Z-Photo

It's beauty that captures your attention; personality which captures your heart. ~~Anonymous

And, thank goodness that I have lots of personality! And, I'm glad that the author of that quote didn't specify the type of personality. ;-)

Our friends, Pete and Gabrielle, live in Huntsville. We planned a visit with them today. Gabe and I grew up together so she has known me since we were Anna and Rachel's ages. I met Pete when we were students at Auburn. And, I introduced Pete and Gabe to one another. They have me to thank (or blame) for meeting one another.

Pete operates his own photography studio, Z-Photo, in his home and I asked if he could take some photos of me and the girls today. Rachel and Anna were not really interested in taking photos today so they weren't the most cooperative. That is typical of children when you want them to take photos. They were more interested in playing with Lia and Krista, Pete and Gabrielle's daughters. But, we did manage to get a few decent shots of them with me and with Lia and Krista.

I figured I was rounding the bend to age 40 (I'll be 38 in a couple of months) and that I'd better get some portraits of myself before I went over the hill. And, I have not had any portraits taken of me alone in quite some time. However, I wasn't an easy model to work with. Let's just say some clay isn't mold-able. :-)

First I needed to choose the perfect outfit. Pete has some clothing for models who are clients to use for portraits....mostly all size 6s. I guess middle-aged Moms aren't real popular on his list of clients. Needless to say, my rear end hasn't seen a size 6 since before my first pregnancy. But, I found a few items that I could squeeze into. And, I brought a blue dress of my own that Rachel and Anna picked out for me which he took some shots of me in.

I wanted to smile and Pete wanted me to keep the serious but "come hither" look. That look just wasn't working for me. It's just not me. I've seen lots of photos of models he has worked with and they can do it. But, me, ha! When he told me to give him a little smile; I did. Pete said it looked more like a smirk. My supervisor at work always says that I smile a lot which makes him wonder what I'm up to. I guess I just have that look of being devious. And, then after a couple of clothing changes, my hair started frizzing out. My hair started changing with my first pregnancy and has continued to get wavier and frizzier as I age. My hair used to be straight. I guess it fits my personality whether I want to admit it or not but it's not the best look for photos I suppose.

Pete tried to get me to "work with the camera." When cooperating on my own wasn't working he unleased the fan on me. You'll see the fan blowing my hair in the photo below in my blue dress. And, then I started having fun with it and smiling which is more natural to me.

Here are a few of the photos that he took below that are unedited. I know that Pete and Jeff can both do wonders with Adobe Photoshop to get rid of my wrinkles, freckles, cellulite and other age related blemishes. Heck, they can even give me a slimmer waste line. But, then I figured, I am an almost 38-year-old woman. It's OK to have those imperfections....it's part of the charm, right? So, without further delay, here I am. I spared you some of the out takes although they are quite humorous. I fully realize that I don't have a future career in modeling ahead of me (nor do I want one) but I think Pete did a great job making a silk purse out of a sow's ear. Thanks, Pete, for your time and talent! And, did I mention that I have a whole new respect for people who model (and for Pete's talent to direct said models to stand or pose for the camera)? Holding a pose in just the right way (and sucking in my gut) while not looking fake is certainly an art. Well, I guess the size 6 models don't have to suck in their gut! Oh, the humor of it all.