Hello blog friends, I have moved, you will now find me at www.feuzablogs.com.

a lot more personal, a new look and loads of posts to come, thanks for visiting me.

Xoxo

Fuse

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So as  I stated for my first day at WPPI, I signed up for the Bui Brothers Lighting workshop where we learned about shooting the perfect head shot and cool lighting basics for portrait sessions. We had three great models, a couple, the lovely Steviand Matt Savage from Avery House and model Faye Blume.

they were all troopers as we needed to constantly move due to rain, wind and crowds coming in from MGM, New York and Tropicana, that is Vegas for you, crowds all the time. As I stated I felt I learned such fresh content, simple things, things I miss sometimes and so glad to be attentive to all details in the shoot, not just lighting, composition in a general way, but to really have my eyes wide open. details, lighting source, ambient lighting,natural soft boxes, shadows, background and such. It was also great interacting with other photographers and I had a great time, about a few more blog posts to be caught up with my amazing Vegas experience.

Some cool off camera lighting techniques

the crew outside

Some Natural lighting shots for artistic affect.

and last but not least some more inside ones.

Good times at the MGM grand.

I have a theory about men which has many proven experiements and facts, men just can never find things. If you tell a guy, go get the red coat in the bedroom before he even proceeds to lift his foot off the ground and carry it as to do what we call walking, he first asks ” Where is it”? and you say the bedroom. He then does walk over and stands at the doorway and a lazy attempt to look for something is eyeballing the room from right to left then he will ask again. Well at least that is how it is over here and every time it is the same thing, sometimes you just go over and it is right there and he can never find it. So we ladies must be very exact with our instructions, an example, do not say please go get my purse for me. You must say please go get my purple and white purse which is in top right dresser in our bedroom and if it is inside a closet you must address exact coordinates. We women, love details and men do not seem to care to notice the small thinks. I always think my husband doe snot listen or does not notice. Any one out there can relate? til one day oh maybe a year ago or a bit more, he surprised me with coffee and it had 2 red stirs and a dome lid as I usually would get it at our local Wawa (which is not very normal to drink your coffee using your stir as a straw) I stopped for a minute and thought OMG, you actually noticed and remembered? I heard fireworks and I think I saw them at least in my head and l fell in love all over again that day. lol because learning each others likes and needs takes time and experience and I felt that he had grown, that we had grown. This birthday way weekend he did so much repairing around the house and little surprises, he served me and I am so thankful to him. As my husband and I are so differant, think of Brazilian Cowboy meets Brazilian Urban Beach girl and you get a sneak peak over here but he impressed me that day and I understood as we grow in our relationship how much of each-other we learn from, we see and notice and lately we have had some very bumpy roads where we felt very a lone and we both realized that we had each other, that WE are a TEAM, and we are a family and we must be there for each other at all times and be there for our children.  It did not matter if there was not anyone else to lend us a hand, to care for us or even to pray for us but we have each other and each other is pretty awesome and as we grow our business together may we notice and learn from our clients because being  a wedding photographer is about serving, about anticipating moments and needs and making it a whole lot of fun and giving people something to miss. I am very excited about 2010 as Max Productions and Feuza Reis Photography fully launches as a Husband and Wife team.

and for a new blog segment I will call Fuse News: I am so excited about Jill and Rich’s wedding being published in Bridal Crate Magazine! Woo hoo!!!   love their quote about me!

Feuza Reis…A Fresh New Face In Photography! check it out here

Their online launch is today so check the out, send them some love, and follow them on Twitter.They are a brand new online and print magazine based out of NY City but catering to the world and they are bringing brides to be as well as vendors a crate full of great stuff, info, stories, inspirations, ideas, and much more and I am more than excited to be a part of their first issue! I am so humbled and still picking up my jaw from the floor and thankful to GOD because many might look and say who is this girl to be published anywhere and many do think that,  maybe even some of you reading this right now, and that is okay, I am too excited to be upset or saddened by that because God is so awesome and I am just trusting on Him and believing in all He has got for me, and dreaming big, and working hard and failing and learning and taking baby steps, very little ones sometimes but believing. A big special thanks to my mentor David Toth who was the Cancun Wedding and coached so well during our Cancun weekend adventure and who took some preety out of this world shots and other half Max and my boys Lucas and Joshua who are always supportive for when mommy has to go away .  And of course we need some pictures. Voila! Also do not forget to sign up to my Fuse News Newsletter under Contact me Section in my blog.

One of my month to month clients referred me to the beautiful Linda Coppede who wanted to take some pictures of her two daughters at their stunning home tucked away in one of my favorite towns, Colts Neck, NJ. As I drove around the circle path and parked my car, I kept thinking about the sun and where the best light would be at. The backyard awaited us as the beach waits for the morning sun to rise and brighten up it’s shiny waters and warm it’s sand. The Coppede family’s backyard is an oasis of greens, flowers and lovely waters and there home stands there strong and big protecting it’s home away from home backyard. But what caught my attention the most wasn’t all the nature splendor not the gorgeous chandelier as I stepped into their home but was their memory wall. Linda told Madeline, the eldest daughter to show me  a  wall adjacent to her steps going upstairs and there there were handcrafted frames and some shots of Madeline and Cristina growing up and of the family overall. It was not a crazy wall or house of pictures as one sometimes sees in proud parents and grandparents houses, it was elegant and yet simple but it was special. Special to me at that second I realized soon one of my pictures would be going up that wall and it would become part of that home, part of their lives, part of the memory being written right now, part of something they would always stop to look at and would have a special place in their hearts. And it hit me that I am a memory builder and how honored and blessed that makes me feel. Here are some of my favorite shots of the girls, Linda and her funny parents who kept applauding at their favorite poses while taking pictures of Linda and the girls.

Last January, I had the chance to drive up to Connecticut to meet the Marantz. Mary had been one of the first people to comment on my little old blog and I was stoked about that, more happy like a little kid on Christmas, after checking out their site and seeing their branding, I was in love and then I saw the announcement, Spread the Love, only East Coast presentation in Hartford Connecticut and I told my husband I had to go. It got snowed out the first date and rescheduled for the following week. I miscalculated the distance to Hartford, thought it would be only 2 hours away but with the snow, it was more like over 3 hours, almost 3 and a half, so I went the night before and it was sure worth. The Marantz are the sweetest people and it was there the first time I heard about the emphasis on the photographer and not the photographer and since I love love branding, I had a great time. Now they are doing it again but wanting votes to the cities they should attend for 2010. Come on East Coast vote for New York City here:

And a sneak peak at the Josi and Joe wedding I am editing.

Catching up. A few weeks ago I had the great pleasure of meeting up with the Teixeira Family for a beach portrait session at Point Pleasant Beach.  I met Vanessa at a birthday party  I shot at and we added each other on orkut then on facebook and our friendship began. When I arrived at Point Pleasant, I had parked a few blocks from the beach and then I found out I was 6 blocks from Jenkinson’s Boardwalk where I wanted to be, which was okay cause I so need works outs, fattie over here. I called and then I saw them, wearing bright yellow outfits which so remind me of a summer morning at the shore. Vanessa’s smiles just captivates you, it is big and contagious and her kids Juan and Bianca are the cutest kids ever! along with daddy Antonio, they smiled and crossed the street and I asked someone at the park if we could take some shots before the park opened and they said yes. Being a photographer comes with some brownie points I must say. So it was a day of boardwalk, sun, beach, rocks, ocean,carnival games and a great beautiful family who are now friends, what more can a girl ask for? There are so many great shots of them so this will have to be a two part post, the first of Vanessa’s Cuties, I had some time with them by myself while Vanessa and Antonio headed back to the car to get their other outfit. So here are a few of my fav’s of little Bianca and little Juan and I must  say siblings are forever friends so if you had a fight with your sister or brother, just look at these two and remember when you were kids and you played, laughed, giggled, whined and had such a good time.Give them a call, ask them what is up? send them an email, a text, an FB message, there are no excuses! which I must do as well, call my brother Diego who I pray for and miss. Enjoy some fav’s  and soon more pixs of this session along with a slide show.

 A few months ago I got a call from beautiful Viviane, who attends one of our affiliated churches asking about a month to month package.  I have mentioned that Brazilians love pictures and parents usually wish to get them done every month for a watch them grow album. Our first month, I came to Viviane’s house and we had fun with little Asafe and his big sister Victoria and then month two we headed to a nice lake park area with the whole family including daddy. Unfortunately, they got into a car accident, a lady totally did not stop at a stop sign, hit their car and it was total loss so we were not able to do little Asaf’e’s 3 month shots. So I missed the little guy, I too like to watch them grow, to try and be different from the last shoot.

                       It is not always easy being different, being creative and sometimes the pressure is on from people who are like your work is amazing, make me look good, do something creative, make me beautiful, make me not look like me. Or they will compare other shoots and are like, will mine be creative too? Yikes, I do not know, will it? This thing called creativity makes some wonder. I remember in College, in a Portuguese Literature class, this was being discussed. Is it inherited? Can one learn to be creative?  Does it come with time? What can we do to become more creative? Hard things to answer, I once thought one of my strong points was creativity and nowadays not always. I do know that I love ideas, love having many many many ideas, some times there are so many ideas in my brain, I can not sleep and my brain capsule feels like it will explode! Just made up Brain Capsule, but you know what I mean.  love planning things but for photoshootsI almost do not want to think about it too much, afraod of that capsule perhaps and I rather let things happen. I do bring some props, once in a while, or I have some ideas in mind, but I do not study it too much because then I feel like I will not be creative at all and will not meet even my own expectations. My good friend from Photo Passion, once said, it is okay for you to copy a pose, but make it your own, add your touch, your feel, make it yours. I often do want to try a new pose, or something I have seen but I do try to do it in a differant way, make it my way I guess.

 Well I mostly rely on the clients themselves for posing and am starting to learn more about posing and yes once or twice I will get a grandiose idea but not always like the baby shoes at the beach from Neila’s Session which was a big hit but to be expected to perform every time, makes me sweat and become pale, makes me have butterflies all over, like right before riding a roller coaster. So these month to months are a bit challenging but I love it and believe me I do not always nail it. I love the adrenaline. I get so nervous before photo shoots but once I glue that camera to my face, I know it will be ok, sometimes I do not know that till much later on the shoot but my favorite is when I will get a last minute idea, or even the clients and things just fall into place or when the child is fussy or not really smiling and I will get home and see some beautiful natural shots. Lifestyle Portraits should be natural, should be true so I would like to thank all my clients for contributing, for matching out fits, for props, for flower arrangements, for your funkyideas, for neat places you take me and for all your fun, for happiness for trying out my crazy ideas like baring your prego belly in the winter on the beach or kneeling on snow or sand. There would not be a Feuza Reis Photography, if it was not for you and our combined efforts to get those shots that make me want to learn more and more and get better and better and it is a long road.  Have a Blessed Sunday. Here are few from yesterday’s shoot with Asafe.  I am like 5 blog posts behind so stay tuned for many this week.

How beautiful is Viviane huh!

 Speedos perfect for Catching some waves

                          Some of you might have noticed or not but I have a happily theme going on, Happily Married, Happily After, Happily born and so on because after all I want happy clients and I want to be a Happy Photographer. Not kidding. Laughter, joy, love makes me happy and so I came out with these names for my sessions, trying to be unique with it and it has to do with my Brazilian Culture, more info on that to come. And speaking of Brazilian Culture, one of the first chances I got to professionally shoot at was with portraits of preggies, kids, babies and children’s birthday parties. Remember us Latinos oh yes I am Brazilian and I do consider myself a Latino although Spanish is not our native language, long debate there but that is not what this post is about. Any how, us Latinos, go all out for children’s birthday parties especially 1st birthdays and sweet 15’s and these parties are so full of  laughter, joy, food, so much candy and so colorful. There is always a chosen theme through out from invitations to tags, center pieces, the works.

                           This weekend, I had the pleasure of shooting a Luis Henriques’ 4th birthday party and it was beautifully organized by his mom Jozi. Jozi had taken classes on balloon art ( Brazilians are obsessed with this and pay tons of money to have it at their parties) but Jozi did not need to hire anyone since she knows her stuff. I arrived at the party early hoping to catch some shots of Jozi, Carlos- her husband and little Luis but there were last minute details to be arranged and Luis still had not arrived to see his Thomas the Train back yard just yet. I was happy to assist with filling up the pinata, oh yes photographers do other things besides shooting, and stuffing candy into the pinata is not a bad thing. What made me smile on this windy and sunny Saturday afternoon was  how  well organized it all was and how many people were helping Jozi and above all how calm she was. It was a big event and she kept her cool delegating tasks as needed. She is so cute and almost 3 months pregnant, can not even tell. One thing that really caught my eye was the kids. I mean I was all giddy with the Brazilian candies, the snow cones, cotton candy and the trampoline, now imagine the kids. I love seeing how they play, and beg their mommies for more candy and how they run and I always think and I say ” How wonderful it is to be a kid, not to have worries about life nor bills to pay and just play, they do not even know how good they have it”. So we all need to take some time out and be well kind of like kids, carefree, playful, smiling and eating lots of candy. Here are some of my favorite kid moments from the party. Jozi, thank you for having me on this beautiful day.

Overall view of the Party- Preety neat huh!

Little Luis Henrique- he was amazed by the train set, he really loves Thomas the train and played for a very long time

Daddy gets a warm kiss as a thank you for the party

Last but not least, how cute is Jozi?

I met little Ruth when she was 6 months old during Christmas season. Her mom Deia found me through orkutand scheduled for holiday prints with her sister. It was a fun session and Deia was as sweet as can be. 4 months later, Deia contacted me wanting me to photograph little Ruth’s first birthday party. Let me feel you in on Brazilian 1 year old parties. They are major events, carefully planned and consist of major decorations around a chosen theme, many many balloon artwork, I mean like 2000 balloons or more,, tables of candies, lots of food, entertainment for the kids. It is the third major event in a Brazilian’s life. Mom’s dream of this party while they are expecting and plan and plan, some get to do their dream event and others settle.  Before this big parties we do a session for the entrance portrait and Deia and Gu decided to do a beach session at Ocean Grove, NJ and here are some of my favs from the beach session and a sneak peak from the party.

So much to blog about but could not thank my husband enough for assisting me with the internship by taking care of our two boys Lucas and Joshua while I was away in Nashville. He has been such a blessing to me in my new career, I know sometimes he does not understand all the investing needed and how it is a process to get where we want to, but nonetheless he has never said don’t do it. In fact he is planning to join me with videography, more info on that in the future. I love my Brazilian hunk Enrique Iglesias look alike and thank God for sending him my way. On the day I came back from the internship, we celebrated our 5 year wedding anniversary.  There was not a card or a fancy dinner but a nice romantic note before in my orkut page and a last minute family vacation to Daytona Beach and Disney. Hum no complaints about the no card. Maxwel, I love you so much and hope to be your life partner always. Thank you for making me feel happy and in love again and again. You are a great husband, friend, lover and father and I know we have many blessings to come.

At Daytone Beach, FL