Wedding Photographers in Arizona - Ryan & Denise Photography Blog (formerly Simply Knot Photography) » Portraits

#22: Our AWESOME NEW Promo Video!

Denise — Mon, 21 May 2012 15:00:15 +0000

We could not be more excited to share our AWESOME new promo video created by the uber talented (and incredibly patient) Chris Wilson of Christopher Leigh Studios! Woo-hoo!!! Chris did an absolutely amazing job taking our ideas and making them into a film that’s FUN, unique and totally captures our personalities and how we interact with our couples and each other. We are totally in love with it and are so proud that it’s now the first thing that people will see when visiting our website. Bravo Chris and thank you for making it such a wonderful experience :-) So now, without further adieu . . .

As you can see from the video, we did spend a little bit of time shooting so we thought we’d share some behind-the-scenes images and some of the shots of our fabulous models Meghan & Matt and Katie & Justin. We’ve had the honor of shooting the weddings of both these couples and they have truly become wonderful friends. We were so thrilled they could take time out of a busy Thursday evening to hang out with us. They were all totally awesome and not at all nervous even though they were being photographed AND filmed at the same time. In case you hadn’t noticed, they’re also ridiculously good looking so that was also very helpful :-) LOL!

The always adorable Meghan & Matt . . .

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Tee hee! This one makes my insides happy :-)

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Katie & Justin are SO sweet together! After each pose they’d kiss and giggle :-) LOVE!

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Love Justin’s “Come on honey! We don’t want THAT in their video!” face here! LOL!

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When it wasn’t their turn, Meghan & Matt were peaking around corners being silly :-)

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We also got the chance to catch a few shots of Chris in action! He looks so serious, doesn’t he?

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You’d never know from looking at these two lovebirds that there was a camera under them!

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You know that scene in the video where I’m on Ryan’s back? Here’s a little taste of the cuteness I was getting from up there on my human perch . . .

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And yes, we were actually shooting each other in that opening scene!

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The boys!

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With this group, there was a good deal of silliness on the sidelines . . .

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Thanks so much to Matt, Meghan, Justin & Katie for being such awesome friends! We love you guys!

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And thank you to Chris & our models for helping us check a HUGE goal off of our 101 in 1001 list!

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#18: Have Another Pro Photographer Take Photos of Us

Denise — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 15:30:29 +0000

We haven’t had professional photos taken of us since our wedding . . . almost 8 years ago! Yep. It’s sad, but true. All the photos of us on our website have pretty much been taken with the self timer option on our own cameras :-( So this particular goal on our 101 in 1001 list has been a LONG time coming. We couldn’t be more excited to share some of the awesome images taken by our pals Aaron & Marisa of Aaron Hoskins Photography! These guys have become awesome friends over the past year and we were so thrilled when they agreed to take some updated shots of us. Thanks for putting up with all of our silly requests and doing an absolutely beautiful job! We love them and we’re so excited to have gorgeous photos of our own to hang on our walls!

It wouldn’t be a Gotcher photo shoot without our cutie pie puppy Molly. We just had to bring her along for the first half of the session.

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Puppy Love :-)

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LOVE this one! She’s such a good little poser ;-)

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Future facebook profile pic? I think so!

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A Gotcher family portrait :-)

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These two make my heart happy :-)

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On to outfit number 2! Shopping for our shoot was quite the ordeal. I put a lot of time and effort into deciding what to wear – even enlisting the help of an awesome stylist/personal shopper, which I’ll be posting a blog all about very soon! It was great insight into what our clients go through. I think Ryan’s first look was my favorite, but for mine I really LOVED my polka dot dress and teal tights! So fun!

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We don’t have very many romantic photos of us from our wedding so we loved that Aaron & Marisa threw in a few of those too!

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Probably my favorite portrait shot of the day :-)

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These next two – AMAZING! Totally adore them both.

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Silliness – we do love the silliness :-)

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So much fun! Thank you SO MUCH Aaron & Marisa for giving us the gift of these wonderful memories! We are so grateful for your talent and all of your hard work. We’d be happy to be “Hoskinified” anytime! We heart you guys!

Special Thanks to some fabulous family & friends that helped us out:

To Lanie (Ryan’s Mom) who graciously agreed to play the ever important role of “puppy handler” for the day.
To Allison (Ryan’s cousin) who drove across town to do my hair & makeup – thanks for making me look GOOD girl!
And to Alex of AVE Styles, personal shopper/stylist extraordinaire, for lending me your time and talent and helping me put together two awesome looks. (You’ll be reading more about her very soon!)

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Nicole & Jadon’s Engagement Session: Phoenix, AZ

Denise — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 15:00:14 +0000

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She’s a dancer. He’s a football player. Her favorite movie is Dirty Dancing. His is anything with lots of explosions or zombies. His nickname is “Bear.” Her’s is “Penguin.” (How cute is that by the way?) From the outside, they seem to be so different, but put these two together and they couldn’t be a better fit! We had an amazingly fun time shooting Nicole & Jadon’s engagement session in downtown Phoenix. They are so cool and personable and we just loved that they were totally not afraid to be goofy together.

(Please click here if you’d like to be notifed when the rest of their photos are online.)
AND don’t forget to click “love” under your favorite images along the way!

Their session started out with a good laugh – just how we like it! Images of our couples laughing and having fun together are our absolute favorites and this one is no exception!

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Totally in love with Nicole’s boots by the way.

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Love the sweet romantic feel of these next two :-)

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We challenged them to a little contest and asked them to whisper into the other person’s ear and see who could get the biggest reaction . . .

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I think Jadon may have edged our his lovely bride-to-be ;-)

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Eskimo kisses are the cutest :-)

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Do these two know how to work the camera or what!?!

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They decided to go a little more casual for their second look and show off their love for sports. Fun!

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There’s always a reason for a little bit of snugglin’ in your sports wear :-)

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There’s just something about the setting in this next one that I totally adore.

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Is it just me, or can you totally hear what Nicole is thinking in this one? “Isn’t my tall, strong, football player fiance so dreamy?” LOL!

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Gotta love downtown. So many fun nooks and crannies to shoot in :-)

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When the sun was almost gone, we made another quick stop on the railroad tracks for a little off-camera flash magic. LOVE!

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Nicole & Jadon: we can’t WAIT to be a part of your big day! We had so much fun with you guys and are stoked to celebrate with you and capture the memories of a day you’ll never forget! YAY!

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Melissa & Ryan’s Maternity Session: Gilbert, AZ

Denise — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 15:00:22 +0000

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This has totally been the year of babies! It has been so fun for us to shoot so many maternity sessions for our past brides :-) We shot Melissa & Ryan’s wedding way back in 2009. Feels like forever ago! We were so excited to hear that they have a little one joining their adorable family at the end of January! It was so much fun catching up with them and taking a little walk around old town Gilbert to snap some fun belly bump pics.

(Click here to visit their “Simply Baby” website and view the rest of the images from their session!)
AND don’t forget to click “love” under your favorite images along the way!

Doesn’t Melissa look absolutely darling?

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You can tell from these happy smiles that these two couldn’t be more excited about their new addition :-)

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Love :-)

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Time for a little outfit change!

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A few shots of the beautiful mommy-to-be.

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Railroad tracks are the perfect place for a little afternoon stroll when you’re 7 months pregnant, right? (Only if supervised by two qualified photographers!)

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It feels like we never get to shoot on days when there are clouds in the sky, so Ryan decided to take full advantage of them and create this fun silhouette.

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Totally lovin’ these next three!

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A big thanks to Melissa & Ryan! We loved connecting with you guys and can’t wait to meet your little guy :-)

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Meghan & Matt’s Maternity Session: Scottsdale, AZ

Denise — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 18:16:44 +0000

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Since the day we found out that Meghan & Matt were pregnant, we’ve been looking forward to their maternity session! I mean seriously, they’re crazy adorable and what could be possibly be cuter than adding a baby bump to this mix? We just love these two and are so thankful for their friendship! On top of that we feel totally honored that they have asked us to document so many important moments in their lives. Their little boy Madden is due in early February! He is gonna be one lucky kid to be welcomed into such an awesome family :-)

(Click here to visit their family website and view the rest of the images from their session!)
AND don’t forget to click “love” under your favorite images along the way!

We met up with Meghan & Matt at the Scottsdale Xeriscape Garden at Chaparral Park. The moment we started shooting, we were reminded why we LOVE photographing these guys! They are so great at soaking in the moments together and letting their sweet love shine through the photos.

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And how cute is Meghan’s look? Red dress + polka dot tights + boots = ADORABLE!

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We like to call this one, “The Baby Daddy.” LOL!

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We just fell in love with this awesome tree and tall grass in the garden. It made an amazing backdrop for these next shots.

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One of my favs :-)

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One thing is for sure . . . being pregnant looks GOOD on this gorgeous girl!

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I believe there was some mention of “baby-makin”” which lead to this fun little series :-)

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Peek-a-bump!

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So sweet :-)

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WORKIN’. IT.

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One last shot of the proud Daddy-to-be and his beautiful girl.

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Meghan & Matt – we love you guys! We can’t wait to meet Madden and watch you two become AMAZING parents!

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Fryberger Family Session: Chandler, AZ

Denise — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 15:00:21 +0000

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We had the pleasure of shooting a super fun family session with the Fryberger family a couple weeks ago in Chandler! Family sessions are always an adventure with little ones and you never really know what to expect when working with a 1 and 3 year olds. We were lucky enough to have such a great group who were totally up for going with the flow and letting the kids “guide” how the session would flow.

(Please click here to view the rest of the photos in our online gallery.)
AND don’t forget to click “love” under your favorite images along the way!

We got the standard portrait stuff done right away while the kiddos were the most likely to be cooperative. (With the help of a few rounds of “Simon Says!”) Pretty impressive posing skills for 1 and 3 if I do say so myself! We just loved how the whole family’s fall colors complimented the back drop of the trees.

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It’s far to early to tell from the photos, but Nikki & Fabian are planning to add another little one to this bunch in 2012! Congrats you guys!

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After some of the formal stuff was done, it was time for a play break! We had so much fun shooting Danielle & Nick playing with their little ones Nathan & Ryan in the wagon!

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Nathan loved the idea of he and daddy racing little Ryan and mommy!

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The expressions on both the kids faces crack me up in these next two shots! TOO CUTE!

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We asked the whole family to go for a little walk together. Nathan had other ideas, but we LOVED the results! Too funny!

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This sequence goes from “CHEESE!” to “TOUCHDOWN” to “Simon says: Imitate your sister!”

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What a doll :-)

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For the next little while we just let the kids play on the playground so we could capture some fun candid shots.

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Boys, trucks and sand . . . seems pretty appropriate to me!

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The last thing on the agenda was to get a posed shot of the kids in the red wagon. The following sequence is too funny for words! Nathan was just trying to be helpful by pulling Miss Ryan a little closer for the photos, it just didn’t quite turn out as planned. LOL!

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The money shot :-)

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One last shot of Miss Ryan and Grandma enjoying some laughs together!

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We had so much fun with this adorable family! Hope you guys enjoy the photos as much as we enjoyed taking them!

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SNEAK PEEK: Nicole & Jadon’s Engagement Session

Denise — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 19:06:04 +0000

We had the pleasure of shooting an engagement session for the amazingly fun and super sweet Nicole & Jadon in downtown Phoenix yesterday! Did I mention that they’re also incredibly good looking? LOL! Here’s a little sneak peek for you:

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We’ve got a BUNCH of recent sessions coming to the blog this week, including an adorable family session and TWO maternity sessions so stay tuned!

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SNEAK PEEK: Meghan & Matt’s Maternity Session

Denise — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 09:41:15 +0000

We got to spend some time with our wonderful friends Meghan & Matt yesterday for a maternity shoot. Their little boy Madden, will be joining the “Smart/Collins Bunch” in early February. Just had to share a little sneak peak with you all – many more to come very soon!

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Makena & Kaleb at the Pumpkin Patch: Gilbert, AZ

Denise — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 15:00:38 +0000

A couple weeks ago we spent the day at the Pumkin Patch with our niece and nephew, Makena & Kaleb. This particular pumpkin patch was located out in Gilbert at Vertuccio Farms. It was an absolutely perfect place for a day of family fun! And it made for some great photo opportunities with the kiddos. Kaleb turned one in mid October and Makena turned three back in September. They are both delightful little balls of energy and fun! Here are a few of our favorite shots . . .

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Our first stop at the farm was a huge bounce house type structure that they refer to as the “Extreme Air Pillow.”

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Love this one! She totally looks like she’s having a blast, doesn’t she?

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Makena’s best friend Greyson and her mom came along to enjoy the fun. How cute are these two bouncing away together?

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A little bestie love :-)

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Simon says, “touch your shoulders!”

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While Makena & Greyson bounced the day away, Kaleb was hanging out with his “Papa” Dan and Helen.

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The kids loved checking out the animals! Makena was a total crack up because she kept making the noise of each animal and tried to talk to them.

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It’s hard not to take a million pictures of this little guy!

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Tee-he! Who could possibly resist this face?

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The adults got in on a bit of the fun too :-)

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That’s right, even I got to put down the camera and enjoy some fun on the swings. Love this girl!

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We took advantage of the pumpkin patch for a few posed shots too. I seriously couldn’t choose just one of Kaleb. He’s such a little ham in front of the camera :-) This first one just may be my favorite shot of the day!

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And boy does this little man love his Papa (Grandpa)!

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Miss M doing an excellent job of modeling her little pumpkin.

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The task of picking out a big pumpkin clearly took some very intense thought. And pumpkin hugging apparently.

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YAY! Check out those happy smiles!

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One more with Mommy (my awesome sister Amy.)

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Such a fun day!

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Brandon Miller Freestyle BMX Photo Shoot: Chandler, AZ

Ryan — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 16:00:48 +0000

Ever wonder what it’s like to fly? Last Saturday night we got the chance to photograph some amazing (gnarly) tricks performed by freestyle BMX rider Brandon Miller at the Chandler Bike park. Brandon started riding about 9 years ago, yes when he was only 10 years old! Along with riding, he teaches and promotes the sport through his team’s website, Miller Line BMX.

Being primarily wedding photographers we were totally up for the challenge when Brandon got excited about our offer to be his paparazzi for a few hours. My only knowledge to this point of BMX riding comes from the 1986 movie Rad!, which I probably watched when I was about 10 years old. Needless to say, we were completely blown away by Brandon’s talent and enthusiasm for the sport. Completely. Blown. Away.

(Please click here if you’d like to be notifed when the rest of their photos are online.)
AND don’t forget to click “love” under your favorite images along the way!

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See what I mean, this guy can literally fly!

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Just for fun we wanted to show this image. I know, it looks totally photoshopped right? Nope. This is how it looked in our camera when we shot it.

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It’s not an extreme sports photo shoot without a little danger right? I decided to lay down inside one of the ramps to get a lower angle on this next shot. I didn’t notice, but Denise said he landed like two feet away from my head.

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Look how high in the air he gets! Every time Brandon did a trick, the other people at the park would “Ooh” and “Awe” at the things he could do. He was quite popular with the other riders.

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We decided to pull out the off camera flash to add some fun flair and depth to the photos. I love these next few!

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I wonder if Vans is looking for a new sponsor?

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You can tell from his face in this next shot that he’s in the zone. Totally concentrating on his next trick.

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Had to throw in a little photoshop magic to show the progression of one of Brandon’s tricks.

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Here’s a shot that I took from the other side of the park. If you look closely, you can play the popular new game “Where’s Denise Taking This Same Shot From?”

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Denise’s shot – I love it!

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Can’t be a famous BMX rider without a few awesome portraits, right?

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We call this next one the “King of the Bike Park.”

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Oh yeah, one more thing – Brandon is dating my beautiful cousin Allison so we did a couple at the end of the two of them together. You may remember Allison from her senior session a couple years ago.

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Love Brandon’s look when Allison gave him a little smooch on the cheek : )

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Cuteness . . .

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Thanks Brandon! You are truly unbelievable at what you do. We can’t wait to see where you go from here with your talent and love for the sport!

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