Blake Ballard Photography

When life gives you a lemons, a monsoon, and a hundred mosquito bites, dance and laugh all the way through it😆. I love this family!

Hey guys! I have a few brand new prints for sale. One is a 44x22 extra large print of Vedauwoo for $150 and the other one is a 20x30 print if a gorgeous waterfalll landscape in Costa Rica for $100. Just out of the box. Let me know if you’re interested 🙂

Update-Vedauwoo print is sold but the Costa Rica print is still available.

Words just can’t express my deep love for this near perfect human. Megan is 10 times more beautiful on the inside than she is on the outside. Pure light. Pure kindness. We took these grand photos of her the night before she took off to Bali for a little while, and then onto Austin. The hardest part about getting so close to these young people, is watching them leave. It is a mixture of so much excitement for their future, but sadness for ourselves.

We are so proud of you, Megan! 

🏡📸

Congratulations to this beautiful girl! We had perfect weather and a perfect night!

What a stud 🔥

We are so proud of you, Tanner!

This was an interesting night. My wife and I were enjoying capturing this moody sky for one of my favorite agents, when the neighbor adjacent to the house decided to walk up to the driver side window where my wife was sitting, get in her face and violently threaten us. He said he was shooting my drone out of the sky and a bunch of other disturbing things. Luckily, we were able to get away from him and I was able to fly my drone away from danger so I didn’t have to have a second one fall to it’s death.

There are so many, many things that I highly dislike about technology and the modern world- and I would give anything to go back to the 90’s. But it’s a part life now, and for my job, it’s necessary to stay relevant. For a 50 some year old man to spit in my wife’s face and threaten us over simply doing my job was highly disturbing.

I don’t know if these pictures where worth it, but dang it, they are pretty cool🙃

One of the most beautiful homes I have shot, and one of the most beautiful homes in the area, in my opinion. It’s on the market🏡. If interested, contact Scott Crist. 📸

A before and after example. I often underexpose at sunset so I can make the colors pop in post to acheive a bold look 🌅

I have had the absolute honor of getting to know Ben over the last few years. He is one of my wife’s brightest students, and he is just a gem of human. He is headed of to Boca Raton, FL, for a great sales job soon, so getting to share an evening of laughter of love with him was super special.

We love you Ben, and we are so proud of you!

Sean & Makayla🫶✨

Two of the sweetest and most mature young adults I have ever met. The night was full of belly laughs and pure fun. It was an absolute honor capturing this milestone for them.

These sweet parents had two grads in the same year, Karissa & Christopher. Congratulations to these two, who were so wonderful to work with. Linda & Wayne (their parents), went above and beyond to make me feel so valued and appreciated. It’s clients like this that I will always do portraits for, even though I am moving away from doing much portrait photography.

This is a reminder to let your people in the service world know that they are appreciated. A lot of us are exhausted, and overworked. I aim to go above and beyond to put a smile on people’s faces, make them comfortable, give them a good experience, and edit and deliver more images, more time, etc than they expected. Editing takes 4-5 times as long as the session, and I know I can speak for every photographer when I say that we spend hours upon hours every day doing this tedious task. This session was one of those instances that it didn’t go unnoticed and the clients made me feel so appreciated with not only their kind words, but a very generous tip. Being in service myself for many years, I absolutely always tip anyone I work with in the service industry. Everyone from the person cutting my hair, to my massage therapist, housecleaner, photographer.. to the electrician or anyone working on my house who shows up on time and makes my life easier. I know we all have different views on tipping, but kindness is free, and in my opinion, easy to offer. Personally, my schedule is always full, so I don’t have to book anyone who can’t be kind. And I know plenty of service people who are in the same boat. I have always noticed that when I need to book an appointment with any of my fellow service people, they always make time with me. I don’t think that’s a coincidence. People remember if you’re a client who they feel appreciated by.

So thanks to all my people out there keeping me going, and reminding me why I do what I do. You all are everything 🫶

Virtual staging before and after. I always provide several different options of a room so the agent/sellers can decide what they like best. 🏡 📸

Lane & Toby✨

I am so excited to share some of these images, as this was easily the most meaningful and special thing I have ever captured. I have spent months anticipating it - and hoping Toby didn’t catch on to what we were up to😆. If you know Lane, you know he hates photos! I joke that he’s worse than a toddler. The only time I have successfully been able to photograph him is if he’s on his horse. (You might recognize Lane as the cowboy streaking across the field with the Wyoming football team running right behind him every fall). But to me, Lane is so much more than a cowboy, and he is the definition of what I wish every cowboy was.

Lane is incredibly selfless, and has shown up for me in the matter of minutes anytime I have needed him (which has been alot). And as soon as I met Toby, I knew immediately that it was one of those rare matches that few people get lucky enough to experience in this life. Toby has that energy that turns heads when she enters a room. She is a beautiful force, and she keeps Lane in his place. Her presence and love have forever changed him, and the fact that Lane wanted to have photos of the proposal says it all. To make the whole thing believable and keep Toby from getting suspicious, I texted them in a group message several months ago saying that I wanted to do a western shoot incorporating the horses. Of course, Lane “pretended” to be difficult about it, but he had that ring in a drawer the whole time.

I was a nervous wreck, and I could tell Lane was barely keeping it together. In the middle of the session I acted like I had just thought of my favorite pose. I told Toby to turn around away from Lane, and spent about 15 seconds telling her that I was going to have Lane come up behind her and scoop her up and spin her around, but she needed to face away from him so that her reaction would be more candid and authentic. In that time, Molly handed Lane the ring, and he got down on one knee. Then I said, “actually Toby, just turn around.” It was magical getting to witness it. She had zero suspicion, and it was a total shock and surprise. Lane has only been in my life for four years, but he’s like a little brother, and his happiness means so much to me. And now Toby’s does too.

Congratulations you two. We couldn’t be more excited for your future together!

Best place to catch an epic sunset?

The Snowy Range

Secrets Beach in Brookings, Oregon 📸

Alex & Lora🫶🤍✨

Lora broke her foot im the gym right before their engagement session, but she didn’t let it stop her from trudging around in the snow and having a blast while doing it. These two are simply incredible, and their story is as well. I am so excited for their future, and I’m honored to have been able to capture this special moment in time for them.

The snow is melting in Poudre Canyon and little signs of spring are starting to show up. Before long, this entire canyon will be lush with greenery🏔️✨

I had so much fun getting some new headshots of this beautiful lady. Kim is a real estate agent in Cheyenne, mother of twin boys, and she and her husband have been married for 22 years. He tagged along last night for moral support, and it was so heartwarming to see that even after 22 years of marriage they still had that spark and playful nature that I am sure they shared on day one✨

One of my favorite photo sessions ever✨

Carrie & Ryan kept telling me how awkward they would be in front of the camera, and just look at them. They laughed at themselves many times, but the camera certainly loved them, and their images are some of my favorite I’ve ever taken.

This is your reminder to set your nerves aside, and just have fun. I will take care of the posing😊

I have some big love for the Nyquist family. These two are such a wonderful parents and it shows in all of Luke & Jack’s happiness.

A few months ago I met the matriarchs of this family (the two sisters), while I was shooting the listing photos for their parents house that they had to sell. I could tell that it wasn’t easy for them, as they had a lifetime worth of memories there. So the day before they closed, they rounded up their families, and we were able to get these last bittersweet photos in a place forever close to their heart🤍

These two froze their butts off with me last night but we managed to laugh the entire time.

Congratulations Emily & Lee🫶

The overalls. Those big eyes. Little Kylo won my heart last night!

I got to spend the morning with the coolest cake monster! This little guy and his big brother are two of the happiest kiddos I have ever seen.

Happy Birthday, Jack! 🎈

Alli is a fellow east coaster who moved to Laramie and fell in love with it. It was freeeezing throughout her headshot session, but we still managed to make it fun, and even found ourselves standing in the cold chatting for a while after.

So happy to have her here in Laradise🫶✨