Self Portraiture Photoshoot in Colorado

Recently I took a vacation to beautiful Colorado. It has become one of my favorite places. Over the years, I have photographed so many beautiful ladies here. We were on track for an empowerment session in the mountains, but that morning, my model texted me to let me know she wasn't feeling well and felt it was best to cancel due to the coronavirus. Naturally, I was dissapointed. But I was already awake at 5am, and ready to walk out the door for the planned sunrise session.

So, I decided bravely, to be not only the photographer but also the model! I put on the dress, and carried my camera gear. I'm sure I looked kinda funny pairing the only shoes I had brought to Colorado-my Nike tennis shoes-with a silk dress I found at the thrift store a day earlier. But hey, I was determined to bring my vision to life. I had spent the evening prior scoping out locations and planning where the sun would rise and where the light would fall, down to the minute.

I hiked up a small hill overlooking the town. The sun was already blasting the mountain although I was in the dark shade. The temperature was 33 degrees, which added another challenging component to an already challenging task (self portraiture without a tripod). But here was the first shot. I did not bring a flash on this trip, so the foreground was pretty dark and I had to lighten myself in editing. Some of the mountain was over exposed, but it was a hard balancing act to capture both the foreground and back-round without a flash.

So, I would have taken more photos up on this hill, but my camera froze! It literally stopped working because of the temperature. It wouldn't turn on or show the screen. Luckily, I have experienced this before, one time when shooting a winter wedding in Wisconsin. So, I knew not to panic and that it just needed to warm up. After a few minutes in the car, the camera and I were ready to go again.

This is a favorite photo spot of mine. I have done other photoshoots here in the past, so I knew this location by the lake was a must. There was a foggy mist lingering just above the water at the base of the hills. I had to walk a good ways to get to this spot, but it was worth it. The only other human being I saw who was also awake at this time, was one determined fisherman.

Before leaving, I secured the camera on the hood of the rental car for a few shots with this very photogenic fence.

I continued driving around the lake, and stopped when I saw a good back round. (Which wasn't difficult to find).

Check out those Nike Shoes! I'm starting a new trend....

The funny thing was, by the end of the shoot, I was not even cold anymore! There was so much running back and forth, trying to get to "the photo spot" before the 10 second timer went off, it left me out of breath quite a few times! And I couldn't help but laugh at myself here and there. :) Although somewhat ridiculous of an adventure, this sure was fun for me! It was thrilling and empowering not letting anything stop me from creating the imagery I had visualized.

This photoshoot was just the boost I needed, with all of the craziness going on now-a-days. I felt beautiful, unstoppable, and free! If you are looking for a similar "boost", email me at info@imagebyjewels.com to set up your own empowerment photoshoot.

Thanks for visiting my blog!