Blessed Creations

New BABY!

2012-01-18T11:07:00.000-08:00

Wow! Happy New Year! So yes, you've guessed it, I have a new baby on the way and her name is HUSH {fun & flirty} photography! Same great quality as Blessed Creations but with a little sexy twist! New website is forth coming!

Every women deserves a time out for her self. I am totally guilty of ensuring that everyone else around me is taken care of and often don't find time to do things just for me. Ladies, in 2012, why not take the time to do something for you.

A fun and flirty photoshoot is for any woman who wants to do something special for herself or her special someone. Whether you are celebrating an event like weight loss or marriage / engagement, or wanting to do something to help put a little spice in your relationship.

Wanna make it a party? Fun and Flirty photo parties are a great way to celebrate a girls night out or a bachelorette party. And best of all, the host of the party receives her photo session absolutely FREE! (I don't know about you, but I LOVE free stuff!)

Contact me via email at monicabrazier@comcast.net for more information. Individual sessions start at $150.00.

Fun & Flirty Valentines Special

2011-12-26T12:02:00.000-08:00

Wanna add some spice to Valentines Day this year? Surprise Him with a Fun & Flirty photo session by Blessed Creations Photography. These sessions are for all women, all shapes, and all sizes! Book your photo session by 1/2/12 and receive a $15.00 discount. Reserve your spot by phone at 574-309-0786 or email monicabrazier@comcast.net

Here's the Details:

Your photo session will include a magazine style photobook with 10-12 of your best images and a photo Valentines Day card. Hair and make-up is also available at an additional cost. You may choose from two photo packages:

Fun ($150.00)
30 minute Session
1-2 Outfit Changes
5x7 Magazine Style Photobook
Photo Valentines Day Card

Flirty ($195.00)
60 minute Session
2-3 Outfit Changes
8x10 Magazine Style Photobook
Photo Valentines Day Card

* On 1/14/12 sessions will take place on location at the Hilton Garden Inn (Space Limited)
* Hair and Make-up available for additional cost of $60.00
* Book Your Appointment By 1/2/12 and receive $15.00 off

Merry Christmas

2011-12-26T11:29:00.000-08:00

Wow! I had such and amazing day yesterday with my family for Christmas! Lots of quality time, lots of food, lots of excitement! I pray that the day was filled with blessings for you and your family as well! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Melanie + Darnel = Married

2011-12-05T19:12:00.000-08:00

What a perfect ending to a wonderful year! Melanie and Darnel wed this past weekend and I have to honestly say the day could not have been more perfect! When I first met Melanie, she had this vision of doing a photo with her and her bridesmaids having a snowball fight. I thought to my self.. this is exactly the type of bride that I love to work with. Someone who is non traditional, likes to have fun, and doesn't mind trying new things! Unfortunately, we didn't get snow, however, we were blessed with a perfect day from beginning to end. Melanie and Darnel opted to see each other before the ceremony for pictures which freed up a lot of time. I was also able to create a same day slide show that ran during the reception which is something I have always wanted to do but could never fit it in.

Thank you Melanie and Darnel for allowing me to be apart of your day! We may not have had the snow for the snowball fight, but we were still able to capture some beautiful moments throughout the day. Below is their video preview. Enjoy!

Washington High School Senior Portraits

2011-11-16T07:15:00.000-08:00

I have so much fun with high school senior shoots! To me it feels more like a fashion photoshoot than a senior portrait session. With DeAundre I not only had a great time photographing him, but I also learned some new "Swag" lingo! Below is the video preview from this session. Enjoy!

High School Senior Video Preview

2011-11-08T11:58:00.000-08:00

I genuinely had a ton of fun photographing Derryll for his High School Senior pictures. As we raced to beat the sun set, we were able to capture some great images. Something new that I have recently fell in love with is video previews for the Senior sessions. Here is an example of Derryll's preview video. Enjoy!

Maternity By Blessed Creations

2011-10-28T11:24:00.000-07:00

Capturing life beautifully is not just my tag line, it is what I aspire and love to do. Pregnancy can be an emotional time for women and it can be a time when they are most uncomfortable with their bodies. I was so happy when beautiful mom to be La Shonda agreed to model for me for a new direction I am trying to take. Boudoir Maternity portraits I feel are a great way to not only document this special time in a woman's life, but it also helps women feel beautiful at a time when they may not believe they are. For La Shonda, who was hours away from her due date, I believe it helped take her mind off the stress of giving birth for the small time she was with me.

My hope is to take my maternity photography to another level. The images posted below turned out simply gorgeous and I could not have asked for a better model to help with my new Boudoir Maternity division of Blessed Creations. Enjoy! Blessings!

The New York Secret

2011-10-20T11:35:00.000-07:00

The secret is out! I feel truly blessed for the many opportunities I have been given this year! Recently I have been introduced to a new world of real-estate / interior photography. I have been given the tremendous honor of traveling to the New York / New Jersey area to photograph beautiful historic homes. My eyes have been opened and I have been introduced to a whole new part of this photography industry. I honestly have not shown these pics because I was not sure how good or bad they were. I am very new to this type of photography so please be nice! I truly enjoy photographing people but I now also enjoy making beautiful homes smile. Some examples are posted below and again I stress....Please be gentle if leaving a reply. Blessings!

High School Senior Photoshoot

2011-09-29T15:14:00.001-07:00

Photographing High School Seniors is so much fun because their personality really shines through. I had a lot of fun shooting Jamil for his high school senior pictures. We shot in some non-tradtional locations which is just my style. Thanks Jamil for being a good sport. The pictures turned out FABULOUS!

Day of Dreams Chicago Wedding

2011-09-09T07:55:00.000-07:00

I had the privilege of photographing Monique and Alan's Chicago wedding last week. After months of preparation and finalizing details, the happy couple decided to elope in downtown Chicago using the Day of Dreams wedding package. The brides candid moments were breathtaking as the camera truly captured her happiness. Monique and Alan, I thank you for allowing me to capture your special day and I pray that you two continue to share a life time of breathtaking memories!

The Grays

2011-08-30T07:54:00.000-07:00

In any industry or profession it is important to always continue educating your self on your craft. A couple of weeks ago I had the privilege of learning from one of the best wedding photography teams in the industry. Zack and Jody Gray are a married wedding photography team that have perfected marketing and skills to be one of the premiere wedding photographers of today. For me, I felt blessed just to be in the same room with them! I literally felt like such a groupie!

All in all I had a wonderful time hearing them speak about how they grew their business in such a short amount of time. They shared a ton of great info and I enjoyed speaking with them personally at the end. If you are a fellow photg reading this and you don't know who Zack and Jody are, I highly recommend you head over to www.grayphotograph.com! To all my brides, you get to enjoy all the benefits of the changes I have made to Blessed Creations Photography because of their advice. Thanks for reading and have a great week!

New York! New York!

2011-08-17T10:04:00.000-07:00

I recently had the opportunity to travel to New York for the first time in my life! I had so much fun and now seeing Time Square is one thing I can check off my list of things I would like to do in my lifetime! My trip was mainly for business purposes. I was asked by a friend of the family to photograph her home and build a real estate website to help her market and sell her home. Up to this point I have only ever photographed people so I wasn't really sure if this is something I could do. After some thought, I said what the heck and decided to try it out.

In doing some research for this project I discovered a whole world of real estate photography. I never knew before now that this industry ever existed. There are so many techniques involved with photographing a home (the right way) that I never imagined. Before taking the trip I was thinking how hard can it really be to take photographs of a room in house.

OMG! Was I wrong. The details involved with de-cluttering, cleaning, and lighting make photographing real estate extremely harder than I thought. My hats go off to the professionals that photograph homes beautifully!

Long story short, the clients was happy and I had a great time learning a new craft. Here is a story board of images from the shoot. Enjoy!

Hannah H.S. Senior Shoot

2011-08-02T08:40:00.000-07:00

I had so much fun shooting Hannah's high school senior photos. The farm setting was perfect and she rocked out some awesome pics. Hannah was a great sport and tried everything I asked her to do! Here's her preview. Enjoy!

South Bend PUG

2011-07-13T10:29:00.000-07:00

Networking and continued learing is an important part of development as a photographer. Also in my case, it's a release to get out of the house, take a break from mommie hood, and have some fun doing something I love! Last night I attended my monthly PUG meeting and we had the opprotunity to do a practice photoshoot.

I love doing these practice shoots because I get the chance to work with some great models and learn hands-on without any pressure. If I make a mistake it's ok in this enviroment. Anyhow, I had lot of fun and came away with some great images. Below are some of my favs! Enjoy!

June Wedding Follow-up

2011-07-06T07:26:00.000-07:00

As promised this is a follow-up post to the June wedding that I assisted with. As a second photographer at a wedding, I really got a chance to step back and look at the moments happening around me. Without the pressure of making sure I had all of the key shots for the day, I felt like I was able to better capture story telling details of the day. Below are some of my favs. Enjoy!

I just love the little flower girls expression in the image below!

After the wedding, the bride agreed to doing a small photo shoot at near by warehouse! I love it when couples set time aside during the day to take fabulous photos.

2nd Shooter

2011-06-29T06:48:00.000-07:00

One of the best ways to get hands on experience when entering the wedding photography business is to assist a main photographer with a wedding. Last weekend I had the opportunity to help photographer Heidi Melms from Rochester Indiana. It was a fun time, the family and bridal party where fun and easy going, and I learned a
lot.

Below is one of my favorite shots from the day. The bride took time out for us to do a small photo shoot by herself at a great location. Enjoy! { I plan on doing a follow-up post with more images later this week}

2011-06-22T07:04:00.000-07:00

Happy Wednesday!

Yesterday was the first day of summer and my daughter Corriana's 3rd birthday! The family and I celebrated both by going to a local water play park followed by singing happy birthday over Dairy Queen Blizzards. Some of the best times in my life are when I am able to simply enjoy my family and watch my children run around and be happy. Yesterday was one of those times. I think this is why I love photography so much! Being able to freeze a moment in time to refer back to and cherish is priceless. I truly love this photography journey I am on and aim to continue to capture special moments in time beautifully for my clients. Thanks for reading and here are some images from yesterday to enjoy!

Colleen + Luke Wedding Preview

2011-06-15T05:53:00.000-07:00

It was such a blessing to be able to shoot Colleen and Luke's pre wedding pictures at Notre Dame college. Both Colleen and Luke were so much fun to work with. It is always nice to see a couple so happy together! Colleen you looked simply beautiful and Luke you were charmingly handsome! May God Bless you both on your union! Please enjoy their preview below.

Hill Maternity Photoshoot

2011-06-09T10:30:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to expecting parents Armar'rae and Redgina Hill. I photographed their maternity session last weekend and I could not have asked for a better couple to work with. Both mom and dad to be are glowing with excitement and I cannot wait to photograph Little Sarai when she gets here! Enjoy their preview below!

Miss Kristlynn

2011-06-02T12:15:00.000-07:00

I had so much fun photographing little Miss Kristlynn last weekend. We shot her first modeling pictures at the campus of St. Mary's College. Miss Kristlynn is a natural beauty in front of the camera and we were able to wrap up the session just before the rain started.

Enjoy!

Beach Prom Photoshoot

2011-05-25T09:04:00.000-07:00

I had so much fun last weekend capturing these images for a group of Senior Prom goers. After raining all day, the sun finally showed itself just in time for our photos. Everyone looked beautiful and had a wonderful time! Here are a few images from the shoot. Enjoy!

"You were born an original, don't die a Copy!"

2011-05-18T13:23:00.000-07:00

Last night I attended a seminar with wedding photographer Jim Davis-Hicks from Ohio. I really had no idea what to expect from the seminar but it turned out to be a blessing and an eye opening experience. Lately I have been kind of struggling with confidence issues. Yes, I think I am creative, I think I am capable, I think I am talented, but put me next to someone who has been doing this for years, an I feel inferior. I had an amazing inquiry the other day that is still pending but this inquiry made me so nervous, I was actually talking myself out of the job, telling myself I wasn't good enough.

Last night Jim Davis- Hicks confirmed to me that I am good enough. The major and most important difference between me and the next photographer is myself. I am me and that is unique, different, and special. If I spent my time trying to be like someone else, then I am not fulfilling my purpose. Jim quoted John Mason saying "You were born an original, don't Die a Copy!"

His whole message was built around finding your inner you and finding your purpose. He challenged each individual in the group to find out who they were inside and figure out what was most important to them. He wanted us to ask ourselves, "If I just had more time I would..... Now, I can't lie, my original answer was to get more sleep! But today, after thinking about it some more, I would love to help women and children who suffer from domestic violence. I hate to see or hear about a child being hurt and I would love to be a calming voice to those children who have or are suffering from abuse. I myself have been a victim of domestic violence in the past and I know what it feels like to be scared and broken down. I would love to have the opportunity to give back and let abused women know that they are strong and beautiful and situations can change for the better!

This seminar opened my eyes and made me realize that I need to find my purpose. Why am I here? What am I supposed to do with the blessings GOD has given me? I am challenging myself right now to truly find my purpose and to give back through my talents, my photography, and my life.

Thank you for reading!

Happy Mothers Day

2011-05-08T13:11:00.000-07:00

This weekend was especially great because I was able to celebrate another birthday and Mother's Day. I feel so blessed to have seen another year and to be able to share it with my wonderful children and husband. Happy Mother's Day to all mothers and may you take this day to relax and enjoy your blessing's.

The Benefits of a First Look....

2011-04-27T12:51:00.000-07:00

Wedding season is about to begin so I thought this would be a good time to write about brides and grooms doing a first look. Some couples cringe about the subject of seeing their bride or groom before the wedding ceremony. The usual response I hear as a photographer is “I don’t want to break the tradition”… or something to this effect. The choice of whether or not to do a first look is completely up to the couple because this is your special day, however, I have listed a few reasons below as to why it is a good idea to consider doing a “First Look” photo session to get the most out of your photography investment.

First let me start by offering a little history lesson. The old tradition of not seeing the bride or groom before the wedding ceremony dates back to the time when marriages were pre- arranged. The bride and groom were not allowed to see each other or meet before the ceremony mainly to keep the man from being a run a way groom. These days, we are free to marry who we choose which eliminates the fear of either party being left at the altar.

Many couples, myself included, say that their wedding day went by so fast and it was all a big blur. The fact is that photos are the only tangible item that will last a lifetime and help you as a couple remember your wedding day. Consider this, the bouquet and garter will be tossed and the flowers will wilt away. Your photos will be the only tangible items that will remain to help you remember your special day for a lifetime to come.

In my experience as a wedding photographer, the opportunity to take photos before the ceremony offers a better timeline of the rest of the day’s events. Setting aside this time in the beginning of the day allows me the time to be creative and offer the bride and groom unique photos that they can appreciate and admire. With most of the photos out of the way before the ceremony, you are now also able to join with your guests at the reception site in a timely manner. Your guests will enjoy being able to promptly celebrate with the new couple and makes the entire time line of the day flow smoother.

If you are a bride reading this post, I suggest taking the time to do some research on the subject. After booking your photographer, make sure you both have a clear plan and outline for photography time on your wedding day. Having discussions about this during the planning stage will help the day flow smoother for you, the photographer, and the bridal party.

Good Luck and God Bless

First Communion Photoshoot

2011-04-10T08:43:00.000-07:00

It was such a blessing to this First Communion photo session. Little Rose smiled beautifully and looked like a little Angel. Here is a preview of the session.

Jasmine Star Webinar

2011-04-09T17:52:00.000-07:00

Wow.... I am feeling so inspired right now. I just completed a 2 day webinar workshop with international wedding photographer Jasmine Star. She is such an inspiration to the industry and offers a wealth of knowledge for starting and running a successful photography business. What I admire about her most is that she is so humble!! When the workshop was about to end, she teared up and made a comment that she was not worthy to be here, doing the workshop.... She so couldn't be farther from the truth.

After only four short years, she has created a very successful brand simply by being herself and gaining trust among her clients and fellow photographers. I admire her spirit, her style, and her inspirational story. Thank you Jasmine!

Moriah Monday

2011-03-28T13:48:00.000-07:00

Finally, a true Moriah Monday. Enjoy!

Moriah /Thursday

2011-03-24T16:45:00.001-07:00

Moriah finally gave me some time out of her busy day to do a photoshoot! I think she did beautifully! I am very determined to post a Moriah Monday but I hope you'll settle for a Moriah Thursday this week. In keeping with the theme of things, we could also call it three week Thursday since she will be three weeks tomorrow. :) Enjoy!

Feeling Inspired

2011-03-22T19:53:00.000-07:00

I am up late tonight feeling motivated and inspired to do great things. This is my second year in business and I am so thankful for everything I have learned, and for everyone I have met on this photography journey. I know I have so many more experiences to look forward to and I just cannot wait!

On a side note, I promise to post more pics of baby M soon! For those of you reading that have children, you know that things may not always happen when you would like them to. Right now I have to follow baby M's schedule and I simply hate sticking a camera in her face all the time. Soon though! Very Soon!

If you are reading this, please feel free to leave me a comment in the section below.

Moriah Monday / Tuesday

2011-03-15T13:09:00.000-07:00

Ok so I woke up this morning with a great idea of having Moriah Mondays.... New pics of baby M every Monday. Then I realized that today was Tuesday. O' well, we did the pictures anyways.... hopefully Moriah and I can schedule ourselves to be on time next week. Until then, Happy Moriah Tuesday!!!!

Baby Moriah has arrived!

2011-03-11T07:23:00.000-08:00

Baby Moriah is finally here. This is all the reason why I have not posted a blog post in a while. I feel great, the family is doing fine, and we are all just trying to get adjusted to this new life. Thanks to everyone that prayed or thought about us during this time. I am very excited to get back to work and get ready for the weddings, engagement sessions, and senior portrait sessions I have coming up. Thanks again, more to come soon!

O Happy Day!

2011-02-28T04:47:00.000-08:00

My happy days are back again! I am still waiting for baby Moriah to arrive, but I decided to get back to work instead of putting my life on pause. If you are a potential client reading my blog posts, I apologize for being disconnected lately. I am the type of person who has a slight issue with things I can't control and sometimes writing about it helps me deal.

Over the weekend I snuggled on the couch and watched the movie Erin Brockovich. I admired the story of this woman, played by Julia Roberts, who sacrificed time with her children and used non-traditional methods to help save a town in need. I was inspired by her dedication and commitment to the people she promised to help. This movie really helped me realize just how important personalization can be.

There was a point in the movie where the law firm decided to take Erin off the case because she wasn't a traditional lawyer. The firm tried to replace Erin with a stuffy substitute with a law degree to finish the case Erin had started. Ended up being that the people the law firm was representing would not talk to the replacement lawyer and only trusted Erin to win their case for them.

The simple point I am trying to make is that no matter what a person does in life, it is important that they be themselves and be personable. It is important to be yourself in everything you do because YOU bring a uniqueness to the table that is different and fresh. One of the reasons why I am so personal on my blog is because I feel it is important for clients to know me as a person and if we can relate with each other. If you are a bride shopping for a photographer, just know that you have to spend one of the most important days of your life with this person. If you hire someone that clashes with your personality, it may cause problems on your big day. I offer these posts as a way for you to get to know me, my life, and my style to ensure we are a great match for your big day.

Just some food for thought! Thanks for reading!

Anything Chocolate

2011-02-20T16:48:00.000-08:00

My family and I are still waiting for Moriah to be born. I am officially past my due date and really staring to feel anxious. I am looking forward to seeing her, getting my energy back, and denying myself the craving to eat anything with chocolate. Even as I write, a Krispy Cream donut with chocolate frosting sounds really good right now. I guess I have to settle for chocolate chip cookies for tonite. Happy Sunday! Hopefully I will have more to report in the days to come!

How I Fell In Love

2011-02-14T06:42:00.001-08:00

On our first date we sat and talked for hours. I laid out my whole life history, the good, the bad, and the ugly. I told you everything about my past and present, and you still wanted to stick around for the future. Knowing that you didn't judge me was not why I fell in love, it was when my oldest daughter got sick in the back of the car and without hesitation , you quickly had me pull over into a gas station and started cleaning up the puke. That to me was love!

It has been five years this September that we have been married. I always hear people say that the first five years of marriage is the hardest. Even though we have had our ups and downs, I haven't found it to be very hard at all. Without being too mooshie, I just want to say I love you and I am very proud of you! Happy Valentine's Day!

I'll end this post with some Valentine's pics I took of our two year old dressed in my very first hand made tutu dress. Enjoy!

Family Life

2011-02-06T21:07:00.000-08:00

Finally.....

Since my family and I are strictly Basketball fans, we found ourselves with nothing else to do on Super Bowl Sunday than take family shots with the ever growing belly. It is always a challenge to produce the exact image I have in my mind, but I think my oldest daughter Divine did a great job. Enjoy! ... 2 weeks to go!

The Silence Hurts

2011-02-02T16:11:00.000-08:00

This is a personal post that has nothing to do with photography. I don't mind because reaching out to you is far more important to me right now.

One of the reasons why I fell in love with you is because we could talk about anything. I remember our first date where we sat and talked in front of my moms house for hours. We acted as if no one else in the world mattered and for that period of time, it was just you and me getting to know each other. When we first got married, I remember your mother making fun of us, asking you how many times a day do we really have to call and check on each other...

That being said, I can always tell when you are upset,angry, or down. Right now I am a big ball of emotions and some how keep hurting the people that are closest to me. I am sorry. I just needed to do what I thought was best for the family. I don't need you to be silent right now. I want to know how you are feeling so we can talk and get through this together. And by talking, I don't mean, "hi, bye, how is the whether." I mean REAL talk. Right now I feel scared, nervous, and anxious about everything we are about to experience with having a new child. Right now I need you to break the silence so I have you to talk to.

You tell me that you never know how I am feeling until I put it out on cyber space. Well, I am putting it out here now to reach out to you in hopes that you'll read this and come to me. You are my best friend and I need you. I LOVE YOU!!!!

Funny How Time Flies

2011-01-28T09:33:00.000-08:00

I am 3 weeks away from my due date and the time sure has gone by fast!!! For the last six or seven months I knew we had a child coming but I kept telling myself, " O I have plenty of time to prepare." Now it can be any day now and my mind has just gone completely blank and I have no idea how to prepare myself. To make matters worse, I told my family that I would take it easy until the end of the pregnancy. So now I have to sit still with a blank mind to keep me company....

This is not like me at all. It is very hard for me to sit still so last night I decided to try and do some belly shots with the family before it's too late. The only problem with this is for some reason, I can never get my whole family together at the same time and be in the mood to take pictures. So I now see I may have to complete this project in stages. Below is a shot I had in my mind for a while to try and do. I was going for more of a silhouetted look and I think I was able to pull it off. Thanks to my daughter Divine for taking great directions. After this period of my life is over, I vow to remain in back of the camera simply because I am just to to picky. Enjoy..... More to come.....

Schaumburg Bridal Show

2011-01-23T17:57:00.000-08:00

Whfffeewww.....

Who says you can't be eight months pregnant and work a Bridal Show.... (smiley face)
I just got back from doing my first Bridal Expo. We were in Schaumburg Ill. today and I met with a ton of fantastic brides and grooms despite the big Bears football game today. I had so much fun and received a lot of great feedback about my photography services. BIG THANK YOU to my husband Cory for helping me this weekend. I promise to rest now until the baby is born! Here are a few pictures from today's show.

Happy Sunday....

Please Excuse My Silence

2011-01-19T06:38:00.000-08:00

One of my goals for 2011 is to try harder to keep my blog postings as consistent as possible. I have not written in a couple of days and I apologize. One of the reasons why I haven't been able to post is because I have been in battle with a virus that hit my computer. I could hardly do anything for days. It's funny how you never realize how important something is to you until it's gone. Kind of like a great relationship....

Anyhow, besides the computer issues, I have been busily getting ready to do my first wedding bridal show.....(yeahhhh) I am so excited and very much nervous at the same time. Cory and I(poor guy I drag him along everywhere) will be in the Chicago area this weekend participating as vendors at a major bridal expo. I pray for it to be a success.

Lastly, on a side note, I am anxiously awaiting putting some time aside to take some belly photos. Hopefully next week sometime I can get that done and post asap.

Thanks as always for taking the time to read.....

Whats In a Name

2011-01-13T12:33:00.000-08:00

As my husband and I struggle to agree on a name for our new addition we are expecting next month, I started to think about names and how important they are. There are so many studies out there that prove how a persons name alone can cause them to be prejudged or overlooked for things such as job interviews or college scholarships. Finding that perfect name for a person is a very tall order. Then my thinking shifted over to the name of my business, Blessed Creations.

I know it seems like every person who is a follower of Christ who has a small business or something they do on the side calls themselves Blessed something. In my local area alone we have Blessings Hair Salon, Blessed Magazine, Blessed Day Care .....Seems almost uncreative of me to call myself Blessed Creations.... The truth is that ever since I began down this road I have been blessed. I was blessed to graduate from college while raising a family, blessed to have been hired by the clients that have used my services, and blessed to have learned so much so quickly from so many established professionals.

Many photographers often name their businesses after there name. I tried doing that myself for a short while. Just as I did, my phone stopped ringing and I felt the style of my work changing. I quickly changed back to Blessed Creations because I know the work I do is not about ME.... its about being a blessing to my clients. I create loving memories for the couples and families I work with that will last a life time. When I photograph a wedding, I am pausing moments in time that
can never be relived. This to me is a blessing fulfilled, and I love being able to do this with professionalism and quality.

So Blessed Creations by Monica Brazier Photography is the current name I have decided on for now. Basically because I know I can do all things through Christ and God + Me = Anything is possible! I hope my potential clients do not get scared or pre-judge me because of the name I have chosen. Don't worry, I don't force my religion on to anyone. I just want people to know that I am a Christian and can be trusted to provide services with their best interest at heart.

That's it for now.... (Sorry so long again)

Be Blessed!

Snowed In Pics....

2011-01-09T07:38:00.001-08:00

It has been snowing off and on for the last three days here in South Bend Indiana. Yesterday morning we woke up to a ton of snow at our feet. Since the family was snowed in, I amused myself by taking some random pictures from my daughters bedroom window. The first set are of my husband Cory shoveling the driveway like a mad man. I think I tell him every year that we need to invest in a snow blower, maybe this storm has him convinced.

Children from across the street playing in the snow.

My daughter Divine took this picture. She thought it was cool to see how high the snow had piled on the trash bins.

These next pics document a car that got stuck in the snow across the street from us. It was nice to see how random neighbors joined together to help this person out.

Thumbs up! All clear!

Going...

Going...

Going...

Gone...

These next ones are the morning after.

Buried under the snow is my baby BBQ grill....

My fire hydrant peeking out from the snow...

The End!

A New Year

2011-01-05T11:32:00.000-08:00

I was just sitting here reflecting on 2010 and feeling really happy about the growth and learning I experienced. I am so excited about the things I have planned for myself and my family in 2011 and cannot wait to get started. Before I dive in, I have to get a couple of things out of the way first like... giving birth to my third child and getting everything prepared for that. My due date is February 19th which is right around the corner. I cannot wait to see her face and to just get her here just to make sure she is ok. My husband and I are still undecided about a name but I am sure we will come up with something (hopefully brilliant) before she gets here.

On a slightly different note.... a lot of my family and friends got pictures from me for Christmas. It made me realize that a gift from the heart is always so much better than a gift that is store brought. I loved to see the expressions on everyone's face when they saw the framed photo collages that I put together for them. It made me feel really proud of myself and my work. To end this post I just want to share a few of the photos from a collage I put together for my mother to offer her some inspiration when she looks at it. These are photos that I took at the Morton Arboretum in Illinois this past fall.

My Sister and I

My mommy

Me trying to relive my modeling days

Love these! I added inspirational verses according to what I thought the image represented.

Naomi's 1st Birthday Session

2010-12-24T05:32:00.000-08:00

I had so much fun photographing Naomi for her one year old session. Here are a few of my favs!

Thank - You

2010-12-16T10:54:00.001-08:00

What a year! There are two weeks left in 2010 so I felt it would be a good idea to reflect on all that has happened. 2010 started off with a great accomplishment, I was able to graduate with a BA in visual communications. I never would have thought in a million years that I would be able to complete something like this. As a single mom for so many years, working full time, and being pulled in so many different directions, it was hard for me to stay focused on school and actually get it done. But this year it happened and I am so great full for that. You always hear people say, " If I can do it, any one can do it, " but this saying is so true in my case. I won't say going to school and completing a degree is easy because it's not. It is especially not easy when you have a family to raise at the same time. There were many times that I would sit down to do my school work after a long day of working, cooking, cleaning, helping with the kids homework and such, that I would sit at the computer and cry, because I had no energy left. It just goes to prove that when a person really puts there mind into doing something and asks GOD for help, anything and everything is possible.

After I completed school I started thinking about how I was going to afford paying back my student loans, (After the stress of completing assignments goes away, here comes the new stress of paying the government back). One of the main reasons why I went to school was to start my own media business. As I got more into creating websites for small business and local churches, I began becoming more and more interested in photography. I always loved looking at graphics and different cool visuals that you see on the Internet and I wanted to learn how to do that. I started watching a lot of how to video's on You Tube and attending different seminars. There are so many neat things that can be done with digital photography and I just grew more and more interested in learning how to create beautiful pictures.

I invested in a Canon SLR camera, a good lens, software, and lighting equipment. I even redid my basement and built a small photography studio. (Wow that happened this year too)? I started practicing, taking pictures of my daughter. A funny story real quick, because I don't want to make this very long, my first photo set up was in my basement before it was finished, with my daughter in front of a green plastic table cloth and two really big work lights. It was so funny, when I turned on the lights, my daughter was blinded, but she was a good sport and performed beautifully in front of the camera.

From there, I drug my daughter outside, in the cold and snow, and we had our second photo shoot. Long story short, my oldest daughter has been my ginny pig from the start and a great sport. After that, I started taking pictures for my friends and family members while still teaching myself more and more about lighting, posing, and photoshop techniques.

Shortly after this was when I started to admire wedding photography more and more. I would research local and international photographers and just be in awwww over some of their work. I joined a local photographers association and attended the WPPI road show in Chicago to learn more about the industry. I remember my first mini seminar which was with Chicago based wedding photographer Kenny Kim. All of the local wedding photographers that I had been researching were at this seminar and I felt like such a small fish in a big pond. I also remember felling like everyone in the room was such a super star in my eyes because I was familiar with some of the great work all of them did by religiously studying their websites and blogs. Long story short again, shortly after I decided to do wedding photography, I booked my first four weddings which is a tremendous blessing.

To sum up my journey this year I would say it has been a year of tremendous accomplishments, learning, and growth. Not only has the photography business done well, but I also was able to create websites for two churches and three small businesses. GOD has truly blessed me this year. In the mist of all that was going on, HE blessed my husband and I with an up coming new addition to our family. We are expecting our third child in February of 2011.

Looking back over this past year I cannot believe everything that I have experienced and been through in such a short period of time. I am so happy that I met and fell in love photography
because it gives me a chance to be creative, travel, meet new people, and be apart of one of the most happiest days people share. I look forward to many more experiences in 2011 and pray for the continued success of Blessed Creations. I want to say THANK YOU to everyone who has helped me grow and learn this year. To all of the brides and grooms that I had the opportunity to photograph, I thank you for entrusting me to capture your special day and I pray for blessings and prosperity for you! I want to thank my husband for helping be lug and set up equipment all over town for photoshoots. I also want to thank my mom for always being available to babysit almost every other weekend in the summer when I was busy doing weddings and such.

I am looking forward to what GOD has planned for 2011! Thanks for reading and I am sorry this turned out to be so long!

Family Holiday Portrait Special

2010-11-16T07:23:00.000-08:00

Just in time for the the Holidays, Monica Brazier Photography will be having a Holiday Family Portrait Special. November 26th thru December 12th the studio will offer new unique backdrops and decorative props for the Christmas season. Ten customized portrait holiday cards are included with your creation fee of $50.00. Additional cards also available for purchase. If you want your family portraits to stand out from the rest, schedule your studio session with Monica today! Please see Holiday Flier below for more information.

100 Black Men of Greater South Bend 2010 Gala

2010-11-15T11:04:00.000-08:00

Last week I had the great opportunity to photograph the 100 Black Men of Greater South Bend Indiana's Gala fund raising event. This new chapter of this national organization strives to mentor at risk children and provide a positive influence for the youth that they serve. I have to say it was a tremendous honor to be apart of this event. I meet so may terrific people and truly had a wonderful time! It was so inspiring to be in a room full of successful people to support such a wonderful and much needed cause. Here are some images from the night that I would like to share. Hope you enjoy!

Off Camera Lighting Training

2010-11-11T07:03:00.001-08:00

Earlier this week I had the opportunity to learn some unique lighting techniques and take some photos in downtown South Bend. I thank Katie Whitcome for establishing a PUG here in South Bend and giving beginners like me the opportunity to learn from veterans in the business. I had a really really great time and learned a lot. Our group also had a terrific model to work with! Here are a view images from the session.

Sutherland Wedding

2010-10-26T06:51:00.000-07:00

I feel so blessed to have been apart of Brittney and Fred's wedding this past weekend. They are a young couple who have truly put God at the head of their lives and their new marriage. When I am apart of a wedding I don't ever present myself as just the photographer, I take the time to get to know the couple and their families so that I can truly capture the day in a way that will be special for them. Because I get so close to the couples, I always get a little choked up especially when I see the bride all dressed up for the first time. This was the first time, however, that I teared up during the ceremony. This truly was a beautiful and special day, and I again am very grateful to have been apart of it. Here are some preview photos for you to enjoy.

Collado Wedding Preview

2010-09-28T10:44:00.000-07:00

It is so wonderful to see a couple get married who are so obviously meant to be together! Jennie and Marcos are such a beautiful couple and I had a wonderful time shooting the photos for their wedding. This Indianapolis couple married at the beautiful Valle Vista Conference
Center in Greenwood Indiana. Photography time was limited but I think I was able to uniquely capture the day for them. I hope you enjoy this preview....

New Beginings

2010-09-17T03:22:00.000-07:00

Isn't is funny how when you are excited about something, there is no problem with waking up at 6:00 in the morning to do something like blog. If I had to wake up this a.m. for my regular customer service job I would be moaning and groaning, and complaining about how tired I was. Not today! I had such an amazing time yesterday at the WPPI road trip conference in Chicago. WPPI is the Wedding and Portrait Photographer International association. I learned from the best like Salvatore Cincotta, Bob& Dawn Davis, and Jasmine Star which was an amazing opportunity!

I feel so inspired and I have so many ideas and new directions for my photography. The days of playing it safe are over! From now on I am pushing all the limits and going crazy creative with all of my clients. I have a new vision for my website, my logo, and my overall brand. I am so excited about everything that I can't sleep any longer today! I have always been the type of person to push beyond the limits so why stop now! I love this new direction in my life and I cannot wait to see where this ride is going to take me! Stay blessed and much much more to come! Buckle your seat belts!

2010-08-31T10:26:00.000-07:00

Wow! It has been along time since I have posted anything new. Blessed Creations Multi-Media (myself) also builds and designs websites. I have been busy the past few months focusing on getting two new sites up and running. I will post the links when they are near completion.

Over the weekend though I got a chance to shoot an engagement photo session with Jennie and Marcos. They are a very cute young couple who will be getting married at the end of September. I look forward to sharing those pics with you also! We were at the beautiful campus of Butler University in Indianapolis Indiana. I had a lot of fun and as you can see in the photos to couple truly had a fun time also. Enjoy!

Egbeama Wedding

2010-07-20T10:38:00.000-07:00

I had so much fun photographing Erica and Solomon's wedding last Saturday. I worked as a second shooter with HWB Photography. I learned a lot and meet some wonderful people. The wedding took place at the Scottish Rite's in South Bend Indiana. It is a beautiful historic building with wonderful photographic opportunities. Time did not allow me to take all the portraits I would have liked but I think I was able to capture some great memories for the couple. Enjoy!

Attention 2010 Brides

2010-07-16T11:30:00.000-07:00

Hello world! It has been a little while since I have posted something so I decided to write a little bit more about myself. I am excited to announce that I am just getting started in the Wedding Photography business and have already booked 4 weddings for this year! I feel extremely blessed that these opportunities have come about and I look forward to working with all of my clients. If you are a 2010 bride, live in Indiana, and have not booked your photographer yet, you don't want to miss out on the photography packages being offered by Blessed Creations Wedding Photography!

See www.blessedcreationsmedia.com for more info!

On a side note, this weekend I am assisting with a wedding being held in South Bend. I am working with an establish Wedding Photographer and hoping to learn some tricks of the trade. I can not wait and I am very excited! I hope to post some of the images early next week.

Thanks for reading and I will talk to you again soon!

Jennings Photoshoot

2010-07-01T20:00:00.001-07:00

I had so much fun taking photos of the Jennings children today. It was a little tough getting the kids to photograph but overall I think these photo's are so cute! Enjoy!

Beach Photo Sessions

2010-06-18T08:32:00.000-07:00

Hello there!
On July 10th Blessed Creations Photography will be in Michigan City Indiana taking portraits. I dragged my family out to take some test shots and I think they turned out really pretty! It was hard to get the baby to focus but I think we got at least one good shot of the family. Enjoy!

Examples

2010-05-24T12:18:00.000-07:00

Hi there. Since I talked a little bit about digital props and backgrounds in my last post, I thought I might show some examples. The first is a before and after example of a digital background. The first image was taken in front of a green screen and then the subject was placed in front of a more decorative backdrop. The next example is of my youngest daughter. The basket that she is sitting in is a digital prop. She was actually sitting on the floor in front of a white backdrop. Lastly,is the image with the two children looking at the fish. They were actually looking at an empty bowl with water. The fish I added as a digital prop in editing. Hope you enjoy!

A little about myself

2010-05-19T11:05:00.000-07:00

Hello fellow blogger's. I wanted to take some time to tell you a little bit about myself. My name is Monica and I currently reside in Northern Indiana. My professional background is in customer service and I recently graduated with a BA in Visual Communications from the University of Phoenix online. With the information I learned from school I have the ability to create graphic work as well as design websites. I love being creative and spend most of my days working on the computer. I know this might sound "geeky" but I really enjoy what I do. I recently found a new love for photography. I think what makes my style a little bit different is that I use digital props and backgrounds within my photos. These are backgrounds that are on the computer that I would place a subject in during editing. I use this style mainly because I don't have the space to house dozens of photography backdrops and this method gives me access to so many different options. I also do traditional style photography and love coming up with new ways to be creative in the studio.I am just getting started and cannot wait to see where this road takes me.

Personally, I am a mother and a wife. I am very active at my church and in my spare time I love going out to eat at nice restaurants. I think that with my customer service background I have learned the importance of treating people respectfully and professionally.

Thank you for taking the time to read about me. I hope I didn't bore you to much! More to come as I get use to this whole blogging thing....

Thanks for reading!

2010-05-18T17:27:00.000-07:00

Hello again. I thought I would share some of the pictures I took of my cousin and her friend last week for their prom. They both looked so beautiful!!!

First Blog Post

2010-05-18T12:32:00.000-07:00

Hello Friends!

This is my very first blog post and I am very excited about it! I am using this form as a way to showcase some of the work I do and share some random thoughts with you! I invite you to visit as often as you like!