Next to capturing your big day, creating the photo album to memorialize your special moments is my favorite part of the process. To aid you in our creation process, I've put together some step-by-step directions for choosing the specs of your album.
Read MoreMuch to the girls' (and my) satisfaction, we got to ride the double decker buses today! As there were no seats left, I stood at the front, gazing out the window as the city whizzed by. I've always wished the US - but particularly the South - had a better, more widely-used public transit system as my favorite part of traveling in Europe is people-watching on buses or the subway and not having to drive. I'd become so accustomed to standing up on the halting metro that I simply leaned against the wall of the bus without needing to hold on to the hand rail (yeah, I'm totally cool.)
Read MoreI love the details and all the personal touches that couples infuse into their weddings, but when it all comes down to it, my very favorite thing about wedding photography is getting to capture the beginning of each couple's lifelong journey as they're surrounded by their loved ones. Meadow and Theo made their vows to each other in a beautiful sunlit field as the bride's dad presided, giving his own sound advice for a long and happy marriage: don't settle for the wedding being the best day of your life, make each day better than the last.
Read MoreIt's not every session that I get to rock hop through a cool new location AND capture the love of a couple of free spirits. Not often do I have the opportunity to shoot from exaggerated angles both high and low. And very rarely do I get to shimmy through rock crevices so narrow I have to hold my cameras in one hand and backpack in the other as I slide through sideways. Yet, I got to do all of these things last month for Meadow and Theo's engagement session!
Read MoreEvery album comes with its own set of storytelling challenges and for family albums, that challenge is generally making sure each person has their fair share of page space. For this album, we used a mix of sibling photos, spreads with all three girls (the sisters plus their cousin), and a few individual pages and spreads to give each sister the spotlight.
Read MoreIn putting together this album, my focus was to tell Morgan and Mike's story of excitement (particularly in their first look), personality (especially through the personal touches in their decor) and pure happiness at saying their forever vows surrounded by friends and family, even family from across the ocean. Because they did a first look (one of my favorite parts of the day!) we spent the first hour relaxing and taking couples portraits and group shots with their maid-of-honor and best man.
Read More2017's wedding season began quite a bit earlier than I'd anticipated as I got to shoot my first winter wedding since my very first wedding 4 years previous. One afternoon I was taking a nap when I heard my phone buzzing and - after pulling myself out of a cozy slumber - booked a last minute wedding on the spot. You see, Morgan and Mike met in Ireland while she was studying abroad and with so many unknowns surrounding the visa process, they had to plan their wedding rather last minute as they had 90 days to get married once Mike's visa request was approved. Luckily, they had the wedding wizard, Michelle of Party Envy, to help and on a balmy January evening they said their "I do's" amidst friends and family.
Read MoreThis was one of those shoots where I saw the location (on a shoot I was modeling for, of all things) and without any plans in place immediately created a scene in my head to shoot that I knew I needed to bring to reality. I knew I wanted Lauren, one of my gorgeous 2017 brides, to model and that if at all possible I wanted to put her in a whimsical gown from one of my favorite Asheville bridal shops (Wildflower Bridal) paired with a bright color palette from Swannanoa Flower shop and Cakes by Gray for a bohemian mountaintop styled elopement. As the shoot would have to be right in the middle of wedding season to make sure it was warm enough, I knew it would be a long shot, so when every one of these selections worked out, I was so excited I was bouncing off the walls! Of course, no shoot is ever that easy and in the end we only had about 25 minutes or so of photography, yet I couldn't be more thrilled with the results.
Read MoreWhat I really loved about this wedding weekend was the emphasis on bringing two families together. Not only did we have a delicious and fun rehearsal dinner the night before and family brunch the morning after the wedding, but the reception allowed both families to celebrate together in their new bond. Perhaps the most touching moment of the day was when Monica shared a sweet dance with her grandfather, leaving no one in the reception hall with a dry eye.
Read MoreI always get excited when my couples ask if they can bring their dogs for their engagement shoot, mostly because it means I get to pet puppies! But bringing these wiggly props also helps for photos because in attempting to get all the pups to pose, all of the nervousness of being in front of the camera melts away. Such was the case with Monica and Justin's fun engagement shoot in February; by the time their three fur babies were in position and looking my way (and it took asking a father and son to kick a soccer ball behind me to get all eyes forward!) any camera shyness had worn off and Monica and Justin were completely relaxed and all smiles. We spent the first half of the session walking through Packs Square Park to get some family photos and then - after a brief dog pile - split off for photos of just the two of them with the gorgeous downtown architecture in the background.
Read MoreAfter months of planning, our day started with a phone call from the coordinator, Michelle, asking about Cassady's thoughts on moving the ceremony from their carefully chosen outdoor spot to the more rustic dairy barn as clouds of doom rolled in. Rather than get upset, Cassady quickly decided to activate the contingency plans and move on, only stopping (without actually missing a beat) to joke that she was in Mexico relaxing instead of getting ready for the wedding when Michelle asked how things were going.
Read MoreJust as I said in their engagement post, I knew that photographing my friends' wedding would be extra emotional. From documenting the frenzied moments of preparation to capturing Clair and JJ's poignant first look (and struggling to keep it together myself) to photographing their sweet ceremony, there were more than a few times that I found myself shooting through tear-filled eyes. But these were, of course, happy tears as I got to watch one of my good friends from college marry this steadfast man of her dreams!
Read MoreI've photographed weddings for colleagues and classmates but never before have I gotten to capture the love story of one of my good friends - until now, that is. When Clair first called me to ask if I would be her wedding photographer (Duh! I would love to!), I don't think I quite realized the enormity of getting to document the wedding experience of someone I know so well. After all, I had been there from the very start of the relationship, had talked with Clair about the two of them on countless runs (for those of you who don't know, Clair and I were teammates on the UNCA cross country and track teams) and had cheered from afar as they moved out west together for school. But as we started the engagement session and I got to witness their love, commitment and pure enjoyment of each other, I knew that this one would be extra special.
Read MoreOne of my very favorite things about owning a business is getting to give back to others whenever possible. Otherwise, what's the point?! So when my dad approached me to see if I wanted to work on a project at my alma mater, Oak Ridge High School, I immediately accepted. His idea was to take a few senior photos for a handful of students who had never had their photo professionally taken and then give them a couple prints to commemorate this time for them. I loved the original idea because I believe everyone deserves not only to have a tangible photograph of themselves, but also to be the focus of attention for even just a few minutes.
Read MoreMatt and Alex had the right idea: get married quietly without any stress or fuss and then get all of the family and friends together almost a year later to celebrate. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE weddings (not to mention, if we didn't have them I'd be out of a job!), but whereas weddings can be understandably taxing, Matt and Alex's marriage celebration yesterday was nothing but enjoyable.
Read MoreWhereas 2016 was the year of international travel for me, I've spent 2017 exploring cities a little "closer" to home. Initially, I got the idea to spend a weekend in the nation's capital because I wanted to take advantage of Allegiant's new direct flights out of Asheville (the reason for my NYC trip in February) but I also wanted to make it a girls' weekend with my mom. As this [$87 round trip] flight would've landed us at BWI and we'd planned to stay with family in South Riding, VA, we would've had to take a 2.5 hour metro trek from the airport to their home (totally worth it to me!) but in the end we decided to simply fly out of Knoxville and pay more. So, from the outset, the trip was shaping up to be different than I'd originally planned and this was only the first of many surprises!
Read MoreIn case it isn't obvious, I love photography; both as a storytelling device and as a visually appealing medium. So whenever the opportunity arises to spread my love for photography to others, particularly young and impressionable students who have the capacity to not only fall head-over-heels for the art form but the time to fully incorporate it into their lives, I take said opportunity. Such was the case with the Teaching Artists Presenting in Asheville Schools (TAPAS) program, a grant which brings local artists into the classroom to illustrate difficult concepts in a more comprehensible (and fun!) manner. I found out about this enriching program while doing some work for the Asheville City Schools Foundation last summer and immediately applied with the idea that I could teach my usual alternative processes to classes covering anything from storytelling to chemistry. As it happened - and in an ironic twist given my past dislike of the subject - I ended up working with an advanced chemistry class. Fortunately, this turned out to be an enjoyable experience for all of us.
Read MoreI really can't emphasize enough how well everything fell into place for this Portland trip. Only a week or so before my departure, Jen emailed me saying that two of her friends (who were also the witnesses at her elopement) had recently gotten engaged and would be interested in an engagement session. I could not have asked for a more fun and easygoing pair to work with!
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