Professional Headshots at home } Davis and Isabella Bunn

I have so much fun meeting so many different and interesting people through my work!  I really love that part and learn so much from all of you! Lately, things have been especially interesting as I’ve had this incredible mix of professionals in my path. From doctors to authors, sand sculpters to architects, there has not been a dull moment the past couple months! I hate to ever complain about being busy because I know it’s a blessing but I’ve had to put the breaks on new bookings for a few weeks because the calendar is as full as I can handle and I  have this enormous work load of galleries, orders and business stuff and I know from experience that the only way to stay on top of it is to slow down on new work!  Kristi Webb, who many of you are getting to know, has been working with AGP since January and is simply AMAZING. I am left wondering how I ever survived a day without her!  Soon, she’ll be writing her own “column” for the blog and I can’t wait!  During this busy time I’ve had to put a few fun announcements on the back burner. I have several published magazine spreads to share with you, the updated shots from the Extreme Makeover Home Edition (the interior!), my work for the Brevard ARt Museum’s Alter Ego Contest (AGP won first place!) and the most exciting thing EVER: The Legacy Project is finished, the informational materials being designed and printed and soon a whole new page of the website dedicated just to sharing this amazing new option with you!  More details on those things are coming soon, but for now I am a gallery/blogging/order-completion-machine.

Soooooo…. I had the pleasure of meeting with Davis and Isabella Bunn in their Melbourne Beach home a couple weeks ago.  The classic and pristine residence oozed intelligence.  As I walked in I wasn’t sure whether to take my shoes off in order to protect the creamy plush carpeting (which had vacuum lines in it by the way) or to leave them on in case taking them off would actually be the entirely wrong thing to do or to throw caution to the wind and lie down and make snow angels.  Davis is an author who has sold more than six million books. Before becoming an author, he had a career in international business and has lived abroad for the majority of his adult life. And he surfs. You can read more about him here. His wife Isabella is an international lawyer and Christian ethicist as well as a professor at FIT. I hope you can understand now why every bit of intelligence I thought I had (1250 on my SAT – not bad right?) flew OUT THE BIG BEAUTIFUL OCEANFRONT WINDOWS.  Suddenly the mere opening of my mouth resulted in complete nonsense. Several times I had to just remind myself to stop talking.  It’s funny because I don’t feel this way very often.  Here’s the thing… I wanted to be a lawyer from probably 2nd grade until high school when I had the absurd idea that social work might be a better way to go. (I didn’t consider a career as a photographer until college.)  I also have a huge respect for published authors and love writing! (Davis please don’t read this post. Stop now and spare yourself further grammatical and spelling nightmares.)   And, as much as I love a beautiful, clean home, with oil paintings sitting on easels and fresh coffee brewing in the kitchen, it is only the coffee part that I’ve been able to accomplish these last few years with three children running around, a dog that drives me crazy and a whole house of furniture I’d like to replace but can’t because, well, back to the part about THREE children under eight years old.  Enough said.  I was out of my element!  Thankfully Davis and Isabella were very kind and refrained from sitting me down, putting a concerned hand on my shoulder and saying anything like “Bless your heart, were you raised in a barn? And by the way, when we told you Davis had published sixty books in twenty years, that is NOT twenty books a year. You poor thing. Please let us help you return to high school and finish.”

We actually had a great time despite my idiot-ness.  Davis needed new professional head shots for his book covers, as did Isabella for various business projects (did I mention she is also published and they have even co-authored books together?)  Plus, while I was there, it just wouldn’t make sense not to capture some fun portraits of them together as a couple. We shot all the head shots inside, but stepped outside onto their private boardwalk for some casual and candid moments.  After we finished shooting, Davis was sweet to give me a couple of his books to read. I could imagine him thinking, “You do read, right?”  I read the first chapter of one of them while I stopped on the way home for a pedicure.  Loved it.

When I got home and told Dana all about the session, he cringed hearing my self-deprecating tale. “Did you ask him to sign the books? he said. You should always ask authors to sign their books.”

“Hmmmm, no?”  I went on to tell him how Isabella was so sweet and kept offering me lemonade, fresh coffee, gin…

So he asks me, “Did you accept?”

“No, I was working honey I didn’t need anything.”

Cringing again, “You should accept when people offer you a drink several times.”  (Then he asked to see the books and I haven’t seen them since.)

Well, I’m hoping they liked me anyway and next time I’ll take the lemonade (and the gin!)

I really love this one.

I loved how the entire garden area on the patio was covered in shells Isabella collected off the beach. I had to bring this shot home to show Mary.

Davis had already signed the books despite my lack of book-signing-etiquette.  Big thanks to Davis and Isabella for putting up with me!