C A R O L I N E - A L E X A N D E R - P H O T O G R A P H Y

C A R O L I N E - A L E X A N D E R - P H O T O G R A P H Y

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Hi friends! I wanted to let you know that I am moving my blog away from this platform, and over to http://www.caroline-alexander.com/blog.

I’ll still keep this blog active, so you can scroll through old links, but after this post there won’t be any new content added.

Thanks for following!

Caroline

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The Ethingtons

So, in the last blog post, you got to meet Logan & Tricia. Well, during that shoot, their beautiful daughter Sophie was hanging out with us too, and I managed to snap some quick portraits of all 3 of them - how CUTE is she?! It took her a little while to get used to the camera (as it does with all good models, of course), but she was a total star. Gotta say, I’m loving the faces that Logan is pulling in these images to try to get Sophie to smile :)

I’m now booking for my Salt Lake City trip at the end of January - if you would like to squeeze in a shoot, please send me an email and I can give you all the details!

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Danielle - Rooftop Session

Sometimes you just need to shoot without thinking too much. Danielle and I wanted to work together again since doing the natural shoot in a Redwood Forest a couple of months ago. We met up a couple of weeks ago to decide on an idea, and this shoot came together SUPER quickly. We actually planned very little and were still texting each other the night before with ideas about what to wear! So to be honest, I wasn’t entirely sure how it would all work out.... A wonderful friend of mine offered to let us use her rooftop in San Francisco for the shoot. This place is AMAZING. It’s right next to Twin Peaks so you get a fantastic view of the city from the roof. Or so we thought. The one thing we had forgot to check was if the fog was planning on rolling in! ‘Karl’ the fog made a not-so-nice appearance right before we started shooting, and brought with him incredible winds and an icy chill. But after driving an hour and a half in rush hour traffic we just couldn’t give up the opportunity to shoot here. Besides, models are used to working in all conditions, right?! The entire shoot went like this: 30 seconds frantically shooting, 5 minutes warm up in the stairwell and repeat! Our last shoot had a lot of close up portraits and classic poses, so I wanted to mix it up a bit for this session. And it works! And Danielle doesn’t look cold! Win-win all around.

Thanks to Danielle for braving the cold in a dress, to Tiffany & Shane for letting us borrow your roof, and to Connor for making sure we didn’t get locked out there :)

http://www.instagram.com/caroline_a_photography

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Honeymoon - Lewis & Harris and Isle of Skye, Scotland.

I don’t usually post personal posts here, but I wanted to share with you just how beautiful my home country is. My husband and I finally got to go on our belated honeymoon a few weeks ago. We wanted to go somewhere in Scotland because we were having our belated wedding reception there anyway, but we also wanted to go somewhere that neither of us had been before. After a quick google search showing up the most beautiful beaches, we decided the Hebrides and Isle of Skye were the places to be!

Ok, so the weather wasn’t exactly as we’d planned, but we still had a wonderful time. We stayed in a beautiful remote Victorian House on Lewis for the first couple of nights (they do amazing, mouth-watering smoked salmon, check them out: http://www.uiglodge.co.uk/) It poured most of the time we were there, but the photographer in me secretly loved it (moody clouds, misty landscapes = perfection!). The husband was sadly not so amused… I couldn’t help but wish I had some models to shoot with - Lewis & Harris have such atmospheric landscapes: small pools hidden between mossy rocks, craggy hills covered in deer, white sandy beaches next to turquoise water and terrifying cliff edges. It would be the perfect place for moody, romantic or dreamy portraits - It really is a photographer’s dream (plus, there’s none of those pesky California permits required….)

After Lewis & Harris we headed over the water to Skye. Sadly, we only managed one night on Skye as our hotel wasn’t great and we decided to cut our stay short and stay in a fancy hotel in Glasgow instead (hey, it was our honeymoon!). We visited the Fairy Pools and walked around that area - it’s SO beautiful. I was a little concerned that it would be over-rated, and when we showed up the car park was completely packed. But once we started the easy hike towards the pools, the beauty of our surroundings and the fun stepping stones across the rivers took our minds off the volume of people. It’s easy to see why people see this place as magical - the crystal clear water and surrounding mountains make you feel like you are in a fairy tale.

Being away from home definitely makes me appreciate it more. I never really paid much attention to my surroundings before I moved, but now every time I go back I am astonished by the things I missed, and the longing to shoot there. I’d love to do a portrait tour around Scotland in the future, like a work funded trip. But that sounds like far too much planning for now, so I will leave that up to future Caroline!

Thanks for reading, and you can follow me on Instagram to see more frequent posts and updates: http://www.instagram.com/caroline_a_photography

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Tommy’s Senior Portraits You may remember last week I uploaded a photo set of the beautiful Paige - well, this is her twin brother! Her TWIN! I was so excited to photograph a set of fraternal twins, as I also have a twin brother (needless to say, we also look nothing alike!) It was a blast talking about twin things, and laughing at the questions we always get asked when we tell people we are twins... :) Tommy was awesome to work with. This man is going to go far! Super charming, easy to talk to, smart and knew ALL the model moves - he made my job so easy! Congratulations Tommy and all the best in Alabama!

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Halley & Clarence - Engagement Portraits

I had so much fun shooting this engagement session - even though it meant getting up at a ridiculous time in the morning to be in San Francisco before sunrise!

Halley and Clarence love swing dancing, so we wanted to incorporate that in to the shoot. This was a first for me - my portrait sessions are pretty laid back and there is a little bit of directing from me every now and then, but I’ve never photographed a couple that had a shared interest like this that looks so great on film. It was just perfect to try out a gif! It was also the perfect way to warm up on a chilly San Francisco morning.

These two lovebirds will be getting married in August (can’t wait!) and you can catch them dancing every so often on their live stream channel:

https://www.twitch.tv/8bitballroom

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“You must give everything to make your life as beautiful as the dreams that dance in your imagination”

- Roman Payne

I’m sitting in the living room, wondering what on earth to write a blog about. While updating my website a few days ago (http://www.caroline-alexander.com), I came across so many portrait photographers that had amazing blogs. It really showcases their work and gives you an insight into their personal and professional lives, which makes it so much easier to connect with them and understand their ideas. I was inspired.

So what can I write about? Well I guess I could start by giving you an introduction. My name is Caroline. I’m a natural light portrait photographer from Scotland, now living in Walnut Creek, California. Apart from photographing people, some of my favourite things to do are taking ridiculously cute shots of my puppy, Osha (no, not named after the organization, named after the Game of Thrones character), watching ‘feel good’ movies (I’ve just finished Eddie the Eagle and cried my eyes out at the end - happy tears!), finding breathtaking outdoor locations for hiking, puppy walking or photoshoots (they’re not that difficult to find, here), spending time with my husband, Spenser, and travelling to new, exciting places.

The past few years have been a whirlwind of movement, travel, love, anxiety and adventure. I moved to Toronto in 2013, which was a little bit of a crazy decision as I didn’t have a job, friends, or a place to live. I generally worked 7 days a week due to terrible pay and high living costs, so by the time it got to 2 years I was exhausted and ready to leave. Spenser was due to move from Georgia to California with his work, so I got on a plane to Georgia in April last year and together we drove a U-Haul towing his car across the United States. In 5 days. We found an apartment pretty quickly here thankfully, but then it was time for me to go back to Scotland and finalize my visa for moving to the USA.

I moved out here in August 2015, and got married in October. The months following were filled with paperwork and decorating and exploring and laughing. Which brings us to present day! I’ve had a fun few months learning the area and sorting out my marketing materials and portfolio, and now I’m ready to really put everything I have in to my photography.

It’s going to be exciting times ahead, friends, and I’m hoping that you will follow me as I venture out in to this new, full-time,  creative endeavour.

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Hello friends! I am so excited to share with you all my new welcome packet. All portrait sessions that you book with me will get one of these babies. They have lots of tips to help you get the most out of our session (plus photos of beautiful people, what's not to like?!) To celebrate, I am offering the first 5 clients 15% off! Send me an email or direct message on Facebook, Instagram or Tumblr to get started. Also, I have to give a huge shout out to @designaglow and @prodpi for helping me create and print these - they are wonderful! A few of you might see your lovely faces on here too ;)

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Busy re-organizing my office! It's amazing what some new prints can do 😊

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Was looking through old film scans and came across this beauty! A wonderful collaboration I did with some great local Scottish talent.

Model: Taylor Sommerville Clothing: Sarah-Jane Leyden Jewellery: Mari Ebbitt Makeup: Rosie Convey Hair: Anna Wade

© Caroline Alexander 2016

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The Izzo Family - February 2016

Had a fun day photographing the Izzo family last weekend. Here’s a few of my favourite shots.

I’m now taking bookings for this year (finally!) Contact me for more information, or visit my website at http://www.caroline-alexander.com

© Caroline Alexander 2016

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How is it possible that there’s places as beautiful as this?! I was so excited to come across Muir Beach Overlook last weekend. What an amazing place! I highly recommend that you all visit there.

© Caroline Alexander 2016

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My loves

© Caroline Alexander 2016

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Hetch Hetchy, Yosemite National Park, January 2016.

My husband and I recently took a long weekend trip to go hiking in the wonderful Yosemite National Park. It was my first time there and I’m so glad I took my new camera and tripod to test out!

© Caroline Alexander 2016 - All Rights Reserved.

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Hi tumblr,

It’s been a while! The past few months have been incredibly busy. I moved to California, got married, and rescued this little pup! Meet Osha, the newest addition to the Alexander/Harris family. I promise I won’t spam you all with her cuteness....

Copyright Caroline Alexander 2015

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Amy, Kevin & Kit

Had a fun time photographing the Patersons at one of my favourite Portrait spots, Pollok Park, a few days ago. I always find the best, most honest photographs come from just going a walk and playing around, especially when there’s young children involved who can get bored easily in studio settings.

Copyright Caroline Alexander 2015

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Beth, Sarah & Sandy

Copyright Caroline Alexander 2015