HH Photography

It's TIME!

2012-01-09T13:58:00.000-08:00

[edit]

Just so you all know, I wrote this post this afternoon, and the website has been ready....but the blog is not finished yet! My amazing friend Paige has been helping me, and we have literally been working on it every spare moment up to this point. There are just a few last things to be done and it will be ready! So! For now, enjoy the website and facebook page!

Yipeee!!! It's finally here. To be honest, I wasn't sure this day would ever come. The day I have a brand. The day I have a real website. The day I get to show off my amazing clients the in a more professional way.

This has been in progress for months. I mentioned earlier, it started in February when I learned how important branding your business is. I read a ton, tried to do a lot on my own, and got completely burnt out several times. Back in September I decided I was sick of it! I was ready to get this ball rolling. I was sick of not having a brand, and always telling people I was "working on it" (which I really was...I just needed help).

One of my friends encouraged me to do IPS's "Look Through" course. Click the link to read about it if you want to learn more. I prayed about it, talked to my parents, and decided to do it! In October I started the 8 week course. Jocelyn teaches the course, and she was awesome! Pushing me, making me make decisions (believe, that's a big deal...especially when it comes to my branding), and encouraging me. It was the craziest 8 weeks ever! I was shooting 2-4 sessions a week and doing look through at the same time. I thought I was going to go crazy. Every time I sat down at the computer I was working on something. Either editing or doing "homework" for the class. I think I might have started to hate my computer ;-)
It paid off! I still have a long way to go, and I have some big goals I want to accomplish, but this is a huge start! I'm excited about where it's all going to go!

This definitely wouldn't have happened without the help of several people:
Jocelyn, for teaching, coaching, and putting up with me.
Anna, for encouraging me, giving her opinion on things countless time, and....encouraging me ;-)
Babbs, for taking photos especially for the occasion!
Paige, for spending HOURS helping me get my new blog in order. This girl knows that HTML stuff. It's like a whole new language to me...but not for her! My blog...would probably be one of the template examples if it weren't for her.
And last but definitely not least...to you! All of my blog readers and clients! You've commented, encouraged, and stuck with me this whole time. My self-made website, unfinished blog, and unbranded business. THANK YOU!

For those of you that I've photographed, I loved every bit of it, and ....can we do it again? Please? I mean...wouldn't it be cool to have your photos on this awesome new blog? haha!=)

One of the biggest changes that has been made is the business name. It will no longer be Hailey Huggins Photography, but instead, Photos By Hailey. I'll explain the reason for the name change in the next blog post.

And then....there's the logo. Yay! It's the perfect mix of retro, clean, and funky. I had no idea where to start with a logo....but after lots of coaching from Jocelyn and skype dates, it was almost perfect. Sketch Block font, the perfect yellow, and a rustic film strip. But there was just one thing...the writing needed to be different. I changed it once again (sorry Jocelyn!) to where the title was tilted. I had the image in my head, and so I drew a picture and sent it to Jocelyn. My designer did an awesome job at making it into the logo.

So....check out all the new stuff! Ask questions, explore the blog, like the new facebook page, follow me on twitter, set up a shoot! I'm excited...aren't you?

Facebook
Website

Hannah Kate's Birth Story

2012-01-08T19:34:00.000-08:00

Day #6.
This picture story is by far one of the biggest highlights of my year. I got to photograph the birth of my baby niece! It was so special...and I'm so glad I got to do this.
After a weekend full of false alarms, the little princess finally decided she wanted to start making her way into the world on Sunday afternoon. Britt and Stephen were at our house for lunch, and left pretty early because Brittany was starting to get uncomfortable.
Late Sunday night Mom and I got the call that things were picking up! We headed over her house...pretty excited.
Up all night waiting for little baby. Things weren't really picking up, and before I knew it, it was time for me to head to work. I was bummed because I really wanted to photograph her being born. But, thanks to my boss for being flexible, and Sherilyn for helping me out, I was able to go back over later that afternoon. Still no baby.
Long story short, we headed to the hospital around 5:30 pm....i think. The days were pretty jumbled together at that point. After a few more cat naps, and some more waiting....then it was time! I got my camera ready, and got to photograph my adorable little niece being born. One of the most awesome memories....ever.
Finally, on Tuesday December 6th about 4:30 am (again, i don't even know the exact time!) Hannah Kate was born.
After watching brittany labor for that long, and seeing everything she went through, I'm pretty sure she's high on my list of heroes ;-) Stephen did a great job himself. I love that little family =)

Travel.

2012-01-07T20:18:00.000-08:00

Day #6. I have 30 minutes left in today. It still counts right?
Traveling. Going new places. To say I love it would be an understatement. Taking new trips and flying in airplanes excites me so much. I took a trip to Colorado back in September for a lighting and portraiture course with IPS, and loved it. They taught us how you can use flashes and lights to make amazing images. It was a wonderful week, and I learned so much!
After the class ended, my wonderful friend Kira came and picked me up, and we spent the rest of the day hanging out in Denver. I got to take her senior pictures...then we just hung out. It was SO much fun. And guess what? Kira is with me right now! She is here in Georgia hanging out for a few days.

summer!

2012-01-06T12:42:00.000-08:00

Day #5! It's getting close! =) And so far i have blogged everyday for 5 days...whew! It's harder than it sounds ;-)
Oh summer. I can't wait for it to come back. Today's whether was absolutely beautiful! It reminded me of why I love spring so much, and how I can't wait for it to come. Then I got to thinking of how I couldn't want for summer again!
Well, I spent last summer working at the Wilds Christian Camp in North Carolina. It was probably one of the best summers I've ever had. I had the awesome opportunity to meet so many new people, work as a waitress, talk to and meet new people every week, and grow closer to the Lord. I grew up going to camp when I was younger, and it was the highlight of my year! I would save all year just for that one week at camp. So when I found out I was going to be able to be a part of the staff last summer, i was excited…and a bit scared. Last summer changed my life. It was so awesome to be surrounded with God's word for 11 straight weeks.
I do have to be honest though. Before going, I almost wanted to back out. It seemed my business was finally getting off the ground. Inquirers after inquirers came for weddings. I turned them down, one after another. And everytime I hated it more than the last. "Ugh…if i wouldn't have signed up for this, i could do all these weddings!" Then, I was searched IPS's website for the photoex trip for 2011. I was saving to go on that trip last year. They announced it! A trip to Italy. Are you kidding me!?!? I told Babbs!! lets go! Oh wait, when is it? June. Seriously??? So, I not only turned down several weddings, but a "once in a lifetime" trip to Italy.
I lost my focus. Why was I leaving to work for a summer? So that I could serve the Lord. And when I signed my contract, I had absolute peace about it, and knew it was what God wanted me to do. When I turned down the trip to Italy, and all the weddings, I became self focused. This is what I needed to make ME happy. But, thankfully, God knows what will make us happy so much more than we ever can!
Serving the Lord for an entire summer, and missing everything I "could have had", turned out to be the best thing I could have imaged. And guess what? I'm going back this summer. And I couldn't be more excited!
Summer is wedding season. I've already turned down some weddings for this summer, but that's ok. God knows exactly which weddings I need, and He will give them to me!

(I did get to shoot one wedding during the summer!)

Day #4!

2012-01-05T17:07:00.000-08:00

Day #4. And yes, I did almost forget to blog today. Yikes!
Well, my subject for today's blog isn't something "fun" that happened last...it's actually quite the opposite. But it is important....because it was a big event, and something me and my entire family learned from.
It was April fools. My sister Brittany had the day off, but I didn't so I wasn't able to be home when she announced to the family that we was going to have a baby. Later, we met up at the mall, and that's when we got a phone call from one of my sisters. She told us that dad was headed to the hospital, because he was having a lot of pressure in his chest. I was so grateful that my boss let me off work early, so I could go to the hospital with the other girls. We found out that dad had suffered a heart attack. He had come very close to dying, but the paramedics saved his life. The whole weekend was quite an emotional roller coaster. It was so hard to see our dad in pain like that.
God miraculously and graciously brought him through it, and I'm so thankful we were able to spend another Christmas with him. Today we celebrated his birthday, and it was such an awesome reminder of how blessed we are to have him with us =) God is so good. All of the time.

During his recovery, we spent a bunch of time in the living room hanging out with dad. He also had a bunch of visitors come by. It was so good to see people we hadn't seen in a while =)

The sisterhood of the....sisters?

2012-01-04T12:52:00.000-08:00

Day #3.
Another event that made my top 2011 favs would be what I call "Our foursome date." Let me explain. Anna is my best friend. She has a sister named Rebekah. Rebekah is good friends with my sister Katelyn. And all four of us are tight.
It's been a friendship that has lasted for quite a while. Bek came over one day for a party we were having at our house. Katelyn and I thought she was pretty cool because she was one of the only girls we had met that thought building forts in the woods was cool. She was quiet though...and so were we. So we built a fort together. Pretty much in silence. But it was fun anyway.
I thought Anna - on the other hand - was an annoyingly perfect little teacher's pet (my sister taught our children's choir and she thought Anna was the sweetest, most adorable little girl). I would just roll my eyes (and yes i was the perfect example of a stuck up little snob...and that's what Anna thought of me).
But, after the fort incident...we became friends with the Hammond family, and eventually Anna and I became friends as well. And now, she's my best friend.
The four of us have really had a blast when we've gotten together...all of our late night talks at sleepovers, and our black friday shopping tradition. I can still remember the time our siblings took us to Chickfila, and I remember telling Bek, "Wont it be so cool when we can drive ourselves and go out to eat??" Crazy how time flies.
Well, in April, Bek got married! Anna and I even got to shoot the wedding =) But right before she got married, we all went out for a fun dinner at the Cheesecake Factory. We wanted to spend the evening hanging out one last time before she got married.
So, we curled our hair, put on lots of makeup, and wore pretty dresses. It was a rainy night, and it was super crowded. But we still enjoyed it! Our dinner was absolutely delicious, and we had some great talks.
I'm so grateful for the wonderful friendship the Lord has given us, and all of the fun times we've had together.

pancake breakfast, hot chocolate, adventures....and ice.

2012-01-03T09:21:00.000-08:00

So here we are. Day #2 of the countdown to January 9th. It's been so cool to watch God work this year. A big thing last year was for me to get my photog business off the ground, and it happened! I got to shoot everything last year. Weddings, families, kids, seniors, business headshots, a jewelry shoot for a website, and interior design. With all the shooting, I was really able to narrow down what I want to focus on shooting. It really was a great year. It definitely wasn't easy, and I've learned that owning your own business really isn't as glamorous as it looks sometimes, but that's how we learn. And I learned a lot. If it all came easy, I wouldn't grow.

Fun Event from 2011:

You northerners are probably going to laugh at me. It's about snow. Last January we had more snow and ice than I can ever remember here in Georgia. I felt like a little kid…I watched it come down and got SO excited! We even got snowed in for several days. Ok, maybe we got iced in, but it was still pretty awesome! Or at least it was for the first two days...after that, I have to admit I got a little cabin fever.
But, we got to do fun things like, make big breakfasts (hey, it's a big deal...usually I grab a tangerine while I run out of the house), drink hot chocolate, watch movies, play games, and, of course, explore in the snow!
The worst part was going to work when the "roads were clear". I'm pretty sure every road except for ours was clear. There are tons of trees shading our driveway and road outside our driveway. Sliding on ice is really not fun. I don't know, maybe i'm not adventurous enough. Or maybe I just like having control over the car ;-) But no accidents occurred, and eventually the ice did melt.

I was thinking, it's easy to get SO busy that you just don't have time for important things. Getting stuck at home for several days showed me that. I spent more time with God and my family - the most important things to me! It was quite wonderful.

And yes, I am hoping we get some more this winter. Goodness, it's cold enough out there right now! ;-)

Hey guess what?

2012-01-02T13:21:00.000-08:00

So, if you've been following my Facebook page, you may have noticed a few little hints I've been dropping about some changes. Basically these changes started back in February when i attended a workshop that totally changed the way I thought about my photography business. The main subject was branding. I….i don't even have a brand. So, I started doing lots of reading and thinking. This branding thing is a pretty big deal. So after basically taking a break from the photography biz for the summer, i got back on the ball when i arrived home from camp in August. At the beginning of October, I started an 8 week program/class. I'll share more about that later. So…after 8+ intensive weeks…some major changes have happened for my business. It's still got a ways to go…but I'm excited about the big changes that have been accomplished.

The big day is January 9th! I will be "releasing" the big project. I'm pretty pumped! A lot of work has been put into this by many people….and I'm so grateful for the help of others. More on that later too =) Until next Monday…I'll be blogging every day. Yes, you heard it right. Every day. I'm almost panicking that I'm admitting that to the world, because now I actually have to do it ;-) We all know I can struggle in the consistent blogging area ;-)

What will I be blogging about? Just some random events that 2012 held. Some big, some not so big. But they all had an impact on me, so they're a big part of last year. I guess maybe it's my "year in review"….just a different kind of twist on it.

Happy 2012, everyone! I don't know about you, but I'm pretty stoked about what this year holds! =)

Enjoy some fall 2011 favorites...

Christmas...is over?

2011-12-29T11:02:00.000-08:00

Like I said before, Christmas this year was a bit different. I feel like Christmas started Monday! Usually December 26th is one of the most depressing days of the year. It was pretty opposite here! Everyone was finally well! Most people clean up the mess from Christmas on the 26th...instead we cleaned the germs out ;-)

Tuesday included more cleaning, and lots of baking. We had a big breakfast for dinner meal when all the family came over. It was a fun time!

Dad and I started back work, but we're still having a blast hanging out with everyone. I must say I'm kind of dreading next week....when the girls go back to work and school. Can't the party just keep on going? ha! =)

It's Christmas Eve!

2011-12-24T05:13:00.001-08:00

It's Christmas eve. That means Christmas day is just a day a way! The parities are going full-fledged right? No so much here! It's been quite the week!
Monday was wonderful! I had the day off, so I went to Anna's house to hang out and bake. We made cake pops and dinner. I mainly did the cake pops, and she mainly did the dinner ;-) The dinner was a success. The cake pops? Well, that's a matter of opinion. haha…actually they weren't too bad ;-)

Tuesday there were very long "to do" lists to accomplish. Well, a fourth of it got done. I overslept (which is never a good start to the day), then went downstairs and mom and ash were having a present wrapping party. I needed to wrap presents, I also needed to get my stuff done. What to do? I wrapped presents. I mean how often do those parties happen? Then mom had an appointment she needed to get to, and it was a nasty and rainy day. Ashlyn and I were starving. So we all headed out. We took mom to her appointment, then went for lunch. It was a fun time :) The rest of the night we hung out and partied with the family. Cause it's Christmas…

Wednesday morning I was pumped up. I had some fun Christmasy plans to do with Alex at work that day…until I got sick anyway. Then I found out Mom and Ash had the same thing! Katelyn was a dear and went to work for me that day. Mom, Ash and I pretty much laid in bed all day. Believe it or not, it wasn't very much fun. Dad was a sweetheart. He came home through out the day to help us. I don't know what we would do without him!
Thursday came around…Tiff was coming home! We started off the day by deep cleaning the upstairs so she COULD come home, then pretty much took it easy.

(the two girls who didn't get sick. they were loading up on meds so they wouldn't...haha )

So, I was excited about Friday. Because all the fun Christmasy stuff Alex and I were going to do Wednesday was going to happen Friday. Except plans changed again. I woke up in the middle of the night sick again. GR! Are you serious? So yesterday wasn't all that exciting either, But I'm glad that God always knows what He's doing and has a plan.

So here's hoping the rest of the weekend turns out to be different than the past few days. Everyone slept through the night here, and that's wonderful! I'm actually thankful for it all. I think God knew my plans needed to be re-arranged. It's so easy to get focused on the fun of the Christmas season, and leave out the purpose for why we celebrate.

Merry Christmas Eve!

Grad fun!

2011-12-22T16:19:00.000-08:00

Back in October, I got to hang out with these cool grads! We met up at the Marietta Square on a VERY chilly Saturday morning. Check it out!

Adventures in Lawrenceville!

2011-12-17T18:34:00.001-08:00

I had the day off on Friday, and it was wonderful! After spending some time with my sister and niece, I headed to Lawrenceville. My awesome photog friends, Babbs and curly, moved to an awesome house, so I went to see it. We explored her awesome backyard, canoed on the lake, and got frozen yogurt, and played with our cameras and flashes! 'twas quite fun. :)

The Luther Family

2011-12-14T13:14:00.001-08:00

I love this family so much. We have babysat for the Luthers for several years now, and they are dear friends of our family. They have so much personality, and basically they're just fun to be around! All of the girls are crazy fun, and they had plenty of poses in mind! Melanie is probably one of the most chill moms I've ever met, and I'm pretty sure everytime I babysit, we talk for at LEAST 15 minutes before I leave. And we can't leave out Ryan! He's a trooper, and such a good sport being surrounded by a bunch of active girls!

We're just friends...and friends are fun to shoot! So yeah...we had fun :)

(And please ignore the huge pictures and size differences. I can't figure out why it will only let me re size a few of them...)

Thanks for letting me come play at your house, guys!

Hannah Kate

2011-12-11T18:41:00.000-08:00

She's finally here! My first niece made her grand entrance into the world early Tuesday morning. I had the awesome opportunity to photograph her birth, and I'm in love with the pictures. But for now, here are a few shots I took yesterday. It was a pretty short little shoot, so I'm excited to continue the fun later :)

Lovelies...

2011-12-09T12:20:00.000-08:00

My friend, Paige came for a visit. All the way from GUAM! Even though it was short visit, it was a fun one! Anna and Kayla joined in on the fun also. We played like kids with our toys. Posing, trying different camera settings...all of that fun stuff. See for yourself!

Annnnd, there are more but for that's all my blog has allowed me to put up for now. More later! Happy weekend everyone!

It's Christmas Time!

2011-12-02T16:24:00.001-08:00

I love this time of year. Seriously...it's my favorite. I pretty much listen to Christmas music non-stop. I've also been scouring pinterest for awesome decorating ideas. I've got some pretty awesome ideas. Just can't wait to start doing them! :)

Christmas time with kids is a blast. Alex and I went had some fun at the mall and made some cute Christmas crafts this week. Fun stuff :)

I love my Christmas lights in my room. I feel like it adds an awesome loft feel. And then theres my cute little tree. Even though half the lights are burnt out and it's crooked, i love it. Lindsey says it looks like a charley brown Christmas tree. Haha!

Have a happy weekend everyone, and merry Christmas.

The Barona Family

2011-11-28T13:28:00.000-08:00

Meet the Barona Family. I had such a great time hanging out with them, and getting some great shots! I definitely "oohh and ahh"ed over their pictures while I was editing. What a sweet shoot :) I have such a cool job.

Look at that smile!! He's precious!

The girl behind it all =) She set up and organized everything! What a great sister! =)

Giving Thanks

2011-11-26T17:40:00.001-08:00

I had a 4 and 1/2 day break for thanksgiving and it has been GREAT! My two out of town sister have been here, and it's been like a constant party. I'm loving it.
Some of our thanksgiving activities have included...
Thanksgiving celebration with family
Black friday shopping
Setting up Christmas decor
Making and eating yummy food
And going to the sundial with our amazing brother in law.
Basically, it's been great.

The Hornigol Family

2011-11-21T13:18:00.000-08:00

Around this time last year, I photographed little Meagan's newborn pictures, and took some photos of this fantastic family! I can hardly believe that she's a year old now!
My sisters and I have babysat for the Hornigolds for several years, and they are seriously one of the sweetest families you'll ever meet. The parents are so personable and sweet, and the kids are so well behaved! We love keeping their kids =) And...they are an extremely beautiful family, so I love photographing them just as much!
Anna was spending the day with me, so she got to come a long on this shoot. She was a huge help! We started off with some family pics, then she played/photographed the kids while I took mom and dad to have their photos taken! We had a great time!

Hello!

2011-11-18T20:26:00.000-08:00

I've been pretty silent. Our internet has been having issues for quite a while now, and this week it's been out for several days. I've also been working on some major and exciting business changes....which has kept me super busy. I can't wait for you all to see everything! Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

Yesterday I took some pictures of this little cutie and her brothers...can't wait to finish them and share!

A Different Take at Positive Thinking

2011-11-14T19:30:00.000-08:00

I was reading the book "A Gospel Primer" tonight, and I thought I'd share what I read. It sure does give a different outlook on things, doesn't it?

The more absorbed I am in the gospel, the more grateful I become in the midst of my circumstances, whatever they may be.
Viewing life's blessing as water in a drinking cup, I know that I could discontentedly focus on the half of the cup that seems empty, or I could gratefully focus on the half that is full. Certainly, the latter approach is the better of the two, yet the gospel cultivates within me a richer gratitude than this.
The gospel reminds me first that what I actually deserve from God is a full cup churning with the torments of His wrath (Revelation 14:10, Psalm 75:8). This is the cup that would be mine to drink if I were given what I deserve each day. With this understanding in mind, I see that to be handed a completely empty cup from God would be cause enough for infinite gratitude. If there were merely the tiniest drop of blessing contained in that otherwise empty cup, I should be blown away by the unbelievable kindness of God toward me. That God, in fact has given me a cup (Psalm 116, Psalm 23:5) that is full of "every spiritual blessing in Christ" (Ephesians 1:3) and this is without the slightest admixture of wrath, leaves me truly dumbfounded with inexpressible joy. As for my specific earthly circumstances of plenty of want, I can see them always as infinite improvements on the hell I deserve.
When I look at any circumstance that God apportions me, I am first grateful for the wrath I am not receiving in that moment (the empty part of the cup never looked so good!). Second, I am grateful for the blessings that are given to me instead of His wrath. (Life's blessings, however small, always appear exceedingly precious when viewed against the backdrop of the wrath I deserve.) This two-layered gratitude disposes my heart ot give thanks in all things (1 Thess. 5:18) and it also lens a certain gratitude glorifies God, contributes to peace of mind (Philippians 4:6-7) and keeps my foot from the path of foolishness and ruin. (Romans 1:21-29)

The Mason Girls

2011-11-07T12:59:00.000-08:00

My little model friend is back on the blog with her annual photoshoot! =) Miss JaneBatson has been a popular little girl through my photography journey (here and here), and I'm always so happy to take and show off her photos! This year, she had a sister to join her!! I was so glad to meet the newest little addition, and we even got mom in a few pictures this year!

They were only going to be in town for 2 short days, so we literally had a photoshoot right before church on Sunday morning =)

Little bits of fun.

2011-11-03T19:18:00.000-07:00

Fall is so fun, fall is so crazy, and fall is so wonderful. I've been crazy busy with photoshoots, so I've got lots of prettiness coming to the blog soon. But there's also been a lot of fun happening too. Check it out!

This little fella was a fireman for halloween this year….i thought he looked adorable, so I had to take him out a do a little shoot under the beautiful tree!

Last weekend a group of us headed up to one of my favorite places, the Wilds!! We had a blast! My friend Bekah was so awesome...she bought me this coke. I was pretty excited. The bottle just makes the coke taste better!

Our little travel companions!

It was BEAUTIFUL up there. This is about the only shot I got of the trees...I know, bad photographer-me. But it was fun to enjoy the weekend without even picking up my camera ;-)

Tuesday night, Babbs came, and she photographed ME! (I needed pics for my new website/blog that's in the making.) Ahh! I definitely like being behind the camera better! But she was awesome, and we had a blast! Thanks Babbs!

Well, it's getting later and I still have some packing to do. I'm off for another weekend of fun and work. Have a happy weekend everyone!

Tyler-Man

2011-10-31T19:27:00.000-07:00

Check out this little kiddo! This is another one of my nephews...and he's basically adorable. It's crazy that he's already changed a good bit since these pictures were taken a few weeks ago. They grow fast!

If you can't tell...he's a pretty happy little fella!

Andy and Claire :: Engaged

2011-10-24T14:07:00.000-07:00

This particular Saturday started off nice and early at 5:30. Anna was at my house for a sleepover, so we got up early and started preparing for the day. We had two shoots lined up for the day. The first one, being a sunrise shoot. I'd never done a sunrise shoot before, but I was dying to try it out. When Claire replied to my email with "We really, really like the idea of a sunrise shoot", I was so pumped!

Anna and I loved shooting Andy and Claire! They were super fun, excited, and really in love! All of those coming together to make our job easy. I loved hanging out with this couple! We had a blast....thanks for coming out so early guys!

Room redos, missions conference, and out of town friends!

2011-10-20T08:58:00.000-07:00

A full week. That's what last week was. It was certainly full, but certainly awesome! Monday and Tuesday were like a mad rush! I was trying to get things done before the craziness started Wednesday.

It started with the room redo. I've been in the process of switching rooms for more space (now I'll have an office!!), and for some reason I decided to start that process at the beginning of last week. I couldn't have done it without Linz. She put in a ton of time helping me paint. I'm moved in here now, but it's definitely done. Next step is bringing in the accessories and color. I'm so excited!

We had our missions conference at our church Wednesday-Sunday, which means we had missionaries visiting and speaking at our church for those 5 days. I've always loved missions conference, and this year was no different. It was a great time of hearing updates and being challenged.

Another part of the exciting weekend, was my friends coming to visit! When Brittany and I went to Romania a few years back, we met Kendra and JaneBatson, and have kept in touch since. They've visited the last two years, and so we were super excited to have them visit again! I also got to take their pictures again this year…always a highlight for me :)

I hope your week was just as fabulous as mine! Happy Wednesday everyone!

This is my old room....thankfully it doesn't look like this anymore ;-) This became the junk room while we were working.

in the middle of doing my room. It also looks much better now ;-) But those pics are coming....

Friday, Alex and I went to Brittany's house for a pancake and pajamas party...Timmy and Ethan came too!

Friday night was a girls sleepover at our house....what am I saying? Every night is a girls sleepover ;-)

Alex playing wii, and Timmy telling him what to do :P

We can't forget the football game at Saturday's missions conference picnic. They had some pretty hilarious cheerleaders ;-)

Complete with awesome hair!

Saturday night - Sunday was spent having fun with Kendra, JaneBatson, and Baylor Rose. More pics from that coming soon also ;-)

Nephews...

2011-10-17T13:09:00.000-07:00

They were staying at our house for a few days while their parents were gone. I had been thinking that I needed to get some updated pictures of them. So I decided to take them to their house, raid their closets, and dress them for a photoshoot. After talking them into wearing the outfits we picked out, Linz and I took them to a close hiking trail and did a little 20 minute photo shoot. The results? Well, I'm pretty sure I'm in love. Those nephews of mine are CUTE! And I think they've been trained well ;-) They did everything I asked them to do. They're basically models. See for yourself!

(Huge, huge, HUGE thanks to my sister Lindsey for coming along to help. She helped pick out their outfits, get them dressed, and hold my lights for me. Oh, and keep them happy....which is always super helpful! hehe)

"Hey Timmy, how does your dad pose?"

"Ethan, how does your mom pose?"

Brittany + Baby

2011-10-12T20:59:00.000-07:00

It's been almost a year since their wedding. Stephen and Brittany got married on a FREEZING cold November day. People always told me, "the older you get, the faster life goes". Pretty sure there's some truth in that! I can't believe that they have been married almost and year, and now she's 8 months pregnant!! And, as you'll probably guess from the pictures, she's having a girl :) I couldn't be more excited! Only two more months left! I can not WAIT to meet my little niece =)

Pictures, Ikea, and good laughs.

2011-10-10T13:40:00.000-07:00

Oh weekends. They're so wonderful, yet so short. Mine started off just right. I headed straight to Anna's house after work, picked her up, and brought her to my house. After dinner we headed to Ikea and ooooh and ahhhed our way through the store. I ended up buying some pieces for my room/office make over I'm in the middle of.

Saturday morning we were up at the bright hour of 5:30 to get ready for a sunrise shoot. It was….magical. I'm in loooove with the photos. I'm trying to hold myself back from posting one online every 5 minutes. I keep telling myself to wait until they're all finished. I have a bad habit with that

So we headed back home after the shoot to put the new furniture together….only to discover we didn't have all the pieces. Which was my fault…but really Ikea, must you be SO confusing?? What did we do? We got ourselves back in the car and drove to ikea, sat and waited trying to figure out the silly mess, and finally left. At this point we were a bit zombie like. Just a little sleepy. Katie was super sweet and took time out of her studying to help us put the furniture together. We had a blast…the three of us (or maybe two….Anna was preoccupied taking pictures. haha) were assembling the furniture cracking jokes, saying stupid things, and Anna *cough* "sang" to us.

Well, right after that it was time for the second shoot of the day! One of my favorite families! Seriously one of the sweetest families you will ever meet! Once again, we had a blast! By the end of it all, we were shot! But it was the good kind of tired!

Anna, thanks a ton for coming this weekend! Between the helping with the silly problems at Ikea, and shooting with me…your help was pretty much invaluable ;-)

What about you? Did you do something fun for the weekend?

Kira :: 2011 Senior

2011-10-05T13:50:00.001-07:00

Soooo...while I was Colorado I got to hang out with my wonderful friend Kira! Kira and I met at an IPS workshop last year in San Antonio. She visited Ga. back in January, and then I got to visit her in Co!! Before I came, Kira asked me if I could take her senior pictures while I was in town. Of course I said YES! I was so excited about this shoot!

On Saturday after the workshop had ended, Kira drove (two hours!) to pic me up. From there we did a bit of driving/eating/driving/hiking/driving and finally got to Denver. A shoot in Denver? Awesome!!! It was such a cool city....I had a blast shooting there, and got a little carried away with all of the awesome shooting locations.

Kira, I had a blast hanging out with you. Thanks for toting me around everywhere and then letting me take your pictures. We made some awesome memories that day!

Now for some pictures of this lovely lady! =)

IPS Workshop!

2011-10-04T12:09:00.000-07:00

So as I mentioned before, I just recently got back from a fantastic trip to Colorado! I was in Manitou Springs for a Lighting and Portraiture workshop with IPS. Benjamin and Jocelyn did a great job at teaching us the wonders of off-camera lighting and all of that jazz. Although I definitely wouldn't say I've mastered it, I can say I have a much better understanding of it. And at least I know how to work my flashes now ;-) Since the workshop, I've been trying to put in practice the stuff we learned. I've failed and succeeded. I'm determined to keep working at it, and so eventually it will be almost second nature...well, at least I'm going to try! ;-)
During the week we had several different assignments...both indoor and out. They were super challenging, and at times I felt like I totally bombed it and failed...but that's the way you learn right? Anyway, here's a sample from my time there!

First Assignment: We had to get different (specific) types of lighting in studio.

This is out of order (thank you blogger for always doing that. grrr)....but this was from our studio final...or maybe it was midterm...one of those anyway!

This was our second assignment. We practiced on mannequins so that a poor human wouldn't have to sit that long waiting for us to get our lights right. Kind of scary huh?

More from our studio final.

This is from the big final! We had real clients, and we could only use our lights. Moving children + lights + inexperienced me = crazy hard shoot! Possibly the hardest I've ever done. I was sooo thankful for my two assistants! Overall, I was very happy with the outcome :) I'll post more of these another time!

Colorado is beautiful. I think it might be my favorite state so far...of course I have a lot more to see ;-)

Our fearless leaders!

Another one of our assignments: 20 minutes to find the perfect location, and making the perfect image in our minds, then 5 minutes to execute the shot with EVERYONE watching! Whew!

Beautiful Denver at night...

I could definitely drive with this view everyday ;-)

Kara : 2011 Senior

2011-09-30T16:13:00.000-07:00

Kara used to live next door to us when we lived in Stockbridge several years ago. The girls and I loved playing with her and having her family for neighbors. We were so bummed when we moved to Marietta and didn't have any kids our age to play with! So you can imagine how excited I was when her mom contacted me about taking her senior pictures! AND she wanted to have them done at the fair! Woohoo!! I wont ramble about how excited I was, because I've already done that.

Anyway, we had a BLAST! Thanks for the fun time, Kara! I loved hanging out at the fair with you!

Hello, Monday.

2011-09-26T12:15:00.000-07:00

This time last week, I was in the beautiful state of Colorado. I was studying lighting and portraiture with IPS. Oh what a beautiful place, and what amazing things learned. I'll have more to say about that another time.

Today I'm editing a senior shoot that took place at the fair. The FAIR! I was so pumped about doing that shoot. Because I love fairs. Seriously....I get so excited when I go. So a senior shoot there? Awesome! More of that in a bit also...

For now, I thought I'd leave you with a picture of fair food. Because it's just that exciting.

Have an exciting rest of the day, y'all!

9/11

2011-09-12T19:30:00.000-07:00

It was ten years ago, so i don't remember a whole lot...but I do remember the day of the attack. We were all in different parts of the house doing our school. I was upstairs watching one of my school videos and mom came up and told me to turn on the tv. My grandmother had called and told her about what was happening.
I just remember sitting there watching it, and didn't really know what to think. What in the world was happening? I remember hearing everyone say "America has changed forever" and it really kind of freaked me out.
It did change America... but I'm so glad to know that God is in control.
Today I took Alex to Kennesaw Mountain to go hiking with Sherilyn (my sister), her boys, and my mom. They had almost 3 thousand American flags out in the field. What a sight. I was reminded of just how many people 9/11 affected. Not just those who died, but all of their families and friends. I was also reminded of the many who gave their lives trying to save and help people.
I'm so thankful those people...and those who are still giving their lives for the freedom I enjoy today. I'm so blessed. I never want to forget what happened on September 11th, ten years ago.

We were in a hurry and the sun was harsh, but I had to grab a few pictures. I really want to go back with my wide angle at sunset!

A Typical Week...

2011-09-06T21:12:00.000-07:00

I'm constantly realizing how grateful I am for the life the Lord has given me. It's not always perfect, and I complain way too much, but it's a continual growing process. Last week I decided I was going to use my D90 instead of my D700 and take a picture each day of what a "normal week" looks like for me right now. I love variety! I get tired of the same thing all the time...so this was a way of switching things up a bit. I fell in love with my DX camera (Nikon D90) again! I have absolutely LOVED the FX camera (D700)...especially the high ISO capabilities (yay for less grain in the photos!!). But it was fun to use the cropped sensor camera again. My 50 mm. seems so close up! haha. Anyway, enough chit chat! Enjoy the pictures =)

(sorry about the oversized pictures. I've been resizing them, but for some reason it's not working! I'm trying to figure out the problem.)

Monday:
Monday's mean that we are going to get adjusted. This is a VERY exciting part of his day!

Tuesday:
Contrary to popular belief, I can cook other things besides boxed mac and cheese and pre-made fish (Just don't ask about my labor day pancake/waffle breakfast...). On this Tuesday night I decided to Saute chicken for the first time. I was a big fan...it tasted yummy!

this is also a pretty common thing to see on a Tuesday night. Linz working hard to finish all of the homework for classes the next day. I remember this very well...sometimes I even miss it!

Wednesday:
Talking about changing things up, I've been trying to think of some new fun things me and the little munchkin can do. Wednesday involved going "fishing". He was pretty proud of all the fish he caught!

and yes, he is still in his Pj's....that's my fault. With the excitement of going fishing, we couldn't be bothered to stop and get changed first!

*Insert Thursday picture here*
Well, yeah...so there is no picture for Thursday. I got so caught up in all the progress I was making by getting so much work done, I totally forgot to take a picture....until I was in bed about to go to sleep. I decided it wasn't worth loosing the extra sleep to get up and take a picture :P

Friday:
It was park day. And you have to have snacks at the park. So here, you get a cute pretzel smile!

I walk in the door after work and this is what I find. Oh yeah!! Equipment for the Lighting and Portraiture class I'm attending later this month!

I'm Back!!

2011-09-01T19:29:00.000-07:00

Truth is, I've been back for 3 weeks now, but blogging has been just about the last thing on my mind ;-) I had such an incredible summer, I don't really even know where to start! It would be impossible to tell all of the stories, but I'll try to summarize it a bit with some pictures =)

First and foremost, this summer was the biggest time of growth for me. I learned so so so much this summer, and I praise God for the things he taught me! I'm still trying to narrow down some of the things He's taught me in my head, because it's just SO MUCH! But I would have to say one of the biggest things I learned this summer is what life is all about about. Our waitress crew memorized Col. 3 this summer, and I think the first few verses summarizes it well.
"If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory."
As a Christian, I need to live in light of eternity. The things I love need to matter for eternity. It brings about a completely knew way of life. I'm so grateful for the Lord's help as I am learning to apply these verses to my life.

Andddd this summer I....

...met wonderful, godly friends!

...celebrated 4th of July with my Wilds family.

...saw lots of excitement and competition between the red, blue, and green teams.

...got to see my sister and her best friend when they came up for camp!

...got to serve yummy food with crazy fun people.

...was a part of the amazing 2011 waitress crew.

...shot a wedding, two engagement sessions, and a senior session. (Picture credit goes to Babbs)

Needless to say....it was a great summer! =) How was your summer? Did you do anything out of the ordinary?

Hello from the Wilds!

2011-06-10T05:48:00.000-07:00

Hello all! So my blogging has pretty much been non existent! For those who don't know, I am at camp for the summer! I don't really have a whole lot of time for blogging, so I've just been adding photos to my facebook page. It's way faster, so that way I can still get pictures up! So if you want to check them out, go here. Hope you all are having a fantastic summer!

Miss Julia

2011-05-18T12:46:00.000-07:00

I had my eye on some adorable pictures of a little girl and her curly hair. I was totally and completely inspired! So, I called my wonderful friend, Melanie and asked her if I could take some pictures of her daughter. She had that perfect curly hair, and her personality is pretty much hilarious! =) So here are the pictures that were taken withing 10 minutes! ;-) Because after that, it was HER turn to take the pictures! ;-)

Annnd, a little pictures of her cute little sister!

Time to Catch up?

2011-05-16T20:13:00.000-07:00

I haven't really been blogging. I've been in a quiet mood lately. Well, actually I guess that's not really true. To be honest, I've thought about blogging a few times then though "na, i need to get this done first." Which was true, there have been important things that have needed to be done lately. Lots of them. That's because I'm leaving Saturday. AHHH!!! What?? how in the world is it already May 16??? How in the world is vacation THIS Saturday? And how in the WORLD is the Wilds next Saturday?? If you can't tell, it has all kind-of snuck up on me. Here's what's going on…Saturday I'm shooting a wedding (super excited!), then leaving for the beach with Tifster to meet up with our family who will already be there (Linz, i'm still gonna catch up with you on your tan!). We are going to enjoy the beach (which I'm more than SUPER excited about) until Friday and head back. Then on Saturday morning Tiff any I will head out to the Wilds. Is your head spinning yet? Yeah, mine is too.

So last Saturday was free. But instead of blogging, and doing other fun things, I decided I had better start packing. That's because I'm the QUEEN of procrastination when it comes to packing. I LOVED it a few years ago, what happened to me?! But I quickly found that was hard to do. Because, I still need to wear clothes, wash my face, brush my teeth, and wash my hair before I leave. Hmm….guess I'll throw those things into the "bag" on Saturday night. haha. Meanwhile my room is a wreck. The good part is that I wont be in there a whole ton this week, so it wont bother me too much.

Oh…and uhh…something that i'm a little (yeah right!) excited about…..another nephew has been born into the family!!!! Many congrats to my amazing sister Sherilyn and her husband, Matt! Three boys now….ooh fun! ;-) He wasn't suppose to be here until June 12th….but I'm glad he is here! Now I get to see him some before I leave for the summer!! I got to see him today….and I'm basically in love.

I mean seriously, aren't you? If you aren't, I guess it's ok….i'm just a tad bit bias.

This week is full of hanging out with friends and family and work. It got off to a great start yesterday with photography talks at starbucks, and long conversations in the car with dear friends. And today? I got to see my new nephew! Yay! =) I like weeks like this!
Happy Monday everyone!

Jake and Bek :: Married

2011-05-09T14:15:00.000-07:00

*Sigh* Well it happened...my friend got married. It was so strange...yet so very happy =) So excited for Jake and Bek!! Thought I would share a bit of the happiness with you guys!

Loved the look on Mrs. Hammond's face during the ceremony!

Hugs from grandparents...

Meeting new friends.

They laughed a lot...it made our job easy! =)

Now that's the Hammond girls I know!

Beautiful sisters!

Michael decided it would be fun to throw the bowl of bird seed on them.

And they're off!

Congratulations Jake and Bek!

crafts and cookouts

2011-05-06T19:17:00.000-07:00

Work today was spent making crafts and and playing at the park. And tonight we decided to grill out with some hot dogs and hamburgers. I loooove hot dogs...and i really love grilled hot dogs! Mmm...it was yummy.

First we started out finger painting some "binoculars".

Then he brought out his super cool glasses.

I even got some! haha

Alex's mom told me about a birds nest at the house...so I got on a chair, lifted the camera up and got a shot of the eggs!

And there's the momma bird! Whew...getting pictures of birds is NOT easy. Good thing I had my super 70-200!

Tonight's dinner:

the start of some french fries!

getting the grill hot!

annnnd here we go!

chop, chop, chop!

time to eat! what a perfect night for eating outside!

Uh yes...that's Lindsey....

I hope you all had a fantastic Friday!

Michael and Leah :: Portraits

2011-05-04T13:07:00.001-07:00

Last Friday after Bek's wedding, Leah (Bek's sister) asked if she and her husband Michael could have a few pictures done. So Anna and I snapped some really quickly. Anna and I got to photograph her wedding just a little over a year ago. I can't believe it's been a year already! Here are a few of the shots =)

Wedding Friday

2011-04-29T18:12:00.000-07:00

While most girly-girls got up bright and early to watch the Royal Wedding this morning, I did not. Now, that's not because I didn't want to. Cause boy did I want to! Instead, I thought it would be mature (ha!) to practice some responsibility and get some sleep before the crazy day ahead. Plus, I'm pretty sure my cold already hates me for not getting enough sleep this week. It would have hated me even more if I deprived myself of more. So instead I got up, got ready for work, had my quiet time, and then hurried downstairs to catch a *little* bit of the wedding. I made good use of the time by putting my makeup on while I watched. hehe. I was happy with the 15 minutes I did get to see...but definitely second guessed my decision to sleep instead of watch the ceremony ;-)

So then it was time to head to work! I gave Alex breakfast and got him ready, and we headed out again. We stopped by to see Brittany at work, and to take her a morning doughnut! He was pretty excited about that! After that, I brought him to my house. We played outside for a while, and then Lindsey took over for me so I could go get ready and leave for the wedding. Bek's wedding!

My best friend's sister was getting married. But she's not just my best friends sister, or my sisters best friend, but she's one of my favoritest people too :) We call ourselves the foursome...because, that's basically what we are! Remember when we got together one last time before she got married? This is what that was all about.

On my way out the door, I knew I was forgetting something. I had all of my camera equipment and purse..what else was I missing? I realized later it was my drivers license. Yikes! Yes, I do panic when I realize I don't have my license with me. It's ok, I made it there and back with out being pulled over ;-) I got there, pulled out my camera, and started clicking away! I love the time while everyone is getting ready. So much fun :)

The weather was perfect, and the wedding was beautiful! It was so "Bake and Jek", as I kept calling them. Congratulations Bek, I'm so so so very happy for you!! =)

Tuesday Ramblings

2011-04-26T12:29:00.000-07:00

Last week I had almost an entire week off. When I first found out I would be getting the week off, I was all like, "I should go to the beach…or somewhere!" haha. Unfortunately, even thought I had time off, everyone else still had their responsibilities ;-) It turned out to be a fantastic week. I had time (and energy!) to get things done that I don't usually get to do. Things like going out to coffee, meeting with clients, and even spending an afternoon with my friends!
I'm getting back into things this week…and it actually feels kind of nice! Even though I could probably use a little more time to sleep off this crazy cold I've had since Wednesday!

While the baby I watch was napping this morning, I got to watch some HGTV. Pretty sure I'm extremely inspired every time I watch those shows. I'm in the process of redoing my room…er…I'm not sure "in the process" would be the right way to say it. I'll just say I'm in the thought process ;-) It's 10x harder when it's YOUR room, cause you want it to be just right! I've changed my mind about 100 times trying to figure out what I'm going to do…but I think I finally have an idea of it ;-) I can't wait to get started on it.

Oh! Something exciting happened today! I was trying so very hard to figure out how to make an email sign-up list in Open Office. After quite a while, I figured it out. I was so excited! All of you computer wiz people, don't laugh! Actually, you probably don't even have to be a computer wiz to laugh at the fact that I didn't know how to do that. So go ahead, i give you permission to laugh.

Well I'd better bring this random assortment of words to a close. I'm pretty sure this entire post was very bad writing. Nothing had to do with anything. Oh well! Im going to go start on dinner. Mexican casserole. I'm so excited. It's going to be amazing!

Here's a pictures of my little (ha!) family from Easter! I think I've decided Easter is one of my favorite holidays. I absolutely love what it stands for. "Because He lives, I can face tomorrow!"

The Goodness of God

2011-04-19T19:18:00.000-07:00

I've been reading a book called The Knowledge of The Holy. It's written by A.W. Tozer. My goodness…he's a good author, but I'll admit it takes me forever to read one little chapter. Part of that is due the fact that I'm a super super slow reader, but I feel like I have to read just about every sentence twice to make sure it goes through ;-) hehe. But it's still a good book. In fact, it's a GREAT book! And I think it's a must-read for every believer!!

A few days ago I was reading the chapter about the goodness of God. I wish I could just write the whole chapter because it was so so so good!! And so timely for me! Since I can't write it all, I'm going to write a few of the parts I underlined.

"The goodness of God is that which disposes Him to be kind, cordial, benevolent, and full of good will toward men."

"If God is not good, then there can be no distinction between kindness and cruelty, and heaven can be hell and hell, heaven"

"All our religious activities and every means of grace, however right and useful they may be, are nothing until we understand that the unmerited, spontaneous goodness of God is back of all and underneath all His acts"

"He has never been kinder than He now is, nor will He ever be less kind."

"Prayer is not itself meritorious. It lays God under no obligation nor puts Him in debt to any. He hears prayer because He is good, and for no other reason."

"The God of heaven, though exalted in power and majesty, is eager to be friends with us."

"Even if our sins were as great in number as all mankind's put together, still God would not count them against us, but would have so much confidence in us as if we had never sinned."

Wow. Pretty amazing huh? His goodness is so unfathomable.

As I was reading this chapter I was reminded of how "no good thing will He withhold from us". A truth that I really, really needed to hear then.

It's always so cool when God brings truths that you need to you just when you need them. The last several weeks, my pastor has been preaching about God's sovereignty. The messages were just so good. Remembering those truths a long with this chapter were so encouraging.

Why have I needed these truths? Well, that's another story for another time. Like…maybe a blog post tomorrow. But for now, I need sleep. Goodnight everyone!

(Pictures by Anna Hammond...while we were out in the storm Friday...with tornado alarms)

News, news!!!

2011-04-19T18:38:00.000-07:00

I'll start this off with a little background story. When excitement is happening, I want to be right there in the middle of it! (which is one of the biggest reasons i love being a wedding photographer) I was the annoying little sister who would come pop her head up half way into the conversation and say "what, what, what!?!?". I hated it when mom made me go to bed before the older girls because I was sure I'd miss something exciting. Actually to this day, if I go to bed early and I hear the girls laughing and talking, I'm VERY tempted to get out of bed and be involved in the excitement. And sometimes I do get out of bed. All of that to say, when something exciting is happening, I want to be a part of it.

Now, fast forward to my "news"! I'm going to camp! Yes, your probably wondering why I labeled that as "news" or maybe your even wondering why it should be THAT exciting. Well, it's because I'm going for the summer. Yes, the whole summer. And I'm no longer going as a camper, but a worker! (Yikes!!! that's for the old mature people…not me!) But God is so good and has given me to opportunity work their this year!! Andddd….I'll be a waitress. Don't laugh…we'll see if I can keep the food/drink spills to a minimum….miracles CAN happen after all.

I've gone to the Wilds 8 years as a camper. It was basically the highlight of my summer every year. I remember at the beginning of each year, Anna and I would get the brochure and plan which week we would go. We usually went early July. It was half way through the summer. We couldn't go too early or the fun would be over, but we definitely couldn't wait until the end of the year. Oh, and we were always sure to have our registration in by January so that we could get the early discount ;-)

This basically explains the reason for my post about God's goodness and everything He's showed me. When I got my contract and signed it, I was excited. I knew this was what God wanted me to do with my summer, and I was excited to be serving kids and teens all summer long! But….with that came lots of "no's". That meaning, I turned down several weddings for the summer. After I signed the contract to work at camp, several more wedding offers came AND a trip to italy. ITALY! With IPS. Are you kidding?? Every time a new opportunity came I kept thinking "ok God. ok….but REALLY?" Yeah…i felt like i would be missing out on all of these fantastic opportunities that I have been working SO hard for, for SO long! I mean, Italy and 5 weddings? But, as I've already written, God showed me so so so clearly in so many ways that that's not what He has planned for me this summer. Which means….He's definitely got some amazing things in store for this summer.

ANYWAY! Enough with the rambling already! Yeah…i'm officially REALLY excited.

And another reason to be excited. I get to see my sister. ALL SUMMER!

And dress crazy! Cause that's what you do there....

Lots of hiking and yummy food. Sounds amazing right?

Big Photos on Blogger

2011-04-18T15:19:00.001-07:00

I've had several people ask me how to get their pictures to appear larger on their blogger site. So I started to write out directions on how to do this….and I remembered the site I googled and used to figure it out. I'm definitely a visual person, so I decided to link you guys to this site. They have pictures of the step-by-step process. Check it out here.

Hope this is helpful!! Now for a few pictures to make this post a bit more exciting!

This is my favorite pen right now. I'm convinced it makes my handwriting better...

My sperrys....or sperries...either one. I love these. But I'll confess....they're fake. That's ok, I still love them.

Annnd my little list of things to get done. They have almost all been scratched off. YES!!!

Natalie and Jason

2011-04-16T17:50:00.000-07:00

I had the wonderful privilege of second shooting this wedding for Angelina Gonzales (aka, Babbs). Thanks for asking me to come, Babbs. I loved it!!

If I were to describe the day in one word, it would be FUN! Natalie was so so sweet, and Jason was one pretty cool groom! Not to mention how hospitable and sweet their families were!

They were such a sweet and relaxed couple! Where they up for anything? Totally. It was super.

Blog post on it's way!

2011-04-12T11:01:00.001-07:00

Hi all to all of you blog readers! I have some fantastic wedding images I'm dying to share with you all. Unfortunately my image hosting site is under maintenance. Hopefully it will be up and running very soon!!

Birthdays....are fun!

2011-04-08T19:17:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was my birthday. And it was fun.

For my birthday I got this from my friends....and yes, I've already gained 200 lbs.

On my birthday....

I went shopping with Linz.

I hung out with the nephews.

I got to be with my dad who is home recovering (!!!).

I got to see my two grandfathers, former pastor, and an old friend.

I also taught Timmy how to play baseball...and he did GREAT!

I watched Ethan help Linz wash the dog.

The birthday fun continued today at work. Alex and I share the same birthday! So it was only right to celebrate!

First we had Moes. Pretty sure it's a favorite for both of us.

(Yes, I know I'm the only one in focus...I'm already bad at taking self portraits, much less with a 3 year old!)

(This was before the cup was dropped and cracked in about 4 different places. Drink everywhere? Yes!)

I gave him a t-ball set for his present. We had a blast with it.

Goodness, this picture makes him look so BIG!

Anyone have a birthday anytime soon?

Baby Kristen

2011-04-05T18:57:00.000-07:00

Meet baby Kristen. She's a doll, and has three adorable older sisters that love her oh- so much! And her mom? Well, she's kind of like super mom!

Weekend of grace.

2011-04-04T13:09:00.000-07:00

Yes, I know….Thursday was the last time I blogged. I promise I do have a legit excuse. I'm going to try to make a long story short. Or, shortish.

On Friday morning while I was at work, my dad was taken to the hospital for server pressure in his chest. It was pretty scary because dad never, and I mean, never goes to the hospital. My boss was so understanding and let me off early so that I could be with the rest of the family and go to the hospital. While I was driving home, I got a call from one of my sisters who told me that he had/was having a heart attack. Hearing that news is always scary…but when it's happening to your dad, it's 10 times scarier.

When I got home, four of us girls headed to the hospital, and we saw dad just as they were moving him. We found out one side of his heart was blocked 100% an the other 80%, and he had suffered a very bad heart attack. Words can't even explain the feeling of seeing him hooked up to all of that stuff. It was so hard! Our pastor and one of the men from our church was there, and we were all so thankful for them. They waited around with us, and the support was just so encouraging!

Friday night we were all so completely exhausted. Both physically and emotionally. I had already committed to shooting a wedding the next day with my friend, and honestly I just didn't know how that was going to happen. God was truly so good. He is where our strength comes from! After a good night of sleep, and good news from the hospital, I was ready to go!

I can not even thank everyone enough for all the prayers and support. Our phones were going crazy between phone calls and text messages. Facebook notifications were popping up every few minutes. God has definitely answered prayers, and his grace and strength has been seen so clearly through this entire weekend! We serve a mighty God, and I feel so blessed to have been able to witness his greatness and mercy! To God be the glory, great things HE hath done!!

Please continue to pray for my dad. He had a stint put in Friday, and another one today. He did well, so we are praying for a good recovery!

And since blog posts are way better with pictures, here are a few "behind the scenes" from the wedding Saturday. Babbs is a super photographer!

Happy Thursday!

2011-03-31T12:05:00.000-07:00

I've sat down to write this post about 6 times today, and I've gotten sidetracked by something every time. So it's almost 11, and it's finally getting posted!!

This week has felt somewhat like a holiday. My sister Tiffany is home for the week, so there's been all kinds of fun things going on! And to top it off, I had both Tuesday and today off! It's been loads of fun!!

Sometimes it's so nice to have a day to do the "mundane" things. This morning I slept in and had a wonderful quiet time with the Lord. It's amazing how He shows me just what to read when I need it! What an incredible privilege to be able to read God's word freely...so thankful for that. Other activities of the day consisted of cleaning a very messy kitchen (with Tiff's help!), cleaning my room, and going on a run with Tiff. The one who runs half marathons...and I run...hardly ever. haha. I made it half way! Or, almost anyway ;-)

I was also able to get a good bit of editing done today! I've gotten pretty behind lately, so I was able to get a lot done! Yay! Last weekend when Anna came, we cleaned out, and moved my furniture around a bit...I'm kind of loving having my desk right next to the window now...

The sun even peeked through the clouds a few times!

How was your Thursday?

A weekend of wonderfulness.

2011-03-30T13:04:00.000-07:00

At first, I wondered if Rebekah talked because she never said much, and I thought Anna was a spoiled teachers pet (mostly because my sister who taught choir LOVED her…haha). Anna thought I was a rude snob who was "clicky" (which may or may not have been true…haha!). In spite of all of that, we became friends. Rebekah, Katelyn (my sister), Anna, and me. We're a foursome. When we get together, we eat a ton, laugh super loud, have deep conversations, and act like we're 12! We have had some pretty amazing times together.

So I'm both happy and sad to say Rebekah is getting married. In April. One of those things you didn't think would happen, and then BOOM here it is! This called for a weekend together…and boy was it fun!!

Bek and Anna came over Friday night, and we pretty much just chilled out. We all slept in Saturday (amaaaaaazing) and Anna and I cleaned out my room! Ha…I know, lame…but without her helping me, it probably wouldn't have gotten done! hehe. Then we got all fancy and went to the cheesecake factory!!

Oh, and Anna and I switched off cameras pretty much the entire weekend, so I don't even know who took which pictures!

Rebekah wanted to be sure the camera was kept safe. lol!

Not in focus...but I love it anyway!

Through out the night I was constantly fixing an annoying bang that refused to stay in the clip.

waiting, waiting....

so many choices!!

YUM!

She's pretty, no?

Katelyn and Rebekah. Obviously not photographers...they didn't want to stick around and take any pictures because they were cold! sigh. haha!

Sherilyn + Baby

2011-03-28T13:08:00.000-07:00

Say hello to Sherilyn and baby! For those of you who don't know, I am from a family of 7 girls. Sherilyn is the oldest of all of us. You've seen pictures of my nephews before, and now you can see why they're so cute. They have a beautiful momma (and a handsome daddy), and the next little young man is on his way! When she was pregnant with the Tim and E, I wasn't doing a whole lot with photography, so it was time she had some photos to go a long with this pregnancy!

If I were to describe Sherilyn in 3 words, they might be sweet, goofy, dramatic...and beautiful! Wait that's four...never mind. Look at the pictures and you'll know what I'm talking about.

Hey….can y'all guess what the baby is?? Yeah, another BOY! His name is yet to be found, so for now we'll call him baby…or the baby, or baby j, or baby Johnson. ha!

Oh, and in case some of you didn't know, Sherilyn is a fantastic cake decorator! She's been baking and decorating cakes for as long as I can remember. So if you're getting married, having a baby or a birthday, you should totally get her to do your cake!!

Right now - Spring Nights

2011-03-25T13:00:00.000-07:00

I love my family, my home, my nights off, warm weather, and beautiful light. And that's what I'm thankful for right now.

Attention Nikon Users!!

2011-03-23T13:48:00.000-07:00

Nikon users! This blog post is for YOU! I wanted to let you know that I am selling my Nikon Nikkor 17-55mm f/2.8 DX AF-S lens.

I've almost shed a few tears over this decision, but it must happen. Here's what happened....I upgraded to an FX camera a few months ago, which means I can no longer use this DX lens. Would you believe I almost didn't go FX because of this lens?? Yeah, that's how much I LOVE it!!! I mean, it just looks cool....not to mention the fact that it is SO SHARP! Probably the sharpest lens I've ever used.

So yes, it's for sale, and I'm going to list it on ebay. But I wanted to let you guys know about it before I list it tomorrow. I'm going to sell it for a buy it now price of $1,000. You should buy it...it's the coolest lens EVER!

And did I mention it's in absolute perfect condition? Cause it is....

*HUGE thanks to my lovely friend Anna for taking the pictures!*

Rebekah :: Portraits

2011-03-22T13:56:00.000-07:00

Rebekah and I have been trying to meet up since....before Christmas! Our schedules pretty much go against each other. We even had a day planned and it RAINED! So finally, a Sunday afternoon worked out. Rebekah wanted to have some portraits done, so she introduced me to an awesome new location, annnd wala! She's basically been stalking me since the day of the shoot to see the pictures, so I'm finally making her happy!!! ;-)

Rebekah's a photographer, a nanny, and a girl who laughs a lot. As I said, she introduced me to a new shooting location, and it was so FUN! We started out in the parking garage...and pretty much stayed there for an hour! Then we walked around to some of the "gardens" and such. It was fabulous. See for yourself!

Pretty sure she was laughing at me as I was falling...or something like that. ;-)

She even brought me water!! Best client ever?

Journey Event...and a little procrastination.

2011-03-21T13:20:00.000-07:00

Here it is. The Journey Event recap that has only taken me what, 5 or 6 weeks? hah.. oh my. One of the reasons I haven't haven't blogged about it is because I have SO MANY PICTURES from it! I love so many of them. So I'm only going to share some of them. Otherwise this wouldn't get blogged until next YEAR! Another reason for the delay would be that I haven't even known how to sum the trip up in words. I still don't! So I'm just giving it a try here!

The workshop consisted of:
Sarah Danaher (pronounced danahair. or not...haha)
Rebekah Murray (or Rebekah January, or Murray, or J. You take your pick. )
Rebecca Downs (aka down blanket)
Angelina Gonzalez (babbs...or lina.)
Laura Pensack (the fabulousalwayscutelydressed girl. )
Kristi Witek (miss smiles)
Anna Montgomery (the legit graphic designer)

Yikes...I'm sitting here and I can't think of what to say next. Ummmm....

Well I'll start with the first night. Sarah made sure to get rid of any awkwardness by making us all play "Quelf". It worked.

From that night on, we were all besties. Haha...well, maybe not, but it definitely didn't take long. There's absolutely no way I can write about everything Sarah and Rebekah taught us, so I'll just highlight a bit.

*Branding.
-We started off "figuring out" ourselves which flows into creating your brand.
-Sarah and Rebekah had Jen (a fantastic graphic designer) come in and teach us/ask us questions about our brands. This was quite possibly one of the most helpful parts for me.
*Blogging Tips
-They taught us the importance of blogging consistently.
-They helped us think of ways we could engage more readers.
*Client relations
- We learned the importance of getting to know your client, and genuinely caring about them.
- One assignment we had, was coming up with 10 questions we would ask at a client meeting, and 10 questions we would ask during a shoot.
*Running a business
- How to keep track and handle taxes
- Organizing bank accounts and such
- Importance of writing a business plan
and so, so much more.
*Business Ethics
- The last day, Sarah shared several scripture references and applied them to running a business the right way.

Like I said, those are just a FEW highlights. Besides...I can't tell you everything, because YOU should go the next time they do it! *wink*

So! Time for pictures!!

Sneak Peeks!

2011-03-20T18:54:00.000-07:00

Here are a few little peeks from this week's shoots. Can't wait to blog them!!

Right Now - Monday Night Basketball

2011-03-18T17:51:00.000-07:00

The weather this week? Completely a.m.a.z.i.n.g. And the extra hour of light? Even more amazing. Except there is one bad thing about it. The night goes by 10 times faster. Before I know it, it's 10:00!

Anyway, enough rabbit trails. Linz and Kate were playing basketball Monday night, and called me out there to play. I went out, and did play some basketball....but I'll admit, I took more pictures.

Fun times with my sisters that have become few are far between =)

One day I'm going to be on Food Network

2011-03-15T19:32:00.000-07:00

Just in case you didn't know, I have mad cooking skills. When I was a kid, I would always pretend there was a camera on the cabinet door, and I would act like I was on a cooking show. It was my favorite thing to do when I baked. Since I couldn't read a recipe alone, I would beg my sister (who will remain nameless. haha) to play "cooking show" with me. Funny thing was, it was her least favorite thing to do ;-) But many times she would let me do it anyway. To this day, I still really like cooking. And I might be a little obsessed with watching shows on the Food Network when I get the chance. Sometimes I'm even able to convince myself I'm pretty good with a few dishes.

Don't ask my sisters about it though. They might tell you about the time I poured 1 and 1/2 cups of salt into the cookie dough because I tried to double it. And yes, mom spent the rest of the night trying to even out the ingredients. Lets just say, by the end of the night we had tons - and I mean TONS- of very salty cookies. Disgusting.

They would also tell you not to let me cook dinner, because all you would get is fish and water. I'll go ahead and tell the story behind that. Everytime mom and dad would go out, I would happily volunteer to make dinner. Dinner would consist of the following: Fish, (the kind you get in a bag from Sam's), boxed mac and cheese (which is still one of my favorites, not gonna lie), and canned green beans. It was my favorite meal. One time I started to make it, and realized we didn't have mac and cheese or green beans. So I made them close their eyes and sit at the table. Then I set a plate of fish in front of them...and water to go a long with it. ;-) They will never let me live it down. Everytime I say anything close to "I'll make dinner!", their response is almost always "what? Fish and water?". It's ok. I love them anyway. hehe

I make homemade chex mix. Probably the best recipe my friend Anna has ever shared with me. I absolutely LOVE it. It's pretty crazy how excited I get when I make chex mix. So you can imagine how upset I was when I burnt TWO batches of it a few weeks ago. How did I burn it? Well I put the oven on 350...when it's suppose to be on 225. Yeah, small mistake there. The best part...I had made fun of my sister who had just made the same mistake the WEEK before!

ALLLL of that to say, tonight was no different. As I drove home from babysitting this afternoon, I was thinking it was a perfect day for some chili and bread rolls. Ya know, the kind you can get from Atlanta Bread Co. I'll go ahead and say...I love bread...but I'm not such a good bread-maker. They were looking pretty sad, but I didn't care because I was excited about how they would taste. So I took a nice big bite annnnd.... yuck! I wondered, "what went wrong with these??"... then it dawned on me. I forgot the salt. Brilliant. Oh well, the chili still tasted quite amazing. I didn't tell the girls...I waited to see if they would notice. And I'm laughing as I think about the scene. "What's wrong with these?", " Hailey, what did you leave out??", "Ewww...these are so bland! Gag! What did you do?". I really really wish I had a video. Especially since it took Linz a good 10 minutes to eat ONE of the rolls. Ooh, my sisters!

Wow...that was a super long blog post, but I just wanted you to get the full effect. Anyone want to see some of the amazingness from our dinner?

I almost always watch "Leave it to Beaver" or "I love Lucy" while I cook. Absolutely love them.

Ah...my pitiful loaf of bread...

I'm sure you've already figured out I'm a little quirky. But I always dice the diced tomatos. I don't like the big chunky red things in my chili ;-) haha.

Annnd, I decided to have a little fun with my food ;-) I thought it was funny anyway.

One day. One day I'm going to learn to cook really, really good. I might even get to be on TV for it ;-) Hah!

The Fontenot Family

2011-03-14T12:51:00.000-07:00

First off, I apologize. I was a very bad blogger last week. Is 47 hours of work a good enough excuse? I'm pretty sure I was only home to sleep last week. So maybe that's a little dramatic, but I wasn't home much at all. Let just say, the loss of an hour Saturday night was much worse than it had ever been before ;-) But, it's a new week, and I have lots to blog...so look out!

For now, I'm going to show you the wonderful faces of the Fontenots! A few weeks ago, VA Mortagage Center contacted me about doing some photos for them because their company was highlighting the Fontenots in one of their magazines. Of course I said yes, and drove to the Fontenot's house on a Tuesday afternoon for some pictures. You see, this was extra fun because I know them! This wonderful family goes to my church and Rebekah is one of my fantastic friends.

Basically we goofed off, made sarcastic jokes, and....oh yeah! Took pictures! I might have been just a liiiiittle bossy...but they were friends right? And I'm pretty sure they enjoyed it ;-) haha. So...here are a few individual shots of each family member!

I'll go a head and introduce everyone....

Here is Sarah. And we can't forget her...especially because her "shirt totally goes with the yellow chair"!

The mother - Mrs. Fontenot!

This is David. Poor guy wasn't too terribly excited about having his picture taken. I think his siblings were funny enough to get a little smile from him though!

This was towards the end of the shoot. All of the kids were hanging out...they're pretty fun, not gonna lie.

Here is Paul...the oldest boy. He's probably looking at Rebekah...because she made it a point to tell everyone how they looked. Good or bad thing? ;-)

Rebekah, dear!

Annnd we have Solomon.

It's Hannah Banana!

Oh Marta, you are so sweet!

This is Jonathan. His head was full of ideas. I liked him.

Hey, Abby...your eyes are just beautiful.

Last but not least, the wonderful parents!

Thanks for the great afternoon guys!

Baby Meagan

2011-03-08T13:36:00.000-08:00

Check out this little doll! Can you just hear the adorable baby coo's? =)

Food, food, food!

2011-03-07T15:30:00.000-08:00

Two weeks ago, one of my photog friends took me to a Japanese hibachi. She wanted to hear about my trip to DC, and she also wanted to get some great pictures. I can be a bit of a food snob sometimes, and I'm not a big fan of Japanese, Chinese, or Thai food....give me some nachos, pizza, or southern cooking and I'm happy! haha! But I thought the idea sounded really fun, so we set a time and went! I ordered the chicken and steak…and it was amazing!!

(oh, and I got some amazing chocolate cake also!)

yummm.

Right now - Alex

2011-03-05T07:54:00.000-08:00

I keep a little boy every week....and he's pretty much the best. His name is Alex, and he's my buddy! We had so much fun this week! The weather was absolutely gorgeous the first part of the week, and that meant running around like crazy on the playground, playing on his new tire swing, basketball on the back porch, and some long walks.

It cracked me up Wednesday, I asked him if he wanted to go on a walk, and he said "and slip!". I couldn't figure out what he meant, because he kept saying it over and over again. "Where did the slippy stuff go?" I finally figured it out...back when we had all of that ice, I had parked my car a little ways away from the house. So when we walked to my car, we were slipping on some of the ice....and he thought it was the best thing ever. haha.

I love the fact that I'm able to take him places. Partly because singing goofy songs together and laughing at them while we're riding is just fun. You should try it with a three year old sometime.

So, for my favorite part of the week. I took him to the pet store yesterday to walk around a see the snakes, fish, rabbits, birds, etc. After we were finished there I asked him if we could run into Old Navy really fast. Well, he thought I said "old lady". So, we're walking through the store and every time he saw a lady, he would point and say "old lady!". It was funny...very funny. =)

What does this have to do with my "Right Now" series? Eventually I would love to do photography full time...but for now, I'm so thankful God has blessed me with a job until I get there. And I mean, I'm double blessed...because he's basically adorable. Take a look for yourself...

Grateful for Weekends

2011-02-27T19:51:00.000-08:00

Last weekend was just what I needed. After a week booked full of work and getting caught up on things, I was so tired! Friday started out with work...and right after that, one of my wonderful friends took me out for Japanese food. It was my first time to eat it...and it was so good! I'm pretty sure we were there for the pictures more than the food though ;-) As soon as I got home from eating, my friend Anna was at my house waiting for me and we dashed off to go ice skating! It has been wayyy too long since I've done that. Lots of fun happened there! And of course Anna and I finished off the night with some ice cream and a movie....oh, and the wonderful talks that went on into the wee hours.

Saturday and Sunday were so chill. I absolutely loved it! A slow paced weekend was definitely what I needed, and prepped me for the crazy week this has been...and will be ;-) haha.

Sunday night I couldn't sleep because I had sooo many things going through my head. Just so ya know...I really like my sleep (especially on Sunday nights)...and when I can't sleep because my brain wont shut down, it drives it me crazy. Hah. So I decided to start a journal. This is something Babbs told me to do a few weeks ago. I finally did...so good to just right my thoughts out!

And a few previews of what's coming!

A Temporary Facelift!

2011-02-26T09:11:00.000-08:00

Yay! My blog is no longer dark and gloomy! It's well overdue, but it's finally clean and light! But let me tell ya, this is temporary! I'm currently working on new branding and all of the wonderful things that come a long with it! So, there will be a new blog and website eventually...I just couldn't take the other blog any longer!

The pages are still a work in progress, so don't be too critical ;-)

Hope you guys like it!

Right Now - A new series!

2011-02-24T13:15:00.000-08:00

Over the last couple of months I have really been learning the importance of enjoying life...right where it is...right. now. I'm sure you've all noticed how time seems to fly a bit faster every passing year!

I love planning things, and then anticipating the fun! I think I'd almost come to a point where I lived for the exciting things that were coming up. But I'm finally realizing that so so so many amazing things happen between fun activities. I've really started to appreciate and learn the value of the "here and now"...and I'm loving it! That's one of the biggest reasons why I love photography so much.... taking a moment and makes it stand still. That excites me. Big time!

With that being said, I'm starting a series on my blog. I'm going to be calling it "Right Now". I'll be posting things I appreciate/am thankful for right now!

So today I am thankful for my nephew, little e (aka, Ethan). Of course I'm thankful for my nephew Timmy also, but Ethan is the man for today! haha. I can not believe how fast this little kiddo has grown up! He's talking like crazy now, and is almost as big as Timmy! I actually need a video on here, because I think one of the cutest things about him is his little lisp. Sooo cute! I love that little monkey!

While you look at the pictures, see if you can point out something similar in every picture. Hint: it tells a lot about something he likes ;-)

Hurray for Tuesdays!

2011-02-22T13:07:00.000-08:00

Today is Tuesday! I had been working Tuesday afternoon- evening...but now it is my day off. As I've mentioned before, I make a list and schedule for just about anything now. Otherwise, I will definitely forget! So yesterday, knowing I would have the whole day to get things done, I made a list and schedule for everything I needed to get done today, and it has gone marvelously!

That schedule started with waking up at 8:00. Ahh, sleeping in feels SO nice! I also made time to go to a coffee shop to work on editing. This is something I hope to do on a weekly basis. I was so amazed at how much I got done in just two hours! Yay for productivity!! Then I was able to spend some time outside (beauuuutiful day!) working through some goals and thinking through branding for my business. Last week, I really learned the importance of branding, so I'm working hard on that! So I'm very excited for what's in store for the next few months!

While going through my pictures from last week, I came across this one. Love it. That's my friend Babbs....she loves her coffee =)

More pictures from the Journey Event coming very soon!!!

How Great is Our God!

2011-02-20T19:36:00.000-08:00

As I said earlier, I absolutely love flying. So the ride home was no different. I even got a window seat...which is super cool! Take off is my favorite part! I love the fast pace, then seeing everything get smaller and smaller.

Yesterday, as I watched the cars, homes, and the airport get smaller I was reminded of the greatness of our God. I thought of how we as humans are microscopic compared to God. The dots that I saw from the plane were just a bunch of houses or business. I was so humbled by how God chooses to love us. We are insignificant small sinners that God chooses to love and use!! He even wants to have a relationship with little ME! Wow! I'm so overwhelmed. Why would I ever choose to sin? After he has died to save me and wanted to love and use me. He is so great and unfathomable.

I am so thankful....

The Journey Event...Day 4

2011-02-17T20:55:00.000-08:00

Today we talked about pricing....then we went out and photographed our teachers. AH! I was so nervous. I mean, shooting these incredibly talented and professional photographers! They were absolutely wonderful, and we got some great shots!

So! For a little preview!

What do you guys think? Are they beautiful or what?

The Journey Event...

2011-02-14T20:17:00.000-08:00

So I'm in DC...yes, DC. Ahhh!!! I'm going to keep this short because I need to get some sleep..and I'm sure my room mate Babbs (spelt with two b's....it really makes a difference to her) would appreciate it too. :)

Anyway, day number one down, and it's been totally awesome. I am so full of information, I might pop. Not really, but it's been amazing!

So for a few pictures...

These are our fearless leaders Sarah and Rebekah. They are amazing. And very concentrated ;-)

And this picture pretty much sums up how I feel about the day. Full and excited!

Let me just go ahead and say it. I love airplanes. The end.

Coke anyone?

Ah, it was a fun flight!

Night everyone!!

Paigey!!!

2011-02-07T18:30:00.000-08:00

The other night I was able to Skype with my wonderful photog friend Paige Overturf! She used to be based out of North Carolina, but has since then moved to GUAM! Because of the time change, it's been really hard for us to chat. But we finally got to the other night…and it was a long one!!

So of course we talked about life, photography, editing, and so on =) Then she started helping me with the HTML codes for changing my blog around. Ah, FINALLY! My blog has looked plain and boring for much too long! So, be expecting some changes soon!! I've been working at it a good bit, and I'm so excited it's getting close!

It makes me laugh when I think about how we show each other how to do stuff over Skype. We send a million emails with links, pictures, etc. While working on the blog, I would take several screen shots, email them to her, and she would send me links for the things I needed to change. For me, it was pretty complicated! haha. But she was super patient, and I was finally able to figure it out!

She came to Georgia right before moving to Guam, and we got to hang out. Oh what fun we had! Anna was even able to join us!!

Annnnd, she's a nikon user. Could she be any more awesome?!

The Hadden Family

2011-02-01T12:25:00.001-08:00

One big happy family. That's probably how I would descripe the shoot with the Hadden family. They definitely have a big family, and they were all happy too! ;-) All of the little kiddos did great....and so did the big kids! Everyone worked together so well, and we got some great shots!

Many thanks to Tabitha Kimbrough for coming along!! She was a great "assistant". Couldn't have done it without her! She faithfully honked that bike horn to get the kids attention ;-) hehe. Oh, and we can't forget the bear (in the picture below)!

My wonderful friend Rebecca pretty much coordinated the shoot. And let me ya, that isn't an easy thing with a large family!

(check out her pictures here)

And here are THE pictures!

So I love this one, because every individual that had their picture taken had a BIG audience behind them. It gave us some great smiles! haha...

While I was shooting some of the individual pictures, I turned around and saw this...haha, they were awesome!

Andrew just got back from serving in Afghanistan in December. So he was home for a few weeks! Thank you Andrew for your service to our country!!!