Spring Break 2014 - California Dreamin'

For spring break this year we took a girl's trip to sunny California!! This trip was such an amazing break from school and all of life's other stresses! We spent two days at disneyland and then a day at various beaches. Roadtripping was so much fun and we had a blast! I want to go back right now to all that warm sun! 

Spring Break 2014 from Emilie Ann on Vimeo.

Old Pals and Coconut Rice Gelato

It's crazy when you haven't seen some friends for 2-3 years and then all of a sudden you all decide to catch up! It's so refreshing! My friend Dhane came home from his mission last week and we went on a little adventure with some old pals that I just love! It was so fun to see what was happening in everyone's lives and to just have such a fun night laughing, playing games and eating gelato! 

I've lived in Utah most of my life and I STILL to this day find new and fun things to do! I had never been to this little gelato cafe before near downtown SLC and I just fell in LOVE! I could have lived in that little place! There was amazing art just smothering the walls, crazy light fixtures, couches and chairs to just chill, and they played the most amazing music from french tunes to "At Last" and other chill songs. And don't even get me STARTED on the gelato! I love trying new things, and if there's a weird sounding flavor of anything, I'll try it at least once! :) Can't dis it till ya try it right? Well anyways, I got this cup of Coconut Rice gelato that literally had this rice that is used often in Thailand and it was INCREDIBLE! Seriously so good! Other flavors included cookie butter, lavender honey, sweet potato,  root beer float, and all the other normal amazing flavors that come as gelato. This place is definitely going on the list of places I need to take Tyler to when he gets home *cough* in 4 months! AH! :) Seriously so soon.

"Save the earth. It's the only planet with gelato." 

I couldn't agree more!! ;)

Bright Eyes: Tips for photographing and editing eyes

I have always been obsessed with eyes and the way they can be captured in a photograph. But when I first started doing photography I didn't quite understand what I was doing and tended to edit people's eyes in a way that made them look overdramatic and *cough* fake. I wasn't doing it on purpose of course! I just wanted to add some brightness to people's eyes the way I saw others do in magazines as well as other photographers that I admired at the time.

The photograph below was the way I used to think eyes should be edited. Really bright and dramatic. I would usually circle the eye with a magnetic lasso and then brighten the whole eye because that was the only way I knew how to do it!

Now I shoot and edit people's eyes quite a bit differently. The key part being, I try not to edit people's eyes AT ALL. The next photograph is of the same girl about 2 years later. The only thing I did here was sharpen her eyes with a sharpening tool just a tiny bit.

So here are some tips for getting clear, crisp eyes in your photos!

1. Position your subject in good light! The light changes throughout the day so be aware! If you're shooting in bright sun, try to find some shade! However, some sunlight can naturally lighten the eyes if you're shooting in golden hour (about an hour before the sun goes down) and those photos can also be really lovely.

2. Use natural reflectors. I'm a natural light photographer, so I hardly ever use my flash (except for indoor wedding receptions that are dimly lit.) So I'm always looking for those natural reflectors that will reflect light into the eyes and face! Walls, surfaces and even the ground can reflect light! Take a few test shots to see where the light is best to place your subject.

3. Lastly, don't overdo the editing. The goal of getting natural, bright eyes is to position your subject in a way that makes their eyes look bright naturally so that when you go to edit your photos, you don't have to edit the eyes and make them look over-the-top (like I used to do.) If the eyes need a little something, I'll usually just go over them with a sharpening brush at a low opacity and that usually brightens them up a little as well!

I hope that helped some of you out! If you have any photography questions just shoot me a message! 

-Sincerely, E. 

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day from Emilie Ann on Vimeo.

Happy Valentine's day to this incredible boy! We are both SO happy that this is the last one we will have apart. He is amazing in every single way and I'm so grateful that I have him in my life! Time is flying so fast and he's going to be home before we know it. I just can't wait!

For Valentine's he sent me this pretty little ring! He's always surprising me and melting my heart. Luckiest girl in the world right here. Thanks so much Ty!

6

Six more months.

Let's hope they fly as fast as all the others.

Favorite Colors

In my Color photography class at UVU we had to do a series of photos displaying our favorite color. I've always said that my favorite color is yellow. I guess because it reminds me of the sun, summer, heat and it's just a bright happy color. I think I gravitate towards that color because that's always what I've been on that one color code test. But honestly, I love all colors! Especially when it comes to photography. My all time favorite colors would have to be yellow, turquoise, green, and black. And yes! Black IS a color! And I looove it. I especially love wearing it! It's always so sleek, classy and looks good on just about everyone! So here's my tribute to the color yellow ;) 

Creativity for Creativity's Sake: The Start of a Project

Photography is more than just a job for me, it's a way of life and expression. I am obsessed with a lot of things, but two things in particular are my outlet for creativity and all the inner workings of my mind. Photography and Videos. I've been wanting to start a project like this for a while now because I used to do things like this all the time! 

There were many inspirations for this project. Alex Stoddard, Cig Harvery, and my friend Marcie Pagliaro are all creative geniuses when it comes to inspiration and expressing themselves through photographs! 

I'm not quite sure what I'm going to call this project just yet. It's not one of those 365 projects, or anything like that. It's more of a series that I can let lose with and try crazy things. Express certain emotions through video and photos that I'm feeling or have already felt in my life. Depictions of memories, thoughts, quotes and dreams. Basically anything that my mind and heart can conjure up!

Sometimes you just need to do something for you, to remind yourself what you truly love and that you can create something worth remembering and hopefully inspirational along the way.