Change is good...

...And scary.  Very scary when it comes to something you have been used to doing for almost 2 years straight.

I've recently decided to take my photography business exactly where I envisioned, originally.  To that lovely vintage place full of earthy tones and creamy goodness with folk/acoustic music playing in the background. I've been hesitant in the past because its not everyone's preferred style, but then I remind myself, that there is a photographer out there for everyone; one that fits each person's personal style, and you know what?  That doesn't have to be me.  I don't have to cater to the masses, where there are a mass of photographers out there with their own unique style.  So why can't I have my own unique style as well?  Why can't I stay true to what inspires me? 

Truth is, I'm scared.  I'm scared of not pleasing everyone, and I'm scared of fewer bookings because of a new transition.  But I think back to great artists of our time, and I think of Elvis, Calvin Klein, Old Navy, and Lady Gaga, just to name a few.  They never wavered their style...  The style they originally had and ran with.  Elvis is known as the King of Rock and Roll, while Calvin Klein is known for his laid back sophisticated clothing (which ohemgee, if I were a man with money, that is ALL you would see in my closet).  Old Navy, I've been shopping there for years, and their style is still classic, clean, and comfortable.  Lady Gaga... yeah, she's weird, but weird is what got her to where she is, today, and just about everyone is gaga for Gaga (umm... including me).  Its not to say I haven't enjoyed what I have already created, but I have made steps to get to and finally decided where I want to take my work.

Me?  I want to be known for what inspires me.  And as I mentioned on my personal blog, if its God's intention for my business to boom or simply boom in the hearts of only a few, I will be happy, because either way, I am blessed to have been given this gift.  However, at the current moment, I feel like I'm not using this gift to the potential God has called me to use it.  I feel that while He has given this gift to me, in the process of claiming it, I have manipulated it to my liking and to my standards, when really, only half of "me and my" are rooted deep into this gift.  I want people to be able to look at my work and say, "Oh, that's Casey's" or "Oh, that's DreamTree's"  I want my work to be my brand, and vise versa.


So with all that being said... I'm taking a MAJOR leap of faith with my business, and I'm FINALLY ready to dive into the pool that was created for me.  The one that gets me super excited, one that overwhelms me with inspiration, one that reminds me that this gift is from God, and God alone.


To get me started, I'm pretty much going to have to completely rebuild my portfolio, which makes my heart skip a beat, and not in the best way possible, but in a way that is very very hopeful yet scared to death.


Below, is a list of new 2012 Casting Calls:

* February Birthday Girl with pixie styled hair-cut for a January 2012 session. {Age: 10-12}

* 2 Sisters (must be related) {Ages: 18-mid 20's}

* Girl with long red hair who has a white bunny for an early March 2012 session. {Age: 18+}

* Girl with blue eyes for a simple styled session. {Ages: 8-10}

* Girl with short brown hair for a simple styled session. Little black dress required. {Ages: 18+}

* Girl with platinum blonde hair for a burlesque inspired session. {Ages: 20's}

100% of these Casting Calls will be 100% styled, including clothing to the make up and hair. Clients must be open to it all. In order to get my portfolio going, I'm going to have to set the stage of my photographic style to show future clients just what DreamTree is all about.  The last thing I want to do is false advertise, and say I can deliver this, when really and truly my heart is not into it.  That isn't fair to either party.


I'd like to solely focus on Children (this includes Maternity), Families, and Seniors.  This is what I want to specialize in.


To get a feel for what inspires me, check out these links below:
http://www.freepeople.com/
http://shopplanetblue.com/
http://www.forever21.com/
http://www.jcrew.com/ (Children's)
http://www.zara.com

(Please keep in mind, its a nay for bright and bold colors, but a YAY for soft, earthy, and some pastels)


Also, feel free to check out my personal Pinterest Pages:
Adults: http://pinterest.com/hoorayitscasey/style-me-pretty/
Children: http://pinterest.com/hoorayitscasey/for-the-mini-fashionista/

SO, as you can see, this is somewhat of a change in comparison to what I typically shoot more of these days, but I'm willing to take the risk!  I'd rather do it now, than look back 5 years from now, and wonder, "What if?" and, "How come?"

I hope you all will continue to join me on this journey!  And I thank each and every one of you for your love and support!  I love my clients dearly, and appreciate the opportunity to capture your life and love on camera! It truly is an honor for me!  I hope to continue to see many faces!

With this transition, its going to take some time, but I hope to have everything up and going at full speed come mid 2012!

Love you all!




Love & Dreams,

She Wolf

With Halloween a few weeks ago, and Breaking Dawn: Part 1 coming up in about a week, I knew I HAD to get this session done asap!  Some of you may remember Nancy from my most recently blogged session.  I had previously put up a "Casting Call" for this particular session, and sadly, it was never answered. But things do happen for a reason, and I firmly believing in "perfect timing".

After photographing Nancy and her family, I came home, uploaded the images, and a light bulb went off.  "Wow.  Nancy would fit PERFECTLY into the She Wolf session! She's exactly what I'm looking for!"  I contacted her and her sister, and they were game!  They immediately went on a hunt for the PERFECT dress, and I knew exactly what I wanted, and they got it!  Her hair and makeup were both ah-mazing!  And despite the battle of war with the mosquitoes, SHE was ah-mazing, and we wrapped up the session in about 30 minutes.

Hope you all enjoy this session! I have to say its been one of my favorites so far!


ps. Nancy, I just have to say it again! YOU ARE GORGEOUS!  Thank you so much for doing such an awesome job!

Na

Clients, please do NOT copy images from Blog site.  Thank you.  

All images COPYRIGHT | DreamTree Photography ©

Special Thanks to Manda Cantu Photography for the Blue Haze Photoshop Action which made my images come ALIVE!

Model: Nancy Rodriguez

Dress: Tobi

Makeup: MAC

Hair: Done by Nancy

Shoes: Personal

Mask: The Spotted Pony

Love & Dreams,

New Month. New Beginnings.

I have a mad obsession with the holidays.  I love the weather, the colors, and most importantly, I love getting together with my family.  I love the thankfulness than surrounds and just embodies the entire month of November.  It truly is a beautiful month with beautiful happenings.

I have decided to share my own personal thankfulness everyday during the week, with you all.  I already have a list made, but somehow I know it may get altered as the month progresses, and as I grow in faith, love, and obedience to the Lord.  Some images may be apparent in what I am thankful for, while some may be an interpretation.  Either way, I'm excited to share bits and pieces of my life with you all this month.  And I encourage you to do the same as I would LOVE for you to share what you are thankful for each day, or even each week.  You don't have to go into detail, but I'm asking that you take some time out of your day each day this month, and think of something you are grateful for.  Write it down, start a journal, comment here, or even leave a picture of what you're thankful for on my FB fanpage! <<<----- This would make my heart smile.

We are getting closer to the holidays, and sometimes, when that happens, the bills pile up, while the Christmas lists pile on.  It can be stressful to try and please (and check off) both, but even then, we have a God who's grace is sufficient enough.  Who will provide exactly what we need.

As my walk with Christ furthers, I have began to realize its not about the material things in life; its about the eternal things in life, and that's our place in Heaven with our Lord.  This year, I want to focus more on God's blessings, and not the "blessings" of this world.  I want to focus on His LOVE, and not the love (or approval) of man.  I want to drown myself in His presence and appreciate what each day has to offer.

TODAY, I am thankful for my FAITH. 

Some may follow my personal blog, some may not, but really, you should be. ha.  Okay, you don't have to, but I love readers.  I have somewhat of a {natural} crazy life, and I enjoy sharing it with others.  Its just TOO crazy not to.  Yesterday, I announced a bit more crazy goodness that will soon be making its arrival.

I am pregnant.

 

We planned for Cupcake, and we prayed and prayed for God to bless us with a new baby, something for a couple of years, now, I didn't think we deserved (this is an entirely different post).  We've had many up's and downs, and at the time, it seemed like more down's than up's.  I felt like our marriage was too premature for another baby, and the timing just wasn't right.  My husband and I began to pray together, and God quickly opened doors.  We began to see Him move in and throughout our home and in our marriage, and He finally put it on our heart, "It is time." We soon began to pray for God's will to be done in our lives, our marriage, and in our home.  

We prayed for a baby.  And last Wednesday, our prayers were answered.  We are humbled, and incredibly thankful, and beyond gracious!  Words cannot express nor convey our excitement! 

Thank you, Lord, for loving us just as we are!  For your GRACE!  Your beautiful grace!  We are not worthy, Lord, but you, YOU ARE!  Let this new chapter in our lives be a living testimony to the great and awesome God that you are!  Use us to do the works of Your Kingdom.  From the mountain tops, we will sing and shout Your name! Amen.

We are due in early July of 2012.  <3

 

Love and Dreams,

Henry & Maria

This session was extra special to me!  Not only because I have known Henry since high school, not only because his wife, Maria, and I have become friends, and not only because they love me. hehe  But being in a military family (my baby sister is a US Marine), you kind of look at life differently.  You appreciate your freedom more and you value your friends and family far more than before.  You're proud to be apart of the great Red, White, and Blue, and you love your country everyday just as much as you do on the 4th of July.

Henry was in town for a very short period of time, and of course, THE day we scheduled to shoot, it rained... ALL.DAY.LONG.  Maria and Henry both were glued to the weather radar with every hopeful fiber of their being, waiting to see at least some sun peeking through the dark gray clouds hovering over Houston's skyline.  The sun came out alright, BUT during our drive to Downtown, Houston, and after parking, yep, you guessed it, it rained. Boo.

Our original spot was out in the open, so we decided to take cover in front of this lovely mosaic wall you see below.  To be honest, it worked out pretty good seeing as the colors of the wall complimented Maria and Henry's wardrobe perfectly!

Clients, please do NOT copy images from Blog site.  Thank you.  

All images COPYRIGHT | DreamTree Photography ©

 

 

And last but certainly not least, a HUGE thank you to Henry!

Thank you, for your service! And thank you, for your friendship!

 

 

Enlisted Oct 31, 2005

Oct 31, 05 - dec 31, 05 Recruit training command, great lakes, il

dec 31, 05 - feb 15, 06 Personnel Specialist "A" School, Meridian, MS

mar 1, 06 -  mar 21, 08 Personnel support detachment, pensacola, fl

apr 26, 08 - dec 1, 08 expeditionary combat readiness center forward iraq, little creek, va

dec 26, 08 - sep 2, 11 helicopter anti-submarine squadron eleven, jacksonville, fl

sep 19 - present Navy recruiting orientation unit, pensacola, fl

awarded:

joint service achievement medal

(3) navy and marine corps achievement medals

joint service achievement medal

navy good conduct medal

national defense service medal

iraqi campaign medal

global war on terrorism expeditionary medal

global war on terrorism service medal

humanitarian service medal

military outstanding volunteer service medal

(2) sea service deployment ribbon

navy marksman rifle ribbon

navy expert pistol medal

enlisted aviation warfare specialist 

currently a Personnel Specialist Second Class (Aviation Warfare), United States Navy

HOOYAH!!!

Love & Dreams,

Anchor of Love | Patty & Eric

I am SUPER excited to share this session with you!  Because of the idea for this session, I held my Beach Mini's! You can view those HERE, HERE, and HERE.

You may remember Patty and Eric from the Anchor of Love | Giveaway where couples entered their pictures for a chance to win this exact session. They were the prize winners! <3


Now, let me tell you a bit about this session...
This session was inspired by my own personal session with Clayton Austin (the use of rope). I knew I wanted to do Beach Mini's, but wasn't sure what direction I wanted to take the "main" session.  I browsed on my beloved Pinterest, and surprisingly gathered few ideas.  It wasn't until I visited my local Christian Book Store, that I found EXACTLY what I wanted to do.  An "Anchor of Love" pendant daintily hung from the the display case, and I immediately thought of the rope Clayton used for my husband and I, but instead of a floating chair with brown rope, why not white Marine rope with an anchor, sea shells, a message in a bottle, or perhaps even a boat??  Well I did think about the other goodies I listed, but I wanted to keep focus on just the couple... nothing else that would detour the eye or the imagination.  I wanted it to be clean and simple with the background of the beach as well... a backdrop that pulled the entire session together.   I did, however, bring other props, but once I got there, and got everything set up, even then, it all seemed overpowering, so they're all now, somehow displayed in my half bathroom which is also nautical themed.  =P

 To view the inspiration board click, HERE!


Thanks Patty and Eric for being AWESOME!!
Hope you all enjoy this session!

Clients, please do NOT copy images from Blog site.  Thank you.  

All images COPYRIGHT | DreamTree Photography ©