Pansies, Poppies, & Other Pretties

Dayna Carroll — Wed, 16 May 2012 17:06:01 +0000

Who can resist all the beautiful flowers and colors that pop up every Spring? Decided to take a field trip with a friend to Temple Square in downtown Salt Lake City. What better place than that for finding oodles of flowers, plants, and trees to fill my fancy? It was a lovely day and I enjoyed the outting!

Poppies are one of my favorite flowers! However, I found myself gravitating towards the pansies. They are such engaging flowers with faces and beards–one of my childhood favorites. I discovered each one is unique with different colors, specs, etc. Reminded me of snowflakes since no two are alike. Fun! Here are some of my favorites. I only took my 180 macro lens to challenge myself. I opted out of the tripod which made shooting extremely difficult–especially with the wind. But I do prefer being mobile while shooting and tripods feel so restricting! Not to mention I was toting the baby along and all her paraphernalia!

4 Months Old–Miss H

Dayna Carroll — Wed, 02 May 2012 22:08:29 +0000

Well, the character is starting to emerge. I absolutely love it!!! Hazel is the subject of my many whims I fancy when it comes to baby photography. I must say she’s quite a trooper and a very good baby.

At 4 months old she still wasn’t loving tummy time. But give her some credit–we were at it all day. I wasn’t getting quite what I wanted at first and had to play with it. Then of course came the outfit changes and alterations to the background/setup. We worked in naps and feedings, played a bit so she knew I still loved her without a camera in her face. . . It was a little frustrating since she wanted to eat everything in front of her. (I’m sure the feeling was mutual.) The furry brown cloth was a mess since it sheds. Oops! And the tulle–it seemed rather soft, but on a baby’s tender skin . . . Don’t worry, we both survived. Even had a little fun. : )

Hazel’s Blessing Dress

Dayna Carroll — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 23:27:22 +0000

So in love with this dress!!! I found it on Etsy last August but kept looking around. Finally decided to order it. The hat was what really sold me, giving the dress an old vintage feel. Felt it was fitting for Hazel, her name, and what I wanted. I made her pearl bracelet and shoes. Please note: I do not crochet! I just bought a crochet trim that I could cut into the shape and pattern I wanted to fashion her shoes, then sewed onto the silk dupioni soles. : ) I’ve included details of the clothing and accessories because I loved them so much! These photos were taken at 3 months old. Enjoy!

Miss Emily Rose

Dayna Carroll — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 00:27:52 +0000

Babies are so precious, especially when they’re still in the newborn stage. Emily is no exception and totally adorable! She did really well and actually stayed awake during the shoot.

Don’t miss her hair–it’s killer!!! Thanks to her mom for making the trip from Jackson, WY and allowing me to photograph Miss Emily.

Wedding Wire Bride’s Choice Award 2012!

Dayna Carroll — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 18:49:40 +0000

With the new baby and all, I just remembered we received this award the beginning of January. ; )

{North Salt Lake,UT} – March 26, 2012 – WeddingWire, the nation’s leading wedding Marketplace, is excited to announce Dayna Carroll Photography has been selected to receive the prestigious WeddingWire Bride’s Choice Awards™ 2012 for Photography!

The esteemed annual awards program recognizes the top local wedding vendors from the WeddingWire Network who demonstrate excellence in quality, service, responsiveness and professionalism within the wedding industry. While many industry awards are selected by the organization,Dayna Carroll Photography was selected based on its stellar reviews from past newlywed clients.

Dayna Carroll Photography is recognized as part of the top five percent of wedding professionals in the WeddingWire local vendor community, comprised of over 200,000 wedding professionals throughout the United States and Canada. The Bride’s Choice Award recognizes the best local wedding vendors across 20 service categories, from wedding venues to wedding photographers, based on their overall professional achievements throughout the past year.

“WeddingWire is thrilled to honor the success of the top-rated wedding professionals within the WeddingWire Community,” said Timothy Chi, CEO, WeddingWire. “Since the launch of the Bride’s Choice Awards™ program four years ago, thousands of outstanding wedding professionals have been recognized by the bridal community for their supreme service and dedication to the wedding industry. It is with great pleasure that we congratulate Dayna Carroll Photography for their continued professionalism and commitment to enriching the wedding planning experience for engaged couples.”

We are happy to announce that Dayna Carroll Photography is one of the very best Photographers within the WeddingWire Network, which includes leading wedding planning sites WeddingWire, Project Wedding, Brides.com, Martha Stewart Weddings, and Weddingbee. We would like to thank our past clients for taking the time to review our business on WeddingWire. Thanks to their positive feedback we were able to receive the WeddingWire Bride’s Choice Awards™ for 2012.

For more information, please visit our WeddingWire Storefront today at http://www.weddingwire.com/biz/dayna-carroll-photography-north-salt-lake/6460e5b21da8e95f.html.

To learn more about the Bride’s Choice Awards™, please visit www.WeddingWire.com.

Nat & Matt’s Album

Dayna Carroll — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 18:48:07 +0000

Natalie and Matt were married in January 2010. But with all the craziness of getting married, new jobs, work, school, etc. it took a little longer for them to decide on their album photos. Then with our move, travels, etc. I didn’t help the situation any. ; ) Last fall their album arrived and I just loved it! It has 60 pages and is 12×12, with a thick metal cover and metallic pages. They also ordered mini guest albums.

Please excuse the horrible photos of the album. I generally take snapshots of the albums with my point-and-shoot camera, which is very handy and trusty. Until someone–no naming names–happens to drop the said camera in France on a bike ride. (That’s another story that I probably won’t discuss here.) I was able to get it working again, but only in the auto mode without flash. Not ideal, but I had to hurry and take some photos before shipping it off to Natalie and Matt since they had so patiently waited for it.

NOTE: I talked the person who dropped the camera into purchasing a new one before Hazel was born. So, I am back in business with a trusty point-and-shoot at my side! : )

3 Weeks: Hazel

Dayna Carroll — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 18:16:44 +0000

My second go-around with Hazel was at 3 weeks old. Didn’t get as many as I hoped, which seems to be a continuing trend. But, I am sure if you asked her, I took more than enough photos. ; ) By the time she’s old enough to talk she’ll more than agree with this!!! She actually had her eyes open and looking at the camera for a few and I love these! I pretty much have to keep her toasty warm, which leads to a sleeping baby. Otherwise, she’s so strong she kicks and scoots out of the frame. Hazel is a fun challenge. It’s nice to try my hand at something other than weddings and portraits and improve my skills!

Baby Hazel

Dayna Carroll — Sat, 17 Mar 2012 22:28:39 +0000

Hazel at last! The first of many more to come, I am sure. ; ) I don’t generally shoot babies and children, but have done them occasionally in the past. Now that my own baby arrived, I can’t help but take her portrait!

It’s official–Conor and I are now parents! Hazel was born December 15th, making her grand entrance 9 days late. Just like her mom! She weighed 6 lbs. 12 oz. and was 18.5 in. long. Much smaller than I expected, but healthy and happy. She’s a sweet baby and we love being parents.

These photos were taken when she was one week old. She survived the first session of torture. Here’s to many more!!!

Harpist: Brianna

Dayna Carroll — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 01:16:06 +0000

Less than a week before moving from Houston, I had a call from Brianna’s mom inquiring about portraits. She had been referred by someone and wanted me to take her daughter’s photos. Immediately I explained I was moving “soon” and didn’t know if I would be able to do them. As soon as she dropped the line about wanting photos with her harp, I was intrigued and agreed to work them in before I left. ; ) We met two days later at Rice University for the shoot, enjoying a rather warm and windy September day in Houston (mid to upper 90s). I will admit I do not miss the hot and sticky days in Houston!

Brianna is a lovely, talented young woman, with an amazing grace and sweetness. Although I had a lot on my plate, I had a wonderful time shooting her photos and it was the perfect final job for me in Houston!

Pumpkin Pie

Dayna Carroll — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 09:16:33 +0000

It’s that time of year! I love fall, the Autumn colors, the tastes, smells, and Thanksgiving just around the corner. What better way to celebrate than to have pumpkin pie?! I guess I kicked it off a bit early this year. Maybe I’ll have room for my turkey, potatoes and stuffing this way.

Janice was in Salt Lake City last week from Houston and asked if I w

ould be willing to shoot some photos of her pumpkin pie recipe. If you recall, we did a photo shoot earlier this year and had a fantastic time. I was more than happy to help her out. I enjoyed tapping into my creativity to create some images she could use on her food blog. Plus, I was the beneficiary of one very delicious pumpkin pie!!! To get the recipe, go to The Kitchen Twist.