Reblogged from WordPress.com News:

Photo galleries on WordPress.com are a great way to share the pictures you’ve taken with your friends, family, and your followers. But the design of your theme can limit how large your high-resolution photos are displayed. Today, we’re announcing a great new way to make the most of your photos: a full-size carousel view that presents your images as large as your display can contain them.

To experience the carousel, just click an image in a photo gallery on any WordPress.com blog. You can navigate …

I have been away for too long. Time to revamp my blog!

Matthew Vanderford and Heather Moretti were married on November 30th, 2010 in Moreno Valley, CA.

Heather Moretti was the very first Broad Division Clothing Co. model in 1999 when we first opened our doors. Heather was only 14 years old when we met. I have come to adore her as if she were my own sister. I have watched her grow from a awkward shy little girl into a confident beautiful woman and I am so happy I got to be there for her on her Wedding Day.

I am very honored that she allowed me to witness and capture such a honorable day in her life. Thank you so much Heather and Matt for great times and memories. I love you both more than words will allow me to express.

The Photos I am going to give you a sneak peek of are the photos from before and after the ceremony. The actual ceremony photos I feel they should show the world. I will allow them to choose which photographs they feel are worth sharing with everyone. So for now….

I announce: Mr. and Mrs. Matthew Vanderford

Click to view slideshow.

I lay here in my super soft sheets and my mind is spinning with what has to be done by tomorrow afternoon. None of which has probably any real meaning. When all I want is for my brain to slow down and take a 6 hour break.
Maybe it was the beer I had tonight that triggered this insomnia? Maybe the lack of food today or the stress of jobs that have been stacking up in my post processing software. I’m unsure.

So I guess I’m just using this as a way to pass time. If only I could change my layout from this phone. Hmmmm?

Maybe I will go do some self portraiture. That always seems to take my mad mind elsewhere.

Until next time…

We are always looking for reasons for not taking good pictures. Cartier-Bresson used film camera, same lens, no flash, same shutter speed – he didn’t need the newest digital equipment to take great photos.

We all have access to some subjects that no one else has access to – look at your friends’ hobbies, the workplaces of friends and family, and any place you have access to to find a vision that comes uniquely from your access. Many people would dream of having the same access you have, and you might not have considered how valuable your access is.

(I found this tip tonight as I was laying here with insomnia as I so frequently get. I could be editing but my work would suffer because my creative flow is just not there this late tonight. So here I find myself reading as I always do when I can’t sleep. I just wanted to share this because I believe this tip 100%. That is where the standard old phrase comes from “it’s who you know!” so get out and socialize and make friends, contacts and business associates and find some sparkly new places to shoot.)

If there is some misspelling…I apologize now. I’m delirious from lack of sleep.

We have some exciting sexy changes coming up and some new material that we can’t wait to share with the world.

Give us a day or two and we will back. I pinky promise that you will be excited that you checked back in.

Shellie and the girls at Broad Division Studios!

XoXo

I received this message today on facebook and I had to share it. Who knew that your photographs could inspire people in this manner. I have written to many Photogs and artists that inspire me but this blew me away. I think I even got a little teary eyed.

“I have to share with you your pictures always make me smile! I have always wanted to do more with my passion for photography. I had my oldest way too young and had to focus on providing for him – working daycare hours. Now I have an in-home daycare and 4 kids…LOL! But I still do a little photography on the side. I have to admit at times I’m a little jealous of you…not that I would ever trade my life. Thank you for inspiring me to do more with my love for photography! I did a wedding last month and had so much fun! I’m also starting to book kids again! You have been such a blessing to me in so many ways and you probably didn’t even know it!”

I have been so frustrated that I eventually purchased a blank one from etsy that I can add my work to and simply print.

I could not find a tutorial or a youtube video or any explanation on how to do this. You would think that since I can design a pattern from scratch in photoshop that this would be quite a easy task for me. Well it sure wasn’t.

I have looked at the purchased template that I have over and over like a kid studying a firecracker and can’t wait to finally put my work into it.

However, I have decided that once I have finished this 8.5×11 sheet that I am going to make one of my own and post the tutorial. Free of charge and in a PIF (Pay it Forward) kind of way.

So once I have it posted in the tutorial section. Please feel free to comment on it or add any tips because something as easy as this should be… Should definitely be shared.

Have an awesome day!

However, why does the world lack so much originality? It’s as if there was one original and then people or humans (whatever) just took a carbon copy of a copy and so on… and so on… until there is nothing left but this super grainy, lacking detail, super thin piece of document that doesn’t even turn your hands blue anymore.

Take baby/infant photography for instance. How many times can we see a big flower head band or a knitted beanie on a baby?!? A baby looks like all babies and it’s hard to make out little details if you are not the parent. So why make YOUR baby look like the rest? I stopped taking clients that wanted that look because I didn’t want my photography to look like every other photog out there.

Here is another one… Families in denim and matching shirts!! Really? Really? You all share the same last name and roof so you have to match your clothes? (I am on one now!!)

When I walk into a friends home, I want to be able to look around while they are getting their keys and see something different and new on a wall. I want to stare at a image for awhile and if I come over next week I would like to look at it again and maybe see something in it I didn’t notice the first time. Yes, maybe I am the crazy one but I just don’t get it?

Anyone with a camera can be a Pro Photographer if they have some plug-ins on thier editing software?

I guess it’s like anyone can have a blog and we all have the same templates because we can’t afford to get wordpress.org? No, most people have the same templates because they saw a cute one that someone else had and thought it was so GREAT that they wanted to get the same reaction on their site as they gave to the other blogger that they last viewed.

I just had to get that out and if you are a past client of mine that I have offended… Well…(Yea, I have nothing)

Goodnight

Ciao Bella