Making a Difference-Dr. Lisa Farkouh

Interesting story...today I got a phone call from an OB/GYN, Dr. Lisa Farkouh in Denver Colorado asking if she could use a photo of mine in her presentation about protecting infants from whooping cough. She is trying to educate new parents about inoculations and how not only should the child be inoculated but also those around the child caring for him/her. (she refers to it as cocooning the child) She is very passionate about the project since her own child fell ill to whooping cough and nearly lost her life last year. So now she has made it her mission to travel all over the country and tell others about her story in order to raise awareness about this serious subject.
So anyway, she asked to use one of my images of the babies in the cocoon to help in the campaign and I of course said yes. It's such a great feeling to be able to help Dr. Farkouh in her crusade. If you'd like to see a short clip of Dr. Farkouh talking about the importance of inoculations and "cocooning" your child click here.

Best of Luck to Dr. Lisa Farkouh on a successful campaign! I hope the image helps!

Auburn Hensley-Senior of the Week

So, we are finally starting to post the senior slideshows to iTunes. Here is one of Hurricane High Senior, Auburn Hensley. Enjoy the show!



Hurricane High School
Session: Storybook Session
Favorite Color: Purple
Favorite Band: Dave Matthews Band
Favorite Movie: The Notebook
Favorite TV Show: The Secret Life
Hobbies: Softball, Shopping and Traveling
Lucky Number: 11
Favorite Website: Facebook
Pets: Dog-Duke
Two Words to Describe You: Easy Going and Bubbly

WV photographer Beth Forester featured on photoVision DVDs

I am very honored and excited to be appearing in this year's series of PhotoVision DVDs! Last fall, Ed and crew came to West Virginia to film me for 2 days for the 2001 season. It was such a blast! I was very nervous but other than tons of rain and a city-wide power outage it seemed to go pretty well.

PhotoVision offers the unique opportunity to observe 20 of the industry's leading image makers in their actual working environments. It is delivered to your home or studio every other month on 6 individual DVDs. Each DVD has over 3 hours of educational content and features over half a dozen different speakers and topics. The first DVD shipped last week and features Beth in a studio walk-through of her new 5,000 square foot studio located in Madison, WV.

Here is a promo video for the segments shot in West Viriginia. Enjoy!

Newborn announcemnet...Look Whooo's Here!

So, I had to share this adorable announcement of Jonathan Alexander Wade! It has to be one of my favorite creations so far. And, what fun I had creating it! Jonathan's mom called and told me she had this cute little owl hat and sent me a photo of it to see if I could come up with an idea for the newborn shoot....well, I fell in love with it right away and set out to find materials to create a nest. Fun, fun, fun! When he came in for the shoot, I was a little nervous about all the scratchy materials around him and that he would never get settled. But, he was perfect and the pictures turned out great! Hope you enjoy looking at them as much as I enjoyed creating them!

Whitney + Jeremy Engagemment Pics...

So excited to post these engagement pics of Whitney and Jeremy...We had such a great time creating these images and I am so excited to share them with you! We ended the session at my house and surprise! My chickens had to get in on the action! LOL They were running around everywhere while I was trying to photograph the happy couple...I especially thought the one of the chicken staring back at them kissing was just too cute! Congratulations Whitney and Jeremy!

So here are a few images, a video and a few facts about the happy couple. Enjoy!

Where did you meet?
We met at WVU through Student Government. I had just been elected to the Board of Governors and he had just been appointed as the Maniac Director. We met at the SGA retreat.
What is your Song?"Then" by Brad Paisley is probably "our song." That's how he found inspiration to propose to me and it seems to describe us.

Tell me about your first date?
First date was in March 2006, we started dating April 4, 2006- one week after the first date.

How long have you been together?
We'll be dating five years this April.

How did he propose?
He proposed the same place we met, Dorsey's Knob Lodge in Morgantown. We met at the SGA retreat in 2006, I was in charge of planning the SGA retreat when I was Vice President of WVU Student Government in 2009. He had told me he couldn't come up for the retreat, so I wasn't expecting him. My chief of staff (and best friends) helped him organize everything. We were playing games at the retreat, and during the "Scavenger Hunt" my friends led me to the 3rd floor of Dorsey's Knob and Jeremy was there (with my parents and best friend who weren't in SGA) to watch. So the Brad Paisley song "Then" is kinda perfect: "I remember, taking you back to right where I first met you.." You were so surprised. There were people around, but I didn't care, I got down on one knee right there and once again, I thought I loved you then.."

Senior of the Week--Olivia Wooten spa model finalist

This week's senior of the week is Olivia Wooten from Logan High School.... We are very exited to announce that Olivia has been chosen as a finalist in the national "spa" modeling contest. Photographers from all over the country sent in senior portraits of their clients hoping to be chosen to model at the annual "spa" event in Palm Springs, California in February 2011. Olivia advanced to the final round of 50 last week; the 15 winners will be announced later this week. Congrats to all the high seniors who made it to the final round and good luck to Olivia. We are so excited for you hoping that you win!







Olivia Wooten
Logan High School
Storybook session
Favorite Color: Hot Pink
Favorite Band: Goo Goo Dolls
Favorite Movie: Finding Nemo
Favorite TV Show: Pretty Little Liars
Hobbies: Dancing and Singing

spa Model Semi-finalists Shane Light and Olivia Wooten

I big shout out goes to Shane Light of Madison, WV and Olivia Wooten of Logan WV. They were both chosen as semi-finalists in the national spa model search. Each year spa (senior portrait artists) runs a national search for high school senior models who are easy to photograph, enjoyable to work with and are representative of actual high school seniors. Photographers from all over the country submit images of their senior clients hoping to win the spa model search. The 15 national winners will be invited to model at the annual spa event in Palm Springs, California. Shane and Olivia will move into the next round of judging. Good luck to them both and keep your fingers crossed!

Senior of the Week-Alyx Stover/ Profesional Photographer Magazine

This weeks senior of the week comes with very exciting news! A few months ago, I was interviewed for the November issue of PPA's Professional Photographer Magazine. So, I gave the interview and sent in photos for the article having no idea what photos or quotes they would choose.....well, last week I got a sneak peek at the article and I was blown away! The layout, the writing...I couldn't be happier. And, Alyx's photo will appear full page in the front of the article...here is the page layout from the upcoming November issue of Professional Photographer Magazine. Doesn't she look beautiful?!!! Congrats Alyx and all the other seniors whose images will grace the page of Professional Magazine next month. I'll be sure to post the entire article once is hits the shelves!



Alyx Stover
Chapmanville Regional High School
Session: Designer Art Session
Favorite Color: Pink
Favorite Band: Nickleback
Favorite Movie: Sweet Home Alabama
Favorite TV Show(s): The Hill's and Sex in the City
Hobbies: Shopping, texting, and hanging out with friends
Lucky Number: 22
Favorite Website: Facebook
Two words to describe me: Spontaneous and Loving

Tripp Thomspson Collage

Just had to share this collage I created this week for Tiffany and Todd Thompson......it turned out so cute! Tripp is such a CUTIE!

fstop for Breast Cancer Mentor Auction-Beth Forester

I am very happy to be participating in the f stop for Breast Cancer charitable event. f/stop breast cancer is a groundbreaking photography auction that includes both mentor sessions and photography products where 100% of the proceeds go straight to The Breast Cancer Research Foundation.
I along with tons of other photographers have donated their time and products to help raise money for The Breast Cancer Research Foundation. If you would like to bid on the auction for my 60 minute mentor session and $375 worth of photoDUDS products you go visit the auction here on ebay. We can talk about anything you want via the phone or through a video chat. It's a great cause and I hope we can work together to raise tons of money for breast cancer research. The Auction ends on October 19th so head on over to ebay and check it out! If you have any questions about the auction you can e-mail me at beth@foresterphoto.com

New Studio Images

Well, it's finally starting to come together at the new studio....we hung tons of prints last week getting ready for Photovision to arrive for the film shoot. (yes, very exciting news..I will be appearing in the 2011 photovision season!) Anyway, here are some new images of the studio I wanted to share.

New Studio Installation--Metal Art

Wow! I am so excited! We just installed a metal photo display in our newly renovated downtown studio. The new location is a 5,000 square foot building that was built around 1900, so it has tons of character and loads of exposed brick walls. This display is 7 feet and hangs in a hallway that we believe used to go down to the vault....oh yeah, I almost forgot to mention that the building was originally a bank. Anyway, I wanted to share an image of the installation since I was so excited to see it all together on the wall.

Senior of the Week--Chelsea Belcher

What a great time I had shooting Chelsea!! Over the past year or so I have been photographing her nephew, Chase. It's been such fun to watch him grow from a tiny newborn into a smiling, laughing toddler. Anyway, Chelsea and I had such a great time during her session. She was so enthusiastic and her pictures show what a fun and carefree personality she has...I had such a blast!

Name: Chelsea Paige Belcher
School: Sherman High School
Session: Designer Art Session
Favorite Color(s) Purple
Favorite Band: Skillet & Need to Breathe
Favorite Movie: Freedom Writers Diary
Favorite TV Show: Keeping up with the Kardashians
Hobbies: softball, volleyball, reading
Lucky Number: 17 Favorite Website: Facebook
Pets: Mini Schnauzer Baxter
Two words that describe you: fun, energetic

Senior of the Week--Shane Light

Name: Shane Light
School: Scott High School
Session: Designer Art
Favorite Color(s): Yellow, Orange, Brown
Favorite Movie: Drop Dead Fred
Hobbies: Golfing, Kayaking, Wakeboard
Lucky Number: 3 Favorite Website: Facebook
Pets: Dog