06.23.2017 | A portrait for Cristina #BlogHer17

Cristina Cleveland photographed by Hallease Narvaez @ #BlogHer17

    I had the supreme pleasure of attending #BlogHer17 this year in Orlando, Florida (shoutout to Jouelzy.com for providing the hook up). I must confess I was a tad nervous to attend. As a producer who often works behind the scenes at conventions such as these it was weird to be an attendee. 

   Thankfully, I ran into Cristina, current managing editor of NaturallyCurly.com and my introvert heart was immediately put at ease.  Having at least one person you are acquainted with can make conventions a lot more manageable. 

As a thank you for being an awesome wingman. I offered to take her portrait on the expansive balcony of the Hilton Orlando Bonnet Creek where the conference was held this year. 

As I continue to take more portraits and figure out a personal style I find myself gravitating away from styles like the photo to the right. Women are usually photographed like this, smiling, looking perfect. Wind at their back, hair in the breeze -- and it's great (I definitely included this one in the final download links), but to me it's almost too picturesque. Too virginal. Too innocent. For lack of a better word...too feminine. 

The whole point of the #BlogHer17 conference is to be mindful and to also be as independent in your entrepreneurial-ness as you want to be. To me that screams strength. Not necessarily smiling because you have to, or because it's what you should do. 

So I focused on a more centered stance for her and had her look directly at the camera. Relaxed. Confident. Above it all.

#Travel | Miami

I'm currently in the middle of co-producing a huge project with Big Picture Lab for HP, and because of that we have been consistently traveling all over to gather interview and b-roll footage of various HP campuses.  

Last week I went to Miami, Florida to talk with HP's channel partners.  While there I worked with Daniel Deloach to gather b-roll with HP devices. 

The final morning we woke up at 5:30a to get the sun rising over the beach. 

#MyPhotography | Miami Beach, Florida 

After that we drove around trying to find the best views of the city for Danny to fly his drone and get good aerial shots.  We ended up at a little bluff that gave a really great view. 

Check out the montage video I created and let me know what you think!