beauty

Leah Glamour | Mikaela Joy: El Paso Portrait Photographer

I know I always say this, but I had so much fun with this shoot!  Leah came into my studio for a day of pampering and some Hollywood glamour portraits.  She had her hair and makeup done by my amazing makeup artist Sarah Martin (look her up if you are in El Paso and need makeup!), picked out this gorgeous dress from my studio closet (which seriously looks like it was made for her), and played model for a day! 

Of course she rocked it.  How could she not looking like that?! The Hollywood glamour style suited her so well, and it's one of my favorite styles to shoot.  Check out the photos here below:


If you are interested in having your own glamour portrait session please contact me to book your complimentary consultation today.

Alexis at the Beach | Mikaela Joy: Savannah Portrait Photographer

Ahh summer. There is something so comforting about the salty air and feeling of sand between my toes.  Nothing says summer quite like an early morning walk along the beach.  But I can one up that- what about a photo shoot with this beauty?

 Alexis and I were up bright and early to catch the Tybee Island sunrise for this shoot.  She's an aspiring model who is building her portfolio, and a total natural.  She rocked this shoot!  But don't take my word for it: See for yourself!


If you are interested in your own portrait session, please contact me to schedule your complimentary consultation.

Eryn Glamour | Mikaela Joy: Savannah Portrait Photographer

It's been a while since I've done a glamour shoot.  It's been even longer since I worked with Eryn (remember our pinup shoot?)
Eryn has been working on some lifestyle changes and getting into shape (which she is doing a killer job of) and wanted to commemorate that by doing a session in her newly-fitting prom dress.  Of course I was all over that- a studio session with a pretty dress and a model that can do her own makeup?  Yes please!

Eryn looked gorgeous as usual, and was a blast to work with.  I love how confident this girl is. She's got it and she knows it, and she killed that prom dress!

Jami Glamour | Mikaela Joy: Savannah Portrait Photographer

When I think of Jami, I think of someone with everyday glamour.  No matter where I see her, it's always with high heels and makeup. When the rest of us show up to a party in yoga pants and messy buns, Jami is still looking her best.  
So setting up a glamour shoot for her was no stretch of the imagination.  She showed up to her session with freshly dyed hair, makeup on point, and a collection of outfits to chose from, all of which were perfect for her session.
With all of that out of the way, our session was a breeze.  We played with different backdrops and outfits, and just had fun. 
She looked amazing, of course. But there was never any doubt in my mind that that would be the case.


If you are interested in your own portrait session, please contact me to schedule your complimentary consultation today!

Throwback Thursday: Breastfeeding Shoot | MIkaela Joy: Savannah Portrait Photographer

This is a throwback to one of my favorite sessions from last year.  I teamed up with two other photographers who all happened to be nursing our babies at the same time, and exchanged breastfeeding photos.  This is a shot that I never edited, but I can't for the life of me figure out why.  Just look at that sweet little nursling and her big blue eyes!

This is from the session that produced this shot, quite possibly my favorite from 2015

Erika Glamour | Mikaela Joy: Savannah Portrait Photographer

I love working with Erika.  I have done quite a few sessions with her and her family, throughout her pregnancy, and after with her little girl.  But this session was unique for us.  This was all about her.  And isn't she gorgeous?

It's so easy for us moms to get in lost in the identity of being a mother, so this was a great opportunity for me to showcase Erika for who she is as an individual.  We had so much fun with the hair, and makeup, and twirling around in a tutu, and although she was a bit nervous at first, she warmed up to the camera quite quickly.  

And of course her photos turned out gorgeous! How could they not?


Interested in your own portrait session?  Let's chat!  Contact me to set up your free consulation today.

Jen Glamour | Mikaela Joy: Savannah Portrait Photographer

Let's just say this.  Jen ROCKED her photoshoot.  

Seriously. She's gorgeous. 

She showed up at my studio with approximately a weeks worth of outfits to choose from and her hair and makeup already on point.  And she brought me a bagel, so she gets points for that, too.

There's really no need to say a lot about this shoot, because the photos say it all.  So let's just see them!

Studio Glamour Portraits with Mikaela Joy Photography

Really, though.  Isn't she stunning?!


If you'd like to book your own portrait session, please get in touch!

Meg Glamour | Mikaela Joy: Savannah Portrait Photographer

It's been a few years, but I finally got Meg in front of my camera again.  When I was just starting out as a photographer I shot a photo of her with the sunlight through her hair (above) and it's still one of my favorite shots.  I've tried to re-create it several times, but nobody does it like Meg does, I guess.

I've been wanting to get Meg into my studio for glamour portraits for a couple of reasons.  For one thing, she is not a girly girl.  I see her in her police uniform all the time, but never in a dress.  In fact, you should have seen her face when I showed her the outfits I had in mind for her.  "You want me to wear a dress?!" And makeup? Forgettaboutit. So it was fun to transform her from a southern girl in her flannel (nevermind that she's not actually from the south), to all dressed up with curls and pearls.

The other reason I've been wanting to photograph Meg is because she just does so well in front of the camera!  She think she's awkward, but there's something model-esque about it.  Maybe it's because she's built like a model: tall and lean.

I had a really great time working with this gorgeous girl!  Check out the video below for a look behind the scenes at how it all went down!

Uploaded by Mikaela Joy Photography on 2016-02-04.


To book your own portrait session, please contact me today!

Renata Glamour | Mikaela Joy: Savannah Portrait Photographer

Look who's in front of my camera again, it's Renata!  This girl should be a model because she photographs like a dream.  Seriously, she's gorgeous.

This shoot was an absolute blast. She let me dress her up, and was totally open to all my crazy ideas ("Oh, you want me to spin in circles in a makeshift dress while you point a blow dryer at me?  Sure!")

These studio sessions have been such a departure from my normal work, and I'm really excited about them!  There is just something so special about the experience of it- you dress up and I do everything I can to make you feel like a superstar, and in the end we are left with gorgeous pictures to commemorate an amazing day.  You really can't beat that!

Check out the great shots we got from this session! (Like I said, she's gorgeous!)

Uploaded by Mikaela Joy Photography on 2016-02-08.

Angel Glamour | Mikaela Joy: Savannah Glamour Portrait Photographer

Earlier this week I showed you my retouching process for the above image, now it's time to show you the rest of the shoot!

As usual, Angel and I had a blast during this session.  We did up her makeup, raided the studio closet for clothes, jammed out to some good music and had ourselves a photoshoot!

Here are some of the final shots!

She makes it so easy for me.  Seriously, she's gorgeous.


If you are interested in your own glamour portrait session, please contact me to schedule your complimentary consultation. I can't wait to hear from you!

Eryn | Mikaela Joy: Savannah Lifestyle Photographer

eryncandidIt can be hard to get anything done with a new baby, but last week I was determined to get back behind the camera taking something other than baby pictures. So with my little man tied on to my back, I made my way to Forsyth Park to meet up with a gorgeous model named Eryn. DSC_0851

Eryn posses one of my favorite qualities in a model- she's up for anything.  She showed up with a smile on her face and a perfect outfit, despite the fact that I had only given her a day's notice.  More impressively, she was unphased by my little helper, laughing as he tried to flirt with her.

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Since it was such an impromptu shoot (I seem to be developing a habit here), we decided to keep it carefree with a more candid feel.  These are my favorite types of shots because they really showcase the personality of the model.  When I think of Eryn I think of vintage glamour, and I feel like that's what we captured here.

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You can find the rest of the photos from this shoot here.

SJ at Sunrise | Mikaela Joy: Savannah Lifestyle Photographer

CoffeeShop Diptych 2Last Saturday I got up bright and early to meet up with SJ, a gorgeous local model, to do some portraits at sunrise. Let me just say that it pains me to get up early on the weekends.  I wake up at 3:30 five days a week, so I really appreciate my Saturday sleep ins.  Even if that's only until 7:00.

But waking up early to work with SJ was definitely worth it.  We found a field and a lake to shoot at with golden morning light and steam rolling off of the lake.  Beautiful.

SJ alencar

SJ was a fabulous model, and we spent equal parts of our time laughing and shooting.  What I love most about SJ is her sense of adventure. Some models might think it's weird when I ask them to climb a tree, for instance, but not her.  She just wanted to know which tree.

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This was a quick little shoot due to the limited time frame that the lighting allowed, but it was a lot of fun.  I can't wait to work with SJ again.

If you want to see the whole shoot you can find it at my website here.

Changing it Up

changing it upSo this weekend I decided to try something new-- a different hair color. I go through this phase about once a year, and I really don't know where it comes from.  I am a natural redhead and I love my hair color.  It is unique, and it is a big part of who I am.  One of my poetry teachers asked once what my defining factor is, the one physical thing that I am known for, and my red hair is what I came up with.  So why would I want to change that?

Well, honestly, I have no idea.  But every year I get the urge to do so, and then about a month later I don't like it and want my natural color back.  That is then followed by several months of some boring, brown color that I don't like while the dye fades.  It's a vicious cycle.

But nonetheless, I found myself at walmart on Sunday next to the boxed hair dye.  I have a go-to color that I use normally, raspberry truffle by garnier fructis.  Its a dark brown with just a hint of red in it.  I know it looks good on me and, although the red fades out fast, it is a safe color choice.

But I asked my husbands opinion and suddenly all bets were off.  His ultimate idea would be for me to do black hair, but seeing how I have that whole pale skin with freckles thing going on, I know I couldn't pull that off.  So this is what he picked instead.

So yeah, definitely not safe.

I like the color a lot.  I was just pretty sure that it was going to turn out ronald mcdonald red or something. They dye itself was the color of red food dye and that scared me.  A lot.  I decided to go for it, but I bought a box of my raspberry truffle color, just in case.

Let me just start by saying that my hair looks nothing like the color on that box.

newhair

Please excuse the crappy selfie here, but I just wanted to show off my new color.  It turned out more burgundy then red, and, after looking up reviews of this hair dye I found that a lot of people have had this happen.  Many people were complaining that their hair turned out black (wouldn't that have been ironic).

Luckily, I actually like the color a lot.  It looks different in different kinds of lighting, and it is definitely something  out of my ordinary.  That's what I was going for, right?

So there you have it, it's the new me.

If you like this post and want to see more of me, please give my blog a follow.

And if that's not enough, go and like my Facebook page at fb.com/mikaelajoyphotos (there's a link just to the right of this post).  I am so close to 100 likes it's not even funny (just one away), so who wants to be my lucky 100?

But seriously, go do it.  It's good stuff, I promise.

Now then, back to the excitement of laundry folding and dish doing (or maybe sleeping on the couch).  Either way, this is me signing out.

Later y'all!

 

Bedtime Poetry

I find it with my hand along the curve of your waist, sensing in slow seconds the tilt of the milky way.

-Arthur Sze, The String Diamond  

Today is just a quick post that comes from reading some poetry before bed. This book The Redshifting Web has been sitting on my bookshelf unread, a remnant of one of my poetry classes. To be honest, I don't understand most of what Sze is doing in his poems which is why this book stayed unread for so long. But its always good to challenge myself to try, especially when I am rewarded by gorgeous lines like this one.