Michael Senior Portraits

Sometimes I forget how much I enjoy doing portraits. They are quick, relatively low-stress, and I get to meet great (most of the time) people! Michael is a senior here in town, and his dad got my name from another client of mine. We met up at Casey Jones Village and shot his senior portraits.

Most people around here get their senior portraits done at one of the more traditional (read: very expensive) studios in town for the yearbook and then some come to people like me to get something a little more creative and affordable. I like being able to give people a  fun shoot where they can actually afford to get the pictures without taking out a second mortgage on their house! Is that a real metaphor? I hear it a lot...so I wanted to use it. Anyway, hope you guys enjoyed the pictures. Michael is a great kid, and I had fun photographing him!

Austin + Rachael

By now you all know that I enjoy shooting weddings. You got that from this blog, right? Good. Something that makes shooting a wedding even more awesome is when it's a group of people that you know! I had the extreme pleasure of shooting my friend Rachael's wedding this month. We both majored in DMS at school so we had several classes together. Rachael is one of those people that is just so fun to be around. She always seems to be in a good mood, and she's got a great sense of humor, not to mention she's gorgeous! She and her new husband Austin were a joy to work with, and I'm SO EXCITED to finally share the pictures.

Austin's gift to his groomsmen: pocket watches!

 Emma of The Fiercest Lilliputian

Thanks so much to Austin and Rachael for choosing me to document such a huge day in your lives! I enjoyed every last minute of it (and the turtle cheesecake...omg).

Surrounded by Claydies

I think I've mentioned it before, but both of my roommates are clay artists. (claydies=clay ladies...see what I did there?) They are both immensely talented and creative, and I have known them both since the beginnings of their craft. I can tell you it's incredible how far they have come! We have some of their earlier work at the house, and it always stirs a little laughter.

 Marilyn's Art School by Paige | Tea set by Kelsey

This Thursday, they are putting up a joint show at a local University, and I photographed a piece by each of them for the gallery postcard (above). I wish you all lived around here, so you could come to the reception with me on Thursday! I haven't seen most of Kelsey's pots, but she's been working on a gorgeous set of vases that I know will look amazing. Paige just finished up a sculpture last night that I'm curious to see. She's always adding such interesting details to her pieces! I don't see Paige being able to sell her pieces online since they're worth like a grand a piece, but I am working on getting Kelsey started on Etsy! She said after the show would be a good time, so here's hoping :)

The Fiercest Lilliputian

This Saturday, while enjoying a most delicious cup of tomato basil bisque at Urban Flats, I made a discovery. The bride from the wedding that I was about to do video for HAS A BLOG. I know this isn't like the biggest surprise ever, since a lot of people have blogs, but not very many people that I know in "real life" actually have blogs. Anyway, Emma has this sweet little vintage fashion blog called The Fiercest Lilliputian. I've already discovered that we have a few of the same followers...which just blows my mind. I wish I'd known about it sooner, because I adore it.

Oh, for goodness sakes, could she be any cuter? The Lucille Ball costume is by far my favorite post of hers. I used to be OBSESSED with I Love Lucy! Most of her posts are focused on her gorgeous vintage pieces, with plenty of references to her amazing hair styles.

I was THRILLED to be a part of her and Tyler's wedding day. It was a day to be remembered by all in attendance. Since Tyler is a videographer, he is going to take my and Margaret's footage from the day and make a montage. When it's done, I will definitely post it here! You guys just really need to see all of the amazing details at their wedding and the joy that is so obvious on Tyler and Emma's faces. If I happen to get a hold of the photos before the video is done, I'll share them here. You will not be disappointed!

Keeping it Clean

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In my dream world, I have a beautiful open bathroom with a large walk in shower, great natural light, and two sinks...but that's not what this post is about so I'll move on. I wanted to share this great bathroom cleaning schedule that my coworker told me about! I'm not sure who she learned it from, but I'm pretty sure it was a blog. I wanted to share it with you guys since the schedule has really helped me stay on top of keeping my bathroom clean! I used to go for weeks without cleaning...gross, I know. 

This breaks each task down so you just do a little bit each day. It really helps not to have to block out a huge amount of time! I just take 5 or 10 minutes each morning and get it done. 

Mirror Monday, Trash Tuesday, Wash basin Wednesday, Toilet Thursday, Floor Friday, Shower Saturday, and you rest on Sunday! I'm sure there are other variations on the days, but this is what I use and it works well for me. I hope some of you find this as helpful as I did! Also, that shower...omg.

(the 6 day images are linked)

2011 Favorite Photos

I remembered the other day that I did a post last January about my favorite photos from 2010. I thought it would be fun to go through the 2011 photos and do the same thing! I think I shot a lot less in 2011, but I'm ok with that. I took more time to spend with Rhett and volunteer, which I feel is important. In all honesty, I don't see a whole lot of improvement from 2010 to 2011. I might need to start looking into ways I can improve in 2012!

I think I've got a pretty good grasp on light (natural most of the time), so maybe I can really focus on getting good poses and angles this year...that's always hard for me. I'm seriously THE WORST at telling people how to pose. It goes like this: "Ok stand here...lean a little bit like this...no the other way...no turn towards me...I mean away from me. Ok turn your head back this way so the light hits your face...like...ok...now...turn...ok...wait...ok....ok I think that's good." Seriously, ask anyone that's ever worked with me...they know. I usually just end up demonstrating!

Ok I'm done rambling. I hope you like this set of photos from 2011! (view photos on flickr)

Craspedia Crazy

I am so happy that I had a pretty relaxed December, because so far January has been busy. I like that life goes back and forth like that. I do enjoy having things to do, but too much of that can make me a little bit crazy! I also find that I'm more successful in maintaining healthy habits when I have fewer tasks to worry with. Since I've been so busy, I haven't had a lot of time to prepare the posts I want to do! I have so many things I want to show you guys, but the time will come :)

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For now, I want to post about Craspedia a.k.a. Billy balls! I absolutely love them. I don't know if this is normal or not, but I've totally been planning my wedding in my head for several years and I'm pretty much set on having Craspedia in my wedding! They are so simple and fun, and I love the color. I just hope they aren't too expensive :)

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I really like the way they look paired with succulents, and you know what's easy to take care of? SUCCULENTS! What do you guys think? Have you ever been to a wedding or event where Craspedia was used? I think it's such a great little bud (flower? seed? i don't know...I'm plant ignorant). Who knows what I'll think when I actually do get married though...

Terry and Tenille

This weekend has been BUSY. I shot the wedding of a friend of mine yesterday, then I have portraits and a real estate listing to shoot today. I guess it doesn't sound like much, but I feel like I've been going going going. I had time yesterday to finish up editing a wedding from a few weeks ago, and I wanted to share some of my favorites here. I shot this couple's engagement pictures a while back, and it was great to work with them again for their wedding.

 The programs with the pictures I took on them :) It's always fun to see your pictures out!

 One of my favorites. I love her sweet smile in this one and the way the sun softened the picture. 

I hope you all have had a nice weekend! Let's hope I have a little down-time after I'm done working today :)

My Native Gift

First outfit post of the new year! I know you've seen this boxy black top before, but bear with me. That amazingly gorgeous native skirt was a gift from my boyfriend. I had it in my Etsy favorites, but I never really know if he's going to shop from there or not. It's basically the perfect skirt, and I will definitely need more in other colors.

The fabric is super soft and stretchy enough that I can walk around very comfortably. You know how a lot of pencil skirts don't have any give? It's nice not having to deal with that! It's actually a few inches longer than I'm wearing it. Since my shirt is so loose, I rolled the skirt up a couple of times so it would hit right above the knees. Right above the knee has always been my favorite length!

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skirt: handmade by ArtAffect on Etsy

top: estate sale

necklace: Lucky

tights: Express

Boots: Madden Girl (Marshall's!)

Ring: flea market

Maybe it's overkill, but I decided to wear one of my funkier necklaces. I don't really like the boots with this outfit, but I was taking way too long deciding on shoes this morning, so I just threw them on. I ALWAYS feel like I don't have any shoes to wear. Is that common? I actually do have shoes...lots of them, but none ever seem to be a perfect match for what I'm wearing. I should really just be thankful that I have shoes at all!

If you guys are looking for a good pencil skirt, definitely check out ArtAffect! The skirt is available in a lot of colors, so there are lots of options. Would you wear the Native pattern? That look has been one of my favorites lately!

Things to do in 2012

Well it's here! Yeah, I know it was official 3 days ago, but it's just now sinking in for me. It always takes me a couple of days to get adjusted to the fact that it's a new year. I have never been a resolution maker, but I thought it would be fun to make a to-do list for the year. Something with a few things that were totally do-able and a few that would be a stretch. Some of them are just "keep it this way" things too, so it's not a true to-do list :)

I thought it would be fun to share my list here, and you can all keep me accountable.

1. Raise $1500 for St. Jude. I'm raising money for them through my next race. It's a great platform to raise money for a wonderful organization! You can donate or share my page if you want to help me with this one :)
2. Maintain running and good eating habits. I've been doing surprisingly well keeping up a healthy lifestyle. It doesn't even feel like work anymore! I'd love to maintain that for the rest of the year, and my life.
3. Watch 100 movies in my book. This shouldn't be hard... For those that don't know what this means, I'm trying to watch all the movies in this book.
4. Get the garage organized and keep it that way. Hopefully my roommates will help me with this one...I don't like spiders. 
5. Learn how to sew and make something. This one will be a stretch...but even if it's something as simple as curtains, I'll be happy!
6. Switch to a king size bed. This is something I want when I get married. I'd like to get married this year, so I guess this is my way of having "get married" on my list without actually having it on there.
7. Paint the kitchen. I'm tired of the bright green...ready for something a little more muted!
8. Lay laminate floor in the studio. This will make my studio so much better! If money allows, this will definitely get done.
9. Keep the house clean. Hopefully this is something I'll think about at least weekly. I'm not super clean (just really organized), so it might be hard.
10. Change pricing and structure of photography. I want to change the way I do my freelance work to make it more worth my time.
11. Keep taking my vitamins
12. Do more photo challenges. I need to enter some contests or something.
13. Read a book a month. This is totally do-able! I am actually really excited about this one.
14. Last but certainly not least: Do good things for other people. I think this is a good general rule for life, but it helps to put it on a list :)

I feel like this year is going to be a really good one. I hope you all are off to a wonderful 2012!

Sister, Sister

I am pretty proud of my gift idea for my Dad and Tina this year. I decided to have my friend Alanna Taylor take some pictures of me and my sister to give to them! We ended up only having a few minutes to do them (we really wanted to make it to the Muppet Movie), so we just traipsed around in my backyard. I was happy with how they turned out, and Dad and Tina loved them :)

I can't get over how cute she is in that last one. I mean seriously! I framed the one of her on my back (the one from farther out, where we're looking at the camera) for the presents, but I also put them all on a disc for them. If you can't tell, we have a lot of fun together. I always wanted a sister growing up, and I finally got my wish when I was 15. I couldn't ask for a better sister!! I hope that I can be a good mentor for her as she grows up.