little rays of sunshine

For my photographer friends...

So here's the deal, I'm friends with a few photographers that are doing something so very cool that I just have to share.  We all know that photographers these days are not just photographers...they are much more than that.  They do not just take their camera, take a few pics and then call it a day.  Oh no...they are photo editors, designers and marketers.  They are creative artists and strive to stay that way. They are students.  They are also teachers. They are innovative.  And they are BUSY!  Now...to get to my point.  "CG Designs" is a brand new collaborative effort of many photographers/designers/artists that have put together some extremely useful (and way cool) tools to help make YOUR life easier.  There are actions, templates, presets, and more.  And from what I hear they will be continually adding many fabulous tools that are fun to play with and extreme time savers!  So you simply MUST go check out this talented group of gals.  And be sure to check out the sale that's going on...the codes are posted at the very bottom of their blog!!!

The link to their site is here:

CG designs

And because I just have to share a few pics in a post...here goes.  Two of my favorite peeps to photograph.;-)

   

See you guys in a few days!!!!;-)

Warning...Cuteness Overload!

  Well, I should have posted two warnings with this one.  There is also going to be an image overload too!  I just can't help myself.  Check out this little cutie...she is such a little doll.  She was quite possibly one of the most easy going and happiest little ones I've seen in a while....sooooo laid back.  She just went with the flow.  And let's talk about that little personality for a bit.  She was chock full of it!  Happiness just surrounded her and it really showed in these portraits.  So now, you might understand now why it was so difficult to only choose a few.  Check out this sweet little girl... 

Mom and Dad's favorite!!!;-)  What a contagious little smile...

Just a reminder that the weather is getting warmer and of course that means that my schedule is booking up quickly!  If you are interested in a session, please email me as soon as possible to reserve your desired date.

Until next time...

A little slice of heaven...

Ok, so a while back I got a call to do a family session.  Like any other session, in the midst of preparing for it we had to decide where it would take place.  Did we want to do it at their house?  A local park?  Maybe a spot in town?  We went back and forth about it and both decided to think on it.  I was told by mom that their house may not be suitable for portraits.  So time goes by and we agree to meet at the house and if it's just not working for us, we will move to another location. 

Fast forward to the day of the session.  I get to their house and I'm quite sure my jaw was still on the ground when I got out of the car.  Incredible...absolutely incredible.  The home, the view, EVERYTHING!  I kid you not when I tell you it was a photographer's dream.  A gorgeous secluded house sitting on top of a mountain with a 360 degrees view of nothing but other mountains ALL THE WAY AROUND.  I was in heaven.  In fact, I imagine that living there truly as close as you can get to heaven on earth!  See below...

Click on images to enlarge...

 

 

See what I mean?  Gorgeous surroundings and a BEAUTIFUL family.  Truly...it was s uch a treat to get to hang out with these guys.;-)

Go check out this site if you have a second Take Action Products.  Very cool thing they have going on there.  Not only do their products raise awareness for different causes, 15% of your total purchase goes to a charity of YOUR choice!  Pretty sweet concept, eh?  Here is one of my personal favorites featured on the site...

baby boy and big sis

So this past Sunday I had a session with the most adorable family!   Yeah, I said this past Sunday....Super bowl Sunday!  After we had scheduled and I realized that is was Super bowl Sunday, I panicked a bit thinking that dad would be a wee bit upset about the chosen date.  But...thankfully he wasn't upset, and I was in and out of there before the Super bowl even began.  I have to admit though that I did get to see the Paula Abdul comeback performance with them before I left.  I'm certain I would've been more upset about missing THAT than the actual Super bowl.;-)  It was most entertaining....

Ok, onto the session.  This was primarily a newborn session for precious little Brooks.  He was however three weeks old so I was a bit concerned about how well he would sleep during the session.  But wow...he was an absolute DREAM!  I was so amazed at how good he was...he slept pretty much the whole time.  And anyone who has ever been a part of a newborn session before knows that "accidents" are just inevitable...and sometimes happen quite often.  Well, not with this little guy...not once.   What a little angel he was.  And his big sister....wow, what a cutie.  So stinkin' adorable with her gorgeous curls and spunky little attitude!  We had such fun....

I told mom that I would share a few on my blog as a "sneak peak" since she has yet to see the proofs.  I seriously had so much trouble trying to decide which ones to show.  But alas, I decided on the ones below.  And perhaps after they've seen their proofs, I will show more.;-) 

You can click on each image to enlarge it....

Mom had this awesome fabric that she wanted to use....I love the way it looked!!!

 

And just as an update, I will now be offering framing!  It took me a while to decide on a vendor, but I finally have made up my mind and I am sooo excited.  You won't believe how gorgeous these frames are and how many possibilities there are with them!

I will be sharing another session this week so stay tuned!!!!;-)

Check out this Prank

Ok, just got an email from my sister in law and it had a link to this video.  I thought this was amazing....and so cool.  I cannot imagine being there when this happened.  It would've either been the coolest thing ever or quite possibly the freakiest!  So enjoy!!!

Behind the Scenes...

I know I always love to see the "behind the scenes" type shots so I thought I'd share one with you.  When I talked to Tisha a few days ago, she mentioned that she got the funniest picture of me from our get together on Saturday.  Camera in one hand, coffee in the other.   Now, I like to think I'm a pretty laid back chic during shoots, but I'm not normally THIS laid back.  HA!  But even still this picture totally cracks me up.  And I can't help but chuckle every time I see it!

So this picture was taken by Tisha of me taking a picture of Stacey.  Go ahead and click on her name to see her blog with her amazing pictures posted from the session.  You'll be sure to fall in love with them.

And since we're on the "behind the scenes" kick, be sure to check out my interview that was on the "blu" blog recently.  For those of you that don't know, blu has quite a happening blog...check it out to see for yourself.;-)  You just may become as addicted as the rest of us that stalk the blog on daily basis.

INTERVIEW

Until next time....

 

Beautiful Miss Stacey Q.

A few of us local photographers decided that it was time for us to get together for some business discussion, learning, fun and of course photographing!   So yesterday was our day.  We had SUCH a great time.  It's always fun hanging out with fellow friends and colleagues...there's always so much to talk about.  And of course, one of our fellow photographer friends, Miss Stacey Q. was there and looking beautifully pregnant.  So needless to say, she was our model for the day...and a darn good model she was!  Not only is she the cutest pregnant gal ever, she did whatever was asked of her....even if it meant climbing up into a window for some shots (as first suggested and then demonstrated by Tisha....ha!).;-)  I love photographing other photographers.  They don't even flinch when you ask this sort of thing of them.  Tisha's got the most incredible windows in her new studio...so it only made sense to use those bad boys!  Alright...on to share a few from our get together yesterday.  I've only edited a few for now...there are many, many more including some with off camera flash!  That was a first for me...can't wait to dive into that a little more.  You can click on the images to view them larger!  And don't be afraid to leave a comment and let Stacey know how smokin' hot she is!!!;-)

Love the one of Stacey taking her own picture of her preggo belly!!!!!!

 

                                                                

I'm back!!!

While it seems as though it was just yesterday I left town, I'm happy to say that I am now home.  I had so much fun on my trip visiting family while driving back and forth from Tampa to Orlando a number of times!   I also had a blast hanging out with Darryl (Tisha's hubby) at the Imaging expo in Tampa while she was in class at DWF.  I found all kinds of exciting and new products that I will be offering...I'm SO glad I went.  It really does help to be able to see things first hand.  Some products just simply are not done justice by a picture.  Oh, and can I just say how nice it was to wear short sleeves during this time of year and STILL be hot?  It's a beautiful thing...that Florida weather.  We also got a chance to visit the beach for a bit too and it was glorious.  While the water was a bit chilly, it didn't stop the kids from having a blast.  Anyways....that was short lived and now a thing of the past.  Here I am back in VA and it SNOWED today!  Welcome home, right?;-)

It's about time I shared another session, huh?   When I first heard that I was going to be photographing three year old triplets I was a bit nervous.  I mean, I have a three year old....I can't imagine trying to take pictures of three little Eli's running around!  But of course after that nervousness wore off, I was soooo excited...and for good reason.  These kids were the most adorable and well behaved kids ever.  I have to say I was completely amazed at how calm, collected and TOGETHER their parents were during the entire shoot.  It was amazing.  I have such a respect for them.  Ok, I could go on for days talking about this amazing little family, but I'll stop now and quit holding out on the images!!!!  When I first spoke with their mom on the phone, she told me that all the kids were eating popsicles in the bathtub b/c "it's just easier that way!".  So she probably thought I was crazy when I asked, but I really wanted to get a picture of that scene.  They were sooo darn cute.  See below...

 

 

Ok...last one.  I could seriously go on and on sharing images from this session.  It was a blast.  Had to end this post with this one...and all this time I thought I was the only one that let their kid ride their bike in the house????  Thank goodness for hardwood floors...

It's been far too long!

Now that the busiest time of the year is now a thing of the past it's time to catch up on my blogging!  I have many, many sessions to share with you that I'm so excited about!  And of course there will be many more to come in 2008!  I'm so excited to kick off the new year, but for now I'll keep enjoying a little down time in January.  I'll be going down to Savannah, Ga and Florida to celebrate a late Christmas with my family down there.  I'll also be stopping by the imaging convention in Tampa!  I can't tell you how excited I am about that!  Anyways....all that to say that I'll be out of the office from January 3rd until January 15th.  I will have phone and limited internet access though, so I will still be accessible if you need to reach me for any reason.

Now, onto some image sharing!  This fall I did an engagement shoot for an awesome couple, Mark and Michelle.  They drove down from Maryland for our shoot....no pressure, right?;-)  We got soooo many great shots!   We met at a nearby park and I was amazed at how many cool spots there were for portraits and we pretty much utilized all of them!

Thanks so much guys!  I truly enjoyed meeting you and I wish you nothing but happiness!  Can't wait to hear about the wedding in September!

Here's to Firsts!

Well, in the spirit of this being my actual first post I figured it only appropriate that I should write about something else that was a first for me...shooting a wedding!  I have been asked many times to shoot a wedding...and many times I have turned them down.  Truth is, I had no interest in doing them.  I loved doing the kid and family thing.  Not only that, there is a lot of pressure because that is a HUGE, once in a lifetime day for your clients!  You simply cannot afford to make mistakes!  So, that coupled with the workload after the fact was enough to make me say, "No thanks!" to the weddings.  Then one day I was approached by our friends to shoot their wedding.  And something came over me telling me that I should do it.  And not just that I should do it, but that I would REGRET it if I didn't.  I don't know if it was the location of the wedding, the fact that it was for friends, me wanting a challenge or all three things combined.  But whatever it was, I did it.  And I'm so glad I did!  Their wedding was gorgeous and they were AWESOME to work with!   And guess what, I have another wedding under my belt since this one.....never say never, right?

Here are just a few images for now.  I will have many more after the 15th when the gallery goes up. I will feature some shots taken by the fabulous Tisha McCuiston as well.  She was kind enough to go along with me to this wedding and hold my hand through it.;-)

Thanks so much Brooke and Mike for trusting me to document this incredible day for you guys!  Your wedding was gorgeous and I wish you tons of happiness in your new life together!!!!