Fun Fall Day at Duke Gardens

When you meet someone new, do you ever have the feeling like you have known them forever?  This is exactly how I felt this morning working with this family on their family pictures.  They were referred to me by a good friend of mine - now I know why she was so excited for us to meet each other; she knew that we would instantly hit it off.  And we did!!  We all had a really fun, relaxed time taking pictures and enjoying ourselves at Duke Gardens.  I just really enjoyed their company and love their kids (the most fun, well behaved kids you will ever meet).   Note to self: next time bring some bread for the ducks, so they don't eat all the corn chips.  Here is a little sneak peek at their pictures.

Family is what Life is all About

You realize the more that you live, that really what matters the most in life is your family.  It is who you are and where you are from.  There is no one on earth that loves you more.  The way you smile, your hair, if you are tall or short - this family is the perfect example.  They would get ready to pose and somone would find something wrong with themselves, then soon the others would chime in reassuring them that they looked great.  The only thing that I saw when I looked through my camera was a beautiful family that loved each other so much.  They really enjoy being with each other  - having fun, being silly,  and letting each other know, without ever saying the words, that they mean the world to each other.  I was so honored to share my morning with this family - such great friends and I am so thankful the Lord let our lives cross paths because my life is much richer now having this family as a part of it.  Thank you to this family for letting me be that person to record this time in your life. Life changes so fast (and our schedules get hectic) and it is important to capture these moments together whenever we can.  Hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.
When you look at your life, the greatest happinesses are family happinesses.  ~Joyce Brothers

Fun in Duke Gardens

One of my favorite places to visit is Duke Gardens.  So I was so excited when this High School Senior wanted to shoot her Senior pictures there.  It was such a beautiful morning and I loved working with her and her family as we traveled ALL over these gardens and took pictures in almost every spot.  I had such a great time!!!  I could have stayed there all day, but it was family fun day which brought in the crowds.  Okay maybe I should clarify it was "free" family fun day.  No need to say more - fortunately we were done with our shoot before the strollers rolled in.  She is such a naturally beautiful person that it is so hard to pick my favorite picture.  Usually I have a favorite, but this one is tough to pick, so I will put a few out on the blog, but all of hers are just beautiful.

Class of 2012

As this week comes to a close,  my clients that are seniors this year are in my thoughts.  It has been a long time ago (won't tell exactly how long) since my senior year in high school, but I still remember the excitement of the first day of school that year.  All the activities/events and the attention of being the senior class.  I am hoping my seniors soak it all in so years from now you remember and smile at the wonderful memories. In recognition of the starting of school for the Class of 2012, I thought I would post some more pictures from my last senior shoot.  She is gorgeous - maybe a career in modeling????  We had such a blast taking pictures that day.  She is such a beautiful person and I loved every minute of this photo shoot.  Hope you have the best school year ever!

Tell the World Your Story

I hope everyone that started school today had a wonderful first day of school. I love seeing those first day of school pictures (wait till you pull them out 30 years later - those are the best!!)  I can't help but think of my client who is out of state starting her first year of college. I am so excited for her as she takes off on this new journey in her life.  But she knows there are many of us "back home" thinking of her.  So I thought I would share some more from her photo shoot. Really these are only a very, very few - we had so many they are hard to showcase them all and there were so many ones that I love that it is really hard for me to choose.  When I do a consult, I make sure that I share my thoughts on how I like to take pictures and what I try to capture.  I am all about showing who you are, your interests/hobbies and letting people  see your inner being and beauty through the pictures.  She was incredible to photograph.  We connected from the first meeting and she showed up on the day of the shoot and she kicked her shoes off at the car and we clicked picture after picture.  She is naturally a beautiful person, but she really relaxed and let her true self shine through.  These are the pictures that I know she and her family cherish forever because every time I look at them I smile because they tell me her story.

The Best Year of School - Seniors Rule!

Summertime is getting ready to come to a close and we are all starting to think about school getting ready to start.  For this beautiful friend of mine, she is getting ready to start one of the most exciting school years --her Senior year.  We went out today to take her senior portraits.  Raleigh has been miserably hot lately, but we were so grateful that it wasn't as hot as it has been.  And you sure couldn't even tell we were a little warm in the Raleigh summer sun because every picture she took was beautiful.  This is just a little sneak peek.  This one is for Mom.  And I want to give a shout out to her "manager" (aka Sister), she was awesome and helped us with all the little details (even down the beautiful shoes).  You guys are so awesome and so much fun!!!  Thanks -

Smile and Others will Smile too!

It has been a really hot summer in Raleigh this year and this day was no exception, but you could not tell by this beautiful young lady.  She was so cool and a perfect natural in front of the camera.  She is in the process of preparing to go off to college in a few weeks and this photo session was a perfect way to capture this wonderful time in her life.  We just had the best time capturing who she is, what she loves and her beauty and joy for life.  I could have stayed and taken pictures of her all day long.  This is just one of many beautiful pictures of her.  I am still working on edits, but wanted to do one blog post about this photo shoot because I am still smiling thinking about it.  I love this picture - there are certain pictures that move me and this is one - it makes me feel happy and I catch myself smiling every time I see it.  I will post more of this gorgeous photo shoot later.