Crazy BEAUTIFUL Model Portfolio Build | Portrait Photography Denver

Seriously?! There's nothing I can possibly add in words to make this photo session (in my studio) any more dreamy than it IS... so just enjoy the photos of this stunning young woman! Sarah, your acting talent makes me cry, you are beautiful inside and out, and I LOVE PHOTOGRAPHING YOU!!

And finally... Sarah and her gorgeous mom. Not hard to see where that beauty comes from!

Model Portfolio Build | Denver Portrait Photographer

I never realized how much I'd enjoy the "directing" part of a photo shoot. It's a huge part of making this all work successfully -- learning to work with people to make them comfortable (which often means pushing their own comfort zones), especially if they have never been photographed or modeled before.

This was just such a session. Hans had just been signed by Wilhelmina Denver and needed an entire portfolio build, having never been photographed before. When you look at these photos, that's just plain amazing right?? We had SUCH a great time; he was open, took direction well, moved through poses and -- can I just say -- he took GREAT photos!

I'm really excited for his modeling ventures and hope to photograph him again soon!

Speechless | Portrait Photographer Denver

So, I'm going through a set of stunning photos from a photo shoot in my studio yesterday and just HAD to share this glimpse of the process, as I'm DYING at how gorgeous they all are! It was one of those days where everything just clicked... the light, the conversation, and most of all, this absolutely beautiful young woman -- gorgeous and so talented, inside and out!

Above is an iPhone shot of my monitor, of a straight out of camera shot which I converted to black and white in Instagram (if you're on Instagram, come say hello @merrittphoto!) just because I was curious... The result took my breath away!

Sarah's awesome mom took these pictures of my assistant (and son) and me doing our thing, which I just love! And the final shot below is a phone picture by my boy (I'm loving his over-the-lens, behind-the-scenes shots!).

Behind the Scenes | Denver Portrait Photographer

Had my amazing assistant capture a few iphone snapshots while working yesterday in the studio with another gorgeous new head shot / portrait client.

So much lovely light!!

Always fun to share photos -- honestly it's one of my favorite feelings in the world to SHOW someone how beautiful they are!!














And thanks to my assistant (my son, and great photographer in his own right!) for the creative behind the scenes photos -- I just love this next one!

Behind the Scenes: The Contact Sheet | Denver Portrait Photographer

What a blast I had photographing a new male model this weekend in my studio! He had the goal of building his portfolio for a modeling agency, and had never been professionally photographed before, but clearly, he's a natural! Directing his shoot was a breeze and am just loving this preliminary collection -- so impressed with his variety of expression and ease with posing.

And can I just take another moment to say how much I love all of the opportunity ripe for the taking in and around this studio!? Just found that graffiti wall wandering around this weekend. Good stuff.

Should be noted that these photos are completely UNedited -- after the shoot I take the set from several hundred photos down to a set that is manageable for a client to make their final image selections, then all retouching will happen on those.

Enjoy this glimpse behind the scenes, and come check out the Merritt Design Photo portrait and head shot studio for yourself sometime!

Portrait Shoot in my NEW STUDIO! { Denver High School Senior Photographer }

Ali and I had an absolute BLAST workin' it in this session.

First of all, how STUNNING is this amazing young woman?!

But what makes it even better is that she was just as excited as I was to experience the session as something empowering and fun; to explore the grounds of the factory where my studio is located, to feel the amazing light, and to express her beautiful depth... and together we discovered some pure photo MAGIC.

I am so lucky to get to do this! And I am super grateful to have found this studio, as the grounds are truly special -- natural light pouring in and bouncing everywhere, authentically vintage (an historic cotton mill!) and endlessly inspiring.