I am now booking Easter mini-sessions. This years sessions will take place at beautiful Shadow Valley located in Fayetteville, Tennessee.
Schedule:
10:00 -
10:30 - Martinez
11:00 - Bloxham
11:30 - Gattis
12:30
1:00 - Steelman
1:30
2:00
2:30
3:00 Parker
Let me know if you have any questions. Thanks!
So far 2012 has been exciting for me. I've felt more excited about work than I have in a while. I sat down in December of 2011 and did some planning and decision making. I've been doing this just long enough now to have discovered exactly what I enjoy doing the most, and what I would like to do more of. That was the reason I decided to do more styled mini-sessions this year. I love the creating part of putting together a fun set. I still have lots of those planned in the coming months. Another thing I knew I wanted to do was to add the option of studio sessions for my clients.
What?! I know! That goes against my motto! I do love, love, love on-location shooting. That is still my favorite. However, when it comes to the little ones I photograph, I have been limited in the winter months. There is a type of studio work I am drawn to. Photographers who work I just adore. Their work is different, but it has one thing in common. It is art. Just like in my location sessions, for studio work I love color and texture. I decided that it was something that I wanted to offer to my clients. Something that isn't really offered in our small town.
Earlier this year I purchased my first studio lighting thanks to some help from my photographer and scrapbooking friends Robin and Gina. And now I am happy to announce that I no longer have just an office but a studio! My ever-willing model helped me try out one of my new backdrops earlier this week. We literally did this in the 30 minutes we had between picking her up from school and picking her sister up from tennis practice. How I wish I was as photogenic as my daughter!
Well, I'm a little late sharing my little guy's Valentine's Day cards. I didn't want to share them too early, and then I was busy yesterday and didn't have the time to post them. I cannot take credit for the idea. It was inspired by a Valentine I saw on Pinterest. Stewart received some of these stick-on mustaches for Christmas, and I knew I had to use one for his Valentine shoot. These are the ones he gave to his classmates yesterday.
For you creative ones, the paper is from Gina Miller's Christmas Prints Paper Pack. And while I am sharing, here is Miss Molly's Valentine.
Where are Elizabeth's you ask? Apparently 5th graders are too old for Valentine Cards. :-)
Yesterday I shared Kari and Landon's session. Kari asked if we could also do a few family shots and some of the kids. Miss Ryan was sleeping in the car and didn't care for being woken up to come out into the cool for pictures. I mean really who would want to? LOL! So we decided to do hers another day on her terms. We did take some of Jaxxon though. He is such a sweetheart. He is one of Molly's friends. They were classmates since Kindergarten until this year when he transferred to a new school. I still miss seeing him. It was nice to get to spend some time with him this day.
Right before we quit for the afternoon, I asked Kari if she wanted to take a few of her and Jaxxon. This was the result. Some of my all time favorite images. I really cannot express how much I love these next ones of these two. Moms and little boys just make me happy.
When Kari saw those she sent me a message. "If no other pics turn out, it will be worth the afternoon for the ones with me and Jaxxon. I LOVE IT!! Thank you. :)"
Capturing moments like that make me so thankful for the path God has leading me down.
If you would like to see more, Jaxxon's slideshow it below.
Thanks for stopping by!
When I talk about what I consider to be a good photo, I seldom mention words like exposure and composition. Don't get me wrong. Those are both very important in photography, but the words I am most likely to say are emotion and meaning. For me a photo can even be a little blurry, but if it captures a tender moment it can still be better than the crispest photo ever taken.
Chris and I both lost our grandfathers in the summer of 2011. We lost them within the span of two weeks. They were both very important in our lives and helped shape us into the people we are today. When Chris was a teenager he helped his Grandfather a lot on his farm. I remember when we first started dating that there were signs on the gates that led into the farm that read "Stewart Farm." Chris told me that he had helped his grandfather hang these signs.
After Tata's passing last summer, we were going through one of his out buildings and found one of the signs. Chris took it home that day and later shared an idea with me. He wanted me to photograph our kiddos and his sister's children with the sign on the farm for his mom for Christmas. So he arranged it with his sister.
I will go ahead and tell you that this next photo was my favorite from the day. Why is it my favorite? I like the colors. I like the contrast. I like that the little boys are holding the sign as it would have been hung on the gate.
The next photo is the one Chris had planned. This was the first time in years that any crop other than hay had been grown on Tata's farm. He leased it to some local farmers and they grew corn. He negotiated the terms in the spring before he became sick.
We weren't able to get together to get the photo taken before the crop was harvested, but Chris had the farmers leave a section of corn when they harvested the crop. We met at the barn and secretly crossed the road to where he wanted the photos taken. He wanted a photo of the kids holding the sign in front of the corn.
For Christmas we gave his parents a 24x36 gallery wrap of the photo above. Like I said before, I liked the other photo a little better, and I wasn't able to get the image to fit on the gallery wrap exactly as I would have liked. However, Chris loved it. It was the one that was the most meaningful to him. That is what really mattered.
When my in-laws unwrapped it on Christmas I knew that Chris was right. The way his mom cried when she looked at it. The way she hugged me. The way she thanked me. The emotion she felt was so obvious. This image held so much meaning for her and that meant everything about it was perfect.
It is now above their fireplace, and I hope that each time she looks at it she smiles. I hope that she has good memories. I hope that she will know she is loved.
That my friends is what I believe makes a photograph meaningful.
I don't know if you have noticed it, but the stores are clearing the shelves of candy canes and replacing them with conversation hearts. Yes, it is time to start thinking about Valentine's Day. This year why not do something a little different and give a card that will find it's way into the photo album or scrapbook rather than that file where all others seem to go? You know what I mean!
This year I am offering Valentine's in two different sizes.
Wallets -
Pricing for Wallets:
$10 per sheet of 8 with minimum order of 2 sheets.
Or 4x6 prints
Pricing for 4x6 Valentines:
$2 per print with a minimum order of 12 prints.
This year I am offering 6 different designs. You may see them here on my Facebook page. Orders should be placed no later than February 3rd to insure they arrive in time for Valentine's Day.
Want a creative idea of how to use your 4x6 Valentine prints? See my tutorial for making popcorn valentines. A nice alternative to candy.
This was a fun one! We got off to a bit of a rocky start, but it all worked out in the end. Miss Brystol wasn't too into this whole Christmas-picture-taking-thing.
Glad I was clicking because it was the shot her parents chose for their Christmas cards. Made for an awfully adorable card!
Things did get better though.
Helping me with a little decorating.
Isn't Christmas going to be fun at Brystol's house this year?! Merry Christmas, Brystol. I know Santa is going to be good to you!
Another on of my favorite kiddos. This makes the third year I have done Jackson's Christmas photos. The first time he was brand new.
Now look how big he is!
Jackson was not too sure about Santa.
In fact at first he was pretty sure he did not like Santa.
But Santa is a Jolly Old Elf, and he worked hard to make Jackson his friend. Soon they were spotting reindeer.
And peeking through gates.
In the end they were friends.
Merry Christmas, Jackson!
Next up is two of my favorite kiddos. Kaylee and Connor.
Connor had grown so much since his 6-month session this summer. You never know about this age, but he wasn't frightened at all by Santa.
In fact, he was very curious. Yes, it is real!
This was one of my favorites of the day.
Kaylee wasn't too sure about Santa in the beginning. She did tell him that she would like for him to bring her a cash register. She told him the most important thing of all. That her mommy would like some jewelry! I never thought about trying that!
Before she left she came back to give Santa a big hug.
Kaylee, I hope you get that cash register you're hoping for. I bet Santa remembers your mommy, too!
Santa and I have put our heads together for a great Cyber Monday sale!
All print orders today are 20% off. This applies to all sizes (4x6 and up) including gallery wraps. This is the time to order a few extra sheets of wallets to add to your Christmas cards.
Sale does not apply to albums and cards. Orders must be received by midnight tonight. This sale cannot be applied to previously placed orders.
I am also extending my Black Friday Sale. 2010 Session CDs (with full print release) are 50% off through midnight. This applies only to 2010 sessions and includes both full and mini-sessions. I need to clean up my hard drive so you get a deal while I do a little housekeeping.
After I finished up a session yesterday morning, I had a mini-session with my favorite 6-year-old secret agent.
We had gone shopping the day before and he picked out this t-shirt. When I started getting his outfit together for his portraits, he said he really wanted to wear it. I told him that we would change into the t-shirt after I had taken his photo in the outfit I chosen. The ones in my choice are adorable of course, but these are Stewart at age six. No doubt about it. I guess that is why I like them more than the ones I had envisioned.
This is my absolute favorite. The poses. The glasses. All Stewart.
I'm so glad I let him wear what he wanted. Sometimes they have the best ideas!
I spent a little time this morning with my buddy, Cooper. You may remember him from his earlier appearances here. I think this is the fourth time we have gotten together, so this time I wanted to do something a little different. I hope his mom likes what I came up with!
I asked her to bring along his tricycle.
Let me tell you he is fast on it!
Then we went to another spot I discovered on one of my morning runs. I want to use it everytime I run by it, and so glad to finally get the chance!
I just love the red tricycle in front of the blue wall.
Cooper is going to be a big brother in just another week or two. They way he helped me carrying things this morning, I know he is going to be a big help with her. Happy birthday, Cooper!
Once again this year, I am proud to be a sponsor for the Run for Ella.
I am so blessed to be a part of a community that pulls together to help those in need. This year's event is in memory of a very special young man who I was fortunate to photograph with his brother, Will, a couple years ago.
Ed touched so many lives in his time here on Earth. You can read more about his story here.
Time is running out, so register now. It's a great family event. Our entire family will be participcating this year. Hope to see you there!
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!
How better to celebrate your 1st birthday than with a tea party in the woods with a few of your best stuffed friends?
That's exactly what we did for Miss Karsyn's birthday. I shared my vision with her mom, and I am so glad she went along with my idea. Amy usually goes along with my ideas, and we've had some pretty unique sessions because of her willing to let me dream.
Quick clothing change. Karsyn had the cutest outfits! Love this pink dress!
Another break in between clothing changes.
She really had fun crawling around. I think she enjoyed the freedom!
Molly tagged along with me on this shoot. Karsyn really liked Molly. Molly proved to be a great assistant. She was playing with Karsyn when I got these shots.
I love this one. :-)
After our break it was tutu and cake time!
I love these. Love, love, love them.
I love how she looks like she getting away with something in this one. I mean it's not every day that your parents sit you on top of a table and tell you eat a cake with your hands!
And this one. Well, it just cracks me up!
Amy and Kevin, thank you so much for letting me photograph your children over and over. They are so precious and you are such wonderful parents. I am so glad that photography brought your sweet family into my life. :-)
Saturday, I celebrated a first birthday with a tea party in the woods.
Sunday, we celebrated my husband's grandfather's 95th birthday.
Both celebrations we equally delightful!
The weather has not been my friend lately. I had a full day of Easter sessions scheduled for last Saturday, but it was a yucky, rainy day just like every other day for that week. So I rescheduled everyone I could for this Saturday (looks like it's going to be a gorgeous day), but there were a few that weren't going to be able to make it this Saturday. We rescheduled for this past Tuesday afternoon. It wasn't the nicest of spring days. It was a little on the cool side, but my kiddos were awesome and never once complained of being cold.
I started the afternoon with Miss Emma. Isn't she precious?!
And I do still have one opening at 2:00 tomorrow if anyone is interested.
Karsyn has changed a lot since the last time she and I were together. Her mom called and schedule an appointment for her 9-month session, but the weather did not cooperate for us and we had to reschedule. I think Karsyn was closer to 10-months by the time we were able to get together. It was a nice day in February, but it was still a little chilly. That's why I suggested we do something a little different. We met at our new public library on a sunny Saturday afternoon, and I have to say this is one of my favorite sessions ever.
Luckily, the library wasn't very busy that day, and we pretty much had the children's section to ourselves.
Karsyn quickly went to work searching for just the right book.
After a while we found a back corner where we could be just a little bit louder.
Kadin being the boy that he is found a whole series of bug books.
I did manage to get him to look up just for a second. :-)
And a little storyboard I put together.
This really was the perfect setting for their shoot considering Karsyn and Kadin's mom is a elementary reading coach. She knew most of the books the kids picked up. I think it's the little things like that make photos all the more meaningful.
I'm already planning for Miss Karsyn's 1st birthday session!
