In Mommy's Heart

Sometimes you meet someone that touches your heart. This is what I experienced on Sunday's shoot with the Bevil family (well, the girls, her son was sick so Dad stayed home with him). Aaliyah was adopted at 8 weeks old having the misfortune of being born to a crack addict. The Bevil family have taken this sweet girl into their homes and their hearts. She is such a cutie, very curious and so sweet. I enjoyed my time with these ladies and hope that I did them justice in the images.

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.