Brush Salon: Chantelle Mertes

Chantelle has been my hair stylist for almost 10 years! She recently made a move to the new Brush Salon in Scottsdale and you can book an appointment with here HERE. Chantelle wanted some head shots of her work, so we teamed up for a photo shoot. These three girls are absolutely stunning!

Beyond a haircut and color, her services include extensions, up-dos and full make-up, as seen here:

My stunning little sister...

Keona {Glamour}

In January, I shared a personal blog post about my goals for my photography business in 2014. You can read that blog post HERE. I wanted to challenge myself by stepping out of my comfort zone. I have always loved the idea of taking a typical woman (a wife, mother, etc.) and photographing her in an editorial style, allowing her to feel beautiful and confident. I think we can all use a little more of this in our lives.

It just so happens that my best friend, Keona, is beautiful. Lucky for me, she agreed to be my model for an afternoon in the AZ desert. I can't get enough of these desert locations! Keona is a natural beauty, inside and out, complete with her Dad's freckles. :) We spent high school, and our early twenties (yikes) attached at the hip. We no longer live down the road from each other, but this girl is dear to my heart.

I am absolutely thrilled to share these images with you.

 

Keona, thank you for being my model for the day, and more importantly, for being such a supportive friend. Xoxo

Baby Isla: Mini Session

Baby Isla Effie is 9 months! She is full of unique expressions. We had a fun little mini session at Power Ranch. Springtime in AZ is just wonderful! Love this sweet little girl and her Momma.

The Miller Family: South Mountain, AZ

Check out the Miller family! This family is adorable! I fell in love with Tyler, and his awesome hair. Maddy is so precious! I just love it when Mom's (and Dad's) rock these fun color combinations. I am a sucker for chevron print. We ran around South Mountain dodging some golf balls. Seriously. There were quite a few first timers out there. Luckily, our windshields survived.

My favorite shots are ones that are candid, and unplanned - I'd say we captured some great ones below.

Be still, my heart...

Perfection!

My WEBSITE is LIVE!!!

I am so excited to (finally) announce that my FIRST-EVER website is LIVE!!  I have been spending hours designing, emailing, branding, tweaking and re-tweaking each and every detail. I don't even want to think about how many hours went into picking the right teal. :)

Here's to a very successful 2014...and doing what you love.

www.aprilelainephotography.com

Davis Family {Pecan Groves Family Session}

I am so blessed! Somehow, these beautiful families continue to find me. I seriously have the best job in the world! Meet: The Davis Family! Cristin (Mom) rocked this color combo of navy and yellow. Peyton + Tate were incredibly behaved, and we had a blast in the warm AZ sun.

 Sometimes, we stop for a tickle session.

 Cristin + Brandon, your love is beautiful.

Assuming Someone Reads This, Besides My Mom

On New Year's Eve, Tyler and I sat around our fire pit in PJs, eating frozen pizza with Cholula on top. Seriously? I buy a Costco sized bottle of this deliciousness every month. We talked about everything going well in our lives, our pits and our peaks of 2013, and what we wanted to do next. In the past, I would talk about a resolution or a goal... but never really set out a plan to achieve it. Then my favorite photographer of all time wrote this. I decided to make a Dream goal and a Do goal for Career, Health and Finance.

I have a full time 9-5. It pays the bills, it challenges me. But all day, I think about photography. This is what I want to do. This is what makes me tick. I am currently working on some exciting new projects to help this Dream become reality...
A new website!! Yessssssss! It will go Live soon!
A new logo!! This has been a blast to work on!
Glamour Sessions? Need I say more??
Stay Tuned!! In the meantime, I plan to share more personal stories on my blog. Please give me feedback, assuming someone actually reads this, besides my Mom. :)

I want to run a 5k. Okay, there, I said it. It's on paper now...so I need to just DO it. I hate running. I hate running more than I hate public restrooms. I want to do it prove myself wrong. I attempted to run at the gym the other day. Please don't laugh. I ran .5 mile and thought I was going to lose my breakfast. I guess I've got to start somewhere, right? I have also been weight lifting, eating healthy, following inspirational people on Instagram. (@slimfitbean @kelly_flab2fab) If you can suggest any others, please do!

Here's to a dreamy 2014!