Northern Colorado Photographer
This sweet little boy got adopted into a wonderful family, and I got the opportunity to photograph him on the day of his adoption party! It was a great experience, I absolutely love photographing little kids and this little guy was just as happy as could be at the Farm at Jay Martinez park in Ft. Collins. Please scroll down to see some of my favorite photos from the day.
Recently I did a boudoir photo shoot for one of my best friends as a wedding gift to her. It was only my third ever boudoir photo shoot ever and I think I rocked it. Well, she and I both rocked it. I learned a lot of tricks of the trade since my last one and I learned a lot of new things this time. It was a great experience for the both of us.
It was such a positive experience for me as a photographer because I got to try something new and learn some new posing techniques and post processing techniques as well. I found out a lot of what angles work really well and what don’t work well at all. I got to practice posing a little bit. Usually when I take photos, I just go for it. I like to take more natural photos but when it comes to boudoir, the client usually needs to be posed. I learned some new techniques in Lightroom when I was processing her photos as well. It’s always a good thing to learn new things in both the session itself and post processing to continue to grow as a photographer.
It was also a positive experience for my friend because I got a chance to make her feel beautiful and sexy. It made me feel good to make her feel good. She got a chance to forget about all the stress in life and just let go and get some photos taken. It was a fun experience that made us both feel good about life. 
When I gave her the photos, she was very happy with them. She kept saying things like “ooh I like this one!”, “this one is really pretty!”, and “I look sexy!” I was quite proud of myself and this photo shoot. (I wish I could share some of the photos I took, but they’re for her and her husband’s eyes only, you’ll just have to take my word for it.)
I really enjoyed making my friend feel beautiful the week before her wedding. It was awesome being able to make her forget about all the stress and stuff that comes with planning a wedding and all the things still not crossed off the to-do list. I feel like when you’re feeling overwhelmed and stressed, the best thing you can do is spend some time with a friend doing something fun. Doing something that makes you feel good is so important in this life. We get so caught up in our day-to-day lives, stresses, work, kids, etc. that we forget about taking care of ourselves.
This boudoir experience was a positive experience for me as a photographer and a woman. I feel like making other women feel beautiful and sexy, whatever that means to you, is important. Women today need to focus more on building each other up and making each other happy.
Last weekend I had the opportunity to photograph a gender reveal party. It was a lot of fun! There was so much excitement and anticipation leading up to the final moment of what the mom is having. It made for a really fun experience, one I haven’t had before. I have seen gender reveal photos on Facebook and they are super nifty. I really like gender reveal photo shoots and hope to do some in the future. This photo shoot was an event, however. There were tons of friends and family all gathered in one place to hear the announcement of what gender their loved one is having. 
I was very impressed with the whole thing. The set up was perfect. I didn’t realize there were so many gender reveal party decorations available in the world! They had the room set up with half pink balloons and half blue. There was a question mark made up of pink and blue balloons. They had cupcakes with blue frosting on one side and pink frosting on the other side. Even balloons that said “boy or girl”. There was a banner that said “what will it be, boy or girl?” It was impressive!
They had a whole table full of different games for guests to play too and towards the end of the evening, they handed out prizes. There was a game called “let’s make a baby” that the adult couples played. They made little babies out of play dough and the mother-to-be chose the winner. There was a “price is right” game where the guests guessed the prices of various baby items such as diapers and bottles. They played a game of “what’s in my purse” where the ladies tallied up points for items they had in their purses.
Towards the last half of the party, they divided up the guests between who was guessing she was having a boy and those guessing girl and had them play fun games against each other. They played a game where there were six guests on each side and they were blindfolded and had to change the diaper of a baby doll. Then they chose 4 of men from each side to chug soda out of a bottle and the first group of four that finished won. The last game was a jeopardy themed game that had trivia questions about the mom, dad, their son, and random.
At the very end of the party, the time we all were waiting for the entire time, we got to learn what she was going to have. They brought out a big black balloon with a bunch of question marks on it and a stick with a pin on the end that was decorated in pink and blue. Their son was up on the table, the mom and dad were right there, the mom held the son’s had with the stick and 1, 2, 3, pop! It’s a boy!!
It was a lot of fun shooting this party. The guests were all in high spirits because of the anticipation of the reveal and all the fun games to play, not to mention the delicious Indian food that was served. I had a unique experience myself as I normally only shoot between 1 to 4 people at a time. Shooting so many people and interacting with so many people made me leave my comfort zone for an evening and get some fantastic memories for that family.
The where and when’s of photography are an important thing to consider when you’re booking your session. I get asked every time where I would recommend we shoot. I am an on location photographer so all my ideas are outdoors. I’ve compiled a list of places I think are the best for photography sessions.
Parks: They give a nice variety of back drops depending on where you go. I am fond of
Glenmere Park in Greeley, CO personally. That park in particular has many different places to go that make for beautiful backgrounds. There’s a duck pond, a tree lined walk way, a little bridge, a gazebo, and a play ground. Not to mention all the trees throughout the park. I have done many photo shoots at Glenmere Park and all of them are unique.
Natural Areas: Shooting in natural areas are fun for some of the same reasons as shooting in parks; you get a variety of back grounds and trees to be in front of and each session is unique. They are usually bigger than parks too so there’s more places to walk around and get different shots. I’ve done quite a few shoots in various natural areas. I love how many different shots I can get when I shoot outdoors like that. I am a big believer in variety with your photo shoots so places where we can walk around and get different amazing shots are key. In both parks and natural areas, you can bring props with you to your shoot too as there is plenty of room. You can bring a nifty chair, or set up a little lace tent, sometimes you can even bring your horse!
Cities: Taking photos in the big city can be a lot of fun! There are so many different places to go depending on your city. In Denver, we have Union Station which I have done a couple photo shoots in. There are old historic buildings that are great to have as a back drop. Cities are a great place to find muraled walls which can make for an amazing background for photos. Cities come with their own props too, for instance a bike rack or a bench to sit on, curbs to balance on, outdoor seating in some parts of Denver are available. Stairs are great and even light posts can make decent props.
Neighborhoods: Small neighborhoods offer a variety of places to photograph portraits too believe it or not. I work in Windsor, CO and when I drive to work, I see all these great fences with trees and shrubs growing out over them and think “this would be a great place to shoot portraits”.
No matter where you decide to go, the thing to remember is that these photos are going to represent you as an individual. So if you’re into the city life, let’s pick a spot in the city and go for a photo walk. If you want your photos to focus on you more than your surroundings, I would suggest a park or natural area. Even your back yard can be a good place to shoot a portrait session. I like all three of these types of places because they are so versatile. There are so many options to choose from no matter where you go for your photo shoot.
Dark Dreamer Photography 