Photoshoot today! and a few other rambles...

I have a 6 month old shoot today. This little guy is adorable, so stay tuned for sneak peek pics of him to come after our shoot today. Last night I attended a C.L.A.S.S. at the home of Nick Corona Photography. C.L.A.S.S. is a series of classes sponsored by Collages.net and Nick and Liz are "in charge" of organizing these classes and putting them together. Last night was the first of many to come. Basically we discusses what it is we want to work on, what we want to learn. I cannot even begin to tell you how excited I am that I went. I debated for a long time, because I had a night off of work , I wanted to be home, eat with my family,,,etc.... however, i am addicted to working..so I went. Nick and Liz are awesome people.They want us to learn the "right" way, right away. They are open to sharing all kinds of fantastic insider secrets about how their business is ran. Wow, what a wealth of knowledge they have to offer too! I am so excited to be a part of this new C.L.A.S.S.  they are offering. So stick around, things will be changing real quick!

Noelani's Halau O Hula Mo'olelo

Amongst my many activities, one of my main interests is hula dancing. So much so, that a few years ago, I noticed there wasn't much being offered in the Inland Empire, so I opened my own halau(hula school)www.hulatraditions.com. I've been dancing since the age of five under the instruction of my grandmother, Noelani. Anyways, in a few weeks, my halau will be dancing at the Inland Empire's first Ho'olaulei'a in Beaumont. I have to provide a photo of myself and a short bio. It's pretty hard to get pics of myself since Im always the one taking them, but I set the camera up today since I had gotten ready for a show anyways, and showed my almost 12 year old what to push, he did and voila..not too shabby. With a quick crop, so you couldn't see my neighbors orange tree in the backyard, I now can provide them a current photo!Maybe I have a future photographer on my hands too!

O and A

O is one of my students from my hula studio. Her and her family are from Switzerland and this last year when they came back from vacation they brought me a HUGE bar of swiss chocolate from Switzerland. She is a well behaved polite little girl, and so is her brother A. Their Dad is a corporate pilot and their mom is just as sweet as can be.I found out during this shoot for Mother's Day that the name Kaitlyn made A smile and the name Nicholas made O smile....I sense a kiddie crush going on...anyways, their mom wanted to get the kids photos done as a gift for herself for Mothers Day! She found a cool frame at Target she said, and will be putting her three fave photos in it to spell out the word MOM.Here are my three fave photos.

Fallon turns "6"!!!!!!!!

I'm so bad about getting my own kids pictures taken to mark their special moments and occasions in their lives. So, when I had the perfect opportunity to take him with me to my third son's swim practice I jumped on it. No baby to interrupt, wonderful lighting, and some really neat textures and background areas to shoot. So here he is, the baby that saved me during one of the hardest times in my life. The one that made me love and made me feel loved, unconditionally. He is my ham, my showoff, my youngest boy, and oh so sweet. He is my Fallon.His favorite color is green, he always wants to know where "Chris and Martin" are going today (Zoboomafoo), and certain things are his "frave-rit"! Happy Birthday Lil Man!

Angels Baseball's Newest Fan - Baby C

Baby C is also my nephew! He was such a sweetie and slept for the first half of the shoot, but when he woke up, he wasn't having anything to do with me, until he ate! Once he did, we got some really sweet shots of him...here is just a sneak peek of his 6 week old photo shoot!

This one got a hotspot in it on the A from the light coming in the room, that I'm having a hard time removing...It's still adorable.

And here he is getting love from his mommy!

A quick snapshot, because Sadie waited so patiently to hold her new cousin!

Baseball Season!

I love T-ball! The kids are hilarious as they "figure" out the game. This is my fourth son's first year of playing, and in a first year, you never can tell how the child is going to do, or how they are going to like it. I've taken up a huge interest in photographing sports. I've photographed my second son's teams for the past three years and then made a slideshow DVD put to music for the end of season team parties and for the players to have forever. Here are a few shots of him that I took at his last couple of games.

 If you are interested in having me photograph your team, or your child playing sports please visit my website www.trishareneeimages.com My fees are $35 for 1 1/2 hours of coverage. Cd with minimal editing included.

I will try...I promise...

that is, I will try to update this blog a little more frequently, than I have in the past. Ok, so here goes. I will try try try to keep this blog as "photography based" as possible. New things I'm learning, new ideas, new shoots, new events..you name it...however, I tend to go in all kinds of directions, thanks to a little ADD...so, This is what is going on in my head at the moment.

someone I know recently decided that it would make her feel better to attack me and my work all over Facebook, for whatever reason,Im not sure. However, after removing her from as much as my life as I possibly could, I had to ponder a few things. Here are my thoughts.

#1 I like cheesy props. Not all the time,,,but every once in a blue moon, a shoot calls for a really fun cheesy prop. Like Easter eggs, or bunny ears...to me Easter is a holiday to celebrate the reigning of our Lord, Jesus Christ, however, society, and I, play into the whole bunny ears, easter eggs, chocolate holiday too. There is nothing wrong with this. I want to be a photographer that caters to all needs. Some photographers specifically specialize in one area. That is o.k. I know some amazing wedding photographers that do beautiful work and get paid crap loads to shoot weddings. Give them a kid and they have no idea what to do with that kid. I am still in the process in my short three years of shooting of figuring out where and what area I will specialize in...if I ever will. Remember the ADD thing..i get bored very quick.

#2 “Live with intention. Walk to the edge. Listen hard. Practice wellness. Play with abandon. Laugh. Choose with no regret. Appreciate your friends. Continue to learn. Do what you love. Live as if this is all there is.” A quote I found that I love. Especially the Continue to learn part. I am alway.s taking classes, attending seminars, talking to people that are walking around with cameras, reading, analyzing..you name it. I am my biggest critic, I always have been, always will be. My children have inherited this from me. I don't trust my family telling me how good the shoot is, but I do trust my clients reactions and what people who are well established in the business making a solid living off of photography tell me. Other than that...i don't really care to listen to much to other's thoughts or opinions of my work. Good or Bad. What I do care about is the fact that I continue to learn so that I can grow.

#3 Pricing.....this certain someone said something to the effect of that if a photographer only charges $20, you're probably gonna get what you paid for....Not necessarily true. We are in a recession. People do not have the money to pay for professional photos at an astronomical amount. Do I believe that I personally should be priced competitively with other photographers in my area? yes absolutely, but I also think that I should be priced affordably. I want to work, i dont just want to photograph my kids all the time.(even though they are adorable.) i want to have experience with different subjects, different personalities, different times of day, different locations. So am I the MWAC? (upercutting the others out there) Nah, i don't see it that way... i am still learning, still growing...remember, I am my worst critic...I don't feel that it is right or fair of me to charge anything more than what I feel I am worth, and at this time in my life, I am comfortable with my pricing. Besides, my $20 shoots, are for a special I'm running..not my everyday pricing.

#4 My talent. I am talented in many areas. Multi-tasking is at the top. Currently, I am doing photography, I sew for two different boutiques, I run and teach at a hula dance studio, (yes I hula dance), I have five children, one with special needs, and one amazing man in my life. Why don't I just concentrate on one...BORING....I tend to strive for nothing but the very best at whatever it is that I do. My photography...well, I'm still learning,but am quite happy so far with what I am doing with it. My sewing, well, I am swamped with orders. My studio, continues to grow and expand even in a time of a recession. We work backyard luaus, weddings and corporate events, fairs and more basically May through October. My kids...two of them are in the GATE program. My son with autism is adapting incredibly well to his new school, my Kindergartner was one of the first to read in his class, and my baby girl has been saying two word phrases since she turned one.(she's 15 months.)Not to mention swim team and baseball included. My house...well, I am very honest about that. I always say when people ask me how do I do it,,I always say...my house suffers. I have a counter full of paperwork, a couch full of laundry, a desk full of more paperwork and a bed thats not made. But, i bet you do too!

Well, that is what has been rolling around in my head lately. i feel better getting it out. i'm not looking to be the next Ansel Adams, or Annie Leibovitz (minus her IRS issues),although a girl can dream,,, I'm just me..just a girl that happens to like to take photos. I am notorious for seeing my world through a lens. While I'm driving, walking , at the park, at the store...I see beautiful photo locations in a field of weeds that someone else just sees as weeds, I see an abandoned house that has paint peeling off of it and all i can think of is..wow, what a great location, i see rows of the same product on shelves and all I can think of is, cool pic. So to the person that feels the need to slander me all over the internet and stalk my website, do whatever it is you need to do that makes you feel more superior, to the rest of you, thank you for reading about my crazy life and what it's made of. and I promise..i will try to update this a little more frequently.