Help-Portrait...

...pretty much ruled. It was a TON of work (hence the meager bloggage in recent weeks), but I had the best time. The 100-plus families who came to eat cookies, get pampered, and have their pictures taken were simply delighted. And I was so lucky to get to team up with about fifteen Fort Collins photographers whom, prior to the event, I had never met. Below, I am posting a few photos (by Harper Point Photography)... in the first, my husband Blake and I get our own Help-Portrait... in the second, you'll see some of our amazing photogs and volunteers... and in the last, you'll get to see what Everyday Joe's looks like when it's converted to a photo studio. Once again, a huge THANK YOU to everyone who volunteered their time and energy and love to make this wonderful day possible. We will be posting a video soon... and are already so excited for next year!

Erin & Darin's Wedding Album

Many of you might be wondering where I've been the past few months. Wedding season is over, and you'd think things would slow down... but that couldn't be further from the truth! Winter is when we really get to work editing, retouching, and making agonizing decisions about the thousands upon thousands of photographs we took over the summer. The biggest part of this is album design.

I shot Erin & Darin's wedding in June of this year and absolutely LOVED the images, so I was really excited to put their album together. I thought you might enjoy seeing a design sample, as well as a more comprehensive look at their fabulous wedding! (The first image is a single page; the rest are two-page spreads. Click on the images to see them bigger. And be sure to notice Erin & Darin's photobooth montage - second to last spread.) Once the physical album arrives, I'll take a picture of the cover... until then, enjoy!

Help Portrait

If you're a fan of Photo de Novo on Facebook, you might have noticed me spamming you on and off about an event I'm involved in called Help Portrait. If not... read this!!! And then follow the links at the end of this post to learn more.

Basically, on December 12, photographers all over the world will take photos of people who need them, for free. It's an opportunity for photogs to give back to people in their community who are struggling this holiday season. The slogan is, "Don't just take photos... Give them." Isn't that nice? I sure think so... and I'm REALLY excited about this event, because it's gonna be rad.

As far as I can tell, I'm the first Fort Collins photographer to get on board, and so far I've got two other people who are interested in shooting and I'm working on getting some other Fort Collins studios involved. Which is awesome. But we need more than just photographers!

First, we need people to take pictures of. If you know ANYBODY who would be blessed by the gift of a free portrait this year, let us know (contact info below). Those of you who are employed at or involved in churches, hospitals, nursing homes, or various other philanthropic-type organizations - keep your eyes peeled. My hope is that we will be able to accommodate every single request. I want this to be a blessing to our community as a whole, not just to a few lucky people.

Second, we need people to help get the word out. If you know how to do Internet-y stuff, or graphic design, or how to hand out flyers, we can use you. Or, you can just copy and paste this post in an email to others in the Fort Collins area!

Third, we need people to help the day of the event. It could be as simple as greeting people at the door and handing them a hot chocolate, or writing down contact info for our "clients." We also need help downloading and organizing files, and photo "assistants" to move stuff around and hand the photographers lenses and that kind of thing. It's not hard - it's awesome.

Fourth, we need people AFTER the event to help process images. If you have Photoshop/LightRoom skills, etc, this is your department.

Fifth, we need help packaging and delivering images to the "clients." This could just mean a trip to the Post Office, or if you want to hand-deliver, we'd be glad to have you!

There are probably a lot of other ways to get involved that I haven't thought of yet. But we'll figure it out. The important thing is your willingness to help.

The event is set for December 12, 2009. If you want to help, please send an email to the address below.

You can also visit the community forum and watch the promotional video.

Thanks in advance for your big heart!

Sarah Boyd
FoCoHelpPortrait@gmail.com

The Harrell Family

The love and laughter in these photos make me a little verklemmt... hanging out with these guys this morning sure was a great way to start my day!

Ryan & Lizzy!

If you're a fan on Facebook, you've already been introduced to Ryan and Lizzy and their vintage-esque engagement shoot. After that amazingness, I was extremely excited for their wedding! After we were done shooting, my photo partner, Josh, described it as a fairy tale, and he was pretty much right. There were aspen groves and mountain streams, cool winds, homemade dresses, lavender bouquets, fabulous dancing and tandem bike rides... in short, a perfect day for a truly perfect couple. I love these guys, and I hope you will two!

2009 Seniors!

Here are some of the incredible people I've had the honor of working with this year: Sonia, Kirk, Jessi, and Abby! To see more of their images (and other recent work), visit us (and become a fan) on Facebook.

Demery

I LOVE senior portrait season because of all the fantastic ideas that roll in. Demery found a train yard in Loveland that, despite anthills and thistles, turned out to be one of the coolest shooting locations I've visited in a while. In addition to being extremely photogenic, Demery had no objections to climbing dirty train cars in heels. Totally my kind of girl.

Trixie & Ryan's Country Wedding

Trixie and Ryan's first meeting was one of those inauspicious occasions that make a person believe in fate: Ryan spotted her in a Conoco station in Castle Rock, and promised himself that if he ever saw her again, he'd ask her out. Another chance meeting in a grocery store later, Trixie agreed to the date - the end result being, of course, that Trixie's full name is now Trixieta Putri Maheshvari Kartiarso Tedford. The wedding was held on a farm in Castle Rock, where we got to shoot amidst general farm-animal noises, I fell in love with the old barn, and just about everyone in the wedding party stepped in horse poo at some point during the shoot. Speaking of that appetizing subject, I also got a chance to use my training in food photography at the cake buffet. Overall, it was a great, great day and a wonderful time was had by all. Thanks to Ryan and Trixie for your humor and adventurous spirit, and to Ladybird Poppy, my very favorite Colorado florist.

What a sky!

There's one really great thing about the insane weather we've been having... the sky!!! We got rained on a little bit yesterday, but it was worth it to catch these amazing clouds for Carrie & Larry's engagement shoot (and yes, that's a real rainbow)!