Aviva Photography Blog

I almost always start by saying that the client in my post is a friend. Well – how do you think I got my first clients? Thank goodness, when you have friends who are happy, they tell more friends. This island is so small. We all seem to know each other for one reason or another, and it’s something I really appreciate and love about this place.

Anyway, these clients are friends and also neighbors. They moved in this past summer and I’m really happy because they’ve turned out to be great friends!

Pete & Melissa have two sons, “P” here is their youngest. He’s a very athletic kid – swimmer, runner, skater, jumper, climber…. NO FEAR. Typical I suppose. And Melissa is so pretty, doesn’t she have a gorgeous smile?

They all have a sense of humor (ahem)….

…so I decided to try some fun things with them. Here they’re looking down at me while I’m lying on the ground.

Did I mention that P was a jumper?

Look out girls… and he’s smart too.

Had to sneak in a signature shot of course.

Oh wait, doesn’t that dog look familiar?

Well, little Todd is bigger now!

Loving the grass… this one is romantic, I think.

Thanks so much, you three! I can’t wait to meet the 4th in December and have family photos with all four of you! (Hope you got what you wanted at the BX this morning, Melissa!)

Since I’ve been in business (not quite 3 months), I have taken several high school seniors’ photos. It’s probably my favorite type of shoot, though I do love them all. But last weekend – I got to take senior photos of a MALE senior for the first time. (Not ever, but since I’ve launched.)

Justin is actually the son of a friend of mine. A woman I met not long after I arrived here on Okinawa. She’s an amazing mother, and I’m here to tell you – I did not believe she had a 17-year-old son! I distinctly remember going to her house to play bunco back in May. Angel played the song that Justin recorded for her (and played all the instruments on, it was a multi-track recording) for all of us and I was floored. It was the sweetest thing, and it made me cry! I didn’t even KNOW this kid!

Point being, I knew he was an amazing kid, and then I got even more excited when Angel told me he was a senior and together they decided they wanted me to take his senior photos. She made me cry again when she told me she was extra proud because he’ll be the first on her side of the family to graduate high school. I was and am truly honored, Angel – and I am also thrilled because we had SO MUCH FUN!!

I present, Justin…

Early in the shoot, I asked what he did besides go to class, and he said, “I play baseball.” He was telling me he was hoping to get a scholarship to play at UNC Wilmington or Wisconsin (I believe it was, correct me if I’m wrong, Justin & Angel), and also study sports medicine.

Justin brought his friend Alisha along and as I was taking the above shot, again – not 10 minutes into the shoot, she said, “Baseball team.”

Huh? I turned around, and she pointed. There was a Japanese baseball team running in the neighborhood JUST as we were doing Justin’s shoot! If you know me – you know I will do anything for the interesting or unique shot. You know I had to grab THIS opportunity!

I’m really glad they were into it! Another favorite!

I mentioned Justin’s friend Alisha that he brought along – amazing gorgeous girl who is getting her degree and dancing professionally with a Japanese group here – she is just a powerhouse.

Stunning, right?

Justin brought along some favortie clothes and shoes of course.

Including 3 pairs of sneakers – but you know these were my favorite.

Now it might’ve been early in the morning, but his sense of humor eventually came out. And apparently my laugh made him smile. Lucky for me because his smile is pretty amazing.

It was easy to laugh because I LOVED his sense of humor! (And Alisha’s of course.)

Another hat change…

Last but not least… I asked Justin if there was any particular shot he really wanted. He told me that he wanted one of his tattoo for his Grandma Fern. I said, “Absolutely,” and quickly lifted the camera to my face because I was tearing up (what IS it with this family making me weepy?). I was lucky enough to hear from Justin about his Grandma after taking these, and I am certain she’s beaming with pride for her grandson.

It was such a pleasure spending the morning with you, Alisha & Justin, thanks for waking up early. And Justin, keep me posted on your scholarship. I’ll see you soon!

On a COMPLETELY unrelated note – HAPPY THANKSGIVING! I hope you all enjoy some time with loved ones tomorrow, and enjoy the food too! I know I will.

Lastly – here on Okinawa the Kadena Services Venture Magazine 2009 Calendar will be available at the Kadena Post office and the BX on Friday – and  four images from yours truly have been included in the calendar, I’m excited to report. Head on over and grab one while they last (because they’re free)! (Don’t worry, Mom – I got a few copies and will be mailing them out to our family.)

More photos to come on Friday – see you then!

Emily and I met at a mutual friend’s house. She got in touch with me about taking photos of her family, which they’d never done before. You see – Emily and her hubby are newlyweds! They met on the Internet a while back, and got married earlier this year. (You may not know this, but back in 1998 before it was the in thing to do, my hubby and I met on the Internet.)

I think they make a lovely family.

The kids had great personalities, I was happy that they were willing to play for the camera together.

It’s amazing what happens when you put down the iPods and cell phones for a few minutes… I think they even got a little exercise!

We got together later in the afternoon – so the light was amazing, though rather low.

And I did have a little fun with the newlyweds…

As a family of five, I feel I have to post one of each of the kids – they are photogenic for sure.

Thanks so much, M Family! After all that rain, we ended up with a glorious evening. I hope it was worth the wait for you too!

You’ve gotten a peek of her – this is Brittany in all her high school senior glory:

She’s so pretty, she has a sense of humor (LOVE that), and she’s very bright. Did I mention a sense of humor? (This is one of my fave all-time senior shots!)

….and I know you saw those EYES!

I love that she rocked this location because it was her idea. (And braved some bug bites, I might add… but we suffer for our art, right?)

This one’s for YOU, Mom! I love how sweet she was with her little brothers! Even if they did to bunny ears behind her.

Thanks to the whole family for a delightful day – Brittany, I wish you ALL the best and can’t wait to show you the rest of your photos. It was very difficult to take a bad photo of any of you! Not that I tried….

A while ago, someone approached me about buying a photo shoot gift certificate for someone. I said, “Of COURSE!” And thought.. hmm… what a great idea! Another friend just emailed to ask if I’d offer that, and I was thinking… hmm…. holidays are coming up. What a lovely gift idea!

SO – as a permanent offering (not just for the holidays), I’d like to introduce – the Aviva Photography Gift Certificate:

That’s just a sample image, but you get the idea.

You may spend a specific amount (say $50 or $100) or you may purchase the whole sitting fee for the individual/family. I will customize a gift certificate like the one above and print it on cardstock – and you can include it in a card or do whatever you wish to present it to the recipient.

It’s a great gift, and you can chip in with friends if you want to! The possibilities are endless. Email me at aviva@aviva-photography.com if you’re interested. I’ll need your name, your mailing address, the recipient’s name, and the amount you’d like to give. I’ll send you the gift card in the mail within 48 hours of your Paypal payment for the gift certificate.

Happy spending! Email me if you have any questions or specific requests. I LOVE SURPRISES!! I promise, I’ll keep my mouth shut about your gift-giving sneakiness! Happy Holidays!

Jenn contacted me that she wanted to do a family shoot for her holiday cards and then also a senior shoot for her daughter Brittany. Gotta love killing two birds with one stone! I met Brittney at about the same time as I met Keeley – they were lifeguards together this summer. Well Brittney had the idea to do their shoots at the Botanical Garden. I’d never been and it was so fantastic!

This family is just gorgeous. I know – I always say that – but you can’t argue, can you??

They have good senses of humor, and they get along so well. Nobody takes any funny business from anyone else – and I’ll tell you, even though Dad is the Marine of the family, Mom runs a very tight ship. Or would it be a tight helicopter since he flies a CH-46?

(Yes, there was a bit of worry that the boys would go backwards off the rail and into the lily pond!)

They were in Okinawa once before, and they really like it here and were happy to come back. The kids are at great ages to be here too. I look at these photos and think this family belongs in a catalog or something!

This was one of the first shots – and I know I’m the color photo gal, but it was just so classy in this warm tone… I had to.

All 5 of you were delightful and fun! I hope your holiday cards are lovely (I have no doubt they will be). Now I’m hard at work on Brittany’s senior shoot… a sneak peek you ask? Well, OK…

This could be one of my favorite photos of all time. Wow.

More of Miss Photogenic here to come!

Kyoto was amazing. There are truly NO WORDS to describe how beautiful that place is. My friend and I were blessed with fantastic weather, amazing tour guides, and incredible food. I am already planning my next trip! YES, I took way too many photos. YES, I will be sharing some photos with you here. But no – not yet. I have many client shoots to finish editing because we had some nasty rain in Okinawa before I left, so things were delayed. There are some things to tend to around here first!

On another note – WHERE has the year gone? It’s November. And it’s time to start thinking about 2009. First order of business is a calendar in my house. I am proud to say I contributed to and helped assemble the Okinawa Hai 2009 Calendar! About 16 photographers in Okinawa contributed to make this amazing calendar a success. Each month displays four gorgeous photos of this island we at least temporarily call home. Please do visit the link, and then pre-order your calendar. The amazing folks at Oki Hai! will ship it to you in the states or to your FPO/APO. The American AND Japanese holidays are marked in the calendar too!

So be off with you – go order a calendar so it gets to you in time to say HAI! to 2009.

Have a great day – I have LOTS of stuff to share with you very soon, everyone.

This is one of my amazing assistants (in the white button-down int he center) – Kat – with her hubby, 4 kids, and visiting mom & dad from WAY too long ago for me to admit! (a month) But I finally got around to playing with a few of her photos.

They’re an awesome family, and I was so happy to capture all EIGHT of them on a special evening a few weeks back.

It’s hard to get eight pairs of shoes in a photo! They’re delightfully silly. And so diverse and interesting. I’m so lucky to know your family!

And I’m so very blessed to have them in my life. Kat – THANK YOU – for all you do. (She’s leaving me in January and I’m hugely bummed, but I’m gonna see her every minute I can until then! We’re going for Thai food very soon, by the way.)

A last jumping shot just for you…

(I LOVE how B is sitting there oblivious to his goofball siblings!)

On another note, I’m headed to gorgeous Kyoto tomorrow morning with a friend to take in the autumn leaves and hopefully see a few Geisha. I will have access to email but probably won’t respond unless it’s pressing. I’ll be back Wednesday night and hard at work again on your portraits my amazing and wonderful clients! Have a great next few days.

Mary contacted me a while back and wanted some photos for holiday cards. Her husband was still TDY, but she was good with having photos of her with gorgeous L.

Mary told me that L looks JUST like her father, and I believed her. Mary is beautiful, but L doesn’t really resemble her!

I’m glad we squeezed in before the rain started! And welcome your hubby home for me too, Mary!

Hi there, everyone! Things are crazy – thanks to some recent RAIN. (That’ll teach ME to plan shoots during a holiday Monday/Tuesday!) So – here’s a shoot from last weekend. This is my friend Karen and her hubby (affectionately known as “Snuffy”) and daughter, E. Karen & Snuffy dive, and we’ve been diving together, so I knew we’d be near the water at least – but IN the water seemed to be the desire. I love it when families get to have something unique on their walls!

Karen is amazing. She’s fun, funny, and the most easygoing southern belle you’d ever want to meet. They came ready to have a ball, and boy did we.

E has the most giant grin, and she is so smart and friendly. She’d walk away from what she was doing to tell Kat or me something she thought we’d find interesting. I love when kids are outgoing, makes my job loads of fun!

It was a pretty hot day when we were out, and it was all well and good in the shade…

But as we started to look at the water it was just too inviting. So they kicked off their shoes (at which point, of course, I rearranged them with the flowers that E had picked):

And then, they just walked in! For a moment, E was holding her dress up – but when Mom told her it was ok – the swim party began!

Nobody had ANY fun after that.

You know I had to see the piggies.

Karen, I’m SO glad we got this in before Snuffy deployed! I had a great time with you that day. And every day we spend time together. See you soon!