Adrian and Michelle met a friend for dinner at the beautiful Pazo tapas restaurant in Baltimore, MD this past Friday. My second shooter and I showed up an hour early to grab good seats and to pretend like we were regular guests, trying not to ruin the hours of hard work that Adrian and the staff prepared.

Pazo is a gigantic gorgeous space that’s somehow made cozy by the candlelight, and warm-colored furniture. It’s dimly lit and completely sexy, perfect for a certain surprise Adrian cooked up.

Watch what happens…

For extra fun, I created this stylized version in iMovie.

Enchanted Evening at Pazo from LaKaye Mbah on Vimeo.

Comments are welcomed and appreciated!

I met the most adorable family ever on a warm afternoon in October. The setting was perfect, the sun was shining and the clouds were gorgeous. The whole family had on adorable color-coordinated outfits; The girls in pink & green (my sorority colors!) and the boys were in blue.

I think there was a nervous excitement about the photo session. The two little Gillis’s had an especially skeptical eye on me during the shoot. In my typical manner, I started with the large family group shot just to get everybody comfortable in front of the lens. Then I let them run loose! There was running and jumping and even a little golf. Teresa (the mom with the mostest) kept apologizing for the dirty knees and hands the kids got while running around. Little did she know that my favorite part of any photoshoot is when the kids get dirty. A lil’ dirt lets me know they’re having fun.

I knew it was a success when I got the little ones to smile and I got hugs all around when the sun set and the shoot ended.

I’m so excited! Partly because I’m going on my first cruise tomorrow, but the other part is business-related. I’ve done a few portrait shoots at The Living Well (a yoga and wellness studio in Baltimore) in the past. I love the laid back vibe I get while shooting there. The warmth of the surroundings instantly makes my clients feel more relaxed and the sessions are so fun! So I am overjoyed at the opportunity to host photo sessions there once a month! My other portrait and wedding sessions will be available at the standard rates. But the sessions at The Living Well are mini-sessions done at 30 minute intervals and usually done on a black or white background. I’ve planned some exciting promotions for each month, starting with January/February’s Valentine’s Special.

Lovebirds, bring your sweetie to take a quirky and fun couples portrait. Soulmate-searchers, bring yourself to get a great looking profile picture for your dating site. You love your kid? Dress your little cherub up like cupid for a photo that will capture your heart forever.

Each 30 minute session includes the sitting fee for two people ($10 per additional person) and a private online gallery for viewing and purchasing from the comfort of your own home. Your Passion Portrait will be back to you in time for Valentine’s Day.

You must RSVP to lakayem@gmail.com to take advantage of this offer.

p.s. I’ll be cruising to the Bahamas and then in Miami for the next two weeks. I’ll be sure to take plenty of great photos to post on the blog and answer all emails when I return. In the meantime, please enjoy this photo of the most adorable couple on the planet that I took during the holiday session at The Living Well. Ciao!

This is me on the last day of 2009. Some people think making New Year Resolutions is corny. I happen to love the idea of starting fresh with a clean slate each year. If not at the beginning of the year, then when? I make resolutions every year. I write them down and post them on my wall as a daily reminder. Some resolutions have worked, like the year I declared I was going to work full time for a magazine. Others, such as losing ___ pounds, remain on my wall year after year. Goal setting is important, and writing your goals helps to solidify them. Here are mine in no particular order:

Blog More
I used to fancy myself a pretty good writer, but somehow I started getting in the way of myself. I would be so concerned with being extra clever and witty that it stressed me out. I guess it’s the perfectionist side of me. That perfectionist attitude was counter-productive because I didn’t try to overcome it, I just stopped posting! A wonderful client recently requested that I blog about her family because she liked the stories I wrote to go with the pictures. I had no idea that people actually read my blogs! LOL! So I’m going to set a blog schedule and stick to it. Just be prepared for some witless, un-clever postings hopefully intertwined with some gems.

Get Money Control!
I have to face facts that I am not great with my money. To be more specific, I don’t spend wildly on frivolous things, I just lose track of my spending and end up with stupid late fees and overdraft fees. I’m done with those in 2010. This year I’m going to be meticulous with my spending!

Watch Less HGTV and Actually Work on MY House
My friends know I’m an HGTVaholic. If my tv isn’t on HGTV they usually have some kind of well-deserved wisecrack. I sit and watch all the people with extra money buy perfectly nice homes and rip out bathrooms and replace them with shiny new ones. Problem is, I look around my house and want to rip out everything and come up with another great color-scheme, floorplan, and furniture style with each great episode. I don’t invite people over often because I’m convinced they will think my house is as disappointing as I do. I have a big house with a lot of rooms and constantly being disappointed with my abode is exhausting. So with all the time I’ll have from not watching tv, and all the money I’ll save from getting rid of late fees and overdraft fees, I can do some great things to my house.

Shoot 12 Weddings
This one is more of a goal than a resolution. In 2008, I shot two and last year I shot five on my own, including one in Philadelphia and several in Baltimore as a second-shooter for my friend Tiffaney of TJW Experience. As part of my blogging resolution I’m going to start blogging about all my 2009 weddings this month and continue throughout the year.

Get Fit!
I’m done with the diets (for now). But I’m not done with attempting to get fit. I started working with a fantastic trainer last year. I started seeing results pretty quickly while working with Candii at Sharpe Shape Fitness, but I had to stop because of my crazy work schedule. Yeah Yeah I know that’s a poor excuse, but you try getting up at 5am everyday and returning after 9pm and shooting on the weekends. I’m an adjunct professor of photography and graphic design in a small school in Northern Virginia…and I live in Baltimore. Try getting through that rush-hour traffic everyday and feel like working out at night. Hmpff! But I will make it my priority this year. Besides, it takes muscle to lug around all of that heavy equipment.

Be a Better (Daughter, Sister, Aunt, Friend, Teacher, Photographer) Person
This is my goal every year. This year I’m going to recycle more and work on reducing my carbon footprint. I’m going to be more committed to shopping local and buying goods from the farmer’s market. I might even grow a vegetable garden. I’m going to spend more time with my family and friends. They were so awesome to me in 2009. I will strive to inspire the students who show interest to use good design principles so they can get great jobs after graduation.

I’m also going to dedicate myself to finding my style or photography and doing it well. I have one idea and I think I’m going to pursue it. But for the next 30 days I’ll ponder other ideas. It’s time to find my photographic voice once again.

I was telling my Graphic Design students at Sanford Brown about my former school projects. Flipping through my old sketchbook, we found the storyboard for a video I did in one of my first classes at the University of Baltimore. The set and characters took me hours to construct and it involves a potato and lots of fruits and it’s based entirely on a famous tv show that used to be on Bravo. This is my first draft (I can’t seem to find my final version) but it still cracks me up every time I see it.

My Grad School Video Project on my Facebook Page

Hello folks! I just wanted to give you a quick heads up that I’ll be updating my pricing for the 2010 season. I’ll also be adding some exciting and creative services here and on my event & boudoir site, www.Soulsticecity.com. For those of you who are interested in booking wedding and portraits soon, I’ll honor my 2009 pricing until the end of January.

Please stay tuned for more pricing info.

We had so much fun last weekend at The Living Well. It was wonderful to meet new people and reconnect with dear friends. We took a lot of great photos, but here are a few highlights. Enjoy!

I was lucky enough to take photos for The Wedding Library on Charles Street last week. It was like a dream come true because I got to look at gorgeous gowns and work with a flawless model. I might have even found my dream dress! *sigh* I need to ask the ladies at TWL where they came from again so I can just go and peruse.

Here is one of my favorite shots from the shoot. It was freezing that day and the models didn’t even look like it was cold. I’ll be posting more soon!

It’s been a while since I’ve posted some food photos. If you know me, you know that I love to eat (much to the dismay of my personal trainer). My love for food plus my numerous freelance food assignments from Urbanite Magazine equals one happy photographer. Here are some shots from a few recent food outings.

Food Photos by LaKaye Mbah

Food Photography by LaKaye Mbah

Bon A petite!

Hey Folks!

I got great response from our facebook page and The Living Well’s website and as of today all portrait sessions for this Saturday’s shoot have been booked! We’re planning to add an additional day within the next two weeks to accommodate those who couldn’t participate this time. Please contact me or email lakayem@gmail.com if you are interested and we will keep you updated with the new day and time. Thanks!