February 24, 2020 was the last time I attended a Bloom meeting at Fort Lauderdale High School. Bloom is an after school, student-led program that meets on Mondays, that is until Coronavirus came to town. These after school Bloom meetings hosted and sponsored by Taylor’s Closet create a safe space for girls to feel loved, share their stories, and realize how special they are.
During these crazy times Taylor’s Closet has taken Bloom online with Bloom at Home. Bloom at Home is an online iteration of the after-school club. Updated every few days, their online portal is an opportunity for the community of teenage girls in South Florida to stay connected and be encouraged during this uncertain time.
What’s totally amazing is that Bloom at Home is available to EVERYONE! Does your teenager need a pick-me-up? To sign up for Bloom at Home text JOIN to (844) 207-1036. Every week your teenager will receive a few texts with a link to inspirational messages and fun activities for them to do at home.
Do you know of a non-profit that could benefit from custom photography to tell their story? Send me a message. I’d love to know more about them.
PODCAST REC!!!!! If you’re looking for a smart and fun Podcast to add to your library definitely give “Gurl, You Are Not Alone” a listen. Gurl, You Are Not Alone is hosted by my dear friend Tonya Seavers Evans. I’ve known Tonya for 8 years. We met at FemCity networking events as bushy bright eyed entrepreneurs. Tonya is smart and classic and collaborating with her on new custom brand photography was a dream. We completed 7 different looks in our full day together, and truly created a comprehensive image library that showcases Tonya’s brand.
I’ve been giving my time to Taylor’s Closet since 2012. Taylor’s Closet is an amazing non-profit in Fort Lauderdale whose mission is to create a community in which girls will be empowered to live happy, healthy, and productive lives, realizing their God given destiny, right there in the hallways of their high school campus. Taylor’s last “Bloom” meeting at Fort Lauderdale High School was at the end of May. To see more of this amazing after school program click here.
As the excitement builds for our upcoming trek to Camp Starlight, here it is…a kind of BEST OF SUMMER 2018. I ain’t gonna lie, I could look at camp pictures all day. So this was a fun project to work on throughout the past 10 months. And honestly, this doesn’t even scratch the surface of images that take my breath away. But this tells the story, and hopefully stokes the excitement in you for the summer ahead.
In less than a month, I’ll be back to do it again. This time some of those smiling faces that come bouncing off the bus on arrival day, may actually be that excited to see “me”. And that makes me feel pretty special. Something really incredible happens during those 7 weeks. My experience was unique in that I got to experience ALL of camp. Not just isolated with one age group, gender, or activity. I was with every age group, every gender, every sport, every activity…EVERY DAY. I saw it all. Incredible and exhausting all at the same time.
Meet Sarah Wilson, mom, wife, athlete, and jewelry designer behind Fashletics, an amazing jewelry line whose motto is “Strength is Style.” I’m a pretty inconsistent crossfitter myself, but the message behind each piece of Sarah’s jewelry definitely encouraged me to hit my workout game a bit harder. To see more from the commercial photography shoot check out the lookbook on the Courtney Studios website or better yet, stop by Fashletics.
See you soon,
Courtney
We are having an amazing time “playing” in the studio this summer. Best friends share everything. Share the session fee with 4 of your besties.
We know that first impressions are everything. Let us create your unique look for your business and brand. Professional portraits start at $225. Contact the studio for more information.
Meet Aniela. Gorgeous, funny, vibrant, and breast cancer survivor. I had the pleasure of spending a morning with Aniela to photograph her for the cover of the Hollywood Gazette. Read her cover story here.
Meet Stacy Wallace-Albert, The Fashion Editor. She was fashion editor for Chicago Magazine, appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show, and is now the spokesperson for the Brooks Brothers Miracle Non-Iron White Shirt. She’s a contributor for the Chicago Tribune, Lucky Magazine, and Women’s Wear Daily. To see her complete resume check out her website (soon to be updated with a fresh new look). You can just imagine how thrilled I was when she contacted me for new head shots to use for her promotional material and new website (coming soon). We spent an hour shooting “ninja style” at Bal Harbour Shops. They don’t look too kindly at professional photographers. She took me in her favorite shops and gave me a list of “must haves” for fall….
It’s almost Friday and the start of a three day weekend. We survived the first weeks of school and Monday off is pretty awesome. Summer is officially over. EVERYONE is back to school the Tuesday after Labor Day right!? To commemorate the lazy days of summer I’m sharing anther “One Shoot a Week.” “One Shoot a Week” is a collaborative photography project with my good friend and amazing artist, Alissa Alfonso. It was a fun way to combine her artistic eye and love of everything vintage, with the love of our kids, and photography. This shoot took place at the beginning of the summer. It was a cover shoot for the Hollywood Gazette’s story on Food Trucks in Hollywood. A big thanks to Hippops for coming out and playing with us that morning.
If you’re a regular Courtney Ortiz Photography blog reader then you know that I’ve been collaborating with artist Alissa Alfonso on a series of photo shoots over the summer; “One Shoot a Week”. I can’t sing her praises enough. She is an amazing creative and continues to inspire me everyday. Her talent is showcased in the latest issue of Flea Market Style Magazine with photos by me. Really takes the definition of “collaboration” to the next level, when it leads to publication in a major magazine. Congrats to you Alissa. Your feature is well deserved, and it’s an honor and privilege to see my images in print.
“Her work is distinct and holds a special place in our home.”- Marcy Hirsch -
“Courtney's photographs had a huge impact on NCLR and helped us raise over $1 million in December 2014. Her work is beautiful and engaging and shows the central goal of the fight for marriage equality -love."”- Ace Portis, Major Gifts Officer, NCLR -
“Courtney truly captured the uniqueness of our family and created beautiful, original works of art that we will treasure always.”- Darlene Giol -
See you soon,
