Miah's Christmas Shoot

Meet Miah, she is my little 17 month old niece (and basically the most gorgeous toddler in the history of toddlers).

This girl is a mover, a busy bee... its always a challenge to get her to smile at the camera, we didn't even get one shot of her doing so. But there is something magical about our christmas shoot. I <3 HER!

Huff Wedding was AMAZING!

Last year a friend from high school contacted me about wedding pricing. I was super excited for many reasons, I hadn't seen her in 10 years, she loved my photos enough to ask for more info, I just seriously love photographing weddings AND it was on the other side of the state… umm, heck yea mini vacation! 

She booked me right away, I was stoked!

So the wedding turned out gorgeous, it was held in POULSBO WA at Red Cedar Farm. This place is pretty new to the wedding venue scene but it was incredible and the owners and dj from MYSTIK MUSIC really made things flow smoothly. There were multiple barn like buildings for the reception and areas the bride and groom got ready, beautiful restrooms, huge open grassy areas, a fire pit, old school pinball/arcade room and even some farm animals off in the distance. It was a perfect setting for our bride Cortney, who grew up on a farm back in our little town.  

My husband and I worked as a team on this wedding, we had so much fun together I think I might have to hire him as my new wedding assistant! Check out the Huff Wedding photos below and watch for more photos in the website wedding gallery. 

You can find beautiful locations anywhere

The possibilities for beautiful photoshoot locations are endless. Some of the best spots are hiding in plain sight! I have learned that not everyone can really see the potential of an amazing location at first glance. I guess my brain works differently when looking at possible locations. But I do think this can be practiced and learned! I just drive around all the time location scouting. I look for things that are strange, things that are interesting. Below, I'm going to show you an example of a location many people consider an eye sore in town, and what I did in my photoshoot to make it look like an amazing desirable location!

 

There is this abandoned lot in the middle of my town, tons of weeds, piles of dirt and rocks, broken down vehicles. When I saw it I was in love! But I cannot say the same for my models when they arrived at our photoshoot. You could see the hesitation, the "what did I sign up for" look on their faces. HAHA. At the end of the shoot I showed them some of the photos on the back of my camera and they were shocked that location looked like that in camera. It looked like we were in a completely different part of the country, we live in Washington state…. in a forrest… The photos made it look like we were in Nevada or Arizona! I love finding spots that nobody sees as beautiful and changing their minds in my photographs. Be original, look for places nobody uses, separate yourself from the other photographers in your area! You can do it!

 

The first photos are from my location scouting trip, just drove by this lot and stopped to snap a photo with my cell phone. Nothing special right? Well just wait till you see what we did!

 

Thanks Katrina Russel & Jeannie Corbett for modeling! You 2 are gorgeous! If you or someone you know would be interested in modeling and live in the eastern washington/northern idaho area contact me! I'm always looking for new models! No experience necessary!!

shandell thompson blog

Star photography

This is my first attempt at photographing the stars. I'm gonna play more this weekend. But I think  I did ok for my first time. These were shot with long exposures so the stars left trails in the sky.

This 1st picture was taken with my canon 7d, 28-135mm 3.5 f iso 100 for 10 minutes

This 2nd picture was taken with my canon 7d, 28-135mm 3.5 f iso 100 for 25 minutes

Sirens

I had originally wanted a photoshoot with the theme "shipwrecked in a meadow" but as I was shooting and as I was culling my images on my computer, I thought they looked more like sirens  :)

These girls were so awesome to photograph, and I am beyond happy with the shots we got! 

 

Looking for Models for Summer Shoots 2014

Do you live in Eastern Washington or Northern Idaho and want to model? No experience necessary to model for me. I have a few beautiful photoshoots planned for summer 2014 and I will be submitting these photos to magazines and posting photos on my webistes. Below is a list of shoots I am planning, email shandellt@gmail.com with a current clear photograph of yourself and what shoot you would be interested in modeling for.

*Stylized Bride photoshoot: must already own a fitting wedding dress that you do not mind getting wet or dirty and be willing to travel to Spokane Wa, Chewelah Wa, or Colville Wa for the photoshoot. We will be recreating your posed wedding photos in a creative way. 

*Red head photoshoot: female with long red hair and very noticeable freckles. Must travel to Spokane Wa, Chewelah Wa, or Colville Wa.

*Boho/Free spirit photoshoot: must own a long flowy boho style dress, looking for models with long  hair. Must travel to Spokane Wa, Chewelah Wa, or Colville Wa.

*Stylized Boudoir photoshoot: must own your own lingerie and be fine with your photos displayed on my website. indoor and outdoor locations...Must travel to Spokane Wa, Chewelah Wa, or Colville Wa.

*Couples camping trip photoshoot: young couples (18-35ish years old) who enjoy the outdoors. Shoot involves a campfire, smores, a cute little tent and the woods. Prefer couples with flannel button up shirts and jeans. Must travel to Spokane Wa, Chewelah Wa, or Colville Wa.

*2-4 best friend high school girls: must be going into your senior year of high school, we will be doing a best friends shoot, and then individual shots of each girl on their own. Looking for stylish, FUN, entergetic girls who want to have fun with their friends and look gorgeous in photos! Must travel to Spokane Wa, Chewelah Wa, or Colville Wa.

*Water photoshoot: Female 18-35 years old, willing to do the entire photoshoot in the lake or river in a dress. Standing, kneeling and laying in the water, I would like to portray pain or a longing for.. This might be really cool if your spouse is away in the marines or the navy. Must travel to Spokane Wa, Chewelah Wa, or Colville Wa.

*WE ARE ALL BEAUTIFUL photoshoot: looking for WOMEN of all ages, shapes, sizes and colors. Must be comfortable with being photographed with minimal make up and showing off your insecurities and "flaws". Show the world you are beautiful just the way you are. Must travel to Spokane Wa, Chewelah Wa, or Colville Wa.

Below are a few model shoots I have done in the past and I would love to feature our summer shoots all over my websites and submit them for publications! Email shandellt@gmail.com with a current, clear photograph and a description of what shoot you are interested in modeling for!


Lilac Princess

Every night this week I have been watching the golden sun filling my dining room at sunset. Everytime I see the light I think, DANG why don't I have a shoot tonight?! It is seriously perfect… Yesterday I was mowing my lawn and I walked by my big lilac bush, immediately the fragrance hit me and I was instantly inspired to do a photoshoot by them. It was very strange timing because Katrina just happened to be walking home from school and was passing my house at the exact same time I thought of doing a photoshoot. (Katrina is a high school senior that I have become friends with and photographed a few times for fun).  I yelled at her "hey, you busy tonight?" she smiled really big and replied "nope". I yelled back at her "you wanna do a shoot at 7pm?" (it was like 5:15pm btw haha) Of course she said yes so I told her to wear a white dress and I'll pick her up at 7pm.

It felt like a fairytale, she was spinning and posing in front of that golden glowing sunset and I was having so much fun I'm pretty sure I squealed more than I spoke words to her! 

My husband bought me a few LENSBABY lenses so I knew I wanted to practice using them in this shoot. WOW, I mean WOW WOW WOW! It really made the photos so much more than I had imagined in my head. I am so proud of how this shoot turned out, especially since it was thrown together in less than 2 hours. We just winged it!

For this shoot I used my Canon 7D, Optic Edge 80 LENSBABY F4, a reflector with the silver side out, a smoke bomb, and I edited the photos in PS CS5 using Paint the Moon actions (Luminosity and Artisan sets). I cloned quite a bit because we took these in my front yard. So I had to remove a garbage can and driveways. Below I am including a before and after shot as well as a few of my favorite shots. ENJOY!