My head is spinning, my heart is racing…so much inspiration, new ideas, hopes, and goals for our business! Breathe Mariana, breath… it’s all in God’s time. That is just a part of how I feel after returning home from my trip to New York & New Jersey last week. What a phenomenal week! Fortunately, I was able to mix business with pleasure and I spent a few days with my brother and his family. In between flights, trains, crowds, noise, city life, beautiful scenery, pumpkin farms, fall colors, delicious restaurants, family love, and much, much, more- I was able to tune out all of life’s obstacles, negativity, doubts- and simply…focus.
I had no idea that I would be coming home with more knowledge (a lot more) and determination to succeed in the art and business of photography. The GoingPro2010 BootCamp was exactly the bucket of cold water that I needed! Scott Bourne, Tony Corbell, and Skip Cohen are beyond talented and gave so many valuable resources, shared priceless experiences- that I can guarantee that every photographer there went home with more than what they expected to get!
On top of all the information, meeting & networking with other photogs, learning about some fabulous new products from vendors such as: WHCC, AsukaBook, Marathon Press, and other cool vendors-I thought it just couldn’t get any better! Boy, was I wrong!

Scott Bourne is well-known for his twitter give-aways (hint: if you are currently not following him, do so asap! And, if you don’t have a twitter, get one of those too!) Well, after a few prizes were given out throughout the day, Scott announced that he was giving away a Kubota Starter Pak (these bad boys are about $400!!) My inner voice was screaming, “me, me, me!” But, never would I have imagined that his next question would be, “Now, who’s the person that said earlier they came all the way from FL?” The rest is a bit blurry but I know it consists of me jumping up and down and a few seconds, if not minutes, of embarrassment! But, it was SO worth it and I am extremely thankful for a wonderful experience!

Here’s a little preview of the day. I will most likely post a part II so that I can share some fun images from my time with my brother and family. It was amazing to me how NY could be so busy and full of buildings & minutes away in Jersey, you could find yourself in a picture-perfect country scenery! Look for that later this week!

Below are a few random favs from my time in NY! I think I need to live on Fashion Ave & the view from the Empire State Building was breathtaking!

After my first phone conversation with Luccia (pronounced Lu-Chia), and finally learning how to say her unique name-I just knew this would be a fun shoot! Young, talented, & determined, this actress definitely knows the meaning of success! I truly could have spent all afternoon shooting with her! The lighting, weather, and mood of the shoot were all superb! On top of that, I also got to bring out my creative MUA skills and do Luccia’s make-up (that was super-fun)!

It was also great to learn more about Luccia’s creative side!

I look forward to working again in the future with Luccia and hope all her dreams & goals come true!

By the way, is it just me or does she seriously resemble Jessica Alba?!

Enjoy this little sneak preview!

When a photo session make you want to have images just like the ones you just delivered to your couple- then you know you are doing a great job!  This photo shoot was the hardest session to blog (yet)! I could not choose which ones to feature (and still can’t, Khaled had to decide on this one)! Every single image makes my heart skip a beat! This gorgeous couple is just as beautiful on the inside as they are on the outside!

Sherise & Anthony wanted to celebrate their love with a unique photo session and I LOVE how prepared they were! Sherise knew exactly which location she wanted and what they would be wearing. She needed little, if any guidance from us to plan this shoot!

My favorite part? When we finally met the day of the shoot, Sherise & Anthony  were so open to suggestions for posing and together we created some outrageously stunning imagery! I can’t wait to see a few of these images adorning their walls in some amazing canvases ( I might just have to order duplicates for my walls, haha)!

Sherise & Anthony, we had such a fun time with you both and can’t wait to document many more special moments in your relationship & future!

This is Khaled’s favorite image of the day:

Sherise, you are stunning. I am so glad we were able to convince you to take a few shots by yourself! ;)
Look at those eyes, need I say more?!
The best part of photoshoots-Capturing the true essence of relationships! There is just something in this image (on the left) that I adore!! Her quick kiss on his cheek and his expression: Priceless.
I.want.that.ring. Seriously, I am obsessed with it! Talk about GORGEOUS!!
If I had to choose my favorite shot of the day, it would be this one below! (Sigh…)
This was the very last shot of the night and we were wrapping up when I saw this! Too romantic to pass up! ;)
We started the shoot here and I LOVE how these images showcase the fun side of Sherise & Anthony! Anthony is going to have to give Khaled some salsa lessons, or is it the other way around?

We never imagined this fun idea would gain so much attention and have such an amazing response in only 2 weeks! This was, by far, the most difficult contest for us (yet)! Choosing the TOP 3 from 22 creative entries was beyond intense and we wish we could select everyone-as each proposal is unique in it’s own way and full of LOVE! Thanks to every lovely couple that took the time to enter our contest, share their story and for all the beautiful words! We wish you the best on your Big Day in 2011 & much happiness in your journey together as one! All contestants will have a special treat in their inbox within the next few days as a token of our appreciation for entering our contest!

Congratulations to Ariel & Keith, Corryn & Adam, and Alison & Matt for making the TOP 3 and to part II of this contest!  These couples’ unique creativity  truly stood out to us! Grab some popcorn and definitely lots of tissue and check out their entries below! Leave a comment on this blog post letting us know which couple gets your vote! Thanks!

Winning Couple will receive our basic wedding package for FREE ( a $2500 value)! Additionally, the couple will receive a custom designed album displaying their lovely day (a $500 value)!

Voting Rules:

Contest ends: Oct 14, 2010 midnight EST

Winning Couple announced: Oct. 18, 2010

Each voter may vote only ONCE  by leaving a comment under THIS blog post. (in the event of duplicate or questionable comments, IP addresses will be verified)

Each voter may vote for only ONE couple.

Contestants may vote for themselves

Due to the sensitivity of this contest, Comments/Votes will not be publicly viewable by readers during the voting period (Oct 7-14, 2011) but all comments/votes will be available for view on Oct. 18th, 2010 when the winning couple is announced. *Throughout the contest, we will occasionally update who’s in the lead on our FACEBOOK PAGE, so be sure to send your friends, family, neighbors, everyone you know there!

Voters and contestants may share their contest entries on social media sites (Facebook, Twitter, Myspace) for support & more votes, but only votes/comments left under this blog post will be counted as official votes. Facebook comments and likes will not count as official votes. So make sure to send your family, friends, neighbors, you name it-to this blog post! Don’t forget to click like on this blog post to spread the word! Have fun!

If you have any questions, please send them to contest@kismisink.com

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