Galveston Beach Wedding | Houston, TX Photography

I’ve always wondered what it would be like to get married on the beach. Since it’s actually too late for me to find out, being that I’m already married to a pretty amazing guy, I did the next best thing- photographing a beach wedding! This wedding was shot in August of last year, but I didn’t get the opportunity to share it with you, so I’m sharing it now!

Although we were battling above average temperatures (triple digits), that didn’t stop Sheri & Steve from pledging their loving commitment to one another! This morning wedding was on Galveston island and the day was just perfect! The weather cooperated nicely and there was a magnificent breeze that kept us cool all day long. I was able to be there early enough to capture the gorgeous sunrise…!

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Blazing A Trail!

Fashion & Editorial Photography by Debra Ham

 

Now that the new year is here, I’ve been thinking about all of the things that I want to work on and modify. One of the main things that I want is to regain my focus on photography and to begin shooting more personal work that is fulfilling to me. In the early part of 2010 I realized the great importance of creating personal projects as an artist. My 365 photo project taught me that!

A favorite photographer of mine is fashion photographer Lindsay Adler. I’ve been reading through her blog, as I often do, and I have found myself re-inspired to ignite the passion that I have for photography. I aspire to be a fashion photographer and she reminds me of the zeal and attitude that I had when I was starting out. I did lots of free work and personal shoots that helped to build my portfolio. So, I asked myself, if she can do it, why can’t I? And you know? I didn’t even want to come up with a reason why I couldn’t because if feels like I’ve been doing that for too long!

 

Fashion & Ediotrial Photography by Debra Ham

 

Another great photographer is Jamie Delaine. I enjoy her style of work, but what I enjoy most is her honest and carefree writing style along with her love for Christ! She has shown me that I can pursue my passion and still live for Christ and be able to express that on my blog. I’m sure there’s a fine line there between the two, but I don’t want to find it just yet. Our lives are all-encompassing and many areas often overlap. Jamie has approached her blog from this perspective in order to convey her true voice and personality and I greatly respect her for that! She has allowed her light to shine and I see that I don’t (necessarily) have to separate my life from my blog, even though that’s the “norm”. I don’t have to go with the norm and it’s quite all right!

As I embark on this journey, I hope to fuse the inspiration that I have received from these two young ladies with my own personal style and blaze my own trail! 2012 is looking pretty hopeful and I’m excited to see what awaits me!

What are you wanting to accomplish this year? Do share!

 

Goodbye 2011, Hello 2012!

Happy 2012

So much transpired last year. Over the past few weeks, I have been taking an inventory of all of the goals that I had for myself this time last year and how many I actually accomplished in 2011. While it’s not as many as I’d hoped it would be, I still feel pretty good about the progress that I’ve made last year in pretty much all aspects of my life – mentally, spiritually, personally, physically and socially.

One of the goals that I had for myself last year was to blog more and clearly, that didn’t last too long, but I plan to make a more concerted effort in the coming year. I feel that with the shifting of some things in my personal life, I will have a greater focus on my career and business in the coming year and be able to throw myself into my work as I remember doing a few years ago without any worries or lack of focus. One of my long passions is writing, which is probably a little known fact about me, but I over analyze what to say and how it will be perceived rather than just enjoying the journey. I keep a journal and I want to be able to share more of myself with my readers so that you can have a truer sense of who I am. So, that will be a work in progress this year.

Another goal that I had at the beginning of the year was to complete a photo 365 project in which I took a photo a day and shared it. This quickly brought to my attention my dull daily routine and I began to lack the motivation to create an interesting photo. I stopped trying and didn’t care…I gave up. While I’m not proud of this, one good thing about beginning the project was that I gained some really great photos that are currently in my portfolio! Beginning this project helped me to realize the importance of doing personal work and projects and the value of personal work. Going into the new year I want to plan and execute more personal projects that reflect the type of work that I would like to have more of, so watch out because it’s going to be awesome!!!

Throughout the year I also crossed a few items off of my 101 things to do in 1001 days list, which I will update soon. This year, I don’t want to be over-zealous and begin to make plans and goals that I know will be unreasonable. I’m starting small, keeping things simple and going back to the basics. I think this simple approach will afford me many successes in 2012 and lots of great changes along the way. I hope to document the process to becoming better all around and sharing it with you in 2012. Stay tuned and let’s grow together!

What will be your focus in 2012?

Feeling Inspired…Finally!

Have you ever gone through a phase where things are slow and then all of a sudden it seems like a whirlwind of activity comes passing through? Well, that’s how I’ve felt and because of it I have been neglecting the blog. How rude?! I know, but c’est la vie (that’s life)!

My husband and I have been going through some changes, nothing drastic, per se, well, I take that back. It is pretty drastic to go from childless to raising a full- grown teen, but, without going into all of the details, I am now a “mom”. It’s been quite an adjustment, but overall I can’t complain.

Back to the topic at hand. Today, in particular, I was inspired by this post by fellow photographer Christine Tremoulet. I always seem to go through these periods where my inspiration appears to have gone on hiatus (which kinda causes me to do the same) and then it returns. But, I know that I’m not alone. I’m plugging away at life doing the best that I can with all the blessings that I have been given.

Like Christine, I always contemplate business topics (but I won’t be starting a blog about it anytime soon!), but all of my mulling really just drags me down.  It definitely has its pros and cons, but the biggest test to navigating this comes when I can’t shake feeling like a failure.  I know quite truly that I am not. I’m human.

I always say to myself that anything worth having is going to be a challenge to get and I have to remain strong if I want to get it. But, sometimes it feels like I’m making things more difficult than they really have to be. This is something that I am constantly working on and will continue to work on for the rest of my life. I thank Christine for her quote (see below) and words of wisdom that she always shares through her various blogs. Every now and then it helps to hear (or read) encouraging words and know that I’m not alone on this journey!

“Put it out there. Don’t be afraid to do it. Find out what they think.

It isn’t failure. It is growing. You’re just not used to looking at it that way.”

-Christine Tremolet

Keeping it Fresh! | Houston, TX Portrait & Fashionable Lifestyle Photography

As a photographer, I feel that it is extremely important to always be in a state of learning. One great way to learn new things is to assist others photographers. I recently had the wonderful opportunity to assist a friend & fellow photographer, Kris Fulk, on a senior styled portrait session. Assisting is great because it allows me to keep my skills fresh and see how others carry out their vision for a shoot.

We ventured out into the sweltering record- breaking heat to Old Spring Towne. We were able to capture some fabulous images of Amy! In between our breaks form the heat I was able to snap a few photos of my own.
What do you think?

Fashionable Generations Session | Houston, TX Portrait & Fashionable Lifestyle Photography

As many of you know, I visit my hometown of Cincinnati, OH quite often (at least lately). When I go back I always try to book sessions with my friends and family who I don’t otherwise get to work with because I’m in Houston. During one of my recent trips back I had the great honor of photographing some very close family friends (who are family to me) and they included 3 generations of beautiful women! These ladies have watched me grow up & I have so many great memories!

This is Jasmine and she wanted to have this special session with her mom and grandmother.  She was one of my very first subjects when I first started getting more into photography!

Fashionable Generations Session | Houston, TX

Fashionable Generations Session | Houston, TX

Fashionable Generations Session | Houston, TX

Fashionable Generations Session | Houston, TX

Fashionable Generations Session | Houston, TX

Fashionable Generations Session | Houston, TX

After the first session, Jasmine & I had a personal session just for her to unleash her inner model! She has a great sense of style, so she was her own stylist for the day.

Fashionable Generations Session | Houston, TX

 

Fashionable Generations Session | Houston, TX

 

I love this outfit! It was so much fun and the bright colors made my day!!!!

Fashionable Generations Session | Houston, TX

 

Fashionable Generations Session | Houston, TX

 

Fashionable Generations Session | Houston, TX

 

These 3 are my favorite of the favorites!!!

 

Fashionable Generations Session | Houston, TX

 

Fashionable Generations Session | Houston, TX

 

Fashionable Generations Session | Houston, TX

No Excuses! | Houston Portrait Photography

I came across this video and I was just filled with awe.  It’s about an artist named Pete Eckert, maybe you’ve heard of him, maybe you haven’t. This was my first time hearing about him, but he has made me reconsider some things about my life. I found this video to be inspirational and it left me without any excuses. I don’t want to give away the video, but I’m sure that you will find it just as inspiring!

Would you continue to pursue the thing that makes you an artist, even if you had no vision?

 

 

Project 365 Update: Week 7

As promised, these are the photos from my photo 365 project. Be sure to check out the whole project on my Flickr page if you are new to the blog or want to see past week’s photos. As always, your feedback is welcome! I’d LOVE to hear what you have to say!

 

Project 365 Update: Week 6

It’s not very often that I get sick, but being sick a few weeks ago really threw a curve ball in the progress that I was making with my “resolutions”. In the mean time, I’ve been planning on how I can (and will) get back on track. This is week 6 of my photo 365 photo-a-day project. I still made an effort to take a photo a day, even though I didn’t necessarily get to post it to share at that time. I hope you enjoy them! Please leave your  feedback, I’d LOVE to know what you think!

P.S. Stay tuned for week 7 & 8 updates to follow!

Not A Total Slacker!… |Houston Fashion Photography

Clearly I have been M.I.A. for the passed week, but not really by choice. Last week after taking advantage of a warmer day of weather, I went running only to find that I had gotten a terrible sore throat which last for days and then resulted in laryngitis. So I’ve been going around sounding like a jazz singer with a sexy raspy voice (ok, maybe it isn’t so sexy). I’ve been doing my best to nurse myself back to 100%, but this bug doesn’t seem to want to budge.

On the bright side, I haven’t been a total slacker and staying in bed the whole time. Before things got worse, I did a shoot for The BLVD magazine‘s RE-Launch issue (coming out very soon) last week which turned out pretty well! Here’s an image of what to expect. Keep your eyes peeled for their next issue!