working with briana for about a month, but it seems like we have gotten quite a bit done; we’ve developed a schedule for her blog, I lend a hand with editing (by lend a hand, I mean I am a sounding board for her as she bounces ideas off of me), and we’ve re-done her website! In short, I sort of help her with her blog and website, and she helps me learn new skills that are sure to be super useful in LA (but let’s not talk about that… she’s sad I’m leaving and I’m going to miss her like crazy).
briana usually arrives at the location early to scope out the area for perfect backdrops for the session. One of my favourite things about briana's pictures are the lush greens that she always includes — stunning view of trees, bushes, shrubs, and grass that complement her natural style so well, and make the photos looks breathtaking. Once her clients arrive, briana will play with the children, chat with the couples, joke with the high school seniors — whatever is needed to help them feel more comfortable.
Take it from me, photo sessions can be a little awkward. You become so overly self aware; what you hair is doing, what your feet are doing, whether your smile is too big, or too small, how your clothes fit — you are your own biggest critic. I have no children of my own, but I can imagine how infants and children would act around a new person, and how embarrassed or self-conscious a parent would become if said child began to act up. But I can promise that briana has the patience of a saint, and just wants everyone to be content.
