Oh how I love this family! They are no strangers to my website. You've seen them before. Most recently in the library.
You might remember Miss Karsyn from her tea party in the woods. She has grown so much since then!
Mr. Kadin. Such a sweetheart.
These next two just make me smile.
Especially this one.
I know Christmas morning is going to be exciting at their house this year!
I spent this morning with the most precious 4-month-old ever.
I had such a nice visit with Paul and his mommy in their beautiful home.
I can't wait to share more from our session. It was so nice to get my baby fix. :-)
I love this family. They have become great friends of mine. They have come to the barn the past two years for mini-sessions so I was glad that we were able to do something a little different this year.
I especially love these boys. Andrew and Alex.
I've shared these next two before, but since they are favorites of mine I decided to share them again.
Their "cool dude" shoes as my Stewart would say.
Stay tuned for more mini-sessions. I'm trying to do better on updating the website if you've noticed. ;-)
I'm taking a break for just a few minutes from designing Christmas cards to share some of the fun families from my urban mini-sessions. We had perfect weather for it. It was a gorgeous, warm afternoon.
My first session of the afternoon was with the Franks family. Last year they came to the barn for Christmas mini-sessions, so it was fun to do something different this year.
I just love my little buddy, Will. He's such a sweetheart.
You can tell he adores his big sister, Emma.
More urban minis coming soon!
Just a little sneak peek of urban Christmas mini-sessions. Stewart says these are the shoes cool dudes wear.
These two little dudes are pretty cool if you ask me.
I will be sharing their session along with all the others from my day soon. Busy editing and creating right now!
You might remember Cooper from a few months ago when he was 18 months old. He is now 2 and is as busy as any 2 year old boy can be.
I was glad he brought his parents along with him this time so we could get a few family shots. ;-)
But it was really all about Cooper. I even brought along my "new" prop for him. I found this old toy chest at the antique store and knew I had to get it.
And I'm really liking this one.
This little stinker is just too cute! I will have the rest for you soon, Mom and Dad!
You might remember a while back when I was part of Becky Higgins' Big Photography Giveaway. Jamie was the lucky winner of my session giveaway. She and her husband Paul brought their precious daughters, Makenna and Emmerson to meet me a couple weeks ago. We went to the farm and let the girls run and play.
Miss Emmerson really liked picking the flowers. She is a busy, busy girl!
Miss Mckenna was more my speed. ;-) Such a pretty girl. She is very excited about starting Kindergarten!
I love this one of Mckenna and her mom. Makes me happy.
There were some cows across the pasture and Emmerson really wanted a closer look.
So we all went for a walk.
A pause for a quick family shot.
And just a couple more favorites.
Jamie and Paul, thanks for making the drive up and for sharing your afternoon with me. So glad to have met you! Thanks to Becky Higgins for putting this awesome giveaway together. I am thrilled to be a part of it!
Last week I met up with the Good family for a late afternoon shoot. It might have been late afternoon, but this is July in Tennessee. It was HOT! So we found some shade near the river.
Amanda gets an A+ on wardrobe for the family. I absolutely love the orange and brown.
Miss Emma is one of Molly's classmates. Love this sweet girl. She is so much fun. She is such a precious girl.
And I just love that snaggle tooth grin of hers.
Next we headed to a nearby farm I like to use. What a great surprise to find that the horses were near the gate! This brown one is very much the poser!
He really liked Miss Emma. She really liked him, too!
Let's end on what I think may be my favorite family shot.
It really was a "good" afternoon. We laughed a lot and that always makes for a good session. Thanks again for letting me share an afternoon with your family.
Last Friday afternoon I had a session scheduled with the Posey family. At about the time I started getting my gear together it started thundering. After checking the radar and exchanging a few phone calls, we decided it would be better to try again the next afternoon. We have been having typical summer afternoon pop-up thunderstorms for the past couple of weeks. So we met on Saturday afternoon. While it thundered and threaten to rain on us Saturday afternoon, we managed to get in our session.
I was smiling as soon as I met them. You just know it's going to be a fun session when you client arrives in a seersucker suit, pink shirt and bow tie!
Nathan was a lot of fun. He will be entering the 3rd grade this year, and from what I am told is a fierce Kung Fu warrior!
This is Matthew. He had some pretty exciting news to share. He just made the high school's Freshman baseball team. I was very impressed!
And you know, it is fun when you see siblings that you can really tell do love each other. I could tell that these two young men have a good relationship. They kept me smiling.
This is just a super neat family.
I'm a sucker for boys and their moms. I couldn't help but to get a few shots of Kim with her boys.
And as much as these three guys kept me laughing I had to get one of Scott, Matt and Nate together.
Guys thanks for being flexible and for coming out to spend the afternoon with me. I hope you like the preview and will have more for you soon!
I am so excited to share Harper's slideshow. This was truly one of the most amazing experiences I have ever had. Thank you so much, Lori and BJ, for letting me share in this blessed day.
Thank you to Valarie for getting this photo of Harper and me. This sweet little girl will always be very special to me.
The first contact I had with Kaylee's mom was the following e-mail.
I would like to have pictures made of my 2-year old daughter. Because she's 2, I knew it wasn't going to be easy and I wasn't expecting a lot of good pictures and I didn't want to spend a lot of money on bad pics so we took her to a studio on Saturday. We walked out of there without the first picture ever being taken. It wasn't a pleasant experience. That's when I decided that at her age a studio wasn't going to cut it.
I would like pics of the three of us, but I want pics primarily of her. Are you up for this challenge? :)
Ahhh! A challenge! I love a challenge! ;-)
I talked to Kaylee's mom a few times, and I gave her my philosophy on 2-year-olds. I think most photographers would agree with me when I say that 2-year-olds can be the most difficult of all subjects to photograph. That's not because they are little monsters or anything like that. It's because they are busy fellows. They have things to do, and they don't need any help doing them! As a mom, I have been through the Terrible Twos 3 times now. My approach to photographing a busy 2-year-old is that they set the pace. We go with the flow and as my Molly likes to say, "You get what you get..." I may have ideas going into a session, but it is usually the unexpected shot that becomes my favorite.
We met at the old train depot. One of my favorite photos of my Molly is on these same steps. Kaylee quickly let us know that she didn't want anyone else on the steps with her.
She also let us know that she didn't need any help climbing up or down the steps. She could do it herself! She did let me get take a quick shot of her cute toes though.
Next we headed to a nearby farm. Isn't her little alligator outfit just the cutest?! Like I said, it's sometimes the unexpected shot that becomes my favorite.
This was us going with the flow. We were playing in the dirt when I got this one.
Things were going so well we decided to try to a clothing change. Mom is a real quick change artist!
And what is that I see?! A smile? I think that counts as completion of the challenge. Wouldn't you agree?!
And we even managed to get a few family photos while we were at it.
All in all I would call it a successful afternoon. I hope Kaylee's mom will agree!
I am so excited to be a part of this! I could not wait to my day so that I could share!
Why is Becky doing this? Here is her answer as on her blog.
A: Top 5 reasons.
Five Photographers from across the country around the world are being featured each day this month on her blog. Leave a comment on Becky's blog telling why you would like to have a family session or nominate a friend or love one who you think deserves a free family session. Only comments left on Becky's blog will count. So go here and leave your comment. So while I love having you comment here, for this one you need to comment on her blog. Of course you can do both, but only ones left on her blog will count for the contest. And while you're there tell Becky how awesome she is! This took a lot of organization on her part. :-)
Good luck!
Need an idea for Mother's Day, Father's day, graduation? How about a gift certificate for a mini-session?
These make great gifts for Grandma and Grandpa! Wouldn't they love some photos of themselves with the grandkids. Good for up to 5 people. Comes nicely wrapped in a presentation box.
Earlier this week I got to spend my morning with Baby Luke and his mom and dad. Luke's mom received one of my gift certificates at her baby shower, and she called me as soon as she and Luke came home from the hospital to schedule his session. Unfortunately, Luke has a clogged tear duct, and we had to reschedule his appointment not once, but twice. So Luke's newborn session is actually his 3-week session. :-)
He has WIDE awake the entire time. We had to work for some of our shots, but I think we managed to get some very special ones. After a once over I pulled out a couple of my favorites to share here. I will post more when I have time to go through them a little closer.
I love this one of Luke and his dad. Love the moment.
And one of my favorites of this sweet new family.
Thanks for letting me spend the morning with you guys. You have a precious, precious family.
Rewind to last fall..... I have a few sessions that I never got around to sharing here with the craziness of Christmas cards and all last fall. I know it is March 2nd, but they are too special for me not to share! The first is of my dear friend, April's family. April and I go all the way back to elementary school. You might remember that I took her son Timmy's senior portraits back last summer. It doesn't seem like that long since April and I were graduating from high school ourselves!
When April said that she wanted to do fall portraits, I came up with the perfect place. The entire time we were growing up, April's family lived at the fish hatchery. Her dad worked there, and it was the perfect setting for our session.
I knew that this setting would be so meaningful for April and also for Tony. The two of them have been together even longer than Chris and I have. They dated throughout high school. I was a bridesmaid in their wedding and April was there to help me get dressed on my wedding day.
They have two very handsome sons!
Timmy had senior portraits in the late summer, but we took the opportunity to get a few more with the gorgeous fall leaves.
And a few of Joseph (Jo-Jo).
One last family shot before heading back to our cars.
Thanks guys!
I have a confession. I think babies are my favorite subject. Oh, I just LOVE them! On a very blustery day in December I went to meet Jackson and his mom and dad. Jackson's Aunt LeeAnn and I recently reconnected via Facebook after many years since our Flag Corp days in high school.
Long story short... that all brought me to Jackson's home on that blustery December day. When I got there he was having a little snack.
Funny how the unexpected shots are so often my favorites. I love moments like this. Reminds me of when my kiddos were babies...
Once Jackson's tummy was nice and full, we did a few family shots.
Sarah Beth and Brett are two of the calmest first-time parents I have ever seen. They have so much love for this precious little one.
Sarah Beth had all these amazing things she had found for Jackson on Etsy. My favorite was this hat. Mom assured me that Jackson loves his hats! ;-)
This next one made the Christmas card. How could it not?!
Baby feet. Is there anything in this world cuter? I think not!
And all warm and cozy in his soft, soft blankets.
Is there any question why I love my job?! :-)
You might remember this family from earlier this summer. I am so glad they chose to schedule a Christmas mini-session.
I was so happy to get to see my buddy Will again. He kills me with his "Cheese and Crackers!". :-)
You can tell that he absolutely adores his big sister Emma. She is such a natural beauty.
I love this sweet moment between the two of them.
Another favorite family shot.
And the card not chosen.... That just means the one they did pick is even better!
Thanks for coming out guys! It's always fun getting together with y'all!
I am finally getting to edit my Christmas mini-session from a couple weeks ago. It was such a fun day! Gorgeous weather!
Dawn had scheduled a family session for a week or so before, but something came up and she had to cancel. Since we weren't able to work out another time, we decided to some non-holiday shots.
For a second year in a row the kids' soccer tournament threw me for a loop. It was originally scheduled for the weekend before, but was changed at the last minute. That meant a little bit of shuffling for some of my families. Dawn and I had been waiting all week to find out when Andrew was going to play and of course his game was scheduled at the same time as their mini-session. So we just moved them to first thing in the morning, and it all worked out fine. Plus the boys weren't tired out from being at the soccer field.
Andrew always turns on the smile. Alex not so much. :-)
We did get a little smile out of him when we moved over to the barn for some holiday shots.
And I just don't know what it is, but I love this one of Alex.
And if you think they look familiar it is probably because you remember them from their rockin' slideshow from last year. I love this family!
Thanks guys for working with me on such a hectic day!
My sister-in-law, Amy, asked me to come to Franklin to do a family session. So a couple weeks ago, I drove up on a gorgeous Sunday afternoon. We started out at a park, but quickly moved from there to downtown Franklin. I love downtown Franklin, and we were able to get a lot of neat shots. Here is a little preview!
I loved the way the colors popped against the white wall!
This is my favorite of the kids. I would have to have a gigantic gallery wrap of it.
I always try to get individual shots of the kids during a session.
This is Miss Anna.
This is Sam. He went hunting with Chris for the first time the day before!
And this is Wild Man Andy. I always say 2-year-olds are the hardest age to photograph. They can also be the most fun when you get shots like this. :-)
This is one of my favorite family shots.
And this is a close second of my favorite shot of the three kiddos together. I love the expression on Andy's face!
I don't know whose yard we were in, but I really appreciate them letting us use it! ;-)
Hope you like the preview, Amy and Steve! Will have the rest for you as soon as possible!
I just want to start off by saying I LOVE THIS FAMILY. They are some of our dearest friends. You will never meet more genuine, kind, caring people than Tim and Shannon. I am so glad that their family is a part of our family's life.
Tim and Shannon are also one of my favorite couples to photograph. Is there any question why? For those of you who don't know Tim and Shannon , but think you recognize them it is probably because their photos are all over my website. They are so comfortable together and in front of the camera.
They have three beautiful daughters. Katie is a freshman in college. She is a drama student and is a very talented actress.
Miss Carson is a 4th grader. This girl always makes me smile. She and my Elizabeth love playing together.
Sweet Emma Bee as her mom calls her. She is a sweetie. Dont' let her size full you though. She can hang in there with the best of them!
Shannon had a location in mind, but when she revisited it it wasn't as she had hoped. She searched for another location, but we ended up doing the shoot at their home. I don't think we could have found a more perfect place.
Shannon and Tim are two very kind-hearted people. They have given a home to several dogs. It is obvious that the dogs love them because we had to move them out of the frame after every other shot. I love this next photo. I love all the real smiles and laughs here. What you don't see is their basset hound, Annie, running figure 8's around me as I am lying flat on my stomach. Who new being a photographer was such a dangerous profession?!
Guy, just like always I had the best time with y'all. It was so much fun haging out with my dear friends on a Sunday afternoon. Love you!
