Monthly Archives: April 2012

ORANGE COUNTY WEDDING….

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As Jaime and I walked around the Knott’s Berry Farm shops scoping out the perfect locations for the bridal pictures, we couldn’t help but gush over how perfect the day was. Had it not made me seem like a 6-year-old I would have been skipping down the walkway. Yes, skipping… that’s how excited I was at the opportunity to second shoot the wedding with her. Sidenote: Here’s how cool Jaime is…. she stood right in the middle of a parking spot in the packed hotel parking lot to save it for me while I got there. What a rebel, love it! 

As we made our way up to the 8th floor of the hotel with Jeff, the groom, to join his bride as she prepared I reminded myself to keep calm, not be too loud and try to be as helpful as I could because this was her BIG DAY.

Let’s start with the shoes… these made my heart skip a beat…

Linda is the sweetest person ever and looked absolutely beautiful….

They opted for the “First Look” experience. A moment before the ceremony where the couple can see each other before the festivities begin…

Taking photos next to a theme park may seem overwhelming with so many people around, but Jeff and Linda were naturals at making every moment their own….

It must be said. Their bridal party rocked my socks, for real! They definitely out shined the roller coaster behind them…

With the entrainment they provided they should seriously have their own reality show ;)

It took the guys about 2.4 seconds to surprise Linda & lift her off the floor

And oh yes, you know the girls couldn’t back down. They quickly plotted to carry Jeff as well. So maybe the person in the background chanting “Do it, do it, do it!” was me. My bad! I couldn’t help but root for the girls ;)

Hey, it was going well. Until they dropped him that is…

The ceremony was so romantic. If I wasn’t holding a camera I would have probably cried over the love in the air…

The mint-colored details of the wedding were the perfect Spring look…

Again, almost cried during the first dance. They are just too cute!

Jeff & Linda…. You are a beautiful couple and I wish you many many many blessed years filled with more happiness than you could dream of. Thank you for welcoming me and being such wonderful people.

And to Jaime of Jaime Davis Photography, again… thank you for being so fabulous ;)

Happy Friday!!

Venue: The Knott’s Berry Farm Hotel 

LIFE AS A BLOGGER….

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Back in December, when I had my “Just Turned 25-years-old And I Need Something New And Interesting In My Life Or I’m Going To Have A Nervous Breakdown” moment and decided to start blogging, I had no expectations for it. Zero. Because really, who would read through all of my crazy talk? Aside from my mother (who, by the way, still faithfully sends me the “You Go Girl!” text message after reading each post) I was pretty sure that my blog posts would merely be an online journal for myself. So you can imagine the shock and confused look I have on my face when someone tells me they’ve read a post or even  — wait for it—– continue to read! Even after such a short period of time the feedback and opportunities that have come my way through this lil’ old blog have been more than I could have ever dreamed of. Here are my faves:

The Friendships-  The most important gain that has come through writing has been the friendships I have made along the way. Near or far (shout out to Elizabeth on the opposite end of the country ;) )  they support my shoe obsession, they’ve shared in all of my photography “firsts” and have cheered me on every step of the way. If ever I win the lottery, they are each getting a convertible Porsche, for real!

The Opportunities- Sharing my experiences… okay, okay, and also sharing my hot mess process and fails along the way (like when I tried night photography for the first time, read about that here) have been a great way to relate to others who are either starting out themselves or have at some point been in the same position.   They feel me. They get the nervousness I feel (PS- nervousness is totally a real word), they get my fear and excitement all at once, and they WANT TO HELP. That’s how I have been able to move forward with photography; through the referrals and invites to tag along a photo shoot of those who have gotten to know me through the blog. HEEYY HEEYY!

The Motivation-  There’s nothing like the pressure of secretly wanting to stay entertaining! Writing out the journey motivates me to keep going… because really, how lame would I be to give up now? That’s like watching all six seasons of Dawson’s Creek and then missing the final episode. BEEN THERE, DONE THAT… and trust me, it’s not a good feeling.  Luckily, this year I must have taken an extra dosage of Vitameatavegamin (high five to the I Love Lucy fans) because I’ve been extra peppy and fearless. And yes, maybe now-a-days I try new things just for the sake of blogging about it ;)

Something tells me that the journey has just begun and I could not be more excited.  I definitely plan to keep blogging and sharing my dramatics a la Crystal style. If I’m lucky… maybe even my brothers will one day admit to reading my blog. HOLLA!

Happy Almost Weekend Thursday!!

THE LIST: #8 2nd Shoot A Wedding…

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Wednesday, April 4th of 2012 was a game changer…. For real! I tried to keep my hands from shaking as I read over my text message one last time before hitting send – was I really going to do this? Well… I was already cruising down Rebel Highway with the Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup I had that morning, so I figured I may as well go for it. SEND. My response was yes and just like that I was set to 2nd shoot at my very first wedding.

Jaime of Jaime Davis Photography- the brave soul who was willing to take a chance on me- and I are in the same Facebook group with other local photographers who attended The Fix event last month (read more on The Fix here). She reached out to the group looking for 2nd shooters (assistant photographers) for upcoming weddings. With no portfolio, basic equipment and never having done a wedding I was sure it was a long shot to even be considered… but I really wanted this. I wanted to 2nd shoot a wedding just as much as I wanted my very own Edward Cullen (Twilight people… it’s all about Twilight ;) ). So I sent Jaime an embarrassingly long message of why she should totally let me come along for a wedding.

Now -for the record- I did not check my facebook every 5 minutes to see if there was a response…. I checked every 10 minutes (Five would just be crazy, duh).  Then it happened. She responded. OHHH EMMM GEEE! Not only was she going to let me 2nd shoot with her, but she had a wedding scheduled for April 21st that I would be able to assist with. If ever I had an excuse to dance at my desk, it was this moment right here. So I danced… and sang ;)

So this Saturday I checked off item #8 on my 2012 To Do List (see the full list here) and assisted Jaime at a wedding held at the Knott’s Berry Farm hotel in sunny Orange County.

Here is a sneak peek of the amazing Bride & Groom….

A HUGE thank you to Jaime…. for being bomb.com!  And for being so patient with me when I didn’t know how to use a flash ;) One day I hope to breeze through a wedding with the same class & creativeness that she has.

 Happy Tuesday!

PHOTOGRAPHY: Developing A Style…

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I’m on the hunt for a book. Preferably titled “How To Start A Business Without Staying Up Until 1:30am And Having Your Ideas Magically Come To Life All On Their Own.”  No, that’s not a long title at all. My rule of thumb is that if it can be said in one breath, we’re good. Agreed? Agreed! So if anyone sees this book, I’ll trade cupcakes for it!  

Last week I came up with a list of goals that I wanted to accomplish and what exactly I want to do in the photography world.  (check out the itemized list here… PS- I like itemizing, it makes me look organized ;) ) Writing it all out is one thing, but actually doing the work is a wee bit harder. My mind is a lot like my desk at work…. a clutter of colorful post-its…. and a high-heel shaped tape dispenser on the side. I have so many ideas that it is hard to stick with one direction so I’ve been putting together small items to hopefully get my business style together….

Here are samples of the THANK YOU cards I designed to send out after photo shoots. I’ve said this before & I’ll say it again- I am not a graphic designer. I wish I was, but I have no skills in that department.  This will probably make me seem a little ghetto-fab but I’ll keep it real and say that I made these on Microsoft Word. HOLLA! I added a few text boxes, inserted a few shapes and lighted the opacity on the font…. DONE!

I also put together a Cover Photo for my Facebook Page (go LIKE my page CRYSTAL NICOLE :) ) Staying with the idea of keeping it real…. this one I made by altering a screen shot on my Macbook Laptop. For real! I took a screen shot of a photo I took on saturday, added in a rectangle shape (lowered the opacity to 65%) saved the image, re-opened it and added the text (so that the text would layer on top of the rectangle shape) I saved it as a jpeg & called it a day!

I saved the hardest one for latest… designing my logo. I’ll be working with a friend of mine who just so happens to be a talented graphic designer. Even though I already put together my inspiration boards (see them in this post) she means business and has me filing out a questionnaire to really understand my likes/dislikes and what best represents me. If she can accomplish this I’ll owe her forever because right now all I can think of that represents me is a burrito bowl from Chipotle perched on top of a Twilight book ;)

The journey is getting interesting ladies & gents…. Happy Thursday!

LIFESTYLE: Prom 2012

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I peeked out the window to see if anyone had pulled into the driveway - Nope. The coast was clear. As I contemplated on whether or not this was a good idea, I looked over to the little 10-year-old girl standing in front of the TV with her puppy eyes…. “Please? Just once?” she said in a giddy voice.  How could I say no? She was so cute, and I was seventeen and wanted to be the cool babysitter. Let’s face it…. I also desperately wanted to start my own Babysitter’s Club and they would have said yes ;) So I grabbed the TV remote, flipped the channel to MTV and our dance party officially started. I wasn’t sure what the rules were about MTV, music & kids…. but for the next half hour Nicki and I danced around to Usher and Britney Spears. Woot! 

This past Saturday I had the chance to help Nicki get ready for her high school senior Prom…. which as we all know is a VERY BIG DEAL. The dress….. the shoes…… the makeup…… the date (HEEY ;) )…. everything must be fabulous. Now, not to sound all big sister like but I couldn’t be happier to see what a beautiful young woman she has become :)

Nicki, I’m borrowing these bad boys. For real…

I’ve done her hair before, but this day had me praying she would like the finished look…

It’s a good thing I was wearing waterproof mascara because seeing her parent’s joy may have made me tear up a bit ;)

Nicki, never forget that your dad lights up when he sees you…

Her best friend Priya and their dates joined in for a few photos at the park

These ladies looked stunning. Oh, and Priya…. I’ll be borrowing your shoes too ;)

Nicki- Thank you for allowing me to share in this special moment in your life and for being the younger sister I always wanted. Know that we will never be too old for dance parties and make overs ;) Holla!! 

Happy Tuesday…

GIRLS & BASEBALL…

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Yesterday I was a total rebel, seriously. I took a day off of work to be 25-years-old without a care in the world and have a girls day out… and it was amazing! No emails, no phone calls and no stress. HOLLA!!!

Obviously a slumber party was needed to kick off said event so the festivities began on Monday night as I made my way over to my friends’ apartment in the LA area. (If you haven’t already, meet the Dolls here) With all of us taking the next day off of work we went all kinds of crazy and had Jack in The Box at 1:30am and watched reality TV shows until 3am. I know, totally wild right? Hey… we’re lucky we stayed up past midnight so it really was an accomplishment ;)

Tuesday morning we all scurried to be ready by 11:15am, 11:30am, 11:42am, 11:47am to head out to the Dodger’s Stadium for the LA Dodgers opening day game. (Sidenote: We travel for baseball games… notice the dodger gear in the photos here) Even though it’s only about a 15min drive from their apartment, the traffic on opening day is IN-SANE! As in, an hour and a half just to travel up the hill to the stadium kind of insane.

Ok, I’ll admit that before my friends introduced me to this lovely sport and took me to my first game in 2007 I was clueless as to how a baseball game worked. Now that I know what “the bases are loaded” is referring to I LOVE going to baseball games. PS- stadium food and I have a love/hate relationship…. $15 for a hot dog & soda is cray-cray but oh-so worth it ;) And since the Dodgers won it totally counts as a victory hot dog. WOOT!

After the game (and 2 hours of traffic) we needed a victory dinner -and just like that I realized how much we eat out…. even with one of us being a professional chef- This is generally where the girl talk happens: life, work, the fact that all of our other friends are engaged except us, and future plans. I LOVE these moments with my friends :)

So maybe it wasn’t a super wild & crazy day, but that’s how we roll. It’s the simple things that make us happy…. that and food of course. HEEY!

PHOTOGRAPHY: Setting My Business Goal

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“If you don’t know where you want to go, how will you know when you get there?”  

This is something that I heard while at my first photography event last month (read about THAT adventure here) and totally got hooked on this idea. I knew that I wanted to pursue photography, but I needed to set a focus and be specific about what exactly it is that I want to accomplish. So I grabbed my polka dot notebook (Sidenote: If anyone would like to make a donation to the “Buy Crystal An iPad2 Because She’s Down To 8 Blank Pages In The Polka Dot NoteBook & It’s So Not Cute” Foundation cash, checks & credit cards are accepted ;) )

As if I wasn’t motivated enough, on Friday I overheard my dad tell my brothers to write down what they want to accomplish and their goals for their future business endeavors. Now I would have totally thanked him for saying this out loud, but I ran the risk of him bragging of how I “want to be as cool as he is” until next Easter so I quietly thanked him. In my head.

Initially I thought about interviewing myself to amp up the vibe… but then it got weird, even for me. Then I moved on to creating a questionnaire (for myself, from myself) and that hovered on awkward side also.  And no…. this had nothing to do with the fact that I’ve secretly always wanted to fill out the celebrity interview questionnaire in Cosmo magazine. For real ;) So I stuck with what I do best…. a list. Woot! 


1. Create A Boutique Photography Business-  The term boutique is often thought to be used only in the fashion world, but really it can be used to describe a business specializing in a specific type of service. Creating this type of business involves intensive branding, creativity and adding in those small details to make your service unique. Having a passion for not only photography, but also in writing, PR, marketing, event coordinating, designing and project management, I feel this is the perfect way to bring them all together and tie them into one unique experience. Holla!

2.  Develop My Personal Style- Yes, the photography business is a very competitive world, but I think that’s the case in every business. I am not an expert and I don’t have a degree in business (someone should really invent a degree in Shoes, just saying) but adding your personal style sounds like the best way to set yourself apart. We all have different & unique qualities to offer, so you not put your best card on the table? Your own personality, duh ;)

3. Create A Strong Web Presence- Basically I want to be all up on the internet… in a good way people! Post 5 blog entries a week, create videos (I’ll probably hire my 2 younger brothers for this one because they don’t mind getting paid with food :) ) and not be afraid to open up and live out loud for all to see. By talking about my interests/ hobbies/ loves/ dislikes I hope to one day be hired for not only photography, but for who I am as an individual. Building relationships is important to me so to be seen as a friend would mean to world.

4. Have Fun- This one is a no-brainer…. life is too short to not be happy. Obvi ;)  

Writing out these goals and being able to read them out loud makes me want to accomplish them even more.  Right now I have six photo shoots lined up for the rest of this month and I am so exited for the opportunities to practice & become a better photographer.  Oh and if my dad asks, no… I DID NOT use his idea ;)

 Happy Monday!

THE LIST: #13 Buy A Mac Book Pro Laptop…

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These past few days I have been practicing… practicing hard! For my Academy Award that is. I’m about 89% sure that there will one day be a category for Best Cough Attack in an Office Leading Role – and I plan on winning, duh! So tomorrow when coworkers send handfuls of cough-drops my way (because they will) I’ll take them, but I hope they know that I’m not sick. The excessive coughing, choking outbursts & Marge Simpson inspired voice are totally intentional. Totally!

 Back in January I decided to make a list of things I wanted to accomplish this year… no, not resolutions. GOALS. Seeing as how I have actually completed a few already, why ruin the momentum by calling them resolutions? My ears don’t like that word and will probably plan a strike against all resolution-like items. So we’ll call them goals ;)  After much scrimping & saving I was finally able to cross off item #13 on The List (check out the full list here)

13. Buy a Mac Pro laptop (I can’t blog or edit photos without the proper equipment right? Right!)

Yes …. I invested in a 15″ MacBook pro laptop a few weeks ago to facilitate my projects: blogging, photography, online shopping, facebooking… all the important stuff ;) I can’t even describe how awesome this laptop is. If it were a human we would call it Ryan Gosling. HEEY!

My next investment (I like this word, it totally makes my purchases sound like necessities) will be a fabulous laptop bag. Preferably Chanel…. only because it has a “C” for Crystal of course! I’ll probably need some matching shoes as well but I blame my mom for this one, for teaching me the rule of matching your heels with your hand bag. Investing in honor of your parents? Necessity! :)