..right when a baby is coming into their personality and they seem to have an endless supply of facial expressions - it’s so much fun to photograph. look how much jack has changed! we did his six month shoot as his grandmother’s home in hampton cove and as soon as I walked in the door he was ready to go.
i think i could fill an entire 20 page album with the series above - i just kept shooting and he changed expressions every frame!
below - mom said, “i love the smile where his entire face scrunches up”…all i can say is how could you not - it’s just so stinkin’ cute, I can’t stop looking at it…
“waaaahhhhh”
doing custom portraits is similar to bird-watching in that you have a wish-list of shots that you would love to capture for your portfolio, but you never know when you’ll get lucky. i’ve wanted this shot for a long time…
toes, fingers, whatever - those teeth are comin’ in and he needed a little relief…
finally, i love this one too - it would look great on canvas and the expression is priceless.
I’m so tickled for mom, getting so many different looks from Jack. He gave me everything he had in the first 30 minutes of our session and then he was ready for a nap. So, mom and I had this conversation that I thought I would pass along to you.
Time varies so much from session to session. With Jack we shot for around 2 1/2 hours for his newborn (that’s average for newborn shoots), around 2 hours for his 3 months, and around 45 minutes for his 6 months. With this session, I knew after 30 minutes with Jack that I had more than I needed to complete the job. But, I didn’t want mom thinking that she wasn’t getting 100% from me if I left 30 minutes after I arrived. She said, “If you were to say that you got what you wanted after 15 minutes, I say call it - I trust you.” That’s such a wonderful complement.
This is why I charge one session fee for any amount of time - from 45 minutes to 3 hours. Every job is different. So, know that if you book a session with me it’s guaranteed. There is no risk involved because I will allow as much time as necessary to complete your shoot or if like Jack here, I can say, “that’s a wrap!” after 30 minutes you can rest assured your gallery will be as full and varied as anyone else.
Three families from Kentucky, one from Oklahoma, and one from Ohio all converged on the newly renovated Guntersville State Park Lodge to celebrate this handsome couple’s 50th wedding anniversary this June.
I had such a nice morning getting to meet your family and I hope you had a wonderful stay in Alabama celebrating 50 years together. Congratulations!
I should have added “have a family reunion” to the “things to do” list.
*special thanks goes to lance for helping me with my kitchen portrait stools.
some images really lend themselves to a vintage look while others don’t - i liked how this one turned out, so i wanted to share…although with this look you lose the aqua color of the chair…hmmm. tough call.
livia and luke live in a beautiful home in boaz, alabama with a backyard view of green pastures…loved this little moment…
here, luke has not quite warmed up to me yet, but i still love the look on his face here as he contemplates climbing into the chair all by himself…
this was in the grass, waiting to dart between your legs, trip you up and into a cow pie…naughty kitty…
she’s thinking about how to answer a question about banana flavored popsicles…nice call to mom on the blue chair…
if i can come away with shots like these next two from every shoot then I’m 100% satisfied…
big, natural smiles that make you smile just by lookin’ at ‘em…
another big smile, from luke in his cute orange suit..
now normally, i would stop here for the sneak peek ’cause you got what you came for…or so you think. livia may have given me two of the funniest shots i’ve ever taken and you must see them. this is the set-up shot, so you know what you’re lookin’ at…her prized ‘goldfish in a bag’…
i asked her to pull the bag up in front of her eyes. she did. i love her.
now, why, i ask myself, didn’t i have the sense to get her to turn out of the glare from the front door, i don’t know…i guess i was laughing too hard…now for the second shot.
it ranks up there with this shot of britton, my nephew, doing his best impression of me. all i can say is if this is what i look like while i’m shooting, it’s a good thing i wasn’t trying to win jon over from behind the camera…
but before we get to that, a little side-by-side comparison. six months on the left and two years on the right…where does the time go?
okay, so the berry pickin’ - here is what we were after…well, specifically the big one at the top. i snapped this shot really quickly and didn’t realize i was capturing the entire life cycle of the strawberry here…
“nothing but sincerity as far as the eye can see…” - name it for a free sheet of wallets
right, so with this one, you have to notice how delicately she is holding the basket - i don’t know why it tickles me so much, it just does…and so we begin the search…
ooo, looks like a good one, we’ll see if it passes inspection…
…and yes! it’s a keeper!…and so is she…
getting ready…
oh my gracious, what a face - the sweetness of strawberries straight off the vine can catch you off guard at first, but she wasn’t done by far. we were just getting started…
and finally, i LOVE this one. look at this intense expression. i feel like she’s thinking, “what are you doing? can’t you see we have work to do here? there are berries to be picked!”
I specialize in portraits that tell a story and your story can be anything, but I’m so glad I finally got to do a shoot like this and I look forward to more in the future.
I encourage you to take your children to the local u-pick farm or into a family member’s garden and let them experience fresh food from the vine. Twenty-seven years old before I had my first garden fresh strawberry…it’s a shame, that’s all I can say. Now, watermelon…well, that’s a different story…
And while you’re at it, take your camera!
One more thing, this shoot is the perfect example of what you’ve heard not to do for portraits. Bright, mid-day sun, no shade, so what…my sessions are based around what’s best for you and it just so happens that Hannah was ready to go at 12:30, so we did. 7:00am, 10:00am, 2:00pm, 6:00pm, and everything in between can be considered. If your kids get up with the sun, so will I. If they really get going at around 4:00 in the afternoon, that’s perfect too. The point I’m trying to make is this, I don’t put limits on my sessions because that’s what keeps it interesting. They are 100% custom to you. So, where do you want to go and when?
this baby boy lives in madison and I had a great time hangin’ out with him and his family at home for this shoot…
pre-yawn…
we’ve got a lot going on in this one sneaky peek, so it seems like the perfect opportunity to talk about how we can work together to make portraits for you that suit your personal taste and style. for example, the image above is shot in a style that I am personally leaning towards right now - you’ll see it everywhere in my work.
the image below - just baby in black and white on black - is shot in a style that I was working with since day one of newborn portraits and still enjoy today…it’s simple and beautiful…
look at those cheekies!
mom requested this image specifically - never hesitate to talk to me in detail about what drew you to my work and any expectations that you have - I’ll do my best to help you achieve a similar look and feel…if baby doesn’t want to sleep we may not get this shot, but you get the idea…
these are some of my personal favorites. the most natural of scenes, mostly baby, plus a hint of mom…
and when baby is in a particularly good mood, we can try something silly or fun, anything we can come up with…cole’s nursery has a monkey theme, so this was the obvious choice…
point of story - if you book a newborn session with me or any session for that matter - don’t be afraid to say, “hey, you know that picture you took of the kid with the thing at the place?”
you’ll be one step closer to shouting, “that’s exactly what I wanted!” and I’ll be one step closer to a job well done.
daddy settling his little girl into the tickly grass…
up, up, and away…
aaaahhhhh! (shots like these - you need audio as well as visual)
holy cow, this girl can put away some ice cream, let me tell ya…
we had intentions of doing this one afternoon, but i lost my light (i.e. it got dark) so this is actually episode #3 of the “georgia and the ice cream cone” show. we thought she was a super human baby with the ability to devour ice cream cones without falling victim to the dreaded ice cream headache - also known as the brain freeze…(this is making me want to put a comic together) anyhoo, we were proved wrong this afternoon. right after this shot actually. i felt an extreme amount of guilt for testing the limits of my baby niece and her seemingly invincible powers. you’ll be happy to know she has fully recovered.
*original post follows below…
lori: “so, we got it?”
me: “yea, we got it.”
i’ll add more to this later, but i had to post this image right this second. i shoot in a “fly by the seat of my pants” fashion i’d say 90% of the time - that’s the way (uh huh, uh huh) i like it. (more cheese…i’m telling you -it’s been one of those days) but this afternoon i had one shot in mind and BAM! shot #2. done.
these images went from gallery to portfolio to blog - what kind of crazy, mixed-up world is this???
i love how julianne is obviously thrilled with her current situation…
dad forgot to bring julianne’s pink easter dress to the tuscaloosa session (sorry to call you out, dad) so we grabbed these real quick while they were here in albertville…
i’m pretty sure we are making a tradition out of this shot with andrew - we’re gonna have him documented ages 2-12 in at least one shot with his hands in his pockets - lookin’ all jcrewish…
and one with julianne and pink bear - go back a few posts to find pink bear vs. orange t-rex…sounds like a pretty good match-up - makes you wonder who would win in a fight?
Okay, so it was a little more than humid. (When is it not humid in Alabama?) It was a misty morning, so we were all a teeny bit damp…but look how it put curly hair on this teeny bit! (guess i’m feeling cheesy today - i rhymed the title for cryin’ out loud) anyways - love this one…
I couldn’t decide between these two and I had already racked my brain trying to narrow it down to a handful for the blog! so here’s both…
and a little yawn…makes you wanna curl up and take a nap…
and here is one of the proud parents and baby boy…i was so excited they were wearing orange! does that sound silly? orange, white, cream, green…yummy. It seems that all of my mom’s have an inner stylist and I get to enjoy the surprise of seeing what they have in store for their portraits.
and more gorgeous curls from big sister changed into her red dress…
finally, love this shot of her studying the rocks (that she collected through the rest of the morning) - can’t wait to see this one in print…
this is where you guys should understand how i feel your pain when it comes to choosing - one of these will go in my own home (whenever i get around to hanging something on the walls around here) and which, pray tell (did i just say that?) shall it be? hmm? maybe the answer is D, “all of the above.”
thanks to mr. ludwig von drake for the title - that one’s a shout out to all my girls.
*for anyone interested in beach portraits like these - we are planning a beach trip right now (maybe July?), but we’re not sure about dates - just let me know if you want to be in the loop…
“how big are you kayley b?” “this big!”
look at those chubbly baby wrinkles! she’s not sure if she wants both feet in the water just yet…
now we’ve gone from one foot to all-in and diggin’ it…love, love this one..
“hey, mom! guess what? my diaper weighs at least ten pounds right about now! yay!”
*** UPDATE: Congrats to the two winners of the wallets (long story) Lindsay and Amy - grandmother to the two kiddos pictured in this post and my big sister, respectively. Lindsay loves the movie, Amy hates it…go figure. Oh - it’s “The Jerk” -Steve Martin at his finest…in my humble opinion…Amy and I can fight about it later…
That’s what I feel like - I want to run outside into the streets shouting - - “The new portfolio is up! The new portfolio is up!”!
I sat down to write this post and within two minutes I had written a novel about my philosophy on creating and maintaining a portfolio and why in the past is has been so hard for me to update it and keep it fresh. Five paragraphs of stuff you might read out of kindness, but probably wouldn’t care anything about.
It’d be like a guy showing me his frame-off restoration of a 1955 Chevrolet Pick-up Truck (there is a red one on Ebay right now…I need it.) I would drool over it and appreciate his hard work, but when he popped the hood and started rattling on about the internal workings he would lose me. I know that’s surely considered some form of auto blasphemy, but that’s my point. I would admire the design, the final product…I just don’t care so much about the process.
I know all of you out there are on the edge of your seats waiting for the new portfolio to drop…okay, maybe not so much on the edge of your seats…maybe in the middle, comfortably reclined…or maybe you’ve already stood up and walked away from your chair…but COME BACK! I have basically called myself out on making it happen, so I’m working hard to deliver…until then…
“Q, R, S, T, U, COOKIE MONSTER”
This classic sesame street clip was on a “30 Years of The Muppets” special we recorded off the tube onto VHS. I watched it so many times I scrambled most of the tape, but thanks to the wonderful world of youtube I can relive my childhood and share my favorite bits with you!
November - season closedclick heresee third paragraph
December - Merry Christmas! Where's the Tylenol?
*October is favored to win the "Month that Books the Fastest" award, so consider booking now if you want to be a part of his acceptance speech.
8 Sessions a Month? What's the Dill, Pickle?
In order for me to give you the best custom portrait experience I possibly can - I have to limit my sessions each month.
For more information on how the holiday season went down last year...and how it will go again...
click here
and
here.
It's a real bummer to turn clients away in October when you could have worked with them in late August or early September, so give me a call, send me an email, put out a smoke signal...just get on the calendar early.
We Need to Talk.
-What's your favorite color?
-Paper or plastic?
-Y'all gettin' any rain up your way?
Answer these questions and more or just say, "Hey!" and brighten my day. Just click on "add comment" at the bottom of each post.
after 30 minutes you can rest assured your gallery will be as full and varied as anyone else. 
