Southside, Alabama's elite on location custom senior and couples photographer.
Saturday, January 28, 2012
[L]
This is L. The first time I met her was while I was shooting a show for CharACTers Entertainment. She was in the balcony with another young lady (who I know). We have hung out for a few productions. One thing I have noticed about her is her really fabulous bone structure. She is going to be a gorgeous woman! And she is super cool. Turns out she is one of 4 sisters. So I am glad she got the chance to be a one girl show - as I know that my girls like that one on one time. She did great! Can't wait to hang out with you again L :)
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Another day...
It's another day in January, and I am loving it! Another day of warm weather (I am perpetually cold in the winter months), another day of sunshine - so far anyway. Another day of being alive, got to love that! With the change of some aspects of my business, change of jobs for my James, change of habits, furniture location (I rearrange like a mad woman when I can't demolish the house and rebuild it - read that as very often), yada, yada, yada, you get the picture - I am very busy. It is a time of quietness in this house and a time of getting to know James a bit better. We actually have one on one time every day. He gets up, we have coffee, maybe run some errands together. Basically, we just hang out. We've never really been able to do that - we've always had kids around lol. They are in school when he gets up now. I work on the computer in the morning, and when he gets up we have coffee. More days than not, it is fun. We are still, after all, us. And we can aggravate each other with the best of them. Scary thought, maybe we are actually growing up!
I get an anxiousness to me in the January - March months. This is something that seriously, on some days I feel like I could crawl out of my skin. Mostly because I want to DO something. Something BIG! I think a lot of it has to do with the clean slate of a new year. New. A do over chance. This usually results in painting something, making something, new recipes, learning something new, of course rearranging the furniture. I have grand ideas. I mean real doozies. And I am so convincing that I have my man mulling these ideas over in his mind. I can see the wheels churning. Usually in January I start with ideas of how we can improve our lives, you know, healthy choices type stuff. By March I have honey convinced we could live off the grid! One day we just might! We both know this happens every year. Yet we always roll through the whole process. I have a good man! He sat down on the newly arranged furniture, which I am sure he tripped over after work (there are a few "flow" issues that need to be worked out yet - but my energy waned and I went to bed) a couple of mornings ago with bed head and coffee in hand and simply said "You were bored last night". Indeed! This arrangement is much more conducive to conversation - totally proven by our coffee talk :)
Business is another area that gets an overhaul every spring. New ideas for not only the business side, but the creative side. To really sit and look at what I love to shoot, and how am I going to shoot only that successfully from a business standpoint? Learning always. You always have to. It's the rule. So currently I am taking 3 classes. Why? Not only for a fresh perspective on what I shoot for me, but for my clients as well. I want you to have the best experience possible. I am very excited for some meetings I have this week in relation to my business. I think we will be knocking it out of the ballpark this year. Hoping you all will join me. Invest in yourselves. Photos are so VERY important, I can't express that enough. So very important. Everything is going digital - and these prints on disc rarely get printed off. Once the disc is obsolete - are you going to have tangible prints in your hands? Are you going to have the images you invested in - the children, spouses, families you hired someone to capture at that moment - because it was so important you get those milestones captured - in print? Are your children and grandchildren going to get to see your faces of these times? I don't want to be part of erasing heirlooms from walls. These prints are handed down. It is for these reasons, I have decided against offering discs. Personally, I feel it is my job to provide you with a custom and professional experience with the goal of having tangible, professionally made prints for your wall. Something that you will pass on to your children and their children. For me, that is the full circle of the experience. It feels incomplete to me to do otherwise. This was something I thought long and hard about. Everyone in my area offers discs. It just isn't in me to do it. I know this will cost me clients. But my clients are like me. These are the clients I want. They are a smaller group who appreciate art. They appreciate quality. They appreciate heirlooms. Mostly, they appreciate their loved ones to the point of actual investment. I adore my clients. Every single one of them. My clients are a band of super cool people who like good food, value friendships, love to entertain, love music, love books, love travel and adventure, they love to love! My clients are precious to me, and become friends. I have the best job in the world :) Happy Wednesday everyone! I am going to hit another cup of Chicory blended coffee!
I get an anxiousness to me in the January - March months. This is something that seriously, on some days I feel like I could crawl out of my skin. Mostly because I want to DO something. Something BIG! I think a lot of it has to do with the clean slate of a new year. New. A do over chance. This usually results in painting something, making something, new recipes, learning something new, of course rearranging the furniture. I have grand ideas. I mean real doozies. And I am so convincing that I have my man mulling these ideas over in his mind. I can see the wheels churning. Usually in January I start with ideas of how we can improve our lives, you know, healthy choices type stuff. By March I have honey convinced we could live off the grid! One day we just might! We both know this happens every year. Yet we always roll through the whole process. I have a good man! He sat down on the newly arranged furniture, which I am sure he tripped over after work (there are a few "flow" issues that need to be worked out yet - but my energy waned and I went to bed) a couple of mornings ago with bed head and coffee in hand and simply said "You were bored last night". Indeed! This arrangement is much more conducive to conversation - totally proven by our coffee talk :)
Business is another area that gets an overhaul every spring. New ideas for not only the business side, but the creative side. To really sit and look at what I love to shoot, and how am I going to shoot only that successfully from a business standpoint? Learning always. You always have to. It's the rule. So currently I am taking 3 classes. Why? Not only for a fresh perspective on what I shoot for me, but for my clients as well. I want you to have the best experience possible. I am very excited for some meetings I have this week in relation to my business. I think we will be knocking it out of the ballpark this year. Hoping you all will join me. Invest in yourselves. Photos are so VERY important, I can't express that enough. So very important. Everything is going digital - and these prints on disc rarely get printed off. Once the disc is obsolete - are you going to have tangible prints in your hands? Are you going to have the images you invested in - the children, spouses, families you hired someone to capture at that moment - because it was so important you get those milestones captured - in print? Are your children and grandchildren going to get to see your faces of these times? I don't want to be part of erasing heirlooms from walls. These prints are handed down. It is for these reasons, I have decided against offering discs. Personally, I feel it is my job to provide you with a custom and professional experience with the goal of having tangible, professionally made prints for your wall. Something that you will pass on to your children and their children. For me, that is the full circle of the experience. It feels incomplete to me to do otherwise. This was something I thought long and hard about. Everyone in my area offers discs. It just isn't in me to do it. I know this will cost me clients. But my clients are like me. These are the clients I want. They are a smaller group who appreciate art. They appreciate quality. They appreciate heirlooms. Mostly, they appreciate their loved ones to the point of actual investment. I adore my clients. Every single one of them. My clients are a band of super cool people who like good food, value friendships, love to entertain, love music, love books, love travel and adventure, they love to love! My clients are precious to me, and become friends. I have the best job in the world :) Happy Wednesday everyone! I am going to hit another cup of Chicory blended coffee!
Thursday, January 19, 2012
[Seth] Headshots
The shoot this morning was a stretch for me. Literally. My model, Seth, is so much taller than me, that even on my tip toes, I wasn't going to get the shots I needed. So he was a great sport and sat down for me. I know Seth from CharACTers - he's family. Theater family :) Again, lovely weather here.
I am taking the time to get to know my other lenses - I have been playing favorites and I need to pay attention to the rest of them. Loving the results from today :)
I am taking the time to get to know my other lenses - I have been playing favorites and I need to pay attention to the rest of them. Loving the results from today :)
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
[M]
Hoping everyone is having a wonderful week so far! Raining here - but rain brings on the green. And I do LOVE the green. I would have it in every single one of my photos if I could. I've been taking this time to update my portfolio and refresh my website while the weather has been divine. January, and it is going to be in the low 70's this weekend. Uh, yeah...this is MY kind of weather. Shooting with no jacket or coat, pretty nice I have to say :)
Yesterday, I got the privilege to work with an aspiring model. This young lady was not only incredibly polite, but she was totally a natural in front of the camera. She really is the whole package, smart, sweet and beautiful. She has a very bright future. Thanks "M" for working with me...I will be contacting you for future projects!
I have had my 85mm for awhile now, but I am so attached to my 50 that I just have a tendency to gravitate towards it. I took it off and put the 85 on and gave it a whirl. I like it! Still getting used to it...but I think it will grow on me the more I use it.
Yesterday, I got the privilege to work with an aspiring model. This young lady was not only incredibly polite, but she was totally a natural in front of the camera. She really is the whole package, smart, sweet and beautiful. She has a very bright future. Thanks "M" for working with me...I will be contacting you for future projects!
I have had my 85mm for awhile now, but I am so attached to my 50 that I just have a tendency to gravitate towards it. I took it off and put the 85 on and gave it a whirl. I like it! Still getting used to it...but I think it will grow on me the more I use it.
Monday, January 16, 2012
Beloved [Bodley]
Let me introduce you to a very cool couple. This is Jeff and Teri Bodley. They came in from Tennessee Saturday afternoon for my very first Beloved shoot. I have known these guys for several years and it has been such a pleasure. They both have huge hearts for Jesus, using the vehicle of music as their ministry. Jeff is the Jeff in the "Jeff Bodley Band" :) Check out his link below. He is a very talented musician, and Teri is incredibly talented as an artist.
Jeff had contacted me back in November to set up a time for shooting his band. But back up a week beforehand, I had posted on facebook about needing a couple to model for a Beloved session. I was looking for a particular couple. I came up empty handed. During our conversation Jeff said that he would also like to get some portraits of just him and Teri. Light bulb moment. I asked him how long they had been married - and he said the magic number. 20 years. In my head, my couple would be awesome (Jeff and Teri, check!) they would be married for 20+ years (check!) and would be artistic and unafraid to be real in front of the camera (check!). Done deal, we set it up!
I feel drawn to Beloved sessions. My husband and I have been through so much. It is just not something that you can imagine when you are engaged. You know, the actual thick and thin. There is such a richness to a relationship after you have literally built a life together. It is something that the older I get, the more dear it becomes to me. I'm kind of a romantic that way - that or its the only way of keeping my sanity lol! What I see however, are couples who have forgotten how starry eyed they were when they first met. Because of all the thick and thin. It is the greatest feeling for me as a photographer to be able to dig past all the everyday hum drum and remind people of those butterflies. What a gift! It makes the journey all that much sweeter. My hope is that it is as passion fueling for the couple, as it is for me as a photographer. We all need reminding from time to time.
I have to say, this Beloved session is everything I had hoped it would be and more. I truly love this type of photography. Please share this post, and hopefully more and more couples will want to get in on this...I promise you will never regret it.
http://jeffbodley.com/home.cfm
http://jeffbodley.com/music.cfm
*As a side note - a lot people wanted to know what Jeff was singing to Teri - of course, it couldn't be more fitting - Life is a Highway ;)
Jeff had contacted me back in November to set up a time for shooting his band. But back up a week beforehand, I had posted on facebook about needing a couple to model for a Beloved session. I was looking for a particular couple. I came up empty handed. During our conversation Jeff said that he would also like to get some portraits of just him and Teri. Light bulb moment. I asked him how long they had been married - and he said the magic number. 20 years. In my head, my couple would be awesome (Jeff and Teri, check!) they would be married for 20+ years (check!) and would be artistic and unafraid to be real in front of the camera (check!). Done deal, we set it up!
I feel drawn to Beloved sessions. My husband and I have been through so much. It is just not something that you can imagine when you are engaged. You know, the actual thick and thin. There is such a richness to a relationship after you have literally built a life together. It is something that the older I get, the more dear it becomes to me. I'm kind of a romantic that way - that or its the only way of keeping my sanity lol! What I see however, are couples who have forgotten how starry eyed they were when they first met. Because of all the thick and thin. It is the greatest feeling for me as a photographer to be able to dig past all the everyday hum drum and remind people of those butterflies. What a gift! It makes the journey all that much sweeter. My hope is that it is as passion fueling for the couple, as it is for me as a photographer. We all need reminding from time to time.
I have to say, this Beloved session is everything I had hoped it would be and more. I truly love this type of photography. Please share this post, and hopefully more and more couples will want to get in on this...I promise you will never regret it.
http://jeffbodley.com/home.cfm
http://jeffbodley.com/music.cfm
*As a side note - a lot people wanted to know what Jeff was singing to Teri - of course, it couldn't be more fitting - Life is a Highway ;)
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