tagged!

I've been tagged by Briony to list seven random things about yours truly! This is so completely random . . . things that are coming to my mind as I type them. Here we go!

1. I drive a big-ass, slate blue Toyota Sequoia and am THRILLED that it only cost me $52 to fill it up yesterday! Woo hoo!

2. I need to call my sister back because she has a fussy 3 1/2 month old and has a few questions for me. I am the proud parent of a daughter (Ava) who was the fussiest 3 1/2 month old you ever laid eyes on, so I'm pretty sure I've been there/done that with whatever she has to inquire about!

3. I have the best girlfriends in the world, both on the east coast and out here in my lovely little adopted hometown of Bozeman. Trisha, Hillary, Carrie, Erika and Irene are a few of my favorite east coast home girls. Kristen, Amber, Erica, Kara, Audrey, Deanna, Diana and Doanna (just kidding, but thought it was funny there is a "dee" and a "di" so why not a "doe"?) are just a few of my home girls on the west coast. Together we all have a love of gossip, shopping and wine. What more could a girl ask for?

4. Everytime I see that my brother or sister is calling, I immediately think something has happened to one of my parents. Not cool. Yesterday they called literally back to back and when I was dialing into my voicemail I had to scoop my pulsing heart up off the floor with my free hand.

5. I am married to the nicest man under the sun. Seriously. He drives me crazy sometimes but he is genuinely the kindest person I know, from deep within. He cares about his family and friends more than anyone I know. Plus, he's hot. Yay for me!

6. I hate to cuddle. I used to LOVE to cuddle, but now I hate it. I feel claustrophobic. I do love to greet people with a hug and a kiss for sure, but lingering in someone's arms for extended periods of time makes me uncomfortable. Must be a childhood issue. :)

7. My husband is not only nice, but it turns out he'd do just about anything for me. I am obsessed with Dancing with the Stars - not just because it inspires me to go get spray-tanned, lose 20 pounds and glue myself to the Elliptical machine, but I truly love dancing and grew up dancing (tap) . . . so Carson and I are going to take lessons! I'm sooo excited. Carson is a great dancer too, so together I'm pretty sure we can put Maks and Edyta in their own stinkin', ridiculously good-looking corners.

Okay, I'm on a roll here, so I want to do 7 more items but these are PHOTO-RELATED! That's right, folks. Here are 7 things I've learned/desired/want in the biz! A must-read for potential clients:

1. Moms tend to stress out the most at family photo shoots. They have 10-13 outfit changes, 75 different hair styles, and about 62 questions for me about what I think will look good on little Johnny. Here's my take . . . as a mom, I am NOT mocking these women or thinking they are crazy. I have been there. But when little Johnny is absolutely miserable, my first thought is, let's take things down a notch. My style is photojournalistic - I would so much rather you put your child into a cute, comfortable outfit that represents who he/she is over putting them in some frilly dress and itchy tights. I know it's an old cliche, but when moms stress out, babes stress out, usually in the form of snot and tears. So my advice to moms and dads out there - put your kiddo in something comfortable, be relaxed and happy when it's time to start taking photos, and the images will be worth more than you ever imagined.

2. I offer an engagement photo shoot with each of my packages, and I can't even begin to tell you how invaluable this is! It's usually a little awkward at first for the couple when I start shooting. One thing I always tell my couples is to try not to feel embarrassed or shy, and that I am not judging them. I don't have time to formulate an opinion on a photo shoot, and if I do, it's usually, Wow, this couple is beautiful! What a great shot! But the time we spend taking engagement photos and then communicating afterwards about what they loved just brings us closer, so when I show up on their wedding day, their thought is, Oh, it's just Morgan! And when it's time to run off and do portraits of the bride and groom, they are so much more relaxed and know what to expect of me, and the photos therefore are natural, beautiful and enjoyable.

3. I offer unlimited coverage on all of my packages. I simply don't want to wave goodbye to the bride and groom 2 minutes before she's about to toss her bouquet. I begin photographing when the bride is getting ready and usually leave a few minutes after all of the traditional wedding events have been covered - toasts, cake cutting, first dances, bouquet and garter tosses if they do them, etc. I stay a little longer to capture some super fun dancing candids like this . . .



and this . . .



So fun! I don't want to miss moments like these.

4. I loooooove watching the dynamics of a couple. I notice things like whether they hold hands when they get out of the car and start walking towards me at an engagement session (Missy and JR) . . . whether he opens the door for her or not (Dan is quite the gentleman) . . . and learning that it's actually the bride who's feeling shy and nervous, not the groom! (Hailey and Adam). I love watching how they interact with each other, how they relax each other, and how they make each other laugh. And I LOVE when my couples have followed my blog enough to truly know my style and just start workin' it right away! So this tip is for the ladies . . . you can probably identify what is posed and what isn't in my portraits for both engagement and weddings, so definitely come to the shoot prepared to relax, have fun, interact with your lovah, and get amazing photos out of it!

5. I never use flash unless I absolutely have to. I really just don't care for the way flash looks on a photo, especially when it's sunny and 80 degrees out and the girls are all posed in the shade so the sun isn't in their eyes, and then BOOM! The photographer shoots the flash. Gross! Not my cup of tea. However, I am so excited to be learning off-camera flash for my 2009 weddings. In layman's terms, this means setting up a flash on a light stand off in the corner of the reception hall, and triggering it with my on-camera flash. So when I take a photo of the first dance and have to light the couple with my on-camera flash, they're also being back-lit with my off-camera flash. It's simply beautiful and I cannot wait to start using it!

6. Sometimes I meet with couples/wedding planners and we talk about photographing the ceremony and what not . . . so for those who need to know this, I have a super long 70-200 mm f/2.8 lens that lets me be as far away as needed and completely out of the limelight during a ceremony, whether it's in a church or at a popular Montana venue. And because of the light allowed into the lens, I may not even have to use flash so hopefully you won't even know I'm there! :)

7. Another thing I'm working on is showing a slideshow at the reception of my favorite photographs taken earlier in the day. The photos would be shown through my usual slideshow program and displayed on my laptop at an area where there is high traffic (like the bar!?). I'm really excited about this and think it will be a wonderful thing for the couple and guests to have at their wedding.

Whew! Long post there . . . thanks for hanging in! Happy Hump Day!