Utah photographer Shay Voorhees

Sweet and spunky

Shay — Tue, 30 Oct 2012 03:36:23 +0000

These boys were a riot to photograph! They really showed me their sweet and spunky personalities.

They could literally go from this:

To this in .35 seconds flat. LOL

I love boys.

Their mom is a strong, beautiful woman. But I also see where the boys get their spunkiness from – she’s a hoot!

Beautiful maternity session

Shay — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 05:00:30 +0000

I only received permission to share a few from this maternity session but you can see just from this small sampling what a fun session it was! This is my friend Meagan and her husband. Meagan owns an adult dance studio in Ogden that specializes in pole fitness, circus fitness (i.e. trapeze, aerial silks and hammock, aerial hoop), jazz, hip hop, zumba, chair, kick boxing, and belly dancing, just to name a few. I actually spend quite a bit of time there myself. Physically, I’m the strongest I’ve ever been but my self-confidence really increased from the empowerment the studio gives women. If you want to try any of the classes, let me know and I’ll get you a free pass.

Until next time,
~Shay

High School Senior Photography

Shay — Mon, 25 Apr 2011 04:49:18 +0000

I admit it; I can definitely be a procrastinator at times especially when there are so many important things to get accomplished during the day. I have a little suspicion there are some high school seniors who they themselves may be procrastinators and have not scheduled their graduation photos yet, but good news is it’s not too late. Give me a buzz and I’ll be sure to squeeze you in!

This girl was so fun to photograph. She brought three very different looks to her session: a fun girly top, a cowgirl outfit, and a biker outfit! I love when high school seniors show off all the dynamic angles of their personalities or the things they’re interested in. I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention this girl is a welder too! Love when women go into traditionally men-oriented careers and show them how it’s done. So awesome.

Until next time,
~Shay

Office closed

Shay — Fri, 17 Dec 2010 04:32:04 +0000

Ok, so I know I’ve been totally MIA lately…but really…things have been buuuusy. That’s busy. With a capitol B. And in this crazy busy-ness I have kinda, sorta, been neglecting my family just a little bit. Ok, a lot. But in my defense all photographers tend to crawl into a perpetual shooting-editing-ordering- cave and we don’t emerge until our clients are taken care of and the crazy busy season has passed.

What I’m getting at is that the office will be closed beginning next week (Christmas week) and will remain closed through the end of the year so I can spend some quality time with my family before they boycott me from being Mom (not that I can blame ‘em either).

Feel free to email me during this time and I will be sure to get back with you once the office opens again.

I hope y’all have a wonderful Christmas (or whatever you celebrate) and a joyful New Year! See you in 2011!!!

~Shay

Sanders family | utah family photographer

Shay — Tue, 02 Nov 2010 05:29:12 +0000

Fall. One word and it’s easy to become flooded with sights, sounds, smells, and feelings, isn’t it? Well, at least I do. This time of year I yearn for the rich savory spices that sweeten end of the season vegetables and warm the soul. I embrace the cold bite in the air knowing the holidays are quickly approaching and try not to think about February when I’m sick of the snow and longing for summer to chase off bitter Old Man Winter.

Another great thing about fall is the peak of family photo sessions. I love meeting my clients and spending time with these wonderful families. To me, it really is an honor that they choose me to capture their family as it is today; to allow me and my lens a glimpse into their beautiful lives.

Meet the Sanders who have such precious and sweet little darlings.

Until next time,
~Shay

utah family photographer | utah child photographer | utah fall family photos

Cook family | utah family photographer

Shay — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 20:13:08 +0000

Mandy is a Utah native but love has relocated her to Louisiana where she and her hubby raise two adorable boys. I loved listening to the lovely Southern drawl she’s picked up on over the years!

During a visit here she asked me to photograph her family while incorporating our beautiful mountains in the background – a way to take a piece of the Rocky Mountains home to the South – so of course I was excited. I love all things Utah!

I really enjoyed hanging out with the Cooks. The boys were so cute and had fun personalities. We all talked about Utah specialties they should be sure to experience while they’re in town (fry sauce anyone?). LOL

Until next time,
~Shay

utah family photographer | ogden family photographer | ogden child photographer

Kiirsten and Brian | utah family photographer

Shay — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 05:08:55 +0000

You may remember Larissa and her cousin Denita. Well, they found me by way of my exceptionally beautiful friend Kiirsten. Kiirsten is one of those friends that when I met her I knew immediately we would become lifelong friends. She is one of the kindest persons I know. Seriously. She’s so sweet you may get a cavity from drinking in her energy. Ok, not really but you will be refreshed from absorbing her sunshine. I always feel great after spending time with her.

She’s happily married to a lucky guy and they have a darling family together. You can easily see how happy they are together and because she’s happy – I’m happy.

Hard work pays off | utah fitness photographer

Shay — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 05:54:25 +0000

My little sister-in-law Lindsey has always been into sports and fitness. In fact, she’s a great personal trainer but it wasn’t until on a whim she decided she wanted to participate in a natural figure competition that she really took her training to the next level. The day after she made her decision she began what most people would describe as pure hell. Training hard and eating a strict diet designed to turn her into a lean, mean, little muscle machine.

Her dedication was inspiring. She stuck to her workouts, but even more inspiring (to me) is her dedication to the strict healthy diet designed by natural body builder Layne Norton. I mean the girl didn’t even cheat through Thanksgiving and Christmas!

Her hard work paid off though. About 6 months after she began training she did turn into that little lean, mean, muscle machine. We conducted two photo sessions to celebrate her hard work – one portrait session to show off her hot lean body and another in the gym to showcase her ripped muscles.

By the way, if you’re looking for a great personal trainer send me an email and I’ll put you in contact with her. You won’t be sorry.

Doesn’t she look amazing?!

Good things in life | utah family and pet photographer

Shay — Wed, 19 May 2010 18:07:38 +0000

Of course there are many good and beautiful things in life. I dare say that most of you will agree some of the best things in life are moms and doggies. So when I was contacted by sweet Machelle to photograph not only her and her sweet mom but also both of their adorable puppies, I was very happy! Machelle bought the session as a gift to her mom — what a thoughtful gift and a wonderful way to capture the love they all share. Pooches included.

I love when families bring their pets to their photo session. In this next one you can totally tell who the little sweet girl is, and who the ham is! Love it!

And these last two totally crack me up! I like to call this my telling the joke series:

In the first, doesn’t he look like he’s saying, “No way! Then what happened?”

At which time I would deliver the punch line and in the second you can see his reponse.

He’s totally saying, “Bwahaha, oh Shay. You ARE so funny!”

Yes, I’m a dork. I know. It’s ok!

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Until next time,
~Shay

utah pet photographer | utah dog photographer | ogden pet photography | salt lake dog photographer

Referrals receive free prints | utah family photographer

Shay — Thu, 13 May 2010 04:04:59 +0000

Ok. I know I’m like, the worst blogger. I’ll spare you a lengthy explanation of why I disappear for weeks on end but basically, I’m busy y’all. Life is busy. But life is beautiful too.

So, today’s feature blog post is showcasing a darling group. The kids decided great Mother’s Day presents would be to surprise their moms with updated family photos. How stinkin’ cute it that?! I guarantee all the moms were thrilled. I mean, c’mon, what mom wouldn’t be excited to receive photos of their kids? Answer: they all would be thrilled to get darling photos of their kids!

I love when past clients refer their friends and family to me. This group was referred to me by Jamie from this post. By the way, did y’all know I have a referral program? If you refer your friends and family to me, you receive a free print on your next session! And I do all the heavy lifting by keeping your credits on file so you don’t have to worry about remembering – I do it for you automatically. Sweet, right?

Until next time,
~Shay

utah family photographer | ogden family photographer | salt lake family photographer | utah pet photographer