Loving Life as a Rooster

Bleu has been a member of the Roosters Foundation of Orange County since 2002. It truly is an incredible group of people who gather together to give back to the community…and have fun doing it! We are also blessed that we met them when we photographed their Monte Carlo fundraising event in 2002…The one and only Deana Martin and Lorna Luft were the guest stars. Ali’s mind was blown photographing the daughter of Dean Martin and daughter of Judy Garland! WOW!

Well, two of the Roosters Members asked Bleu to join. He did, and since then we have been part of a special family of friends. There truly is nothing like it. Bleu now is the Speaker Chair and Board Member, and Ali was hired to be the Communications Director and Social Media guru. A job that she is passionate about.

After 24 years, The Roosters are still very important to Bleu and Ali…This group is turning 50 next year!! Younger members are joining, and the group is evolving…but the main purpose has been the same…Helping kids and families in Orange County and spreading joy.

We still photograph for The Roosters Foundation and are truly blessed to document such cool events. The website for the Roosters is www.RoostersFoundation.org, and the event website is www.ocfwc.com. We encourage you to check out what they do, and if you are interested in becoming a member, contact us.

Photographing Proposals…Priceless Moments.

We truly enjoy photographing proposals. It was our honor to meet and photograph a very cool couple who traveled from Michigan over the 4th of July weekend for a special night at the Ritz Carlton. We spent about 30 minutes after the proposal taking relaxed portraits before the couple had a romantic dinner at the hotel. Here are some of our favorite moments. Congratulations, James and Nora!

Bleu Photographs his Grandkids

It really is a special time getting a family portrait session taken. We took the time over the Christmas break to photograph Bleu’s own grandchildren. We hope you enjoy watching this video attached. We plan on creating some beautiful Acrylic prints of these images for our home. Please contact us if you are ready for a session. We can talk about your vision, and whether you would like a park, beach or another location for your special time together. Here is the link to our You Tube page with a behind the scenes video. Enjoy!  https://youtu.be/ctQiW-gh1AQ 

Holiday Photography is a must!

We are so excited to offer photos which are texted to guests within minutes of taking! Red Carpet…in a minute…portrait by a Christmas tree…in a minute….candids on the dancefloor…in a minute…year-end awards…in a minute.

If you book your event prior to Thanksgiving, we will add on this cool technology at a special price of $225. “Easy-Peezy Holiday fun”! Plus you can have your company name and event title branded on each image, and on the private website that each guest receives. You can enjoy the added marketing and exposure, and perhaps go “Viral!”

Contact us to experience this cool coverage. The feedback we get is really awesome!

Corporate Retreat Photography

It is Autumn, and that means it is the season for many corporations to be hosting sales meetings, retreats, incentive trips, and award events. We truly enjoy photographing these occasions. The photography is the best gift for the attendees, whether it is a couples portrait overlooking a beautiful view at a dinner event, a photo on stage receiving an award, an updated headshot, or even a group of the whole team together printed on site.

These images are also great for branding your company, promoting next year’s retreat, and as a documentation of what the set up looked like for planning future gatherings.

We are really fortunate to work with the same companies year after year. This allows the coordinating team to know that there is consistency in the quality of coverage. We can photograph the same agenda each time, or we can help jazz up the next year’s event by sharing the newest trends in the industry.

We have helped clients with printing black and white headshots taken of each guest, presenting them at the next day’s “Old Hollywood” themed dinner, making everyone a movie star. We have also added the service of photographing guests and texting them the image within a minute so that they receive photos on their phone to enjoy. Slideshows of the event presented the last day of the retreat, and mini coffee table books gifted by the host to the guests are also ways to enhance the experience of the gathering.

Bleu and I really enjoy making your photography coverage a special experience, whether you have us travel to where you are, or if you are having your event in Southern California. It will be an investment which becomes priceless for all involved. Please feel free to reach out and see how we can photograph your important event. We would love to have the chance to make it happen.

“Bleu Cotton Photography recently provided great head shot photos for a group of international executives traveling to Southern California for a conference.   Alison and Bleu came to the hotel, set up a mini photo studio and worked all day taking shots.  

“Alison and Bleu’s terrific and easy going personalities relaxed the people so the photos captured them at their best. Lots of smiles! The service was outstanding, from the details of the pre-event planning until the actual day of the event, when they arrived and set up promptly on schedule. Created for a Fortune 50 consumer goods company, the conference was attended by the company’s top international executives, whose experiences were overwhelmingly positive and they received excellent photos for their social and business media.

“I highly recommend Bleu Cotton Photography, and would work with them again in a heartbeat.”

Chris Madden Events
Global Event Development and Management

Family Reunion Photography

Some of our favorite assignments are Family Reunions. We love being a part of gatherings which may only happen once every few years.

Meeting the parents, the original siblings, the grandkids, the spouses…it truly is an honor to document moments which will truly become priceless to future generations.

We know, personally, when we review OUR old family photos from the early 1900’s, we analyze the faces, the body language, the love…it’s truly a gift to time travel back through our family tree.

With this incredible group, we went the day before and scouted the location, got to know the parents, and learned their ultimate goals to display and share the images. We also photographed smaller groups and business portraits for them.

The one thing we didn’t anticipate was the sprinkler system popping on, on our side of the street…luckily, we only had one camera bag which got wet, but all or equipment survived!

Phone is a’ Ringing!

The last 15 months have been quite a surreal world for many. We are so pleased now that photographers are being called upon again for upcoming corporate needs. We are beginning to rebook jobs cancelled from last year. It is a great sign.

Looking back at some of the incredible events we have photographed in the past, this group photo stood out to us. “Lead from where you are”. What a great statement. It was motivational to the team at this event, and it has even more meaning now, thinking how businesses, big and small, had to change the way they led during a once (hopefully) in a century pandemic.

Whether you worked remotely in your bedroom for a year on zoom, or wore masks & face shields, carried hand sanitizer wherever you went, learned that elbow bumping and fist bumps are the new handshake, you had to lead from where you are.

We jump for joy at all of the new opportunities we have to create quality imagery for our clients, old and new. And we thank them for remembering us when their image matters most.

Socially Distant Family Portraits

Ali has been photographing some very special Family Portraits this month.

Why are they so special right now?

Because these Socially Distant Portraits (or “Porchtraits”) will be a documentation representing the three months during the Great Pause which you have experienced with your children.

These portraits will document this time when you realized you became an official substitute teacher, and you learned the new PEMDAS (harder!?) way that your kids are taught math.

You realized they know more about Chrome Books and Google Classroom than you would ever dream of knowing.You realized that you now appreciate that they play FortNite and Call of Duty, and understand this is sort of a new playground where they talk and connect to their classmates and play virtually, unable to physically…and it is a truly is a blessing for their teenage sanity.

You realized that they have either eaten more and gained weight due to no sports, and a hidden drawer in their room full of snacks, or they lose weight as they aren’t able to enjoy the delicious school lunches they were used to eating and that they still do not appreciate your home cooking. (Not to mention Mom’s “Covid 15 Lbs” weight gain…but we retouch that out!).

You realized they are going through an unprecedented time which, when you think about it, if happened to you in the 1970s, 1980s, or 1990s…is truly hard to comprehend.

You realized this time will shape them and make your guidance during this time is essential… and, yes, it is challenging to know how to parent them and/or be their friend 24/7. It is truly a constant puzzle to educate, entertain, entice, and pick your battles at times.

And over the past few months you realized, as you look at your great grandparents portraits, that you wish you could talk to them just one more time to ask them all of the questions about their childhood during the 1918 Pandemic.

This is why a beautiful portrait during this summer will be cherished by future generations.

And as your homework, on the back of the image, hand write what this image represents to you right now, so that future generations may get a glimpse into who you were during the 2020 pandemic.

World Oceans Day 2020

It’s hard to blog about anything these days, as our attention is to the dynamic change going on in the world. Our hearts are hurting and we pray for a better world with new energy and equality. Today is World Oceans Day, and we have a perfect image to fit today’s state of mind for us. We celebrate those who speak up at the unjust in this world and look forward to peace on earth for all.

First Day Back! Quarantine Style.

First Day back to work!

Bleu Cotton Photography, Inc. is officially reopened in this new world. We have long lenses, masks, digital viewing, and zoom consultations, so what are you waiting for to update your Marketing Headshot or Summer Family Portrait?

Today we photographed an INCREDIBLE Senior Portrait Session…the magic of On Location and Low Key Studio Backdrop! Contact us today. Keep Safe in this Universal Pause. Don’t forget to make memories. xo Ali and Bleu