Getting those Holiday Pictures

I brought my camera to my grandmother's house for Thanksgiving so I could take a holiday picture for my sister's family. She wanted pics of the boys in Santa hats - an idea they weren't too thrilled about. I had them stand back-to-back and asked them to look tough, like a gangsta. They were totally unable to keep a straight face. My teasing wasn't much help! Here's one of my favorites of the boys.

Shooting for Myself

I've read often where other photographers suggest that you take the time to shoot for yourself from time to time. In doing so, you work on skills, creativing, or simply learn to love the craft all over again. Normally, I just don't make the time to shoot for myself since I shoot for others so often. However, this past weekend my family was gone and I asked a friend to spend the weekend with me and practice shooting in varied lighting situations. She brought one of her daughters (who is a great model and up for anything). We spent several hours Friday and Saturday shooting in full sun, open shade, backlit and with off camera flash. Then I played with the images in Photoshop. I don't use textures often, but wanted to apply some here. (Hey, these are just for fun, right?) Here are a few from the day.

Second Shooting

I worked Saturday as a second shooter for Paula Van Hal of Tampa, FL. I love the freedom of second shooting. I find it much less stressful that having to worry about getting every "must have" picture of the day. It's also a great way to learn from other photographers and see how others get it done. Here are a few of my pictures from the day. I also played in Painter for one of the images.

Katie & Hoser (Scott)

Katie was referred to me by a former bride. She has the biggest brown eyes, so I knew she's photograph beautifully. Last weekend was her big day and she had chosen a beautiful vintage dress for the event. She looked amazing. Here are a few images from their big day. The entire gallery can be seen on my website.

Matthew & Erin tie the Knot

Last weekend's wedding was in the beautiful Gillespie Gardens in Moulton, AL. Matthew and Erin chose to do all their pictures beforehand so we could make use of the beautiful day in the gardens. Here is a sneak peek at some of their images. Lord willin, the rest will be loaded in their gallery by the end of the week.

Being Blessed

Occasionally you meet a person or a family that is so special, you feel blessed to know them. That is how I feel about the Douthit family. This family has such a heart for God and a love for each other, it inspires me to be a better person just by being around them. I spent the day Saturday shooting the wedding of Tim Douthit, the oldest of the Douthit boys. Tim and Joyce are so in love and are so blessed to have found one another. I know they will do great things for the Lord and on this earth.
I've been working on my lighting skills and used some of my new knowledge during these shots. I've used off camera flash for some of these and the sun as backlighting for the others.
I'm hoping to perfect these skills and grow from here. Thanks for looking. All comments are appreciated.

Babies at Camp

I threw together a "make-shift" studio in a back room at camp and took pics of a couple of newborns. These babies are the first born of two of the camp's past campers and now counselors. They were so cute it was hard to put them down to take their pictures, but I made it work for me (at least as best I could).

Tim & Joyce Engagement Session

Tim and Joyce came into town from Birmingham this weekend and spent this evening with me shooting a few images for their engagement session. The park was really crowded ("movies in the park" was tonight), so we had to do a lot of closeups. But we did manage to get a few in with some scenery. I'm looking forward to their August wedding!

Digital Painting

I downloaded a free trial of software that enables digital painting as a plugin to Photoshop. I played with a few of the options today and think it is pretty cool stuff. I'm wondering if there is a market for this type of art in my world. I'd love to hear what you think.

Summertime is Camp Time

Each summer my girls and I spend a week on and a week off at the Rustic Youth Camp in Russellville, AL. The camp is a great time of Bible study, crafts, sports, and general camp pranks. I love that my girls are able to attend this camp and be with their friends from all over the states. The girls count down the days throughout the year until the next camp. Here are a few random photos from the week.

Matt & Erin's Engagement Session

We barely beat the rain on Saturday morning to get these pics done at Big Spring Park. I was leaving for camp the next day, so I've been out of commission and unable to get them onto my website. Lord willing, the entire series can be seen by Saturday evening. Here is a sneak peek with more to come...

Andrea & Deston's Wedding Day

These are a few images from the wedding of Andrea and Deston. Andrea found me after having to change her wedding date at the last minute and losing her photographer in the process. I was thankful that they came to me to shoot the day. I LOVE HER FRECKLES!!! She is such a cutie and Deston is so much fun. It is obvious they really love one another (shown by the fact that he lived through the cake fight!)
Give me a few more days and their entire gallery will be online at
www.lifescapturedmoments.smugmug.com

Sunset Wedding

Stefanie and Jason lucked out with great weather for the May 30th wedding at Burritt on the Mountain. We had rain for weeks off and on before the 30th, but the morning of the wedding day greeted us with sunshine and the day concluded with an amazing sunset. The bride's mother-in-law did all the flowers for the ceremony and they were beautiful. I was very impressed! You can see pictures of those in the detail images in their gallery at www.lifescapturedmoments.smugmug.com/weddings

Here is a sneak peek of their images...