Pearls For Teen Girls

Last night I was given the opportunity to photograph a charity event for Pearls for Teen Girls, an organization that helps inner city teen girls reach their dreams and get to college. Being from the city, this organization really resonates with me.

I went to a school that had about a 50% drop out rate and many of the people I went to school with did not go to or finish college. There are quite a few obstacles to overcome as a female in the city that are seen and unseen. From the stereotypes put on them by music, to the sometimes sketchy education provided by the schools. To reach your dreams in the city is a fight and Pearls is a weapon that is providing a chance to shift the battle from losing, to winning. As a lover of people and the city, I would be amiss to not support something like this. Whether it be Pearls or another organization, get out and volunteer, donate, and support local groups who are making a difference in the community.

The event took place at Bosley's on Brady, which is a fantastic restaurant. The owners were great and the wait staff was top notch. (Now I need to go back and eat some of the food that was making my mouth water all night!)







There were some amazing gifts given, from scholarships to cash donations. The place was electric!



Yeah... they were auctioning off real pearl rings and necklaces... if I had a lady, I might have bid on this beauty... well... that is if I had money :)






It is always better to give than receive.

Test 1,2,3

Just checkin out a new slideshow program I got...

P.s. The song is by Di Johnston. Awesomeness... I heard it on a Dove Commercial.

Mary - Senior '09

Mary was a lot of fun to take photos of. We met at Seven Bridges Park and went walking in the forest. I never realized that the park was so big and that there were so many different places to take photos. We had some amazing light in the morning and I got some great portraits with natural light. I brought along my studio light for a few shots and had some fun with that. It was hard for her to stop smiling and she was always cracking up. What a fantastic person!

Check out her great smile!:

Cameron - Senior '09

What do you do with a broken camera? I don't really know, but you can't really use it... I need to get my main camera repaired and just sold my back up camera, so I had a shoot and no camera. That was not so fun. Lucky for me I know a few people and Sam Dodge came out to help with my shoot and he let me use his D300 (shiver... Nikon) for the day. Everything was backwards, but all in all, I was able to turn the camera on and switch lenses by myself at the end of the shoot.

Cameron was pretty much the coolest girl ever. I showed her one of the photos and she told me that she looked like she was the ruler of the universe in it. Awesome. She was super fun to work with and we shot around Havenwoods State Park and a few streets near by. I was having a ton of fun with Sam's wide angle lens and ended up taking some of my favorite shots to date for senior photos. Check them out and let me know what you think!

Eric and Emily - Silver Spring Country Club

Hmm… where do I start… Perhaps I will start in Starbucks where I met with Emily and her mom. I knew Emily through her brother who worked with me one summer tutoring kids in the inner city. We played a few games of ultimate Frisbee and she mopped up in the end zone with Eric hucking (check out ultimate Frisbee lingo) it up to her. It would have been great if I wasn’t the one guarding her… no hard feelings though…

Where was I... Oh yeah… Starbucks. We met and discussed her wedding and it all sounded fantastic. After shooting it, I can honestly say that it was fantastic. From the crazy groomsmen, beautiful bridesmaids, and the really fun family. A great time was had by all... check out some of the photos.

The dress, rings, and shoes were lovely as well as Emily.





Don’t mess…




When I get married, I am gonna be a mess just like Eric was when he saw Emily walking down the aisle. (I heard the ladies dig that?)





Uh… left my iPhone in the limo. Oops. I felt naked.


The reception was at the Silver Spring Country Club and we had some great light.




Beautiful bride, handsome groom…


After the food, they g.g.g.got down

Eric and Emily

Sneaky, sneaky...

David and Sarah

Ooooooookaay... so this blog has been a long time coming. I have been outrageously busy with senior photos and the other job to sit down and get these photos up. Alas, here they are in all their glory.

David and Sarah are awesome. Great people and good times all rolled into a three person package. You might remember them from their E-Session and I have the story of how we met there, so go read up.

The time finally rolled around for their wedding and I was really excited for them and to shoot the wedding. I knew that they were gonna have it at the Milwaukee County War Memorial and I was stoked about being outside and shooting at a lovely place.

We met the girls at a friend’s house where they were getting ready and Sarah was getting her makeup done. She had a fantastic dress and great shoes to go along with it.





The buckles on her shoes were pretty crazy and it took three people to help get them on... it was funny... but they worked. As a guy, I will never understand women and their shoes...




It was super windy outside and cloudy, which is good for keeping cool, but not so great for hair.






Patrick was just awesome.




The light was sooooo... how should I say... amazing?








The party bus. The bridal party was super crazy, and it was really fun seeing them go nuts at the wedding.





We got to the reception and the party was on!




And the food was... (please refer to photo below)

Whats the Story...

Sooo... I have been talking with Erin Richards, a journalist at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, who was writing a story on Senior Photos and the trend of seniors wanting a more personalized shoot. I wasn’t sure when the story was going to run, so I didn’t post anything about it here, but one of my friends sent me an email telling me that there was an article in the paper that I was in. It is pretty cool having some of my photos online and my name in the paper.

If anyone reading this blog found it from the paper, it would be great to hear your thoughts.

In addition to Seniors, I shoot Weddings, Headshots, and Families. Check out my site at www.simonmcconico.com. I am booking fast for 2009, so get in quick!

Check out the article here: http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=807756