Ana Silva Photography

NYC Portrait Photographer

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Aug 22 2022

Always Ask Mom To Be In At Least One Photo

It’s been a while since I’ve written a blog post. I’m so bad at this, haha.

But today, I decided that I’ll be blogging my clients’ sessions more often to show you all how much fun we have at the studio.

When mom contacted me about doing her daughter’s Sweet 16 portraits, I was thrilled for two reasons: One because I haven’t done one in a while and two, because it was an opportunity to have mom in the photo as well.

At first she said she didn’t want to be in the photo but I convinced her to bring all of her kids so they could at least have ONE photo of all of them. I explained the importance of her being in the portrait because her children would cherish it even more.

Moms are always thinking of their family first, putting themselves last. So I needed to make sure she would agree to be in at least one of the images.

Lucky for me, she ended in more than one so I’m super happy!

Thankfully she said yes. We started with her and her daughter getting their hair and makeup done.

For mom, I had to step in and do her hair because the hairstylist got sick and couldn’t make it. Not bad for my first try, ha ha. She looked absolutely amazing!

I always like to take behind the scenes videos of my shoots to show my potential clients what is like to shoot with me. This bts was particularly super funny. Check it out below.

@anasilvaphotography

This session was so much fun! I love it when my clients trust me and guve me creative freedom☺️

♬ original sound – NYC Portrait Photographer

After the initial laughter we all had about mom’s comment, these were my favorite images at the studio.

Mom also wanted outdoor shots and I’m glad she did because the day was gorgeous! We went to Bryant Park and took these. This girl is so gorgeous!

Check out the bts of these shots here.

@anasilvaphotography

I want to so more teen/seniir sessions. Whi wants to join me? DM for a discovery call. Remember to hit the follow button☺️ #nycportraits #anasilvaphotography #bryantpark

♬ Permission to Dance – BTS

Overall, this was one of my favorite shoots. We all got what we wanted which was amazing photos and experience for my clients and I got to add more beautiful images to my portfolio.

Comment which was your favorite image and let me know if you’d like your own session with me. Follow my TikTok to see more of my bts videos.

See you soon!

Written by Ana Silva · Categorized: Blog · Tagged: 40 over 40, anasilvaphotography, bryant park, family portraits, manhattan, midtown manhattan, nyc, nyc photographer, nyc portraits, nyportraits, outdoor shoot, park, sweet sixteen, teen portraits

Nov 20 2019

Ballerina In NYC Subway

Hello everyone!

For as long as I can remember, I’ve been wanting to do a ballet shoot.

I find ballerinas so beautiful and delicate and I just yearned to do a session. 

I had this vision of what I wanted the session to be like and where.

I wanted to incorporate my love of nature and NYC to create a beautiful flow of elegance, boldness and art.

Our first stop was Central Park. I wanted something different, something that isn’t common when you think of ballet photo shoots. So we went deep into the park and found this cool rock.

Maya and her little sister Annika are both ballerinas. Sibling sessions are also one of my favorite sessions to do and this was the perfect opportunity.  If you didn’t know by know, I’m a moody photographer. I’ve always being drawn to dark images. I find them artsy, mysterious and very appealing. I try to be consistent with my editing but sometimes I like trying different things. After the park we decided to go down to Lincoln Center. But while on the subway I just had to take a few shots on the train! These were definitely my favorites! Next stop was Lincoln Center. I was so disappointed the fountain was low. I was hoping to catch them in the background. But overall it was a fantastic session and one I’m very proud of.

I know there were some technical errors(like the cutting of the feet) but mom loved it and that’s what matters.

I’ll do much better next time 🙂

 

Written by Ana Silva · Categorized: Blog · Tagged: ballerina, ballet photos, lincoln center, new york city, ny portrait photographer, nyc, nyc photographer, nycsubway, portrait photographer

Feb 01 2019

Lady In Red

Since I found Sue Bryce, my creative side has always been in overdrive. I find myself constantly getting ideas for photoshoots. Whether with tulle, fabric, flowers, sometimes/almost always all three, I’m always trying to give my creativity life.

The hardest part is FINDING the right person that will help you make that vision come true and they believing such vision.

I had the enormous honor of working with Nicky after DMing each other a few times. By the time we actually met in person, it felt like we had been friends forever!

I told her about my idea of recreating this image by Sue Bryce and she was immediately on board.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Blg9xMYh76t/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet

I had the dried roses and had bought the fabric to make the dress. All I needed was a beautiful model and she was it.

We got together and magic happened!
When I saw this in the back of camera and almost cried! Not only had I pulled off the dress but she looked like a goddess and everything I envisioned the image to be.


I took some with this golden dress but my jaw totally dropped when we changed into the tulle dress and recreated this image also by Sue Bryce

https://www.instagram.com/p/BmmUesEB9og/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet

Nicky was just perfect!

I couldn’t decide between the color or the b&w so I kept both

I have done many sessions that I love but I’ve never ever loved a session more than I did with Nicky.
She let me be as creative as I wanted, went along with my crazy ideas and the results were magical!

Don’t be afraid to do sessions just for you. Yes, it’s nice to have paying clients but sometimes doing something just for us is even more important. 

It keeps our creativity and inspiration fresh; therefore burning out isn’t possible.

I hope you enjoy this post. Be sure to check both Nicky and Sue so you too can get inspired 🙂

Written by Ana Silva · Categorized: Blog · Tagged: ana silva photography, beauty photographer, diy dress, family photographer, fineart, fineart photography, glamour, new york, ny portrait photographer, nyc, nyc photographer, philadelphia, portrait photographer, sue bryce

Nov 16 2018

My Battle With Anemia And Other Health Issues

Hello everyone!

This will be a very different blog post from the ones I normally blog about. Today I won’t be talking about my recent session or how to make a dress.

Today, I’ll be talking about my chronic anemia and the causes for it.

Let’s go back to about six months ago when I started having major abdominal cramps even when I wasn’t due for my period. I would wake up with severe pain and had no idea why.

I kept wondering why if I didn’t have my period, I was experiencing such painful cramps. I hardly had cramps when I was younger so I assumed the fact that I’m almost 40, my body was gearing up for the inevitable menopause.

I kept putting going to the doctor off since I don’t really get sick and I figured the pain would go away on its own.

Well it didn’t. If anything, it got worse. At this point my mind is playing tricks on me and fear is starting to kick in. By nature we always think the worse whenever something isn’t right about our body. There’s also that little voice that tells us when something isn’t right.

The voice had gone on for a while, before I finally decided to listen to it. You see, we must always listen to our gut because it is never wrong!

I finally decided to go to the gynecologist and find out once in for all what was wrong with me.

It turns out I have three fibroids the size of a plum. That’s why the cramping has been so bad. It wasn’t so much because I’m getting old, lol.

They did an ultrasound to figure out the size and precise location. The doctor said that unless they got bigger, I didn’t need to remove them. Of course, even if they wanted me to remove them, I wasn’t going to make that decision right then and there.

When I went for the results, they asked me when was the last time I had a blood test and I said a while. So they took out some blood. Only good thing about that was that my blood is no longing coagulating like it had been ever since I had the stroke.

I asked the doc when would I find out the results and she said that unless something was wrong, I wouldn’t hear from them.

Unfortunately, I heard back from them the very next day! They called me early in the morning urging me to go to the ER to get a blood transfusion because my hemoglobin levels were at 4.9! She said that I was basically a walking corpse and lucky had not dropped dead.

It was obviously shocking to find out how sick I was. Heck, dying is more likely.

Although it was suggested to get a blood transfusion, I declined. I know blood transfusions save lives but it can also become a problem. Now, with this I’m not saying you shouldn’t get one if you really need it, but for me, it wasn’t what I wanted to do.

As a family, we choose holistic medicine. We barely get sick and when we do, we choose home remedies. 

Our family doctor is one of the best holistic doctors in the U.S. so as soon as we learned about my condition, we contacted her.

She immediately sent me to do a complete blood test that will tell her exactly what was causing the anemia.

That’s when sh*t hit the fan for me. 

It turns out that the mercury fillings I got when I was 14 have been slowly poisoning my body. The poison is now in my tissues which is causing my liver to overwork and I’m not digesting the food which is causing the weight loss. My protein levels are higher than they should be and thyroid isn’t doing it’s job.

She immediately suggested to get them out. Now this is where things might get controversial for some people.

Conventional dentists use chemicals that are harmful for us. So obviously as a holistic doctor, she recommended a holistic dentist. There is only one in the U.S. and one in Tijuana, MX. We’ll be going to the one in Mexico simply because I need one of my teeth removed and the replacement works best for me than the one suggested by the one here.

I have been in treatment for the last 5 and half months. I have been taking iron, magnesium, Omega 3 plus countless others to bring my blood levels up and detox my body from the mercury. But it hasn’t really worked. Until the fillings are removed, the healing is going to take longer and longer.

The last time I had a blood test, it had only gone from 4.9 to 5.4 which is obviously still too low.

And as if things weren’t bad enough, I also develop a breast infection two months ago. This was the third time it happened. 

The first time was during the 2016 Christmas. I was wearing a wire bra that somehow caught parts of my breast squeezing it to the point that it swolled up three times its size. I had a fever and massive pain. Needless to say my Xmas sucked, lol.

I went to the ER and they said that it was abcess(whatever that meant) and that the swelling would go away on its own. It took about a week to feel better but I did get better. 

Then last year it happened again without the bra issue but it didn’t get bad.

But two months ago, I woke up with a lot of pain on my areola. It was as hard as a rock. As the day went on, the swelling increased and I had a huge lump on my breast. Again I had a fever and couldn’t even stand from the pain. 

This time it was ten times worse that the first time and I was freaking out. My consolation was that they say that when you have breast cancer there’s no pain and boy was I in pain!

I waited to see if the swelling would go down on its own, but it didn’t.

I ended up going to the ER four days later and basically it was a waste of time because all they did was give me antibiotics. Which didn’t do anything.

They said to go back three days later and to schedule a mammogram to which I did neither. I opted for a whole body thermogram instead. I went to this fantastic place in North Wales, PA and I was blown away!

What Is Whole Body Thermography?

Unlike other methods of thermography based upon infrared sensors, Whole Body Thermography measures the skin-surface temperature, inputting 119 data-points to a computer memory, which your practitioner then interprets.

It wasn’t cancer, I was obviously happy it wasn’t(which honestly I was praying really hard it wasn’t) but that left the question what was causing it. 

The practitioner told me that the breast infections were also due to the mercury in my mouth. WHAT!? I wasn’t really shocked since everything else wrong was caused by it. But it still surprised me. I still have the lump but it’s not as big or painful as it was before. At least both breasts are the same size again, lol.

The Road To Recovery

It is going to be a LONG and expensive road. But how much is my health worth? I plan on being around for my family for a very long time and I’ll do whatever is necessary to get better. I’m feeling and looking a lot better now. Before I looked like a zombie, lol.
This is me now

In Conclusion

If you have mercury fillings, PLEASE, PLEASE get them removed. Those unknown ailments in your body might be caused by them. 

I know it’s very expensive to go to Mexico but at least you know you’ll get them removed and refilled with the right ingredients that won’t affect your health.

I feel so lucky that I was able to find out what was wrong with me in time. And to think that it was kind of an accident since I went to the doctor because of abdominal pains.

My Advice To You

ALWAYS, always listen to your body. It knows you better than you know yourself. If you feel off for some reason you can’t explain, don’t discard it as being silly. There is no such thing a being silly when it comes to your well being!

Holistic Medicine

You can find more information about my family doctor here, the dentist here and the thermography here. Not everyone can afford them, but it’s worth a try to get the right treatment.

I hope the next time I update this blog post is to give you the wonderful news that I’m completely healed. 

Thanks for reading. See you soon.

 

 

 

Written by Ana Silva · Categorized: Blog · Tagged: ana silva photography, anemia, beauty photographer, family photographer, family photography, health, holistic medicine, mother daughter, new york, ny portrait photographer, nyc, nyc photographer, philadelphia, philly

Dec 25 2017

How To Get The Perfect Xmas Family Photo

 

Merry Christmas everyone!

The holidays are the perfect time to spend with family, for great food and of course, family photos. We all look forward to taking a great family photo and send it to family and friends.

But what happens when you decide to take your own family photos but have a hard time getting everyone on the same page?

Well, after much deliberation, I decided to take matters into my own hands.

Below is a series of photos depicting what us photographers go through when trying to achieve the perfect family photo, with a twist 😀

Enjoy and feel free to share.

Only daddy is ready for the photo. The kids are doing what they do best, being on a device.

Trying to photograph my family, makes me want to pull my hair out.

And scream!!!

Just when everything seemed hopeless.

I got an idea that would fix my dilemma.

If they won’t listen and put the devices down, tie them up! Thankfully daddy agreed 😉

And that’s how you get the perfect Christmas family photo, at least for us 😀

Bottoms up!!!

Disclaimer: No children were harmed during this photoshoot. I told them of my idea beforehand and they were all on board. They even gave me suggestions on how to make it more realistic, ha ha.

Written by Ana Silva · Categorized: Blog · Tagged: ana silva photography, christmas, christmas photo, family, family photos, ny portrait photographer, nyc, nyc photographer, philadelphia, portrait photographer, portraits

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