Gearing up to Dive Down

 Summer is rapidly approaching (aka, it's spring in Florida which means it's BASICALLY already summer), and along with that I have several underwater sessions coming up. And I. Am. Stoked.

Revisiting one of my faves from last year as I prep for these ones that are on deck; hey, Sorcha! We miss you and hope you're enjoying NY...whenever you visit, you know we're going back out for another aquatic adventure, right? Okay, great.

(What a babe.)

Underwater Dresses with Jessi

Recently got together with the lovely Jessi for an underwater session, and she was an absolute boss at the (very challenging) task of swimming in a dress in very cold spring water. We had ever so much fun and she did awesome, which means that I had a tough time choosing my favorites from her session!

Jessi being so very awesome and at ease underwater meant that I had a tough time choosing my favorites from her session. She made me work hard to narrow it down!

Thanks for an awesome session, Jessi...you rock!

Ready to book your own aquatic adventure? Drop me a line at hello@rachelsullivanphotography and I'll be happy to help you plan your session!

Underwater Adventures with Molly

 My client and friend Molly does a lot of cosplay and is completely at home in front of a camera. But, she has always harbored (ha, water pun) a dream of being a mermaid and trying her hand (or fins, ha--I'm full of jokes today, apparently) at an underwater session. So we headed up to North Florida a few weeks ago and made her dream a reality.

 

With my trusty Ikelite housing and Gen1 Finfolk Sandy Shoal Green in hand, we jumped into the cold clear water of the famous Florida Springs. She took a few moments in the shallower spots, getting the hang of how to swim in a tail, but before long she was gliding through the blue as if she'd been doing it forever instead of just a few moments.

 

By the time we finished up at the first spot and headed to the second spring we'd be using for the session, Molly was an old pro. It was also adorable watching her happily interact with the many children who kept coming up to her, curious about her wig and makeup and in awe of her tail. Their little shouts of "Look Mom, a MERMAID!" could be heard many times that day. Molly had a blast talking to them, answering their questions, showing off how she could swim, and even letting one of them take a few photos of her with her little camera.

By the end of our session, Molly was right at home, a real mermaid, diving and posing as graceful as could be. We had a wonderful time and I am so stoked with how her album came out!

Until next time, Molly! You're a natural, but knowing what I know of you, that's absolutely no surprise at all. Welcome to the Mermaid Club.

A sneak peek at what's in my editing queue tonight.

Katrina, how are you so perfect?!?

Working on wrapping up my latest session with this luminous being; I simply can't wait to share more from Kat's recent underwater portraits because she's truly incredible, above and below the surface.

Brandon and Serena: Save the Date!

Wrapping up the gallery for these two gorgeous people as they prep for their upcoming wedding--dealing with an unexpected temperature drop above the surface and the chill below the water with them for their engagement portraits was so very cold but so much fun, and they were absolute troopers despite the challenges Florida threw their way. Totally worth it for a session this awesome!







Congrats to this beautiful, fun, happy, intrepid couple. Thanks for letting me be a part of your story!

Hello, Fall!

Autumn has arrived! Which is to say, it has arrived as much as it ever does in Florida. We are still sweltering in the 90+ degree temperatures and keeping an eye on the tropics, so essentially, it's business as usual here in Sunny Florida.

Tons going on here as we wind down from our summer events and sessions and kick off all the fun of fall, including a handful of weddings, a bunch of portraits, our annual Halloween mini sessions, HHN, and even an underwater session here and there. (Now, THERE'S the benefit to the everlasting summer...we don't have to worry about running out of chances to shoot outside or in water, which is a silver lining to the crazy heat that I will absolutely take!) I'm in final stages of booking for the very last spots we have open for 2019 and just about full for the Santa Jim mini session event dates, so if you haven't yet secured your date or if you've been meaning to reach out to book, time is growing shorter and shorter and your chances are dwindling!

While I play catch-up on some editing and gear up for the true zany nature of this most busy time of the year, enjoy some of my faves from a few of our recent sessions and weddings. Much more to come soon, and as always, stay tuned to our Facebook and Instagram for more photos and info as autumn rolls on!





















Happy fall, y'all!

Goddess

Got to spend a day with this beautiful momma-to-be at one of my favorite places last week, and I think this single sneak peek speaks for itself.



Katrina is just stunning, and she's a warm, funny, wonderful person through and through, so getting to help her and Jeremy as they prepare to welcome their sweet baby girl was an absolute honor. Also, can I just talk for a moment about how much of a boss babe Kat was during this session? Crazy cold water, flowing currents, and the challenge of managing her flowy gorgeous dress while looking completely serene? Wowza. I was blown away by how awesome she was and can't wait to share more from her session!

Kit-Kat, Patience Buckner, Mama Katrina...you're beyond incredible. I can't wait for little Miss Kennedy Aurora to arrive, and I know that you and Jeremy are going to be the best parents ever.

(Also, many thanks to two of the most esteemed members of my Mermafia for coming along and helping me with this session; Allison and Cassie, thanks for being there for this and for your help with safety, pose assistance, and fabric wrangling. You ladies are the best and I appreciate you.)

Congrats, Katrina and Jeremy...counting the days until Kennedy's debut!

Zany Week, April 12th Edition

Hey, y'all! Checking in. Spring has sprung hard over here at Ye Olde RSP Industries (not my actual business name but it sounds kinda cool, right?) and I feel like I've been running like an unstoppable maniac for the last week and change. Since last Saturday, I've had...


—5 portrait sessions

—2 headshot sessions

—A camping trip that included an underwater maternity session (and it was so so awesome!)

—2 other underwater sessions with a couple of super rad new models

—1 engagement session

—2 venue walk-throughs with upcoming wedding couples to nail down specifics for their events

—1 planning meeting with a brand new wedding couple

—Working on deposits and set planning for the Halloween minis

—Just an insane amount of editing and a handful of print orders

—Appointment planning for the next 5 weeks, which will contain 15 portraits, 4 engagement sessions, 2 weddings, at least 7 underwater sessions, and a whole mess of editing and post-production

—Not nearly enough sleep (which is nothing new, really)


It has been a crazy handful of days. I feel like I haven’t stopped moving since last Saturday. Wooooof.


But man, do I love my job.


Thanks to everyone who makes this weird wonderful wacky life of mine possible. I have the best clients in the world and I never forget that for a second!


Head down and soldiering on...although I'm hoping to grab a nap tomorrow in between sessions and editing and my paltry attempt at a social life. Ha!

Fortune Favors the Bold

Fortune favors the bold.

It’s what I say to myself whenever I need a kick in the pants, when I'm hesitating on something, or when I'm about to plunge into water, be it dark, deep, mysterious, or most often, just really really freakin' cold. And I said it to myself two years ago today, when I pulled the trigger and bought my very own underwater photography gear.

I had dabbled with the underwater photography thing before this, but I had always rented the gear and had never gathered the nerve to take the plunge (ha ha, water joke) and make the substantially expensive investment of buying the equipment for myself. It wasn't a small amount of money and it's kind of a niche type of photography, so while I've always been really at home in the water, and while I'd long admired underwater photography, I hadn't seriously thought of pursuing it. Cut to January of 2016; my friend Jessica Dunbar, an amazing artist who I admire, asked me if I would help her with a series of paintings she had in mind by shooting reference photos of models underwater for her. That lit a fire under me, because I wanted to do a good job for her, even though I said to her very plainly at the meeting where we first talked about it, "I've done some underwater, but not very much. I might suck at this." (She laughed and told me she had faith in me.) We planned dates and locations and worked together to find our first set of models, and the Mermaid Project was born. Two years ago today, after our first couple of mermaid/underwater modeling days and after renting the equipment multiple times, I finally decided that I wanted to buy the housing and own it for myself, which would open up a whole new world for me and a new focus for my business.

So I sat down in my office, fired up my computer, and I priced it all out.

Eep.

I hemmed and hawed. A lot. Then I hemmed and hawed some more. Finally, I went down the hall to Brendan’s office, totally freaked out, and told him what I had planned and illuminated for him the decently large amount of dollars it was going to take. I finished talking and waited, thinking he would laugh at me or tell me that it wasn't a good idea. But, in keeping with his title as Best Husband Ever, and true to his constant unblinking support of everything I do, and in line with his calm and steadfast encouragement when it comes to my various wacky schemes and cockamamie business ventures, he grinned and said, “Do it. I know you and you can get really good at this, and if you own the equipment, you'll have the freedom to really go for it and not be stuck having to rent it whenever you want to shoot underwater stuff. Just go order the equipment before you talk yourself out of it.”

So I cried a little, and then I ordered it. And right as I went to the final order review screen, I whispered to myself,

"Fortune favors the bold"

and I hit "complete order". Boom. Done.

I haven’t regretted it. Not for a second.

I get that two years might not seem like much, but I feel like the pressure I have put on myself to make this whole thing worth it has been...well, worth it, I guess? I feel like I’ve grown pretty darn fast in this realm. Am I the best? Heavens, no. I have tons of room to grow in this and it has been the most challenging thing I've attempted in my career thus far. I am really really hard on myself, but it feels like this is paying off, and I think (I hope?) that I'm continuing to make my clients feel gorgeous and that I'm keeping them happy. As much as I have my own nagging self doubt and for as many times during learning and experimenting with shooting underwater that I've said to myself, "man, this is harder than I thought it would be", I have a lot that makes me want to keep going. I have a growing influx of lovely folks who want to book me for their own aquatic adventures. I have constant inspiration from Jessica and her art, and whenever she gets started on a painting based on a photo I've given her, I sit here thinking, "Hey! I helped!". Moreover, I am beyond lucky to have the fervent, funny, and unwavering support from my own little Mermafia; they lend me their faces, tails, pools, and participation when I need to test new equipment or add to my portfolio, they're always down for an adventure out into the wilds of Florida, and maybe best of all, they never complain or hesitate when it comes to diving right into the water with me, even when it's so cold that it makes all of us go, "Whyyyyyy are we doing this? We could have stayed up on the deck where it's warm!!!" And of course, I have Brendan, who never questions me or lets me question myself. He's always there to remind me that things will be okay when I’m doubting myself and that I need to quit fretting and just let things flow.

TL: DR; underwater photography is sometimes scary, always challenging, and super rewarding, and I’m addicted now. Because, damn, y'all, more than anything? It's just ever so much fun.

Life is the bubbles and I'm a lucky lucky girl.

Surf and Turf

We're coming up to the end of our first contest of the year, Surf and Turf. I'm so stoked to be able to give out not just one but TWO free sessions as we get into 2018! For this contest, one lucky winner will be selected for the 'surf', scoring an underwater session, and our second recipient will be chosen for the 'turf' regular portrait session. I can't wait to see who wins...we'll be doing the random drawings for both sessions tomorrow evening!



Want to try your luck and enter to win? Just drop us a line at rsullivanphotography@gmail.com or send us a message on our Facebook page (facebook.com/rachelsullivanphotography) and let us know if you're entering for surf, turf, or both. You can't win both but you CAN enter for both and double your chances of being selected for one or the other! Just make sure your entries are in by 11:59pm on Friday February 2nd and you'll be in the drawing!



Questions? Give us a shout, and good luck to all who have entered!

Club Mermaid

The Mermaid Project is rolling along. And oh my stars, I am having ever so much fun with it!

Our latest mermaid sessions have been utterly fantastic. Getting my feet wet (ha ha) with underwater photography has been an unyielding and terrifying adventure. But being surrounded by a talented group of models, artists, and friends who have been more than patient and endlessly willing to quite literally jump in with me as I learn and work? Wow. I couldn't ask for more.

I often ask myself how it is that I got so lucky to be surrounded by such a wonderful group of people who continually support me as I grow and who are always willing to help with my experimentation and shenanigans. This project has been no exception to that rule.

I'm still sorting through what we got during our second set of mermaid sessions, and I'm super jazzed for the next round of photos for this project and beyond as my underwater skills develop. I can't wait to share more, and while every trip into the water with my beloved cameras is scary, it's a good kind of scary, because it rattles me out of my normal comfort zone. If you're an artist or a creative-type person of any persuasion, you understand how important it is to find something that challenges you and shakes you out of what you consider normal and safe. For me, that thing is underwater photography. I am taking my profession and my knowledge and (eeeep) my gear into an environment that pushes me past the boundaries of what I've classically been doing, and despite the fact that it is scary, I am so in love with it and scared of it and in awe of it. I want to get better and better at it. Challenge accepted.

GoodNESS. Could I be a luckier girl? I don't think so. Can't wait to see where this adventure takes me!