{a}strid photography blog

melissa + alex :: winter engagement.

{a}strid — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 13:51:24 +0000

high school was when they found each other. through all the uncertainties that life and growing up brings, they always came back to each other. it was always her, as it was always him. together, it felt like being home. so here they are, all grown up and getting married. melissa is overwhelmingly beautiful and i feel lucky to be able to photograph those eyes. alex loves her to no end and has this amazing ability to make her hysterically laugh at any given situation. it is a special kind of perfection you don’t find very often. i am double lucky because melissa’s sister is one of my bestest friends, and their entire family makes my heart melt. i remember that night…sitting on the couch drinking wine with my friend, getting the update that her sister and alex had found each other again. love how the world works sometimes :) i am so excited for this wedding and this winter engagement session was just the perfect way to start of the celebration!

melissa + alex :: you two are the best with a cherry on top. enjoy!

sneak peak.

{a}strid — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 12:32:30 +0000

a sweet little engagement session sneak peak :)

confessions of a wedding photographer:: part 3

{a}strid — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 13:03:39 +0000

1- i have learned how to not go to the bathroom for 14 hrs straight.

2- i can eat an entire meal in .25 seconds if i have to.

3- i have mastered the art of walking like a ninja in order to not make noise or be a distraction.

4- i still wish i could go and get my masters degree in Visual Arts and Technology/Photography.

5- the day after a wedding calls for ice, tylenol, hot baths, and having my feet up all day. from what i’ve heard, this is pretty standard with all photographers.

6- the best wedding cake i ever had was from this wedding. it was the biggest, freshest strawberry shortcake sheet cake i’ve ever seen.

6- i am still trying to find a way to convince my husband to be an office assistant. i think he is afraid office assistant will quickly become personal assistant :)

7- photographers live with our phones on silent. and if you hear yours ring between the months of april-november, you have a mini anxiety attack before realizing you are just at home, in pajamas, with your husband. oops.

just giving you the facts.

confessions of a wedding photographer :: part 1

confessions of a wedding photographer :: part 2

i left my heart in nola.

{a}strid — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 13:28:42 +0000

the city of new orleans had my heart within 24hrs. the culture. the food. the sounds of soulful jazz and the colors of all the historic houses. the ghost stories. the beignets. oh my the beignets….

i came once again for the Imaging USA photography conference. i left inspired by the city, motivated by the classes, and filled with the best of creole cooking you can imagine. on the first day before classes had started, my roomie/friend/workwife and i sat on steps outside the french quarter with cold beers in our hands, the sun on our faces, and just enjoyed the jazz players on the street. we were taking it all in, and it was one of those moments of pure happiness where i realized that one of my personal dreams had been fulfilled- to have a job that allows me to travel. without even realizing it, it has happened. san antonio, alaska, vegas, atlanta, myrtle beach, nyc are just a few of the cities ive been fortunate enough to visit through work. but… it never felt like work, and so i’m thinking this is a very good thing.

but seriously…you must go get the beignets. unless you don’t like the idea of fried dough covered in mounds of powdered sugar. but if you don’t, then you really don’t belong on this blog anyway ;-)

changes :: {a}strid photography.

{a}strid — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 15:56:57 +0000

as you can see, there have been some exciting changes around here. it has been a long road, but finally completing my branding seemed like a road that was never going to end. i started thinking about this process over a year ago… and was completely overwhelmed with what i should do vs. what i wanted to do. alot of thought into questions such as “what does my brand represent? how do i play a role in my brand? who is my target audience? how many different shades of robins egg blue can i possibly love?” my own flaw is that i love too much. so many ideas, colors, and themes that when it came time to make a decision i was just confused. i became victim to the whole “when there are too many choices, you choose nothing” effect. so at the beginning of 2011 i made the decision that i didn’t have to go all in right away. i would let my photography and business evolve, and hope that the branding would sort of just happen on it’s own. i was tired of stressing about it- and decided to simply wait for my Oprah “aha” moment. in the meantime, i kept it simple- black logo, white backdrop. turqouise details here and there. even knowing that the black was never going to stay, i actually like what i had. meanwhile, i kept a “home decor inspiration” folder on my desktop as well as a “photography inspiration” folder. what is interesting is how similar they are to each other in color, feeling, and style. without even knowing it, i had a vision for what i loved- i just had never put it into words.

well, here we are over a year later and i’m happy to say that in the end it really did all just fall into place. unfortunately, it fell into place a few times at 4 in the morning…but it was amazing all the same. to finally feel connected to my brand, and have a website that i hope represents what i do best, is a great personal accomplishment. so… i welcome you to visit the website, take a look around the blog, and stay tuned for more fun business updates in the future!

xo,

{a}strid