Durango Kid Photographer | Cypress at 3 | Portrait Sneak Preview

Cypress is one of the cutest little girls I know! And, I now know A LOT of cute little girls! I've been photographing the 5th annual Cutest Kids Contest the past 10 days or so and we have photographed 133 kids so far! That is a lot of cute girls! Cypress however, is part of our Birthday Club, so I get to photograph her every year! I first photographed her around 6 months, then for her 2nd birthday, and this most recent session was right after her 3rd birthday. It's been so fun to see her grow! We photographed this session in the studio as it was early morning and very cold outside. Cypress brought lots of cute stuffed toys and adorable outfits (well, actually her mom Sharon did, but who's keeping track, right). We ended the session with Cypress tracing her animals and her hands, which was so cute for portraits! She is so smart! I hope you love these few of my faves!

Durango Senior Photographer | Rachel | DHS Class of 2013 Model Session Sneak Preview!

Rachel Redders is one of our stunning Class of 2013 models and we photographed her model session last weekend. I have been excited about photographing Rachel since I photographed her brother, Ryan, for his senior portraits a few years ago. In fact, one of the images we got of Ryan is one of my all time favorite portraits. So, I was really, really excited when Rachel signed up for our model program! Rachel is such a beauty and made her model session so much fun. She brought lots of outfit changes but they were such simple and fast changes - we hardly noticed her being gone between them. We started with hair and make up at Hair Fusion of course so we could tell the story of the entire day. Mary Beth did an incredible job, as always. We headed outside for the shoot, and unfortunately, ran into some very strong wind. We did our best to stay behind buildings and inside the studio so we would be protected. We ended the session in the studio, where it was nice and warm, with no wind. Rachel was such a joy to photograph and I hope you love these few of my faves! And of course, stay tuned for the music video of Rachel's session - it's going to be amazing!

Durango Senior Photographer | Bonne | DHS Class of 2013 Model Session Sneak Preview!

Bonne is another of our stunning Class of 2013 Senior Models. She came in for her model session last Wednesday afternoon. Swimming had officially ended, so Bonne had a little spare time to give us. We had a blast! We started at Hair Fusion and Bonne got extra special treatment. Mary Beth did her make up while Jamie did her hair. Not only were they fast, but Bonne looked amazing! She's so naturally beautiful she doesn't even normally wear make up, so it was fun to see her all done up. We headed outside and the first top Bonne chose to wear made her eyes pop - aren't they beautiful! We headed over to the Smiley building, as it wasn't very warm outside. We played inside for a while, then played in the snow for a few minutes. We headed to the river next, where Bonne hiked through the snow in her flats and somehow didn't get frostbite (thank goodness)! We ended the session in the studio, with Bonne's fun outfit on my fun new yellow backdrop. I hope you love these few of my faves! And stay tuned for Bonne's music video!

Durango Senior Photographer | Aubrey | DHS Class of 2013 Model Session Sneak Preview!

Aubrey is one of our Class of 2013 Models and is such a beauty. I had the opportunity to photograph her older sister, Hayley, two years ago for her senior portraits. So I had been hoping that Aubrey would want to be part of our model program - and she did! We photographed Aubrey's session this past weekend, which happened to coincide with Snow Down. We started at Hair Fusion (which was safe from Snow Down activities) for hair and makeup and Mary Beth did an amazing job, as always. We ran into a few people in costume along the way to and from the car, but otherwise avoided downtown. We got to use a few spots that I have always wanted to use - spots that I notice driving down the highway and think "I would love to shoot there" - and then forget them as soon as they are out of sight. Of course we had to use a few classic locations as well, and then we ended the session in the studio. I happened to have a mask I purchased in New Orleans lying around the studio and since it was Snow Down weekend, I asked Aubrey to wear it for a few portraits. Thanks Aubrey for such a fun session and I can't wait to share your music video!

Durango Senior Photographer | Emily | DHS Class of 2013 Model Session Sneak Preview!

Emily Muller is another of our gorgeous Class of 2013 Models and was our 3rd model session of the year. Emily came with a bunch of great ideas for her session - complete with examples from Free People and Anthropologie. I love when my clients have specific ideas because it gives me a direction to run in and it always presents a challenge. Emily had found a specific hairstyle she wanted to try as well, and it was awesome! We started at Hair Fusion, of course, and Emily requested a "messy braid" hairstyle. Mary Beth pulled out all kinds of tools to create this look - most of them I had never seen before. Her make up was beautiful, as always, and Emily got the airbrush foundation, which made her beautiful skin even more flawless. I had a couple of locations in mind for Emily's portraits since I already knew what kind of locations she liked, so we started with those. We also happened upon a couch that was sitting on the corner across from the salon. Of course I had to use it and Emily was a great sport about sitting on an unknown couch. We then headed out to Emily's house to use her amazing barn and we got another lucky find: Annabelle! Annabelle is the big Ford they use in their car wash business and a great prop! Then Emily sat in the snow for us for some "putting on my ice skates" shots. She was completely frozen by then so we headed back to the studio for some hot chocolate and indoor portraits. Emily brought her guitar and we did some unique accent lights with a blue gel. As you can tell from this extra long blog post, this session was pretty long too. So, I'm sharing my normal favorite few from this session in this sneak preview, but I will definitely be sharing the rest in Emily's fusion music video so stay tuned!

Durango Baby Photographer | Tenley's Awesome Jewelery Portrait Session Sneak Preview!

Tenley is one of the cutest baby girls I know and she has the most amazing eyes! She also let's us change her into more outfits than anyone else (including my hs senior girls)! She's always so smiley and up for anything we want to try - I hope that never changes! This was Tenley's second session and her mom, Jymmy, brought such great outfits - again. She had some great jewelery that a friend of hers makes - and Tenley loves to chew on. The pearls were my favorite because I love pearls, but the turquoise was stunning and who doesn't love pink? Jymmy brought more great headbands and tutus too. I love baby girl sessions! (I love baby boy sessions too - I love all portrait sessions actually - but little girls have so many outfit options.) As per usual, I had a hard time picking a favorite few to share for this sneak preview because I love them all. Thanks for being such an awesome model Tenley!

Durango Baby Photographer | Avery's 6 Month Portrait Session Sneak Preview!

Avery is the adorable baby girl I had the pleasure of photographing last Friday morning. Her amazing parents, Lisa and Matt, brought her into the studio for a session and we had a blast. She had the greatest expressions and I think she might be the happiest baby ever. Especially because she was getting over a cold and was still smiling and laughing! Lisa had some amazing props and outfits for Avery to play with and wear - which made the session even more fun. We started with Avery in a giraffe outfit - tooo cute! She even had a pair of glittery gold Juicy Couture boots! I was in Kids Rock yesterday, checking out possible props, etc for the Cutest Kid Contest coming up (click HERE for details about the contest) and I spotted quite a few items that we used in Avery's session - such as the cute elephant:) I hope you love these few of my faves - I absolutely love them all, so it was hard to choose just a few to share today!

Durango's Cutest Kid Contest Photographer | Kids Rock and Allison Ragsdale Photography

I am so excited about this; I am bouncing up and down in my chair! Kids Rock asked us to photograph their Cutest Kid Contest this year - which happens to be the 5th annual contest! Which means that we get to photograph tons of adorable kids! Starting February 27th, bright and early at 8am, every 30 minutes we will be photographing kids anywhere from newborn to 5 years old. This will continue through March 10th - or longer if necessary - so that we can photograph all 200 of you - or however many there happen to be. The last few years, 125 kids have participated in this contest and we expect it to be even bigger this year! We are going to set up our studio and sales room at Kids Rock so it will be extremely convenient. Here's the deal: go visit Kids Rock at 1032 Main Ave to sign up your cute kid for the contest - and do it today! There is a $10 entry fee and you will receive a 20 minute session at your scheduled time from which you will pick your favorite image for the contest. At the end of the contest, you get to keep that 5x7. However, we also offer tons of portrait and product collection options from which you can order. And these portrait and product options are deeply discounted just for this event! So you can have beautiful portraits and a great deal - at the same time! Public voting begins March 19th, 2012 so tell all your friends and family to go to Kids Rock to vote for your kid! If you have any questions, feel free to call me at 970-259-9255 or Kids Rock at 970-259-9400. I can't wait!

Durango Senior Photographer | Beth | DHS Class of 2013 Model Session Sneak Preview!

We photographed Beth, one of our beautiful Class of 2013 DHS Models, this past Saturday, while it was dumping snow! It was so fun and I love the images we got so much; but it was so cold! It really was perfect though, because Beth had really been hoping that it would be snowing - and it was! I would like to take credit, but as much as I wish I could control the weather, I just can't. We started at Hair Fusion and it was barely snowing at the beginning of hair and make up. By the time we were ready to start shooting, it was coming down pretty good. So, we got a little wet - but it was so worth it, don't you think? I hardly ever get to actually shoot while it's snowing, so this presented a unique and challenging situation. I kept fogging up my viewfinder and we used the reflector as a an actual umbrella in an attempt to keep Beth dry more than we used it to supplement the natural light. We finished in the studio and Beth had totally different curls at the end than she had started with - which was kind of fun. Beth was really great to work with and photograph. She didn't complain about the wet or cold at all and gave me a lot of different looks to work with. Matt shot video for Beth's model session and I can't wait to share the fusion music video with you! It's going to look so cool with all that snow coming down! Stay tuned and I hope you love these few of my faves!

Published Durango Photographer | Quote Used in Studio Management Services Ad in Professional Photographer Magazine!

The title of this post says it all, really. We were quoted in an ad for Studio Management Services in Professional Photographer Magazine! And I discovered it was when I was flipping through the magazine, looking for the name of the senior graphic designer for PPMag I just met at Imaging USA in New Orleans a few days ago. I saw the name Allison, with the last name starting with an R and assumed it was another photographer with a similar name. Then I did a double take and realized it was our name! I was so excited! I'm going to have to cut this page out of the magazine and frame it for my wall, just like I did the last magazine article we were featured in. Makes me feel good! On another note - as I mentioned above - I just got back from Imaging USA, a national photography convention put on by PPA (Professional Photographers of America) that was held in New Orleans. I'll share images from my trip as soon as I catch up at the studio. I just couldn't wait to share that we were published again!

Durango Engagement Photographer | Lindsey & SG's Forest Lake's E-Session Sneak Preview!

I went to high school with Lindsey Martinez in Bayfield and have such great memories of spending time with her. I ran into her at a wedding I was photographing 2 summer's ago (her boyfriend at the time, who is now her fiance, was the brother of the bride) and was so happy to see her! I was even happier to get a phone call from her telling me she was engaged, to the guy I had met at that wedding - SG Scales! Obviously, I am extremely excited to be working with these two and so honored to be photographing their wedding! They will be married December 21, 2012 (the end of the world according to some), the winter solstice. So, we wanted to photograph their engagement session in the winter to continue that theme. Well, we've been waiting and waiting for it to snow and we finally decided to just go ahead and use the little snow we do have. Lindsey and SG live in Forest Lakes and they spotted this great fireplace that is the only thing left standing from an old home and they wanted to use it for their portraits. They also wanted to use the beautiful Colorado scenery we are so lucky to live in, so we used the lake too (which was frozen). It was a beautiful day, with dramatic clouds and a slight breeze to blow Lindsey's hair around (you all know how much I love that). We had a great time - Lindsey and SG are so great together - and I hope you love these few of my faves! Matt took video during their e-session as well, so stay tuned for the fusion music video coming soon!