Amanda Metzger Tuominen – Denver Photographer for Women

“All I can be is me. Whoever that may be.” -Bob Dylan

 

I had the pleasure of photographing Amanda for the third time.  Amanda is one of my brides from 2013.  Amanda and Neil had a beautiful wedding on July 26, 2013 at Chautauqua Park in Boulder.  After the wedding Amanda gave me a thank you card that I still have today, and read it often.  I would say that Amanda’s words are in of the top 5 reasons why I have ventured into women’s portraiture.

Elise was with me for their wedding.  As we were driving away, Elise pulled out the card and read it.  After she read it, I had to pull over for a minute.  Amanda told me that I made her feel beautiful, and that brought the most beautiful happy tears to my eyes.  It was shortly after that note, I knew I had to photograph her again.  As I began studying women’s portraiture and learning how to create a modern portrait, Amanda has been on my list to be a model.

She like all of us has reservations about having her photo taken.  When I asked her what her reservations were she admitted that being plus size is a concern for her in photography.  Nobody wants their insecurities to be highlighted, you want what makes you feel strong to be showcased.  What media shows us isn’t even real. Even the already thin models are stretched and contorted to be unreal.  When the rest of the 99.9% of real women see these unreal photoshopped images we tear ourselves down.

The first time I photographed Amanda I felt she was very comfortable with the camera, which is one of the many reasons she photographs so well.

 

 Amanda is a teacher, but would love to open a bakery and donate to pit bull rehabilitation.  After she went off to college her mom began fostering pit bulls, which is when Amanda fell in love with them.  She has two of them, Arabella and Beezly, and they were part of the wedding.  I remember as it was time for the dogs to walk down the aisle one could not help herself but to chase a squirrel. That pup really wanted that squirrel as her wedding favor.  It made everyone die laughing!  There are photos at the bottom of the post of the dogs at the wedding.  Amanda should let us all know whether it was Arabella or Beezly who was barking up the squirrel tree.

Amanda has these beautiful green eyes that draw you in.  Green happens to be her favorite color, which was the color in her wedding, and having it in July meant it was all over.

Here is a photo of her baby girl at the wedding drooling over that squirrel.  So not part of the plan, as you see this is where we had our equipment stashed for the ceremony.   Definitely brought laugher to all of us.

 

 

I love to make women feel good about themselves, and that is what being a Denver Photographer for Women is all about.  If you are interested in a session please feel free to email me or give me a call.

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