Now, when I'm at event, I try to keep an eye on the key people at all times, and I had my eye on the birthday girl all day long, of course. What I'm trying to get are the real moments that happen when everyone lets their guards down. I worked hard for this shot, took about 40 photos to finally catch the fantastic moment I got here. There was dancers everywhere, so it was hard to just get a clear photo, not to mention one with great emotion...
The Quindeanera party is a Mexican tradition that celebrates a young girls (la Quinceanera) passage from childhood to being a young lady. The tradition highlights God, family, friends, food, music, and dance. It was my pleasure to be involved in such a beautiful event. It was every bit as beautiful as a wedding, and as I was told before the event, it was very similar to a traditional wedding that we see today. Of course, I took lots of wonderful photos of the Father Daughter dance, and I got lucky, this was the one and only spine of the night, it got a big applause. I was really happy I snapped off 3 photos of it from beginning to end spin! Ha, got it!!
When you are a photographer, you see the event different then everyone else, and while you aren't part of the party, you are definitely very aware of how things are going. The photo above is one of my favorite photos. I try to stay really on top of how an event is progressing, and in doing so, I am typically aware of those special moments. This was about 3/4 of the way into the evening, and the father of the birthday girl was sitting and enjoying a moment alone, taking it all in, and I'd imagine really enjoying his daughters big party. It was a grand party...
Amalia, being the Birthday girl, had to take a bunch of photos this day! After getting the shot with both of these VIPs together, I saw a grand smile on her face, so I jumped forward 5-6 feet to snap off this artistic photo. One of my favorite shots of the night. At any event, be it a wedding, birthday party, or a portrait shoot, I've learned to snap off shots when they come, because it is impossible to make it happen again.
