sneak peak

these 2 have more intelligence in their fingers than i do in my whole brain. they are getting married in march, and i am looking forward to their big day. i'll try and get more photos of our session together up soon, but for now, here is a sneak peak:

happy monday

well, the moving is underway, and i am still trying to find things, arrange things, hook things up, etc. it's an interesting undertaking, but it's been fun. we just got internet at the new place today, which is so nice. i am still working (slowly but surely) on the beautiful photos from alan and meredith's christmas wedding and wanted to share some with you.

here is my new "stance," as captured by kristen:


on to the wedding photos:

2009 goals

I have always been one for being organized and for making lists. Usually, though, my lists involve me being more organized and giving myself more to do. I have decided to make a few lists that will give me goals for the upcoming years that will be fun, eventful, and meaningful.

FOR 2009:
1. second shoot with Melissa Jill in Arizona
2. have a photo shoot taken of myself and update my "about me" section
3. second shoot at a wedding with Emily, my first photography mentor
4. take photos of my parent's house and grandparent's house
5. shoot a portrait session for free
6. print some photos and frame for my home
7. go to a shoot with the incredibly talented Corey and Erin Nolen of Nolen Photography
8. shoot with Brian T. Murphy
EDIT: 9. go on a date (got any single friends?)

FOR THE NEXT 3 YEARS:
1. shoot a wedding for free
2. read a book about photography
3. print out my favorite pictures and enlarge/frame them for my office
4. decide on my definite "thank you" wedding gift and give to all my clients
5. go on a cruise
6. shoot a wedding for a good friend (i.e. aubrie, amber, allison, bridgette, katherine, jamie, janet, or whoever gets married first...)
7. see a new broadway play

FOR THE NEXT 5 YEARS:
1. go to brazil and visit friends there
2. advertise my wedding photography with an ad or a "bridal show" booth
3. become a TNCC-certified trauma nurse
4. organize and arrange all family photos for my family and my niece
5. give away at least $10000 to missions
6. go back to new york
7. stay debt-free other than a house, if i buy one :)

I hope you enjoy my journey as these goals come to be... If you know of anyone who deserves a portrait or wedding session for FREE, please let me know. I am hoping to be able to give these to those who are deserving and fortunate; there is nothing more special to me than photos of those you love.

*If you haven't seen my below post of my family, keep scrolling. And, stay tuned for more photos!*

family

I had one of the greatest shoots I've ever had today, and it only lasted about 8 minutes. I took photos outside my grandmother's house, and it was wonderful. I actually wish I would've been coherant enough to keep shooting, but I was going on NO sleep. :)

I just LOVE photos, as I'm sure you know if you're reading this blog; I also LOVE my family. Put the 2 together, and here is what you get:

second shooting

I have a difficult time explaining why I am so pro-second shooters at weddings, so I thought a few photos might help. I started off second shooting and always LOVED the photos I got with the freedom to really shoot whatever and whenever at weddings; that love carries into my career today. I always hire a second shooter. Some of my packages do not include a second shooter for all day, but they do guarantee a second shooter for at least a few hours. This, I think, is priceless in wedding photography; I also feel that my second shooter, Kristen, is priceless in wedding photography. She is unbelieveable... We work together like the greatest team I could imagine. You will be just love your photos if she gets to come along. Promise.

The best times, I think, to have a second shooter are as follows:

1. bride and groom photos
2. first dance
3. bride "getting ready" shots
4. wedding party photos
5. cake/garter/bouquet toss
6. leaving photos

If you're not able to afford a second shooter all day, keep those times in mind; on the other hand, though, if you can afford a second shooter, PAY MORE FOR ONE. I couldn't feel more strongly about something... If you can afford for your photographer to bring someone else along, do it. That's not to say that you don't trust the photos your photographer will get (you better not! ha!) It's just to say that a second photographer has a lot to offer.

So, here are photos from yesterday's wedding. 2 of each "moment." One is mine; one is Kristen's from each set.

LIGHTING

you know, sometimes you just get it right. there aren't many times as a photographer where i look on my photo preview screen and think, "i got it!" yesterday, though, thanks to the beautiful bride, classic church, and wonderful lighting, i had a few of those moments. here are 2 (straight off the camera) that i remember:

TINY sneak peak

Well, yesterday was a bit of a good adventure for me. I worked all night at the hospital, came home, threw up, got ready, met up with some friends of mine for a bit, and then headed over to Bluff Park United Methodist Church. I wasn't sure that I'd make it through the day and was definitely not sure at the reception; however, I made it, Kristen made it, and we got to be apart of a really classically-beautiful, holiday-decorated wedding. Oh, and the flowers were unbelievable. The food was spectacular. And, Meredith's dress... There aren't even words.

Congrats Alan and Meredith! Can't wait to be able to work on your images...

holidays

happy holidays to all...

i feel like i am running non-stop all the time right now but am doing well. i have a wedding to shoot on saturday, and i can't wait to post some photos. her dress is UNBELIEVEABLE. my dear, brooke, got me the wedding because she moved and because she just delivered a sweet little baby girl. so, i told meredith that kristen and i would take care of her and capture her day!

my hope for you guys is a hope that is good year-round, even though people seem to think through it more during the holidays.

-may you love well and feel love even better
-may your home be a haven for others
-may you desire the Lord in all you do
-may you look to your blessings, forgetting the desire to whine, complain, and argue
-may you enjoy your family, friends, and loved ones...
-may photos bring you joy and inspiration
-may you live each day as it was your last
-may you celebrate each day as a new day and a new blessing

on a different note, i'm 22 now. crazy. aren't people supposed to be responsible, married, having kids by now...

guest book

so, i always try to do something special for my brides. sometimes i make a small "favorites" album for them, other times i offer a later photo session... i always try to make it special and random. i just love working with these sweet girls on their exciting days, and i want to express my "thanks."

a few months ago i heard about a new offering... this guest book that looked like the flush-mount albums i make for after the wedding. so, i offered it to my january wedding couple, staci and ashley, and must say they are SO lucky. i think it is sweet!!!

the pictures below show what it is like, and i think it should be apart of every wedding. and, it can be! it's apart of my "all-inclusive package," which every couple should have!!!

happy sunday

Well, here they are. FINALLY. I know, and I am sorry. My life lately, though, has NOT been congruent with getting over 2000 photos edited down to a few over 660 that I am proud to present.

Brooks and Laura now Tinsley were married in Westbrook, Mississippi, on November 8, 2008. The day was beautiful and gave us some WONDERFUL lighting for family, group, and bridal photos. Brooks and Laura chose not to see each other, but their photos during and immediately after the ceremony, as well as their reception photos show their love and commitment to one another, as well as their sheer joy in being married (finally).

Kristen, my dear friend and faithful second shooter, did NOT disappoint. The photos, I hope, are exactly what I wanted them to be. I am often overcome with this bizarre feeling of jealousy in the photos, and this wedding was no exception. There are so many that I would LOVE to have as my wedding photos, if there is ever a man who will have the challenge of living with me forever. Ha!!!

One of those photos I would love to have for myself is pictured below. Brooks and Laura, if I were you guys, I would blow this up BIG and frame it in the bedroom. What a great dancing shot!



So, without further a-do, I present their photos and slideshow. The slideshow can be viewed by clicking HERE. Sadly, my computer jumbled all the photos up, and I did not have the time to un-jumble them. I often try to do a photo slideshow that is more of a story or movie; this one is different. It consists of my favorites, in a random order, and I must say that I enjoy it.

The whole gallery can be viewed from THIS LINK.
Go into my website and click on "clients" on the sidebar. When you are prompted for a word, the password is the bride’s last name BEFORE she got married.

Enjoy!! Brooks and Laura, may the Lord bless your marriage. May your love for one another be as passionate as it was at 6 p.m. on the evening of November 8. And… May these photos remind you of the love, joy, and respect that was present on your wedding day.

beautiful laura

i am still enjoying the beautiful light and wonderful moments kristen and i were able to capture on november 8. i am honestly (finally) ALMOST done with the photos from this wedding and hoping to have them uploading tomorrow night. the thing is, though, there are a lot of times that i have to sit and stare in awe at my computer screen over a particular photo... like this one, taken by my fantastic second!!

still grateful...

it's now the day after thanksgiving, and i am grateful for so many things. i feel like i have a life that might open my eyes to things i should be grateful for, and this week has been so exception. so, without further a-do, here goes my list:

- i am grateful for jesus and for the work he continues to do on my heart that so desperately needs it
- i am grateful to spend the day with my family and have another holiday with everyone i love
- i am grateful to be at work, having a job that allows me to work full-time, even when i want to be lazy
- i am grateful for my part-time job, the people at my part-time job, and money to have fun buying clothes. :)
- i am grateful for nights when i can lie in bed and watch the movie i've been wanting to watch
- i am grateful for this adventure of buying a home... (hopefully)
- i am grateful that my health allows me to really do anything i want, whenever i want
- i am grateful for how my sweet niece reminds me to live life to the fullest and for a mom who shows me what that means
- i am grateful for parents who show me what it means to be completely selfless
- i am grateful for my siblings and the fact that we get to experience this journey together
- i am grateful that i actually have friends who love me for who i am and enjoy time with me... and encourage the crap out of me
- i am grateful for this photography journey and the friends i have met along the way
- i am grateful for my clients and how they appreciate and enjoy my work in their wedding photos

*speaking of wedding photos, laura and brook's photos will be ready by the end of the weekend! i am hoping to have them uploading by sunday night. they look SO great. i can't wait to show them on this post and then in a possible "favorites" slideshow.*

- i am grateful for YOU

"regal"

I love this photo. I am really not sure how to describe it, but somehow the world "regal" came to mind. This church/chapel was simply GORGEOUS to shoot, and this photo of the ceremony captures it so well, I believe.

I am sure that everyone following my blog, especially my sweet bride Laura, is fed up with these small posts, and I do apologize. My world is crazy; I feel like my head is spinning. Actually, after last night in the E.R., I feel like my head is in a fish bowl somewhere else... The good news is that I should be caught up completely in the next week and a half and cannot wait!!

So to anyone who might actually follow my work, thank you. Thank you and be patient. There are SO many more great photos to come; I am sorry anyone has to wait. I hate waiting on pictures, too; I understand.

sweet laura...

The week before her wedding, I got a schedule in the mail from Laura that had some very specific photos she wanted. They weren't anything abnormal; she just wanted me to capture precious moments of her wedding. I felt torn, though, because from a photographer's standpoint, capturing it all was going to be practically impossible. So, I called her. I told her, pretty frankly, that it probably wasn't going to turn out how she was envisioning and that I just wanted to be honest with her. Getting photos of people going down the aisle in a small chapel, with hardly any light coming in at all might not happen. She was so gracious and kind, stating that anything would be fine.

Well, I think it shows now that really neat things happen sometimes. I think these are some of the best processional shots that have happened in a while, and I LOVE them. I really do... I LOVE them. Laura, I hope you're pleased:











More to come soon... My computer has all the photos jumbled all out of order right now, so I've been working on that... Hopefully a slideshow in the coming weeks!