The first look.

There's a lot of buzz in the photography world about "the first look".  I have become a big fan.  We have all been to a wedding.  You know the WAIT after the ceremony and before the reception where the wedding party is taking pictures and the wedding guests are enjoying the cocktail hour?  mmm-hmmmm
The first look eliminates that wait AND it's a great way for the bride & groom to settle their nerves and anticipation before the big walk down the aisle.  
The first look is completely personal and intimate.  It's only me, my assistant, the bride and the groom.  We set it up to where one of their backs is to the other, then they turn around to see each other on my command.  The bride and groom get to embrace one another and compliment how beautiful they each look.  They take as long as they need and then we can move forward with formal pictures including them with their bridal party and family members.  It works out great!
The bride and groom from my New Year's Eve wedding decided to do the first look.  So glad especially because they had an evening wedding and we were able to do a lot of the formal pictures outside in the natural light.  We even had about a hour to just hang out & relax before the ceremony even started.  After the ceremony, we went straight to the reception.  Worked out great!
Still not convinced "the first look" is a good idea?  Maybe these photos will sway your opinion...

Sydney Alexa {8 days new}

When I was baby planning, I knew if I had a boy that his name would definitely be Robert Eugene Todd, III.  We would call him Ret (his initials) so as not to confuse him with daddy and grand-daddy.  If it was a girl, I started off wanting the name to be Macy, but then it changed to Miller and/or Morgan.  Miller was a family name from my mother's side.  (I thought it only fair that we keep it in the family) Robert thought she would always hear jokes about "Miller Lite" so we compromised and settled on Morgan Miller Todd.  That's how my kids got their names :-)

On the blog now is my latest newborn session...she's been on the books for a couple of months.  It's so exciting when I get the call or email that baby has arrived.  I honestly think about it constantly from notification to session day....& I shop for new props and graze Pinterest for inspiration until then ;-)

Have to give a shout out to my husband for all of his help when I am preparing for a newborn session.  He never complains about having to get the gender specific totes and backdrop accessories out of our storage shed & our coat/prop closet.  Nor does he complain about loading it all in the car or when I have him spray paint a prop for me (Doesn't the pink basket look adorable?)  Thanks babe!!

And Sydney Alexa couldn't have been a better model for me.  She slept almost the entire session and was so cooperative with the moving and repositioning.  A photographer's dream!!

Sweet little Sydney Alexa was welcomed into this big ole' world by her mommy, daddy & big sister (& other extended family).  BE-A-UTIFUL family.  I mean, look at these gorgeous kids...

I encourage you to go and look at all the pics from her session HERE 

Thanks guys for welcoming me into your home to spend time with your precious new baby.  You all were so helpful and such a fun crowd to hang with.  It's wonderful to see all the many blessings that God has graciously provided you with.  I hope to see you again real soon!

PS- I couldn't help, but post this pic of a little feeding break we took that ultimately turned into a poopy diaper.  Proof that when adjusting to a new one...It takes a village.  heeheehee!

 

It doesn't get much better...

than spending the morning with an adorable, cuddly, sweet grunting, smell-good newborn {and her fabulous family}.


I just had to post this pic that was in the first bunch of culling from this morning's newborn session.  The idea came from a photo I saw on Pinterest.  I like mine a lot better ;-)

Can't hardly wait to post more!

Wedding "Details"

de-tail. [noun]  particulars collectively. 


So much goes into planning a wedding.  For the most part, the bride ends up with the job of making sure it all gets done.  It's a big day and there is so much to be factored in to making it special.  A wedding photographer should be at the top of the list when planning right along with the venue, the florist, the caterer, etc. etc.   I want to make sure my brides (& grooms) have photos to remind them of all those little things that help make their wedding day so special.  The little things that may go unnoticed otherwise.  The particulars....collectively.  


I mentioned in a prior post that I shot a New Year's Eve wedding.  A lot of details in a whole day of wedding festivities.  I decided to share with you some of those little details from that day.  The particulars...collectively. :-)


12/31/11 10:00am hair & makeup until 1/1/12 1:00am...

Congratulations again Amanda & Christian.  It was a beautiful wedding and I am so honored to have been there to capture it all.  Thanks for everything...I hope to have a whole gallery of your wedding photos up in the next couple of weeks.  

Happy New Year!

I will admit that having a 2 week break was REALLY nice.  Spent time with family, enjoyed a wonderful anniversary with the hubby (even though I did have strep throat), celebrated Christmas with the people who mean the most to me and tapped into my other creative side with help from Pinterest.  However, photography was not foreign to me, I did have an awesome opportunity to shoot a New Year's Eve wedding in the upstate.  You'll be seeing shots from that event in the near future.
Right now, I wanted to share a couple of images from the first session of 2012 which ironically was a newborn.  
Meet Baby Easton at 10 days new...

Baby Easton is modeling a bowtie from Blossom Boutique.  Check them out on facebook for some really cute stuff.