Alissa Alfonso (follow her on instagram and twitter @a5stitch) and I are collaborating this summer on a series of shoots that reflect "summer". We start with a very loose plan and then let the kids do their thing. For this shoot, the second we've collaborated on this summer, I wanted to use Alissa's collection of vintage sheets. I'm thrilled with the outcome. Now to decide how to display them in Stella's room.
See you soon,
court
Someone recently asked me what percentage of my time do I spend actually shooting versus working on the business end of the studio. It’s really an 80/20 split, with 20% being the time I spend behind the camera. Most of what I do in my business isn’t photography related at all, but marketing and accounting and networking….blah blah blah. So it feels good to actually get out and really flex that creative muscle. To shoot for the pure love of photography. To shoot for myself. My very good friend, artist Alissa Alfonso (follow her on instagram and twitter @a5stitch) and I are collaborating this summer on a series of shoots that reflect “summer”. We start with a very loose plan and then let the kids do their thing. For this shoot, the second we’ve collaborated on this summer, I wanted to use Alissa’s collection of vintage sheets. I’m thrilled with the outcome. Now to decide how to display them in Stella’s room.
A few of my favorite images from a recent lifestyle session. Asher and Lola’s aunt and new cousin were visiting from London along with their grandparents. Their Mom, Hannah, wanted to capture this special visit. Lots of fun and lots of activity.
Barre Motion is a barre fitness studio located on South Beach, that just opened it’s doors this June. I worked collaboratively with the team at Fred Marketing, starting when Barre Motion was nothing but a logo. Custom photography was a priority during the entire branding process. Super creative experience. Candace at Fred Marketing has a talented team behind her. Together we produced two commercial shoots. The first was in Barre Motion’s infancy, just a logo on paper, and an empty shell of a studio. The images we shot that day are really what fueled the future direction and tone for Barre Motion’s branding and marketing efforts. They carry through the website to the design of the studio itself.
So…welcome to Barre Motion. Julie, the founder and creator of Barre Motion, “holds a Master of Science and Ph.D. in Human Factors Engineering.” She’s a genius AND can get your booty into shape. Take a look around the studio and make sure you get in for a class.
Looking to provide your business with stellar images? Let’s collaborate.
One of my favorite little girls celebrated her sixth birthday at Dylan’s Candy Bar on Lincoln Road. Her fabulous style is thanks to her stylist mommy, Ashley Sloane of A Little Style. The colors are popping and that donut dress…
There might just be some Dylan’s Candy Bar mini sessions in the future…
Inspiration starts here! The 9-Grid is one of the studio’s most popular wall galleries. I love it for a couple of reasons.
#1. You can make a large design impact in a room, with limited space, all while showcasing 9 images! That’s pretty amazing. The squares are either 8×8 or 12×12. Total wall space required is 30×30 (including space between the portraits) for the 8×8 and 42×42 total for the 12×12 in squares
#2. The design is extremely flexible. In the future the arrangement can be broken down into smaller groupings or single portraits can be hung throughout your home.
You definitely get the biggest bang for your buck.
This display is made up of 9-12×12 3/4in mounts. The studio offers different finishing options now including custom framing. Click here for highlights of this portrait session on Hollywood Beach.
And to think we almost rescheduled this session. It poured up until we met at the parking garage. Emma and Adelyn are just learning to skateboard, and I knew the perfect place to take them (half a block away from the new studio!) We had clear skies for about 15 minutes, a downpour for 10, and then we were in the clear till the end. I have the best luck with weather. ALWAYS!
The gray skies made for the most beautiful lighting and I love the way their bright colors really pop against it.
Eager to see what we design during our proofing appointment.
Leave a comment with your best weather luck experience. Let’s chat about it.
It’s definitely summertime here in South Florida and you either like it hot or you don’t. So if you like it HOT, you’ll love our brand new sister studio Bang Boudoir. That’s right…boudoir photography. I’m excited to introduce the newest photographer at Courtney Ortiz Photography, Samantha Dietz. Samantha has been empowering women with this once in a lifetime photography experience for years and shoots exclusively for Bang Boudoir. This has been a project in the making. I’m excited and proud to expand and grow COP and honored to have Samantha on board.
“like” Bang Boudoir on facebook and share it with your friends!
I love Samantha’s work, but due to the family nature of this website, I promise to always keep it PG13. Stop by bangboudoir.com for more.
Thank you so much for your continued support.
See you soon,
court
ps-The COP newsletter went out this morning. Check your inbox for the latest news or you can just click here.
Prepping for your upcoming professional portrait shoot can be overwhelming especially when it comes to wardrobe. Today’s words of wisdom come from Tonya Seavers Evans. Tonya is a Miami based image consultant with a passion for teaching individuals how to develop a Professional style to marry with a powerful message. She has lots of fabulous information and insight on her website Style Strategist. (stylestrategist.com)
Here are Tonya’s six tips for being and feeling “camera ready” for your professional portrait session.
1. Stay away from large patterns or prints.
2. Bring shirts with a least two different type of collars. Collars will translate differently based on how the photo is cropped.
3. In general keep jewelry to a minimum. Oversized jewelry will distract from the focus- your beautiful face!!
4. Choose a color that compliments your skin, hair, and eyes. Choosing a color that accentuates your skin tone is always a good idea. Hold the item near your face to ensure it gives you a vibrant and healthy glow.
5. Choose simple, classic tops. They will look more sophisticated and give the photo a longer shelf life.
6. Wear shoes you love! Even though you shoes won’t be seen, wear shoes that make you feel comfortable and confident which will translate on camera .
I’m super excited to introduce to you fellow Femfessionals and Junior League of Greater Ft Lauderdale member Jordana Faine- Siadman MSPT for this week’s featured small business owner. Jordana, is a Florida Licensed Physical Therapist, who loves caring for her patients, clients and guiding families. She has always enjoyed sports and fitness (she is a bit of tomboy) and founded Fitness Made Fun Inc. to help others find the “fun” in Fitness.
Jordana’s unique approach to treatment has gained her many fans. She is not only a licensed physical therapist with a master’s degree from Boston University, a licensed swim instructor with certification in special needs, has training in hippo-therapy (horse therapy), training as a C.H.E.K holistic lifestyle coach and a wellness educator. In her work with patients and families she combines all of these skill-sets to offer a unique, holistic approach to treatment that goes beyond traditional therapy.
After High school, Jordana was accepted into the accelerated five year masters program at the Boston University. She graduated with a degree in health sciences and a masters of science of physical therapy. She also expanded her studies with an internship at northern London Hospital.
In addition to her dedication to her profession, Jordana is a proud wife and mom of two girls. She can also be found giving her time to community awareness and charitable causes, such as 100 mile charity bike ride for cancer or wine fundraising happy hour.
As much as my motto in the studio is “the bigger the better” when it comes to displaying your portrait art, you don’t always have to take up a lot of space to make an amazing impact. Hence, I’m really excited to share what I designed for this amazing family. (Their session highlights can be seen here). As I said in their blog feature, they were together from all over the country. It was the main goal of the lifestyle session to create images that showcased their love for each other, but it was also of the utmost importance for the whole experience to be stress free for everyone. No pressure. A truly “come as you are” portrait experience. I came and just hung out for a few hours. I really got to know everyone and felt at the end that I was an unofficial family member. The result is a final gallery that contains more images than what I normally present to clients. I knew that every detail of this family’s time together was precious and they wanted to remember everything and also to enjoy everything in the end.
The 12×12 custom coffee table book is a 60 page custom designed album that contains ALL your session images. The Mohawk fine paper is gorgeous to the touch.
The family also wanted to have something to display on the walls, but being that they have 5 adult children, 3 grandchildren, and are avid art collectors, it left little space to do something on a large scale. In fact, I only had 14×14 inches of wall space to work with. I designed this gallery wrap canvas collage with 20-something of their absolute favorite images from their session. I used an amazing and very versatile collage template from Design Aglow. Every collage that I design in this style is 100% completely unique to each client. It truly is one of my favorite studio products. It allows for big impact with little space.
We’re still waiting on a final date for the new studio to be ready to move in. We’ll have amazing samples on display and lots of inspiration for you to take back with you to your own home. Sign up for the newsletter and like us on facebook to stay up to date.
This family session actually started a year ago. It was purchased as a gift for mom from her amazing husband last spring. It was definitely worth the wait. I had such a great time shooting on Hollywood Beach which continues to be one of my favorite locations. The kids were fun and adorable and mom did a fabulous job at coordinating the wardrobe. The clothing even coordinated with some of the locations as a total coincidence.
It’s the perfect time of the year to get outside and commission family portraits on Hollywood Beach.
“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 -
