​We tried something different last week: playing with water and light in our studio Enjoy the Moment Portraits (ETMPortraits.com). My daughter volunteered to be the model. Although she is not a professional model, she was brave enough to be a part of my water and light project. I also borrowed my husband from his Zoom office work and my younger daughter to be a part of it. Their job was to spill water on the model. I told my model to focus on me and nothing else. It was very hard for the model to concentrate solely on the lens while she was being hit by water from two directions. Initially, she kept closing her eyes and but eventually, she perfected it. The objective was to freeze the water splash action and her facial expression simultaneously. Here are few behind the scene photographs of one perfect shot.

Meet Caroline, a talented tennis player. I did her portrait session with a few ideas in mind. During our first meeting, we got to learn more about each other. In addition, we exchanged ideas and discussed wardrobe choice and location. The first part of the session occurred in the studio where I captured Caroline's favorite tennis moves. The whole set was designed to complement the color of her uniform. The second part of the session took place in a field dotted with bluebonnets. It was windy but sunny. Caroline was relaxed and looked beautiful in her summer outfit. Because her mom was also dressed up in blue, I couldn't help but ask her to join Caroline at the end. Here are some of my favorites from the session along with a couple behind-the-scene shots:

​The session took place as Marisa Dodson was getting prepared for her 2020 FFA show. She had been showing since sixth grade and this year, she was representing Bridgeland High School with her lamb Dakota. She earned 1st place in weight, 3rd overall, and was a reserved champion. What an amazing achievement! It was a wonderful session with Marisa. We saw her passion and dedication to Dakota which was very impressive. Marisa wanted a session of her own and also with Dakota before she took her to the show, so we decided to split the session into two days. First, we did the outdoor session only with Marisa at her home. The second day was with both Marisa and Dakota.  Both sessions went very well, as we planned out what to wear and all the other fine details. We decided to stay outdoors, and that ended up being for the best. We also took portraits at her barn where Marisa spent quite a bit time feeding Dakota. Here are few of my favorite shots: 

I'm sure that some of you are eager to try your hand at refreshing your color at home. I'm not so confident doing it home, but looking into ideas of Hair color or styles. It won't be great idea to head to the Saloon when business starts beginning of May. We surely can get inspired for the dye jobs to come in reality once this whole virus thing is over.
For inspiration -
Priyanka Chopra's hair has two shades of brown mixed in. It is Chocolate Truffle, a combination of warmer and cooler brunette tones together. The color tone complements her warmer skin tone and eye color. If you’re looking for a change this year but don’t want to take hair color dye too extreme like me, maybe you should consider this happy medium.
Natural blonde Emma Stone's signature hair-color is Red with a shade of strawberry blonde. It’s deeper, redder, and has a glimpse of copper tone that compliments her pale skin and green eyes.
Aishwarya Rai Bachchan carries off the dark hue of brown. it enriches her overall appearance to another level. If you too are inspired to try out this look with short layers and look your best, think about it!
Julianne Moore is another redhead little different than Emma Stone. It is more and darker red, richer and more opaque. It goes well on her pinker, warmer skin tone.
Personally, I love the darker tone which is chocolate brown on hair. I might go little wild and try darker purple for variations in the future.

The images are collected for World Wide Web. If you want to explore more colors and hair style, go to allure.com and type best hair style and color. Get inspired ladies!!

While we practicing social distancing at home, maybe it is a better time to break out your best jigsaw puzzles. While we want to stay in the loop, watching or reading the news and being on social media for too long can be emotionally draining. The puzzles and board games are two of the best ways to get off your phone and stay in the present during a chaotic time like this one — Maybe you never enjoyed doing puzzle, but all this free time indoors could be what it takes to change your mind.

Best 500 Piece Puzzle 
The joy of puzzles with Bob Ross - $20 PBS ​

Best Challenging Puzzle - Ravensburger 3000-Piece Antique Map Puzzle $51 (Bed, Bath and Beyond)

Best Stress Relieving Puzzle - Areaware Gradient Puzzle $25  Urban Outfitters

Best Pattern Puzzle - Dusen Dusen Pattern Puzzle $27 NYC

Best Mini Puzzle -Areaware Little Puzzle Thing $15 Urban Outfitters

Best Unconventional puzzle -Don’t Lose Heart Jigsaw Puzzle $8 (NOW On sale) Puzzle Shopbop

Best Fine Art Puzzle -Hokusai Great Wave Puzzle $20 The Met Museum

​Best Double-Sided Puzzle - Frank Lloyd Wright Guggenheim 2-sided Puzzle $16 Guggenheim Store

Best Disney Puzzle- 3D Disney Castle Puzzles $70 Barnes & Noble  

​Best 3D Crystal Puzzle -Bepuzzled Original 3D Crystal Puzzle
$11 Amazon

Best Anime Puzzle- 1000 Piece Sailor Moon Puzzle $47 Amazon

Best 1000-Piece Puzzle - New York Puzzle Company $22 Amazon

Best Wellness-Inspired -Puzzle Yoga Jigsaw Puzzle $17 Iwoot

​Best Instagram-Worthy Puzzle - Forbidden Fruit 1000 Piece Jigsaw Puzzle
$36 Piecework

Best 2000 Piece Puzzle - Grandma's Chintz 2,000 Piece Jigsaw Puzzle
$30 Always Fits

Best Glow in the Dark Puzzle - Keith Haring Glow-In-The-Dark Puzzle
$12 Pop Shop Best Set of 2 Puzzles

Daily Special Set of Two Shaped - Jigsaw Puzzle
$20  Galison
​
Best Scenic Puzzle - Paris in a Day 1000 Piece Rectangle Puzzle
$22  Eeboo  

Stay safe and healthy!
​Sonia A

Here is Gabi, who was 14 at that time. Gaby's mom, Alma, was looking for a dress for her daughter's 8th grade formal. After Alma chose a dress, we set up a short meeting where we discussed a few things at my studio. I already knew Gaby from the volleyball team I once coached: she was gentle, kind hearted and willing to learn new things. I care about knowing my clients in order to create a personable session. For her shoot, I needed to decide which color compliments her skin tone and her dress as well. By using the right color scheme, posing, and lighting, we created images that capture Gaby's beauty and elegance. Here are some favorites from our session.  

​Sonia Ahmad
Portrait Artist
Cypress, TX

Brittany and I had a great time during her portrait sessions. Her session was planned out right before her gradutaion from Texas A&M last December 2019. We did both indoor and outdoor portrait session to complete an album. She is very natural when it comes to posing both casual and formal. During our pre-session conultation in our studio, we discussed to go with solid white backdrop, since she will be wearing a complete white suit. She looked very pretty and excited about her upcoming session . After one hour of indoor shoot, we headed out to her campus and yes, the timing was just perfect. We loved the afternoon sun shining as our background light. Here are some of my favorites to share with you all.