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Our good friends Brandi and Damon has their sweet daughter Georgia baptized several weeks ago, so we took the opportunity earlier this week to grab some photos of her up on Davidson's campus in the beautiful custom made gown she wore.
The details on this gown are so lovely...
Paige and her sister Valerie made the journey from Raleigh for their BELIEVE session. I was humbled that they would travel all the way here for this project so I'm hoping and praying the the experience was sweet/challenging/edifying for you both. I loved our time together.
Here are some of Paige's words about why she wanted to do this with Val:
"Where to begin...separated by five years in age, that's never been a reason for us to be anything less than best friends. We've been there every step of the way for one another through a number of life's ups and downs. Valerie's past few years have brought struggles with a diagnosis of Rheumatoid Arthritis, influencing most aspects of her life. She sometimes feels that she has lost touch with who she is while having to deal with the day to day challenges - but it's all about making changes in life to seize happiness.
I (Paige) am about to embark on a new, exciting, and scary journey in life...marriage. And while I know it is mostly about figuring out who you are as a "one", not forgetting about who you are as an individual is just as important. And while I am one who loves to be in front of the camera, you would never know that secretly I am incredibly shy.
We are hoping that taking part in this project together will bring out a side of Valerie and I's personalities that most are not use to seeing. We are so similar in many ways, yet at the same time, very different. We feel that it is important to share that being a woman is such a lucky and empowering gift, because that is how we were brought up to feel. And BELIEVE is a great way for those of us to show who we truly are, but might not always be able to express. There are always going to be challenges, both good and bad, but at the end of the day, we are both so blessed to know we have one another."
Meet Paige:
Meet Valerie:
I'm head over heels for this image of them together:
I had a delightful shoot up on Davidson's campus yesterday with the Gavagan family, more to come on that, but I decided to just walk home since it was such an awesome evening and I came upon these fun rusty things. I think I have mentioned it before but I love to walk/stroll and I haven't been doing it as much lately because I've been so busy, so I was a happy for some time to stop a smell the roses... or see the rust, whatever. Ross and I are looking forward to some good "destination walking" this weekend - meaning that we drive to another part of town or another neighborhood and walk around - so perhaps I'll tote my camera along and report any fun findings from those walks too. Until then, enjoy these fun images.
On Saturday I made my way down to Greenville, SC to hang out with the Slagle Family and watch all 3 of their rock star children do their thing on the soccer field (and step out of my photography comfort zone!). Now I did not grow up playing soccer, so my eyes were totally opened to that whole world... and yes, it is its own world. It brings a whole new meaning to the term "soccer mom"! Their dad, Rick, coaches all three of the teams, so of course I had to snag a few shots of him in action too. It was fun to be out there taking in all the action from behind the lens, plus I think it made the kids feel pretty cool to have someone with a camera following their every move!
Rick in action:
The littlest of the 3, Emma. But don't let her small size fool you, she is intense out there!
Then there is Sydney, who scored both of the teams goals. Told you she rocks!
And the oldest of the 3, Ben. He plays mostly as a defender, which made for some cool/dramatic kicking shots....
Graylynn + Liz = best of friends. I had such an amazing time with you both!
Rather than using my words here, I wanted to share what Graylynn wrote....
"My best friend Elizabeth (Liz) is doing
the shoot with me. She is such an incredible woman. She, along with
her husband and two children live in Hickory, NC. We met many years
ago when we both helped open up the Nordstrom in Charlotte. We both
worked in the shoe department. We became fast best friends. We have
walked through so much of life together. Love, heartbreak, weddings
and babies. She is an amazing woman and friend. Never in my life have
I had a friend like her. She cringed when I told her that I signed us
up to do this photo shoot! Saying that she wasn’t photogenic at all.
YEAH right, she’s beautiful. I wanted her to this with me not only
because she’s my best friend, but because I want her to feel beautiful.
She is always so hard on herself and for once I want her to not think
about anything but having fun in front of the camera. She is a beauty
not just on the outside but also on the inside. She loves the Lord deeply
and it shows. She has the best laugh too! She is also into running like
me! She ran a half marathon last year on her birthday! She’s the type
person you just want to be around."
Last week in Richmond I had the opportunity to shoot my first musician, Amy Henderson. I have to admit that it was a refreshing change for me to capture that relationship between musician and instrument. Amy rocks, both literally and figuratively. I loved having her music integrated into the shoot - no ipod necessary for this session.
So great how the wind came through and picked up her hair...
Part of what made my trip to Richmond ton Tuesday so sweet was getting to meet little miss Ellie! Her mom Kate, used to work with my friend KK, so taking photos for a former Art Director was slightly intimidating :) We met up at her in-laws house which is in the most charming part of town, right on Cary Street, and they just welcomed me right in. Those are the moments when I'm overwhelmed with what an awesome opportunity I have as a photographer.. I get to just step into different people's worlds and spend some time sharing in their life. Thank you Kate for sharing precious Ellie with me for a few hours and for being such a trooper out in the cold!
I'll never tire of baby details, so tiny and precious...
Ah, those toes!
All this modeling can make a girl sleepy...
The beauty and peace of a sleeping baby...
After hanging out with the Verlander's I headed down to South Charlotte to spend some time with the Seitz family. This is a family dear to my heart since I met them out in Colorado at Lost Valley Ranch, plus they really helped welcome me to Charlotte when I moved here 3 years ago (whoa! I can't believe its been that long!) - having me over for dinner several times and dear Brenda met me for coffee and encouraged me so much! Their oldest daughter Ashley is graduating this spring so the shoot was 2 fold - get some great "senior" photos of her and just capture some great moments with the whole family. We all wandered over a friend's family farm and had a blast playing and blasting some of Ashley favorite tunes. I'm going to be working towards doing more high school senior shoots - so let me know if you are interested and spread the word!
Meet Ashley. She is unbelievably gorgeous. I was excited to hear that she is going to be getting into the world of photography herself so that makes me happy. This is a gal with many awesome adventures ahead...
Now for the family together... they were so fun to shoot because, well, you can just see their personalities in the images...
The boys were very good sports as you can tell!
Ah, the classic family portrait... it's something that I've never liked because over the years our family has has numerous portraits and I hate the way I look in all of them. Too forced, awkward. Yuck. So last weekend when I had 2 family sessions back to back I really had to try to think outside the "awkward box" and try to get a large group of people relax so that I could capture their personalities. Feel free to let me know what you think... or if you have had good or bad experiences with large family photos...
Meet the Verlander family. I'm in love with this image because it represents the family photo scenario so well - the youngest siblings are cracking up, Mom's looking back to make sure everyone else is okay, Dad and Mike are just doing what they are told (smiling at the camera), Lauren's eyes are closed, and little baby Kit is just hanging out.
I had them frolicking through hay fields and climbing over fences.. not your typical studio session!
We ended with a more classic shot behind a rusty old barn. I love the colors and textures here.
Overall I think Kit was pretty happy about it, and that's what really matters. Right?
I'm playing catch up a little bit from being gone yesterday, but just had to share this too cute for words shot of little Kit from last weekend. Love those eyes and that stinking cute polka dot sweater. Can I please get that in my size?
