Jessica & Vaxhid ~ Engaged!

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!

I am very excited to post this next set of photos. I met up with Jess and Vaxhid in Boston's Public Garden last Sunday. I've known Jess since college... we were both RA's and had lots of other crazy adventures together. I was thrilled when she got back in touch with me (YAY Facebook!) to inquire about engagement pictures. Jess and Vaxhid are so sweet to each other and very photogenic... I had a hard time picking my favorites:

















This next picture cracks me up. It's hard to read the sign but it says "Please keep off the lawn." We didn't see it until after we took a bunch of pictures. Haha. As an accountant and former RA, I am usually a rule-follower, I swear...




Love this...






Some silhouette/sunflare action:


We headed over to Beacon Hill for a change of scenery. I loved all the gorgeous brick:




Jess and Vaxhid, thank you so much... hope you enjoy!

Leeann & Dan

Leeann and Dan are friends and coworkers of mine. I met Leeann on our first day of work. We were on a bus going to training and we made friends - just like kindergarten. Haha. She and Dan were married back in May and had their engagement pictures done in Atlanta, where Leeann is from. They've been living in the North End of Boston for a number of years, however, and wanted some pictures to capture their time here. I was more than happy to help out!







I thought that gelato would make a cute (and tasty) prop and it seemed like the North End thing to do on this unusually warm November afternoon.


We came out onto the Greenway just in time for some beautiful light.




OK, this might be my one of my favorite pictures ever...


Then we headed to Columbus Park and the waterfront:

Family Shoot at Sunset Lake

Last Sunday morning, I helped my friend Molly photograph Zoe and her extended family at Sunset Lake in Braintree. I had never heard of Sunset Lake but it is an awesome place to shoot. Here are a few of my favorites:













At the end of our session, the adults PAID the kids to jump in this huge puddle... sounds like a good deal to me!

Jake!

Baby Jake recently comissioned me for a fashion shoot because he wanted to show off all of his fall sweaters. He really worked it and I think we got some great pictures : )





Jake just loved getting changed.






Fierce!


His girlfriend (aka. his mobile) also made an appearance at the shoot... isn't she mesmerizing?








Jake, you're a pro... thanks for being such a great model!

Miscellaneous updates

October has been super busy. Between my personal life and working full-time (or more than full-time, in my case) I am frustrated that I am not making enough progress with my photography. However, I have made a few exciting updates recently (some more recent than others) and I thought I would share!

---
I ordered some business cards and here they are:


The colors somewhat match my blog header and I think the they are so pretty. I love that the paisley pattern is on the back too!

While I was filling out the text fields to create the business cards, I decided to upgrade my web address to something slightly more professional. So I am now the proud owner of www.melissadeschamp.com. You will find my blog at that address effective immediately but the .blogspot.com address still works also.

---
I've also been giving Amazon.com/B&H quite a lot of business lately. I knew that I would need a good flash to shoot Jenica & Spencer's wedding reception so I got a 580ex II as an early birthday present from Marc. I may have also upgraded my 50mm f/1.8 to the f/1.4. Yum!

Finally, I knew that eventually I would need to buy another camera in order to continue working toward my goals. There is no way that I would ever accept responsibility for documenting an important event without having a back up. Also, if I intend to put myself out there as a semi-professional, there is no question that I need to have professional level equipment. This is a huge leap for a risk-averse girl like myself but in a fit of compulsive shopping, I ordered myself a Canon 5D : )

Hey Big Boy!


Here it is next to my Rebel:


Now I just need to practice practice practice so that I can get comfortable using it!

I made the decision NOT to get the Mark II because I also need to afford lenses at some point... bleh. It's funny to me that I used to flip through the Pottery Barn or J. Crew catalogs and compile my mental wishlist. Now I do the same thing with photography equipment... Marc saw the B&H Photo catalog in the mailbox yesterday and immediately threw it in the trash. HAH!

Coming up soon on the blog... a fall session with baby Jake and several engagement sessions!