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Amanda Thiessen Photography bio picture

Welcome to Amanda Thiessen Photography!

   Hey everyone! Thank you for  visiting our photography blog! We are a husband & wife wedding/lifestyle photographer team, based in Orange County. 

     We love capturing everyone's story and believe that life is filled with many special memories. We don't want to capture just the memories but also capture the emotion and have it pour out onto the film - that is what makes the photo come to life. We want our photography to inspire, and for our clients to cherish our work for a lifetime. 

   Natural lighting, unconventional shots make our hearts happy! If you are a perspective client, please check out the Lifestyle Sessions

  I often update this blog because my husband is not really the "blogging type." There will be lots of random tidbits going on that I will be posting throughout the week under Everyday
  Together we enjoy everything life has to offer. We could probably fight crime. But for now, we'll stick with what we we've been doing our whole lifes and what we know best - photography and making music. 
 

Patience…Can I get that to go, please?

There is no telling how many miles you will have to run while chasing a dream. ~Author Unknown

I often have to remind myself that hardwork and persistance pays off. I admit, sometimes I get into a “funk” that brings me kinda down. I feel overwhelmed, nothings going right, my photography sucks..you name it, I’ve felt it. And, it’s not pity towards myself. Sometimes I just really think those things. I forget that starting your own business, working on your brand..it all takes time and is not overnight. If I thought I could make a quick buck and “get big” overnight I would have never started a business. I know it takes lots of time and energy.

I’ll be the first to admit – I suck at being patient. Ask my mom, she’ll agree. But, I have never wanted anything to succeed as much as I want this. It drives me to take better photos and give it my all. And I know, for that reason – I have to be patient with this. And keep doin’ what I do.

And lately, I’ve been getting a lot of emails and messages on Facebook just saying really nice things about the business and our photography. We extremely appreciate the kind words, especially from fellow photographers who are amazing – it is an awesome feeling! THANK YOU ALL for love and support! :)

 tripod 086 1024x683 Patience...Can I get that to go, please?

When you come to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on.  ~Franklin D. Roosevelt

Ps. And thanks to whoever reads my often ramblings of our life, and random things going on that I just have to get off my chest.

Oh, one more thing…Go Saints!!

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Iheartfaces: Kisses!

I Heart Faces Photography 125 Iheartfaces: Kisses!

This week on iheartfaces is a sweet one ~ kisses! I choose this photo that I captured of my cousin and her boyfriend having their very own love session.

I really love how this captures a perfect moment. Not one that has been “posed” or arranged in a certain way to what I wanted. This was them. Pure. True. Loving.  And, that’s what makes my heart happy. I hope you all enjoy this little taste of natural romance.

IMG 1991 1024x683 Iheartfaces: Kisses!

For more kissey photos, please visit iheartfaces!

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Lifestyle: Jackson & Jared ~ Brothers.

School of Rock is in the background playing non-stop.  Jack Black is telling the students to…”STICK IT TO THE MAN!” Jack and Jared are rocking out with their own instruments. Jared on the drums, Jack on guitar.

This is everyday life for Jack and Jared. Rocking out. Loving music. Being brothers.

Last weekend I had the most fun shooting them, out in an awesome field. They were both coming down with colds but still couldn’t resist running around like crazy! And luckily, I was able to get so many shots of them just being themselves. Goofy. Fun. Rockstars.

Enjoy.

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“It’s Shnayblay”….for all you School of Rock lovers out there.

And, for anyone that has yet to see the  movie I suggest you GO OUT AND BUY IT NOW! It is hilarious and promotes music in school for kids. You can’t beat hilarity, AND music!! Plus, Jack Black is genious :)

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I love how this looks like an album cover.

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Their love and passion for music is amazing, but their love for eachother is even greater. No matter how high music is on their list, being brothers will always be first.

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If you would like to see more pictures of these little rockstars, please CLICK HERE for an awesome slideshow (with one of their favorite songs I might add)!

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Lifestyle: Family Session 2010

 Have you ever been friends with someone who had that family. You know, the family that was always laughing, always having fun and always enjoying life. You would ask your parents if you could go to their birthday shindigs, holiday parties, pretty much everything.

Last weekend I had the most fun shooting that family. It was so awesome feeding off their excited/fun energy! There were 4 families total, The Coleman’s, The LaCroix’s and The Watkins’. They all were great and the photos perfectly captured their spirit and love for life. It’s sessions like these that make me really love what I do.

Thank you guys for being so.dang.cool.

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These 2 captures make my heart smile.

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Love these <3

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This is one of my favorite shots of the day.

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To view more photos of this awesome session, please CLICK HERE for a slideshow!

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Iheartfaces: Texture!

I Heart Faces Photography 125 Iheartfaces: Texture!

Another awesome photo challenge for iheartfaces this week. Texture. I’m going to be honest, I don’t use photoshop (I’m pretty foreign with it actually). But, I did try a little grain texture for this processing that I really enjoyed, as well as a color overlay. I also love how the drops of water on her face add to the texture naturally.   :)

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Please enjoy the rest of the amazing textures at iheartfaces! And go ahead and enter yourself! It’s awesome :)

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13 Years Ago…

 My brother and I begged my parents for a dog (I’m sure I was a little more annoying). We went to the local pet store to fall in love with every dog we saw. We saw one lil’ girl that stole our hearts forever. She was a yellow labrador puppy. About 2-3 months old. I fell in love with her right away and begged and begged my parents for her. My brother did his share of begging too. We promised to each pay half of the cost, eventually. And with lots of batting eyelashes and pouty faces, we took her home.

Boy, was she a ball of energy. And I loved it. We contemplated her name while she ran around in her new backyard. Chase…Molly…Chase…Molly…?

She was definitely a Molly. That was that. Our new puppy was Molly. And ever since then, she was a part of our family. My bedtime blanket at night….My buddy.

Molly LOVED the water. Well, not at first. She was very skeptical. But, give her a boogie board and she was game to do anything. You can see in this collage towards the bottom, there she is with my dad…standing on the board! She loved it. And we loved her, more and more.

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The years flew by and my fondness of her grew and grew. I literally considered her part of the family. No really, she was. Molly was often there for me when I felt no one else in the world was. When I was upset, she knew. When I was sick, she knew. When I was happy, she knew (and she was a happy waggley dog). Molly often put up with a lot of my shannigans. One Christmas I dressed her up as a reindeer (with little antlers and a little bow and took cute pictures..see in the collage below). She had to have hated it at the time, but she knew I loved it and wanted to please me anyway she could. Another year consisted of me putting decorative beads on her to give her some nice red color! Again, I’m sure she was miserable but would do anything for me. I would dress her up in my old soccer uniforms and play games with her. She was my buddy. She was my Molly.

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 You can understand how devastating it was for me to see her get older and just kind of wither away. She had a lot (A LOT) of fatty tumors all over her body that were basically inoperable. She always had a few for years but then they just started taking over her. She couldn’t move, she couldn’t run, she couldn’t be my bedtime blanket anymore. My Molly was fading. My buddy.

In the past couple of weeks everyone knew she had gotten worse and was in a lot of pain and could no longer eat. This had really taken over our dog. She was not the same. She knew who we were and still tried to wag her tail but was very weak and exhausted. And because of the state she was in, my parents had to make a really hard decision today. They knew she would no longer be in pain, exhausted, glazed over. I visited my parent’s house yesterday out of the blue and was told they were going to take her in today. I’m glad I went and got to say goodbye to my Molly. It was time, I could just see it in her face. She was ready. She had a long, happy life and has given our family so much joy over the years. I’ve been pretty upset today but I know she is in a better place, running around, playing with boogie boards.

I know no other dog can replace her but I’m glad we have Matty here during this time to ease the pain of losing her. Molly will always be my favorite girl and I will always remember her like this photo, the day we got her. The day she became my Molly.

I love you, girl.

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What Inspires You?

As part of my New Year Resolution I want to blog more, and be more life sharing with my posts. More transparent. I talked in my previous post about having my appendix out basically started our business.

But, I had several inspirations.

The biggest inspiration for me was by far our engagement/wedding photographer, Jasmine Star. I still have no idea how we lucked out on that! My sister-in-law, Debbie Jacobsen, is the manager of Flowers Etc (specializing in weddings for over 10 years). Debbie had met her doing several bridal shows and spoke very highly of her. I visited her website and right then and there I knew I had to book her! Luckily, she had our date available and we are more than happy with all of the photos we received. I just loved her style and how at ease she made us feel.  We are not the “model” type (well, my husband is now but that is because he has no choice)! She made us feel…in her words, fabulous. It was the best experience and I am so thankful it happened. After that, I was more and more interested in actually persuing photography as a career. Then my appendix incident happened and I just had to give it a shot. I had the time!

And the rest is history.

I definitely have more inspirations. Not just photography, but for everything and anything. I really love Mark Brooke Photography. Their style is so different and amazing. I love how they process all of their photos, how they seem completely down to earth yet their business is booming, and how they are an awesome husband and wife team!…Another inspiration would be Gabriel Ryan Photographers. They are an amazing husband and wife team as well. I love hothe clarity and crisp-ness their photos are. Everything is also so fashion forward and chic. It’s always 110% and I love that. Amazing. They were photographed by Jasmine Star as well for their engagement/wedding photos and were inspired to start their own business. They have been going strong ever since and are incredible.

Of course, Flowers Etc is a big inspiration with their amazing designs. Also, JL Designs is another floral designer that is incredible. Green Wedding Shoes is another talented designer. I am so inspired by all of the creative minds everywhere. It makes me want to succeed even more. I have never been more excited to jump into anything like I am with photography.

And of course my biggest inspiration. My husband, my model, Justin.

I love you, babe.

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Iheartfaces: We Are Family.

I Heart Faces Photography 125 Iheartfaces: We Are Family.

This week on Iheartfaces is Family <3 I love this weeks challenge because I have so much fun doing family sessions! Seeing families interact with one another and laugh puts a smile on my camera’s face ;)

I captured this photo a couple of months ago and it was the perfect day. Bright blue sky…in November! Can’t complain about that weather. Thanks, California.

I love this picture – it totally showcases their personalities and love of life. But, I have to admit, this was the second “jump pose”. The first one didn’t go so well..Debbie, the awesome mom, took a little tumble. And, I of course promised her I would destroy the evidence! The 2nd time around came out perfectly and they have a great story to tell now too ;)

Picture 0034 882x1024 Iheartfaces: We Are Family.

For more awesome family photos, please CLICK HERE!

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Looking back…and forward to the future. Part One

 Although we haven’t been in this business for a long time, it has always been my passion. Doing what I’m passionate about for a living has been a dream of mine since the beginning of time. I never thought I could actually have a photography  business and that would be my career. I had only dreamed of something so amazing. Family and friends would always encourage me to go for it but I was weary, “it’s not stable”, “I’m not good enough”…were my excuses. Finally, I was at a job (that I absolutely hated)..something happened to me that changed everything. I had an emergency appendicitis. I was out of work for 2 weeks. Bored out of my mind at home, recovering, I decided to create a photography blog. Not really thinking it would go anywhere. During those 2 weeks I was taking pictures of my model, Justin. Nieces and nephews, friends, family. Anyone. I decided that THIS is what I was going to do. I didn’t care how long it took or if I made no money. It made me so much happier than working a 9-5 job. So, with that said, I quit my job, got a part time job, and persued Amanda Thiessen Photography. It almost felt like overnight when the business started to pick up. I was getting calls left and right! And, I’m so thankful for my 2009 clients! I couldn’t have done this without you all. :)

In the beginning, a huge chunk of the photos taken were with a Canon Rebel XSI. After deciding to take this full force I upgraded to a 50d. But, I had a Dell Inspiron that I was working on for editing and it was not cutting it. That’s all that we had though and I had to make it work! To top it all off I don’t have photoshop or a huge editing program that I use. I use the program that came with the laptop…standard tweaking of photos. So, pretty much the way the photos looked on the camera was the way they were going to look, period. Unless I wanted them grayscale.

I wanted to write this post as kind of a then and now. I started this business in June of 2009. It has only been 7 months. I think we have come a long way in this short amount of time but we always have new things to learn and still have a long way to go. I posted photos from where I was (technically and creatively) when I started and where I am now. I’m confident in saying I have come a ways from just 7 months ago. And, since I don’t have an editing program, it forces me to learn the camera more and be more aware of my lighting. I almost think it’s better because I won’t take a picture and say “oh, I’ll just fix it in photoshop later, it’s fine”. I don’t have that. I have to get it right then and there. But, soon I will be getting some editing software so I can make the photos that much greater!

Also, I am proud to say my husband and I are proud new owners of our first Mac! 21.5″ monitor…amazing! Our business is taking off and it is so great! We gave our blog a complete NEW makeover and are finally happy with the way our brand is going. All that is left is our new logo! (stay tunned) And, I can not believe the outpour of people that have been noticing our work and sending us loving facebook messages, emails, and DM’s on Twitter!! We could not be happier for the success that we have had thus far. I can’t wait for 7 more months to fly by and see where we are at!

Please enjoy these photos from then to now. I have to admit, I did cringe a lot looking back on the beginning photos that were taken. But it makes me happy to see how far we have come.

Happy Sunday.

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Looking back…and forward to the future. Part Two

Continued!

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We are so grateful for the love and support from you all. Ps. Thank you for all of your awesome, random questions!! So fun!

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