You definitely read it correctly, Andy Rea Photography is no more!  Throughout the last year, I have been slowly changing the way I do business and the identity of my business.  It is my goal to create and build a photography studio that is trusted and valued for the cherished memories which it provides.  Previously I was simply meandering along my business path with little vision  or clarity of the bigger picture.  With a new focus and the goals to match it, I have been changing who I am as a photographer and business owner.  With these changes my brand and identity will become stronger.  I must admit that I love immediate gratification, especially in the electronics department, but that’s for a completely different blog post!  Even with this difficult characteristic of mine I came to the realization that sometimes slow and steady is the best path to take, accept, and conquer.  That’s right! I said conquer!  There is so much for me to still learn about the awesome photography industry and to think that I could know it all is plain ole’ silly.  I’ve been trying hard to open my mind to other leaders in my industry and accepting the great knowledge and wisdom they willingly offer.  A serious thank you to Mitche Graf for hosting the WPPI Business Institute.  Quick note to photographers: Make it a point to research Mitche Graf and invest in his products. I was lucky enough to have convinced myself to attend.  I even convinced myself that there had to be at least one thing I could learn from this seminar and that it would be worth the cost of registration.  I came out a completely different photographer and business man!  I even met some new cool friends!

I would like to announce to you all that my business is now called Andy Rea Photography + Design.  The reason for this addition was very simple.  This one extra word truly expresses the service and artistry my customers receive when I capture there memories.  It is not just about going outside and saying cheese for the camera.  It needs to be a fun and memorable experience which makes the images even that much more valuable.  I am focused on pre-designing portrait sessions and events tailored to my clients’ needs.  I go into every project with a vision and design of the outcome.  I put my heart and passion into the design of my images in my digital darkroom.  So in the end, it really is not just about the photography.  I discovered that each and every image hanging in a client’s home or office began with a design and was finished with a design.

It kind of sounds cooler to say too, “ …and Design! ” Just that little bit of extra flavor helps I think.

Since I decided to make this tiny and barely noticeable change to my business name, it quickly jumped out at me that I may need to change the name on basically everything I have already established.  At first I was a little scared because I was afraid of annoying my clients and friends.  The last thing I would want to do is lose clients or make it more difficult for them to find me.  It turns out though that making solid client relationships is what matters and making a move to improve myself is exactly what clients expect and want.  I want my business to be easy to find and have unity throughout the brand.  With that said, I have changed just about everything to match my business’s new name.  I think the new short name for my business, areaphotodesign, is smoother and easier to remember.  Not only that but try to get someone to remember my last name, even though it’s only 3 letters long is a nightmare!  Now all I have to say is, “www.areaphotodesign.com” instead of, “Andy Rea” and looking at people’s faces trying to figure out how to spell it!

Thank you for all your patience and understanding during this transition.  I look forward to your continued support of my dream, passion, and career.  If you and I have never worked together I urge you to contact me and let’s get together to design your memories with a simple consultation.

So enough business right!?!  With the official introduction to Andy Rea Photography + Design (you like that extra plug huh?) I could think of no better way to start it off than that to show off a few images of my favorite type of portrait sessions, High School Seniors.  Senior sessions are great for me because I get to act my age and nobody cares!  I love to have fun and joke around during all my sessions but especially during senior portrait sessions.  I think most of the time the seniors think I’m the biggest goof but I’m cool with that because they are helping me feel younger and I think they get that so they just go along to let me feel better about myself!  I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that I really disliked my senior portraits.  Don’t tell my mom but I seriously cannot stand the portrait she has hanging on her wall.  The last thing I want is a senior which isn’t proud of their portrait.  I work really hard to make sure I am able to provide seniors and their parents images they are thrilled with and proud to show off to their friends and family.

I had the honor of capturing Karina, Class of 2011 from Salinas High School.  I hope Karina doesn’t get mad at me for saying this but she really wasn’t too thrilled with getting her portraits done.  I could honestly understand her hesitation because I’m a little uneasy in front of the camera too.  Weird right?!?  So about 15 minutes into our session, she asks me, “are we done Andy?”  I didn’t know what to say!  I felt bad because I had to tell Karina, “sorry sweety I’m just barely getting warmed up!”  So even though Karina was unsure about the portrait session, I must say she did an amazing job and I think she did a great job in front of the camera and photographs absolutely beautifully.  You did a fantastic job Karina and I hope that you will treasure your senior portraits for a lifetime!  Here are some of my favorites.

This was Karina’s favorite and her yearbook selection.  Such a beautiful smile.  I captured this image within 5 shots into the session.  I’m kind of proud of myself.  Maybe we were done after 15 minutes but I was having so much fun teasing Karina and keeping her in front of the lens!

I love it when the wind behaves and gives me, just the right amount of drama.

We spent a good part of our session chasing the sun and even though it was acting shy, we were still able to create this image.  A little bit of Seaside in the background.

I think this smile is awesome! So genuine and happy.  I think someone is starting to like the camera!

Another pretty portrait overlooking the Monterey Peninsula.

We left Monterey in search of the sun and a second location.  Instead we found ourselves in Lighthouse Avenue traffic for about 30 minutes and we stopped at the Seaside Beach for our second location.  It was hilarious, Karina and I were texting back and forth almost the whole way.  I thought for sure she would be hating me after all that traffic!  Even without the sun, it was bright enough to get some nice light.  It was freezing though!  Karina did such a great job looking like it was perfect weather.

This is another one of Karina’s favorites.  With as much planning and designing as I do for my shoots, you think I would have been smart enough to figure this out.  This location was 5 minutes from where we met and the sun was shining bright and beautiful.  Mr. Brilliant (me) decided to go the opposite way of where the sun was shining!  By the time we got back, the sun was gone.  It didn’t matter because Karina kept her spirits up and we finished up with some more great portraits.

I absolutely LOVE this image!  Karina looks so incredibly happy here.  I’m thinking that maybe deep inside she was having a bunch of fun and couldn’t resist my ridiculously lame jokes!  Seriously…they are lame.    

I would like to end this post with an image of friendship and love.  These two ladies were together during the consultation and through the entire session.  Makeup, hair, details…handled!  I love when my seniors bring a friend to include in their sessions.  There is so much to be said about a best friend and their impact in our lives.  I seriously wish I would have treated mine much better than I did.  So take my advice seniors, great friends only come around a few times in your life so treat them fairly.

You two ladies rock!  Thanks for a fun session and the wonderful laughs!  Have a Happy Sunday everyone and please share your thoughts by commenting below!

P.S.  I’m not sure if you have all noticed but apparently I have a little thing going on every Sunday at 7am, a Blog Post!  This is my 4th consecutive post and now August is about to be a thing of the past.  I have enjoyed the time I spend preparing my blog and I could only wish that you all continue to come back and read about my silly photographic adventures.  I will occasionally include posts during the week and from time to time I will also have some guest writers.  I really want my blog to be a place to see some great images and a few funny stories to read about.  So click the RSS feed and stay informed when my posts are published.  Thanks for reading!