Featured: BYU Bridal Guide

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It’s always a thrill

to have my work featured–today it’s the BYU Bridal Guide, a quarterly publication of The summer edition is on newsstands all over campus now, so you can pick up a free copy if you fancy. =) utah wedding photographerutah wedding photographers The Bridal Guide featured one of my favorite images from Maddie and Jason’s bridal session: Planning a wedding of your own and you’re swooning over the thought of gorgeous photos to last for absolutely ever? Yeah. I’m into that. See more wedding photos here, or get in touch about your wedding here.

Molly + Reese: Lifestyle Mother Daughter Photos

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It is always an honor to be chosen to photograph other photographers, especially when said other photographer is as  supertalented as Molly.

Molly wanted to give some photos of her and her daughter to her husband, so we captured the two of them playing, snuggling, eating fruit snacks, and being together. I cannot even say how baby hungry this session makes me–how adorable is Reese, and Molly? Stunner. I just might have to look through these photos every morning in hopes that their cuteness will put me into labor… =)

You can view all the photos from this mother-daughter duo and order prints here.

Dreaming of a lifestyle session of your own? See all the details and pricing for lifestyle sessions here.

Everyone You’re Comparing Yourself to Used to Suck.

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utah wedding photographersPart of being an artist is seeing painful gaps between the work you’re producing and the visions in your head.

This is often compounded by seeing other photographers and artists who seemingly just pump out pure magic all day every day.

But they all have a secret. They used to suck.

While there are many talented photographers, everyone is bad when they start. No one makes magic right away, and especially not consistently. Scroll back to the beginning of your favorite photographer’s blog. Maybe he or she has deleted the icky beginnings overflowing with too much editing, bad composition, unflattering everything–but if not, you’ll have some goooood laughs and be able to take comfort knowing that no matter where you are in the artistic process, you can only get better.

That’s what I love most about being an artist: overall, I get better and better the more pictures I make. I know that as elusive as the artistic muse can be, the simplest solution to feeling stuck, hating my work, being painfully aware of how far I have to go is simply photographing more. More of what I love while pushing my boundaries.

Ohh, what’s that? You want to see MY baaad photos from when I first started? Prepare yourself, because whoa.

ahem. you can stop giggling now. i told you so.

 

 

Brooke Schultz is a Utah wedding photographer who goes crazy for delicious light, fresh journals, and bright lipstick. She’s on the home stretch of her first pregnancy with her first baby girl and is convinced this baby child will be the most adorable human to ever live.

Brooke’s work has been featured in Martha Stewart Weddings, Style Me Pretty, and Ruffled, but she’s equally as proud of her accomplishments in husband snuggling, hot fudge making, and ocean splashing.

She sends snappy updates to cool peeps via The Soul Train, and if you want to receive juicy, exclusive content for creatives, sign up right here.

 

Katie + Craig: Utah Lake Engagements

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Katie and Craig are such a fun, classy couple. They volunteered to model for a mentoring session with the lovely Christine, and while we talked geeky stuff and made them trek through the weeds, they laughed and hugged and played along. They were even good sports while this 8 1/2 month pregnant lady tripped all over herself and threw Katie’s hair in a million directions and laughed way too loud and obnoxious and was generally a crazy person. I’m sure it was quite a sight! Katie and cialisotc-norxcialis.com Craig, thank you for lending your beautiful faces and your beautiful love! Freshly engaged yourself and in need of some gorgeous photos? Why, I’d love to! But I’m also havin’ a baby and that’s kind of important. I’m squeeeezing a select few couples in before babygirl comes (peeps.that’s in like 2 weeks. Ohhhhhmygosh!), and if you wanna be one of them, let’s chat!   You can view all the photos from Katie + Craig’s session and order prints here.

Jaclyn + Bo: Salt Lake City Temple Wedding

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We were sure it was going to do nothing but rain on their wedding day–but sure enough, the sun came out and stayed a while.

It was so fun to see this couple obviously so, so in love and engulfed in wedded bliss. It’s one of the things I love most about weddings–seeing a pair be such a perfect match for each other and just look at each other with wonder and amazement like, “you chose me! I chose you! We love each other and this is real!”

A big thanks to the talented Ciara Richardson for having me along!

A big day of wedded bliss coming up for you soon and photographs are a big deal to you? I’d love to chat about how we’re gonna do the best day of your life justice in the photos we make.

Or, read what peeps have to say about their wedding photos and experience with yours truly here.

The Davis Family: Lifestyle Newborn Session

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Merissa and Jason are wonderful–it was so beautiful to be in their home with the newness of little Otto and capture the wonder of this special time for the two of them. Merissa is a talented singer songwriter and I could tell immediately from their home that we are kindred spirits–books everywhere, handmade quilts, simple beauty. It’s obvious how much they love their little one, and baby Otto is one lucky boy to have

such fabulous parents! Merissa and Jason, thank you for letting me in on this beautiful stage of your family. You three are perfect. You can see all the photos from our session and order prints HERE. Brooke Schultz is a Utah-based photographer who captures families in their homes, in the places they know and love best. She finds inexplicable beauty in authenticity and would lovelove to photograph the incredibleness that is your family, whether your babies are newly born or growin’ babies of their own. See the details here.  

Featured: Peter Loves Jane

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I’m so thrilled to have Summer and Peter’s wedding featured today on Peter Loves Jane!

Peter Loves Jane is one of my new fave wedding blogs because they care about real moments and the beauty that is love in addition to unique details. Brides, read dis blog. You’ll love it. See the full feature here.

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See more of my favorite wedding inspiration here.

How To Prepare For Your Engagement Session

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Yesterday I was convinced that my bum was taking on a new shape–the shape of FLAT–from sitting on it all day. I was scared and whisper-asked Jared to look and tell me if my worst flat-butt fears were coming true. But he just laughed, and he was nice and said nice things about me and my bum.

Guys, I’m tired of being pregnant. I want this baby girl to come so I can run again and walk around for extended periods of time without feeling like I am carrying an achy bowling ball on my belly.

But Jared and other nice people tell me, you look so good! I’m trying to accept compliments and not be a crazy lady about the changes my body is going through to make another human, especially with something so trivial as how I look while my body is workin hard to make these amazing things happen.

The point is: while I’m gonna give you some tips about looking your best during your engagement session, the most important thing is that you remember why we’re taking these pictures in the first place. We’re celebrating the giddy joy and excitement of being in love and freshly engaged and on the verge of being married for the rest of your lives. We might have some time during our session taking a deep breath and remembering how much love we’re trying to fit inside these photographs.

And now, some tips about how to prepare for your engagement session.

 

1. Get a manicure.

Your hands are going to be in these photos, and it makes a big difference if they look good. Plus it just makes you feel fab and you need to show off your gorgeous ring, so it’s official. Manicure for you, m’dear. No scary acrylics, just healthy hands prettily polished up.

utah engagement photographers2. Get your hair and makeup done. I heard that eyeroll– just lemme tell you.

I’m usually a low-maintenance lady, but when you’re investing in photos that you’re going to enjoy for the rest of ever, a professional is going to help you look your best. More importantly, this is a great time to trial run your makeup and hair for your wedding day–you’ll have a chance to see how it translates to photos and be able to make adjustments.

At the very least, a professional blow-out will do wonders. Besides, you’re going to send these photos out to oodles of people–and these photos will live on their fridge for all to see. Make sure you love and trust the professional you hire–the last thing you want is to blindly throw down your cash and have to scrub your face five minutes before our session. (And yes, this has happened.) I recommend Alex Crabtree.

3. Bring two outfits–but only if you lovelovelove them both.

My clients receive a packet with a whole buncha tips about what to wear for photos–we go through all the nitty gritty deets about what works well and what doesn’t. Be sure to be in communication with your photographer about when and where you’ll change. The best idea is to bring accessories that can be added and subtracted lickety split. And really, if you have one outfit you just love–why on earth bring another one? Just because it’s what people do? Nahh.

4. Think about your relationship and how we could best tell your love story; go for meaningful details instead of silly props.

Each love story is unique and I love showing who you are in photographs. Props for engagement sessions are silly to me, so if you’re interested in an authentic capturing of your love think meaningful details instead, like love letters you’ve written to each other or the necklace he gave you for your birthday. Let your photographer in on these elements and she’ll squeal in delight. One of my goals at each session is to connect with couples and personalize their photographs–this ain’t paint-by-numbers canned one-size-fits-all photography. We really are creating custom art together. Let your imagination run wild and we’ll make incredible photos–because they’ll be uniquely you.

utah wedding photographerWell, hey! Are you freshly engaged and in need of some fabulous photos? Brooke Schultz is a Utah-based wedding photographer crazy about her soon-to-be-born baby girl, homemade raspberry jam, and summertime picnics. She thinks chick flicks are mostly ridiculous and is inspired by the ocean and late-night pillow talk. She’d love to photograph your beautiful self. Contact her to chat about it.

 

Amber: Lifestyle Portraits

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Amber is a special soul–she and I are kindred spirits. I was brimming when I read this email from her about what she hoped to do at our session:

“Over the past few years I’ve passed through a trial-by-fire of sorts. Rather than documenting me reaching college graduation (because heaven forbid you ever shoot someone in something as unflattering as a graduation cap and gown) I wanted to celebrate my faith, and my God, and the spring after the winter. Because finally, I’m reaching that metaphoric spring. Weird, huh?

It all started in 2010, when I underwent a spinal fusion. Yep, ten vertebrae in my spine were transformed into one monster vertebrae, and you better believe it was tricky business. I had a second back surgery done the following summer. In total, it took about 2 years to recover. As all of this was going on my personal life became increasingly difficult…”

Amber shared with me her incredible story, about self-reflection and love and letting go and really, really hard things that make you wonder why you have faith in the first place. Confusion and pain and loss but also: the amazing light at the end of the tunnel.
I feel so honored to give that story a voice. Because you can relate, can’t you? You’ve had hard things that shook you and turned your world guts-out. I hope these photos remind you of your strength through seeing Amber’s. Keep swimming, friend.
Amber, thank you for letting me into your beautiful life and your space. It was a joy.
You can view all the photos from Amber’s session and order prints here.
Interested in getting your gorgeous self in front of my camera? I’m interested too. Check out the details, m’love.

Why Photographers Absolutely Should Be Looking at Other Photographers’ Work

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There’s a surge in the photography industry with people passionately decrying looking at other photographers’ work. They shout that photographers are all producing the same mediocre stuff because we’re all looking at each other and discovering what’s acceptable and publishable and cool. The idea is: free your mind and you’ll produce amazing work that’s completely your own. We need artists who aren’t clouded by other people’s work.

I acknowledge the problem, but the solution is garbage.

The first thing writers have to do before they can write well is read. A whole lot. A variety of really fabulous literature, and then they read for pleasure and discover what they like. Eventually writers narrow their reading focus and soak up one author or genre for a long time, all the while writing like mad. They’re not trying to copy anyone; they use reading to nourish their own writing. We should be taking in bunches of creative works, letting them mesh and digest and gel together with our own creative juices to take us to new levels as artists.

You’re going to see photographs; you’re going to be influenced by them. You might as well control what you put in your creative belly–junk in, junk out, love.

This doesn’t mean you should fill up your life with endless scrolling through random photography blogs or that you should only look at “current” photographers or that you should look only at photographers within your field or outside of your field. Those choices are up to you as an artist. I think you should be very, very selective with the photographers whose work you look at, choosing only photographers whose work inspires you crazy much and makes you see the world a little differently and pushes your comfort zone.

Above all, this process should be nourishing–if it makes you feel competitive, snarky, bitter, depressed, or arrogant–you’re doing it wrong. Find the source of the yuck and cut it out of your life.

I’d love to hear your thoughts: what do you think about photographers looking at other photographers’ work?

Let’s Make Photo Magic

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WHAT TO WEAR GUIDE

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