Artist's Message | Professional Experience | Professional Organizations | Instruction | Publicity | Awards

Artist's Message

I became passionate about portrait photography when my first son was born. As any new parent knows, you cannot take enough photos of your little miracle. The feelings I had capturing images of my son were so fulfilling. I captured his moods, his personality, and that moment in time, forever. I also realized I was creating a gift for the grown-up he would become, and for our generations to follow. I found I wanted to share this feeling with my friends who might not have the ability to create such an heirloom. The following quote illustrates my wish to share my gift with others, perhaps with you:

Time does not stand still. Having a special portrait of a moment in time will become priceless as your family grows and changes. My goal is for you to love your portraits, and to enjoy the experience of creating them. I guarantee my work because I want you to be completely satisfied with your portraits.

My specialty is in natural light photography; working outdoors or indoors with window light. I strive to capture more than a likeness, but a natural, relaxed reflection of my subjects. My philosophy is simple. I believe in getting to know you, and giving you the time and attention to create your special portrait. I am dedicated to creating an enjoyable experience for you, resulting in meaningful portraits.

Professional Experience

Fifteen years in the creative, yet highly demanding industry of Advertising helped me build a strong foundation and professionalism for my current role. As a photographer I've trained with renowned portrait artists learning all aspects of the field. I believe in ongoing education and continue my learning through workshops and schools taught by leaders in the photographic community. This keeps my work fresh and creative bringing you my best work for your portraits. I've been active in the Northern California Professional Photographers Association and am in my fourth year serving on the Board of Directors, now as Chairman of the Board (I was voted "Member of the Year 2007"). I have taught workshops to professional photographers on Maternity, Children and Environmental Portraiture.

Professional Organizations

Professional Photographers of America - Certifed Professional Photographer
Professional Photographers of California - Member
Northern California Professional Photographers:
- President 2006-2007
- Chairman of the Board 2007-2008
- Member of the Year 2007

Instruction

Love Your Photos!

Join award-winning photographer Laura Cottril and learn how you can make significant improvements to your photography skills! Laura will talk about camera basics, composition and lighting, all with your "everyday" photos in mind. You can change your candids to be more emotional, storytelling and meaningful just by changing the way you think about photography. Come join us for this inspiring class! Saturday, February 23, 2008 at My Daughter's Wish, 2835 Contra Costa Blvd, Ste E in Pleasant Hill. Call (925) 952-4437 to register!
www.mydaughterswish.com

Publicity

January 2007 Professional Photographer Magazine

In the summer of 2006 I attended a PPA Business and Marketing workshop. The conference was top notch and I was fortunate to meet the speakers and the folks from PPA who put it on.

I was really impressed with the way the people I met from PPA really cared that I succeed in business. They made it personal and as that is how I like to do business, it made an impression on me. I guess I made an impression on them too! My enthusiasm for PPA and their education and support targeted me for an ad in their international magazine for photographers!

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I've am honored to have been selected for profiles in two professional photography magazines!

In November I was published in Rangefinder magazine which is a top-notch international magazine for professional photographers. The article and issue is all about children and family portraiture.

Click here to download a pdf of the Rangefinder article.

In October I was published in ProPhoto Magazine which is the professional publication of Professional Photographers of California (PPC). The article is about the art, relationships and business of maternity portraiture.

Click here to download a pdf of the Professional Photographers of California pdf of the article.

The whole thing seems unreal to me as I read these publications regularly!

Be on the lookout for an upcoming book titled "Children's Photography Photo Workshop". Three of my images have been selected for the book! The book is one of a series of books that are tied in with Robert Farber's website. It will be released in March 2008 and available on amazon.com.

Awards

Professional Photographers of America International Print Competition 2007

Merit prints and Loan awards are judged among the top 10% of 5,000 images entered in the largest professional photo competition in the world. Loan and General Collection images are both displayed at the Annual Exhibition of Professional Photography at Imaging USA and will be published in books for this year's competition winners.

This image came from a Lifestyle session where I went to the family's home and captured the small graces of their day. While they were hanging out in the parents room, sipping coffee, wrestling, snuggling, I captured this fleeting moment of the baby giving the family dog "that look"! While it is not technically perfect, it certainly has impact and humor. I'm sure that's what the judges thought when they scored it as a merit print!

"Old Dog New Trick"

One of the reasons I love this image is that I believe it doesn't take a big beautiful place to make a great image. This image was made in the client's side yard! I was drawn to the classic "secret" garden look and the dog came around the corner right on cue to complete the story. This family has roots in Ireland so the manicured garden is a perfect setting to help tell their story. I was happy to see this print win a merit award as I believed in the storytelling of the image and how it ties in to the reality of the family roots.

"Little Dog Found"

Professional Photographers of America International Print Competition 2006

This image tells the story of a father who welcomed this boy as his son. There is no denying the strength and depth of their relationship. I was honored to find that relationship through my camera lens and for it to receive one of the country's highest awards of Merit and Loan!

"Shelter in a Storm"

I love how this image so clearly portrays this one-year old's feelings. It is so different from what clients are looking for, but also a big reality of what a photographer may find on any given day. It gives me a good chuckle, and I guess the judges liked it too, as it won a Merit and an award to the General Collection!

"Melancholy Baby"

Northern California Professional Photographers Print of the Year 2003 and
April 2003 Best of Show (co-created with Mary Goodrich)

A friend of mine, Mary Goodrich, does fine art photography and has a darkroom in her garage. She was teaching me the art of hand coloring photographs with oil paints and one of the images I brought to paint was "Hawaiian Winds". In the original print the sky was all white so we brainstormed ways to improve the print. Mary had an infrared sky image, taken in Hawaii, that she double printed along with my negative of the father and son on the beach to create the image. Then she hand colored it. On a whim we entered it into print competition as a double entry, thinking "why not?"

"Hawaiian Winds"

Northern California Professional Photographers
May 2003 Best of Show

"Love's Light Shining"

Northern California Professional Photographers
October 2003 People's Choice Winner
2nd place year-end People's Choice

"Fruit of Life"