I am a firm believer in dreams. I believe that if you can imagine something in your mind, you can make it come to fruition. That if you want something with every ounce of your being, you can dream it into a reality. This was the mantra I repeated to myself when I began purusing wedding photography. I repeated it religiously as I picked up my first camera and clumsily fumbled through the controls and cursed my less-than-perfect photos. I reiterated it when I emailed photographers to second-shoot and received a less-than-ideal response. As I excitedly set up my business email only to log in to a less-than-full inbox – for the first few months, I wanted to shake my first at the sky and whine at the world, but I kept the encouraging words in the back of my mind. If you can dream it, you can make it so.

I love meeting people who are following their own dreams, so when Tammy contacted me with her story I was so excited to work with her! She wanted to move from her self-proclaimed “normal desk job” into a career in sports broadcasting and needed some headshots for the occasion. We fittingly did the session at the Walt Disney Concert Hall (what better location than a hall named after such a famous dreamer?), and as we shot I asked her about her goals and aspirations. Her passion shone through as she talked about her love for sports and her highest hopes for the future. Tammy – thank you for sharing a piece of your story with me and best of luck in pursuing your dreams! :)

The metallic walls of the concert hall are stunning, but I was so enamored by the garden! The lush greenery (complete with the most unique colorful flowers) was such a nice contrast to the mod silver walls!

I almost wanted to burst into a rendition of “My Favorite Things” as I walked through the Vibiana a couple weeks ago for this year’s Pamper Me Fabulous event. It was as if someone had peeked into my mind and pulled out all of my most adored things – fruity drinks, delicate chocolates, girl talk, fresh magazines, spa treatments, sweet architecture & design, overflowing swag bags, and best of all, a good cause – and made a huge fabulous event out of it. I thought Pamper Me Fabulous was a 100 on the Fabulometer (a new device I just invented) last year, but this year’s event was completely off the charts!

I started snapping away the second we exited our car and first caught site of the majestic Vibiana (I believe I was ooh-ing and clicking away while Scott was still struggling with the bags). Upon stepping inside, we found ourselves in a decadent oasis in the midst of downtown LA – clean lounge furniture, magazines on tables, and an amazing line-up of salons and spas, bazaars, and of course, the food, the FOOD. When I’m on the job, it’s always about focusing on the shots and not on the Fabulous Tier of Endless Cupcakes, but I do admit to being convinced by the woman at Mignon Chocolate table to try ONE teensy Mojito-flavored morsel.

Amanda, Ada, and the their team at Fresh Events definitely outdid themselves this time. The ambiance was divine, the treatments as relaxing as ever, and the causes beyond noble. This year they put together the Fabulous Female Awards as well, recognizing amazing women who serve within our community. The awards ceremony concluded the day perfectly with a message of empowerment and giving.

And now for a walk through the day!

The drinks below are amazing fruit smoothies from Glowelle. They come in luxe flavors like Raspberry Jasmine and Pomegranate Lychee and are chock-full of vitamins to refresh your skin from the inside out!

Councilwoman Jan Perry kicks off the Fabulous Female Awards.

Karina Smirnoff presents; Alice Crisci, who launched a foundation for breast cancer patients, speaks about her cause.

I admire people with skillZ. With a capital Z. The amazing cook, the genius programmer, the perfect athlete – I have the utmost respect for people who are masters at what they do. And while I totally believe that if you practice at something enough, you can join the ranks of those with skillZ, I also believe you have to have that initial passion, that fire that makes your face light up whenever someone mentions what you love to do. And as much as I would like to learn how to whip up a mean Daube de Porc aux Chataignes en cocotte lutee (which my amazing friend Joyce can actually make), my fire tells me to put this little black device up to my face and click away. (And to become the master of all online typing tests. That too.)

And as much as I love dancing (particularly in front of the mirror with a toothbrush-mic), my right foot often ends up masquerading as a left. Which means I am especially in awe of good dancers. How do you MOVE? Like THAT? Which is some of what was going through my head as I did a headshot session with Gabi recently in downtown LA. Gabi is an amazing dancer and was looking for some new photos – she does hula, salsa, ballet, hip hop, and whacking (which I was unfamiliar with but is totally awesome and looks like a combination of all of the above). I had such a good time shooting her because she had such a great attitude, was full of ideas, and down to try anything. (“How about I try to climb up on that?” LOVE IT!) I loved all the bright walls and fun little nooks we found to shoot in as well!

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Just a reminder that Cans for Comments is still going on until December 12th! Any comments left on this entry or any entry will be magically transformed into cans to be donated! And be sure to visit some of these other awesome photographers’ blogs who are on the can-wagon as well!
Chris+Lynn Photographers, Justin & Mary Marantz, Ohana Photography, Bebb Studios, Fun Day Photography, Lisette Price Photography, J Castro Photography, Every Little Moment Photography, John Heil Photography, Heather Garland… there’s more and more people who are getting into it every day! It’s awesome!
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Showing her moves:

A quick change of clothes and a few more shots: