tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-60276868009123536572024-02-06T20:38:12.261-08:00Melody Frees PhotographyI am a stay at home mom of a 7 year old and 4 year old twins. I am an aspiring photographer and I am a part time student.Cheekie Monkey Photographyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03850870563372294019noreply@blogger.comBlogger124125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6027686800912353657.post-79234427187953658842013-01-30T08:25:00.002-08:002013-01-30T08:25:58.454-08:00Casey - HeadshotsI got the opportunity to meet Casey last weekend. He is a high school friend of another photographer friend of mine. She just moved to Colorado so she recommended me.
Casey lives in Long Beach and is getting into acting. He was a lot of fun to work with. Great sense of humor and such a nice guy!
All of the pictures were taken with available light and just a reflector to fill in the shadows. I Cheekie Monkey Photographyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03850870563372294019noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6027686800912353657.post-64757766918892780842013-01-25T12:51:00.002-08:002013-01-25T12:51:53.697-08:00Practicing LightingI've been practicing with lighting and the flash lately. Surprisingly my kids have been very cooperative! :) I am beginning to feel more comfortable with the flash. It still takes a lot of trial and error but thankfully not quite as much as it used to!
Here are some collages of the pictures I took of the kids. I'm thinking of even having these printed to put on the wall in their room :)Cheekie Monkey Photographyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03850870563372294019noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6027686800912353657.post-69117686789061154202013-01-22T10:19:00.000-08:002013-01-22T10:19:13.149-08:00RubieThis is Rubie,
Isn't she just super adorable?! I did her mom's maternity pictures on Jan 3, 2013 You can see them here Sadie on January 17, 2013 Rubie was welcomed into the world. Doing newborn pictures are some of my favorite sessions to do.
Cheekie Monkey Photographyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03850870563372294019noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6027686800912353657.post-61105057490218772852013-01-09T08:58:00.000-08:002013-01-09T08:58:28.369-08:00SunsetThe sunset was so beautiful on Sunday that I had to run out and take some pictures of it. When I got home I played around with editing them a little bit. Some of them I warmed up so they had more orange and yellow tones and some I cooled off so they had more blue and pink tones.
I'm really pleased with the way they turned out. I'm really trying to make sure I pick up my camera more and practice.Cheekie Monkey Photographyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03850870563372294019noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6027686800912353657.post-58294274011368047692013-01-06T10:26:00.002-08:002013-01-06T10:26:18.902-08:00New Year, Big ChangesI am so excited for 2013. I am going to focus more on my photography and on growing my photography business. I've spent the last couple weeks creating a brand for my business. I love the look of it and I can't wait to really get things moving.
1. Letterhead
2. Sticker
3. 2013 Pricing Guide (front and back)
4. CD Cover
5. CD Case Cover
6. Print order form
7. Appointment reminder postcardCheekie Monkey Photographyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03850870563372294019noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6027686800912353657.post-87407115694643794592013-01-04T16:02:00.001-08:002013-01-04T16:02:52.936-08:00SadieYesterday a good friend of mine let me practice maternity pictures on her. She was such a good sport! What a cute pregnant girl too!! Her little girl is coming any day now! I'm still working on posing ideas. I did a ton of searching on Pinterest for cute ideas. I'm love the way these turned out and I can't wait to do more maternity shoots this year!!
Doesn't she lookCheekie Monkey Photographyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03850870563372294019noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6027686800912353657.post-13071609831678000532012-12-16T08:53:00.001-08:002012-12-16T08:53:35.890-08:00Flash Bubbles
I've been learning about flash. I've been practicing my skills because I still don't feel like I have any idea what I'm doing lol.
Well I was walking by the sink the other day and noticed a pizza sauce jar filled with water and soap. It had the coolest looking bubbles in it and my first thought was "I definitely have to come back and photograph that later." Then I started to walk away. I Cheekie Monkey Photographyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03850870563372294019noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6027686800912353657.post-53248015242602363032012-12-06T14:03:00.000-08:002012-12-06T14:03:13.979-08:00SCPA - Dios De Los Muertos - Amanda
I have been so busy the last couple weeks that I haven't had a chance to post these. These are some of my favorite pictures of Amanda. I love the way her red hair pops in these pictures. Her posing was great and she was so much fun to work with. It was really hard for me to leave at the end of the shoot. I wanted to stay and take more pictures. I can't even pick which one of these is my favoriteCheekie Monkey Photographyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03850870563372294019noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6027686800912353657.post-13013007500255099742012-11-29T08:00:00.001-08:002012-11-29T08:00:09.265-08:00SCPA - Dios De Los Muertos - Rosannara
This is Rosannara. She was so sweet. I loved the head piece she got to wear. It's a flower with a skeleton hand! I want one of these so bad! :)
I think this is my favorite picture of her. I love how simple yet stunning it is. This picture is taken on the same set as the other pictures but it was taken from the side not the front. Its amazing what thinking outside of the box does. (I can't Cheekie Monkey Photographyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03850870563372294019noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6027686800912353657.post-28142650868834582292012-11-28T09:15:00.003-08:002012-11-28T09:15:55.522-08:00SCPA - Dios De Los Muertos - Gabrielle
This is Gabrielle Champion. She was the first one I worked with in full makeup. I love this look. Each of the costumes had a shawl and a corset that were separate from each other. (So the corsets could be used with other props to make different costumes) I LOVE these shawls. If you look closely you can see the skeletons on them. Gabrielle was really nice as well. I really wish I had more time toCheekie Monkey Photographyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03850870563372294019noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6027686800912353657.post-69047603076490875732012-11-25T15:19:00.001-08:002012-11-25T15:19:42.460-08:00SCPA - Dios De Los Muertos - Roxie
This
is Roxie Rosette. This was the first time I've worked with her. In
fact, this was the first time I've worked with any of the models from
this shoot. This shoot was a little different from the previous
shoots that I've been to with SCPA. Because there were so many
photographers, I didn't get much time to get to know any of the
models. At this shoot I also got the opportunity to use my (veryCheekie Monkey Photographyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03850870563372294019noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6027686800912353657.post-50998004385128491592012-11-24T23:39:00.004-08:002012-11-25T15:23:34.305-08:00SCPA - Dios De Los Muertos - AnaI didn't have a chance to update the blog with more pictures from the Dios De Los Muertos shoot before today.
I had such a great time at this shoot. The girls were so great. This is Ana Trujillo. She was really sweet and so nice to work with. I had a lot of fun with her. She was so patient when the lights wouldn't work and we had to mess with them for a while. Ana, I look forward to working withCheekie Monkey Photographyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03850870563372294019noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6027686800912353657.post-7501643797313499342012-11-23T10:07:00.001-08:002012-11-23T10:07:37.580-08:00New Website!!If you follow me on Facebook (Melody Frees Photography on FB) you already know my exciting news. If you don't here it is: I have a new website!!! Come check it out Melody Frees Photography. I'm working on getting it set up the way that I want and making it user friendly.
At some point I will probably change my blog to a wordpress blog so they are all at the same spot but until I get the Melodyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03419230702642187363noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6027686800912353657.post-46387437115847109882012-11-19T09:23:00.000-08:002012-11-25T15:27:43.600-08:00SCPA - Dios De Los Muertos - AkemiOn Saturday I went to another meetup with the Southern California Photographers Association. The theme for this shoot was Dia de los Muertos (The Day of the Dead). It was a lot of fun. I hadn't worked with any of these models before so it was fun to get to know them and meet some new people. This shoot was done at Wonderland Studios again. I can't recommend this studio enough. Everyone who works Cheekie Monkey Photographyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03850870563372294019noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6027686800912353657.post-23026094857353506692012-10-31T10:12:00.001-07:002012-10-31T10:12:43.772-07:00HeadshotsI probably shouldn't admit this but I've never done headshots before so when my friend Sabrina messaged me to do her friend Darryl's headshots I was pretty nervous. I spent the day researching headshots and what people are looking for when getting them. (Of course, it's all subjective because people are individuals and want different things but at least this gave me a starting point.)
When Cheekie Monkey Photographyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03850870563372294019noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6027686800912353657.post-30937455202748816802012-10-21T13:53:00.002-07:002012-10-21T13:53:50.591-07:00Composition
One of our recent assignments in my Intermediate Photography class was Composition. Basically composition is the foundation for any good photograph. You need to be aware of how you are composing your photo. There are tons of "rules" for composition. Actually they are more like guidelines. You can always start with the basic rules and if you don't like your picture you throw out the rules and Cheekie Monkey Photographyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03850870563372294019noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6027686800912353657.post-40095976551538322712012-10-20T12:08:00.001-07:002012-10-20T12:08:37.304-07:00Night Photography
For my Intermediate Photography class our most recent project was Night Photography. I've never done much Night Photography. I've done some - like when I took pictures of fireworks on the fourth of July. But overall it isn't something I've played around with much. I had a lot of fun with it. It does take some time and patience. For most of these pictures I had the shutter opened for 30Cheekie Monkey Photographyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03850870563372294019noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6027686800912353657.post-51784378314572826762012-08-25T09:48:00.001-07:002012-11-24T23:40:09.789-08:00SCPA - Cowgirls and Gunslingers- ShaunaI meant to post this the other day but my whole family came down with the stomach flu. Thankfully we are all better now so on to the pcitures!
More pictures from the shoot with the Southern California Photographers Association. The theme was Cowgirls and Gunslingers in Corsets. The photoshoot was done at Wonderland Studios. Which is an awesome studio for any photographer in the SouthernCheekie Monkey Photographyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03850870563372294019noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6027686800912353657.post-3046988571688059222012-08-22T10:26:00.000-07:002012-11-25T14:28:55.613-08:00 SCPA - Cowgirls and Gunslingers- ElenaMore pictures from the shoot with the Southern California Photographers Association. The theme was Cowgirls and Gunslingers in Corsets. The photoshoot was done at Wonderland Studios. Which is an awesome studio for any photographer in the Southern California area. You can rent the studio and the owner makes most (if not all) of costumes (you can rent the costumes as Cheekie Monkey Photographyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03850870563372294019noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6027686800912353657.post-67297660188901808172012-08-21T11:52:00.000-07:002012-11-24T23:40:59.108-08:00SCPA - Cowgirls and Gunslingers- Shawna
I had so much fun at this photo shoot. It was another shoot with the Southern California Photographers Association. The theme was Cowgirls and Gunslingers in Corsets. The photoshoot was done at Wonderland Studios. Which is an awesome studio for any photographer in the Southern California area. You can rent the studio and the owner makes most (if not all) of costumesCheekie Monkey Photographyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03850870563372294019noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6027686800912353657.post-56954530627851485102012-08-09T13:16:00.001-07:002012-08-09T13:16:30.584-07:00Maternity ShootSorry I've been slacking in posting. I've been in a funk lately. I'm learning how to believe in myself and working on getting better at what I do as well. I have been taking pictures but I just haven't gotten around to blogging them.
I did a maternity shoot recently with a very cooperative couple. This is Midge and Allen. They were so much fun to work with! :) They are such a happy family!
Cheekie Monkey Photographyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03850870563372294019noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6027686800912353657.post-70371471728200318072012-07-10T08:55:00.001-07:002012-07-10T08:55:30.137-07:00Lesson Learned
LESSON LEARNED:This picture is my entire family. It's the first time we've all been together in almost 3 years. My parents really wanted a family picture. So we got it all set up and arranged. My camera settings: F-3.5 1/250 ISO 100... WHY DID I USE F-3.5?!?!?! All my pictures are blurry. I know better. GRR Thankfully there were 3 other cameras set up to take pictures. I'm still very frustratedCheekie Monkey Photographyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03850870563372294019noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6027686800912353657.post-10563361470573031802012-06-26T12:45:00.002-07:002012-06-26T12:45:17.430-07:00Simply You Part 3And even more :) I'm doing one more session on August 11, 2012 so if you are interested in joining in contact me at cheekiemonkeyphotography@gmail.com
Cheekie Monkey Photographyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03850870563372294019noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6027686800912353657.post-37224722350343341342012-06-26T12:42:00.001-07:002012-06-26T12:42:34.856-07:00Simply You Part 2Here's more pictures :)
Cheekie Monkey Photographyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03850870563372294019noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6027686800912353657.post-59515634376307565572012-06-26T12:41:00.001-07:002012-06-26T12:43:12.907-07:00Simply You Part 1
So hubby and I were playing around with the camera after I completed a black and white project for school. I had so much fun with it and I decided to do a project of just black and white portraits. I set up two days with appointsments every half hour. It was so much fun I'm going to do another day of it. I'm thinking of putting the pictures together in a coffee table book when I get enough Cheekie Monkey Photographyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03850870563372294019noreply@blogger.com0