I promised a more vibrant and imaginative shoot… and I think we did it! Jeff, Sarah and I had lots of fun today with the band. We scouted out a location earlier in the day and drove everyone out there to get some good blue sky shots. Many thanks to the group for allowing me to do what I wanted. It makes it more fun for me, for sure! Here are my favorites from the afternoon!
She’s MY friend… I can showcase her if I want to. 
Typically, just by nature of the business, I don’t get to spend much time with fathers of the bride. It’s not a big deal, really, because most of them aren’t really interested in my end of things… and that’s okay! But every so often, a dad really reaches out… and since it’s rare, I tend to get all mushy toward them as a result. Such is the case with Mr. Sowers… lemme tell you the story.
One afternoon, he dropped by the studio with a dilemma he hoped I could help out with. Their home church is one that discourages dancing while there… but Mr. Sowers really wanted to dance with his daughter on her wedding day. And so he wanted help coming up with an idea that would make that happen. I had already worked it out with Allison to do she and Brick’s “together portraits” after the reception, down by the Neuse (early afternoon wedding with a shorter reception made this possible)… and so Mr. Sowers and I decided that a great idea would be for him to get a portable CD player and surprise her at the Nature Center.
It worked out so beautifully! He really wanted other family and friends there, but wanted the surprise to be for them, too. So I arranged to have as many come out as I could, using the excuse that we’d probably take some additional family formals outside. After the first few wedding party shots, and once I knew that her Dad was in place and ready for us… I “decided” to “change locations” and began leading the group of family and friends around the corner to the other side of center. Once in view, Mr. Sowers walked up and asked his daughter to dance. It was all I could do to keep from bawling like a baby. 
Halfway through, he passed Allison to her new husband…
It just made for such a wonderful ending to the day… and she and Brick’s portraits by the water turned out really beautiful. It’s not often I get to do weddings in Kinston, and so I was really excited to have a bride and groom in a familiar location. Top it off with Allison being as gorgeous and she is and you just can’t go wrong… here are two of my favorites.
Yesterday we had a milestone for the new studio location. The Mayor of Kinston, one of our City Council members and several Chamber members joined up with lots of our close friends to mark the official opening of the business in downtown Kinston. Yes, I know… we’ve been here since January! But it was difficult to find a time when we were all free! Anyway… Jeff and I were so honored to have so many people share in the occasion… including Tim Simmons who shot some pictures for us, so that we didn’t have to worry about it!
It was really overwhelming, emotionally, for me. Thinking back to when I first started taking pictures of my friends’ kids back in Arkansas, I never would have thought that we would be where we are now. It’s just by the grace of God. And I really wanted everyone to know that. When it came time for Jeff and me to speak, I shared from a passage in second Samuel. It spoke to exactly how I felt right then.
Who am I, O Sovereign Lord, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far? And if this were
not enough in your sight, O Sovereign Lord, you have also spoken about [our] future… And now, Lord God,
keep forever the promise you have made concerning your servant and his house. Do as you promised,
so that Your name will be great forever. Then men will say, “The Lord Almighty is God…”
We had about forty people come to celebrate… it was so awesome! Here’s a shot of the official cut!
Thanks to all who came!! We love you so much!!
When I’m processing a wedding, I’m already thinking about which images I’d like to use for the blog post (provided I find the time to make one!). And when I saw these three in Matt and Olga’s set, I knew they were the ones. The first just shows you the tone of the whole day. They were SUCH a laid back couple… and no matter what was going on, they were just happy to be together. We enjoyed our time with them because of this. It makes our job so much easier when the expressions on a bride and groom’s face are already reflecting the love they have for each other. You just can’t coach that.
The whole day was like a fairytale… which is exactly what Adrienne wanted! From the architecturally intriguing church, to the gospel choir that sang during the ceremony, to the awesome downtown stroll and vintage car ride to the reception… everything was simply elegant with a twist of fun personality… just like the couple. The heat and humidity of the outdoor, tented reception was no match for the heat of the Band of Oz and all of the guests who were there to enjoy the night. We had a blast covering the event!
I’ve always considered Corey and Lindsay to have been the first wedding that really set the tone for the future of our business. It’s where I discovered my personal style… many of my brides fall in love with their “spin shot” that’s graced every expo we’ve attended since 2006. So to have this couple come back for all of their milestones just gets me giddy. We love them to death and are thrilled to not just be their family photographer, but also their friends. That’s what made shooting their newborn daughter Riley Grace so special.
I swear I think I’m a twin magnet. We’ve had about six sets come through in the last year. Of course, several of those go to my church (maybe my CHURCH is the magnet!). Today we had the pleasure of shooting a fellow Grace Fellowship attender’s kids… who also happens to cut my hair (don’t blame her for my inability to look normal… she does exactly what I tell her to do).
Landon and Savannah turn three this weekend… and to mark the occasion, we had an indoor/outdoor shoot with them. Mary Christian is another mom that lets me do what I want… and as such, we ended up out at the Fairfield water park for the second half of the session. I’ve learned (through much experience) that it’s best to let twins go their own way… especially when they’re under three years old. So that’s what we did. I think we really captured this brother and sisters relationship… rough and tumble, but all in fun!
Off to the water park!
These next two make me laugh…
I had ten minutes (literally) with Jupiter Jones today. They needed a quick little something to use for promoting an upcoming gig, but weren’t ready for a full shoot since one of the members was going to be out of town. So we ran them downtown, set this up in under a minute, shot them laughing at each other and called it a day. Talk about easy! But be on the look out for their official session in a couple of weeks… we’ve got some eye-popping ideas with vivid colors that’ll take the place of this impromptu professional “snap”.
They’re making their Greenville Debut at
Tie Breakers this Saturday (August 16th) at 10:00pm!
So… what happens when you’re doing a one year old portrait session and you’re willing to just let me do whatever I want? You get my very first ever Trash the Toddler shoot! Mary Margaret wasn’t as keen on the Forest Fairy session that we started with, but perked right up when her mom agreed to let her play in the Neusse. A rain shower came upon us as we were shooting, but that only made it more fun! This isn’t your traditional Southern white dress way to go about things, but that’s what made me love it so much!
It’s cute and sweet…
But not her cup of tea…
So we initiate the unexpected Plan B!
Don’t worry… Mama’s nearby!
Okay, any of you who’ve been to one of my weddings knows that by the end of the night I look like a drowned rat. So I’m not prone to posting pictures of myself, especially from late in the night when we’ve been running ragged all day and are usually dripping with sweat. But one of my June brides sent me this picture yesterday and I laughed so hard that I just HAD to post it… horrid expression and all. This is her brother who, seconds after this shot was taken, pulled me onto the dance floor in a futile attempt to have me dance. He was pretty hysterical (and mighty relaxed by this point), so I was able to save myself (and him) the embarrassment of what would have been an unintentional impersonation of Elaine from Seinfeld. I am oh-so rhythmically challenged!
Adrianne said:
I actually have a picture for you. My brother really enjoyed you that day…
here is a pic my cousin snapped that caught the moment.
I was assuring Grayson that I would be getting plenty of shots of he and his sister together. I’m not certain why I insisted on thumbs-upping so grimly… other than maybe trying to look as though I was accepting the seriousness of the task placed before me. But the look of Jeff’s face in the background is what totally makes the shot for me. I laughed SO hard when I saw him back there.