Tampa, Florida photographer | Theresa Marie | the blog

Shelby-welby

I had been watching the weather all day..."Scattered slow moving Thunderstorms," they said.....at 5:30...when I was going to meet Shelby and her awesome mom Jane for a Senior Session. Of course we would be sipping on some coffee over a little bit of chat before the session started..but still, they said slow moving. On any other day I LOVE the rain, its the happy in my day and no matter how much I wanted to deny it, I was secretly excited that it was going to be a rainy day. But I wanted to do this shoot with a little dry-ness and did not want to have to reschedule since they would be leaving for England soon and not coming back till the middle of the month. so jealous of that by the way.

Well, it ended up being a perfect day and a perfect shoot. Jane told me, before the shoot, that Shelby isnt a casual kind of girl, she is usually dressed well...to this I imagine schoolgirl type outfits...you know the nerdy kind. which I was totally fine with...if it fits her personality Im down with that! Well Shelby just made my day when she came in her 'most casual' outfit which was this:

the PERFECT Senior shoot outfit. The first photo will fit just right in my "what to wear guide." Oh and I guess I forgot to mention that Shelby is DROP DEAD GORGEOUS. Guess you figured that out yourself just now. Sorry guys and gals, this firecracker is taken.  : )

Well after we got some awesome photos of her in the 'casual outfit' it was time for me to see the rest of the session wardrobe. Shelby and Jane wanted some of my input on the outfits and when I saw them my jaw dropped! I thought I won the 'photographer who loves taking pictures of awesome people in awesome clothing' lottery. She had already told me that she loves to wear heels and besides the flip-flops she was wearing, that was all she had. *serious swoon Well the outfits to go with them were super fun! I could not stand it...Ill just shut up already and let ya'll see for yourself: prepare yourself, image overload...I could not pick just a few, they were seriously all my favorite...all 600 of them

Tried something different...

I hated this photo in camera, but then I uploaded it and fell in love! I was telling Nicholas the little story behind it and some of the others and he said to me, "You really loved them, didnt you?" referring to Shelby and Jane. The stories went something like, "they knew exactly what I was getting at, we were always on the same wavelength, they happily put up with my tendency to get overexcited and silly and they were just such awesome women."

Shot with my br-and new lens that I just got in the mail only 1 hr before our session. Love it. Seriously.

The sun was amazing...such yummy light. This my friends, is why I wont do sessions any other time of the day, there is something about the light and the mood during this part of the day that makes my heart all skippy. Add a gorgeous Shelby and a TEAL adirondack chair and my heart is doing kartwheels.

Sometimes I almost forgot I was shooting a senior session, it so much felt like a high fashion shoot. Only she was so much more beautiful than any other model.

I had this photo in my head going to this session, I met Shelby beforehand and this is the impression I had of her...so chill.

but still fun. love love love this spot. Made me love Safety Harbor so much more...

LOVED this capture...I think its one of my favorites ever. If and when I have a studio, you can bet this photo will be Ha-yooge up on the wall.

I have been GLUED to my computer since Tuesday playing with these photos...you would think I was a complete weirdo if you could hear the sounds and see the faces I make during the first couple of scan throughs after they've been uploaded to the computer. My little Aly always looks at me, but I dont think she is judging me...I wouldnt be surprised though. : )

Now this is where it really got good. She brought her Homecoming dress that was to die for...Im so glad that we got some good shots of it...they both loved the dress so much. And of course she works it well, total natural in front of the camera.

Does she not look like Jennifer Love Hewitt here?! Only way better. Seriously.

But seriously...she has the whole package...Smart, involved, big plans, steady boyfriend, great taste in music, chill, super sweet and magazine cover beautiful. We seemed to have so much in common, minus the drop dead gorgeous part, and we totally clicked. I really really had so much fun during our shoot and loved getting to know her.

Shelbs, thanks SO much for being so fantastic. I can NOT wait for Juan's session and getting to capture a little bit of your relationship. Jane, thanks for being such an awesome Mama, I truly enjoyed our time together!

Just to be nice...

Well, we only got about halfway through the comments but I like to bend the rules sometimes. Its a good thing since I was feeling like getting myself a gift card to a super cool store. But I was still feeling generous so I did a random number generator on Random.org (told ya I loved randomness) and here were the results:

So that means that Alani, my super awesome October bride, won the GCs! Congrats girl! I already have your address but just email me to let me know where you would like your $15 GC from. : )

Thanks for playing along everyone, it was a good challenge. Maybe Ill do it again before the end of the year.

Ciao for now!

Cash for Comments!

I did it! I actually blogged everyday. (I really didnt think I was going to, Im sort of surprised...)

So for the blog contest, just leave me a comment. You can do it twice. (but thats it buster!) It can be anything, tell me your favorite color or what you love most about living in FL! (that would be a hard one for me...) The 25th comment will win the Gift Card and Certificate, here is the post if you have no idea what I am talking about.

You have till Monday at 9pm to get to those 25 comments! Game on.

(if you know your favorite color or what you love most about Florida but don't know how to comment, I am sorry...you must get with the times. No, Im just kidding. There is a link at the bottom of the post that says, "comments" followed by how many there are in parentheses. click on that, enter in your information...include your email so I can contact you to give you your winnings, then press enter. Then there will be a code to enter in to make sure you are a human, not my choice by the way, and voila! You have just entered the 21st century.) : )

Time warp?

Last month I shot along Kerri McConnell at the beautiful wedding of Sarah and Chris Jones at the Don Vincente Historic Inn in Ybor. Sarah was a GORGEOUS bride! She was surrounded by such sweet, loving people and kept her cool the entire day. I loved all the details of her wedding, her colors were rich and the whole theme and atmosphere made you feel like you were stuck in the 1920's.

Kerri and I were well taken care of and in good company. Jackie with Table 6 Productions made sure we were fed and had everything we needed. I also had the opportunity of meeting Rob of Sword Sounds, who is a fantastic DJ and such a joy to work with!

Here are a few of my favorite images from the day:

Her bouquet was KILLER. I knew it was going to be a beautiful day when I saw this.

Who doesnt love a bride in Stilettos?

Does this not look like I jumped in a time machine, went to the year 1920, and took a photo of a lovely bride named Sarah? (with my 2008 camera of course)

Had to take FULL advantage of those windows. First the gorgeous dress, now the gorgeous bride in the gorgeous dress. : )

I always love those feelings you get watching the first dance.

I *so love the feel of this wedding. Thanks everyone for letting me be a part of your day!

Señior, Señiorita!

Yes I know that they are spelt wrong. It was sort of on purpose. Get it?

Right now, Teens all over the nation are in waiting rooms of boring stuffy studios to get their Senior pictures done. Well not really right this second, but this time of year. They are all cookie cutter images with absolutely no personality but the facial expressions on their faces.

SO why dont you try something different? Something that screams personality! We can go wherever you want, we'll be getting fresh air and having fun! You wear what you want, act how you want to act, just be you. These are the photos that you are going to be giving to everyone you know, lets change it up a bit and get something different than what all of your parents, aunts, uncles and grandparents had. Senior photos with some color and some life!

I am looking for 2 Representatives from each High school in Pinellas county and the Tampa Bay area. They will receive a complimentary session, 40 wallets, unlimited web profile images, online slideshow and personalized rep cards. (works just like wallets) Representatives will be working to get referrals and for each referral they send that books a session, they'll earn either Visa gift cards or additional prints. (could be a great way to earn some spending money!)

If you aren't a senior but know some, refer them to be a Rep and you can earn Visa gift cards or mini sessions and prints! Call or email me for more details!

Happy mail

How nice is it to step outside to run out to your car real quick and almost kiss the concrete by tripping over a HUGE white box? I managed to ignore the fact that I almost died since the mail-dude couldnt knock on the door (you know, like Fed Ex does) so that we'd know there was a wonderful package waiting for us outside, because I was TOO darn excited! I knew exactly what this huge box was! I just get so giddy when I get print orders in, I dont know what it is about seeing my work on paper and in such a beautiful way...and this was a HA-YOOGE order!

I was like swimming in gorgeous, lustrous (hehe, thats a pun! the lab I use coats the prints with a lustre finish for long lasting proctection) fuji printed amazingness. And they were all of beautiful people. : )

SO, that means of course, if you were waiting on a print order from me....THEY'RE HERE! Ill be shipping them out to everyone on Monday, so keep an eye out for your mail-dude. (hopefully he is not as ignorant of ones excitement to get big packages as mine is)

The last month has been so full of happy mail! (can you tell I like getting things in the mail that do not consist of  "give us all your money" requests?) I finally got my real business cards (as opposed to my pretend ones?) & I ordered some super fun note cards. Aren't they just happiness?! Well, I love them! Now I have just got to get rid of them! : )

Hope you all had a nice Friday!

"Marishka Hargitay"

 I thought I would wait a little to blog today! Hope I didnt throw anyone off...lol : )

Nicholas and I are MAJOR movie lovers. I think its mostly Nick since he has urges to watch a movie every night before he goes to bed. (well until recently, he's been playing his Wii that I got him for his birthday every night since then.) But when he sees a movie that looks really good or has a good actor/actress, we MUST go and see it. We probably go to the movies about three times a month. I think it might also have to do with the fact that that is the only thing to do around here besides go to the beach.

So last week we saw this movie

and it was funny. Sometimes they tried too hard but overall, it was pretty good. We just LOVE Mike Myers. I think I was the only person in the whole theater to get the Mariska Hargitay joke. (I love Law & Order: SVU) I really loved it and totally see us getting it when it comes out on DVD.

Then this week we both had a night off together so Nick asked me out on a date, (which I love that we can still do after almost 8 years!) and we just got home from seeing this one:

and man do I love me some Will Smith. I grew up watching the Fresh Prince and I still do almost every night on Nick at Nite. (well it still counts if its on in the background while Im working, right?)

Well I really didn't think I was going to like it. The whole "I have superpowers but I like to be an asshole," wasn't pulling me in. I wanted to just wait till it came out on DVD but Nick insisted, and who could pass up a date with him? Seriously.  But oh my gosh, go see this movie as soon as you can. It was awesome! Of course I laughed at everything but for once other people in the movie theater were laughing with me! (believe me, that is totally different from the norm. I dont know, do people just never laugh?!?!) And I love that they didn't show you any of the funny parts in the previews. This was SUCH a good story, it hit all of my sides. (comedy, action, supernatural, save the world) The main character, other than Hancock, is a PR person that dedicates his life trying to make a difference in the world. *swoon. That is my main goal in life, I'm hoping to achieve it through photography. Seriously, go see this movie. We are SO buying it, but I would definitely pay to see it again at the theaters.

We just got Mario Galaxy so I think Ill go finish off the rest of my date with the man. yay! I have been wanting this game for a while!

Just one

Ill have more details later, but here is one of my favorites from a wedding last month. Stay tuned! you like my talk show-ness?? I never watch them so I have no idea where that came from. I refrained from deleting it to preserve the ridiculousness of it. : )

Randomness

If I have learned one thing about our society, its that we all like to know more about the people we know/admire/see/watch. It is evident in all things, really, all of humanity is nosy! Well that is a forward way of putting it but we are a curious people. We have magazines and shows dedicated to getting more mundane information about people's personal lives. Man, its even on the News now! (another reason why I am not a fan)

I also believe that the more you know your photographer the more comfortable you will be in front of the camera and the more fun you'll have during your time together! I love to have fun and I want to make the photos I take show off all of your "sides." Well except for your nervous side.

SO, in an effort to satisfy your curiosity and become the friend you never knew you had, every Tuesday I am going to give you a random dose of the person behind the camera. Since I am a huge fan of randomness,I will make a list every week of ten totally random things that will reveal a little more about who I am. They'll be links, stores I love, new finds, quirks, videos, movies, goals whatever! Ill also try my best to blog more about random life; a place I went, a day I loved, and personal photos. (which I need to take more of...my personal archives have sort of depleted this year.)

 Now heres the first Tuesday Randomness:

1. I love crushed ice. Its my favorite snack!

2. I am SO digging this song right now. I heard it a while back and loved it and now it has just resurfaced. It makes me feel all mushy and right now its both mine and Nick's favorite song. yes I said digging, I wont deny it.

3. I ABSOLUTELY LOVE the rain. The best part is that Nicholas does too. On many occasions it was raining outside and we looked at each other at the same time and suggested at the same time that we go for a walk in the rain. I am in the best moods when it is rainy outside. Today was the best day...I woke up during a heavy thunderstorm which I think is the best way to wake up. 

4. If you know me or have been reading my blog you will already know this, but I am a severe perfectionist. It is a sickness Ive been haunted by since I can remember anything about grade school. I overachieve and hold very high standards for anything I am involved with or responsible for.

5. My favorite colors are Blue and Green. if its not already obvious. But not just any blue and green, that would be too easy. These blues and greens: 

6. I secretly wish I could cook. I mean I can cook some good food but I want to prepare crazy fun meals like the people from Top Chef. which is the only reality tv show I actually enoy watching. Its something I would love to study, but would never want to pursue any type of career in anything food related. I really enjoy cooking and so wish that I could do it more often and more elaborately. 

photo from Top Chef website

I just found an awesome video collection of some of their recipes and tips. Seriously, Bravo is ROCKING Top Chef. I am so happy right now! Check it out!

7. I couldn't live my life without photoshop. : ) I taught myself all about PS back in high school for the yearbook and Ive been addicted ever since. I use it to do all of my photo processing in addition to the fantastic Adobe Lightroom, and even most of my documents. 

8. My hair and Nails grow extremely fast. I dont keep my nails long, I have to cut them like every other week, I just cant do anything with long nails. except to serve nicholas with back scratches for hours on end. I always grow my hair as long as I can stand it then cut it all off and donate it to Locks of Love. I just did this for the third time about three months ago. 

9. I am a night owl. I got it from my Nana who Ive always known to stay up late nights. Unlike my Nana, however, I am a SLEEPER! I can sleep all day. I am on a very odd schedule right now, I go to bed around 4am and wake up around 12 or 1 pm. I know I know. 

10. I say, "seriously" extremely way too much. seriously. I have no idea where I got it or why I do it. Just something I do. Maybe because I am never serious?? ooh, Im sensing a breakthrough.

Catch me if you can!

I hope everyone had an awesome 4th of July weekend!

Well, Im blogging today with some fun intentions. : ) In the efforts to blog more often I am going to make a goal to blog each day of this week, starting today and going until Sunday. Yeah...and? What the heck is so fun about that right? Well....if I don't keep my promise and blog each day, I will give a $25 gift card for gas or ANY store plus a $75 Theresa Marie Photography gift certificate to the first person to call me out! Seriously. $100 just for reading my blog to see if I screw up.

You can call me crazy if you'd like, (Ill probably agree. along with everyone else who knows me!) but I just wanted to spice things up a bit. I like things Spic-ay!

And just so we are all not hoping for me to fail, I will also have a giveaway for when I accomplish my goal! I have a $15 gift card plus a $50 TMP gift certificate for the 25th person to comment on my Sunday blog entry. if I make one. Now, you cant post on that entry more than twice and if there arent 25 comments then you wont be able to win. So if you want some free stuff tell everyone you know so you will have a better chance of winning. : ) seriously, who doesnt like free...and money...?

Check the blog every day...tell your friends and leave me some comments. Its always nice to see who all these hits are from!

By the way, I dont think I shared it on here but I have a facebook profile now! Thanks to Megan's momma Jen, I gave in a few months ago and I am loving it so far! Its a nice way to keep in touch and just SUPER less stressful than myspace. Ew, myspace gives me mygraines! teehee (I really just laughed at myself right there, I am such a dork!) Anyway... if you have a facebook, Id love to be your friend!