Fall in love with this little yummy baby, Lila… it doesn’t get any easier than this recent family shoot.  Their photo session was a breeze - the parents are loving, gorgeous and kind - and totally trusting (ie. up for any idea I came up with!).  Baby Lila was so expressive, curious, cranky and giggly… which made for a wonderfully real shoot.

Some of my favorites…

A baby’s wonder at her own hand… beautiful moment.

Love.

Dad was nervous before the shoot, but he came around once he saw this smiling face!

This mother / daughter shot was inspired by one of my pics from the mom’s pregnancy session - part of my Brand-Spanking Newborn package…

Sweet and Silly faces…

Love these moments and how the baby is holding her mom’s hair…

First official family photograph :)

Switching it up on the blog this week - posting pics from my Downtown LA project and an exciting announcement… come back soon!

xoxo,

Christa

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The first lesson my Dad taught me was how to look at an object and see the light and shadow. I had the extreme pleasure yesterday of stealing a break from my busy fall schedule to meet up with my dear friend and incredibly talented fine artist, Michelle Dunaway.  Michelle called me up last week to let me know she’s back in town teaching a drawing & painting workshop and asked if I would photograph her for American Artist magazine.

Best of all, she offered me the opportunity to sit in on the class and draw!  Now, I haven’t picked up a piece of charcoal since 1992, but I was so excited!  Like a kid at Christmas kind of excited.  Michelle took me yesterday to buy supplies, and after taking loads of photos for her, I sat down at an easel bench and a blank piece of paper.  Michelle wandered over to give me a quick demo on drawing 101, and I began some 5 minute sketches.  The above picture was done in maybe 6 or 7 minutes. I had such fun with the process - very liberating.  I’ll be going to Michelle’s class over the next few days after my morning shoots, and will post pics of Michelle and her incredible work soon.

In other news, today is my 1st Anniversary! The Studio + Gallery, Christa Meola Pictures, is 1 Year Old!  The Grand Opening party last year was a blast, and today I’ll have to celebrate with a cupcake, candle, some friends, some photos, and a lot of nude drawing!

xoxo,

Christa

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Friday Night Nudes… These are a few of the final shots I took on the Weston Estate and a nearby forest in Big Sur, during a workshop with Ed Weston’s grandson, Kim.  I highly recommend the experience to everyone - pro and amateur, male and female, film and digital :)

I had so much fun shooting this whole series of Weston-inspired Nudes!  And I hope you enjoyed them too…

Here’s an opportunity to win a free print - for all of my awesome blog readers who continue to come back and leave some love :)  I’d love to hear which picture is your favorite from this series -  Nudes No. 1, Nudes No. 2, Nudes No. 3, Nudes No. 4, and Nudes No. 5.

Let me know in the comments below by next Friday, Oct. 2nd, and I will select someone at random for a free 8×10 print of your favorite image :)

xoxo,

Christa

**Updated to add** The snake is REAL, and it’s a 9 foot Albino Burmese Python weighing 25 pounds.  It feels like it’s way heavier though - I held it (albeit not while I was naked!).  Find out more info about Eugene the snake by clicking here.

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More Nudes from experimenting with Kim Weston at one of the Weston Workshops… Nature is very inspiring, and the lines of trunks, leaves, rocks, beaches etc. beg for bold composition… not to mention the beautiful lines of a curvaceous female form :)

Kim Weston was shooting this model right before me, and as he handed it off to me, he encouraged me to “cut the limbs off!” … so I tried :)  Usually, I’m not attracted to bizarre tense cold harsh images  – I tend to be attracted to voluptuous full of life positive happy fun images, but I went with it - and Kim’s suggestion - so I tried cutting off some limbs!…

I’m a Catholic girl, and I can get into images of Christ’s sacrifice…

Ok, enough of chopping limbs off… I’m going for the full body, in nature…

One last installment of Nudes from the Weston Workshop to come… :))

xoxo,

Christa

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Emotion, passion, vitality… I want to FEEL something when I create a photo, and when I look at a picture.  I strive for that with every shot.  Don’t know if I’m always successful, but if just one person is moved to laugh a little more, cry a little more, love a little more, jump, play, hug, dance, squeeeeeze someone a little more, then I’m happy :)

I promise to return to my regularly scheduled family programming soon ;)  just a few more nudes though, lol!  I’m hooked!

xoxo,

Christa

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Larva X is a model who looks very art deco, no? Here are a few more nudes for a Friday night :)  Posting more soon… xoxo, C

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Ed Weston and his grandson Kim Weston are two of my favorite photographers and a huge inspiration.  So when Michelle Magdalena (a talented fine art photographer) put together a workshop at the Weston Estate, I jumped right in!  Even better, it was over the course of a few days on my birthday weekend.  I had the absolute best time - I can’t think of a better way to celebrate than doing something creative that I love and am passionate about and spend time with fellow artists, muses, great people, and a photography icon.  I mean, I was walking around in my boots at the Weston estate, Wildcat, shooting nudes, where Ed Weston shot his famous nudes and where Kim shoots now - wow, it was surreal and one of the ultimate experiences of my lifetime, truly.

It was my first time photographing nudes, and inspired by Kim’s instruction, I challenged myself to shoot in new ways: underexposing, using props, and posing models…. as well as challenging myself in post: pushing contrast and no retouching!… glorious no retouching!!… to leave the female form in it’s perfectly imperfect beautiful state.  Here’s a peek at the first of the series… lots more to come :)

There are more images from other photographers who were at the workshop on this blog, here.

Let me know what you think of my first attempt… I love reading your comments!

xoxo,

Christa

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