Buon giorno!
When Kenny Kim announced that he was having a workshop in Italy I was thrilled! But then I realized I had a wedding and would be unable to attend. Lo and behold, the dates for the workshop changed and it was now possible to make this trip. A workshop? No, not really. More like an experience of a lifetime. Kenny teamed up with native Italian Max Brunelli to guide us through the beautiful regions of Umbria & Tuscany. We visited 28 locations which included Spoleto, Spello, Assisi, Siena, Cortona, Monteriggioni, San Gimignano (which I had the most trouble saying), Norcia and much more.
The 9 day experience is locked in my mind and soul forever and the over 3,500 photos taken will help me to remember and share the beauty of Italy. Not only did I have to take pictures of EVERYTHING, including my morning cup of cappuccino, but touching and smelling was a must as well. I was the only one in the group running from the camera as I had a skin treatment prior to leaving and still had very puffy eyes. Oh the silly things girls do! My only regret was not learning key Italian phrases so that I could communicate well with locals. Max was so very helpful in helping out with my sentences and even had me go up to a cash register, tell the cashier what I had to eat and what I wanted to buy, all in Italian. Thank goodness he was next to me mouthing the words the whole time! haha. Next visit, I will have learned much more and will do the order all by myself 
Kenny Kim, an amazing wedding photographer based in Chicago, travels the world capturing beautiful weddings and the beauty of everyday life. As Kenny said, “this was so much more than a workshop” and even coined the name Photoventure while we were walking down one of the many cobblestone streets. The idea was to see Italy in a way that only could be experienced with Max Brunelli, but to learn from each other as photographers by sharing ideas, goals and creativity, as well as having an amazing photo shoot. The photo shoot truly pushed me as a photographer because the models didn’t speak English and it was starting to rain just as we arrived. So, I tied my hair up in a pony tail, put on my rain jacket and managed to communicate through body language and a few key words. While I was showing one of the models how I wanted her to stand up against a door, the resident of that home opened the door and we scared each other as I fell inside! Well, it turns out that he invited us into his beautiful home to take more photos!!! Seriously, this day will always be a part of my memory. The models were beautiful, fun and dealt with my silly ways of attempting to speak some Italian.
The last night in Italy was spent at Max’s home with his lovely wife Cristiana and son Federico. Perfect.
I am posting the photos from the bride & groom shoot in Labro, and will be posting other photos as I get them ready.
More to come! Thank you for stopping by!
Ciao!
~lisa
My main website is currently down until Monday the 28th. Unfortunately slideshows cannot be viewed again until that time. So when you are viewing the blog, all slideshows are showing up as a generic site and will be fixed when the site is working. I appreciate your patience and am working to get this resolved asap!
Thanks for stopping by.
~lisa
Third time’s a charm as it is often said. The first two sessions had to be canceled due to poor weather, however the third date that we set turned out to be perfect. I have had the pleasure of working with little Ellison before when she was only 3 months old, and boy has she grown so fast! Our session, or ‘play date’ as I call them was a success. Watching the slideshow makes me smile…I cannot wait until our next ‘play date’ and see how much more she has grown at that time. Enjoy the show
Thank you for stopping by!
~lisa
Ever since I can remember, I have searched through countless magazines to find items that I found to be beautiful, fashionable, fun, different or things that I just wanted to share with others. I was in the 4th grade when I started flipping through those glossy pages and still do all these years later – probably not good for the budget either. Magazines have been an addiction for years but they are just so frustratingly predictable and the articles seem to be just slightly recycled, but that doesn’t stop me from heading to the stands to pick out my next purchase. In fact, I look forward to the articles as they are short enough of a read to fit into my schedule (and attention span) and the photos are ways to grab new inspiration for upcoming shoots.
Now that the internet is flooded with blogs, online magazines, images and articles, there are even more ways to be inspired or find things that I like to share. I have been on a kick lately of sharing amazing finds on my Facebook account and thought I would recap a few of them on here as well.
I love this image found on Brides.com for many reasons. Her makeup is simple but not plain. The whole ensemble works perfectly.
I’ll admit that I have been on a headpiece kick lately. This one is probably too much for most people, but it is gorgeous and someone will wear it well and I want to be the photographer
These other headpieces are more subtle yet stunning.
I have found all of these and many more on Etsy, but be prepared to spend a ton of time on that site!!
The Mini wedding dress is supposedly making a comeback and for some brides, they will be THE fit for them. Here are some I have found that are beautiful on Brides.com.
This dress deserves a post all of it’s own just because it is the most beautiful one I’ve seen.
You can find it here.
With all the choices out there it is easy find something that defines ‘YOU’ on your big day.
Feel free to share some as well. Thank you for stopping by.
~lisa
You may recognize the beautiful face in these photos because I have had previous sessions with my client turned friend, Stacy. What you may also notice is that Stacy has topped the previous sessions each and every time as she becomes more and more comfortable in front of the camera. To add variety to the galleries of photos, Stacy decided to go for an edgier look with straight hair and a smokey eye. I must say that she looked stunning! We met at very early on a Sunday morning to avoid the crowds and to take advantage of the warm colors of the rising sun. Facing the sun and a little extra eye makeup created a frustrating yet comical situation of watering eyes. So every 3rd or 4th frame we had to take a quick break to allow the eyes to stop tearing, which gave us all time to laugh and have a fun morning. Nothing like having the photographer say “come on, dry the eyes as the light is changing fast!”. But again, that just meant more laughs for all of us.
The clothing worn in this shoot will be a part of the Expressions Fashion Show in October. If you haven’t been to one of these shows yet, you must try and make the one in October!
All the very best to you Stacy on your modeling journey!
Thank you for stopping by.
~lisa
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