South Florida Escape

There are a few places so far on this planet that I really have soft spot for. South Florida is one of them. This past week my gal pal Jordyn and I headed off to Miami for a shoot and some fun. The photo shoot took place on South Beach at 7am sunrise. It was absolutely beautiful and we couldn't have planned better weather. The swimwear shoot was for Nora Swimwear and our model was Annie @ Elite Models Miami. I'll be sharing those in the next little while, so stay tuned.

Jord and I had a blast exploring when off duty, laying poolside, beachside, roadside, anywhere there was sun. The weather was 30+ all week and at night was just cool enough to wear jeans. The whole week was spent laughing, having life talks, drinks and boys! What a combo, and even better company. The goal of the week was finding a way to stay, forever. Here are a selection of shots over our trip, if you follow me on Snapchat you would have seen a couple behind the scenes that did't make the cut. Hahaha

White one piece by Zaful (full post coming soon)

White marble bikini by Nora Swim

Labour Day Weekend

Labour Day Weekend, known to my family as: Marty Party. My family takes this weekend very seriously, we don't waste holidays around here. Every year it's a tradition for all of us to gather together and drink as much as we can over the long weekend. From day beers to kayaking, to bonfires, reminiscing and singing. Endless support and good advice, laughing and telling stories about the past and all the memories that have taken place in this beautiful spot all through our childhood. Here's a little peek into the afternoon at Mari-Oaks. xx 

Photo by: Cat Lohnes 

Kissing Summer goodbye

This Summer has been one to remember. Normally when I think of Summer I think of being off school, beach days, nights spent dancing with my girlfriends and Sunday morning coffee at my cottage. This Summer was a lot different then previous years. I was working full-time, working on my own two businesses after that and spending a lot of Saturday night's in my bedroom with paint all over my arms, declining invitations to go out with my friends. Towards the end of this Summer I decided to shut my MacBook and live a little. The past few weekends have been spent catching up with friends I hadn't seen in forever and not stressing about an unanswered email that would have to wait until the morning. It's liberating. It's freeing. And it's hard. Working on a balance of work & play is still something I am working on. But it's getting better ... #learningtochill 

My gal pal Jordyn and I decided to hit the beach for pretty much the first and only time this Summer (in September..) We were a little late to the party, but none the less, we had some sun, some laughs and of course, a photo shoot. 

Bikini by Zaful, shop here

Flannel by Passport, shop here 

Gramerci Design

I'm so excited to share with you my favourite pieces from Gramerci Design! I love everything about their designs and their brand. They are two sisters who grew up in  New York and are currently based in California. I've been working with them on a few different projects and couldn't wait write about my love for them. I honestly wear at least one piece from Gramerci every single day. I feel so pretty when I am getting ready for a day or night out and I just throw on every single piece that  I own. They all look so good together, stacked, layered, alone, anything. I wear my nail bracelet on the daily and get compliments on it every time I do.  I'll link all my favourites below xx

Aimee Baguette Ring

Soireray Lace Band Ring

Stella Ring

Shar Dangle Ring

Collette Petite Crystal Rings

Eternity Necklace

Hashtag Necklace

Twisted Nail Bangle

Luxe Hardware Bracelet

Outfit details:
Leather dress, similar here
Watch by Christian Paul
Sneaks by Adidas 

Ben & Maria's Wedding

Here is a little recap of Ben & Maria's recent wedding. It took place in the beautiful Wolfville, Nova Scotia where they met at Acadia University. The setting was a fairytale and it was so so stunning. The couple is obviously gorgeous and made it very easy to capture. This was my cousin Maria's wedding and I'm so happy to welcome Ben into our big crazy family. Shooting family weddings is always so much fun. 

Congrats again Ben & Maria <3 Love you guys xx 

Cropped grey & slouchy denim

I could not wait to share this outfit with you guys. This combo of CassBurr Designs and Fidelity Denim is my absolute favourite. Everything Cassandra designs I always swoon over. This square cut t-shirt is so so so me. (I also have it in dress version) It's grey in color and does not wrinkle. It does not wrinkle!!!! It's slightly cropped in the front and longer in the back.  I love the way it fits and I've been wearing it with both high and low rise jeans. These boyfriend style jeans are by Fidelity Denim. I love the slouchy fit and the drop middle. I like wearing them with pointed heels or my converse. Outfits that you can dress up or down are really underrated. 

Shop the look here: 

Shirt by CassBurr Designs by Cassandra Elizabeth

Jeans by Fidelity Denim

Watch by Kapten and Son

Sunglasses by Yves Saint Laurent

Bag by Louis Vuitton, similar here

Shoes similar here

Surpriseeeee!

I'll be real. This isn't an easy one to write. I live my life pretty publicly and wouldn't change it for the world. It's amazing to have such support. It means sharing awesome things and experiences, but it also means sharing the really, really shitty ones too. This next month was supposed to bring a lot of changes, new things and a big move to Alberta. I quit my job and I can't deny that I was over the moon excited about this and have been working towards this for a while now. Long story short, life happened. This is no longer my route. I'm sad, angry and a little bit lost right now, but also can't help but look at the positives. I need to keep in mind that I'm only 22. Sometimes you have to let people go and focus on yourself. This part drives me more then anything. I believe in loyalty and staying loyal to yourself when things get tough. So I'm putting myself first and taking the reins even more then before. I remember falling asleep a few weeks ago, so excited for what was happening recently, and feeling so lucky that I had my life together, feeling nothing but positivity and happiness. But, it comes in waves. Just like that, things can change. You have to take a minute, bawl your face off, bounce back & regroup. Independence isn't something I'll give up easily and it's scary to know someone who cared so deeply for you, can flip a switch in no time at all. When someone shows you their true colours, believe them the first time. I feel good to have such a strong, solid life, friends and family. These are the people with unconditional love, keep em close, they're here to stay.

I'll also admit it sucks to have made a huge announcement and have it backfire beyond my control. So hopefully this spreads like wildfire like the original moving post did. Good news is -I'll be in Saint John for a little while longer while I figure out my next move. All of the shoots I wasn't able to book in the fall, I am now able to do, and all the family I was about to be missing, I am so happy to be around, and the momentum with this working life, lets keep it moving.

xx
Allie

#allieworkshop

If you guys didn't hear, we had another #allieworkshop last week!! #allieworkshop is something that I do once or twice a year. This month we zoned in on fashion photography with a focus on iPhone. I booked two of my favourite models, Nicki Palmer & Taryn Fitzpatrick, a location and had the best class ever! We had gorgeous clothing and the shoot was styled by Exchange on Germain!

This time we had two locations. The first location was Cedarcrest Gardens in Saint John. A shout out to their awesome staff for having us! 

Final images:

We shot in some great light at the gardens then headed on over to my apartment uptown, to work in some trickier lighting. I really wanted to show the gang how to shoot in two completely different lighting conditions. At my apartment we shot in a big empty room with 2 windows for natural light. Later on, we shot with a two light setup to compare the differences. 

I wanted to focus on how good iPhones are for photography. Some of these photos below were taken on my iPhone, and even I can barely tell the difference. 

Final images:

On day two we met in the morning at ConnexionWorks to talk editing, retouching and color. We talked workflow, Lightroom and Photoshop and I showed the crew the steps it takes me to get from the original, straight out of camera shots, to my final images. We had a special guest from Oh La La Cosmetics  speak to us about wearing colored clothing and the difference it could be making with our photography. 

We had an amazing time and such a great, outgoing, interactive bunch! 

Stay tuned for the next #allieworkshop. I am thinking December might be a good time! If you'd be interested in attending a workshop in December, email me and we can make it happen! inquiries@alliebeckwith.com