In the Studio

Recently I've been working on new (actually old that I've forgotten) skills with my photography. It's been rewarding to start conquering things that I used to think I wasn't smart enough to figure out. That was ten years ago and now as an official adult I have learned that the only person who holds me back is myself! 

The "skill" is studio lights. So for fun I thought I'd share some of the first photos I have taken. I didn't feel like editing out the creased back drop so forgive me. You can see at what point we got a steamer and were finally able to fix that problem. ;)

I'm hoping that I will be able to look back on this post later and see how far I've come. So I present to you: the test shots.

Masquerade Ball

By now you've probably noticed that I like to throw parties. So turning 30 I knew I had to have some sort of celebration. At first I was going to make Buck do it but then I realized I had a great opportunity to check off a life goal AND celebrate turning 30. So a Masquerade Ball it was!

Invite made by my sister Erin!

I rented out a conference room at the Holiday Inn. It's a newer hotel and so it was nice and they had tables and chairs already so it was perfect! To make it a little less conference-y, I put drapes up on the ceiling. I ended up doing this by myself so don't judge if they look bad... But I was proud of my centerpieces!

I kept the food table and banner simple but I wanted the actual food to be "fancy."

 

 We had “Shirley Temples” for a drink (cherry syrup and lemon-lime soda) and some ice water.

  There was a cheese and cracker platter.

  Some single spoons with tomato basil soup, one leaf and one ravioli in each one.

Cups of red berries and loose chocolate and butterscotch chips.

Some zucchini and carrots rolled into rose shapes and baked.

 Then little mini individual meat trays with prosciutto and such on it. (Weird photo, I know.)

Jade made me an amazing cake too! Seriously it was so perfect and she was all worried it wasn't very good. Look at it though!

I had a good turn out of friends and family, and the girls were there too. :) Everyone was relaxed and had fun and it was truly a great night! We did a voting contest too for most funny, classic, and best over all masks. We also set up a photo booth (and used my old camera and lens for it.)

 I found my dress for $8 at DI and then Jade and I hot glued the feathers onto it. :)

 Hazel went around "who-ing" at everyone for a while.

 Buck's mask had diamond tears on it.

 Friends and family

 I like that my friends are all starting to know each other from the many parties that I throw. I had people from all different points of life at my party. Friends from my mission, from college, from church, Hawaii, and then Buck's family all came too!

 The part I was most excited for was the karaoke. I rented a legit machine and I think everyone had a great time. We had everything from Spice Girls to Broadway to an Italian opera piece.

And June sang "Let it go." Of course.

My mom sent this crazy candle for me to blow out. It's this plastic flower that blooms open to reveal the candles and it plays the Happy Birthday song. So random.

And turns out that Hazel was good to party all night. She doesn't think she needs a bed time. 

It was a great night, you guys. It really was. I just like having good friends around and feeling like they care. I like singing and being silly. I like dressing up. I like parties. I like everything. It was good. I'm glad I did it!  Thank you to everyone who was apart of it whether you were in Utah or Idaho. I felt like it was a grand celebration to start a new decade.