March 2015

Creative sessions, Family Photography, Fashion, In a field, Kids Photography

Beautiful Carolin

I am so inspired by the amazing people I get to photograph each day. Especially those people who face adversity with a smile and have a beautiful spirit. Carolin is one of those unique, beautiful individuals who can really light up a room with her gorgeous smile. She is an only child whose Mom is a survivor of brain cancer. Unfortunately, Carolin’s mom is in wheelchair as a result of an injury suffered after the cancer treatment. Carolin’s amazing Dad is super supportive, but still has to travel for work. This doesn’t slow Carolin down at all. She comes home, helps fix dinner and hangs out and keeps her mom company and still manages to find time to act in her school plays and get all her homework done on time. A truly warm, sweet, bright and loving person. I am so proud to have had an opportunity to capture her beauty, inside and out! Enjoy!

lagunabeachhighschoolseniorphoto_0424

See more by watching her slideshow:

Headshots

Making healthy eating fun with Juicebuds

Some of our friends think we are a little crazy in the Karkoska home with healthy eating. Lots of green smoothies, fresh fruit and vegetables, lean protein and whole grains with little to no refined flour and sugar for our kids. Of course we do eat sweets once in a while, but it just isn’t a daily practice. How did this happen that are teenagers eat this way and don’t complain???? It has definitely been a long term process, but how we accomplished it was primarily by teaching our kids that good nutrition results in better athletes, students and happier people all around.

Meet my friend Lori. As it goes with most stories, her passion for nutrition (especially for kids) was the result of a scare in her own life. Lori is a beautiful, fit, energetic gal with a wonderful, loving energy. She was working lots of hours and raising her four boys. Out of nowhere, Lori had a stroke. She is not what you would picture in your head as a person at risk for any type of health scare, but it happened. Lori was inspired to change her life, to be there for her family. And Lori knew that the key was good nutrition and that it needed to begin in childhood. So Lori created the website and blog called www.juicebuds.com. There she provides great recipes, life stories that include her four amazing boys and lots of inspiration. She is also now a holistic health coach to help others achieve a healthy lifestyle.

Lori and I got together to do a fun photography session to celebrate her! Here are just a few of my favorite images from the day.

blueskysheadshotphotos_0403 blueskysheadshotphotos_0404 blueskysheadshotphotos_0405 blueskysheadshotphotos_0406 blueskysheadshotphotos_0407 blueskysheadshotphotos_0408 blueskysheadshotphotos_0409 blueskysheadshotphotos_0410 blueskysheadshotphotos_0411 blueskysheadshotphotos_0412 blueskysheadshotphotos_0413 blueskysheadshotphotos_0414 blueskysheadshotphotos_0415 blueskysheadshotphotos_0416 blueskysheadshotphotos_0417

Fashion, Senior Photography

Carlee Di Nicola High School Senior

Let me start off by saying two things… first the “Model for A Day” sessions have been so amazing and second they are even better when I get to photograph someone who I have been working with since she was just a little girl. Well Carlee has grown up into an amazing young woman and I know her family is so very proud of all of her accomplishments. She is graduating this year from Santa Margarita High School and she is still making up her mind about which amazing university she will attend next year. Carlee seems quiet and a little shy and so sweet on the outside. But, watch out, because she was also named Best Delegate in Model United Nations. Watch out world, whatever Carlee chooses to do in life, she is going to be a smashing success… and with her amazing fashion sense, she will definitely look the part! Enjoy!

blueskyshighschoolseniorphotos_0391

Check out Carlee’s slideshow to see more images from her session!

Event Photography

Giving Back with Laguna Beach SchoolPower

I don’t talk about it a lot any more, and I am not sure why, but a huge part of owning my own company for me is being able to give back to my community. I have lots of charities that I am passionate about supporting, but today I just want to highlight one of my favorites, that is in my own backyard, School Power.

Who is SchoolPower? The oldest, non-profit education foundation in Orange County, SchoolPower has raised money for Laguna Beach public schools since 1981. The money raised by SchoolPower provides the four Laguna Beach public schools—El Morro Elementary, Top of the World Elementary, Thurston Middle School and Laguna Beach High School—with valued educational programs and resources. A percentage of the annual money raised also sustains the SchoolPower Endowment Foundation, which in turn supports the Teacher Grant Program and Large Endowment Grants. Examples of programs currently receiving funding from SchoolPower and SchoolPower Endowment are: K-3 class size reduction, performing/visual arts at the middle and high school, an additional high school counselor, an extra period for electives at the middle school, K-8 music, the foreign language program, district-wide advancements in wireless infrastructure and educational technology, an expansion of the strings program and high school athletics.

Why is this program near and dear to my heart? Well of course my kids benefit from the generosity of the community, but also, I feel the arts are so important for kids. My love for photography began in high school and it would be such a shame if the kids in my community did not get the same opportunities to develop their own passion for the arts, music and theater. Laguna Beach High School has amazing access to all of the arts, technology, athletics and foreign language programs. Many of my current clients know I rave about the school district and feel that our kids get access to the same curriculum as many of the top private schools.

As part of giving back to SchoolPower I volunteer my time throughout the year to provide photography services to SchoolPower. Last weekend it was for an amazing fundraiser at The Montage Laguna Beach. All involved in putting on the event did a fantastic job. Not only did they raise an amazing amount of money for our schools, but the event was stunning and tons of fun. For anyone that wants to download images from the event, please click on this link: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/7jbh0rrl4722enn/AACjRalFLNRBYr2dVVNQlMg7a?dl=0 The images are free of charge, but we do request if you use them on social media or in print that you credit or tag Blue Sky’s Studio (@blueskysstudio).

Here is a link to a slideshow highlighting the event. Enjoy!

In a field

Sisters

I knew right away we were going to have a fabulous session when Mindy (the girls Mom), said we call our younger daughter Kasey (here name is Katherine)….. so our youngest’s name is Kasey Cameron….. Okay, my kids names are Kasey and Cameron…. crazy! Anyway, Desi got started right away putting some super cute outfits together for the girls. Kind of Free People meets the Great Gatsby… Brittany created a beautiful soft makeup look and some fun, whimsical hair styles and we were off. We were blessed with some overcast skies, which gave the session a little more of an edgy feel. I pulled out my lights and we jumped into the car and headed for an open field. Right off the parking lot we found a tree branch, with dandelions and dark trees growing behind it. It was so perfect! I started to put both girls on the fallen branch, and of course, it broke off the tree, but we had my old wooden ladder to catch the fall.

After lots of laughter, both of these beauties got into character and we created some really beautiful, fun images. It is always so much fun to create something a little different for each session. Enjoy!

blueskyshighschoolseniorphotos_0382