Where'd They Go....

If this session had a catch phrase it would be “Where’d they go?” Because we kept losing kids left and right. Haha!!! I guess that happens a lot when you have four kids with endless energy and imagination.

So you loyal followers know that I love urban settings. I love brick structures, alleys and doorways, fire escapes and graffiti. And it’s true my favorite places to shoot are old city structures. (Roanoke and Nashville being my two favorites so far) But there is something to be said for the country and mountains. The place chosen for this session was probably one of the most beautiful landscapes that I’ve ever photographed. There were no power lines intruding and it was pretty easy to feel at home. A special thanks to Margie and Kenneth for their permission to use their property.

These children are gorgeous. I know I say that almost every session, but seriously, they are. It was a perfect fall day and as I said before, a perfect location. Yes the kids kept disappearing (they had a lot of room to play) but when we found them this is what happened.

Stay beautiful!

~C

Stay beautiful!

~C

Peggy

I love this lady so much. She’s a sweet friend and such a great person. If you ever want to do something just for yourself book a photo session. We had such fun and look how wonderful the final result turned out. Peggy you are such a great friend and I love you.

Stay beautiful!

~C

Kendall

Kendall

As a whole, this session couldn’t have been any better. Beautiful weather, beautiful light, beautiful little girl. Every ingredient needed for a success. You guys know I’m simple. I like to photograph people not props. And although I goo and gah when I see elaborately designed circus themed sets or hot air balloons and pirate ships by some of my favorite photographers, that’s just not my style. I’ve found that on the themed sessions I have done, I rarely even capture the props and they become a background distraction to the smiles and eyes that I see through the lens. I guess as an artist we each create something different. 

Kendall is five and she reminded me of my own daughter at that age. She was eager and willing and a real natural in front of a camera. In fact she may have been a little too natural. She could probably give lessons to other children on how to pose. Haha! 

Stay beautiful!

~C

Adrianna and Ray

For the record, I will be posting more photos on the blog than on facebook. The quality of facebook photos is horrendous.

Back to your regularly scheduled blog post about A & R

So in addition to regular sessions, I am now offering (with very limited availability) mini sessions. Normally, mini sessions surround a theme or purpose and are done back to back with multiple clients, but I’ve had clients who may just need a quick session for a specific purpose or reason and mini-sessions seem to work. These last about 20-30 minutes and you get about 20 images on a disc, one location, one outfit. I photographed Adrianna and her family last year and was thrilled when she called about this session. She’s beyond gorgeous and her eyes and smile is amazing. She wanted to do a mini session with her boyfriend and I think it’s a great idea. They’re so cute together.

Stay beautiful!

~C

Chelsea and Ethan CCHS Seniors

Boy, I’ve sure been busy lately! Fall is in full swing at CYP and it is without a doubt my favorite part of the year. This session was done a while back and I’m just now getting around to featuring it on the blog. There will be a day when I manage to keep the editing caught up, the blogging posted, the laundry done and work out for at least 40 minutes per day. (Yeah, I'm laughing too.)

 So as an outdoor/natural light photographer, I rely heavily on-wait for it-natural light. Light is my number one ingredient. The day of these sessions, natural light was hidden by some pretty big storm clouds and gray skies. :( Now let me say that I’m of the mindset that as a professional I should be well equipped and prepared for any and all reasonable circumstances. It’s just a part of the job. As a client you shouldn’t expect anything less from your photographer. It’s kind of like if you have to explain a joke then it probably wasn’t funny. Well, if you have to explain your circumstances surrounding your session, you probably could have done better. That’s my opinion anyway. So I did what any good photographer would do and I bumped up the ISO and didn’t let the clouds darken our experience. Although, I would have loved some dreamy soft golden light, we made the best of what we had and can you believe how gorgeous these images are? Chelsea was every photographer’s dream. Absolutely beautiful, the camera loved her, and she was so full of innocence and sweetness. Ahhh!!! She brought along some of the best clothes and accessories. My favorites, as always, are those simple moments caught by the camera that weren’t supposed to be. She brought along Ethan, her boyfriend, and my motto is the more the merrier. Well not always, but in this case, yes. So one session turned into two and look at how gorgeous he is. Seriously, he could pass for a California boy with that sun-kissed blonde hair. ;) I don’t know what it is with these CCHS football players but they’re absolute dolls.

Before I forget, this location which is a favorite among CC photographers is going through some changes. McDonalds is putting in a new restaurant on the vacant lot and they’re tearing down the old bus depot (yellow brick building) for parking. If you like this location and want pics there you better schedule soon before it’s gone and my heart breaks forever. Ok, well that last part was just me being dramatic. But it is kinda sad. The bus depot is pretty cool.

This is the bus depot.

See how absolutely perfect she is. Love her laugh.

Love this soft, dreamy black and white edit. This will hang in my gallery one day if I ever get a studio. :)

Stay beautiful!

~C

Slaton - CCHS Senior

Hands down the most popular pics that I've ever posted on facebook. Scroll on down and you'll see why. After posting these, I had multiple offers for assistants. Haha!!

Despite being painfully beautiful, Slaton was so much fun. (And, yes he will roll his eyes because I called him beautiful.)  This session was more like hanging out than actually working. Pretty sure that had more to do with my awesomeness than his but I don't know he was kinda awesome. :)

This session is the perfect example for why I love seniors. There's a connection, an energy, a chemistry that is almost tangible and you know it the minute you look through the viewfinder and your pulse races because this moment is perfect and it's yours to capture.

Caden

A fun fall day in the park led to some amazing images. Caden is so sweet and his pictures turned out so good. I love the smiles and bright eyes.