the blog

This past weekend I surpassed 30 and jumped to 31…an insignificant birthday by all normal standards, but in my little world it was extremely important! You see last year I moved away from several of my closest friends. It was the hardest part about moving. I couldn’t see their faces whenever I wanted (although google chat offered some relief) and I couldn’t just pop on over and spend time with them. My love language is TIME. Probably because I don’t have much of it to spare. So when I invest time into someone it means they’re REALLY important to me and vice versa. This year my 3 best friends and their hubbies all came to visit me for a long weekend. It was the best birthday present I could ask for! I don’t need “things” to know they love me, they all drove 600+ miles to be with me on my special day! Of course the time went waaaaay too quickly, but it was incredibly special none the less. We spent Friday shooting each others faces, Saturday being bums, and Sunday with good food & movies! The. Perfect. Weekend! We all agreed that this needs to be an annual thing. NC seems to be a great midpoint between FL & NY.

Here are a few shots from our weekend. Most of the pictures were taken on our photo day and then on the morning everyone drove home. It was nice putting down my phone & camera for a day or two so I could live in the moment. I am blessed beyond belief to have these incredible women (and their husbands) in my life! They provide comfort, commiseration, accountability, laughter, song, joy, and general silliness. They’ve all been there for me and I try my best to do the same. They’re all INCREDIBLY talented women and I’m so excited to be part of their artistic journeys. Thank you darlings for making my birthday extra special this year. Come back to me sooooooooon!

XOXOXO,
Mabyn

Cell phone silliness…

The whole crew!

My friends are some of the most beautiful women ever!!! I’m biased of course 😉

Donna of Donna Martinez Photography

Emily of Emily Elizabeth Studios

Gina of Gina B Cinematography

I am blessed to be surrounded by a lot of beautiful people. This past March, not only did I get to visit my best friend Donna in sunny FL, as has become tradition, but two other best friends of mine, Kar-Lai & Gina, came as well. These ladies are beautiful inside and out and they’re pretty stinkin’ talented photographers/ videographers! So you can guess what our favorite thing to do is right? SHOOT!

I made a point to shoot these ladies because they are some of the most important women in my life. I wanted to celebrate who they are and share their beauty with the world. On top of that, each girl is so diverse in their looks and personality. I felt like I was surrounded by the very definition of beauty! When you look at these women it’s plain to see that beauty isn’t a body type, skin tone, or face shape. Each woman is separately beautiful in her own significant way.

Of course I couldn’t get away with just shooting, Donna & Kar-Lai made sure that I got some time in front of the camera too! (Oi vey!) During my own time in front of the camera, I tried to guide the girls into honing their own photographic skills. Our day turned into a melting pot of education, makeup, and laughter!
As you can tell, we didn’t have any fun at all!

Here’s to amazing friends who are always there for you. I love you ladies more than words can express. You are so dear to me and I wish that I could do your genuine beauty more justice.

XOXOXO,
Mabyn

[youtube width=”625″ height=”544″]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bRCSGRskijU[/youtube]

It’s amazing what I saw happening as the girls shot me. They started to see what angles and positions looked better. They improved and got some great shots. I was very happy with the results! 🙂

I instantly lost 10lbs!

Donna did a great job with these:

Now here are my shots of these gorgeous girls!

Donna Mae

Kar-Lai

Gina

Simply Beautiful Couture is coming along! I’ve been hard at work developing ideas, logos, and web design! This week I’ve been on vacation with some of my best friends. It’s been lovely and warm and so refreshing! The other day, I put these lovely ladies to the SBC test! They all agreed to do a before and after shot! It takes a lot of guts to get in front of the camera before you have your face on!! These are some of the bravest women I know and I am so honored that they were willing to be my guinea pigs! The before and after is so vital to SBC because it shows the full transformation. All 3 of these ladies are gorgeous and fresh faced in their before shots, whether they believe it or not! But the full effect is clear when you look at their afters, they go from cheesing the camera to BAM! Their true selves! Thanks to my girls, Donna, Kar-Lai, and Gina!

 

XOXOXO,
Mabyn

Donna

Kar-Lai

Gina

The weather is starting to warm up in NC! It’s such a treat for me where NY is still covered in a snowy tundra! I spent last Saturday afternoon shooting the prettiest group of girls you’ve ever seen! I can’t wait to show you the rest of this gorgeous family session with Lori and her daughters!

xoxoxo,
Mabyn