If you’re reading this, congratulations! You’re about to see some photos of our new home! If you read my last post {You can catch up here}, I mentioned when we first bought our home and began getting it move-in ready that I wanted to take photos of the whole process: What it looked like online, our first time seeing it, how much we needed to do (a lot) and most of all, what it looked like bare and waiting for us to fill it up with memories!
My good friend, a fellow blogger and fabulous photographer Christina reached out and was intrigued by the idea. I had previously looked on Pinterest for ideas, but there wasn’t anything that really caught my eye; probably because no one thinks to take photos of their new home, or people move in with each other, or a multitude of other possibilities. During a conversation creative Christina and I had, we realized there are really only 2 times you’ll see your home empty:
{When you’ve just bought it, and are getting ready to move in and start your life}
{When you’re moving out, and your memories are all packed up for a new adventure}
As you probably already know, I’m a major sentimental weirdo. On an emotional scale from 1 to 10, I’m a 99. I chalk that up to a combined “love language” of words of affirmation and gift giving. There are two things I hold in high regard: things and words.
Because of this, I am very sentimental and thankful for the amazing technology at our fingertips. Think about it. My (very future) children will be able to read what I’m writing now and not have to worry about a diary that gets lost or ruined by the elements. (Hopefully we still have internet when I have kids, that would be a bummer.) Now, I love a handwritten note, but I
think you catch my drift. (Side note, I strongly believe in cursive and handwritten checks and thank you notes, they are an art form my kids will learn.)
think you catch my drift. (Side note, I strongly believe in cursive and handwritten checks and thank you notes, they are an art form my kids will learn.)
I want to show my future family what we looked like, how we thought and acted, what our lives were like. That’s important to me. The thought of showing our home as it was when we were engaged and just starting out makes me really appreciate how far we’ve come as a couple.
Christina and I talked for a while about the vision behind the home shoot and the ideas quickly took shape. She’s really talented. Christina is a “natural light photographer” and I have become familiar with her work, because when I’m scrolling through Facebook or Instagram, I can instantly tell which photos are hers because she’s got such a unique style. I love it.
She uses light and natural elements to bring out the whole idea for the shoot, which was almost a mix of starting fresh, new beginnings, and starting almost from scratch.
Christina owns a company called Christina Z Photography, and I highly recommend checking it out. Could we have taken photos ourselves? Yes. Would they have turned out any where near as good as the photos I’m about to show you?
NO.
Here are a few reasons I wanted to have Christina shoot our new home:
Vision
Christina was able to take what I described (still don’t know how you understood what I wanted because I know my ideas were all over the place…. just proves your talent!) and turn it into a real theme and idea for the shoot. I’d never be able to do that!
Direction
There’s a reason I’ve never directed a Hollywood film, let alone a photo shoot. (Ok, there are a bunch of reasons, but I digress.) If I were the one deciding what shots to capture, what angles to shoot from, how to pose, it would have been a nightmare. I was so relieved when she came with ideas! She told us how to pose, where to sit, what looked best, etc.
Equipment
Girl has all the right equipment! Not a pick up line… she’s professional. I’m always amazed when there’s a second lens. I’m over there fiddling with my digital camera and she’s like, Let me switch to my W47 extra wide scope Tobiashi secret formula model-maker lens.
(Disclaimer, those terms were made up and totally invented by me, I don’t really think that’s a lens model, but who knows.)
Experience
Results
SHE TOTALLY DELIVERED. When I saw the first couple of photos on her blog, and a sneak peek on Facebook, I was BLOWN AWAY. (The blog post she wrote about us is really cute, and she does it for every shoot. She talks about the people she photographs and uses information you give her from a questionnaire after the experience to really build your story.)
We just loved Christina. She’s professional but really funny, very quick to give advice and direction, and is constantly throwing out ideas and making it seem like the most natural thing in the world. Christina, THANK YOU SO MUCH for giving us this opportunity and we look forward to using you down the road for more special announcements, when those days finally arrive! (You’ll still be in business in 2095 when we move to the space station, I assume?)
If you’re interested in having your own special shoot, contact her today. (Tell her I sent you, duh.) She specializes in senior portraits, families, weddings and engagement sessions, special occasions like announcing that you have a watermelon in your belly (Sorry, I’m still thirteen), and a multitude of other topics. She’s obviously open to new ideas and welcomes crazy clients, because that’s the only way I’m able to write this blog! Check out a few of my favorite photos below, thanks for reading and please pay this sweet girl a visit and tell her what you think!
ChristinaZPhotography@gmail.com
(941) 812-5307
There are many other photos, but I wanted to share my absolute favorites with you, my favorite readers! I plan on doing a before and after post in the near future, since we are almost at that point. I have to look through my (unprofessional) photos from the beginning and compile them, so stay tuned! Thanks for reading!
