meet calla, a young lady who wears many hats. a santa fe college student studying anthropology. a future documentary film star. a part time worker bee in a local law firm. and now an aspiring model.

she’s been on my blog before and my camera completely loved her. what fun it was to see her again and run around downtown gainesville taking images to build her portfolio. she has incredible eyes and luminous skin and great lips. reminds me of a young liv tyler. this session was totally different for me….i tried to create images that were edgy, fashion forward and magazine worthy. all while showing calla’s range of looks. she is quite the beauty and i definitely a rising star. good luck girl!

thanks for reading,
mikifoto by mallika malhotra

i love to take a beautiful girl and photograph her in a backdrop of garbage. yes, i said garbage. there is something about the contrast of beauty vs. ugly that just works. then add in all that amazing color and texture and voila! you have some really cool images.

meet calla, a young twenty something kate beckinsale look alike, with drop dead eyes and a sweetheart personality. my camera loved her bec she had allure. a soft confidence. a sparkle.

here are your images miss calla….thank you for trusting me to take you to the dump

thanks for reading,
mikifoto by mallika malhotra

yes, this is so true.  especially for the young elementary school gals.  this age still has an innocence and curiosity and zest for life.  i found this youthful spark with our models, julia (age 9) and taylor (age 8). they were full of smiles and laughter and twirls and hair flips. what fun they had changing into different outfits and posing and playing!  i just loved julia’s strawberry blond hair and gorgeous spray of freckles.  as well as taylor’s mile long lashes and dark mysterious eyes.  true naturals in front of the camera.  take a look at these pretty young things…

thanks for reading,

mikifoto by mallika malhotra

this past sunday, i met up with my photography teacher and classmates in newberry, florida for a day of shooting. i had never been there before and was immediately intrigued by it’s Americana feel and small town charm. we had four lovely young ladies lined up as models and they kept us busy with endless poses, looks and wardrobe changes. i learned so much and really worked my new camera. here is the first of our supermodels (check back for the other girls) and she is (hold on to your seats) only fifteen. what a beauty! she was so confident in front of the camera and comfortable in her skin. take a look at this pretty teen…

thanks for reading,

mikifoto by mallika malhotra

then comes marriage. that’s the plan for robin and john.  the newly engaged couple is glowing with happiness and planning a destination wedding in poland. i had the pleasure of meeting them in downtown gainesville to capture some “love filled” images.  so much excitement and anticipation in their eyes.  a natural warmth and connection with each other.  oh young love!  and how fun to shoot in an urban setting filled with texture, color and grit.  take a look at this lovely couple…

thanks for reading,

mikifoto by mallika malhotra

i enrolled myself in a digital photography class at the local college.  since my business is slowly building, i wanted a way to force myself to get out there and shoot and shoot often.  and there is always so much to learn in photography…it’s never ending (one of the main things i LOVE about it).  plus it’s inspiring to be surrounded by artists who are passionate about the field and who are also growing and learning.

so our first assignment was to illustrate a movie, book or song title with a single image.  we were challenged to think “outside of the box”.  my head swarmed with ideas but not everything is easily executed.  well, here is what i came up with and i’m a bit nervous to present it to class tonight.  wish me luck!

thanks for reading,

mikifoto by mallika malhotra

no teenage angst here.  these young ladies were confident, sweet and fun.  not to mention GORGEOUS! both will be seniors at menlo atherton high school.  both were super close to their families, especially their moms.  both were already thinking about college.

haley is the daughter of my son’s kinder teacher (hi jody!).  she was a natural in front of the camera.  her green eyes are just dazzling and she knows how to work them  she hopes to go to college in hawaii and study marine biology.

nadia is an exotic beauty…an ethnic mix of guatamalan and lebanese.  an absolute stunner with a killer smile!  UCLA may be in her plans for their stellar liberal arts program and because its close to home and family.  

these girls were fantastic!  take a look at their urbanesque photo session shot in downtown palo alto….

with mother’s day around the corner, i thought i would celebrate my own mom.  we live on different coasts these days but despite the distance, she always has been there for me and my family.  she has the MOST generous spirit.  after 35 years, she is still taking care of me.  it could be a package for me from her favorite QVC, a last minute trip to help me watch my boys or just a phone call to make sure i’m safe and happy.  her love has shaped me into the mother i am today.  happy mother’s day mom!

taken in new orleans where mom helped us watch our boys during sunil’s interviews

so here is my husband.  my prince charming.  my main squeeze.  my soul mate. sunil and i have been married almost 8 years.  in the process, we’ve lived in 4 different cities, had 2 amazing boys and lived through many highs and lows.  this month is a BIG one for us because we’ll soon learn where we’ll be moving for sunil’s first job.  it’s both exciting and nail-biting nerve wracking!  but in all of this craziness, sunil still makes me laugh and reminds me how glad i am to have him by my side. especially when he looks like a bad ass!

after months of work, my website is finally LIVE! www.mikifoto.com is officially up and ready for business. i am so proud and thrilled to spread this news. it’s been a long journey to get here. i hope you’ll take a moment to take a peak.

as you can see, my tagline is “focus on what matters.” here’s an image of what matters to me most and what has brought me to this new stage of my life.