It thrills me to shoot again and again with these people and the amount of photogenic-ness they all have is insane. You can see the shoot I did with them last year here, which just further backs up that little bit about the common photogenic thread they all have. Speaking of threads, Melissa totally coordinated their outfits perfectly and it’s probably due partially to the fact that she is one ninja of a scrapbooker.

This is Thomas and Melissa – the ones I’ve known ever since I can remember. Thomas remembers things about me like how my 3 year old self would stare at him constantly. We sat in their kitchen and talked about them and their boys, Seattle, rocks (read below), and chocolate covered pretzels from past Christmas parties.

This is Bryson. Someone please tell him to stop being so cute.

This is Braden, also known as their resident geologist. This guy knows his stuff and he has the prettiest rocks ever, but he’d probably tell you that “Pretty Sparkly Rock” isn’t an actual name of a rock. Ask me how I know. (I kind of got told in the rock department.)

Y’all, thanks for letting me and my camera freeze part of your lives in time over and over. xo

There’s something else hidden around here just for you fabulous people! Because I love you and all that. I redid the pricing + services page so that you can have just what you want and that’s it! So spread the word! Book a session. Shout it out to your friends on Facebook. Whatever floats your boat. I want to also throw in there that there will be book one, get one 20% off shoots from now until the 28th. Because like I said, I love you and stuff.

Book a session | Collaborate | Hire

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I’ve been aching to get these two shots since the first spark of inspiration in February. It’s one of the shots that reminds me of summer and of my home town. I just love it.

This girl was pretty much fabulous! One reason I love photographing older girls is that that they practice poses in front of the mirror at home practically everyday, so when we go to shoot, they are overflowing with ideas and are pretty much naturals! Alyssa was no exception.

This little dude flat out loved my camera! He he can go from the silliest things I could come up with to the most serious.

Here’s one thing about Alyssa: She’s totally not afraid to do things with her little brother, but she’s definitely going to put her own twist on things. I love that!

Nicolas was ripping off and shoving enormous hunks of  blue cotton candy into his mouth, while Alyssa, on the other hand, was pinching off little pieces of her pink cotton candy.

See what I mean about him being able to pull off a totally serious look?

They were both total troopers throughout the whole shoot! July in this part of the south gets a little intense sometimes, but they didn’t seem to mind at all. Alyssa + Nicolas- Thanks for being so wonderful! I had so much fun with you guys! Becky + JD- Thanks for letting me work with your kids! You all are wonderful.

xoxo

Last Saturday I slung my camera bag around my shoulder and over my right hip. Saturdays are busy and that day was no exception. It was a little before 8am when I stepped out the door and the Kentucky summer air was already thick.

To say I loved shooting this would be an understatement. It was such an awesome day!

This is Warren. He was the driver for my dad’s company’s car.

He came in second place and did such a fabulous job!

These two best friends were sitting on the sidewalk beside where we were standing. They were completely adorable!

This is Randy. He’s the adorableness that is also in that image at the very top of this post!

He was hamming it up for the camera the entire time! I loved it! He was totally cracking up here!

I make it a point to never tell my subjects to “smile for the camera” or some other equally cheesy attempt to get someone to smile. This little dude seriously couldn’t stop smiling and looking cute, though!

It was just a really good day and awesome shoot! I never get tired of this.

Lately I’ve been thinking a lot, and that probably doesn’t come as a surprise to you if you’ve known me for very long. What I love to do and my business decisions have been rolling around in my mind like rocks in a rock tumbler. I don’t regret anything, but I sometimes the questions of “What if?” wander around in my mind.

Sometimes I wonder if I jumped into photography too soon or if I’m doing it the wrong way and messing something up. I’m the kind of person who likes to take things by storm, so slowing down and just enjoying right where I am is somewhat of a new thing for me to learn.

Lately I’ve been taking a lot of photos with my iPhone. Last month I backed up a little over 2,000 photos from it to my external hard drive. I love my big Nikon, but some moments I love most can’t be scheduled and they can’t wait. I love the how I can stick my iPhone in my pocket, and thanks to it’s tank-esque Otterbox case, it can go with me everywhere. I’m trying not to feel guilty because I use it some too.

So I’m still figuring out what I love. I’m trying not to jump ahead of myself.

Hi friends! There have been some important things that have come up that have taken priority, at the moment. I just wanted to let you know so you don’t think I’m ignoring you. I’ll try to reply to any comments, Facebook messages, tweets/DMs, and the like as soon as I can. In the meantime, it’s time for the next photography assignment that I’m giving myself.

This week I’m focusing on food photography. Some goals that I have for myself this week are to get stunning, tack sharp focus, get the little details, and to capture real food. I just helped plant my family’s garden and also watched Food Matters, so I believe that’s what partially inspired the goal of capturing real food.

One food photographer that I really admire the work of is Hannah from Honey & Jam. Her work gives me a sense that I am home and it is full of simplistic beauty. That is something that really captures my attention.

Have a good week! xoxo

Dress professionally. If you are sitting behind your desk at home, feel free to wear whatever floats your boat. However, if anyone business related is going to even merely do a Skype video call with you, dress professionally. You don’t have to have a lot of money or clothes to look nice, either.

Know what you are talking about. I don’t care who you are talking to and what their rank is, but you need to know what you are talking about. If the person you are talking to brings up something that you don’t know much about, tell them and refer them to someone who does know.

Know what you are doing. If you don’t know, don’t pretend to. See above.

Don’t use extra letters. If you are talking to your friends, this is fine. Otherwise, spell properly.

Work like a professional. Just do it. (If you don’t know how, train under a professional and then go do it.)

Don’t make excuses and just get it done.

Work smarter and not harder.

Have confidence.