Vendors:

Venue: The Oaks Golf & Country Club

Second Shooter: Nichole Alexandra Photography

Flowers: Danielle Anderson

Catering: Charleston Catering Company

Cake: Publix

Hair and Makeup: Beauty Works Salon

I’m going to go ahead and warn you, this post is extremely picture heavy. I had so many to share and couldn’t decide which ones to cut so I just kept all of them. Sorry!!

Over the past couple of years I’ve really felt boxed in to only shooting in natural lighting conditions. Don’t get me wrong, I love natural light..I love the softness on the skin and the eyes. But sometimes I want to try dramatic lighting….and I’d like to be able to shoot outside during the middle of the day without worrying about how harsh the sun will be. While at a photography convention last year, I saw Blair and Suzanne Phillips of Blair Phillips Photography speak about Breaking the Mold. Their whole philosophy is to try new things..things no one else is trying. Trying new things is hard. Practicing new techniques takes time. That’s time and energy most photographers don’t want to put into their craft. I do. I want to try new things. I want to push myself to learn and grow. So when I found out that Blair and Suzanne had recently started doing a Break the Mold Workshop, I was more than excited. I signed up for it right away because I didn’t want to take the chance of it selling out. Then, I had to wait more than 6 months. The waiting was excruciating. I knew this workshop would change my world. And I wasn’t disappointed.

When March rolled around, my friend Nichole of Nichole Alexandra Photography and I headed up to Landis, NC. Nichole and I do a couple of photography trips a year together and always have such a great time. We spend our free time searching for the best places to eat and talking about everything under the sun. We always enjoy the kid/family-free time to just focus on our businesses. That’s not something we get very often so we take full advantage. Of course, there’s lots of gossiping too! Oh back to the workshop.  We were blown away from the moment we walked into Blair and Suzanne’s studio. Everything was absolutely gorgeous and screamed Blair Phillips Photography. We got to meet the other 14 workshop attendees who, like us, were eager to learn.  Over the next 2 days I learned exactly what I needed to learn to bring my photography to the next level. I learned how to use studio lighting outdoors and do it well. I never thought I would be able to shoot a bride outside during midday full sun and still be able to see the details in her dress. I did it…with the help of Blair and his amazing assistants. We also were able to shoot a senior session and add that edge that I need to separate myself from the people that bought a digital camera last week and started a photography business this week. I will forever be grateful for Blair, Suzanne and the rest of their crew for sharing so much of themselves and showing us that it is possible to grow a successful photography business in a small country town. Here are a few shots of their studio and Blair working his magic.

Blair was so awesome with the children that came into the studio that day. He got natural expressions out of this little girl while their were 20 other people standing around watching…and let me tell you, that’s not easy.

Blair builds these amazing sets outside behind his studio. Awesome!

This is the dressing room. Who wouldn’t feel incredibly glamorous in this room?

Didn’t I tell you their studio was fabulous?!

This is their client ordering room. Clients are treated to a real theatre experience.

Blair always says that he would never ask a client to do something he wouldn’t do.

So now that I’ve shown you all of the Blair awesomeness, here are some shots I got while he was demonstrating.

I know no one is going to believe me but I did absolutely no retouching on her skin. That’s what great lighting techniques do!

So what does all of this mean for my clients? It means I have a broader range of choices for selecting locations and scheduling sessions. It means I’m bringing more to the table when I pick up my camera. And that means more awesomeness to display in your home. Set up a session and let’s get started!!

So I hope by now everyone has seen our new Designer Frames. They are curvy, spunky and sooooo much fun! Who wouldn’t want a wall full of these awesome frames?! Well, I’ve decided to do a really fun giveaway for this super cool 8×10 frame. Our frames are available in over 50 colors so you will even get to choose which color would best fit your decor. All you have to do is head on over to our Facebook Fanpage here and “like” our Page. Then comment on this post letting us know you “liked” our Fanpage, who’s picture you would put in this frame and where you would hang it in your home. It’s that easy! One super-lucky winner will be chosen by a random drawing on Friday 2/18/11. We’ll announce the winner at 12pm. Good Luck!!!!

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 have been soooo excited to share these with you. I just sent this set out to a recent client that LOVED them. I almost didn’t want to part with them and they weren’t even images of my children! Each album set is custom designed for you. The album is 3″ x 3″ and actually has a magnet inside to keep the front and back secure when it’s closed. They also come in these adorable little clear cases that protect it when you carry them in your purse, etc. I also love the idea of using them as fridge magnets. I’m sure there are plenty of other great ideas but I’m sure Grandmothers won’t need one as long as they can reach into their purse and pull out this little gem! We are going to use them for all different types of sessions/events such as, newborn, families, seniors, weddings, engagements, bridal portraits, child sessions, pet sessions, maternity and boudoir portraits. I can’t wait to start handing these little babies out to all of our clients.

If I could use one word to describe Janet’s Bridal Portrait Session, it would be “too.much.freakin.fun!” Oh, wait that’s more than one word. Well, I couldn’t possibly just pick one. Janet is such a genuinely wonderful person and it shows in her portraits. My goal was to capture her unique personality, her fabulous sense of humor and her inner diva. She could not have picked a more suitable veil and hairpiece to match her personality and her dress. This chick is vintage all the way! Janet chose the beautiful Huntington Beach State Park as the location for her portraits. I absolutely love the fact that there are so many portrait opportunities at the park. Between Atalaya Castle and the beach, we were able to capture a wide variety of images. The day turned out to be perfect. The weather was gorgeous as was the bride. I can’t wait to post images from the wedding!

Part of the fun of Bridal Portrait sessions is picking the location. Ashley wanted an outdoorsy look to her portraits but still wanted the classic feel. After some thought, I suggested Prestwood Country Club in Hartsville. The venue has a beautiful clubhouse but also has extensive grounds with plenty of beautiful spots for portraits. With the clubhouse being right on Prestwood Lake, we couldn’t go wrong with this location. We had a fabulous time and Ashley even brought her fiance’s putter, fishing pole and rifle to do a few fun shots. I have to say that Ashley was gorgeous and made my job so easy. Thank you Ashley for letting me get creative. I had such a great time!

Now that Somer and Frankie have said their “I do’s” this past weekend, I can finally share some of Somer’s Bridal Portraits. I can’t wait to post some from their wedding. It was fantastic! When Somer and I were first talking about where she wanted to take her Bridal Portraits, the word we were throwing around alot was “Grand.” She wanted a dramatic but classy venue that would fit the style of her wedding. The Country Club of South Carolina was the perfect choice. When Somer walked into the club house, my mouth dropped. Her dress was gorgeous and she was even more beautiful. Somer admitted that her dress was not exactly what she was looking for when she first set out on the hunt for the perfect wedding dress. She wanted something very simple and white. What she walked in with was a gorgeous ivory lace gown. I almost didn’t want to touch it because the detail in the dress was so delicate. She was the opitomy of the glowing bride. I still get excited when I look through the images we took that day. When you combine a stunning bride with a gorgeous location, you really can’t go wrong. Here are some of my favorites from the day.

This is the image that Somer chose for her wall portrait to be displayed at the reception. Classic and classy.

This image was my favorite. It makes you want to know what the bride is feeling and thinking and it also shows the detail of Somer's very beautiful veil that was worn by her mother on her wedding day.