The funny thing is that a few years ago, I photographed her sister Lacie before she went on to Miss Texas USA and she won a Miss Photogenic with one of my photos as well. Ha ha. I told her mom “wow, you make pretty photogenic babies..” True statement.

Anyway, here is the photo that won Miss Leah Miss Photogenic tonight

Also, I want to congratulate the winners. Arden Harkreader for Miss WACO Teen 2010 and Christina Entsminger for Miss WACO 2010.  Both of these young ladies will go to Houston to compete for Miss Texas teen and Miss Texas 2010.  I look forward to photographing you both!

This week, I want to introduce a new artist. His name is Matthew Ian. He is a singer, songwriter and he plays guitar.  Ok, I have ALWAYS wanted to learn how to play the guitar. I can’t play it and I guarantee if you ask Matthew he will tell you I cannot.  I showed him what I can do on a guitar and..it was not good. ha ha. So, Matthew came in and this was his first time ever having professional photos done and I think he did really well.  He was fun to work with, he played the guitar while I shot for some of the shoot and it was a fun afternoon.

He has some cool tunes: www.matthewian.com, check him out.

Here is one of his photos from today.

She came in to get pampered, hair and makeup, she had Edie for her wardrobe styling. (for those of you that do not know, Edie is a new member of our team and she is a wardrobe stylist!! Not just for models and shoots but for all clients and she is awesome). Anyway…June is an opera singer. June is an awesome opera singer. I didn’t even know that much voice could come out of such a little. sweet person. Holy crap. I say that I sing opera which…I can but NOT LIKE THAT.

Anyway, I had so much fun and I really liked the photos that we did for her and I wanted you all to get a chance to hear her sing (by going to her website) and if you know anyone in need of an opera singer, I know one here in town!

June, thanks for coming in-I had a blast and we sure laughed a lot…

They both had such a good time. We photographed Danielle first. She had never had professional photos done before and I have to tell you, I thought her photos came out beautifully. She was so much fun to work with. She was fairly quiet and when the camera was pointed at her, a different side of her came out. I love seeing that. It surprised me a little and I am so happy that we were able to create something nice for her. Here is Danielle’s pageant headshot.

Leah, on the other hand, is sassy and I love it. We had such a good time. To keep the laughter going, she danced…I danced…Yes, I danced. Yes, it made her laugh-at me. ha ha. Anyway, she was full of joy and full of camera attitude and had such a good time.  I expected that she would be fun with the camera when she walked in the door. Big smile, cute laugh and ready to rumble.. ha ha. I love her headshot as well – I think it is gorgeous.

If you are thinking of entering a pageant, your headshot is VERY VERY important. You can never underestimate the importance of the headshot. It needs to be perfectly lit, it needs to transfer well into black and white, it needs to be printed to a tee.  Anyway…I want to wish both of these girls a lot of luck and I am sending my support along with you at the pageant! I would love to see you at Miss Texas Teen USA!

AAAnnnywho… What did we discuss?

Well…”The Art of Fashion”.  It was a really fun night and I was super impressed with the turnout. I was told to expect only half of the people who actually turned up and in fact, we had to have the staff bring is more chairs to make room for more.

We talked about fashion industry, fashion lighting, fashion posing, fashion re-touching. All in all it was a fun night. I did love that I got to see my dear friend Jenny Hollis who is a member of that guild  (who received her masters from the PPA this year, congrats Jenny) and she is so talented. the next day as I was leaving she called me on the phone to tell me she was using some of the techniques I taught the night before. woh! that was a compliment, Jenny is amazing and I respect her work a tremendous amount so for her to call me and tell me she was using some of my techniques was cool.

Of course, I also want to thank my sponsors for getting me there, BWC, the MAC Group (Profoto, Sekonic, Pocket Wizard, …), and Precision Camera.  All these guys are awesome.

Here is a photo of the current RGV PPA Guild President, Julio Gonzalez and of me getting my PPA merits for speaking there

For those faithful readers and for those that have asked where I will be because they may want to go see me speak…

I will be presenting “The Art of Fashion” at the San Antonio PPA in March, The Lubbock PPA in September, The Tulsa and Oklahoma City PPAs in May, the Dallas PPA in Jan 2011.

I will also start presenting “The Art of Weddings” in November and I will start that tour in my hometown of Austin for the APPA.

I just did a session for a mom and her daughter and I was so inspired by them and their relationship that I had to write this blog. Tammie and Mia were so special and I enjoyed EVERY MINUTE of being with them and photographing them with their special relationship.  They flew in from Colorado and had their portraits done here and I just really loved working with them. Cannot wait to see them next year! I hope you enjoy their photo.

Any minute, you will blink and mothers day will be here.  If you are a mom, bring your daughter in for a photo.  She might be excited about it and she might not but when she is older, WOW…she will think it is the best thing that she has and she will cherish it forever.  If you are a daughter, bring your mom in for a photo because I think that one day, you will hold on to that photo like it is the biggest treasure.

As part of this blog, here is one of my biggest treasures of all times. I could tell you exactly where we were, the year, the way she smelled…and the funny thing, I didn’t even want to be there. In a rare occurrence of me showing a photo of me, here is a photo of “me and my mommy”

Regards,

Maria

On the cake spread… I made cakes look sexy, ha ha is that possible? No, it isn’t possible, I don’t make cakes…Simon Lee Bakery made cakes look sexy and I photographed them. Mmmmm….cake. If you are an avid reader, you know I don’t really like cake EXCEPT for the white cake with fresh strawberries and a cream cheese icing from Simon Lee Bakery.  AAAAnnnywho…  Here is a photo of one of their cakes.  FYI: Their takes taste amazing as well!

On to the featured wedding section…I have two featured weddings in the magazine.Several of my my brides or grooms or couples get into magazines for this or that, so that is always fun. Here are snippets from the magazine

 J’me  (pronounced Jamie) and Michael:

 I loved the couples of mine that the magazine picked for their magazine. The first couple: J’me and Michael. What can I say? I love them!! I talk to them all the time and it is so much fun. Actually it is funny but we (them and I) think they are a younger version of my husband and I. They CRACK me up.  They were married at Villa Antonia last June and we just finished their “after the wedding” session.  We wanted to do it in the winter time .    The funny thing about these two is that when people see their photos all they say is..”they can’t be a REAL couple, they must be models”.  I tell them that and they laugh and they never believe me that I hear that all the time. 

Jenny and Jordan:

The other lovely couple that the magazine featured were Jenny and Jordan; are also two of my faves.  I love them both so much. Jordan, he is a very funny guy and he keeps me laughing all the time.  Jenny, she is an amazingly giving and genuine person. I love her like a sister, a sister I never had. They are both awesome and they balance each other out. Jenny is quiet and calm and Jordan is outgoing and effervescent.  Ha ha…I guess they are a lot like Eric and I too.  I am not the calm, quiet one. Yes, I know you already knew that-geez. Oh and…if you are looking for a wedding planner and you want a beautiful venue for your wedding, Jenny is the wedding planner at the Renaissance Hotel!!  That is how I met her so long ago and she chose me as her wedding photographer and now… she is famous   I am trying to figure out how to get them to pack me in their suitcase and take me to Cuba with them so I can photograph it.  Jenny and Jordan were married at Chapel Dulcinea. Love them too!

Anyway, you can get the magazine at Barnes and Noble (I love that place but I can so rarely go there because I never seem to leave there without losing $50.00 or more…ugh). ALSO, they are having their BRIDAL show on January 31st, 2010 in San Marcos.  If you are a bride, go check it out.

I love the phrase “lifestyle” photography, it is so posh.   It basically means that a photographer is going to photograph you with your lifestyle in mind.  Hmmm… Isn’t that exciting?  Your own personal photographer photographing you while you are just being you doing what you do, capturing your lifestyle. kinda cool right?

If you are reading this in your rss subscription or in outlook, you may not have seen the new logo and the new site:  www.mariabernalphotography.com .

How did this all start? ONE PHONECALL.  I called Zida Borcich from Studio-Z in California and I said “I need a new corporate image” and she said “I’m ready to make that happen”.  I know several of you had read one of my previous blogs that talked about my interactions with Zida but in case you don’t remember or you never saw the previous blog let me tell you about her. In my conversation with her, I told her I wanted “chic, uptown, sexy, and pure fabulosity “. She asked me a couple of questions about my photography, she went to my site and then…TWO DAYS LATER, she comes to me with this new logo and I about fell out of my chair. It was exactly what I wanted. Although it is just my initials…somehow, it feels bigger than that to me. Not only did she design my new logo but she designed my new business cards- O.M.G.  I just premiered them last night at a party put on by Austin Wedding Day and they were a hit. Everyone loved them.

I am also excited to have them at the Bridal Extravaganza this weekend, put on by Austin’s wedding guide. I have a photo of them below and yes… the edges are pink.  The logo is black and silver foil pressed into the black card (yum) and the words are black and hot pink foil also pressed into the card.  I love the dimension that it gives to the card. The back of the card has a unique design that I appreciate and it is silver foil pressed into the card as well. Seriously, I am very impressed with Studio-Z . I have not photographed that, when you get a card… you can see it. I need to leave something to the imagination. ha ha.

I don’t think I can say enough about Zida and her talented team or Joe and Rhea from design to print, they were fabulous and no, they don’t just do these super thick cards, they do other ones too and their quality is awesome.  So, if you look at my card and think…”NO, I don’t have the budget”, she still has products that will likely fit your budget but…sometimes extending your budget is worth it. I did it.  Not only did I gain a new image, a new corporate wardrobe but also, new friends that I will cherish for a long time. I still talk to them just to say hi and I intend to go visit them in California when things settle down for me here in Austin.

Also, another part of this launch was the new website. My good friend William Bay from Warm Lounge Studios created my new website.  I love it. I think it is exactly what I wanted. I love the new slideshows and I love the way he incorporated my new company colors or black, silver, white, and hot pink into the site. I love how he was able to “deal with me”. ha ha.  William also optimized my website for better Search Engine Optimization (SEO) by using Wordpress to power my site. All in all…I really like it.  William is one of my best friends and is a photographer in San Diego, CA.  He just happens to be really awesome at website design and coding stuff-so he started a website design company this last year and has already done a bunch including sites for other photographers and he did mine.

Thoughout this ordeal I have learned two valuable lessons:

Lesson 1: As creative people, we tend to think that because we are creative that we can do anything creative. That is true only to an extent. I think we can do anything creative FOR OTHER PEOPLE.  I think it is  hard to step out of the box when it comes to ourselves.  I struggled for months trying to create a new logo and I just could not do it. Everything looked similar or not good enough. My new website was looking an awful lot like my old website, ha ha.  I had to be taken out of my box and comfort zone and let someone else brainstorm on my behalf.

Lesson 2. Because of lesson 1, we think that there is no reason to spend the money to do something fancy because we can do it ourselves. NOT TRUE. Yes, I will say that my new corporate image did not come cheap and you know what? I am glad I sucked it up and paid for it because you get what you pay for. As photographers, we tell everyone that. You get what you pay for but when we start talking about ourselves…it is hard to spend the money.  This was a good way to practice what I preach.   Just like photography. Sure, anyone can take a picture but if you go out of your comfort zone and hire an artist to create a unique lasting image for you; that is priceless.

So, thank you William and Zida for getting me out of my own box, being my artists, and creating a lasting image for my company

Here is the new business card, do you like it?  The foil is actually shiny when you turn it and the light hits it. yum.

Number 1: I’m not gonna lie to you–it is AWESOME to win another trophy. For those that know me, I tend to be quite competitive BUT…here is the thing, I don’t just want to win a trophy because it is a trophy. I want to win it because I put in hard work.

Number 2: Not a lot of people knew this but It was a SUPER close race this year between me and Carrell Grigsby who is a master photographer and there was only one point separating us for Photographer of the Year as of October 31st, 2009. ONE POINT?? Drrraaaammma! I love it. I HAD to win in November in order to get PPA Photographer of the Year. Well, let me tell you about Carrell. Carrell has been in PPA for a long time, she has competed for many years and I have been competing since October or November 2008 (only about one year). Why am I telling you all of this? Because of this: Carrell’s competitive drive and Carrell’s wins made me want to be better. My print in November was made because I thought it was my only shot at potentially beating her. Now, I am not digging on Carrell so if you are reading it like that-don’t. Kiddies, the point of this whole thing is that this is what PPA competition is really about. Becoming better and better and pushing yourself to do things better because there is someone who you perceive is better than you. Carrell knows the rules on competition, she follows them and she has won enough to get her masters.  Competition prints require some extra stuff due to all the rules!

In my acceptance “speech” last night, the first person I thanked was Carrell for making me want to be better. She and I have talked about this way back when and we have known about the one point between us. Ha ha! We were talking about “Bringing it” to the November meeting to see who could actually cinch the title this year. Carrell and I are friends and further more, I look up to her and she knows from the bottom of my heart that had she not been there with some strong prints this year, I may never have reached some new levels in my own personal photography growth. She sent me a message last night and it was titled “for your blog”.  I read it this morning and I quote “You can quote me anytime saying that I’ve never had so much fun coming in second.”-Carrell.  Big compliment for me. Thank you Carrell.

Wow, was that a sappy blog or what? totally. ha ha

Well, onto the summary of the year. Here are the awards that I have won this year and a small slideshow with the images that have led me to getting this trophy.
APPA:
Monthly conpetitions: 3 First place, 3 second place, one third place ribbons
Annual competition: 2nd highest print case, Trophies for Best Portrait, Best Illustrative, and Best in Show

TPPA Texas State Convention: Trophy for Best new entry. Trophy for Best Wedding Album. Distinguished print award.

SWPPA (South West Regionals, 6 states): 3 merits out of 4 prints entered. Two distinguished print awards.

Here are those photographs, enjoy! REMEMBER, if you are viewing this on an iPHONE, you cannot see these images (flash) and if you are an outlook subscriber, you actually need to go to the web www.mariabernalphotography.com/blog to see the photos.