paper or plastic? (boulder senior portraits)

I was recently asked by a client about my editing / retouching policy.  I hated that the first thing I had to say was, "You'll still look like you".  She nodded in relief.  It's so weird to me that there are photographers out there who specialize in making you look like a computerized Barbie version of yourself!  I want you to look like yourself, your REAL self, on your best, happiest day.  I want your friends to look at an image and say, "Oh my gosh, that's such a good picture of you!" rather than saying, "Wow... what great Photoshop work!  You look great... after all that editing!"I do edit and retouch images, but I try to be light-handed about it.   I want you to look GOOD!   We'll get rid of your breakouts, edit that stain on your shirt, and fix weird lumps in your clothing that are distracting, but I want your skin to look like skin, not plastic.  I want your face to look like YOUR face, not some weird anime version of your face.  This is why I still call myself a photographer, and not a "digital artist" or something.

For some of you, your truest, most authentic beauty is found in a huge smiley grin.  For others of you, it's that wave in your hair, or a moment of intense eye contact.  Sometimes it's the expression on your face when you think I'm just screwing around,  and you laugh at me.  Seriously!  I love it when people laugh, (at me, or with me!)  Every person has their own, individual beauty, and it's my job to find that and broadcast it.  Sometimes it's a quiet presence and graceful movements.  Sometimes it's sequins and glitter, and spotlights, and neon... awesome!! It doesn't matter.   What makes you the most beautiful is when you look like yourself, loving life.

To edit the absolute  crap out of you would be saying that I thought you were maybe okay-looking, but not quite beautiful enough.  It would be saying that, "the way you look in reality is fine, I guess, but your face would look so much better made out of plastic"... which is not something I believe AT ALL.  The people I'm the most drawn to and find the most beautiful, my best friends, who I love and do life with, are REAL.  LIVE.  PEOPLE... and I love them for it!

I will make you look like a real person.  You look better that way... I promise.

* sidenote - despite the title of this post, I don't want to make your skin look like paper, either.  It was just a catchier title than "Real live skin or plastic?"  ;)

ashley & marc (silverthorne wedding photographer)

Ashley & Marc are old friends from college - Ashley & I met singing in an acappella group!  Their wedding was on a gorgeous fall day overlooking Lake Dillon in Silverthorne, and I was so, so excited to be there.  Not only did I get to watch my beautiful friend walk down the aisle to marry a kind, handsome man, I also got to reconnect with some long-lost college friends :)  The weather was perfect, the whole day was so relaxed, and I was thrilled to be a part of it.

Gahh you are so gorgeous!

I LOVE this.

Marc & Ash - love you guys so much!  Congratulations and thanks for the amazing day!

my grandfather's wedding

I was out to dinner with my parents for my birthday in March, when my mom got a call from my grandfather, saying he was engaged."And, of course," he told my mom, "Molly will shoot the wedding."

I was definitely a little mind-blown.  This wasn't exactly something I thought I would do in my lifetime.

"Of course I will," I told her, still kind of shocked.

Over the next few weeks, his wedding was on my mind a lot.  My grandfather has meant so much to me - he's an amazing, successful businessperson, and he's taken me seriously and stood behind me 100% since starting my own business.  When he was in his 20's and 30's, he was very interested in photography, and collected several cameras, which he gave to me when I was starting to get into photography in high school.  He showed me the photos he had taken while on his honeymoon with my grandmother in Acapulco back in the day, which he later sold as postcards in some of the shops nearby for spending money.

I always thought of those cameras as fun relics, novelties that look nice on the shelf.... and they sat on my shelves forever.  They were all caked in dust, the lenses clouded over with age.  As soon I realized I'd be shooting his wedding (!), I started thinking about those cameras.  I dusted them off,  swabbed out the crevices with Q-tips, and ran some test film through two of them: the Argus and the Ciro-flex.  Surprisingly, both of them worked (mostly).  So, obviously I was going to use my grandpa's old cameras to shoot his wedding.

This was so different from the weddings I normally shoot, and it really made me look at weddings, and my job, in a completely different light.  It wasn't about the trends, or the details - it was a day spent with family, celebrating the people closest to us.  We didn't have really any time at all set aside for photos, and Jackie was surprised to hear that she might get several hundred pictures from the day.  I learned that church regulations prohibited me from using flash indoors, or stepping on the carpet, or moving around during the ceremony, even if I stayed behind the guests.  Or wearing anything other than all solid black, otherwise I WOULD BE KICKED OUT.  So pretty much, I went into this wedding rethinking my entire style and approaching the day completely differently.  This, in and of itself, was honestly such an amazing experience for me.   A few days earlier, my grandfather went in for some tests, because his doctors were concerned he might have liver cancer.  Needless to say, all of us were pretty emotionally overwhelmed, in so many ways.  This day was so sweet and very raw, and I got to share it with my amazing family.  I'm lucky to be so close to all of them.

Shooting this wedding changed me.

The rehearsal (and location of the reception), the LA Country Club:

One from the Ciro-Flex:

Fair warning: if you're not in the mood to see me & my siblings making a lot of stupid faces, you can probably stop now.  That's just what we do.

My little bro & his girlfriend:

Checking out the gorgeous sunset:

My youngest bro:

And now, the wedding day:

My sweetheart grandfather:

My wonderful, sweet parents:

My grandpa is the COOLEST.  These next few are AWESOME!

Then me & my seester & my cousin get tired of being fancy, and head to the bathroom of this church on Rodeo Drive, where the reeeallly classy shots happen:

Beret & Jaime were the "greeters".  This was an official title, which was kind of funny to us, because the vast majority of the 30 or so guests were family, and about half of those were in the wedding party. However, they took their job quite seriously, and greeted every.single.person. with... enthusiasm.

Two shots from the Argus:

Another Argus shot.

One from the Ciro-Flex.

The LACC:

The decorations were so classic and elegant:

My sweet grandpa with the Ciro-Flex:

Phew.  I don't know what else to say.  I love you all.

andrea & clay (steamboat springs wedding photographer)

Andrea and Clay are wonderful, wonderful people.  I was especially honored (and a little nervous!) to shoot their wedding at Midnight Ranch outside of Steamboat Springs because Andrea is a fellow wedding photographer... no pressure there :)  You can check out her amazing work here.Their wedding was so sweet and mellow, and full of thoughtful, fun details and moments.  When I left the wedding, rather than being as tired as I normally am, I was surprisingly relaxed and content.  Both Andrea and Clay are so kind and thoughtful, and I'm flattered to be included in such an amazing event :)

Andrea rode this red truck up to the ceremony site, which overlooked a lake:

And the guys canoed across the lake to the ceremony site!

Love this amazing mountain light!

One of my favorites from the day:

I loved everything about Midnight Ranch:

So, they had a photo area with a ton of fun props... during dinner, the kids took over, and these next dinosaur / fedora / pink parasol / pumpkin / red truck shots are totally unplanned and some of my all-time favorites:

We also had such a lovely sunset, full of rich, deep colors:

Andrea & Clay - everything about this day was wonderful.  Thank you for being so amazing and so much fun to work with! Congrats to you both :)

casidy & tyler (devil's thumb ranch wedding)

I've been looking forward to Casidy & Tyler's weekend wedding at Devil's Thumb Ranch for the last year!  Casidy has put SO MUCH work, love & effort into this wedding, which showed through so clearly.  This wedding, on a gorgeous fall day, with beautiful weather, was EPIC.  She even designed all of their print materials, in addition to the lovely details!  I was so thankful to be able to work with a rockstar team of vendors, who pulled it all together and made this wedding flawless. 

Gigantic shout-outs to:

My new wedding vendor BFFs: the ladies at PeeKay Soirees and I hit it off immediately, and aside from the fact that they're super cool people, I can't recommend their work highly enough.

Sweet Pea Flowers

Teacup Bakery

Moment's Notice (musicians at the ceremony & reception)

And, of course, Devil's Thumb Ranch, and Casidy, herself, for the amazing design elements!

The bridesmaids watching Casidy open a gift from Tyler : a printed, bound copy of all of the messages they exchanged on Facebook while they were dating:

Casidy, just... OMG.  You are stunning!

I love when couples decide to do a First Look - then we get sweet moments like this:

Devil's Thumb Ranch is full of amazingness - EVERYWHERE.

Love this shot that Janella, my second shooter, got as Cas walked down the aisle:

Instead of birdseed or flower petals, Casidy made all of these fabric flags, and the joyful shots of everyone dancing back down the aisle are some of my favorites from the day!

High-fiving the minister after making it all official...

Peekay Soirees is AMAZING!  

I'm such a sucker for succulents.  Love them!

Another of my favorites... I love the look of dreaminess on this little flower girl's face during Casidy & Tyler's first dance.  She's mesmerized!

Cas & Ty -

Thank you SO MUCH for such a fun experience!  Every single thing was amazing, and I was honored to be a part of your big day.  Congratulations on continuing your lives together!