Custom albums & books for seniors

I thought it would be fun to share one of the coolest products I offer — custom albums & books. They are an awesome way to include all of your favorite images from your session. I have some wonderful design choices, as well as size/type of books in all price ranges to meet your needs. The nice thing about these is your book will be completely customized and color coordinated — a very unique and personal way of displaying your photos.

There are several designs to choose from, for both guys and girls — be sure to email me for more information and pricing.

Have a look at a custom album I created for Cody, graduating senior from ThunderRidge High School.

Posing ideas from America’s Top Model * Denver Senior Photographer

Would you like to feel more comfortable in front of the camera when it’s time for your senior session? Although I’m here to guide you with poses and facial expressions, you may want to do a little prep before your session to help you get comfortable with some new techniques. Practice in front of the mirror — it really helps! Use the self timer on your camera and experiment. You’ll end up with some fun shots, I’m sure! And you may want to also look in your favorite fashion/teen magazines for ideas.

One of the best ways to improve your comfort level with posing is to watch professional models. Pay attention to the way they angle themselves to the camera — they are rarely/never straight in front. Observe their arms — they are never hanging straight down by their sides. Notice how their body makes kind of an “S”, giving them a very flattering, feminine shape. And check out their expressions — their eyes and their mouths/lips in particular. You can change your look in so many cool ways with just these features.

Another suggestion is to watch some segments of America’s Top Model. You’ll be surprised at how many new ideas you’ll come up with. Take some time to observe their techniques and give them a try! I can guarantee you’ll be glad you did.:)

Highlands Ranch Baseball Portrait Photographer

I admit it — I can’t resist tough, scuffed-up, bright-eyed boys in a baseball uniform. They are too cute, and this group was very animated and a ton of fun. Thanks so much to Crystal Smith (and her son, Connor) for the opportunity to shoot this team.

Here’s some fun ones I’d like to share. First up, the  vintage shot.

Check out this super-cool custom poster:

The coach has THREE boys on the team….so cool to get a couple for him.

The last shot’s always a silly one.

Introducing Erin * Chatfield High School Senior Portrait Photographer

I’m so excited to show off Erin’s awesome variety of shots from our session. She is so, so sweet….so amazingly easy to be around. I think you’ll see her sweetness come through when you look through these.

Once again, I’m including Random Facts about Erin throughout…

My favorite drink at Starbucks: Chai tea frappacino (only fitting since the show below was in Starbucks, which happened to be one of my fave locations of the day, ha!)

Favorite food: Cupcakes!
(side note….the black & white picture on the right….wanna know what I told her to get that expression? “Hey Erin, there’s a hot guy over there!” Love it, Erin:))

Favorite TV show: The Office
Lucky Number: 14

Favorite place to shop: Hollister, American Eagle, and PacSun.
(And my new favorite place to shoot? Downtown hat shops)

A country I’d love to visit: England.

Favorite quote: ”Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind.” -Dr. Seuss.

My must-have gadget: Cell phone.

Pets: Puppy named Dexter
Something that makes me happy: Hanging out with friends.

Next, a very special and meaningful series for Erin and her family. This particular rose bush is the place where Erin’s dad visits when he wants to remember and talk to his mom, Erin’s Grandma. From what I understand, Erin resembles her Grandma a lot…hope you all enjoy these.

If I had $5000 to spend, I’d buy: I’d probably save it for something later on.
(Smart girl):)

Thanks Erin, for a fabulous day!! Enjoy the rest of your summer, too.

What to Wear

When booking a session, I often am asked for suggestions on what to wear. I understand it’s difficult — when choosing clothes for my family to wear for photos in the past, I stressed about this as well. The first thing clients assume is they need to be in matching outfits or in the same color. You know…white shirts and khaki pants, black shirts and jeans are always “safe”. But, you know what? They really won’t look as interesting and appealing in the end.

So, let’s change that way of thinking. For family portraits, rather than thinking about matching, your goal is to put together coordinating outfits. Choose items with great color, texture (such as knits, denim, ruffles, layers) and accessories. Here are a couple great examples:

Two wonderful examples of coordinating:

Without the scarves & gloves, this one probably wouldn’t be enlarged in my family room!

And, straight from my website…here’s some style/session suggestions for families.

Next, style and clothing suggestions for Seniors. When it comes to teens/seniors, we go to a wide variety of locations, giving each senior a ton of looks to choose from, and always striving to do something very unique. So, I recommend seniors (especially girls) bring — are you ready for this? — everything they love out of their closet. I kid you not, I have had seniors fill up the entire trunk with clothes. It may seem like too much….until we find a new wall of graffiti in their favorite color. We dig through all of their clothes to find the PERFECT blue to coordinate with the blues/greens/purples in the graffiti. And it is SO worth it. I suggest they keep these things in mind: COLOR, texture, layers, ACCESSORIES (with every outfit, you won’t regret it!). Here’s some fabulous examples:

If Megan wore a white shirt and jeans, no jewelry…this wouldn’t have the WOW-factor that it does.

Great example of the right color, working in the perfect location. Once again, the tie adds something extra special.

Guys, don’t forget to layer…it looks amazing!

The beanie adds the PERFECT touch to this photo….texture, style, color…plus Krista loved it, so she felt more at ease.

Style guides from my website for guys and girls:

Girls: don’t forget the lip gloss!!!!

Another suggestion is to browse your favorite stores’ websites and you will often see outfit ideas that coordinate really well together. Some recommended stores to check out: Anthropologie, Gap, Guess, Abercrombie, Banana Republic, Gymboree, Old Navy, Aeropostale, Hollister, Pac Sun.

Introducing Carly * Littleton Senior Portrait Photographer

It’s been way too long since I’ve posted on my blog…I am working on a complete facelift on the blog, so I’ve been waiting until it’s finished. However, with the awesome senior season upon us, it’s time to get some fresh color on this baby!

I have said this before, and I have to say it again….it is truly a pleasure and so refreshing to spend time with a girl like Carly. It gives me hope that it’s worth it to survive the teen years as a mom;), and also just is so awesome to hang out and get to know such a wonderful, sweet person. And when I have the opportunity meet a mom who is so fun to be with…it is the best! Janet was an amazing driver, through the streets of downtown and in search of new graffiti. As you’ll see, it was worth the search!

Meet Carly….along with some Random Facts about her!

Pets: My doggie Naya Nuki

Favorite sport: Baseball
Favorite TV show: SportsNation
If I had $5000 to spend, I’d buy: Rockies season tickets!!!

(As you will see, we found the perfect location for Carly’s favorite thing on earth!)


Something that makes me happy: Anything to do with baseball

Lucky Number: 2

A country I’d love to visit: Australia

My favorite drink at Starbucks: Venti iced hazelnut latte with an extra pump

My must-have gadget: ipod
(Here comes rockin’ graffiti!)

Favorite food: Ahi Tuna

Favorite place to shop: Victoria Secret

(More Graffitti!)

Yep, I went a little crazy and decided to share a bunch! Carly & Janet, I hope you enjoy them!! And Carly…I wish you a WONDERFUL senior year!

Getting pampered at the SPA-RTY!

Katie bought a new book during Spring Break. It’s this one.

She was inspired to have a spa party, she called it a “SPA-RTY”, just for fun. When she pitched the idea to me, I was impressed with the do-it-yourself/inexpensive/easy ideas they had for this little get together. So, she got to invite a few friends. We had it in the afternoon on one of their last days of break. I think the girls had a lot of fun…check out some of the highlights.

Little triangular tea sandwiches, with chive (and onion…don’t tell Katie) cream cheese, along with ham and turkey. Gotta love that Pepperidge Farm “Very Thin” bread. The girls gobbled these up! We saved some for Annie…she had to be at school that day.

Ice cubes with lemon, lime and strawberries inside. Float these in a cup of sparkling water or sprite, and you have a very yummy and pretty beverage! What a great, easy tip…gotta remember this one.

I also made Mock Sushi, which was Rice Krispy treats (rice) wrapped around gummy worms (the fish) and sealed with fruit by the foot (seaweed). I cannot believe I didn’t take a picture of these bad boys. They were so cute and the kids loved them.

Okay, enough about food. Let’s get to the pampering!

Time for facial masks. Katie made them — yogurt, honey and lemon juice. Jacqui is getting into this whole relaxation thing.

Madison….not so much.;)

We made the living room spa-central. There were stations set up all around the room — for manicures, facials, massage (Michael was the designated masseuse, but he chickened out when the time came. I think the girls were okay with that).

The cucumbers did wonders for those bags under their overly exhausted 10-year-old eyes!;)

Then, the girls headed up to the Fruity Feet Pedicure station (also known as the bathroom), where they had a bubbly, jet massaging, pumice scraping pedicure.

After the pedicure, I was working fulltime at the manicure station, doing  Satin Hands manicures, painting nails with globby Claire’s polish (don’t ever buy that stuff). So, not too many pictures at that station. The girls did their own makeup. We had them bring their own…after three rounds of mascara induced pink-eye between Annie & I the past month, we were not sharing the eye stuff. Lesson learned!

Here the girls are laughing at one of my hilarious jokes.:)

I have to give big props to little brother here, who left the girls alone the whole time. Luckily I rented a past season of his favorite TV Show (Survivor) to keep him entertained during the party. He did an awesome job of letting the girls do their thing.

Aspen Academy Father-Daughter Dance

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The photos from the Aspen Academy Father-Daughter Dance are now posted on my website. Here are the instructions for choosing the (2) 5×7’s and (8) wallets that you purchased at the dance. REMEMBER TO CHOOSE TWO 5×7’s WHEN ORDERING!!

  • Go to my website: www.sharikimmeyphotography.com
  • Next, click on ENTER THE SITE.
  • The site will open; click on “CLIENTS” in the lower right portion of the page.
  • Enter the password: aspendad (it is case sensitive)
  • You’ll see a slideshow of all of the pic’s. The photos are in order of when they were taken that evening. So, if you had your pictures taken late in the evening, it’s a good idea to scroll to the end and work backwards.
  • When you see a photo you’d like to order, click “ADD TO CART” in the lower left side of that photo. Remember, if you’ve pre-paid, you have (2) 5×7’s and (8) Wallets to choose (wallets must be of one pose; 5×7’s may be different poses).
  • If you’d like to purchase ADDITIONAL  poses, just add them to the cart.
  • When you have added all of the photos you’d like to order, click on the SHOPPING CART ICON on the bottom right side of the page.
  • Next, for each photo, you’ll need to click “SELECT OPTION OR PACKAGE” and choose the style and size picture you’d like and the quantity. You’ll see the Pre-Paid options listed, at no charge.
  • If you’d like to purchase additional sizes, click “ADD ANOTHER OPTION” on the right side.
  • Click on NEXT, and you will be prompted to enter your email address and name.
  • Click NEXT again, and you’ll see your total.
  • Click COMPLETE ORDER, and you’ll proceed to Paypal. If you opt to purchase additional pictures, you’ll need to enter your credit/debit card and your order will be complete. If you only want to choose your PRE-PAID OPTIONS, just close the Paypal window (it will show you owe $0.00) and your order is complete.

PLEASE PLACE YOUR ORDER BY MONDAY, 3/8. Your pictures will be delivered to your daughter’s class by March 19. (The song playing when you view the gallery is “Cinderella” by Steven Curtis Chapman)

What a treat — I had the pleasure of shooting TWO Father-Daughter Dance events in one week. I had a great time at Aspen Academy’s beautiful school. It was a small, intimate setting, and I had the opportunity to take some group shots, individual’s and some candid’s from the evening. I know all of the dads and daughters that attended had a wonderful evening, and I’m sure this is the first of MANY future Father-Daughter dances at the school.

Thank you so much to Debi Reimers, who is a family friend and neighbor of ours. Her daughters are students at Aspen Academy, and Debi put together this fun event.

I’d like to share a few of my favorite shots from the evening. Let’s start with Debi’s beautiful family:

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I love this shot….the girls are gorgeous in Royal Purple! Isn’t it fun to see the resemblances between dads and daughters?

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This Dad/Daughter win for the most coordinated outfits of the evening. Aren’t they striking?

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I just ADORE all of the PINK! It looks great on you too, Dad. I always buy my husband pink shirts.:)

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You can just feel the love in this shot. It give me chills….hope you like it, Dad.

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Adorable smiles!

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This lucky dad has three daughters. First, here’s a shot of him with one of his pretty girls.

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Here’s the whole gang. I have a feeling Dad’s gonna frame this one!;)

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These two were so cute to watch. They were inseparable the whole evening, and I don’t think he stopped dancing…so great.

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I enjoyed this family so much. When I took this shot, I told them they were such a striking family….no joke, huh? (Isabelle, I still want your sequined hat!):D

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Last, but not least, one of several candid shots I captured from the action on the dance floor. Go girls GO!

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Thanks so much to the families at Aspen Academy! If you need any help with ordering, please email me or call me at 720-971-6685.

M o r e   i n f o