A horse, of course - Marissa & Felix

"You are not working on the horse, you are working on yourself..."                                      Ray Hunt

Not many things scare me in life. I've bungee jumped, rode super scary roller coasters, spoken in front of thousands of people, walked across a stage in a swimsuit and 5 inch heels, held snakes and alligators, and even tried out for The Apprentice. One thing has scared me for quite a while though.....horses. Yup, pretty little horses freak me out.

Back in 9th grade I had a good friend who had several horses, and she told me she wanted to teach me how to ride. So I made plans to stay at her house one weekend and she promised to let me ride the sweetest horse in the whole wide world. Sadly, the horse didn't know he was supposed to be the sweetest horse in the whole wide world. So after about 20 seconds of sitting on him, he promptly bucked me off. Thankfully I was wearing a helmet, but I did have the wind knocked out of me. Also, thankfully, I landed on the grass so I didn't break anything, but dang was I sore for like a week!

Sadly, I was so freaked out that I never got on a horse again. Flash forward 24 years, and I still am freaked out being up close to horses. God forbid they snort or make a noise...and I literally have heart palpitations and start to sweat. No lie.

Today I conquered a BIG fear (part of my New Year's resolutions). I have a great friend whose daughter loves horses. She competes in hunter/jumper competitions and takes care of other people's horses too. The girl is not only talented when it comes to riding horses, but she is really pretty too! She's a senior in high school, and I've been working on booking more senior portrait sessions. So I figured I would use her as my test subject. Thankfully she said yes!

Today we spent a couple of hours at the barn where she works and I had the pleasure of photographing her with Felix, a gorgeous 3-year-old horse. Apparently Felix is a big fan of mints, and I had a big pocket full of them from this past weekend. So Felix and I became friends. I had him eating out of my hand...literally! LOL

Marissa was a great model, as was Felix, and I am thrilled with the photos! Maybe Felix can introduce me to some of his friends, and I will bring lots of mints. I'm still not sure I'll be hopping up on a horse anytime soon....baby steps.

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Kelly Wagner, the artistic genius behind Fashion Forward Fotos, has had a love affair with photography for more than 20 years. Starting as a high school student, she has always carried a camera, and often several, wherever she goes. Today, she is the highly-regarded photographer and owner of Fashion Forward Fotos, a boutique photography studio in West Palm Beach, Florida. Using modern cameras and artistic retouching techniques, Kelly creates stunning photographs worthy of framing. Kelly started her career as a wedding photographer, photographing more than 100 weddings as an available light second shooter during traditional film days. Over the years, Kelly learned digital techniques and expanded her portfolio to include family portraits, pageant photos, corporate and  charity events, and newborn sessions.                                 While her first love has always been photography, she actually earned a dual degree in Marketing & Management giving her the experiences to be able to recognize the perfect photos clients need to ensure marketing success. She also earned a specialty degree in  Bridal Consulting which taught her to work successfully with other wedding vendors to ensure brides can have the wedding albums of their dreams. Kelly has also enjoyed an outstanding career as a pageant contestant, coach, producer, director, and has even dabbled in modeling and television. That has given her the unique perspective of having spent time on both sides of a camera lens. Kelly believes that not every photographer is an artist and that true artists see the world differently than the  average person. She believes artistic photographers pay attention to the way light falls on things, they notice the slight changes in people’s expressions that change a photo from dull to dramatic, and they find art in everything. Kelly’s goal is to capture photos that inspire you to remember her motto, Milestones Should Be Framed! 

A room with a view - Kaffee's Garden Spa

A few months ago I was reading one of the MANY photography blogs I subscribe to and came across an article about a very successful photographer who specializes in real estate photography. The majority of his business comes from real estate agents who are looking for great photos of houses they are trying to sell. With good staging and good lighting, he is able to bring out the best features of homes and his work helps to drive traffic to open houses. Of course, this got me thinking. I live in paradise....literally! Palm Beach is the playground for the rich and famous, and the housing market is definitely starting to take a turn for the better. So I did some research and found a course about photographing real estate. After finishing the course book and studying other artists' work, I started looking at buildings differently and the creative juices started flowing, as always!

I've spent the last 24 years of my photographic journey photographing mostly people and events, so diving into something new is always a little scary. I still haven't figured out the best way to price this aspect of my work, although I've been reading a lot about that as well. Certainly, any advice is appreciated.

Anyway, I got my first paid "real estate" job this week. The owner of a local spa was solicited by a magazine who was interested in some of the sustainable initiatives she has in place. Thanks to the referral of my dear friend, Robbyn, I spent the morning photographing this beautiful spa, Kaffee's Garden Spa. While this is a little different because she's not selling the spa, I did get to photograph both indoor and outdoor spaces as well as some of her products. I'm pretty happy with the results! The photos below are her pedicure room, waiting area, and treatment room. The natural light was really nice and the bounce flash helped a lot too.

These photos (below) are the ones that she is submitting to the magazine so hopefully some of my work will be published soon! The one on the left highlights her carpet (which is made from recycled materials), the one in the middle highlights the beautiful cork flooring (which I totally want in my next house) and the one on the right is her special spa products which are given in beautiful blue bottles that customers can get refilled (thereby saving landfill space). 

So, I certainly enjoyed this project and I'm on the lookout for new ones now! Let me know if you are interested in having me come to photograph your business or products or if you are selling property and need high-quality professional photos to highlight the beautiful parts of the property. If you are looking for a relaxing, beautiful spa to enjoy some pampering, check out her website at www.kaffeesgardenspa.com. Thanks, as always, for your love and support of my work!