So excited to announce the launch of my NEW site along with new name and fresh new look. Come on over to Alisha Marie and check things out.
Welp, Happy belated New Years! Better late than never, right? It’s been swell but I am definitely ready for the next chapter. This past year was amazing… I got engaged (which you can read about here), we bought a home (which you can read about here), I made some pretty amazing new friends, and of course, I worked my butt off and planted many seeds that will soon blossom in 2013. Between taking care of my four year old son and my fiance’s five year old son, working a full time demanding desk job and trying to pursue photography full time, 2012 was a big challenge. Did I say big? I meant HUGE. Like gigorngous.
In fact, the past couple of months I have been so swamped with life and work that I have slacked on blogging and sharing images and to be honest, I’ve lost a little bit of that spark. So I want to start this year out right and light that candle back up, maybe even with a blow torch. I have some big career moves coming up, including the release of my new site and branding, and I am PUMPED to see what the future has in store. But that doesn’t mean I didn’t accomplish a lot in 2012. In fact, I can honestly say that I’m pretty proud of myself for all my hard work and I hope you are too…
I landed on the cover of my first magazine, was featured on several wedding blogs for the first time (Green Wedding Shoes and Boho Bride, to name a few), shot my first wedding(s), second shot my first wedding(s), created my first logo, majorly upgraded my equipment, participated in and completed an intense 30 Day Vlogging Challenge, and attended WPPI for the first time.
At the end of 2011 I summed up some goals (which you can read about here and which I am still working on) and shared some of my favorite images from the year. Why not make it a tradition, shall we? Below you’ll find some of my personal favorites from 2012, all for different reasons. I know this year is going to be a lot harder than last year, but I also know that’s going to make it that much more rewarding.
Wishing you love, happiness, and much success in 2013.
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Love this and so glad and grateful to be a part of it! You’re amazing Alisha!January 5, 2013 – 8:33 pm
OMG!!! F*$&ing incredible!!! Your images are simply amazing and I’m completely speechless. Keep up the amazing work!!! xoxoJanuary 5, 2013 – 5:02 pm
I am completely blown away by all of these images Alisha! Truly impactful & beautiful! Each & every ones of them!!! 2012 was clearly an amazing year for you, I cannot wait to see what 2013 brings 
Proud to call you my friend. XOJanuary 5, 2013 – 8:44 am
SPEECHLESS!!!!!!!!!
Watching you develop as a photographer is like watching a rocket take off. It is absolutely stunning to see how single-minded, determined and focused you have been on reaching the stars. Your work is breathtaking and awe inspiring and on top of building an amazing career you have an equally stunning family. I can’t wait to see what you do in 2013 and to meet the amazingly lucky and smart clients, through the blog, that book you for shoots.
If 2012 has been lift-off I can only imagine the discoveries to come in 2013!January 5, 2013 – 5:29 am
You so amazing, Boo!January 5, 2013 – 4:57 am
Some day, when I grow up – I want to be as cool and amazing as you are.
Love you, miss you- xoxo, WJanuary 5, 2013 – 2:53 am
Yay! I made the cut! Ha ha they’re all gorgeous and I couldn’t imagine a better photographer to capture this special time! Grab 2013 by the horns and run with it girl! XOXOJanuary 4, 2013 – 11:42 pm
I love all your work alisha, you have a gift and put it to such good use. cant wait to have a reason to call you for a session one day … hope 2013 is as good to you as 12 was!! take careJanuary 4, 2013 – 11:35 pm
I adore you girl. You are so strong and so unbelievably talented. It puts a fire in me just being around ya. Can’t wait to see what 2013 brings for you. So very proud of you and so very blessed to have you to be the one to document this amazing time in our lives. Cheers.January 4, 2013 – 11:23 pm
I made it I made it I made it! What do I win?! Haha. What an amazing year for you Alsha! Sounds like 2013 will be an unforgettable one! Wishing you nothing but success, love, and balance. Your work is truly a beautiful reflection of you. Amazing!January 4, 2013 – 11:19 pm
Have you ever met two people that you just couldn’t take your eyes off of? You know… because they had something that intrigued you. Something you don’t see every day, something that made you feel inside. Almost as if a warm blanket was just wrapped around your heart and you couldn’t help but be happy for them as they lost themselves in one another. Well that’s Nicole and Jared. Two of the most down to earth, beautiful inside and out, madly in love people I’ve had the honor of photographing. Nicole expressed her fear of our shoot weeks before hand and I assured her that all she had to do was what came natural, be in love with her man. I cannot thank her enough for trusting me. As if that wasn’t enough they both laughed at my inappropriate jokes and Jared even let me make fun of him. Each time Nicole laughed it would encourage me to further attack Jared and even mock some of his poses. It wasn’t until I was driving home that I started to replay some of the remarkable things that came out of my mouth… “Okay, let’s just move your sausage fingers like this” … “Can you just make yourself look a little taller?” … “No, really, smile, are you smiling?” … “Oh my gawd, you have to see your face in this one… hilarious” … “Just stand over there, you’re a prop at this point”… the list goes on, most of which I’ll spare you.
I cannot thank both of them enough for amazing me during their shoot with not only their sense of humors (which I love) but with the honesty in their love for one another which made my job effortless. I just adore these two and I can only IMAGINE the tears that will be flowing on their wedding day. Oh, and did I mention that Jared already wears his ring because he can’t wait for Nicole to take him off the market? Seriously, just stop. They are just too perfect!! The respect and admiration that supports the walls in their relationship is unreal, something that takes couples years to find. Yet here they are.
Congratulations you two love birds! Not only on your engagement but on finding and holding onto something that millions of people search their whole lives for.
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Still in love with these, and also. You! <3 Merry Christmas sweet pea!December 20, 2012 – 1:16 pm
Amazing photos. Keep up the good work!December 10, 2012 – 7:10 pm
Beautiful composition, beautiful photography, beautiful subjects…true love and romance. Impossible to pick a ‘favorite’ but………the one of ‘the sleepyheads’ has my name on it!December 6, 2012 – 1:27 pm
I LOVE to see love that is so pure like theirs. adorable, wonderfullll job my love!December 6, 2012 – 11:09 am
ALL are amazing!!!! Always enjoy your writing too!December 5, 2012 – 9:29 pm
Whyy does my big sister have to be SOOOO gorgeous?!?!
I love you cole! <3December 5, 2012 – 3:53 pm
I can’t thank you enough, Alisha! This brought tears to my eyes. & I love the photos! <3 We had so much fun shooting with you. Can't wait to do it again! You are so talented ! THANK YOU so much. Love you girl!December 5, 2012 – 1:30 pm
Oh Alisha I think my heart just swooned…. So gorgeous!December 5, 2012 – 12:51 pm
Talented, beautiful, humble, determined and blessed. Yes, I’m talking about Alyssa Chang, also known as Chang-Chang. You can find this amazing and unique dancer in her latest film, “Battlefield America” just released a couple months ago. But that’s just one huge accomplishment under her belt. You know, aside from being trained in Jazz, Hip-hop, Tap, Lyrical/Contemporary and Ballet. I actually met Alyssa over a year ago when I photographed her headshots, which you can check out here. I didn’t think I could possibly fall in love with her anymore than I had then; but once again, I was wrong. Alyssa had me laughing and wishing I was her age again so we could be BFF’s and wear matching necklaces. She is growing into such a wonderful woman and I am so honored to work with her. Her style continues to evolve and her dancing is flawless. Check her out on her YouTube channel here and also on another YouTube channel created by fans here. Our shoot consisted mostly of headshots but we were able to loosen up a bit and have some fun inbetween. I just adore this girl and I can’t want to see what the future has in store for her.
Alyssa, thank you for being the driven and level headed young woman that you are. Please don’t ever stop being an inspiration to others and never give up on your dreams. xoxo!
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Absolutely STUNNING!November 30, 2012 – 9:54 pm
What a beautiful girl!
you did an amazing job like always!November 30, 2012 – 9:08 pm
lucky girl… must have real talent to be dancing with dejan <3
great job on the photos lishaNovember 30, 2012 – 9:01 pm
Beautiful pics darling! You can tell she is an artist! She is really pretty. You did her well.November 30, 2012 – 8:52 pm
Some of your best work! Looooove!November 30, 2012 – 8:13 pm
OKAY, I am absolutely speechless. Alisha, you’ve done it again. You ARE AMAZING! Not only do you take beautiful shots, you are absolutely invested in what you do. You are SO kind to Alyssa and always make her feel herself. She LOVES, LOVES, LOVES you!!!! My husband says- its so nice seeing pictures of Alyssa without doing the typical teenage duck face. HAHAHA! Thank you SO much again! XOXO ~ MyraNovember 30, 2012 – 5:48 pm
The first time I saw Jessica she was sitting quietly having her make-up done while holding a glass of champagne. I quietly gasped. This woman was drop dead gorgeous. She waited anxiously to be put together, piece by piece, so she could finally marry the man of her dreams, Clark. I just adored this couple and their undivided attention to one another. It was spread all over Clark’s face what a lucky man he was as he took in every moment he had with his new wife; constantly complimenting her, pulling her in closely, and only taking his eyes off to her to avoid eating it face first. Avid football fans, the crowd at this wedding was not only very down to earth but also hilarious. It’s couples like this that make it hard to call this a “job.”
I had a blast (though I always do) working alongside the fabulous Desiree Shuey for this one, thank you for having me Desiree! You know I got you boo. xoxo
I absolutely loooooved this necklace. I mean, LOVED, all caps. And Jessica wore it beautifully!
First looks are amazing. I get so happy when couples choose to have one as they come with many benefits. New blog post on this soon. 
Clark wrapped the garder around a footbal before tossing it to all the bachelors. This guy definitely saw its worth!
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Lish – you are so damn good. I leave every one of your wedding posts in awe of your talent.November 6, 2012 – 5:24 am
So beautiful my friend! Love the sharpness!November 5, 2012 – 8:53 pm
What a beautiful job you did! These are amazing!!! Xo!November 5, 2012 – 8:26 pm
I realize Halloween was three days ago, but better late than never. When I asked my boys this year what they wanted to be for Halloween the responses I got were rather dissappointing. Kingston shouted, “A CRAYON!!” followed by Westin pleading, “Oh, oh, a piece of pizza!” Instead of telling them what they were going be, I showed them a short clip from Dark Knight and let them make their own decision. To my surprise neither argued over a role, they simultaneously agreed who would play Batman and who would play Joker and they did an awesome job, if I do say so myself.
Poor Kingston couldn’t fit into anything in any of the 2,4654,9587358 stores we went into so I had to get creative and make his costume. Thanks to thrift stores and spray paint he turned out pretty cool.
Happy (belated) Halloween!
Future boy band, cheoooow!
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Batman looks awesome..my favorite ..:)
Nice picsNovember 4, 2012 – 8:41 am
Omg. This is amaze-balls. Dennis is loving all of these. Batman is his favorite super-hero of all time.November 3, 2012 – 4:07 pm
I love the Connors. All of them. And that’s the first thing that comes to mind when I think about this family so I’m just gonna roll with it. Not only are they extremely warm and kind, but they have some awesome personalities. They made me “LOL” several times and I was completely smitten by their laid back demeanor. It makes my job so easy when my subjects are not only beautiful (err, handsome), but a complete blast to work with. If I can even call it work. I headed to Pasadena to meet Sandy, Chris and their awesome boys, and I will admit, I was a bit nervous about photographing FOUR guys. Because let’s be honest, majority of the male population despises having their picture taken. Or at least that’s the front they put on.
Once I got started I could not believe how photogenic this family was! Ethan, the youngest, made me wish I was a showbiz agent so I could become rich and famous purely from his cuteness. I can only imagine how much fun Jacob and Justin have with him, who Ethan is lucky to have. They are truly awesome big brothers who not only look out for him but also laugh at his jokes. Chris and Sandy have done an awesome job with these three young gentleman! But I can’t say that I don’t see where they get their charm from… Chris was striking poses like a GQ model while Sandy laughed at him, which in return had me laughing. And he said he didn’t like having his picture taken, pffft! By the end of the day I felt like I had not only provided a family with much needed memories, but also made new friends.
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Gorgeous family! I can’t remember the last time I saw Chris sans hat! Beautiful smiles, too (that’s THE most important feature)! ;DOctober 31, 2012 – 5:32 pm
love love Love this family…not just cuz i know them but because how can u not .:) .awesome pics great job!….October 31, 2012 – 3:07 pm
AMAZING work as always!October 31, 2012 – 2:18 pm
Wow! Thank you for such an awesome experience! XOXOOctober 31, 2012 – 1:51 pm
That is one beautiful family!October 31, 2012 – 12:45 pm
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