To become something great | Amber Tyler | Senior Portrait Photographer

When I was younger, I can very well remember a conversation I had with my great grandmother right before she passed away. She was my great grandmother from my father's side of the family. I didn't know her very well, but I thought very highly of her because of all the great stories I had heard of the things she had done in her life. She was a wise woman, with a big heart, and was strong willed. The conversation went a lot like this.. She pulled me close to her face to tell me something important. She whispered in my ear that she loved me and told me that I would become something great. I felt like Pocahontas approaching Grandmother Willow in the Disney movie. I had been told that I would become something great. Someone much wiser and older believed in me. But, she didn't tell me how or when I would become something great. From that moment on, I was destined to figure it out. I also grew up with a Father that instilled the belief in me that anything is possible and to always dream and to dream big. So add that on top of someone wise and influential telling me I would be great, well you can see how I would become frustrated when it didn't just automatically happen. I know it sounds silly, but I imagined never failing in life. Boy was I wrong. I have always been into the Arts and was very involved in music and photography. I got to help be an aid for the photography teacher, and taking photos and having them developed was always my favorite part of vacation. I didn't really think photography could be my profession though. I was in choir in middle school as well as high school. Our high school had a reputation of being one of the best, we were always in the top 3 at state competitions. I also taught piano to people of all ages, and just knew it was what I was destined to do. I was going to be a musician. Then we relocated to Clarkston, WA. Let's just say I was no longer at the top of my game. I became a nobody, the new kid. I had no piano, and the choir here didn't feel like my choir family I had back home.

In case you haven't already figured it out, life does not always go as planned. In fact it rarely goes as planned. After I graduated high school I honestly had no clue what I wanted to do or become.  I still felt this pressure though of needing to become something great. After some years, getting married, and 3 kids later, I decided going to school for something would be better than nothing. So I started college at Lewis Clark State College to go for Business Management with Accounting emphasis. No one in my immediate family had gone to college, so I was feeling pretty great for at least taking that step. I thought to myself, well accountants make pretty good money and are respected as a profession, why not?! Well I found out why not, it just wasn't for me. I loved learning more about business, but I am just not destined to become an accountant. I craved having art in my life again. Then my husband bought me my own camera. Growing up, my family did not have a lot of money at all, so all the cameras I had used in the past were borrowed from the school, or they were regular cheap film cameras. I remember when my husband got me my first DSLR. It was.. yes you guessed it.. a Cannon Rebel. I was on cloud 9. I took pictures of everything. I finally had something I could do again that was me. Something just for me. I still didn't feel like I was on a path of becoming something great though. 

After a year into my photography business, I felt that there must be something more to it. I was happy, I was shooting everything under the sun, but still felt I needed more depth. During the end of summer last year (2012) some incidents happened in our family changing everything. My parents hit a rough patch in finances and lost their home. They were forced to move back to Oregon to stay with my grandparents until their current finance issues allowed them to get back on their feet. In the meantime, my brother was approaching his senior year of high school in the middle of all this. They did not want to make him move right before senior year. He had already lost his home and they did not want to take away everything he had known. We agreed to let him live with me. Something amazing happened during this time. Before this, we didn't really have a close relationship because he was only 11 when I moved out of the house and we just had separate lives. We have been forced to rely on each other. During this time we have been faced with many trials, including hospitalizing our mother for psychosis caused by extreme depression and PTSD.

Through it all I had watched my brother truly grow throughout his senior year and become an amazing person. He had inherited a deep understanding of people in general and became ambitious in making a difference in the lives around him. I got to be involved in many of his senior activities which helped lead me to doing senior portraits. I have been completely blown away by this group of youth. Every senior I have worked with has had dreams and goals and has wanted to make an impact in this world. And through all of this, and through working with these amazing teens, I figured it out. I figured out that what my great grandmother meant by me becoming something great had nothing to do with my profession, and everything to do with my influence. I also found what it was that I was missing so much in my business and in my passion. I have had the answers in front of me for years now. I am passionate about my family, life change, about making a difference. Whether it is just making someone smile, or if it is something bigger. I want to pass this on and show the youth that being great is all about our actions towards others and by our every day attempts to be the best possible version of ourselves. This is why I have chosen to specialize in Senior Portraits.

Here are some photos from the year. No they are not all my best high quality photos, most are iphone pics. But they were in the moment. 

                    I got to help with DECA. A program available to help the youth with business skills.

                                                               Many soccer games..

                                                                          Prom!!

                                                     
                                                                     School plays

{Corey and Kyha} | Amber Tyler | Wedding and Portrait Photographer | Clarkston WA

From the moment I first met Corey and Kyha I knew I wanted to photograph them. They are just the cutest couple! When I found out that they were going to be moving to New York this summer, I asked them if they would like to do a fun bride and groom session before they left.. and of course their answer was yes! I knew it would end up being a perfect session. They are both fun, outgoing, people that just exude joy and happiness. I wish them luck on their new adventures to come in New York and know that they will bless the lives of all those that they meet. Here is a look at the photos we captured! Enjoy!

-Amber

Amber Tyler | Portrait and Wedding Photographer | Clarkston WA | Lewiston ID | Genesee ID


Vendors for this photo shoot include:
Jade Vine Design Co. {Flowers}
Krumbs {Cupcakes}
Hair and Make up done by: Charlene Lichti 

Embracing Motherhood | Amber Tyler | Photographer | Genesee, ID

I had the honor of being the one to capture these beautiful moments between a mother and her Daughter. Bethany booked this session as a Mother's day gift for herself and wanted to make it special. It started out by having her make up done by our friend (and client of mine) Charlene. Charlene is an awesome make up artist and has the coolest accent because she is from Ireland. I love cool accents. Bethany's make up looked awesome and when she got to see herself when it was finished she said it was the first time she felt like she looked like a woman instead of looking so young. I could tell she felt great. After make up was done we started our adventure of a photo shoot.

I had decided I wanted to do the shoot up in Genesee, ID. where she was getting her make up done. I hadn't shot in this location before, but I thought it would be fun to just go around a find random locations to use. We started right across the street from Charlene's house, in a beautiful field. All of a sudden saw a man walking a dog coming up the road. The dog ran over to us, as happy as can be, and decided to- I kid you not- pee on the crate Bethany was sitting on! Thankfully she moved over in time and was able to avoid getting peed on...lol.. 

We then set out to find a location for the next part of our shoot.. This part was going to be more intimate so we needed to find something secluded. After driving around for about 10 minutes or so we found an opening in a fence to a field on the side of the road that would work perfectly. Bethany really wanted to capture some images of her breast feeding her baby girl, Sienna. She also expressed how good it feels to accept and love the body she has now that she is a mother. 

And of course, even on a quiet street that seems to have no traffic, we had many cars drive by and even a dust cropper (plane) flew over us! Thankfully we had plenty of blankets on hand to cover up with. 

The whole feel of this session was all about embracing motherhood and loving the body that you have been given and the changes that motherhood brings. Bethany had expressed that she used to have a lot of the same body image issues that a lot of women deal with, and that becoming a mother has helped her embrace her body and  now she has a new confidence that hasn't been there before.

Amber Tyler | Photographer | Portrait |

Self Image and Confidence | Boudoir | Amber Tyler | Photographer

A while back I posted on my facebook page asking ladies to chime in and tell me what it is about doing a boudoir or glamour shoot that scares them. I got a ton of response and it inspired me to write a blog post to help clarify exactly how I do boudoir and why I love it.

One of the main responses was poor self image or low self esteem. I know most of you have seen the Dove videos that have been circulating the internet, the ones about how we see ourselves so differently than how the rest of the world sees us. Most of the time we are way harder on ourselves and believe things about ourselves that just aren't true. We as women obsess over our imperfections while ignoring the parts that are beautiful and are what the majority of people see.

Another question I asked shortly after this one, was for ladies to tell me what they consider is most beautiful about a woman. It was no surprise that the majority of answers included confidence. That a woman that is confident is way sexier or more beautiful than a skinny body or large boobs, or any other image society portrays as "the image we all want to have". So here is what I am finding.. we have a large amount of women that are afraid to step in front of the camera because of poor self image because they think they have an imperfect body.. Yet we seem to agree that being confident is what beauty and being sexy is all about. There's a disconnect here. What we are saying and how we are feeling aren't matching up.

Here is how I look at it- and some may not agree, but here we go. I believe that a good belief in your own self image and confidence go hand in hand. Really, how easy is it to have confidence if you feel like you are ugly? We all know that you aren't, but you have to love yourself before you can exude confidence. That's when we go back to how we see ourselves and how others see us. Try as hard as you can to set aside your fears and insecurities just for a day and try to see yourself the way that people love you, see you. Many of my fans have children.. Moms, think of how amazing your children think you are, why should you think of yourself as anything less than amazing?

Why I love glamour and boudoir- I am able to for just a moment get rid of all of your self doubt and insecurities. My goal is to create images that just show you how others really see you. Your beautiful self. Yes you get to get all dolled up with professional make up and have your hair done, that isn't to make you look different, that is to show you that I want you to have the best possible experience and not worry about if you did your make up or hair right, or if that blemish or under eye baggies will show up on the pictures. I want you to come in knowing your photos will be amazing and you will always remember this experience. I am sure once you do see how beautiful you really are, you can't help but have more confidence.

Amber Tyler | Portrait Photographer | Lewiston ID | Clarkston WA

Getting in touch with Nature | Amber Tyler | Photographer | Boudoir

I found this beautiful bed at a yard sale a long time ago, and ever since then I have had this image in my mind of using it for a beautiful, outdoor boudoir session. It took us a 45 minute drive to the location, quite a bit of hiking through grass almost as tall as us, lots of patience from my husband since he had to tag along to set up the bed (and then wait in the truck while the shoot was going on lol), and lots of bug bites and sweat to make this shoot happen. BUT it was worth all of that! Nicole and I had so much fun. Definitely won't ever forget this session.

Nicole is thankfully an outdoors type of girl, I guess you could say the perfect client for me. She wasn't afraid to get out into the woods for the sake of the perfect picture. The pictures below are exactly what I had envisioned when I first purchased the bed. Serene, peaceful, beautiful, and tasteful. While the location was breath taking, Nicole's beauty still out shown it all.