Holly and Chris

Ahhhh...maternity pictures. I love maternity pictures. I have the coolest job in the world and I love taking all kinds of pictures....but there is something about maternity pictures that gets my creative side so excited! Taking pictures for a couple in such an important time of their lives is such an honor. And I do not take that lightly.

I met Holly when she came with her BFF for a bridal consult. Holly was the Maid of Honor, and let me tell you, she ROCKED the MOH position more than anyone else I have ever seen. At the wedding Holly was already pregnant but not too far along. So after the wedding when she emailed me about maternity pictures I was super excited! I think we had this session scheduled more than three months in advance!! I am not sure who was more excited...me or Holly. (maybe a close tie) The session was actually scheduled for a Saturday a few days prior we moved it to Friday because the forecast was showing a big chance of rain. We met at one of my favorite locations and instantly all three of us were laughing.

Holly and Chris were like pros, super models...like they had been doing this for years. I posted some of my favorites on Facebook but wanted to put some new ones here. Thanks Holly and Chris! I can't wait to meet Jensen!

Yummy Light

One of my obsessions is light. Natural light, artificial light, window light, filtered light, soft light...you name it and I am obsessed. I would say 9 out of 10 times that I walk in to a new place or look outside I am analyzing the light. In a building or someone's home the first thing my mind goes to is what room or spot would be best for a photo shoot, you know..just in case I get asked to start taking pictures. ;-) I am seriously NO EXPERT when it comes to light. But I want to learn any and every thing I can about how the light affects my camera and my exposures.

So speaking of light...I am diggin the light from this session. This is the kind of light I want to bottle up and take with me wherever I go. Yummy light.

Red

Ohhhh how I LOVE red-heads! Those of you that know me personally know why I love red-heads but for those of you that don't know my sweet daughter Zoe has red hair. When she was born I didn't get to see her for a few hours (I had a c-section) and the first thing I asked my hubby before I saw her was if she had hair. He said he couldn't remember! So I had to wait until she was in my arms to see for myself. The nurse brought my sweet baby girl to me and she had on a knit pink and purple hat so I couldn't see right away. But when I pulled the hat off of her head I saw the most beautiful, baby-fine, STRAWBERRY blonde hair...I was speechless...and instantly in love with my little red-head. That memory is definitely on my top ten list.


Enough about my red-head! Let's talk about these two! Momma picked out great colors to compliment their skin and hair, I was very impressed! We had a great time and took these pictures in probably one of the fastest photo shoots ever. I can't wait for her to see them all! Here are a few for you guys to check out....














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Mini Sessions

It has been kind of quiet over here...well, by "quiet" I mean I haven't been working as much this month. Definitely not quiet on the noise factor though! So it was very exciting to do some mini sessions for some regular clients of mine this past Saturday. I was so excited to pick up my camera again and take some real pictures! It was a very eventful morning, filled with laughter, peek-a-boos, sweat, and maybe just a few tears. But at the end of the day I think it is safe to say a good time was had by all, and to me, that equals success.

With this post I wanted to make a few quick notes about Mini Sessions. I have had lots of emails and inquiries about Mini Sessions these past few months so I wanted to share some info with everyone regarding minis. The most important thing about Mini Sessions is that they are never scheduled alone. Minis will always be scheduled in groups of at least 4 or more. You will get 20 minutes of camera time and usually 12-15 edited images on high res CD. Also now included with minis is a 4x6 of every edited image. The cost is $95 and that does not include shipping of the CD or the 4x6 prints. Mini session locations are already chosen and sometimes in studio. Newborns cannot be scheduled as a mini session. (It usually takes me 20 minutes just to set up a newborn session!) Mini session availability is extremely limited as I usually only take about 5-7 a month at the most. I hope this helps clear up some confusion. I appreciate each and every one of you and thank God every day for the opportunity He has given me.


A special thank you to The Trendy Tutu for the beautiful pettiskirt, pettitop, and romper pictured below. And to Birdie & Peanut for her adorable headbands and flowertops also pictured below.

Questions for You!

Hello friends! I have some questions that I would like some HONEST answers from everyone. I thought it would be fun to incorporate this in to a contest. So please answer the following questions in a comment below and one person will be randomly selected to win a 16x20 gallery wrap. (valued at $200) So here we go with the questions!

1. What is your favorite size print? (the size you print the most)

2. What photo printing company do you use for your printing needs?

3. Would you be interested in a one on one sales session where you can see photo collections with canvases, gallery wraps, standouts, and albums?

4. Do you have CD's in your possession that you still need to print from?

5. What are you most interested in? Mini sessions, Regular Sessions, Digital Images, Photo Prints, or Large Wall Photos/Art

If there are over 50 responses then there will be another drawing for a gift certificate that can be used towards a photo session or prints!


Contest Ends at 8:00 pm tonight!

New Orleans

This past weekend I was in New Orleans for PPA's Imaging USA for photographers. Me and my photog BFF, Jacquie Rives, planned to take this trip together back in the summer and have been anticipating it ever since. And let me tell you, the speakers did not disappoint! We had a great time learning about business, wedding photography, lighting, and photoshop tricks. I came back inspired and ready to get serious about my business and my photography.

Here are some of my favorite pictures I took walking around the French Quarter in NOLA.

Think Before I Post

I was talking with a close friend today about Facebook etiquette. I am not here to point fingers but I just wanted to share my opinion on what seems to be in my face on a daily basis. More and more I keep seeing things on Facebook that makes my mouth drop or makes me feel uncomfortable. And I know if it is doing that to me, it has to be affecting others in the same way. No, we don't all have the same beliefs and opinions. No, we don't all feel the same or react the same way in situations. But when we put our words and our life out there for the whole world to see we have to understand that there is an actual real world that is bigger than Facebook. Our real world can suffer from our social networking decisions. I have a rule of thumb when I post something on Facebook, whether it is a picture, a status, or a comment my rule of thumb generally works for me. I ask myself, "Will this post/picture offend or hurt anyone else?" If for ANY reason the answer is yes, then I will not post. There are times that I have been SO CLOSE to posting something and literally stepped back and asked myself that question and decided against it. I am sure if you went back in to the archives of my status updates you could find something that I probably shouldn't have posted. And I am embarrassed by that. But I have made the decision to not let my words get the best of me and to think before I post.

The Trendy Tutu

Please check out my friends store The Trendy Tutu which is local to us in McDonough GA. She has great outfits that you can use for photography sessions!

The Trendy Tutu offers a great selection of pettiskirts, tutus, ruffle bloomers, crochet hats, leg warmers, petti rompers and more for newborn to young teen girls. They also have a large selection of boy items.

The Most Important Thing

My first official blog post of 2012...I figured I had to make this a good one. I kept going round and round with myself trying to think of what would be the coolest most important post ever...and I kept coming up blank. So I decided to write about what to me is the most important thing about being a photographer and having your pictures taken. Are you ready for it...DRUMROLL please...

THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IS HAVING FUN!

Okay so if you are a child of the seventies or eighties it is almost a guarantee that you had your picture taken in the same portrait studio that me and my sisters had ours taken at. Not the same location, but the same company who shall remain nameless. Do you remember that being fun? I certainly don't! And looking back on those pictures we look stiff and uncomfortable. Ick. Not to mention our 80's hair and dresses, double ick. Being an on location portrait photographer of the 21st century I have made it a personal goal of mine to make sure that my pictures don't look stiff. And in order to achieve that the most important thing is to make sure me and my clients are having fun!

Whether everyone is cutting up with each other or laughing at me (which is usually the case) we are having FUN! I wouldn't love my job if it wasn't fun! And when people are having a good time and enjoying each other's company and sharing a laugh, then it comes across in the pictures. It looks like we are having fun, because WE ARE! The proof is in the pictures, right? ;-)