Tag Archive for 'portraits'

BeYOUtiful Mackenzi

Mackenzi’s beYOUtiful statement was a favorite for many people: “I am beautiful because I snort when I laugh.” Jessi and I are bummed that we didn’t get a shot of Mackenzi holding her statement at her shoot. With my “foot catastrophe” (I just nicknamed it that. Do you like it?) going on and not being able to make it to the recent photo shoots, Jessi has been on her own. And I have all the supplies for the beYOUtiful statements here at my house and so yeah … that little detail somehow managed to fall through the cracks. So … BUMMER! DANGIT! SHOOT A MILE!! (My high school English teacher used to say that. Isn’t it fantastic? Shout out to Mrs. Ainsley right there. Shoot a mile!) It would have been so fun to get a picture of Kenzi holding her super fun “snort when I laugh” poster. But … can you just imagine it? Come on, you guys. I know you’re creative!

Jessi said that Mackenzi was someone that was really easy to get along with and that she felt “comfy around her from the start.” Kenzi’s best friend Stacey came along with her and Jessi asked Stacey if she wanted to say a few words about Mackenzi. Here’s what Stacey said:

“Kenzi is my lifesaver. She’s my laughing, crying, giggle-snorting bestie. I feel like she’s been around forever, even though it’s only been a handful of years. We take care of each other. We keep each other sane. I hope she knows how amazingly beautiful and amazing she is, inside and out. I love her dearly, and would be lost without her there. I hope she knows that. Love you, Kenzie!!”

I actually really wish that I could have BEEN at the shoot to actually HEAR Mackenzi’s laugh and to hear the aforementioned snort. Doesn’t she look like she has a FANTASTIC laugh?! I can just picture her laughing … and snorting. (And I have a secret, Mackenzi. I snort when I laugh, too. Just don’t tell anyone, okay?!)

Published on April 11, 2012 in Portrait and Uncategorized. 2 Comments Tags: beautiful, beYOUtiful, head shots, portraits, utah photographers.

beYOUtiful Raylynn

We had a very beYOUtiful afternoon photographing campaign winner Raylynn! It was so fun. Raylynn is super cute, spunky and – just as her statement says – TRUE to who she is. She is a breath of fresh air!

Raylynn’s beYOUtiful statement resonated with a lot of you. I think that we, as women, really understand the idea of trying to stay true to who we are and not fitting into the “mold” that society seems to be constantly trying to create for us.

When we decided to do a photo shoot for every woman in the top 15, we knew that we wanted to make Raylynn’s shoot a bit *extra* special – since she was the actual winner! So instead of doing just a 30 minute shoot, we spent an entire afternoon with her. Raylynn hadn’t had pictures taken in 13 years – since she was a senior in high school. A travesty, right?! Every woman needs to be pampered with a photo shoot at LEAST once a year! :)

Raylynn is a TRUE fashionista. AND she’s a pro at changing in a car – the back seat of a Honda Civic, no less. It was impressive!

She wanted us to mention that every outfit she wore told a story. The yellow and blue outfit represented color and her love of life. She wore the black and white dress with the purple cardigan when she turned 30 and “conquered the world.” Hot pink is just that – sassy hot pink. The peach sweater and polka-dot scarf showed her hat side. And the Utes shirt was a must for this avid fan. When we asked Raylynn what she wanted to say for this blog post, she told us, ”I am who I am and love deeply even though that has meant some have been intimidated. But I say it how I know it and move forward in spite of my own insecurity and the nay sayers.”

You go, girl!

And with that, we present Raylynn’s winning beYOUtiful shoot:

Published on February 11, 2012 in Portrait. 8 Comments Tags: beautiful, beauty, beYOUtiful, headshots, portraits, women.

beYOUtiful Lyndsi

Remember Lyndsi’s beYOUtiful statement? “I am beautiful because my stretch marks are my medal of honor”

Having just had a baby myself, I (Cristi) could relate to what she said completely. We had a few entries about stretch marks, actually. (Apparently a lot of us women feel passionately about them!) But Lyndsi’s really resonated with me. When she was chosen as one of the 15 finalists, we never could have dreamed that her photo shoot would turn into something as magnificent and special as it did! It turns out that Lyndsi is a very talented singer/songwriter (check out her Facebook music page HERE) and her shoot showcased her talented and artistic side.

She sang to us while playing songs on the piano (one of them even brought Jessi to tears!). She serenaded us while playing the guitar. She sat by a window and did a little songwriting.

She also had her baby Owen with her and before she left, we snapped some shots of the two of them together, since her statement did have a little bit to do with him.

And finally, you can see in some of the shots that my little 2 year old Leo followed Lyndsi around like a puppy dog. He LOVES music. He wanted her to play the ABC’s on her guitar. Once she did (Side note: it was probably my favorite rendition of the ABC’s ever. Lyndsi – you need to make a recording of it. Side note finished.), he was mesmerized and Lyndsi had a true fan in Leo! Leo also was mommy’s photography assistant and when I was taking pictures of Lyndsi and baby Owen, he would say, “Owen! Smile! Owen! Owen! Smiiiiiile!” He’s a great helper! (I’m really grateful Jessi snapped those shots!)

Jessi and I truly LOVED shooting Lyndsi and her beYOUtiful, artistic, creative, talented self. We hope you enjoy looking through the photos as much as we enjoyed taking them!