Well, it wasn’t quite a wedding, but you wouldn’t know that to look at the photos. This was one of my favorite senior shoots this summer (although i had a lot of favorites!) When Kayley said she was going to bring her moms wedding dress, i was pretty pumped. i LOVE original…and i love when seniors, or anyone im shooting, gets into their photos, and brings things, or comes up with ideas they’d like to try. So anyway, when she pulled the dress out, i almost died. She looked like a PRINCESS. How good is mom’s taste for having such a rockin’ wedding dress? Oh, and isn’t her hair AMAZING as well? I may or may not have brought a photo of her to my hair dresser and said, ‘ i want THIS color.’  

Ugh. Meet Elizabeth. Gorgeous, sweet stunning and up for anything! I had SOOOO SO much fun on her session. She climbed in a boat, asked a man with a super cool old car if she could hop in for some pics, AND got IN THE WATER for some photos, which came out amazing if i do say so myself. I really do feel….that…sometimes going that extra mile for your photo shoot can make for some amazing results!!! Anyway, here are Elizabeth’s photos, I look forward to doing more Senior Photos for Thornton Academy again next year!

Click here to see one of my favorite photos from her shoot!

I have to be honest here. Family reunions aren’t my most coveted sessions. I DO enjoy them. I enjoy photographing all the types of sessions I do, otherwise, i wouldn’t do them. BUT. They aren’t always my most favorite. The Kohlers however, we’re pretty awesome. They wanted a nice mix of ‘traditional, hang on your wall- family shots, and also really wanted me to do my thing with candids, and lifestyle-ish photography, so i had a lot of room to be creative with them, which makes me happy

We started out by doing some traditional Family pictures at their house where they all flew to enjoy a vacation together, from various parts of the country. Then, we ventured across the street to the Beach, for some fun, candid shots, and to give the kids a ‘break’ and also grab some more group shots.

I really enjoyed spending the day with them, and i hope they call me again next year when they’re all in town!!!

I just finished up this session last night, and i couldn’t wait to blog it, especially since, there were so many favorites, it was easy to save some goodies for the blog, AND because Facebook seems to degrade photo quality quite a bit these days, so its nice to see them looking all pretty on the blog.

I adored this session. It reminded me of the perfect childhood summer. Tire swings, watermelon, picnics, the beach….i mean really. c’mon. I also loved how this session had even more of a ‘lifestyle’ feel than my sessions normally do. Theres something about (especially with children) letting people just have fun, and be that can really create magic in a photo session. So check it out, and don’t be scared, leave a comment! Tell me about your favorite childhood summer memory. Mine was floating down the sandy river in an inner tube with my best friend Charlotte

Phew! Had an awesome shoot this evening, and I’m working on getting some sneak peeks up on Facebook, but in the meantime, i thought i would post some more wardrobe inspiration for this that have upcoming shoots with me!

A couple things you should know, about what I think works best!

• I LOVE COLOR. In my opinion, the days of jeans and white shirts on the beach are over! Color is so appealing in photos, and looks awesome hanging on your walls in the final product! Cause thats what its all about right? Hanging your photos in your home. Over the mantle, in the stairwell!? On that note, that is another GREAT (often overlooked way) to choose your outfits. Take a look at your decor and color schemes in the rooms of your home. Choose to wear colors that will accent your decor, that way when you DO get some prints hanging, ahem CANVAS’ they will compliment your rooms!
• Patterns are not a bad thing! I love patterns as well, and i love mixing patterns, and colors, don’t be afraid of patterns!
• Accessories are a great, easy way to add variety to your photos, and can also be very practical. If you’re having a shoot on the beach, even if its summer, bring a sweater! or a scarf! It will add variety to your photos, and can also keep you warm if its chilly!
• If you’re feeling overwhelmed and don’t even know where to start when it comes to choosing outfits, start with one person. Get an outfit together for yourself, or your daughter, whoever, and then dress everyone else around that outfit pulling colors from their outfit, to dress everyone else in.

Ok. Those are my tips for tonight! Here are some adorable outfits for you to oogle over. Don’t forget to ‘pin it’ to your ‘my style’ board  on Pinterest!:)

A few days ago i got to wander outside, in between what feels like MONTHS of rain that we’ve had…to photography this adorable, FUN, growing family! It was so nice to meet Becky (the mama) since she knowes a lot of my friends, and my husband! ( I didn’t grow up around here, so i still havent met quite a lot of people my hubs knew ‘back in the day’) Which is fun sometimes We had a great time- and i got to pull out some of my secret moves on their cutie pie 3 year-old daughter!

I’d say they worked. What do you think?

So, just wanted to let you all know, that I haven’t dropped off the face of the planet. Quite the opposite actually! Ive been WICKED busy!!!!!! Which is awesome, but I need to catch up on my poor blogging! Ekkks. Anyway, one thing I ammmm pretty good at keeping up with is my Facebook Page. So, if you haven’t already, why dont you wander over there, and click like, and then next time im absent from my blog, you’ll know, that, indeed, i’m still very much alive.

Here’s what I’m working on tonight! (and last night and tomorrow night….)

I had the pleasure of doing my first session for the non profit organization Operation Love ReUntited this month. This Mama and her son were so much fun. We had succhh a nice time, getting sandy, and getting pictures for Dad who is currently deployed in Afghanistan. Dad is due home soon…they are almost there.