Let me start this post by saying that I LOVE photography seminars/workshops/conventions. There is nothing like a huge room full of positive, motivated photographers to get your juices flowing. My friend, Nichole of Nichole Alexandra Photography, invited me to come along with her to Atlanta for the WPPI Road Trip last week. For those of you who aren’t photographers, WPPI is the Wedding and Portrait Photographers International  (I know only us nerdy folks actually know what that is). WPPI holds an annual convention in Vegas that usually falls around March or April. But this year, they decided to do something really awesome. They got a wonderful group of speakers and vendors together and went out on the road. This made is so convenient for lots of photographers that can’t make it out to Vegas.

So on Sunday, Nichole and I met up and made our way to Atlanta. I had just shot a wedding Saturday and didn’t make it home until after midnight so I was totally exhausted. But even with no sleep, I was totally siked for our trip. We hit Atlanta a little after lunch time which meant we were both starving. So Nichole looked up the nearest Cheesecake Factory on her Iphone and lucky us, it was only 8 miles from the hotel. We sped over as fast as we could and ate the most amazing lunch. We decided after gorging ourselves that we should walk around the mall several hundred times to work off all of the calories we took in. We had so much fun talking and shopping. We ended up staying up half the night gabbing and eating Chinese take out in our room.

Monday morning came early (especially since I hadn’t had any sleep in 2 days). But with a Starbucks Latte in my hand we ventured into the convention room. We spent the entire day learning from some of the best photographers out there. I can’t tell you how inspiring it was to hear from all of them. And the vendors! Holy cow! It’s so great to be able to touch and hold the actual products that you’re considering offering your clients. I don’t ever sell a product that I haven’t seen myself. We got to ask the vendors questions and voice our concerns. It was fabulous! Here are just a few of the images we took during the day. Thanks so much Nichole for letting me tag along. I had a blast!! I hope we can do it again really soon!

This was the amazing Damon Tucci. He specializes in wedding photography and shared some gorgeous images and information with us.

The most inspiring of all the speakers from the day had to be (at least for me anyway) Blair and Suzanne Phillips of Blair Phillips Photography. They are out of Landis, NC and have really come a long way from their humble beginnings. They made me see that you don’t have to live in a metropolitan area to grow a photography business.

This amazing photographer and business woman hosted the event. Bambi Cantrell is one of the most highly acclaimed women in our industry. What this lady can do with light and posing is absolutely incredible. She had been one of the photographers that I’ve looked up to since I’ve started so it was really a treat to get to meet her.

Here is a sample album that I thought was so adorable!

I’ve recently started offering the Gallery Float Mount shown here. They are gorgeous and are less expensive than a Gallery Wrap Canvas.

See, this is what I love about the vendor exhibits. This is such a cool idea that I wouldn’t have come across otherwise. This is a photo that was printed on metal and can be hung or placed on an easel. So cool!

This was another exhibit for metal prints. I just love them. I will eventually have these all over my house!

Allie and Kevin’s love story started seven years ago on a camping trip. Both being self-professed “hard-heads” you would think that they spend all of their time together arguing. But that’s not the case. You can not imagine the amount of love these two have for each other. It’s not forced or fake. It’s real….natural. When Kevin looks at her, you see it. No question.

They both share a love of the outdoors so it was no surprise they decided to have their wedding outside on Allie’s father’s farm. When Allie described her ideas for the wedding during her Bridal Consultation, I just knew that it would be an event to remember. However, I had no idea of just how elegant and outdoor wedding could be.

Thank you Allie and Kevin for giving me the opportunity to spend the day with you, your family and friends. It means the world to me that I was able to capture these moments for you. Congratulations and best wishes!

Both Allie and Kevin got choked up during their vows. How sweet is that?!

Can you say FIERCE?!

This was such a meaningful moment. A father telling his little girl how much he loves her without saying a word.

The best man giving a toast to the newlyweds.

Could they be any cuter?!

You can’t have a wedding without “YMCA!”

Absolutely stunning!

I’m sooooooo excited to finally get to post Allie’s Bridal Portraits. Having to wait until after the wedding is complete torture! But now that Allie and Kevin have said their “I Do’s” I can show everyone how incredibly gorgeous this chick is. Ok, when I saw her in her dress for the first time, I almost cried. She was THAT beautiful!

Allie wanted her Bridal Portraits done in a farm-type setting because she was having her wedding on her father’s farm and wanted everything to blend well. Well I knew the perfect place. This location had the best of everything…old buildings, big fields, an old truck. Perfect! Allie was full of fierceness and fun!

I hope you enjoy the images as much as I do and don’t forget to leave Allie a little blog love:) Thanks so much!!

I recently came across a wonderful article (via The Boudoir Divas) written by author Kat Rosenfield about how every woman should experience posing nude for an artist. I couldn’t agree more with everything Rosenfield talks about in the article. I come across so many women that are completely closed off to doing a Boudoir Session and I only wish that they realized how right now, this minute, they are absolutely beautiful…no matter what size or shape. If you are hesitant about doing a Boudoir Session, take a look at this article. And feel free to ask questions. I’d be happy to help squash any doubts or concerns that you may have about the experience. Enjoy!

An excerpt:

As an artist’s and photographer’s model, I’ve spent substantial portions of my early-to-mid twenties standing around in front of strangers with no clothes on. And while it might be initially nerve-wracking, it’s also one of the most interesting and worthwhile experiences I’ve ever had — so worthwhile that I firmly believe it belongs on the bucket list for any young woman, no matter what her shape, size, or level of confidence with her own naked body. Why should you take a photo or two in your birthday suit?

• Your body is beautiful. Really, it is. And it doesn’t matter whether you’re plump or slender, reedy or Rubenesque; your whole self — top to toe — deserves its day in the spotlight. Women put in huge amounts of effort each day just to meet society’s standard of beauty, only to get bogged down by stress and insecurity over failing to fit within that narrowly-defined (and often unhealthy) ideal. Stripping down and showing it off is a celebratory, powerful, even subversive act — and it’s exhilarating. And when you see those photos in the days, months and years that follow, it’ll be with a lasting appreciation for your body as the glorious, gorgeous machine it is.
• It’s a confidence boost. Between diet culture, celebrity obsession, and the airbrushed images that we see every day on billboards and in magazines, women have developed an utterly warped idea of what a healthy body looks like. And the effects go way beyond simply disliking what we see in the mirror; at this point, many women are battling body dysmorphia and/or too afraid to even look at themselves naked. Seeing your own body given just a fraction of the star treatment — with makeup, lighting, and a skilled photographer to help you pose — is a powerful way to fight back against that fear and insecurity. Basically, you are so much hotter than you think you are.
• It’s totally vain… and completely awesome. When it comes to balancing your busy life, you’re always being told to take care, take time out, and take one day a week to do something nice for yourself. Well, go big or go home, lady. Your “just for me” weekly manicure only lasts as long as it takes your nail polish to chip, but a private album of drawings or photos that show you at your prime — young, healthy, and before childbirth, gravity, and the vagaries of time have taken their toll — is a memory you’ll have forever. (Not to mention a great conversation-starter when someone pulls it off your bookshelf in 2072 and says, “Grandma! Was that YOU?”)

So, are you ready to get naked? You’ve got options, but they’re not all good. Unless you’re the edgy type, avoid amateur photographers with seedy apartment “studios” and no portfolio to speak of; chances are, they’re just looking for spank material. And even if your boyfriend is a totally trustworthy dude who would never, ever blackmail you with your sexy shots post-breakup, he may lack the photographic skills to do your naked body justice. (And while an unflattering photo is never pleasant, an unflattering naked photo is a special kind of hell.) Instead, plan to drop a little cash and consider the following:

• Boudoir photography. If you want to look gorgeous and play coy, hire a professional boudoir photog to snap some sexy, low-lit photos of you in your favorite lingerie… or less. (Check with your individual photographer to see how he or she feels about topless shots, straight-up nudity, or tasteful draping.)
• Go retro. Love the look of old-school pin-up shots like Marilyn Monroe’s famous series with Bert Stern? Photogs specializing in vintage-inspired photoshoots have begun cropping up all over the country; if you’re nervous about taking it all off, some studios also offer costumes and wigs to get you into character.
• Sexiness optional. Naked photos don’t have to be porn-y; if looking lascivious isn’t your thing, skip the sex factor and work with a fine art photographer to shoot some artistic, black-and-white nudes that explore your body’s form in a non-erotic way.
• Put it on paper. Taking nude photos absolutely isn’t the recipe for disaster that people make it out to be — you retain the rights to pictures you’ve paid for, but even if you didn’t, a naked body isn’t a moral evil in and of itself. (Meaning that if someone sees them, it’s not like your life is over. Just ask Carla Bruni!) But if you simply can’t stomach the thought of actual photographic evidence that, at one time, you did not have clothes on, consider posing for a figure drawing or painting class. The in-practice terror factor is substantially greater — instead of one photographer seeing you nude, it’s a dozen aspiring artists and an instructor — but the sketch that one of your new artist friends gifts to you at the end of class will forever be a cool and unique souvenir of your brass-balled bravery.

Now take your pants off, and say cheese.

Enjoy the full article here.

This weekend marks the end of summer. Maybe not literally for folks like us that have the huge privilege of living in the South but symbolically for sure. The kids have started the new school year. After Labor Day the stores put out Halloween decorations and fall decor. Summer is slowing fading and I want to reel it back in like a fish that’s trying to get away.

I love summer. I love the beach. I love ice cream on hot days. I love sundresses. I love walking barefoot in the grass. I can’t have those things in the winter (and face it, we only have 2 seasons here). I don’t want summer to end. I feel like a child having a temper tantrum.

The images I capture in the warm season is what gets me through the winter. I look back at them and it pulls me through to the other side. So I carry my camera with me wherever I go and snap away at the most random things. Because I know in a few months when it’s 35 degrees and rainy outside I can look back at my images and they will remind me that summer is only a few months away.

I know, I’m a terrible parent because I’m just getting around to this post and school started 2 weeks ago. As all of you overwork and stressed out mom’s out there know, things are really crazy right after school starts. You have the typical 400 pages of emergency contact information forms to fill out not to mention the effort it takes just to get the kids in bed at a decent hour.

I’ve had the pleasure of meeting all of Gage and Lindsay’s teachers and I have to say that I couldn’t be more lucky. Living in a small town is so great because by the time your child reaches the next grade, you already know the teachers and they are already familiar with your child. So I really already knew most of their teachers but it was nice to catch up with them and to see what the new year had in store for them.

Now that Gage is a sophmore and driving (I can’t believe I’m saying that) I’m sure it won’t be long before he is gone all of the time. So I’m soaking up every bit of quality time we can get together before he can’t stand to be around me. I know it’s coming…it’s just a matter of time.

And my baby girl is growing up so fast. She’s in 5th grade but she still feels like my baby. I remember how grown up I felt in the 5th grade….and I’m sure she feels the same way. She is my fearless, go-getter. She never backs down and always stands up for what’s right.

My goal as a parent is to cherish these small moments because I know they won’t come around forever. It’s the every day giggles and hugs that I’ll miss most when my kids are all grown up and have lives of their own. And it’s then that I will look back at the images I took on the front steps of our home on the first day of school and wish I could get every one of them back.