A. Anaiz Photography

[Simple Headshots]

2009-02-22T21:34:00.000-08:00

[ Model in the Making ]

2009-02-18T08:26:00.000-08:00

I've been friend with Chris for quite some time now and have told him time and time again he could be making money with his looks! LOL! I know I sound like a "pimp" but I'm dead serious! Models make a good income and the flexible schedule is another plus... So in my attempts so make Chris the next Supermodel I offered to take his head shots.... What do you think guys, does he have potential?????

[ Justin Lawson]

2009-01-20T08:32:00.000-08:00

On one of my many trips to D.C I had the pleasure of visiting with the [Jordan] Family. They are seriously my home away from home. It was a wonderful weekend full of "Obama Fever".

In the midst of it all I got to see little Justin... my my my how he's grown! The last time I saw him he was only a few weeks old...He's a happy little boy.. Filled with energy and SMARTS!! He mad me laugh and even crawl all over the floor...

Here's some pictures of our encounter. :)

One of our many times on the floor..(my fave)!

How can you resist that smile??

To bed I said... :)

[ Sydney Ming Li ]

2009-01-11T21:34:00.000-08:00

I was so excited when Aly ( my old college roommate) told me she was bringing Sydney to NYC for her 3rd birthday. Sydney has to be my favorite little person ever! Her smile just brightens my day. I haven't seen Sydney since last her last birthday so I was thrilled to see her. I spent a few hours with Aly, Kevin and Sydney at their hotel in Times Square. I had a blast. Sydney was getting ready to go ice skating so of course I snapped a few pics.. :)

Just so excited...

Getting ready to go skating..

[ Matt + Andrew ]

2009-01-06T19:28:00.000-08:00

I have to say that this shoot was probably one of my most memorable. These little boys were truly special and energetic.. It was fun just stepping into their world and trying to see it through their eyes. Here's a glimpse into our day.

[ Nzingha, Nzingha, Nzingha...]

2009-01-04T10:45:00.000-08:00

I have to say up to date this was one of my favorite shoots. It was a misty and foggy day in the Big Apple and I was afraid our day of shooting would be ruined by mother nature. To my surprise it turned out to be PERFECT!!! I know Nzingha through one of my sorority sisters and I was extremely hyped to have my first photo-shoot in New York...Nzingha wanted her Senior pictures to be unique so she suggested a section of the Central Park on the Upper East Side. The scenery was BREATHTAKING!!! I have never seen the change of season and the "feeling" of fall till I stepped into that park... I was ALL smiles :)

Nzingha was a bit shy at first but quickly warmed up and took in the enviroment. With the help of my assistant Chris and Mr. Crusoe (Nzingha's Dad) we were able to get some incredible shots!! I love unpredictable days like these... Makes me fall in love with my craft over and over again.. :)

So big THANK YOUS to Nzingha, Chris and Mr. Crusoe for making my first experience shooting in the city a memorable one!!!! Ohhhh and a shout out to Class of 09'!!!

[ Stroll in the Park with Von in D.C ]

2009-01-03T13:39:00.000-08:00

I had a great time photographing Von in one of D.C's beautiful parks. The weather was cool and breezy and the leaves were just starting to change. I love photographing "first timers" there is something great about their innocence infront of the the camera... I photographed Von for a few hours and by the end she was a pro! Can't wait to photograph her again...

[ The Pacetti's :) ]

2008-12-30T20:42:00.000-08:00

I have known Emma and Joey for some time so taking part of their first family photo was a precious moment I didn't want to miss. We had a blast at the park and in their beautiful home. They are truly one of the cutest families I know! Matt is going to be a heartbreaker when he gets older!! :)

Here are some of my FAVE images from our great time together!

[ My Move to NYC! ]

2008-12-07T08:59:00.000-08:00

I was looking back to a Blog I posted back in February and I made a statement saying that I was so nervous to know where I was going to be in a year. Its amazing that Its almost been a year later and I'm happy to say that I'm pleased with the decisions that I have made. As most of you know ( if you keep in touch with my life) I moved to NYC in August and have had no regrets.

I'm not saying that the move was easy or anything.. The transition was hard, since I had very little family in NY and was leaving everything I knew in Florida, but in my heart I knew I had to do it.

It was a long road to find a full time job but I am extremely happy team member of JUMP MANAGEMENT. My boss is incredible and has taught me so much about the industry! I'm still

a guppy to the "real" world of the Media Industry but it FASCINATES me!!! I'm learning the ins and outs of how and agency runs and how to represent and manage a variety of artist.

( The JUMP Team)

Finally ,I can say that being in NY does have its perks :) I've seen and met a variety of celebrities..It's weird because you can be walking the streets and *poof* there's Tyson Beckford or Nigel Barker.. lol..

@of Alibi Lounge with Tyson Beckford

with model UBAH from Click Models

with Model April Wilkner from ANTM

with Memsor Kamarake fashion editor of VIBE

Photographer Nigel Barker

So yeah, thats just a small glimpse into what i've been up to the past few month.

I got alot more to share so stay tuned!!

*Smooches*

[ I'm Back... ]

2008-12-05T10:54:00.000-08:00

So I know that I've been ghost for far to long....
Just writing tosay that I'm BACK and that I have alot of stories to share with you..
Will be posting new pics and adventures really soon!! Stay Tuned!!

P.S...... I'm loving NYC!!!

-Aimes

Chat Live!!

2008-07-22T22:23:00.000-07:00

In my search to stay connected with my friends who visit my blog I got Hab.la...
It will launch in the bottom left corner and connects directly to me ( when i'm online)
Its great!

Lets CHAT! :)

Graduates 08'

2008-06-28T16:36:00.001-07:00

Just wanted to send a special congrats to all those graduates of 08'. I know its been a long journey but guess what? YOU MADE IT!! Now your life begins... Here are some of the sessions this season:

Jackie and Sadat

2008-04-05T07:11:00.000-07:00

I'm excited to say that my "izm" and "bruh" got married on March 29,2008. I have to say that she was a beautiful bride.... Sadat was handsome too :) It was a great day with lots of energy! It could not have been more perfect! I wish them all of my love, peace and happiness! Roo-OOP!!

Like old times..

2008-03-20T20:00:00.000-07:00

I had a great time photographing an old friend of mine Larry this week. He was one of my first clients and has been a loyal one ever since. He's an aspiring musician. He's the sweetest person ever and photographing him is such a breeze!

Wonderful Weekend

2008-03-20T19:46:00.000-07:00

I had a wonderful end to my final spring break this past weekend. I spent time with some great friends and really kicked back and relaxed. It was the perfect time to take fun and crazy pictures...
I love times like these.. :) I've also realized that if I lived closer to the beach i'd go everyday.

Why are Professional Photographers so expensive?

2008-03-04T11:28:00.000-08:00

I found this article and all I could say was AMEN....Preach!

Why are Professional Photographers so expensive?

(This article has been very well received by the photography community, and is now referred to by many Photography websites across the country)

In this digital age where everyone has digital cameras, scanners and home "photo printers", when people upload their photos to a local drug store website and pick them up a few hours later, we hear this all the time - How in the world do Professional Photographers charge $55 for an 8x10 when they cost just $1.50 at the drug store?

Here's why.

Simply put, you're not just paying for the actual photograph, you're paying for time and expertise. First, let's look at the actual time involved. If you don't read this entire page, at least read this first part.

For a two hour portrait session:

- one hour of travel to and from the session
- two hours of shooting
- 30 minutes of setup, preparation, talking to the client etc.
- 30 minutes to load the photos onto a computer (2 - 4 Gb of data)
- 30 minutes to back up the files on an external drive
- 3 - 4 hours of Photoshop time including cropping, contrast, color, sharpening, saving a copy for print and a copy for the internet and backing up the edited photographs
- 2 - 3 hours to talk to the client, answer questions, receive their order and payment, order their prints, receive and verify prints, package prints, schedule shipment and drop package off at Fed Ex.
- For local customers, we also print a set of all of their photos, and meet them at our studio to review the photos and place their order. Meeting and travel time averages 2 hours.

You can see how one two hour session easily turns into more than ten hours of work from start to finish. So when you see a Photographer charging a $200 session fee for a two hour photo shoot, you are not paying them $100 / hour.

For an eight hour wedding:

- I won't bore you with the details, but an eight hour wedding typically amounts to at least two to three full 40 hour work weeks worth of time. Again, if they are charging you $4,000 for an eight hour wedding, you are not paying them $500 / hour.

Now for the expertise.

Shooting professional photography is a skill, acquired through years of experience. Even though a quality camera now costs under $2,000 taking professional portraits involves much more than a nice camera.

Most Professional Photographers take years to go from buying their first decent camera to making money with their photography. In addition to learning how to use the camera itself, there is a mountain of other equipment involved, as well as numerous software programs used to edit and print photographs, run a website etc.

And let's not forget that you actually have to have people skills, be able to communicate, make people comfortable in front of the camera - and posing people to make them look their best in a photograph is a skill all by itself.

Think of it this way - the next time you pay $X to get your hair done, a pair of scissors only costs $1.50. But you gladly pay a lot more to hire a Professional.

What about the cheap studios at the mall?

Please don't compare us to the chain store studios. But if you must, consider all of the time and work that we put into our photographs, compared to what they do. Good luck getting a two hour photo shoot at a chain store. Not to mention they won't come to the beach! And of course, look at our work compared to theirs. You get what you pay for.

The truth is, most of the mall and chain store studios lose money. In fact, in 2007 Wal-Mart closed 500 of their portrait studios because of the financial drain they were putting on the company. What the chain stores bet on is that you'll come in for some quick and cheap photos, and while you're there, you'll also spend $200 on other things. They don't have to make money, they are just there to get you in the door.

Conclusion

We hope that those who have taken the time to read this page will have a better understanding of why professional photographs cost so much more than the ones that you get from your local drug store...

Its almost here..

2008-02-29T08:18:00.000-08:00

I'm excited that my newly designed site will be up withing 48hrs. :) I have a new logo so please give me feedback and let me know if you like it or not.. Its girlie.. just the way I like it and quite simple.. You know how they say.. "simple and chic"..The new website is more user friendly and it displays my images larger...Over all I think my clients will like it more since it includes a section to links to their proofs as well as my blog.

Other then that i've been working alot with Rick and the scheduling for the upcoming Bob Knight Photo season... its that time again folks... The sound of Pomp and Circumstance is in the Air.. :( Ohhh how I HATE that song..But I guess its a happy time for all those graduates.. myself included.. I can't believe that i'm already graduating from DBCC.. Even though I have loved my time there I can say that I am SOOOO over school... 4.5 years at UCF plus 1.5 years at DBCC equals too much time in school... I'm really ready to get started with my career 100%.

Its a little nerve wreaking not to know where i'm going to be within the next year but its also exreamely exciting. But what I do know is that today i'm one day closer to seeing my name printed next to my picture in W and Vogue. :)

On a cold Thursday...

2008-02-28T14:29:00.000-08:00

So I have spent most of the day today working on my new layout for my website. I'm excited to finally be updating it. There are alot of changes going on in my world and I am excited for each and every one of them. Stay tuned i'll be writing some more.

I got a Blog!

2008-01-16T19:37:00.000-08:00

So i just signed up for this blog. I'm excited to start using it :)