roadkillgirl

I’ve had the privilege of working with Jess Stalder (proprietor of FLY Photography) for a couple of years now and it’s been more than rewarding. Jess specializes in senior portraits (high school seniors) and her vision is to offer young women a lifestyle, fashion photo shoot using current trends to represent their personalty. That’s where I come in.

When you work with Jess, be prepared for every tiny detail to be exquisite! She always hosts a pre-party to introduce the idea to new clients and get the girls excited about modeling. When we met over coffee to brainstorm and plan this year’s gala, we decided to go with a gold theme. Jess wanted it to be a red-carpet-like event, so the girls felt like celebrities. And it was!

Each girl came dressed in her favorite LBD (little black dress for those of you who are new to fashion lingo). When they arrived, we applied gold, temporary tattoos and accessorized them with jewelry from Roadkill Ranch & Boutique. Barbara (one of our stylists) and I set up a fabulous table of bling. Gold pieces with big jewels, lots of rhinestones and plenty of glitter were on loan to the FLY Girl celebrities for the night. We gave all of the jewelry fancy names like, “Billion Dollar Baby” and “Diamond Doll” (to name a few), and had a check list of who wore what. We also rolled out a social media contest and had prizes and swag bags to boot.

The party was held at the loft studios of EMP Photography (the coolest place in town). Thanks Joel! And Jess didn’t miss a beat with her attention to detail. From the decorations, to the gold-embossed napkins, to the gold sugar-rimmed mock-tails, it was definitely the soiree of the year!

After they book their photo session, the girls get to come down to Roadkill Ranch & Boutique a few days prior to the shoot to pick out whatever they want to wear. We help stylize them with accessories and handbags (they bring their own shoes). On the day of the shoot, Jess brings in a professional hair and makeup crew to prepare the models for their lifestyle photos. (So much better than a typical, blue cloud backdrop.)

Jess captures the personalties of her clients well as she makes them feel comfortable in their own skin. FLY stands for freeing the lovely you. What a great way to send a young woman off into the world with confidence and self esteem for her next chapter in life. I love working with Jess, I love seeing the models empowered after a shoot, I love anything that has to do with making people feel good about themselves. Thank you Jess for freeing the lovely you; you are a true goddess.

For more information and to book a lifestyle photo shoot with Jess, visit her website at http://www.freethelovelyyou.com.

The first pic is the lovely Jessica Stalder.

The second pic is of the fabulous event napkins Jess had made.

The rest of the pics are of the models donning their Roadkill Ranch & Boutique clothing, accessories and handbags.

From top to bottom: Audrey, Britney, Celeste, Dominique, Emily, Macy, Paige, and Daisy.

PS The green dress was a popular choice.

Photo Credit: Jess Stalder at FLY Photography.

Hair and Makeup by Bree Yi and the Grand Salon in Brea.