elizabeth dorathy photography

Changes Abound

2009-11-19T12:09:00.000-08:00

I have several events and sessions to post that have occured since Megan's senior pictures, but I mnay not post them, we'll see. The biggest change that has occured in our lives was the birth of our daughter, Sariah (pronouced suh-RY-uh) in September. Her birth has changed our lives in more ways than just adding a 'pink' batch of clothes on laundry day. I've decided to hang up my professional camera for the next 5 years or so. This decision did not come easily. I recognize that I am tremendously blessed to have been involved in so many beautiful wedding days over the last 12 years or so. I am grateful to do something that I love and get paid for it. I also know that there is not a more important job in the world than that of Mother. I have decided it is important enough to spend 100% of my time doing it. If you are looking for a great photographer, I strongly recommend Stacy at restoring memories: www.restoring-memories.com . Thanks to all my clients over the years.

Megan's senior pictures

2009-04-15T15:08:00.000-07:00

Senior pictures is something I don't do all that often, probably beacuse I'm so busy around that time of year shooting weddings. Megan was so great to photograph, she's very photogenic and a lot of fun. Enjoy the last few weeks of high school, Megan!

Kurt & Lauren

2009-04-15T14:13:00.000-07:00

Sometimes, I'm lucky enough to have my husband assist me on a wedding. I'm doubly lucky if the wedding he assists me on is for two genuinely wonderful people, with great families. I love the weddings where we feel like we've been adopted in by the end of it. As a wedding photographer, it doesn't really get better than this: a beautiful ceremony, a gorgeous couple, an incredible venue for the reception, and fun and welcoming families.

Lindsey & JC

2009-04-15T14:08:00.000-07:00

I have the best job in the world! I love what I do! Not only that, but I have the cutest kids in the world. You may not think that relates, but it does. How, you ask? Well, at this wedding I met a little boy that gives my boys a run for their money. I seriously have never seen a cuter ring bearer in my entire life. This wedding was a lot of fun, and had many tender moments. It was a pleasure, Lindsey and JC...take care of those cute kiddos!

Richie and Krystal

2009-04-15T13:33:00.001-07:00

The first wedding of March was Richie and Krystal, at the Mesa Arizona Temple. What a beautiful couple, and a beautiful day!

Corey and Jennifer's Engagement

2009-04-15T13:25:00.001-07:00

I love these people! So, Corey is my husband's cousin, and so we made a trip up to the Mesa area to shoot their engagement photos. It was a blast! we traveled to 3 different sites, and spent a few hours laughing, shooting and having fun. Can't wait to shoot the wedding next month!

Bella's headshots

2009-04-15T13:17:00.000-07:00

Bella is the type of subject that makes my job easy. She was super fun to work with and her personality definitely shined through in the pictures.

First Wedding of the New Year

2009-01-19T11:46:00.000-08:00

It's always a fun thing to be hired for a wedding long distance, without meeting the bride or groom. Seth and Maggie live in North Carolina. It was great to meet them and be a part of their beautiful wedding at Sahuaro Buttes. They were both very laid back and fun, as were their families.

Play Session at Reid Park

2009-01-08T08:59:00.000-08:00

Okay...I confess...I dislike traditional portraits. Well, it's not that I dislike them, I think they are nice, and sometimes necessary. It's just that I'm not really into detail when it comes to formal portraits. Whenever I take formal portraits, I always get home to edit and say "dang, why didn't I notice that foot turned in, or the wrinkle in that shirt, or the fact that the youngest child is wearing a fake moustache", etc. My training is actually in studio photography, and maybe I just rebelled against everything I learned; but I like REAL families, I love capturing moments, real expressions, actual joy instead of pasted on smiles. That's why I love weddings, I'm really more of a documentarian than a traditional photographer. So when my dear friend Mindy (who is an awesome photographer herself) gave me the opportunity to shoot her family, the "Play Session" was born. Because of this session, I am revamping my entire portrait focus, and will focus more on my style of portraits, which is playing and shooting. We did do a few set-up shots, but there was no worry about tipping heads, smiling for the camera, people in the "proper" place. Anarchy Photography, or to use the term I've been touting for a couple of years: Organic Photography. That's my style, let things flow and capture as it occurs, imperfections, truth and all. Forgive the amount of pictures I'm posting from this shoot, I took over 200, and it was impossible to narrow it down...

Smith Baby

2009-01-08T08:40:00.000-08:00

Yes, really...this was my very first newborn shoot. I focus most of my time on weddings, since that's what I love to shoot most, and the opportunity never really arose to photograph a tiny new baby. (Besides my own, of course, but mine tend to come out looking like 3 month olds, since they have all been around 9-10 lbs) So, I was excited to take the challenge of photographing a beautiful new baby for a friend who wanted to recreate a couple of photographs she had seen for her baby announcement. I fell in love with the experience. They turned out stunning, thanks to the great natural light in their bathroom and a beautiful baby.

Stephen and Barbara's wedding

2009-01-08T07:52:00.000-08:00

I was so excited to be able to be a part of Stephen and Barbara's wedding which took place at St. Augustine's Cathedral. It is a beautiful Cathedral I have never had the priviledge of shooting in. It is the ideal place for a wedding, because of the two aisles on either side of the altar with great pillars to hide behind. At many churches, You can only take shots from the back, which leads to boring ceremony coverage. I was happy to be able to travel a bit without being conspicuous. Brandon was on one side, while I was on the other, and it made for great shooting opportunities. I believe I shot more ceremony shots in this wedding than I have at any other (The fact that it was a full mass increased that number as well). It's great to see a couple so devout in their faith, and it was a beautiful ceremony, and fun reception at Corona Ranch. It was a cowboy themed reception, and had beautiful flowers by Good Sunflower floral design. The groom has a large family, and a very musical one. By the middle of the reception all the brothers had pulled out their instruments and had a sing along around the fire on the patio. This family knows how to have a good time! Thanks for letting me be a part of it!

Jerica's Senior Portraits

2008-12-04T06:54:00.001-08:00

I don't do a lot of senior portraits, although I love to do them. I was ecstatic to be able to photograph beautiful Jerica. We started out at a local pool hall. They were gracious to let us shoot there, but it we had gotten off to a late start and it took a lot of time, so by the time we got downtown we were losing light fast. It ended up working to our advantage, we decided to ditch my original location idea and found a great deserty spot to catch the last of the failing light. Jerica was a natural in front of the camera, and I got a lot of beautiful shots. Thanks for the fun, Jerica! We'll still get the other shots sometime!

Christine and Troy

2008-11-08T08:12:00.000-08:00

I LOVE a good challenge. I also LOVE a beautiful couple who are comfortable in front of a camera. Christine and Troy were married at the botanical gardens, had an outdoor reception with low light and wanted most of the pics to be available light. It was a great challenge and the pics turned out beautifully. They wanted a lot of black and white shots. Christine has beautiful coloring, with her gorgeous hair and skin, so it was hard to choose which shots to make black and white, but I think I was able to make it a good mix. Congrats, you two..I hope the move went well!

The Bride's sister is a talented artist who designed this logo for their wedding. They had it etched on glasses as gifts for the guests.

Laura and Ash

2008-10-04T18:59:00.000-07:00

Yeah, so I admit it, I'm a slacker at keeping up with my blog. I had a few more weddings to finish up this last spring wedding season, then i took the summer off. I had a great summer: went camping on the north rim with the fam, went to a family reunion and got to take pics of my kids with their great-great grandma & grandpa! I'd love to say I relaxed and played the whole summer, but I didn't. I spent a lot of time on a new wedding site I developed and had designed. It launched in late September. It's http://www.anxiously-engaged.com/ it's a wedding site specifically for LDS brides and grooms throughout the U.S. Even if you're not LDS you can use it, it lists great vendors and the blog has some great helpful articles.

So, now it's October, the start of the Arizona wedding season, and I'm back to the work I love! I shot my first wedding of the season yesterday. It was at Reflections at the Buttes. Here are some of my favorite shots:

This is the groom's nephew. He is just the cutest baby and he was all smiles!

Some pre-ceremony fun. The best man...

and the groom.

This is my fav ceremony shot, it was right after she put on his ring. I love the expression, like: "You're stuck now, buddy!"

I love Reflections, the scenery is gorgeous.

Did I mention how fun these guys were?

Sara and Todd

2008-07-28T10:50:00.000-07:00

It's been over a year since I've done an LDS wedding, and I was ecstatic the first time I met Sara and discussed her wedding plans. Sara and Todd are two people who are absurdly comfortable in front of a camera, not to mention completely in love. So, photographing them was a complete pleasure. I love doing temple weddings, and was privileged to shoot both of their receptions, which were each in their parent's backyards. We had a full moon, and great outdoor lighting which made for a great ambience, and great pics! They are going to be featured on a new wedding planning site, details to come in August...

Michelle and Eric

2008-07-28T10:23:00.000-07:00

Michelle and Eric were married at the JW Marriott resort at Star Pass. It was a beautiful location, although very sunny, warm and a bit windy. Michelle was a little nervous, but looked absolutely gorgeous in her red-accented dress. I love those dresses, I wish I could get married over again when I see the beautiful new styles today. Both Michelle and Eric were completely gracious and easy to work with, which always makes my job easier!

Sarah and Jason

2008-07-28T09:41:00.000-07:00

April 4th started my crazy-busy wedding month. I don't typically take more than 2-3 weddings a month, but this month I had five! it started with a super-fun wedding at La Mariposa with Sarah & Todd. I had been hired long-distance, so I didn't have a chance to meet the bride and groom before that day. I was happy to find a relaxed, handsome, fun couple. The decorations were great (beach theme) and I was surprised to find that the brides mother had done them! (maybe she should start a side-business!) The reception was one of the funnest i've been to!

Amber & Justin's wedding-stillwell house

2008-04-03T16:27:00.000-07:00

My first wedding of the season was at stillwell house. They had sparklers for the send off at the end, which was a fun unique thing!

We got to play with them a little bit, too!

The bride and groom were a lot of fun, and very relaxed in front of the camera. They also had a good time with the cake!

Here are some other shots:

New ad on mytucsonwedding.com

2008-02-06T11:53:00.000-08:00

I just finished my new brochure on mytucsonwedding.com. see it here:
http://www.mytucsonwedding.com/categories/photographers/brochures/photographers_4637.html

New York City

2008-02-04T13:55:00.000-08:00

So, this is a late post, since this trip took place in sept '07, but i've been encouraged (bugged) to post pics from my trip to new york that i took with my mom & two of my four sisters.
Here are a few of the pics:

Strawberry Fields:
This is in the 9/11 museum across from ground zero. It is hundreds of paper cranes that were made and mailed to the US after the attacks on 9/11:

This is at ground zero. It's all boarded up, but there are few areas where you can peek through. On the board is written "Never Forgotten 9/11". The scarf was left hanging on the fence at ground zero. The wall of names is also found in the museum.

These other shots were taken around Manhattan. the man playing the drum is outside of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. That white building is the Manhattan Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Most of the other pics were shot around central park. I have a ton of other nature shots from central park in my art gallery: http://www.elizabethdorathyphotography.exposuremanager.com/

new website

2008-01-16T15:22:00.000-08:00

so, i'm a compulsive do-it-yourself-er. i think it's mostly because i love to learn new things and see what i can do. so, i decided it was time to change to a flash website, since everyone else seems to have one, and i guess i'm forced to keep up with the times. so, i consulted a friend of mine, rae, who designs sites. (by the way, PLEASE contact her if you need any website design, or graphic design services, she is great!: http://www.raed8design.com/) she was great enough to send me in the right direction, and get me started.

i realized after a day of messing around, that flash is a very complicated program, and, hey, i'm not really a computer novice: i've been using photoshop for years. after much frustration, i finally decided to go back to the old standby & created my slideshow in photoshop. i guess my mantra should be: "use what you know". I'm not 100% satified, but as i'm currently designing 3 books for clients, it'll have to wait.

so, the new website is up and running. it's not as flashy (oo- a pun!) as most of the others you see, but hey, i did it myself, and i think it's a step up from my last one.

new years eve wedding

2008-01-16T15:17:00.000-08:00

I am so lucky! I was hired by Mary and Chuck to participate in their wedding on new years eve. What a fun couple they were. I loved mary's choice of footwear!

It was the first time in years my husband and I have actually left our house on new years eve, so it was doubly great!

The wedding was at reflections at the buttes. The pics at the reception always turn out great because of the great ceilings.

Chuck and Mary were a lot of fun. They both have great personalities and were dreams to photograph.

You could really tell how in love they are. And boy, do they know how to throw a great party!

heather and ted

2008-01-16T15:08:00.000-08:00

Dec 28th I was privileged to photograph the wedding of Heather & Ted. I was hired for the whole day, which I love doing. It's exhausting, but I get to know the bride and groom better, which always results in them being more relaxed in the pictures, which always results in great shots. I love it when I feel like part of the family at the end of the night! Brandon shot from the top of the church while I was down below.

I learned when I arrived that poor Heather had been in the ER the night before on IVs. She had caught a stomach bug. She was so radiant and beautiful & good-mannered in spite of how she felt.

We were on a race with the light and had to cut some of the picture taking short, but all in all, the important shots were captured and the light worked in our favor!

The reception was a lot of fun, and Heather had fun bridesmaids. One bridesmaid insisted she get a picture taken with me. Maybe it was the booze talking, but she said she loved me!