Tonya Joy Photography bio picture
  • Thanks for visiting my blog. I am Tonya Joy...a southern california natural light photographer...
    when i pick up my camera...my ultimate goal is to create an emotional and tangible piece of someone's life...to capture a feeling, create a mood, hold a moment in time...and to always remind how incredibly beautiful this life is. I have a passion for mentoring and helping others, I am a mother...it defines me and has taught me to see and recognize the joy and magic in everyday moments; it makes me freshly aware of how important are the moments with family and loved ones.

    this is my life. my kids. my love. my photos. my joy...

“MADMEN” shoot out is open for the joining!!!

Had so much fun organizing a vegas shootout, I decided to host one in cali!  Details are in the image below!!!  We will keep this group small, so register if you are interested to reserve your spot!! MARCH 20TH MAD MEN inspired stylized shootout.  This is a stylized shoot…we will get together…be inspired…shoot in cool places…and enjoy a beautiful model!  see attached for details!

NEXT full day workshop will launch next week!  Can’t wait to get together and be inspired!

xoxo

Tonya Joy

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while in vegas…

this last week, I went to attend wppi for the first time. I was a little apprehensive as I had heard mixed reviews about the convention. well, i loved it! I think for me, I was going for a much needed momma break and I really felt like I was in need of some inspiration. I think that the convention is a really good mix of technical/practical information and also a great place to sit and just absorb. I think my favorite class I attended was Elizabeth Messina’s…her photos take my breath away and i seriously was almost in tears several times during her presentation.
I am at an interesting crossroad as I bring another baby into this world in the next few months…I always put motherhood first and I really was at a place where I needed to really remind myself why I do my photography. I run a business which i do not take lightly and I an dedicated to giving the best service to the amount of work and clientele that I can accept…but…what struck me about being in vegas I echo in elizabeth messina’s words. I take photos to show how I see beauty in the world. She took the words out of my heart when she said she needs to photograph to bring beauty to the world. I can’t tell you enough how my craft is the balance that helps me to be a good mother. It is the deep breath I take after giving my family and my children my everything. What a blessing it is in my life. I am so thankful for it and I am so thankful I was able to attend wppi this year. I met so many wonderful photographers and kinda just stayed in my own little element (which is why it did not feel high school to me at all!!). I loved it and I encourage anyone who can make it happen to go at least once! A huge shout out to my husband who made it possible for me to go…thank you so much jason!

Ok…so this post…dedicated to a shoot I hosted while in vegas. I wanted to style something beautiful and new. I had 10 friends join me for it and we had a blast. What an incredible location and I hope to visit again. We barely scratched the surface of all the incredible backdrops and props that are available. So here is my take on a pin up inspired shoot in nelson nevada…I hope you enjoy! Please enjoy the slideshow at the end!!!

shoot local: nelson nevada

styling: tonya joy photography

wardrobe:her: pin up couture & forever 21

him: zara & h&m

hair/makeup: maria chang professional makeup artistry

 

























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a ballerina birthday…ella and mia

today we had a wonderful little birthday party for my mia and ella.  February is a big month for us and we decided to combine all the birthdays into one celebration.  We kicked it off with a surprise dinner last night for me thrown by my sweet husband.  I was so tired from the party planning…and tried to make him let me stay on the couch…but he insisted!  Boy did I feel bad when I was a tad *wink* grumpy at him once we walked in and I was greeted with a huge “suprise” and many family memebers hiding behind their menus!  It was wonderful…thank you jason…

today was the ballerina party…ella turned 8 today (wahoo…and sniff sniff…boy does time fly when you are having fun and living the dream haha) and my mia turned 5 on valentines day.  BUT today was the first friend birthday party we have thrown and we did it in style!  We had 22 beautiful little ballerinas in our home and loads of fun and treats…I think photos can recap the day better than words, so I was thankful to have some wonderful family members helping out so I could pick up my camera through out the beautiful chaos!  enjoy!
here are a few from our little photoshoot for the invites…







and a peek of the getting ready…and the slideshow tells the rest…




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bates family photos…

this weekend I was so lucky to head out on a gorgeous afternoon to shoot an adorable family session…the light was perfect, all the kiddos were so cute and happy, and mom and dad were looking gorg! Sheri and her family modeled for one of my shoots and I was excited to get them in front of my camera again. I seriously love her hair…I tell her like everytime I see her how gorgeous it is…sorry sheri, but really you are so beautiful!

We headed to one of my favorite locations kinda tucked away in the hills of corona…and it was just beautiful…

enjoy…


their oldest little beauty…Avery


sweet sweet bristol…



and the gorgeous little bentley…

mom brought along a few fun props!  I love it when people think of ways to customize their shoot!




thanks for sharing your gorgeous family with me again!

enjoy a sweet slideshow below…

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tonya joy one on one mentoring…

last saturday I was so lucky to meet up with an up and coming photographer to hold a tonya joy one on one mentoring session. We spent 6 hours together and covered so much good stuff. I really do love sharing what I know with other photographers who are as excited about photography as I am. Such a treat…thank you so much Jacqueline!
She requested a family shoot, so I asked one of my friends, Ashley, if she would volunteer her adorable family for our session. The mentoring session that was booked, was a stylized session, so I had so much fun putting together wardrobe and a few fun props to fit the season. Such a treat for me…I dressed up Ashley and her Family, and sent her to Kitsch by Katrina Kirk for Hair and Makeup and was just so happy how it all came together!!!
Hope you enjoy!!!

um…ashley is so stinking beautiful!!

meet her little man Dillon

he wasnt so sure about waking up from a nap and being in front of the camera…

sweet lil miss Brynn

and her doll of a sister Avery…

such awesome kiddos!!!

they sure love their handsome daddy Rob…



Jacqueline had specifically requested to work on backlighting together…so we headed out to a nearby field in hopes the clouds would open to let a little light in…LOVED this part of the shoot!!!

it was the first project I got to take on after getting over all that horrible morning sickness!!!

Thought a sweet valentine styled shoot was a must with valentines day just around the corner…




a little fun fact about ashley’s skirt…it is actually 2 skirts I found on clearance for 10 bucks at forever 21…they were sooooo short…so I sewed them together to make this adorable tea length skirt! love me a good deal!

you guys are so so so beautiful!

rawr!







thank you so much to Jacqueline, Katrina, and Ashley and Fam for making this day so much fun!!!

scroll down for a sweet little slideshow of more images!!!

xoxo

Tonya

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