Yesterday I had the pleasure of shooting Laura & Mike’s wedding in Newport Beach with Kim Fox. Though it was a little cloudy toward the later part of the afternoon, it was a lovely day for a wedding here in Southern California.

This wedding was a blast to shoot! So many interesting things about this celebration, which I’ll elaborate on tomorrow when I post the rest. Now, I’m off to an engagement shoot in Solvang– so I’ll leave you with this image from yesterday’s wedding…

This is one of my favorite shots of Laura that I captured all day.

More tomorrow! Enjoy your Sundays, everyone!

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As I mentioned before, Meg and I attended the very fun [b] party while in Vegas for WPPI.

Becker has just posted a video slideshow of all of the FotoCabina shots from the a party. Go check it out! Our photos are somewhere in the first half of the video. Fun times.

Happy Friday!

1 Comment » Posted by admin / My Life

Kirsten is a friend of mine whom I have known for nearly 12 years. Oh my gosh… to actually say that makes me realize just how incredibly fast my life is going by!

The other night a few of my friends from high school and I went to see my friend Mike’s band perform at a local show. I went specifically to take a few photos of the band performing, but ended up staying longer than anticipated so that I could catch up with people there. During our conversation of “What’s new? How’s life?” Kirsten told me that she needed some photos quickly for her graduation that is coming up. Of course, I offered to to do a quick portrait session yesterday afternoon.

Kirsten will be graduating from the Registered Nursing program in June! I think that’s so great! I know from first-hand experience that this world needs more compassionate nurses, and Kirsten is just that kind of person. She’s always been extremely sweet and a pleasure to hang out with.

Here are a few of my favorites from that very quick (very windy) portrait session in the park. Enjoy!

My new 85mm 1.2 lens was delivered just minutes before I had to leave to meet Kirsten at the park. So, I took a few shots wide open just to experiment with that aperture, which I have never used before. That lens is so amazing! I cannot wait to use it at a wedding!

Kirsten has the most amazing light blue eyes. Very fun to photograph.

I believe this may have been the one chosen for the graduation photo.

A fun one… A genuine laugh.

While we were talking by my car, after we had finished shoooting, I noticed the way the sweet sunset lighting was hitting her face so I grabbed this quick shot.

And here’s one to prove just how windy it was out there! Gotta love that Antelope Valley wind… That gust literally came up right as I snapped the shutter…

I have a fabulous wedding this weekend in Newport Beach, and also a fun engagement shoot on Sunday. So, next week I’ll be posting both of those shoots. Wedding season is officially underway!

FYI - I am still booking for the rest of 2008. If you or someone you know is in need of a wedding photographer, engagement photos or other portraits, just email me at heather@heatherkincaid.com.

Don’t forget— have luggage, will travel! I’m absolutely available for destination weddings anywhere in the world!

2 Comments » Posted by admin / Portraits & Fun

As I said posted the other day, WPPI was once again an amazing experience that brought new knowledge, new ideas and new friendships with some great photographers. As a result of the action-packed days, late nights and early mornings, I’ve come home with a sore throat and an overall exhaustion that took until now to overcome. But, it was all entirely worth it!

As a result of all of the inspiration, there will be some changes around here that I am so excited to implement. Look out for some new, exciting things that will begin to unfold in the coming weeks and months! I’m super excited for the ideas that popped into my head over the past week, so I hope you all enjoy whats on the horizon! Plus, Meg and I, with all the time we were able to spend together the past couple days, have some ideas for the both of us. It’s so great to have a close friend who is also a photographer– I’ve been able to learn with her and bounce ideas off of her which has, and will continue to, let me grow as a photographer, businessperson and person.

Speaking of Meg, here are some portraits I took of her while we were in Vegas. She told me a couple weeks ago that she’d need some new portraits for a very exciting change she’ll be making to her Web site, so Vegas was just the perfect opportunity to get this done.

We began inside the hotel next to this huge window on the 18th floor. Great light.

Me practicing my Jesh de Rox-inspired method of shooting a portrait.

Then we went outside. I love this one.

This is so Meg. Classic smile.

This is my favorite of the whole session! I love the colors!

This was a fun grab-shot that I decided to try right as we came out of the elevators to walk outside for the above portraits.

Here’s a quick shot of the both of us in the elevator mirror.

Earlier in the day, Meg wanted to try her hand at the Wheel slot machines. Here she is preparing for a spin after putting $20 in the machine.

And here she is just a few moments later and $60 richer! I, on the other hand, was not so lucky at the Blackjack tables.

Now, here are some of the photos we took in the FotoCabina at the [b] party hosted by Becker. I stole these shots from Meg. FotoCabinas are available for rent for weddings and special events all over Southern California. If you’re looking for something really fun and special for your event, look them up. They really are an awesome addition to any event!

NOTE: If you’re a photographer, check out thebschoolblog.com. Great tips and tricks for photographers!

Meg and I goofing off in the booth.

Later, Meg and I went back in with Rebecca– a photographer from Santa Cruz, CA who the day before I had met randomly in the elevator. I saw her again at the party and we ended up talking for a better part of the evening. She’s so sweet and a lot of fun… Obviously the three of us have something in common…

We totally don’t mind taking ridiculous photos!

What a completely amazing time! I met some of my favorite photographers at this event including Heather Waraksa, Nate of The Image is Found, Becker, Victor Sizemore, and many more.

I’m so looking forward to the next couple months as I put to use all of these new ideas I have. Also, I have a lot of great shoots coming up so I’ll be able to blog pretty regularly.

Hope everyone has a great Easter this weekend!

4 Comments » Posted by admin / My Life and Portraits & Fun

Just got back from Vegas.

Amazing. Fabulous. Inspiring. Fun. Informative. Overwhelming. And so, so much more but my brain is too tired to think of any more adjectives. I’m exhausted right now, but tomorrow I will definitely be posting about the great time I had meeting and learning from some truly talented photographers. So, stay tuned for a pretty lengthy post about that along with some great portraits I got of Meg while we were there.

WPPI 2008 definitely confirmed (again) why I completely and totally love what I do. To quote Meg…. “I’m an ADDICT!”

I simply cannot get enough and feel incredibly lucky that so many people around me have supported me in doing what I love to do most.

To all of you photogs still in Vegas, have a great last night there!

2 Comments » Posted by admin / Just a thought...

Quickly before I rush off to the first seminar of the day….

Here’s a shot of the wonderful Jesh de Rox speaking last night at the Young Guns panel. What an inspirational man he is. His work is simply amazing….

More to follow soon…

1 Comment » Posted by admin / My Life and Just a thought...

Every time I receive a package in the mail I feel like a little kid on Christmas morning. Even though I usually know what’s inside the package (which was only sometimes the case when I was a kid) there’s just something about opening it that takes me back to that exciting childhood time. Sometimes it’s a new piece of equipment, which is always totally exciting. Sometimes its a print order from the lab– it’s always fun to see my work printed. But, the other day, I received a package that was especially special– my newest studio sample album! This was thrilling for all sorts of reasons, but most importantly because it marks a new phase of my growing business. I have heard a lot about this particular album company from other photographers and from the online photography forum that I frequent (DWF), so I knew the final product would be great, but it exceeded all of those high expectations!

I am so excited to share this sample album and all of my future sample albums with current and prospective clients!

Here are some shots I took so you can get an idea of what the albums look like. Check out the beautiful packaging.

One of the coolest things about this album company is the variety of cover materials and design styles that are available. I’m planning on ordering a few more samples with different cover options and in different sizes soon.

Here are a few details of the album. I especially love the way the creased fold looks, and the way the album lays completely flat when open.

I’m really excited for WPPI so that I can check out all of the latest and greatest of products and services. It’s going to be a blast! I hope to have a little time here and there to blog about everything I learn and experience while I’m there… Stay tuned for all of that fun stuff!

2 Comments » Posted by admin / Just a thought...

It’s no secret that I truly love what I do.  I’m pretty sure everyone who knows me knows I love taking photos and am usually that girl at the party or get-together taking the pics, even when I’m not working. I love shooting, editing, playing around with images in Photoshop… I am addicted to it all. And, when I’m not actually shooting or editing, I’m online looking for inspiration, tips and tricks, advice from others in the industry, etc. I’m a constant blog-stalker of many great photographers because I love seeing what others are doing out there. I’m also a frequent visitor of the Digital Wedding Forum (DWF), an online forum for professional wedding photographers where people post questions and advice about the industry, photos to be critiqued, and many other things having to do with wedding and portrait photography. I have willingly let my job consume a large part of my life, and I couldn’t be happier with where my business is going thanks to some great support from friends, family and trusting clients. For all of these reasons, I am totally stoked about where I’ll be one week from now…

WPPI 2008 begins next week and I am so excited! For those of you who don’t know, WPPI (Wedding and Portrait Photographers International) is a huge annual convention for photographers that takes place in Las Vegas. Every year, photographers from all over converge on Vegas and transform the city into Photographer Central — a gigantic tradeshow, tons of amazing speakers, top-notch skills classes and demonstrations, and, of course, fabulous parties. Last year, I went for the first time and brought my mom along with me as my guest (I blogged about the trip here). She’s a graphic designer and encouraged me to get into design and photography, so it was great trip. I got to teach her some stuff about photography, and together we learned a lot from all of the platform speakers… we had a great time. However, last year we could only spare one night for the trip. We quickly realized that was definitely not enough, so when I planned the trip for this year, I made sure I would be able to stay longer.

This year I’ll be spending 3 1/2 days trying to learn all that I can. My mind is going to be so full of information and ideas when I get back! My main goal is to learn ways to polish my photography skills and push my creativity to the max, as well as to improve my ability to use off-camera lighting to create more fashion-inspired photos on location. Also, I’ll be paying close attention to album companies as I’m searching for more options to offer my clients. I want to only sell the best albums and products to my clients– products I know I would like to have to remember my wedding or portrait session. I am happy with everything I offer now, but there are always new exciting things to check out, and WPPI has them all!

This year I’m especially looking forward to sharing my WPPI experience with the lovely Meg. She was able to make plans to come out and explore the conference with me last minute, and I am so happy that the plans worked out! She and I always have a good time together, especially when photography is involved, so I know it will be a blast. I’m sure there will be tons of photos that we will take of each other and be able to post. Maybe we’ll even test out some of the things we learn while still in Vegas.

This year I have also been invited to the [b] party, a great party hosted by Becker during WPPI. I had the good fortune of being invited via being a member of his [b] school. If you’re a wedding photographer, I would highly recommend daily visits to that blog. It’s already given me so much information that I have been slowly trying to apply to my business… and it got me an invite to a fabulous Vegas party!

Here’s a photo of Mom and I in Vegas last year for the convention. This was taken inside the Wynn. What a gorgeous hotel!

Here’s to a great WPPI– no Mom, it could never be better than the year I went with you

I know I’ll come back more knowledgable and ready to take on the ‘08 wedding season by storm, but hopefully, just maybe… I’ll come back with some winnings from the Blackjack tables, too. (I know all of my friends totally just rolled their eyes at that… but hey, it could happen!)

1 Comment » Posted by admin / My Life

I spent the weekend in Palm Desert for my lovely friend Hillary’s birthday. I had a great time catching up with old friends and meeting some new ones, too.

On the drive home, I spotted this gorgeous cherry orchard with blossoms in full-bloom. I impulsively pulled over and started shooting. It’s okay to shoot landscapes, but my real passion is shooting portraits and pushing my creativity in photographs of people. So, I got the idea to arrange a photo shoot out there in the coming week or so… with the right light, I could get some killer shots. Now, I just need some people who are willing to model…

Here’s my favorite shot I took today

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2 Comments » Posted by admin / My Life and Just a thought...

As promised, here’s the slideshow of Mandee’s Bridal Shower.

Happy Tuesday!

No Comments » Posted by admin / Just a thought...