Never-Done-Before

Today, I do something I've never done before. In a few hours, I will be shooting a wedding.

Okay, it's not a real wedding, which is the never-done-before part (because, really, who has shot a fake wedding before?). I'm staging wedding photos for my portfolio, for my site. I'm bringing together five people, behind the camera and in front of it, and we're making this thing happen.

I'm anxious. I have a hundred things to do, and less than three hours to do them. I've checked, double checked, and triple checked my gear. I charged both batteries, replaced the batteries in my flash, scrounged up some rings, borrowed a wedding dress, crossed my fingers to find a perfect location... but I can't shake this weird feeling that this is, by far, the strangest thing I've ever done. I'm jittery and scatterbrained, and I can only hope that this will all go away before the shooting starts.

in over my head

I had no idea, when I took it upon myself to build my own website, how intensely time consuming it would be. I've spent over fifty hours--all in late nights or early mornings--importing photos, choosing fonts, matching colours, and... so much more.

If I'd known, I probably would have ditched the idea. Maybe. Maybe not. Either way, I'm in over my head.

Not in a bad way. Just in a... "Cr-rap, what have I gotten myself into?" way. But what could I do? I mean, I've already committed. I made the leap, took the plunge, (insert clever cliche here, because I can't think of any more).

Well, whatever. I guess I should stop crying about it, because... it's done. (Okay, okay, not DONE DONE, but done as in presentable. Like, your prom date just came to the door and that zit that magically appeared yesterday still hasn't magically disappeared, but what can you do but head out the door DONE.)

Yeah, I know I'm lame. Whatever. Just go visit the website, people. And tell me how much you love me, because I need it after all this introversion.

www.megan-beth.com

Liberio Fun

A few weeks ago, in church, one of the pastors was trying to make a point. He said, "Friendships take time to build. You're never just instantly friends with someone."

Ashley Liberio and I looked at each other and laughed because, for us, that was exactly how it happened. By the current girlfriend code, I was required to hate all ex-girlfriends of my then-boyfriend, which I did an excellent job of (even criticizing her choice in tank top one night at church, only to get home and realise that I owned the same one). When the boyfriend and I broke up, I still had to hate her, because it's a rule.

Then, just before Thanksgiving, I came in to church, sat down at the kitchen table where Ashley happened to be, and I couldn't tell you how it happened, but we had a conversation about the chocolate crumb cheesecakes I was going to cover in raspberry pinot noir sauce for dessert over the holiday, and BOOM! We were friends. Like that. In an instant.

Since then, it has twice been my pleasure to photograph my lovely friend. Here are the grad photos I did for her and her brother AJ in early April. Ashley's boyfriend, Ryan, also tagged along.






The thing about Ashley is that she's always the centre of attention. Not in a bad way at all. But when you're trying to get decent photos of other people, too, it can get a little challenging!











I would have LOVED to have been a fly on the wall in the Liberio household...















I really wish I could tell you what was going on here... but that would just spoil it.