One of my favorite parts of being a photographer is shooting my friends. Seeing them jump out of their comfort zones and embrace freedom will forever be one of the highlights of my life. This beauty is a fierce lady boss with so much love and compassion to offer -- so trying to capture all of that in a photo was challenging to say the least, but at the end of the -very long- day, we were left with so many laughs and memories that we STILL talk about today. 

     

     The day started out normal; coffee, McDonald's breakfast ( our favorite!), and cleaning out her closet -- a tradition dating back to our high school days..eek! We left for our locations early and because we were doing an all-day shoot, we made a lunch stop in between.

 

Everything was going great! 

 

     Until we arrived at our last location. The dreaded beach. ( insert dramatic music here ) First of all, it was cold. Like, so cold that my fingers were numb before we even made it to the pier. Now, you might be asking yourself, 'girl, the beach? In February? Duh, it's going to be cold!' But in my defense, California had been going through a weird weather patch -- sunny and warm, cloudy and chilly, Antartica. You get the point.

 

     Bound and determined to get the job done, we decided to forge through to the end and get the shots we had envisioned in our heads -- and they were awesome! The pier felt like a hurricane on one side and a cool winters breeze on the other, but we made the most of it -- and her eyeliner didn't run once! Truth be told, we had a blast but left early because we ( and our hair ) couldn't hang with the wind. 

 

     

     If I learned anything from this experience, it's to ALWAYS check the weather, never underestimate your capabilities to take a photo in less-than-ideal circumstances, and don't give up easily. You never know when you'll get a great photo -- and a great story! 

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- Michaela