Creative and Artistic Portraits in Charlottesville, Gordonsville, Louisa, Ruckersville, Virginia

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It's official!  We'll be in Virginia the last week of May/first week of June to do portrait sessions.  We extended our stay to accommodate more people and have 12 sessions booked.  If you live in central VA and want portraits, let us know!  We will be travelling to NOVA and MD at least one day, so if you're north and wants portraits, we can probably fit you in, too!

If needed, I can extend our stay even longer.  Let us know ASAP!

Miller&Miller Photography

Flashback Friday: My First Big Lens

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Back in 1992, I had a friend in Japan who was also very much into photography.  He had a vast assortment of lenses and he gave me a huge zoom lens once.  I was 20 and only owned one lens for my 35mm SLR until he gave me that one.  It was such a great treat and meant so much to me.  Now I have a vast array of professional quality lenses in my bag, but it's still fun and exciting getting new ones.  Monday I have a creamy and delicious lens coming (the Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 VR II) and I am SO EXCITED! 

Cheers to new toys!

Miller&Miller Photography

After the Storm

The President has declared Arizona is in a state of emergency from the crazy storms we had last week.  Our area was hit with a lot of rain and strong winds (we lost a tree), but we're in good shape.  I guess other areas got it a lot worse. 

When the skies started to clear Saturday, Todd and I went out for a quick drive to grab a few shots of the dramatic clouds (and I sold one the same day!).  Here a couple; enjoy!

Miller&Miller Photography

Flashback Friday: The Film Days

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I keep saying I'm going to take what few photos I have left from the film days and have them professionally scanned in.  The odds of that happening are...well, let's just say you have a better chance at winning the lottery.  So, I scanned in (on my cheap home scanner) one of the last photos I made in "the film days," back in 2004.  It was taken on my little Contax Aria with a Zeiss lens, probably my 100mm macro.  I do miss shooting with such high-quality lenses (although it's hard to tell from this crappy scan).  But I thought this was a sweet mommy-daughter shot.  The family portrait I did for them (they also have 3 boys) was enlarged to 30x40 (actually, I think it was larger, but I have a really bad memory) and has always been one of my favorites.

I love that this was made on a cloudy day and the colors were subtle and somewhat muted.  I think this shot would've been less interesting taken in full sun. 

And on that note, the skies in Arizona are crazy cool from this storm that's been entertaining us the past few days...get out there and make some photos!

Miller&Miller Photography

A Special Valentine for Your Valentine - Boudoir Photography in Arizona

For obvious reasons, I don't usually publically post images from boudoir sessions.  I have special lighting I use just for those special occasions, along with other editing tricks and fun boudoir books to order.  Since Valentine's Day is coming up, the first three people who book boudoir sessions before Feb. 1st will get $100 off her boudoir session.  Your husband can thank me later!

Miller&Miller Photography

Tip - How to Get Your Young Child to Pause for a Photo

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Instructions below:

Okay, so I'm saying that in a very tongue-in-cheek way.  But we've all experienced those trying moments when we really need to get a shot of a young child and they seem set on turning their backs on you, or picking thier noses, or crossing their eyes.  While I don't recommend candy in every situation (and if it's not your child, definitely check with mom or dad first), it can certainly hold a lot of persuasive power.  Another way to go is strapping a toy on top of your lens or bringing a "prize" (or a treasure chest of prizes) for the child to choose from once you've gotten your shots. 

Miller&Miller Photography

Tip for Photographers - Dual Action White Balance and Cleaning Cloth

I know the popular item for white balance these days is the calibration target (which also tells you if you're clipping hilights or losing shadow detail), but I haven't bought into that, my in-camera histogram and "blinky alert" being sufficient.  I know myself well enough to know I would never pull it out and use it.  For what they are, they're a bit pricey, so it would just be a waste of money for me.  I also have a cheap 18% gray card I bought back in oh, probably 1999 that I have pulled out to set a custom white balance all of probably 8 times in the 11 years I've owned it.  It really is a handy tool, I just don't have huge issues with white balance typically, so....

But if you're considering a calibration target or an 18% gray card for white balance, you might want to consider this handy item:

http://www.adorama.com/CPCEG.html

It's a lens cleaning cloth (which we should have in our bags at all times, anyway) that happens to be 18% gray, so you can use it to set a custom white balance, too!  Handy, no?  And at only $5.95, a real steal!

Miller&Miller Photography

Flashback Friday: There Are Places (and people) I Remember

This week, I've had the Beatles song, In My Life, looping through my head almost constantly.  It happens when I find someone from the past who was important to me, or whom I really liked or admired. 

This week on facebook (if you're not on facebook, I highly recommend it!) I reconnected unexpectedly with three old friends.  One of them was my first love (if you've read my unfinished autobiography, you know all about him!).  We were 11 or 12, so it was completely innocent, of course (which makes it all the more sweet) but I truly and deeply loved him.  He moved away, then I moved away and we never saw each other again.  I never forgot him through the years, always wondering where he was, how he was doing, if he still looked the same.  I even dreamed about him from time to time (mostly during difficult times.  I guess he symbolized good things to me).  Then suddenly this week on facebook (thank you Ash, for telling me you'd found him...and for knowing how excited I would be!) there he was.  I can't describe how it feels to reconnect with people from a time in my life before the craziness of life set in and changed things, took away the innocence.  Wow.

Then I found my next-door dorm neighbor from DLI (we were studying Russian in the Air Force).  She was hip, cool, outgoing, fun, adventurous, kind.  She took several of us home to L.A. to stay with her parents a couple times.  I loved them instantly and actually cried when it was time to leave (long back story there, let's just say I had a traumatic childhood and leave it at that.  For now.)  Seeing her face again brings back such happy memories.

Then, I got a friend request from a crazy, funny, wild man I know from both DLI and Misawa, Japan.  The only memories possible to have of him are happy, funny ones.  He's hilarious and sometimes over-the-top (in the best of ways).  I'm so amazed to hear all he's done with his time in the Air Force--he's done it all, even spent time in Afghanistan.  He and his sweet and beautiful wife are still together and have two sons.  I love happy stories!  I'm so glad to hear from him!  It sure brought back memories of amazing times. 


Miller&Miller Photography

Training

My husband loves photography as much as I do and reminds me frequently that I'm supposed to be training him a little more than I have been (and he's right!).  He's been my assistant and second shooter for long enough.  It's time for him to take on more of the process.  So, we went out Saturday evening (as a prelude to date night at Costa Vida) and Todd shot some photos of me.  Here are a few.  What do you think of my hubby's mad skills? 

And here's one I made of just the truck, a 1946 Ford F6.  Cool!

Miller&Miller Photography

Flashback Friday: In Memory of an Old Friend

Today's Flashback Friday is dedicated to an old friend whom was tragically killed when a semi hit him while cycling in 2004.  I just found out today.

Steve Fronapfel was my first supervisor in Misawa, Japan.  Boy did he have a handful dealing with me!  Let's just say I was a little obnoxious and didn't always follow Air Force regulations (particularly with hair, haha).  Steve was always patient and kind toward me.  He was one of the smartest guys I ever knew.  He was very talented, too, and sold hand-painted Ukrainian Easter eggs (I think of him every year at Easter).  Even though I was never good at keeping in touch, I never forgot Steve.  He was truly a great guy and accomplished so much in his life.

Here's to you, Steve! 


Miller&Miller Photography

Coleby - Artistic Portraits in Arizona

What a rock star!  Coleby was so fun (especially his laughing fit at the beginning of our shoot...see it on facebook).  Here are some of my faves from our shoot:

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