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Currently booking Portland, Orlando, Miami, Sarasota, and Palm Beach!

Rachelle.

avant-garde
Originally uploaded by SYeakle

Rachelle wanted to update her modeling portfolio with horses and I was lucky enough to be hired for this really rad gig! I'd taken Holly's portrait with her horse back in Orlando, and absolutely loved what we came up with so I was totally stoked to work with such large animals again. What I didn't realize is HOW LARGE they get! I knew Holly's Phoenix was a smaller breed of horse but WOW they get MUCH, MUCH BIGGER! :)

Being from the east coast of Florida, I never spent a lot of time on farms, in barns, or around horses. So, this job was a real treat. It's amazing to be working in an entirely different environment on the west coast and I'm really digging the results. Also, I got to meet and work with a new super talented hair and make-up artist on this shoot! All in all, an exciting day. And of course, there are few more on my flickr

Lily

This is 6 month old Lily! She is the brilliant creation of my kickball team mate Kevin and his lovely wife Shannon. After a morning spent photographing Lily, I've had an awesome afternoon of editing. The composite above was inspired by one of Lily's fabulous tutus! (I'm also quite clearly still on this vintage vibe kick in my post-processing)

It was so interesting to photograph someone who doesn't have an opinion. She really didn't care what I was doing with the funny black machine I hold over my face like a mask when I take pictures. It was also really fantastic to set up lighting for such a TINY person. I really dig baby photography. I'd love to get more into this field. I recently heard of photographers being hired to capture the BIRTH of babies, which sounds SO amazing! To take someone's FIRST portraits. Wow. I need to get more pregnant women to SamanthaYeakle.com! :) And for more Lily, I'm still using my flickr here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/yeakle

Lesley.

When our friend's father, uncle, and grandfather set out to build a cabin on a ranch in Idaho one summer, they were with the times. It was the 70's and they were embracing it. Today, the cabin still has incredible style, even if it's incredibly out-dated. Being in a small town with a population of about 400 on a piece of land where you can walk out the front door to fire at clay pigeons with a shot gun at will, was a time-warp all it's own. The decor only enhanced the experience.

Inspired at every turn, my friend Lesley became my willing subject for a few time-warped shots one night. I found a half-sewn pillow case in the basement, pinned it around her waist, and sat her in front of a barn collapsing in the backyard. She was happy to play along until dinner time. So, here are the results from a mini-shoot on my random fabulous vacation to the deepest corner of nowhere and back. :)

Caitlin. Again. :)

It all started with little butterflies made of feathers. Then, there was a trip into the shady part of town for some fake hair and to scout the discount stores for dresses I could alter. And then... TA DAA! Princess nonsense in my neighbor's backyard!
Caitlin is such a good sport. She was SO in from the beginning. It was a blast to build this from the ground up. I've posted more up on my flickr! (note the serious effort to join the flickr community) ;) http://www.flickr.com/photos/yeakle/

Rock the Runway

I shot some photographs at Portland's Rock the Runways fashion show over the weekend. To share the shots, I've created ANOTHER Flickr account. *sigh* I don't USE Yahoo, how am I supposed to remember my Yahoo log-in ID? I think this is the 3rd Flickr account I've started, but I plan to actually USE this one! I even wrote down my log-in name and password this time. I'm thinking ahead. ;) Check out more photos from the show here: SYeakle's Flickr!

Annie

Annie, one of Matt's co-workers at Nell, has been house sitting one of the more elaborately decorated homes I've seen up here in the Northwest. As soon as we walked in I said "I need to take photos here", and this morning, it happened. Before work, Annie and I dug through her incredibly diverse closet and came up with this outfit to compliment the decor. The small dog in the background is hers, which I love because it makes the portrait all the more personal.

I really enjoy creating these types of portraits, and need to make more time to do so. With wedding season in full swing, this site has been a little left behind. I hope I find the opportunity to shoot more like this soon.

Caitlin

Caitlin, a fellow artist, was SO down for WHATEVER and it made our shoot a blast. It feels so great to be creative and have so much control over the image making process. From concept development, to doing her make-up and throwing the cherry blossom petals in the water, it was... rejuvenating! We had a great time & I really dig the results. :)

Nikki Glaser

A comedy festival came to town over the weekend so my neighbor and I headed out to see a friend of hers from college perform. She was on Last Comic Standing and recently appeared on the Tonight Show so, of course: she was hilarious. We ended up setting up a quick shoot before lunch the next morning, which was a blast. I hope to photograph more comedians in the future, so ANIMATED! :) I didn't have to tell her to do anything, I just snapped away! too easy. :)

Claire

The only Oregonian girl friend I've made in my new neighborhood is MOVING! I wanted to photograph her before she drives off to build her new mid-western life. She has these fabulous old cowboy boots that she never wears, so this seemed as good an opportunity as any to get some use out them. They're great, and so is she! I'll miss you Claire, best of luck in St.Louis! :)

Jessica's Family

I could make excuses. I could say, it was moving across the country. I could say, it was because I was busy rebuilding Smatt Wedding Photography from the bottom up. I could say a lot of things but, the fact remains I have neglected this blog for far too long! Well, I'm BACK NOW!

I flew down to Florida to shoot for a medical magazine in the Palm Beaches and while I was in town I got a chance to catch up with my old friend Jessica. Quite a few things have changed since meeting in middle school. One of the more obvious is that she's been busy procreating! Now that she's made some beautiful babies with her fab partner Dave, it was high time for a family portrait.

After shooting something a little more classic, we filled a blow up pool and let little Noah go wild! That FL sun is SO bright, so my flashes and I really had a battle, but that's what keeps me loving this job. There's always a new challenge!

It's not that I haven't been shooting...

It's just this time of year is SO crazy! Hope everyone has had a very happy holiday season! Be sure to keep me in mind for all your photography needs in 2009! I'll be here, there, and everywhere in between aiming my camera at all the beautiful people that walk into my frame! Happy New Year!

Matt & Mandy

Our friends Matt & Mandy are getting married the weekend after thanksgiving! Mandy is having a photo printed on canvas to display at the reception so, I snapped some photos in downtown Orlando last night before going out to dinner. This is my favorite shot. :) They're such a cute couple and I'm super excited to be shooting their wedding photos!

Sara & Scott

Matt and I went to visit our friends Sara & Scott in Sebastian on our way back up to Orlando this week. This morning, Sara put on an old bridesmaid's dress and we took a few photos outside for fun. I really wanted to photograph her with her pot bellied pigs but they were uncooperative to say the least. ;) Her husband Scott, on the other hand was much happier to go along with our early morning creativity. So, I took this 'American Gothic' inspired portrait of the two of them before we left town. :)

Jessy & Brent.

In 2nd grade, I asked Jessy to be my best friend (she said yes). Now, I'm taking photos of her and her husband for their christmas cards.

"Life goes by pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it. " -Ferris Bueller (on his day off)-

I'm SO glad she was open to doing something fresh rather then that traditional matching-white-button-up-shirts-on-the-beach shoot we've all seen done 100 times before. It's always fun to see old friends, and especially fun to photograph them! :)

I feel like I've been neglecting this blog, but I've just been SO busy with weddings. For LOTS of recent photos, please head over to http://smattphoto.blogspot.com :)

Leigh

Some people are just SO positive! :) Leigh was such a pleasure to shoot with; she was all smiles and so easy going. The way she takes care of her body is incredible! Check out Holleighwood.com for more on Leigh!

Lisa

It's not only been a very busy week but, I also got sick. :( By today, my voice was long gone but I was still shooting away. Lisa and I worked together once before so I was glad she knew I don't ALWAYS sound like this! It was also neat to work with Lisa again because she was more confident and experimental with her posing. What may have started with me burnt out left me excited and positive! :)

Wedding Photos

I've been planning to do this for a while and finally got around to it. Wedding photos now have their own wedding blog, reserving this blog for all of my other portrait photography. SmattPhoto.blogspot.com is where you can find many more of mine and Matt's new wedding photos from Maria's gorgeous wedding last night. :)

Shelby

I think EVERY WOMAN SHOULD DO THIS! (Well, of course I think so!) I think everyone should have portraits taken once in a while. And I love it when woman have the audacity to go further with it; whether that means in concept, color, or loosing the clothes!

Shelby had these photos done for her boyfriend as a surprise present. I think that's sweet. They remind me of a shoot I did with Rachel and Amber earlier this year which is funny because Amber referred her to me. Anyway, it was a great shoot. She posed well and has a rockin' bod for being a busy working mother of two!

Ruby D

My first pin up shoot! Ruby was great to work with, it was like she was in character the way she posed so fluidly and easily. And her husband is an INCREDIBLE hair stylist. Sometimes, shoots just go so well. It's like the stars aligned or something, just everything was on point. (Well, except the sweltering heat and wasp sting!) I dig the 50's style and look forward to doing more shoots like this. :)