Wake Up, Juliet

A picture is worth a thousand words. A great picture can be worth a million. That’s the challenge over at I Heart Faces this week: use a picture (or a collage of pictures) to tell a story. 

I love a good love story. And this weekend, I had the privilege to capture the wedding day of an adorable couple. Their wedding was simple, personal, and deeply rooted in the faith they share. They opted to do a first look before the ceremony, and I am so glad. They had a chance to collect themselves, revel in their love, and pray – thanking God for bringing them together. The two photos in my collage below capture the excitement of the moment and the strong bond which joins them.

Go stop by I Heart Faces and check out what other stories are being told this week as part of the challenge.

I wear my sunglasses at night…

Oh, sorry.

This week you’ve Got to Wear Shades over at I Heart Faces. This shot was taken over in Scotland when we stopped to see Ardverikie (aka Glenbogle to my fellow Monarch of the Glen fans). My husband wandered off a bit and showed back up with a little surprise for me. He’s so sweet sometimes.

Now head over to see the other great shots with shades! And a great big congratulations to Brooke of Dinkypopsnomore who just welcomed daughter number 2!

We have a winner! And I’ve made my first video log to announce them, so please, be kind.

Anniversary Giveaway Winner from Briana Gardell on Vimeo.

If you can’t watch the video, here’s the long story short:

Congratulations Jennifer Ahearn! I will be getting in touch with you shortly about your session.

I haven’t done a Fix It Friday in a long time, so I thought I’d give it another shot. Today’s featured an adorable little boy.

Here’s the original:

Very cute, but on the cool side and far away. So first I cropped and added a bit of angle for interest. Then I opened the Levels to lighten it a bit and set the black and grey points. Lastly I used the unsharpen filter at 100% to make it pop.

Feel like trying your hand at it? Head over to I Heart Faces. And don’t forget to enter the session giveaway in honor of my anniversary!

Three years ago today I married my best friend. He makes me laugh, he makes me feel safe, and he makes me fall in love again every day.  Never in my dreams did I imagine that I could be more in love with him that I was on our wedding day. But I am. I love that we know and rely on each other like an old married couple, but we still act like newlyweds. Everyone deserves this happiness, and I feel blessed that I get to experience it. If you want to hear the whole story, check out how we met, how he proposed, and the big day.

I want to share the love. No, you can’t have Sean – he’s all mine. But I want to give away a free ”couple in love” session. How do you qualify? Well, if you meet the following criteria, you can enter:

1) You MUST be in love. Dating, engaged, married, doesn’t matter, if the love is there, you are eligible!

2) You MUST live (or be willing to meet me) within 2 hours of Worcester, MA. Sorry, I would love to flit around the world to capture the love, but resources being what they are, I must restrict this. Someday, though, right?

So if you can check off both of those criteria, leave a comment (here on the blog, not on Facebook) telling me a little about your love. Sunday evening, our highly selective panel of judges will pick our winner (Captain Subtext says: I will write the names on slips of paper, dump them on the floor in front of my cats, and whichever one they choose first wins. All will be caught on video to showcase how sad my Sunday evenings are). The winner and their love will get a free 2-hour photo session with me ($100 value).

To help spread the love further, you have the chance for multiple entries.

1) A comment telling me about your love.

2) Like my Facebook Page, then mention this contest in your status and leave me the link in a separate comment.

3) Mention this on Twitter and leave me the link in a separate comment. Sample tweet: “Are you in love? Are you in New England? Enter to win a couples photo shoot with @wakeupjuliet! http://bit.ly/bL89za ”

So now that I’ve yammered on quite enough, start commenting and spread the word! And I’ll see you on Monday morning with the results!

I’m back! Surprised? I hope so, because this week’s I Heart Faces theme is all about surprise.

I’ve been out of commission for the past couple weeks because I’ve been in Scotland on vacation. But now I’m back, and getting into the swing of things again, including my I Heart Faces entries.

This was one of my favorite shots from a maternity session a while back. I was snapping some belly shots with the big sis-to-be, when the little sis inside decided to do a tap dance. The look on big sister’s face was priceless:

Now go check out the rest of the surprises over at I Heart Faces.

I haven’t participated in a little while, shame on me. But this week is Pets Only over at I Heart Faces and I wouldn’t a very good kitty mum if I didn’t flaunt their furry adorableness. Presenting: Captain Malcolm Reynolds, aka, Rumbleroar, aka, the little sh**.

Don’t let the sweet little face, velvety ears and oh so nommable paws fool you. This is 6 lbs of “brother” bugging, house lapping, yarn stealing terror waiting to be unleashed! It’s a good thing he’s so darn cute…

This week over at I Heart Faces, it’s “Barefoot Week”, and entries should focus on feet and shoes. It’s a non-challenge week (Superwomen Angie and Amy need weeks off occasionally) to raise awareness about a Nashville-based charity called Soles 4 Souls.

About Soles 4 Souls: Soles4Souls is a Nashville-based charity that collects shoes from the warehouses of footwear companies and the closets of people like you. The charity distributes these shoes free of charge to people in need, regardless of race, religion, class, or any other criteria. Since 2005, Soles4Souls has given away over 7 million pairs of new and gently worn shoes (currently donating one pair every 9 seconds.) The shoes have been distributed to people in over 125 countries, including Kenya, Thailand, Nepal and the United States. Soles4Souls has been featured in Runner’s World, Ladies’ Home Journal, National Geographic’s Green Guide, and The New York Times. It has appeared on CBS, ABC, NBC, FOX, BBC, CNN and thousands of regional news outlets across North America. Soles4Souls is a 501(c)(3) recognized by the IRS and donating parties are eligible for tax advantages. Anyone can join our cause, and we need your help.

My shot for this week is from a fun concept shoot that I did with my friend this weekend. I absolutely adore shots of ballerinas and point shoes, even though I never danced ballet myself. They have a gracefulness and beauty that is unlike anything else.

Lacey and I had a lot of fun during her headshot session this past weekend. This girl is gorgeous, super sweet, and quite adventurous, climbing into a little cavern (despite the spiders) for some gorgeous light and atmosphere. I loved getting to know her better, and we chatted all about her horses, the fact that she prefers running around barefoot (keeping shoes in her car just in case she runs out of the house without some) and her love of photography.

Happy Birthday a day late, Lacey! You are a stunner

Today is an exciting day for my husband, Sean. He’s been working with a team on a book fansite for the past year and a half, and they’ve had tremendous success with it. Their success was given a boost today when Random House named them the OFFICIAL fansite for The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel series by Michael Scott! God only knows where they will go from here, but with a movie in the works, this series has Harry Potter potential for blowing up.

I’ve had the pleasure of observing some of the inner workings behind this team, and it’s taught me some things about making a blog or website successful.

1. Find a need and fill it – The concept for this fansite came about when there was no fansite for the series. They approached the author and asked his permission, and with his blessing, a forum was born.
2. Have a solid team – In this instance, a team was needed to build something to accommodate potential size and magnitude. The team started small, but as the site grew, so did their team and their skill set. When it came to forum moderators, they recruited from within with existing forum members who were active and reliable. And what is most important is the constant communication that happens between team members.
3. Create community – The original idea behind the site was a forum, a place where fans could discuss the book series. As the site grew, a podcast was born that included poll questions and emails from fans. The fans became a part of the show.
4. Run a tight ship – The series is geared towards Young Adults, so a no tolerance policy was created and enforced to keep the forums age appropriate. Moderators were always present and active on the boards. This was huge when they were reviewed by Random House. They were flame-free and a safe haven for young fans.

So congratulations to the entire Flamel’s Immortal Portal team! Your hard work and diligence has paid off and I cannot wait to see where you guys go from here.