Elite model Talita The Brazilian Bombshell!

Hello everyone out there! :)

I'm blogging today about one of the most amazing models I have ever worked with. (And I work with a lot of amazing models- so this says a lot!)

I was in Elites office one morning- as I frequently pop in to give them the latest pictures, edits, and just to collaborate with the agents there....and there was a model who was in the office who just flew in from Cuba. She was a Brazilian bombshell named Talita.

I LOVE men- everything about them. ..but I tell ya- this was one of the most beautiful women I had ever seen. I only WISH I looked like her! Her face, her body was perfect. So they asked me if I'd like to shoot her- and I was so damn excited- I said "YES!" without skipping a beat.

So I picked her up a few days later & we ventured off to shoot some lingerie in the Miami Design District. (I gotta love models who have no inhibitions- and can work while people are literally staring at them in public. It's really a GREAT sign of a GREAT model!)

After we shot lingerie & some swimwear there- we headed on over to Miami Beach and shot some fun swimwear on an awesome sandbar. Then to finalize the shoot...we actually shot her in Calvin Klein underwear against the wall of a bank. (hehehe)

This girl- is the total package- not only is she esthetically beautiful, but she is VERY sweet and she moves very well. She knows to move her body in the best ways to compliment her physique.

So here are some pictures I took of this bombshell named Talita:

Also, check her out- she's a finalist in the Beach Bunny Swimwear competition. They've actually used one of my pictures I took of her :)

(She should seriously be in Victoria Secret. You can judge for yourself!)

http://www.beachbunnyswimwear.com/model/finalists/model.cfm?id=32

The Day My Team Shot 8 Elite Models In One Day!

I have to write about this- before I continue to write about anything else. This was one of the most fun shoots I've ever had!

I'm often contacted by makeup artists who reach out to me- to collaborate on possible shoots together.

Well, one day- my world definitely changed for the better.

I was contacted by a celebrity makeup artist by the name of Debra Mackie. She alerted me that she was in town for the weekend- teaching aspiring makeup artists tricks of the trade in Miami Beach. Just google Debra Mackie & you'll see all of the celebrities she has done makeup for!

Debra had seen my work- and contacted me asking if I would like to team up with her & 2 other makeup artists (Melissa Fernandez & Jennifer Goldston)

She thought it would be a fun idea to shoot as many models as possible over the course of a couple of days. She had rented out the Mezzanine Floor at the Park Central Hotel right on Ocean Drive for us to use for the shoot!

I'm only used to shooting 1 model per day- I had no idea that she was completely serious about shooting MANY models in one sitting! Even I was wondering if this lady was serious!

So the first day- I had 4 models show up. It went smoothly. We had our amazing stylist Zoe Wirth bringing gorgeous high-end clothing to the shoot. (It really makes all the difference when you have the BEST stylist. So that day was a breeze actually- 4 models with 3-4 changes per model.

My favorite day was the following day- Elite Model Management in Miami sent over.....8 Models to shoot in one day! At first I was thinking...."Hmmm..how in the world am I gonna do this?!" But I must tell you- it was a complete blast! I figured out on this day- that not only was it too easy to accomplish---But the more I shot...the MORE excited I became. It was like a drug. Seriously. I wanted more, more, more. I did not even eat lunch. There was a time at the end of the day that I finally requested something cold to drink. That's it. I was too focused on getting amazing shots with this amazing team.

I couldn't have had a better team- Debra Mackie herself was hilarious! I loved everything about her- her vibrant energy, her positive, loving attitude. It made such a wonderful experience.

And the more I shot....the more Debra was beaming! She was so happy to have as many models as possible. Ironically enough- sometimes if you overload the work- you'd think that the quality of work would suffer. But not in this case- I actually think I grew leaps and bounds as a photographer from this event. My work actually looked better & better as the day went on.

I will post below some pictures of the amazing time we all had! Can you imagine? 8 models, 3 very talented makeup artists, 1 wardrobe stylist (and damn, she is good!), and me the ol' photographer. It was by far one of the best days shooting I've ever had. I really can't wait until Debra flies back in from Boston. I miss her!!! If she lived here- I'd never sleep! I'd be shooting 24/7, I kid you not!

Enjoy the pictures. Big hugs and kisses to all.

xoxo,

Aubrey :)

My Photo Shoot With Elite Model Alexandra & A Horse!

I had such a great photo shoot with the lovely 16 year old Elite Model Alexandra recently. When I first saw her in person, I seriously thought: "Am I seeing things? This girl doesn't belong in this era. She belongs in another time & place!"

Its funny taking pictures of all of these up & coming Elite Models because they are all so very young! It was really cute- her pulling up in her new car- just learning to drive- this girl has such a wonderful life ahead of her. She's a complete sweetheart too. Very kind, and patient & just a darling person to be around.

I thought it would be really neat to have a photo shoot with her involving horses, on a ranch, etc. It was so very hot that day- and she was such a trooper to deal with the heat & a horse that didn't want to obey us very much! We had the choice of different colored horses, and our intentions were to put Alexandra on the horse and let the horse go swimming in the lake. Well, we ended up going for the reddish-colored horse (what a great color for Alexandra!)

But the horse had other plans- and really did not like the idea of being held still for photos. I completely understand- I wouldn't want to sit around either in that heat if I were that horse.

So we tried to get a few snaps of them together- and believe it or not- there really weren't that many shots taken! So what you see- is just pure luck!

I'm just so grateful for the great team we had- a wonderful makeup artist from Britains Next Top Model- Carmen Lopez, a beautiful model Alexandra & the most amazing woman "Miriam" who is the owner of the 18 acre palm tree farm and horse ranch that we shot most of the following pictures on. Miriam & her family went well beyond in letting us use her property & horse. I also wish to thank a wonderful lady Veronica Rivera for obtaining permission to shoot on her friends horse ranch. Also a thank you to a sweet woman named "Anna" who allowed us to shoot on her property as well.

So many wonderful people are out there- and I'm so grateful how kind and receptive everyone has been to me & my shoots.

Hope you enjoy the pictures. It was a day I'll always remember :)

xoxo,

Aubrey

What Camera Authorized Repair Centers Do Not Want You To Know...

Hi everyone out there!

While I have a lot of great stories about shoots, etc...I really felt the need to warn people out there about these so called: "Authorized Repair Centers". I'll apologize to them for letting the cat out of the bag...but the general public should be aware of them. (I wish someone had told me...but we live & learn.)

Ok, the only NIkon DSL I have ever owned has had the same problem occur to it over the past 2 years. While it has been under warranty- I took it to several "Nikon Authorized Service" centers. I even located them on Nikons website! I figured since it even has Nikon's stamp of approval- it must be the right place to take my broken camera. Right? I was wrong.

I have seriously taken my camera in for repair to 2 different "Nikon Authorized Repair" centers I'd say at least 10-12 times in the past 2 years. I just didn't understand why Nikon wouldn't just replace the camera- both Nikon Authorized Service centers told me that Nikon had never offered replacement- so the answer was "No."

It wasn't until this year- where I had really started to take my photography career seriously- that I knew something had to be done about my faulty camera. So I called NIkon directly- and they told me to ship it directly to them in New York. The most interesting part of this story is that Nikon admitted to me that they do not have record of when my camera was taken to the "Nikon Authorized Repair" centers. They claim they DO NOT HAVE ANY INFORMATION on this. So therefore- the two years I have wasted taking it into these "Nikon" repair places- hold nothing in my case. (Nikon does not have any information on anyones dealings with the Nikon Service Repair Centers.)

The good news- is that after you ship your camera DIRECTLY to Nikon- they extend your warranty another 6 months. And some more good news- is that they told me that they consider replacement after they have personally repaired camera equipment 3 times.

So I'm about to ship my Nikon off again to them (for the 3rd time) on Monday. For the same exact reasons it always keeps breaking. So I'm hoping I'll have a new camera & lens out of this situation.

Had I known about this "secret" Nikon has with it's "Nikon Authorized Repair" centers- I would probably have had a new camera years ago by going directly to Nikon.

So I just felt the strong need to let people know about this. And I do apologize to these "Nikon Authorized Repair" Centers- I do understand that this is how you make a living. But for me- I need reliable equipment or I can't pay my rent.

Hope everyone is having a beautiful night out there. I'll post some recent pics from a photo shoot I did in a bit.

xoxo,

Aubrey