Baby Matthew

One of my first shots of the day with Baby Matthew.

More to come soon!

New Look....

Wesley and I are diligently working on a new look for my website! It will be completely different from before and have several different menus, including a place for "Happy Thoughts" (testimonials) from previous clients.
Many of you have had wonderful things to say after your sessions (I really appreciate it!), and I wanted to give you this opportunity to say something nice again.
If you have had an exceptional experience (or anything in general) that you would like to share, please email me by FRIDAY.

I want to thank you all again for your wonderful support!

And I will leave you with these entertaining pictures of Maggie from this weekend....

Rockin' Rockstar Roadtrip

Yesterday, Brittany and I had the awesome privilege to attend The Rockstar Roadtrip-a photography workshop hosted by Corey McNabb and Amber Holritz.
Brittany came to our house late Thursday night, we slept about 4 hours, got up at 3:30 a.m. and drove to Chapel Hill, South Carolina. We enjoyed the workshop from 9:00 a.m. until around 6:00 p.m. and drove back to Cleveland, where we arrived at 2:00 a.m. Yes, you are right, that was a 23 hour day by the time we got unloaded and into bed. It was completely worth it.
I am still processing all of the information that I gained from this event and seriously doubt I will be able to clearly describe everything for you, but here I go.....

There were about 20 photographers in attendance. Corey and Amber were extremely hospitable and made us feel so welcome.
There were lots of prizes given away by the sponsors and Brittany and I lucked out!
Brittany won a copy of Adobe Photoshop Lightroom (how exciting is that?!!!) for traveling the longest distance. We were SUPER excited. Then, my name was drawn for 50% off of the next 5 Day Wedding Workshop by Corey (Amber also does a day about lifestyle photography!)!!! I am unbelievably excited, not really sure how I'm going to work that out with school, but hopefully everything will be okay. Still, very exciting!

Friday was Amber's birthday, so Corey surprised her with a cake.

Complete with trick candles and "34" on the cake even though she's not really 34 (much, much younger!).
I love their expressions in this shot.I snagged this picture off of Kimberly's blog. That's Brittany and I in the bottom corner.

For the first half of the day, Corey discussed wedding photography and important sales and marketing info. This was my first photography workshop to attend, and I feel like I have really benefited from the knowledge Corey shared with us.
After lunch, Amber talked with us about her lifestyle baby photography. This is truly where my heart lies. I love all kinds of photography and I really enjoy doing weddings, but there is nothing I love more than walking into a family's home and being able to photograph their life.
Amber shared so much important and useful information with us.
(I wanted to take a couple of shots for the blog of each of them speaking, but I never stopped taking notes!)
I am still processing it all--Wesley kept asking what I learned and I couldn't even put it into words. Finally, this morning I was able to tell Wesley a little bit about my favorite parts and things that I feel like I can implement in my business immediately.
Anyhow, I have always loved Amber's (and her husband, Nathan's) work and it was truly a joy and an honor to meet her.
Here are myself, Amber, and Brittany after the workshop was over.

After their talks and a question and answer portion, Amber and Corey broke out some Guitar Hero (how can you NOT on the ROCKSTAR Roadtrip?!).
Brittany and I had to hit the road and didn't get to play, but I did get a few shots of the action before we left.

One of Amber's tips was shooting from high and low and different angles.
We saw her in action during Guitar Hero.

Fun times.

The flower colors were so beautiful outside the hotel, I just had to capture it.

Brittany and I around 6 p.m.-keep in mind we had been up since 3:30 a.m.
When I went to take this picture, Brittany said, "We should have done this BEFORE everything started." I agree, but we didn't.....we were too excited.

And, as if this post wasn't enough, check out a few more pictures in the little show I put together.
I am still so excited about everything I learned and can't wait to put it into action. I also found a great new place to get albums and some new products for clients, so stay tuned.
I hope everyone has a great weekend.

The Rotella Family

Remember these sweet boys? Here is the post for their session in the fall. Can you believe how much little Parker has grown?! I guess that's what babies do. I was in Murfreesboro for the weekend a couple of weeks ago and Teresa asked if I had time to do a session of her boys. When she asked, I had a session scheduled for Friday evening, a cattle show and sale (including getting up at 4:30 a.m.) all day Saturday and then we were to head to Cleveland. My Friday evening session canceled and I headed over to see how much Parker had grown! We had a great time. Teresa, thanks so much for letting me photograph your boys again. You know how much I love them! Enjoy your sneak peek and slideshow link at the bottom.

This boy has gotten SO big!

Sweet boys!

You MUST, MUST, MUST click back HERE and see the difference since last fall's session.

My personal favorite-I love how Parker looks amazed! Collin was reading in a very silly voice and was cracking everyone up.

Click HERE to see The Rotella Family Slideshow.
Click HERE to view all of the images when they are ready.

Sneak Peek

About a week and a half ago, I got to go back to see these sweet boys in Murfreesboro!
It was great to see Collin, Carter, and baby Parker. He has grown so much since the last time I saw him. Nick and Teresa, thank you so much for allowing me to photograph your family and for being so patient with me already. Enjoy your sneak peek.

Baby Cele

I have finally finished Little Miss Cele's pictures! Things have been so crazy and I really appreciate Terra being so patient. We are closing on our house Friday (yea!) and have been shopping for appliances, flooring, paint, etc. Enough of that--on with the pictures!

Baby Cele's name is really Celeste Dorothy, but her family calls her Cele (pronounced Cee-Lee) for short. How precious is she??
I LOVE baby feet!

I think this is my favorite one from the day by far.

Mom Terra and friend Ashley switched Cele into her sweet little Sarah Louise dress and bonnet. We decided she looked like a very dressy Laura Ingalls!

Their house had tons of beautiful natural lighting that I thoroughly enjoyed.

Terra, thank you so much for inviting me into your home. I had such a great time and can't wait to work with you again.
Click HERE for Baby Cele's slideshow.
Click HERE to see all of the images.