rainy day wedding portraits

Aprils along the Northeast coast are always unpredictable but in the most beautiful way. Here are some photos that I got to take of this lovely couple before the heavens opened up. Adorable, right?

xo,
e.m.

it's starting to look a lot like springtime

Last week, the day was warm, breezy, and a tad bit overcast-- perfect situation for photo-taking. I dragged Deb all over State Street and snapped these photographs of her. She's a beaut, right? It's great having attractive friends who don't mind having their picture taken. Perfect for when I need practice, har har har!

xo,
e.m.

some tunes for you

Static by The Spinto Band on Grooveshark
Here in the Northeast, the weather has been perfect for driving around with the windows down. The Spinto Band has been my go-to driving music lately. In case you couldn't tell from my kinda-absence from this blog, I've been a little on the busy side this week which means that I've been spending ungodly amounts of time in my car. All of that time, this album (Cool Cocoon) has been on repeat. I love the surf-rock'y sound, especially with summer just around the corner! What have you guys been listening to lately? It's almost time for l&l's summer playlist and I'd love to hear what you've been into lately.

xo,
e.m.

a few of my favorites: makeup

So, I've never been super into makeup. I wear it, yes, but I never really invested my time (and money... oh boy, makeup is expensive) until recently. I'm a bit addicted because putting on makeup is a lot like painting! Since I dropped out of art school, I haven't done much of that so makeup has become, dare I say it, kind of... a hobby for me? I'm by no means great at it but I do enjoy experimenting quite a bit! Since I changed up my daily routine, I've gotten lots of questions about the products I use so here are a few of my favorites:

The Scent: I love Daisy: Eau So Fresh by Marc Jacobs because it's light and yet somewhat sultry. It's perfect for a day in the office or a date night. I often find myself sniffing my wrist or hair just for a little whiff whenever I'm wearing it.


The Tools: I don't use many fancy things, just a blush brush, an eye shadow brush, a smudge brush, and this scary-looking contraption called an eyelash curler that I don't even know if I'm using it correctly. The curler and smudge brush are from Target, (e.l.f.) the blush brush from Mary Kay, and the Eyeshadow brush from Sephora. 

The Base: I start out with Boots No7 matte foundation. I just use my fingers because I think that they do just as good of a job as those little squishy sponges but without all of the waste. I then use bareMinerals matte powder. For a concealer, I use this stick from Sonia Kashuk. (available from Target) And, most importantly, I use NYX's eyebrow kit for the brows. (I love this because it comes with a primer and two brushes!)

The Eyes: I've been obsessed with Too Faced's Summer Eyes palette. The colors are a perfect mix of bright and neutral and fit into the 70's vibe I've been going for. Stila's All Day liquid eyeliner is FANTASTIC. It's really hard to get off at the end of the day which is great for me because I've been known to accidentally wipe off my makeup on an occasion or two. NARS has an amazing lengthening mascara that's been doing wonders for me also. Also very hard to remove, which is more of a good thing than a bad one in my opinion.

The Lips: My lips are one thing that I obsess over. I HATE when they're dry so I'm constantly applying this Mentha Lip Shine from Co. Bigelow Apothecaries. It works amazingly-- it gives a little tingle and as an added bonus, is minty fresh. For an evening look, I get a little greedy with the pout. I've got pretty full lips but I like to go for the exaggerated look and this plumping gloss from Sexy MotherPucker gets the job done. To top it all off, Yves Saint Laurent's classic lipstick in Pink Lingerie is the perfect shade of pink and doesn't fade. 

The End: At the end of the day, before I crawl into bed, washing my face with these Cucumber Towels is a treat. They do a great job of taking off all of the makeup and are cool and refreshing. MMM perfect. They really smell just like cucumbers. (By the way, they're not edible.)

What are some of your favorite products? Let me know in the comments below, I'm dying to try some new ones out! 

xo,
e.m.

let's make this dream a reality

With the month of April zooming by at a MILLION miles an hour, the Kickstarter deadline for l&l mag is only 17 days away. SEVENTEEN. Almost halfway there and we're not even a quarter of the way there but I still have hope! I've been out collecting potential content (see above for an example!) BUTTTT I need your help to make this a reality. Here's my Kickstarter. Please share the link and pass it on and let's make this mag happen!

xo,
e.m.

sam: actor

It's great to be back in the picture-taking game. I missed meeting and capturing new people. Meet Sam, an actor from Baltimore. He came up to Philly just so I could take his pictures! I felt honored. He's one of the sweetest people I've ever met and reminded me why I love my job so much. No, really, I forgot how much (and the "why") I love simple portrait photography. I'll have a lot more to share with you all soon, but for now, enjoy!

xo,
e.m.

little moments in little pictures

The advent of the iPhone has done wonders for capturing the little pieces of beauty in daily life. When I'm feeling down, I scroll through my photo stream and look back at some of the things that have recently made me smile. Pops of color, funny memories, particularly good hair days (ladies, you know you take pictures of your hair when it looks really good!) and countless other little things can inspire me and brighten my day. Here's some of my life through the lens of my iPhone lately.

xo,
e.m.