Apryl Murphy Photography

future college football player...

2010-06-16T15:24:00.003-05:00

...its just undecided of which team he will play for!!! his dad is an auburn fan and his mommy is alabama! clearly she is the only one in the family with any sense : ) needless to say, he photographed perfectly in both colors {even though it was painful to take pics in that auburn tee}...one thing is certain, caleb is a chunky monkey!!! he will definitely make a great football player one day...as long as he keeps it in the sec, he will be ok with me : ) 3 month pics are usually pretty tricky, but i ended up with more shots than i could choose from!!!!

sweet love!

he is cute even in orange

i heart this pic!

and this one!

chunky monkey!!!

happy anniversary...

2010-06-16T15:11:00.004-05:00

...this was a real treat!!! my bestie boo, lindsay's mother in law recently called me to ask me if i would shoot her parents 50th anniversary party...they have a huge huge fam and wanted formal pics as well as tons of candids to capture the day...great!! i was thinking this was a party at a church or something...wrong! this was a wedding without the ceremony! haha!!! they sent out over 150 invites, had food for a small army and rented this fab place called paint rock valley lodge {which is AWESOME}...what a fab experience...i heart old people! i think they are so sweet and so wise...you can learn so much just chatting it up with someone that has lived a long life! i learned tons from chatting with all of the guests, i especially liked the part where i was reading the guest book and saw where someone had signed that their last name was swafford...thats my maiden name!! { and not the worlds most common name i might add!} i asked who they were and the guest of honor informed me that was her maiden name! WHAT?!? half the people there were swafford's! i then chatted it up with atleast 10 people that stories to tell about my great grandfather, who i had never met. it was so cool! anyways...there are tons of great pics from this day...great formal family pics and really cool candids of people simply interacting! i could post 30 pics from this day, but since im so behind, i'll keep it at a minimum : )

super cute sign that was there

one of my fav pics of the day...clueless who they are and if they even know each other...see what i mean about people interacting!

i hope i have half the marriage that they have!

their family!!!

the guests of honor!!! how truly wonderful!!!!

some more of the sweet girls...

2010-06-16T15:05:00.003-05:00

...i know i have been absentee...i took a lil mini vacay and i have been busy trying to catch up from the mini vacay! so im almost caught up and have plenty of great pics to share with you...they arent previews because these clients have seen their galleries but i still wanted to share!!!

remember my last post...the awesome one of the 3 gorgeous girls and their gorgeous mommy...now that their session is all done, i wanted to share a few more that are my favs from their session : )

more post coming in a few

one brave mama...

2010-05-26T22:15:00.004-05:00

...words do not even begin to describe how impressed i am with this mom! i met amber 2 years or so back when her oldest, haynes, had gymnastics with ava! we were pregnant with out second at the same time...both girls...finley was born a month to the day before addison. amber always made me want to scream because everytime i saw her, she was perfectly put together! her hair and make-up always look fabulous and she barely looked pregnant the whole time! when gym started back this past august, we were in class with haynes again and guess what...amber was preggers again, with another girl!!! reason numero uno why we are done having kids at the casa de murphy! new baby is named lola grace which i am in love with! i love love love the name lola! needless to say i was over the moon when she called me and asked to do some mother daughter pics with lola and her! conclusions from this session...a- she will make every woman that reads this sick...she looks like a 17 year old instead of a woman that has had 3 kids!!! b- i dont think i could function with 3 girls c- sweet lola is beyond precious with her chunkiness and looks JUST like haynes! these are very pre- previews...i barely looked at these pics today and i just couldnt help myself!! im sure i will post more when i get caught up!

all time fav mother daughter pic!

i cant decide how i like it best...

this is a close second!!!

sweet haynes!!! i adore this pic!

finley! she is a lil firecracker!!

LOLA GRACE!

sweet sydnie...

2010-05-26T22:00:00.004-05:00

...i heart new clients! HEART them! i quickly learned 3 things about this sweet fam! sydnie was a very advanced (she was a pro at holding her head up), happy, photogenic almost 3 month old, her mommy and daddy are crazy about her, and i was going to thoroughly enjoy working with them! the v fam was awesome awesome awesome! im so thankful to luke and hannah's (the twinsies) mommy for sending them my way! sydnie's pics turned out so precious and im keeping my fingers crossed to be working with them again very soon! thank you so much for sharing her with me!

happy family

{i was on a bit of a bw kick}

she has him wrapped around her tiny finger

she's a mommy's girl!

sweet love!!!

told you they were crazy about her!!!

makes my heart sing!

one of my favs!!!!

omg! does it get any better!!!

anna boo...

2010-05-21T12:42:00.005-05:00

...my sweet sweet anna boo! anna kate is my 3 rd daughter that isnt really my daughter. i guess technically she is my niece since her mother is like my sister that i dont have! needless to say, i love her like family! she used to be up there on the "worlds most difficult child to photograph" list but she is getting better with every session! these were taken at the chase historic depot and turned out just right!

i love all the mother daughter shots!!!

brace yourself...

2010-05-09T22:12:00.004-05:00

...remember my urban maternity couple and how ridiculously attractive they were!?! well imagine their baby! well your wait is over! meet baby jaxon! he is completely delish! his nb session seriously ranks in the top 5 of nb sessions! he was perfection! i didnt even hear him cry til it was almost over! there are so many amazing, adorable, beyond scrumptious shots! i was able to narrow it down, but please have pity on his parents when they have to choose! this is just a small peek at what is to come! congrats chris and amy!

if this isnt the worlds most gorgeous fam picture i dunno what is!

maybe this??

or this!

perfection!!! prince charming inthe making

nothing like a sleeping baby to make you swoon!

a gift from a friend became a great prop!

i love baby toes!

world's coolest baby...

2010-05-09T21:45:00.004-05:00

...i have been waiting on this outfit since he was born when his mommy told me about it! {and i can NOT believe he is already 9 months!} lucky brand bloomers (boys can wear bloomers too) and a lucky brand tee shirt! of course we were shooting at the skate park!!! where else?!?! this session was too much fun! sweet matthew and i slide down into the skate pit full of graffiti and shot away! these pics are adorable overload!!! i can just see him as a 15 year old skateboarder looking at these pics!!! he really is the worlds coolest baby!!!

prolly one of the cutest things ever!

his first time clapping for himself, according to his parents!

i love this with the skaters in the background!

he took a break from trying to eat rocks

mini session alert!!!

2010-05-05T21:32:00.002-05:00

...im doing mini sessions on saturday may 15 at the moontown airport! see previous post for location pics! its AMAZING...especially for boys!! the sessions with be 30mins for $60...it includes 1 8x10 and 2 5x7s plus up to 20 edited images! talk your friends into booking and you each receive $10 off!!!! email me or call me (665-6467) for appt times!!!!!

new fav location...

2010-04-25T21:15:00.006-05:00

...with one of my fav clients!!!! this is take 1 of carson...i was lucky enough to get to spend 2 days last week photographing him : ) i feel like usher saying "OMG" on these pics! to-die-for. im on a bw kick right now so i had to force myself not to make this an all bw post but just note that these pics are amazing in bw : ) im thinking of doing a mini session at this fab spot and after everyone sees these pics, people will be lining up!!! stay tuned for car car's images with his bff pay pay!

LOOOOVE this

carson's fav plane...he called it a spaceship

second fav!!!! im a sucker for his "serious" face

he comes up with this stuff on his own!! its why i love him!

ok maybe this one is my fav?? ok i give up they all are!

bittersweet...

2010-04-21T16:29:00.003-05:00

...i love the carraway family and this session was bittersweet because it was the last one on their 4 seasons! oh how i have enjoyed them over the last year! rylee and alex are quite the little characters and they always make for an exciting session!!! this actually is one of my favs of their plan! the ones of them together are to die for!!! chrissy and jeff, thanks for sharing the kiddos with me for the last year!!! it has been a pleasure getting to know your sweet lil family!!!

boys will be boys!

i had to get my dandilion fix for the day

i cant decide which is my fav!! im loving bw!!!

its fab in color too : )

one of my favs!!!

precious!!!

i love that dimple!

sweet rylee!

multi-purpose session...

2010-04-21T14:20:00.005-05:00

...number one: the location was perfection!!! a farm in jackson county equipped with anything i wanted to use for a prop! number two: we got so many things accomplished in one hour, im still amazed! we did an engagement session, full family, family with just grown kids, grandparents with grandkids, just kids, kids with mom, everyone with their dog (you think im joking), just grandparents! it was quite the session!!! it took me forever just to go through the pics!!! but i narrowed it down and i think i have some great images to share with you so you can see just how awesome this fam is!!! thanks guys for sharing your farm and family with me! enjoy!

i am crazy about everything in this image!!!

one big happy family

you can only hope to be this happy

makes me smile!

what a great pic of these 3!

oh i LOVE this!

mom and dad with their grown up babies! with their babies!!!

cant believe she is already 6 months...

2010-04-16T21:34:00.004-05:00

...sweet ella kate!!! really, it feels like yesterday when i shot her birth!!! 6 months later, she is a precious doll baby with a cute personality!!! her session was amazing, partly because her outfits were fab, partly because she literally had a huge smile on her face the whole time!!! ahh i love my job

they love this baby girl!

definitely going on my rep cards! an all time fav!

another fav!!!! gorgeous!!! this would have to be enlarged in my house...i may enlarge it in my house anyways! lol

little model

love her

happy baby!!!

simply precious!

she looks like a baby doll!!!

teeney tiny princess...

2010-04-16T21:19:00.004-05:00

...so i met with kenley, a new client for her first bday pics! for all of you mad co peeps, kenley's mom is the former julia mason...ok first of all, she is the tiniest 1 year old i have ever met! second of all, julia had warned me that sweet kenley may not do a great job at pics...man o man was she wrong!!! she did amazing! what a precious love! i also had the priveldge of making her bday invites! sooo adorable!

love her invite!!!

makes me smile!!!

ya'll know me and my love of eyelashes!

precious!!!!!

too cute for words!

love this!!!

sweet angel!

noah "he only dates models" sullivan...

2010-04-16T21:07:00.004-05:00

...i completely adore little noah and have ever since the second i laid lens on him : ) this session was beyond fun and turned just the way i imagined it would...perfect! i could eat him with a spoon; he is just too sweet!

isnt he the cutest thing you have ever seen

i adore this so much!
one of my fav pics in a LONG time!
precious family!!!!

urban maternity...

2010-04-10T12:30:00.005-05:00

...incase you are not a regular blog reader and do not know me and my taste, i love all things urban...i love all things old and i love pictures with a vintage and/or bw finish. i also LOOOOVE maternity sessions! it has been a while since i got to shoot one, but thanks to my fab client/hair stylist, amber, i got a referral for a new baby plan with maternity! aimee and chris were a dream couple...she was 37 weeks preggers and looked beyond amazing...she even had a maternity belly button ring!!!! i had never heard of that much less seen one and it was pretty stinking cool and made for some bomb belly shots!! she and chris wanted completely candid stuff so they were my kind of people! it was obvious from the start that they were so super crazy about each other and i just love that! i know they will be awesome (and really cool) parents and i cant wait to meet baby boy!!! these shot are out of this world!

precious

total gorgeous couple

i LOOOOVE this

and this!!!!!

my fav!!!!!!!

see her belly ring!

definition of glowing!

favorite fam alert....

2010-04-10T12:19:00.005-05:00

...yay its the taylor fam...let me clarify...aubree and griffin...rockstar clients! i can always count on them for an easy session with more pics that i can go through...this session was no exception...it was a little bittersweet though because it was the last session of their plan : ( i will have to hunt alyse down and steal her kids if she doesnt call atleast 2 times a year for pics!!! so griffin is 1 now(well he was in february but no one is counting the months right!) and aubree is just fabulous so matter what age she is. no taylor family session would be complete with a perfect portrait of their digustingly cute family!!! we even snuck in a few whole fam pics with grandparents and all!!! im so lucky to have clients like this!!! thanks taylor fam!

classic aubree!!

i love her!

why i love her!!!

swoon!

ok omg!!! look at that tie!

whole fam!

perfect lil taylor fam!

completely adore these 2

sweet cole...

2010-04-10T11:36:00.004-05:00

...cole was my client a year or so ago for some christmas pics and i was so pumped when his mommy called to have me shoot bday pics! she even asked me to shoot his party!!! to say that cole is a typical year old boy is a huge understatement...it doesnt even begin to do him justice! he was a hard session!!! i was over the moon when i saw how the pics turned out though! omg, they are so stinkin' precious!!!

sweet boy!!!

i triple heart this pic!!!

loves his mommy!!!

bad blogger...

2010-04-10T11:26:00.007-05:00

...i know i have been awful, but its because i have been exceptionally busy. first, i had like 6 sessions in about 3 days...then i had an additional 3 sessions the next week. then we took addsie and ava to the memphis zoo for addsie's 2nd bday! saturday was addison's 2nd bday party...sunday was easter AND addsie's 2nd bday! craziness!!!!! {to say the least}...on top of editing those sessions and spending quality time with my loves, i have become victim to allergies. never had them before and i wish they would go back to where they came from! i am miserable!!!!! so im trying to play catch up...i'll make this a completely personal post with pics from my world's busiest, funnest, most stressful weekend ever! warning: this is picture overload and they are not intended to be "custom photography" pics...they are just candid pictures of my family! however, i had rather die than put an unphotoshopped picture of my on my blog so anything that i am in is edited LOL...stay tuned because i have 5 or 6 sessions to blog plus i am shooting 2 more today...oh yeah, i am trying my hand at something new today...im playing mentor to 2 sweet girls wanting to try their hand at photography! more to come : )

ps- all of these pics are in backwards order time wise...considering the allergy induced coma that i am in, i forgot to upload them from recent to first...yall are going to just have to get over it haha!

ava found the prize egg

happy to have candy!!!

me and my babies on easter

ava and addison on easter

addsie with her basket

ava with her basket

easter baskets!

presents

mmmm cake!

addsie at her party

daddy and the girls before the party

ava and addison!

addison's cake! thanks eileen at lynelle's

being jaguars at the zoo!

hair!!! LOL

loving from daddy!

me and my addsie bug

ready for the zoo

addsie's bday invitation!

ava's bff...

2010-03-22T14:11:00.006-05:00

...meet hallie! she is one of ava's bff's at school : ) with this being ava's first year at willowbrook, i didn't know the kids or parents the way i did at first baptist. hallie was the "new friend" in class a month or so in to school. i heard about her every-single-day! i first met hallie and her mom on a field trip we took! i immediately knew why ava loved her so much; they are pretty identical! missy, hallie's mom, was so super sweet as well! she became the mom i emailed when i had a question about class business and whatnot! i was over the moon when she mentioned that hallie's 5th bday was coming up and wanted me to take her pics!

the day we shot was perfection! hallie is a camera ham just like ava and she did everything i asked just perfectly!!! first was the white strasburg dress! swoon!!!!! then was the pink capri outfit with White Bear! White Bear is a very special VIP member of her family! i quickly learned that for me to be meeting and photographing White Bear was a big deal! white bear pics are to die for! then hallie and her mommy topped off the morning in their black tees and flip flops and took, what i think is, the sweet mommy/daughter pics EVER!!! i can only hope and dream for pics like this at our family session next weekend!!

picking out the blog pictures are torture! every image is amazing!!! i'll just pick my favs and im sure you'll be seeing hallie's sweet face all over AMP!!

thanks missy and hallie {and white bear}

seriously one of my favorite pictures that i have ever taken!

man oh man i love these

twinsie's!

diva!

working the camera for sure!

swoon!

she LOVES her some White Bear!

too cute for words

why i love little girls!!!

gorgeous!!!

gorgeous times 2

chick pics : )

2010-03-19T21:30:00.005-05:00

...bold and brave and a complete first! pics with live animals; baby chicks to be exact! how hard could it be??? haha riiiight! im just glad my first experience was with one of my best friends and her fam!

so lindsay brought 6 baby chicks for cooper's easter session and it couldnt have been any cuter! {once he got over being a tad be afraid of them hehe} i cant believe the coop's is 2 1/2!!! i have often described cooper as the son i'll never have! im over the moon that he and addsie will be in the same class at school next year!!!

cooper's session today went far better than his last session if i do say so myself! i still have 100+ images that i haven't even gone through, but i wanted to get some sneaks up so lindsay could see! i love their family shots too! between the chickie pics, cooper's solo pics and the family stuff i would definitely say this was a success! i'll prolly post some more next week when i get the whole session complete!

ttfn

perfection!!

happy {early} easter

love this!

i heart these peeps!

total gorgeousness

lil heart throb!

baby blues!!!

stud muffin!!!

cute kid alert...

2010-03-19T13:15:00.004-05:00

...im on fire getting these sessions edited!!! i posted my wednesday session on thursday and posted my thursday session today...i may even post one or 2 of my today sessions tonight or tomorrow! stay tuned because i have 4 more this weekend!!! whoop whoop!

...here is yet another sweet family that decided to donate to the layla grace cause! its hard to believe that it has been a year since i photographed tanner and will! last time will was a baby (i mean baby as in toddler) and tanner was toothless!!! now she looks like a future miss america with her mile long legs and he looks like a little man!! ahh how time flies!!! i love this fam and this session!!! will was beyond precious saying "scooby doooo!" and tanner acted like she had been born with a camera in her face! i think its time to check into modeling for her : ) it turned out to be a gorgeous "spring" {i use that word loosely} afternoon and between the weather and the gorgeous kiddos, the images definitely reflect the two!! becky, it was soo grand to see yall and spend time with you again! i cant wait to add these to Layla Grace Album!!!

tanner loves to work the camera

it was like pulling teeth to get him to kiss her!!! love the result!

my fav!

he did NOT want her kissing him!

lil model!

pretty girl

lil man!!!

my fav of him!!

too cute for words!!

gorgeous!

talk about a challenge...

2010-03-18T12:20:00.004-05:00

...i mean for real! where to start:

1. 2 kids under the age of 2 (thankfully they love to copy big brother)
2. 50 degree weather for spring pics
3. finding out my graffiti wall is under construction (if you are a hsv photographer, the grafitti wall in the alley downtown is blocked off!!)

ok so, the cozelos fam was one of my sweet clients who generously contributed to the layla grace family by doing a mini session. once all of my sessions are done, i am going to make an album for the marsh fam of all my clients who participated and send it to them with the donation! i was hoping to have that done this week, but the weather has been less than stellar and the layla grace dresses arent in yet! argh! anywho!

so the cozelos fam did not have the option to reschedule so they put on their best spring outfits and braved the cold for a 30 minute mini that was certain to feel like 3 hours!

it actually was awesome considering all the obstacles! i think i was colder than the kids and i was dressed all warm and cozy!! to the outsider looking in, im sure we looked like complete crazy people: 3 adults chasing 3 kids dressed out of season around, but we had it covered!!! when i say candid with this bunch, i truly mean candid! i think the first 2 family shots and the ones of mason are the only planned things i got! and i am so thankful and honestly, completely shocked that i got an awesome family pic without me having to perform a face transplant surgery via photoshop! yes i do that sometimes, and no i didnt here!!! josie is quite the lil firecracker...dont let those curls and that sweet face fool you; aiden is a classic 20 month old boy...i dont think i have to elaborate on what that means; mason is a ham...he is so handsome and so photogenic, especially for a boy! i told him " you are so GQ!" he just said "HUH!" LOL...

i love how their session turned out, especially after i put my clone stamp in overdrive to get rid of numerous cigarette butts and broken glass from beer bottles!!! thank you so much casey and wes!!! i cant wait to share this with the marsh family!

completely gorgeous!

beyond precious family

i would have to have this supersized in my house

loves her bubba <3

this is awesome in bw too

i completely adore this pic!

princess josie
of course aiden is laying down! this is beyond precious
mr photogenic
very GQ : )

new newborn...

2010-03-17T09:57:00.005-05:00

...incase you have forgotten, i love new clients and i LOVE newborns!!! this session, i got the best of both worlds! my awesome client, ella kate's mom, purchased a savvy gift certif for her friend and co-worker for a newborn session on for her baby girl! lucky for me right!!! well this session was just tons of excitement from the get go! i mean, slade (the big brother, age 2), was one massive ball of energy who immediately started telling me about more boy stuff than i could comprehend (partly because i know nothing about that boy stuffies)...then sweet evelynn, within just 20 minutes of knowing each other, pooped all over me! nice! i felt like i was part of the family already!!! evelynn decided she hated me and my camera in her face from that second on and getting slade to be still for 1.43 seconds to take family pics were among the many challenges, but what can i say, im up for a challenge!

to say i love the way these pics turned out is a mass understatement...i HEART them!!! oh and this is new and different for me lately, i love 90% of these images in b&w! crazy!!!

brandi, thanks for sharing your friend with me! congo fam, thanks for having me in your home and letting my capture the sweet spirit of your precious little family

i am loving this!!

this is what happens sometimes when you stumble in to some bad lighting! one of my fav images of the day!!!

she looks like her brother!

daddy's girl!

princess evelynn!

look at this sweet angel loving her mommy!

happy family!
i love everything about this pic!!!
loves his mommy!
meet slade! he never sits still!

Layla Grace...

2010-03-01T12:50:00.002-06:00

...i have been following this story for some time now and it has touched me beyond words! if you dont know the story of 2 year old layla grace, YOU SHOULD, and i will direct you to her link and let it speak for itself.

Layla Grace
or you can follow her story on twitter or facebook (both of those links are on the blog site)

i have learned that one of the best things about being a photographer is the outlet it gives me to reach people. so i really really really want to help this family and i am doing so through AMP!

when i saw on the laylagrace site the pics that christie lacy did, i knew this was my way to help...i contacted her and she was kind enough to call me within 30 minutes of my email...she is doing portrait parties for layla grace so i thought i would do something similar!!!

there is also a company called "Pick Your Pocket Studio" that makes customm children's clothing (the fastest way to my heart hehe) that is helping. they have a dress dedicated to layla grace. if you go to their site and buy the dress, they are sending proceeds to her family. they are also putting together an album of everyone that buys the dress to send to the family

Pick Your Pockets Studio

so here is what i am doing...there are 2 ways to help the layla grace marsh family:

i am offering mini sessions during the week of spring break, wednesday march 17- saturday march 20. the sessions are $60...it includes a 30 min session, 1 8x10 and 2 5x7s with $30 of the session going to the layla grace family. thats $130 value for $60 and $30 of it going to a GREAT cause! you will see 15-20 edited images from your session, with one image featuring a photo of layla grace that i will add to an album to send her family along with any money i collect.

you can also go to the Pick Your Pocket site and buy the layla grace dress for $30 and your session is free (no prints included in this one). i will send the images taken in the layla grace dress to them for the album.

please contact me through email(aprylmurphy@hotmail.com) or call me (665-6467)to schedule

thanks so much : )

meet wick...

2010-02-26T11:20:00.004-06:00

...there are so many great things about this post!

a: i love love love his name! its just so stinkin cool...on top of that, its a family name!

b: he is a first grandchild, so his sweet grandparents are beyond smitten with him!

c: i love a baby with a great story and he has one! he overcame some amazing things when he was 2 weeks old and to only be 7 weeks (in these pics)...he is a champ!
d: almost every pic from his session is awesome...i mean awesome!!!!
e: his mom was so sweet and up for anything!

i do think that 8 pics for a preview is a little excessive, but in my defense, a few are multiple finishes and as much of a color fan as i have become, a great b&w steals my heart everytime!!! so meet wick!

i loved every second of meeting this sweet fam!!! thanks guys

build me up buttercup...

2010-02-16T12:14:00.002-06:00

...its THAT time of year again and i couldnt be more pumped...BUTTERCUP pics!!!! the buttercup picture weekend will be march 6 and 7! they are 30 minute sessions and $100 includes an 11x14 mounted...please call me or email me to schedule!!! if you want to see what the pics look like, go to aprylmurphyphotography.com and click on special edition under the galleries! there they are : )) cant wait to do more this year!

not even 5lbs...

2010-02-15T20:33:00.004-06:00

...oh those nb's get me every time!!!! i was so thrilled about this call!!! this was a referral of multiple clients, which i adore and appreciate more than words describe! baby lyla was surprisingly full term and when i did her pics last week, she weighed in at under 5 pounds!!! the tiniest baby i have ever photographed!!!!! her mom was a peach and knew exactly what she wanted out of our session! lyla was a champ and did just perfectly! there are sooo many to choose from, i had the hardest time narrowing down what to show on here!!!! i hope her mommy and extended family love these!!!

my fav chunky monkey...

2010-02-15T20:28:00.003-06:00

...oh matthew how i missed you fat rolls! nothing is a sweet as the naked goodness of thunder thighs on a 6 month old!!! matthew does NOT disappoint! if you will remember, he is awesome about having some memorable pics...mostly with his dad lol!!! the pics of his on his dad's arms as a nb and then them in their matching hats is still among my fav! these are no exception to matthew's rule!!! i love them! i love the one in his boggan and his bootylicious shot!!! so awesome!!!! enjoy

yay new post!!!

2010-02-15T14:52:00.005-06:00

...i know what you are thinking...apryl hasnt posted a blog in like a month!!! not quite a month if you must know...i have been busy of course; isnt that always my excuse! lol...not so much busy with photography, but just life in general...namely, two kids that have been sick for a month on and off and now, thanks to that, i am sickly as well!!! anyways, on this snowy snowy day, im trying to play catch up! i actually have a few sessions to post so definitely stay tuned!

this first session is TOMMY!!! his session was on a relatively mild day in mid-january...those are few a far between but we made it work...tommy was cutting me no slack. i had to work for every shot i got!!! that includes learning about boy things (GASP!)...i learned more about transformers in one hour that i thought was humanly possible not to mention ben 10 something or other : ) oh and how could i forget when i did the roger rabbit and hammer in the middle of bridgestreet town centre! thats where that genuine smile in the top corner came from!!! i love love love the bigger pic on the collage...it looks like a senior pic and he is only 5 : )) thanks to one of my nearest and dearest bffs, aka tommy's mom, for all of her patience with me and my delays and excuses!!! i love you to pieces hc!!

3 months already...

2010-01-24T17:22:00.003-06:00

...it literally seems like yesterday since EKG was born...but it was over 3 months ago : ) time flies when you are having fun! these are ella kate's 3 month pics where she wowed me by holding her head up like superbaby! they are beyond precious and i cant wait to share the rest...thanks to her mom for being patient with me through the whole computer virus debacle!!!

my fav in bw and color!

who stole the cookies?

xoxo

first of 2010...

2010-01-15T07:57:00.003-06:00

...even though i took these pics in '09, here is a sampling from the carraway's session...they have a 4 seasons plan with me and i love to see them every few months! rylee is a giant ball of engery that you want to bottle up and drink for breakfast and alex has those brownish golden eyes and dimples that will make the girls go gaga when he is about 16 : ) this day in particular, it was firigid...i mean like 40s, so we were in and out in 30 minutes or less!!! thats impressive with a family of 4! cant wait for their spring session so we can play longer : )

Whimiscal Framing...

2010-01-11T14:25:00.003-06:00

...so my first big find at the photography expo were these babies! Whimisical Frames! i dunno if i posted before, but i cant sell sorbet frames because another photographer is a designer for them and no one in the competition area can deal them! BUT, these frames are the same style, and they are a fraction of the price YAY! the colors for the frame are : chocolate, green apple, girly pink, boy blue, vanilla and licorice...you can add round molding to your frame in: tangerine, teal, chocolate, lipstick or vanilla...and for my fav, the wavy molding, comes in girly pink, green apple, lipstick, chocolate, boy blue, vanilla, and barn red! oh the possibilities are endless! first you pick a frame color, then you pick a molding color!!! the frames are 4 inches, the round molding is 1 inch and the wavy is 1 1/2 inches. i can get these in any size but the standard sizes are:

8x10- $65
10x20- $85
11x14- $100
16x20- $120
20x24- $130
24x30- $150

that price is for the wavy frames. subract $15 off each price for the round molding frames.

this price does not include pictures. and the best part is, you dont have to be a client to buy these frames. i dont have to take your pics...you can use another photographer and buy the frames from me! they are too good not to get!!!

my first photography expo...

2010-01-09T16:54:00.000-06:00

...im so super pumped about this weekend! my good photog friend, lauren sanderson, invited me to join her in nashville at the IMAGING USA expo! its gonna be a blast and there is going to be so much to see and do there!!! cant wait cant wait cant wait!!! hopefully this is gonna be a great resource to AMP up the biz in 2010! its already got me super motivated and my mind is going 10000 miles an hour! YAY...stayed tuned because i'll be writing ALLL about it next week!!

the results are in...

2010-01-08T11:22:00.003-06:00

...i have 10 new etsy shop suggestions that i would like to share:

FancyPantsByJamee
ThreeCsCustomDesigns
ZozoBugBaby
AveryLane
SweetPlume
HotTotsBowtique
NuxieMade
BlueEyedFreckle
CandyStickLane
TheJumpOff

i cant wait to order stuff from each one of these shops!!!

rammer jammer yellow hammer...

2010-01-08T08:41:00.003-06:00

...and ROLL TIDE ROLL!!! i am so proud of the ALABAMA CRIMSON TIDE on their 37-21 national championship victory over texas! a national championship has been 17 years in waiting for the bama nation and lemme just say, they earned it!!!

snow day...

2010-01-07T14:17:00.007-06:00

...this post is completely personal but thats ok because i havent done alot of that lately! it snowed {and is still snowing} in the great state of alabama today!!! ava has only seen snow once in her life and adds has never seen it---soooo of course we had to take 10000 pics to document the experience

oh and speaking of the great state of ALABAMA! ROLL TIDE!!! tonight is the BCS national championship and our team is representin'!!! bringing home number 13!!!! we'll be singing the rammer jammer in t-minus 8 hours! hook em horns HAHAHAHA! right....

ETSY...

2010-01-07T07:53:00.007-06:00

...yall know im a HUGE etsy fan! i recently discovered it but i love love love it! im all about some cute custom girls clothes! i have shared before that im obessed with SUGAR BRITCHES KIDS. lindsey is so creative and she has some new stuff in her shop too! everyone should check her out! FACEBOOK and etsy...another shop im uber OBSESSED with is COURTNEYCOURTNEY! i bought ava a dress from there last year and can i just say, that it is the single cutest article of clothing she owned last year! courtney makes dresses from different pieces of random material and sews them all together. its amazing what she comes up with. the best thing is NO two dresses are the same! the worst thing is, its dang near impossible to get a dress. you have to stalk her store and when you see your size, you have to order like 5 seconds ago! i just ordered a new dress a day or 2 ago so when it gets in, i'll post pics! the best way to catch your size is to be her friend on facebook because she posts sizes as soon as they are avail. courtneycourtney SITE and FACEBOOK people are always asking what to wear for pics and i love anything these 2 ladies have whipped up! im also always looking for new etsy shops so comment your favorite etsy shop! (it doesnt have to be kids clothing...i love everything that place has!)

new logo...

2010-01-02T11:11:00.003-06:00

...i loves it! i worked so hard on this over the last few days and its finally done! it was inspired by some commercial i saw on tv and just loved the morrocan feel that it has! i think that it really represents my style even though its pretty simple...PLUS, it incorporates the AMP into it too : ) stay tuned over the next upcoming weeks...lots of new post will be pouring in!

happy new year!

xoxo

JANUARY special...

2010-01-01T12:59:00.002-06:00

...is:

the first 5 clients, new or existing, to book a single session will receive a *NEW* dvd slideshow from their session! this can not be used with an existing plan unfortunately. the session must be paid for at the time of booking to receive this offer! book now!!!

if you dont remember what the slideshows are like, go back in the archives and watch the birth video in october!

NEW YEAR...NEW STUFF...

2010-01-01T12:14:00.002-06:00

...so lots of new things coming around here!!! here is an overview, and of course this is all on the site under the ABOUT section!

**session fee is still $50! no changes.

** a few pricing changes on a la cart and plans...see the ABOUT section for details!

**cd of digital proofs is complimentary when you spend $200 on a single order...not combined orders! if you are in a plan started in 2009 and would like 4x6 proofs instead, this can be arranged, just let me know in advance! (4x6 proofs can be purchased for $25)

**DVD slideshows will be available for purchase! they will contain all of the edited proofs from your session and will be $50. DVDs are included in plan prices : )

** birth photography is officially a service offered. the price is $250 and includes up to 100 images from labor on a cd with the copyright to those images, as well as a dvd slideshow of the labor!

**FRAMING!!! the frames are 2 inches and come in black, brown, and iron. i'll dedicate a special post to this one and include all of the details!

**monthly specials...every month will have a monthly special

**tons of new special edition sessions!!! stay tuned...i will post these up to 6 months out and when they are full, they are full!!!

thanks sooo sooo much for everything!

great year, great clients...

2009-12-23T09:58:00.004-06:00

...wow! thats all i think to say when i talk about this past year. wow i have been busy, wow i have taken a ton of pics, wow i have the sweetest clients, wow the nerve, wow some people amaze me, wow look at that huge order! LOL lots of awesome reasons to say WOW and a few WOWs that have been not so great things but overall this has been the best year ever!!! my business is BOOMING!!! i can tell because i am EXHAUSTED!!! my phone, email, text, facebook and any other form of communication that i have is blowing up non stop!!! im so happy and thankful be so blessed with this amazing business with these amazing clients!!! i have said it 1000 times before but, my clients are people i consider friends...some were friends before, some were acquaintances, some were total strangers but i can tell you that i am better because of every single session! i love it that i can call 90% of my clients and i dont even have to say "this is apryl" because most of them answer "HEY!" i love hearing what they have to say when i deliver their pics! i love it that i would hang atleast one pic from each session i have done in my own house for decoration (if i had room and one day when i have an actual office with walls and stuff, i will!)...

this year has brought me a LOT of firsts...first birth (one of my personal favs), first twins (yay luke and hannah), first unhappy client (learning experience) and a LOT of memorable moments...being peed, pooped and puked on by various newborns, kids who hate me, kids who try to come home with me, kids that run and jump into my arms even though im a total stranger, clients who need my help, clients who give me help, clients who send me text that say they cried when they saw their galleries, clients that send me things that make me cry... cold sessions, hot sessions, beach sessions where my lens fogs up and i cant shoot, brides, weddings, destination sessions, standing on rooftops, standing in flower fields, standing in water, climbing things in heels and dresses... 512456 moments that give me absolute chills...yes i am beyond lucky...words dont quite describe how lucky i am to get to do this as a job!

i would like to say thanks to everyone to their support, kindness, patience and understanding! i would like to especially thank heath and my girls for constantly dealing with my absence either shooting or editing, my parents, nana, and MIL for watching the girls while i work. i have the best family to go to for encouragement and support! i love yall so so much!

im going to be updating the site as well and pricing, packages, and a few new additions to AMP things up around here (get it AMP Apryl Murphy Photography...id like to thank my fellow SAHM genius SHAYNA for that!) with my new laptop, printer, desk and chair that my awesome hubs got me for christmas to the new programs and lenses that i am buying to the new things i am offering clients, things are going to be FAB at AMP in 2010!!! stay tuned!

my girlie girls...

2009-12-18T20:41:00.008-06:00

our family christmas card!

cant leave diesel doggie out!

...so i havent had a ton of time to share stuffies about my girls with all the biz but, trust me, that doesnt mean they are laying low! addsie and i have been busy running ava all over the place from school to dance to art and christmas programs and parties! its a miracle i ever get anything done! i honestly didnt even really have time to take decent christmas pics! i promise you i took my christmas card shot last thursday on my front porch while it was 50 and raining! desperate times call for desperate measures!!! i wanted to share some of my treasures of my sweet babies from lately...a few videos from my new fav sidekick, flip!! i love these lil girls more than anything and even though they make me crazy about 90% of the time, i wouldnt trade them for the world! besides no one would keep them for a new york minute! they are rotten to the core!

oh and i have to share this. i got the girls the most amazing christmas dresses from etsy! if you etsy, please hit up sugar britches kids! lindsey is da BOMB.com and it so reasonable for the best stuff ever! she is amazing and i swear i think we were bffs in another life! tell her i sent you : )CLICK HERE ~> SUGAR BRITCHES KIDS

I LOVE MY FLIP!

ava's tap routine for parents week at dance...i want a hippotamaus for christmas

addison decides to join her for ballet

the girls decorating the christmas tree!

xoxo-A

the crazy dog lady...

2009-12-18T20:27:00.002-06:00

...is an understatement! my best friend in the whole wide world is THE crazy dog lady! her dogs talk and they all have voices. they have their own lives they lead when no one is watching...for instance quinty, her chi chi, is in love with condeleza rice and besty belle, the weinnie, thinks she is lane bryant for dogs model {she's a little full figured...prolly from all that steak from logans that she eats}. see why she is the CDL...that isnt even the half of it! as i said, amy is my best friend since 1st grade so its totally ok for me to talk about her like this...she knows i think she is crazy for the way she is to her dogs just like she laughs at me daily for the way i am to my girls! haha! so i wasnt the least bit shocked when she asked me to take a few pics for her christmas card. she and dubs (i call her hubby wade dubs because it started as W for wade because i like to refer to people by their first initial, but then W turned into dubs...told you i liked nicknames) just got married in july and i really think he is having buyer's remorse because its six months in and reality has struck! LOL! there was no planning needed for this session as she already had it mapped out in her mind. so without further adieu...

sweet sweet k...

2009-12-18T20:17:00.006-06:00

...sometimes there are people out there that are just too good and my dear friend kayla is one of those people! she is hands down the nicest person on the planet...give you the shirt off her back, bring you soup when your sick, and comes and visits at your house for no reason at all! as good of a friend as you can have and i am SO lucky that she is a friend of mine!!! i was over the moon when she and jon jon (i love giving people nicknames incase you havent noticed) asked me to take christmas pics of them and their new addition, olivia!!! who, can i just say, is the cutest dog out there! i mean, A- DORABLE!!! i big red puffy heart these! love u k

meet jessica...

2009-12-18T20:05:00.003-06:00

...she wants to say THANK YOU so very much for blessing her this christmas by opening your heart to her! jessie is the sweet love that i blogged about needing your help and boy DIDSHEEVER get it. i got 10000 emails and calls about helping her and i just wanted to say thank you thank you thank you for everything you did!!! she is a happy healthy 2 year old with a loving family to share her christmas with and now she has quite the wardrobe to go along with it! these are 2 lucky kiddos to have the osborne's and im sure the osborne's feel lucky to have them!!!

a family affair of a different sort...

2009-12-18T19:56:00.002-06:00

...not mine this time!!! the osborne's!!! they are like the starring role of my business! courtney and ty are the very reason i have a business and now brandi, greg, and ella kate are making a large bid for first place!!! i serioulsy feel like i am part of this family! from knowing ty when he was still in his mommy's belly, to shooting ella kate's birth, and EVERYTHING in between, i dont know how they arent sick of me! this was their FAMILY session so you get to meet their awesome, amazing parents, penny and larry! if courts and brandi are half the parents they are, ty and ek will be the luckiest kids in the world!!! penny and larry are the unbelievably unselfish and outstandingly kind people that i blogged about. they are the family that has taken the children that are in need of good parents! so im happy to share these family pics with you, because THEY are what family is all about!!

a family affair...

2009-12-18T19:45:00.003-06:00

...another first...photographing family...like real blood relatives, not in laws! lori is a cousin of mine and she and joe have 2 of the cutest stinking kids ever! rachel and daniel were such a pleasure! daniel started off shy but soon revealed how much of a boy he was when he turned everything into a sword or gun {rocks, sticks, etc}...all i can say is what would i do with a boy! rachel, on the other hand, is just my speed! camera hog, full of personality, exactly what i am used to!!! she even told me that she was going to come work for me posing people! i hope that works out because i could sure use the help!!! and can i just say, I LOVE THEIR PICS! they turned out just like could have hoped for and my mom's family is still speaking to us as a result of it! YAY!

mixing business...

2009-12-18T19:37:00.003-06:00

...or businesses (is that even a word?)! well anywho, what i mean is leiron is the first person that is a student that i teach dance to and take pics for!! i try really hard not to mix the 2...i dont advertise at the dance studio and im honestly not real sure that many people that i teach even know that i do this too! i dunno, im just weird about it! but i was thrilled when leiron's mom contacted me about this! leiron has been one of my dancers for quite sometime now (years) and her mom is seriously one of the nicest people i have ever met! i loved going to their home for their pics! i think your home is a awesome place to shoot! how could you get more personal than that!!! i enjoyed meeting her brother, cary, too! he was great despite the fact that he goes to auburn!!! anyways, my first experience of this nature was a fab one so who knows what i will do in the future!!!

my besties, the cooper's...

2009-12-18T19:22:00.003-06:00

...it seems like every time that i get on a roll blogging daily, twice a day or even 4 times a day, something happens that pulls be away from my blogging! this time it was actually business! i just couldnt justify blogging when i had pics that MUST be edited! so now that im caught up, i'll share the last 2 weeks of christmas craziness!!!

...yall know holly and little (jesse) and big (tommy) and lexi (future miss america) and mac daddy adam (who is a closet lady gaga lover). holly is my fav client ever who started as a stranger and is seriously someone who i would consider one of my closest friends! how amazingly cool is that to have a "job" that you develop THAT kind of relationship with your CLIENTS! anywho! holly is among one of the funniest people you know and if you dont know her, you should befriend her on facebook to read her status updates alone (holly crabtree cooper). she is one of the funniest people that i know {and i know funny people}! i have grown to know and love her family (nana crabtree included) and i am so thankful to be her photographer and friend!

merry christmas and roll tide...

2009-12-01T22:17:00.004-06:00

...??? well i have only made cards for a few clients so far, but the houndstooth card is an overwhelming favorite! i cant say i blame people for people such dedicated bama fans! i know i am : ) and NO i {absolutely} do not do auburn cards! i wouldnt waste my time in photoshop LOL! anywho, here are a few that i have made that i wanted to share!

ps: more sneaks to come tomorrow!!! about 4 families more : )

this card was the clients idea! i cant claim creativity in this : )

its my favorite tween model...

2009-12-01T09:23:00.006-06:00

...emma!!! emma is the star of some of my favorite all time photos, ie: the dandelion pic! she is just so comfortable with the camera in her face and knows how to work it with zero instruction!!! oh and she had a hat this time too!!! a really really sassy one at that...oh did i forget to mention that she brouht along her favorite accessories: her parents! i wonder what it would be like to have have melinda and sean ( shawn?) as parents!!! im gonna guess its a LOTTA fun! they were a blast and im so happy they joined in for emma's second shoot with me : )

can i just say...

2009-11-30T16:34:00.004-06:00

...i love this fam! lisa is one of my sweetest friends that i met when i was teaching at fbc. i had her youngest jack in my 3 's class...i took her daughter katie's senior pics, and i did a fab lil family session with them last christmas! lisa is soooo much fun and always cracks me up anytime im around her!! her smile and laugh is completely infectious, which you can totally tell from the pics!! they are such a gorgeous family!!!! i love taking their pics and this time since it was 30 degrees and raining, i got some great individuals of the boys too!!!!

a is for adorable...

2009-11-30T14:07:00.003-06:00

...and albrey! this was my first session with miss albrey...you see her dad dabbles in photography and pretty much takes tons of pics of her non stop! but when you are a photographer (amateur or professional or just love taking pics of your kids with a point and shoot) you always run in to the same problem. you are never in any of the pics : ) what better time to decide you need a good family portait that christmas! i have known this cute lil family for a while now, and it was a pleasure to work with them and to get my hands on their lil princess!!!

ps...her expressions are the BEST : )

announcing my return...

2009-11-30T11:01:00.006-06:00

...i hope everyone is doing well after a fab holiday! i would love to say that my absence is due to me enjoying my 3rd wedding anny with my awesome hubs, or bc i was celebrating his 29th and my 27th bdays, or bc i had a carefree thanksgiving with our families! but who i am kidding! i have been shooting like a crazy person and working my fingers to the bone! since november, i have shot 20, yes 20(!!!) sessions!!! thats alot considering i usually shoot about 5 per month and last christmas i shot about 8! i'll share a lil fun filled photography fact with yall incase you were wondering; it takes me about an hour to sort each session (trying to decide what to edit), then it takes about a hour MINIMUM to edit them (thats if i use one of my favorite finishes that i have saved in photoshop and i dont go getting all fancy) so each session takes me atleast 2 hours! thats 40 hours of work!!! did i mention that i have 2 very demanding girls and 1 very demanding husband to take care of, not to mention that i teach 6 dance classes a week! needless to say my family hasnt had a homecooked meal or many clean clothes in a while!!! im working hard to get things done for yall and while i realize that its taking 2 weeks to view your pics, i appreciate your understanding and patience!!!!! THANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOU to my wonderful families that allow me in their lives!!!

so today will be filled with lots o previews!!! starting us off is maddie grace! this is my second christmas with her and lemme just say, she moves around a lot more this year that last year! she is a typical 18 month old...running, laughing, giggling and NON STOP!!!! LOL!!! before i get 4000 emails about her dress, her mom ordered it from etsy, and yes it IS the cutest thing ever!!!! chala, thanks for sharing maddie with me again!!! i love to and her sweet spirit to pieces!

ava and addy {not mine}...

2009-11-20T14:36:00.006-06:00

...im sure they are tried of me referring to their kids as "ava and addy {not mine}" LOL...i love how our ava's are right at the same age and our addy's are too...well my addy is technically addsie (for addison) and her addy is for addilyn, but whos counting! holly even calls ava, avie! how crazy is that! well i loved working with them the first time we shot for addy's bday and we got some great addy shots and some great ava shots (she is a lil camera ham), but unfortunately, none together : ( this session was quite the opposite! it was a complete SUCCESS!!! i love the together shots and the individuals so much!!! 10 fab firsts?!? are you serious...i gotta get a control of myself!!! i cant choose my favs! even worse (for holly and bryan) is there are SO many more!!! thats the price you pay for gorgeous girls!

does this scream merry christmas or what!!

omg loves it

presh!

oh that addy!

eyelashes...swoon

she isnt happy or anything...

open your heart...

2009-11-20T11:07:00.003-06:00

...so i was about to write this post that invloves something that has really pulled at my heartstrings. im about to cry thinking about what i am going to say, but i'll get to that in a second. right before i sat down to write it, i got an email from my bestie lindsay...it was a forward that was called a newborn's conversation with God. i had read it before, but i read it again because i am a sucker for that stuff : ) it goes like this:

A Newborn's Conversation with God
A baby asked God, "They tell me you are sending me to earth tomorrow, but how am I going to live there being so small and helpless?" God said, "Your angel will be waiting for you and will take care of you." The child further inquired, "But tell me, here in heaven I don't have to do anything but sing and smile to be happy.." God said, "Your angel will sing for you and will also smile for you. And you will feel your angel's love and be very happy." Again the small child asked, "And how am I going to be able to understand when people talk to me if I don't know the language?" God said, "Your angel will tell you the most beautiful and sweet words you will ever hear, and with much patience and care, your angel will teach you how to speak." "And what am I going to do when I want to talk to you?" God said, "Your angel will place your hands together and will teach you how to pray." "Who will protect me?" God said, "Your angel will defend you even if it means risking its life." "But I will always be sad because I will not see you anymore." God said, "Your angel will always talk to you about Me and will teach you the way to come back to Me, even though I will always be next to you." At that moment there was much peace in Heaven, but voices from Earth could be heard and the child hurriedly asked, "God, if I am to leave now, please tell me my angel's name." God said, You will simply call her, " Mom ."

of course all of the moms sigh and get chills and cry because that is so sweet to be a mom and to know that you are that important to someone but you see the very sad thing is sometimes that is just not the case...

which brings me to my entry:

my very dear friend (and very first client) courtney was talking to me about a situation with her family. (i am going to be very discreet because the situation is quite complicated)...you see a while back, courtney's fam took in a lil boy because his mom was unable to care for him. she had a problem with drugs and he was just not getting what he deserved. they took him in and have raised him for several years. the mom had another baby like irresponsible and selfish women often do and another poor child was brought into this awful circumstance. well this is a little girl and as of a few days ago, she was removed from mother by dhr. she as to be placed into foster care. well since court's fam never legally adopted the lil boy, that meant him too... they are HIS family and to avoid losing him, they agreed to be her safe home while they wait to see what will happen. they are AMAZING AMAZING people with the biggest hearts i have ever heard of!!! that is unconditional love to 2 children that arent even theirs. they actually have 2 small grandchildren of their own!

well when they got the lil girl a few days ago, she came to them with nothing. one outfit on, one that was too small...thats it. no socks, shoes, underwear, nodda. so that is where i ask your help. please please help me help this family. they have done SO much for me and for my career and i want to help them when they need it the most!! she wears a size 2 and needs EVERYTHING... im sure she needs a few toys for christmas too but at this point, that is the least of her concerns. (courts was just telling me how she is eating so much because she has obviously not been fed appropriately)...her brother (who has been with the family for awhile), has plenty of course because they have been taken care of, but with 2 new babies in the fam and now with the addition of her, may be feeling left out too so keep him in mind. he is 5 and loves what all 5 year old boys love : ) any little thing you can do to help would be so appreciated. even if its a $6 outfit from wal-mart or a pack of socks or some old clothes or toys that you have in storage!! just please remember that these kids did not ask to be brought into this situation and not all children have their mommy as their angels. sometimes other people (that are not even related) are the ones that are the angels to these kids : )

email me at aprylmurphy@hotmail.com or message me on fb to help!!! thank you sooo much!!!!!

ahhhhh melt...

2009-11-20T10:18:00.005-06:00

...that is, for my boyfriend carson that im loving so much...you HAVE to remember him!!! mr. only wears gap and acts about 25 : ) such a ladies man! im thinking of hooking him and kg up : ) i have been waiting for this session for sometime now...ever since our last meeting, i have been dying to get my hands on him again...his pics are SOOOOOOOO good... i actually picked out 11 for the ones i wanted to preview LOL...i narrowed it down a lil, but not much!!!! if i had a son, i would want him to be just like carson!!!

MELT!

love the textures!

he looks about 13

his leaf pic!!! sweet innocence

: )

favorite couple alert...

2009-11-20T08:06:00.004-06:00

...i love these two people!!!! jennifer and greg are awesome...i mean awesome....you know, they were the ones that climbed the fire escape with me and took the gorgeous roof top pics! well jennifer is just FULL of ideas, which i SOOO appreciate : ) we did their pics in mooresville aka photography heaven...seriously, over the course of the day on saturday i saw about 6 professionals out there! they are making some moola pimping their lil town out : ) anywho...check these out!!!

ps-on a side note, incase you havent noticed, i love leaf pics...i am actually obsessed with them...kinda like eyelash pics : ) i dont even particularly like the fall. the leaves all over the ground get on my nerves, especially when they get tracked into my house day in and day out!!!!! however, i was trying to think and trying to be original...trying to do something i dont see on every photography blog that i read...i thought "kids love to play in leaves and what better way to capture a kid having fun that to take their pic throwing leaves"...i did it first with katie grace (when was feels like months ago i have done so many sessions since then) and it turned out so amazing--why not continue with other sessions...with jen and greg i thought, "adults prolly like to throw leaves too even though they may never admit it" and jen and greg are somuchfun so i made them do it too : ) anyways, case in point, you will see LOTS of leaf throwing pics...they are all different but all amazing : )

i absolutely adore this pic!!! i want one with heath!!! great christmas card pic!!!

jen's idea to do "the notebook" pic...while i have NOT seen "the notebook", i did the best i could to go with her idea...whether its notebook-ish or not, its fab

yay leaves!

one of my fav pics as of late

this finish too

awww

happy couple!

mi familia...

2009-11-20T07:50:00.004-06:00

...actually i did not take these pics...my dear photog friend amber ellis did, as she took a whopping 17 person group pic and one of all 9 kids...bless her...i was just left with the daunting task of editing them : ) fun fun fun haha!! well while we were there, my brother and sis in law, travis and becky and their 3 boys (more nephews...6 total) had some pics made and i loved processing these! they were so good and while i havent been doing a ton ton ton of bw and vintage finishes lately, i love these in those finishes!!!!

i love this one

regular color

tyler, eli, peyton

i love this one so much!!!!

this is SO eli!

i love this too : )

travis and becky

new clients...<3...

2009-11-19T17:39:00.003-06:00

...i <3 new clients...<3 <3 <3 them...thanks to the taylor's (aubree and griffin) for the referral!! this fam was FAB...michael took a minute to warm up to me...when he finally did, he was a sweatheart. but leah, oh leah! she was something else!!! reminded me a ton ton of aubree and a ton ton ton of my ava!!! all show, all the time!!! her personality was larger than life!!! thank you sooo much to mom and dad for sharing your babies with me! it was a pleasure : )

leaf pics...my new obsession

reagan is a big sister...

2009-11-19T17:33:00.004-06:00

...remember reagan, the original AMP lollipop chicka! well she has a baby brother now named connor! i was thrilled when amanda called and asked me to do a session with connor!!! he was a chunk too...i think like 9 pounds or something!!! he was sooo precious and prolly one of the most well behaved newborns ever and definitely a hugely successful session!!! of course i had to include sis too!!!! her shots are great as always : ) thanks amanda!!!!

bff 4-ever...

2009-11-19T17:24:00.003-06:00

...yall know lisa, aka one of my bffs since high school!! that used to not seem like long ago but the 10 year reunion is fastly approaching so i guess that means we have been friends for a while!!! anywho, i love her more than anything and i love her anna boo like she is mine! this was by far anna's most successful session...she is like wine...she gets better with age LOL !!

my favorite L's...

2009-11-19T06:02:00.004-06:00

...of course my nieces and nephews!!! and who could forget my sil!!! when we did our family picture extravaganza a few weeks ago, i did some family pics for my sil and her fam too...they havent had a whole fam pic in a while...usually its just the L's. i LOVE what they wore and i LOVE how they turned out!!!!!!

lilah grace, luke, leah, lane (see why i call them my fav L's)

who wouldve knew we were by a dumpster

perfect!

my bro and sis in law

luke

lilah

leah

lane!

CHRISTMAS CARD TEMPLATES...

2009-11-16T11:36:00.005-06:00

...woohoo! alas they have arrived!!!! these cards will be 5x7 flat cards...you can use whatever wording you like. most cards will comfortably hold 3 decent sized pics. i prefer not to use more than 3 (except on the solid brown one)...it gets a lil crowded : ) you can also change the colors on most of the templates...i'll point out the ones where the colors are set. a special thanks to my card models cooper, anna and ava {addison was non cooperative that day : )} ALL CARD ORDERS ARE DUE BY MONDAY DEC 7...yours order does not have to be ready by then...just pick the 3ish pics you want on your card by the 7th...all other christmas orders are due by FRIDAY DEC 18 : )

purple snowflake

stripe...colors stay

horizontal stripe... colors stay

red snowflake

red and green snowflake

purple horizontal-colors stay

snowflake tree

this card will hold more than 3 pics...

blue/chocolate triple snowflake

blue/chocolate single snowflake

RTR! thanks to the lang family for inspiring this card : )

someone is turning 3...

2009-11-16T06:43:00.003-06:00

...its katie grace!!! i guess you could actually say 3 going on 16 because that is certainly how she acts!!! i met kg earlier in her life when i first started my business and begged her mom to let me take her pics so i could have a portfolio : ) and thankfully she came back for more pics, while sending me a ton of new clients in the process!!! so we met for this session to take kgs 3 year pics and a family christmas pic and i am over the moon with how these turned out. she was so so so great and the proof is in the pics!

sweet fam

daddy/daughter <3

3 going on 16

<3<3<3

oh these boots!!!

best picture ever

hot stuff baby

perfection

nothing a lil peek a boo wont fix

2 year olds...

2009-11-07T10:03:00.006-06:00

...i stand by my belief that 2 year olds are the most difficult subjects to photograph...they are true candids and a lot of times really turn out the best. noah's sweet friend, emma, backs that statement up for reals!!! like every 2 year old on the planet, she doesnt sit still, she runs and goes and laughs and giggles and gets into everything...so how do you take pictures of that? you run around with them and take 1000 pics hoping that 5 turn out : ) {we got more than that} i think her mom is gonna be thrilled with these pics!

he only dates models...

2009-11-07T09:52:00.002-06:00

...oh yes it is him...NOAH! the sweet love that won me over when he sat in a washtub like a champ and grinned that grin that makes me smile to this day! yes, noah is the handsome hunk that stars in the website splash show whose caption reads " i only date models"...he is still a hunk of a boy, just a year old now! i love this baby and his blue eyes and his sweet grin! these are his one year/christmas pics and i was as floored by the way they turned out as my first session with him!!! he is a photographer's dream session, or atleast my dream session! oh and he brought a friend along too...stay tuned for his main girl, emma's, pics!

short, sweet and to the point...

2009-11-07T09:42:00.004-06:00

...that's the name of the game!!! normally sessions last about an hour, depending...some can be 45ish minutes, some can get crazy and be 1 1/2! well lil miss reagan decided that her schedule is far too busy to be bothered with some silly 6 month pics! reagan lives in the atl and only visits home once a month maybe...so when she was home last weekend, we were determined to make this session happen. but reagan being the social butterfly that she is had all kinds of engagements that demanded her attention: bday parties, baby showers, trick or treating, naps, etc, etc...so when her mom asked if we could make this thing happen in about 30 mins, i said "SURE!" so off to monte sano we went with 2 cute outfits, a hat, and mission! needless to say SUCCESS is an understatement! oh and we were done in 30 : )

and my heart just melted

oh good lord how i love eyelash pics : )

and mommy pics!

and this outfit

and this bald head : )

one cool dude...

2009-11-04T17:11:00.003-06:00

...baby matthew is one cool dude! you may remember him from his nb session where he was a perfect angel and his naked butt shot where his legs made a heart shape! how could you forget! well i was thrilled beyond imagine when his mom called and wanted to do a 5 step plan instead of the 3 step plan! YAY! well he was a perfect angel again for these pics and we got some great shots! of course i had plenty of inspiration with his super cool and hip chic parents who had him in infant vans and a newsboy cap!!! heaven!

enjoy!

happy halloween...

2009-10-31T13:29:00.001-05:00

...from my family to yours!!!! hopefully i'll get to blog about my night and share some pics from our halloween since i havent been doing a ton of that lately!!!

famous feet...

2009-10-29T23:13:00.002-05:00

...just go to the website and view my calendar (which isnt remotely updates haha) and you will see the pic that became famous around the AMP blog...yes those are madalyn's sweet feet with her gorgeous tutu...that pic is from her one year session which we had to do indoors because she has a february bday...it actually snowed the day of her session! this session was different! it was really pretty outside (maybe just a lil on the chilly side but for the most part great)! i always love love seeing madalyn and what her mommy has her dressed in! i thought my girls were well-dressed... madalyn takes the cake!!! thanks gemma for letting me photograph her again!!! it was a pleasure as always!!!

best mommy daughter pic ever

jayden...

2009-10-29T11:12:00.004-05:00

...sooo stinkin cute!!! despite a lil fall from the hay and his mom making him wear auburn (hehe), he was a happy camper!!! he had some great smiles for us and those eyes will make you melt!!! plus we had the best fall setting with the tractor and barn and hay!!! thanks to my inlaws for the great spot : )

i wish i had more time to write but im out the door to ava's un-halloween party at school : )

love love love this!

he can even make auburn look good

worlds happiest baby...

2009-10-26T14:49:00.004-05:00

...seriously! he was ALL smiles (for about 20 minutes hehe)...and he has plenty to be unhappy about! lemme just say, jesse (i'll call him by his real name his brother t insist that he be called jesse not jess LOL), has it about as hard as a 7 month old can have it. he is allergic to pretty much everything expect apples and bananas...milk, soy, rice, you name it...basically all the stuff babies eat! you wouldnt guess it by looking at him because he is a chunky monkey!!! plus he has excema (i know its misspelled but im too lazy to google it) worse than anyone i have ever laid eyes on...and you would NEVER guess it from the looks of these pics! of course he was over me in about 15 minutes flat but lucky for him, he was as happy as a lark when he was with his mommy so we got some great shotage (like that made up word...its like shots and footage haha)there too! his mom is one of my grandest friends and im so so happy that everything worked out perfectly on this day...it was like 70s and perfection and jess couldnt have made life easier...editing these pics absolutely made my day...my stress level is about a 15 on a 10 scale but how could i stress when i get to edit images like this all day : ) thanks holly and j!!!

best picture EVER!

i heart this expression...its like "who me?"

this HAS to be one of my fav images of ALLLL time

family goodness...

2009-10-23T14:29:00.004-05:00

...its that time of year for family portraits!!!! so many families have a picture made together one time a year (which is better than none) and that time is now!!! this sweet fam should be motivation to get on the ball!!! its the perfect time of year...not too cold to be outside, beautiful landscape!! the lang's wanted fall pics as well as a pic for their christmas card too...they too are going to hit up that great houndstooth card {they also wore their AL gear for a family pic, but the fall scene was more appropriate for the time being}...i havent seen a lil boy like having his pic made as much as levi did in a while!!! he was all about that camera! sweet baby leah wasnt really feeling me too much, but we got her warmed up and got some fab shots!!! here is this family's fab firsts!!! thanks to the lang family for sharing your home and great pic location with me!!!!

oh how i love anything AL

in bw too : )

look at those eyes

heartbreaker

nothing like a family interaction pic :)

fall at its best!

i love engagements...

2009-10-23T11:06:00.004-05:00

...i mean i really love them! i especially love them when the couple like REALLY loves each other...like when they could care less about looking at you and smiling...when they just wanna look and each other and make cute faces and kiss and be lovey dovey!! {ie: tiffani and michael and kristin and daniel} yep, those are the best!!! this couple can fall into that category! i know melissa from the dance studio where i teach...we danced together way back when and even though im a few years older, i loved her to pieces then! so you can imagine how floored i was when she called me up about getting engaged and me taking their pics!!
! FLOORED!! she is of course still as cute as ever (i only wish i could pull off that lil outfit without people looking at me and whispering about how i need to stop trying so hard LOL). i had such great time with her and her sweet fiance steven (or with a ph? i didnt ask)! they are just precious and i couldnt be happier for them! i'll be sure to post their FAB houndstooth std/christmas card when i get it ready...people will be dying for those!!! melissa, thank you again so much!! enjoy

love it both ways!

priceless

gorgeous ring!

killer shoes ; )

sweet puppy!!!!

double the fun...

2009-10-22T07:37:00.004-05:00

...so ever since i found out that one of my elementary school friends was having twins, i wanted in on that action!!! she is only person that i like really know that has twins and on top of that, they are so stinking adorable!!! so as you can imagine, i was OVERTHEMOON when she asked me to take their one year pics!!!

can i just say wow! first, kudos to kim and jason for taking care of 2 kids that are the same age! i thought taking care of 2 was hard! they are pretty much my new heros! so, the other day i had the pleasure of meeting luke and hannah...luke pretty much hated my guts; hannah is my new best friend. it usually works out that way...they either love me or hate me! we were not quite as successful as i had hoped on the great pic of them together...i do love a few that we got, but luke decided he was over having his pic made pretty quick and it was quite the production to get him to not cry...hannah on the other hand was deemed miss photogenic! i have seen very few kids that are just that happy-g0-lucky and smile THAT much!!! not even those lil tiny smiles but those huge, ginormas open mouthed smiles!!! oh and her glasses...i could go on and on and on about the cuteness!!!!

so here are their FAB firsts and they are pretty fab, i do say so myself!!! cant wait til their bday party this weekend : )

meet ella kate {again}...

2009-10-21T20:49:00.004-05:00

...so you all remember ella kate who starred the blog's most popular birth slide show! well here are her official "im here" newborn pics!!! she was actually awake most of the time, so we were able to get some great wide-eyed close ups in exchange of the sleepy naked newborn shots...there are a few of those in her family pics though : ) her birth announcement will be posted in the next couple of days!!!

sweet lil fam!!!

i love this so much i had to post both ways!

gorgeous
one of my fav shots!!! someone has their daddy wrapped around her lil fingers

ella kate!!!!

wedding firsts...

2009-10-21T19:30:00.006-05:00

...i have been meaning to post these for a few days now...time is something that doesnt come in surplus around here these days...

as ya'll know, weddings are not something that i am super in love with...they are about as easy as a newborn session, 3 month session and 2 year old session combined times 10...i generally only do them for people i know, but in this case, im so glad i took the job...

i knew of tiffani {the bride} through my bff lisa, but i didnt know her know her, you know...when she asked to do her wedding (along with engagements and bridal), i definitely had to think about it. once she begged and begged and gave me some of the nicest compliments that i have ever received in my whole life, i decided to go for it! their engagement session is still among the favs i have done to date. her bridal was DA BOMB with that great location and car, so i was actually pumped about her wedding...

my good photog friend lauren sanderson joined me to help out and i was so grateful to have her there! check out her blog http://www.photolaughs.blogspot.com/

the wedding was on this fab farm in tenn and the ceremony was on a lil pennisula of the pond. perfection. this is one of my very fav shots from the day...what better prop could you ask for than a wooden swing in the countryside right!

of course since tiffani and michael decided to see each other prior to the wedding, we had to have a lil moment for them, so i put together a sequence of events : ) love this

and last but not least, a preview slideshow of their day. it was truly one of the most laid back events i have ever attended! these people just love to have a good time! the reception was in the barn and was just simply gorgeous! oh did i mention that the wedding cake was different flavors of cheesecake! delish! i tried to sum of the fun-loving vibe of the day by the pics i chose for the slides...i love the shots of kennedy and tera...what characters they are!!!! tiffani, hope yall enjoy as much as i did!!! the final product will be ready soon!!!!

welcome to this world....

2009-10-19T14:08:00.002-05:00

...so once again i am long overdue!!!

this entry is so amazing to me because its the first of its kind!!! this is the slideshow of the birth i shot 2 weeks ago! i am so beyond thankful to brandi and greg for letting me share this milestone with them! it was truly something i will never forget! nothing like watching a baby being born right! i just shot lil ella kate's nb session and the previews from that should be ready soon! she is a doll baby: )

enjoy the show and make sure you turn the volume up...the song makes it!!!!!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

christmas pics...

2009-10-05T11:42:00.002-05:00

...update on christmas stuff:

i have 2 openings on nov 14
one nov 28th
2 on dec 5th

these sessions are in mooresville and the payment is due one month in advance from the date of the session...call me or email me to book!!!

at last...

2009-10-05T11:27:00.005-05:00

...i have some time to sit and write! not much though, and i'll tell you why later tonight!!! i have been busy...not with pictures (thankfully)!!!! i have been dying to share tiffani's bridal pics with yall but couldnt because she wasnt married yet, but the wedding was saturday and it was an AWESOME thing to be apart of...more about that with the sneaks. anyways, her bridal was off the charts fab and i want to share that with yall!!!! maybe tonight when adds goes to bed, i can get back on track!

im a slacker...

2009-09-18T11:30:00.003-05:00

...my blog has suffered some grade A neglect lately but i would dare to say that i have a great excuse!! you see, we put our house on the market a few days ago and first of all, its been shown 3 times in 2 days which i hear is great...the first person that saw it wanted to make an offer, which is also great! who knows how that will pan out but i also hear that nothing in real estate is cut and dry : ( boo on you real estate! also, we have been looking for a new house which is truly a testament to how much heath and i love each other because if it werent for that, i would have killed him about 5 times by now! test your marriage: buy/sell your house! (i hear building is even worse)...SOOOOOOOO with that being said, im busy...i actually have to keep my house clean allthefreakingtime which SUCKS! id rather have my fingernails pulled off one at a time!
but anyways, its hard to maintain a blog and do all that...

...so thats where i have been and what i have been consumed with...sorry! life will be back to normal soon...promise...until then, POTD

sitting in the seat of one HAWT car

potd...

2009-09-13T22:49:00.003-05:00

...is back of course!!! well im am beyond dying to share tiff's bridal session with yall but i cant because, well, she isnt getting married for another few weeks and we cant risk the groom seeing her! so LEMMEJUSTSAY that her session is breath-taking...i just love brides! i have had the BEST brides to work with, but it still doesnt make me want to join the wedding photography team! LOL! anyways, since i cant show you tiff, i'll share something from her session:

lets just say it involves a blue 67 camaro!!

in color...

in a vintage bw with texture...<3

im baaaack...

2009-09-11T21:39:00.003-05:00

...so have you missed me much! im sure, right! well we got our direct tv at the expense of our internet and at&t didnt come til wednesday to hook up our new dsl...well then our new dsl modem didnt come til thursday and i still cant configure our router after over 4 hours spent on the phone with tech support! so i sit here in my kitchen at the high top table with the modem connected to the computer (which is so not as fun as laying in my bed) and i am SO excited to share what i have been up to lately like a senior, a bridal, wedding pics and one adorable invite and lotsssss of drama LOL...im actually SO tired from my day that i will only share the fab firsts that i know you want to see and i'll story-tell later : )

so this is katelyn...she is a senior at mchs and she had the energy of a 4 year old! this chick was contagious! what a fun and tenacious girlie! we had a great urban session in downtown and then i got to sharpen my "action" photog skills when she took me to the soccer field to do some pics in her soccer uni!

loves!!!

no post til wednesday...

2009-09-04T14:25:00.002-05:00

...we dont have internet at home til wednesday because we got direct tv today (yay) and that means we have to get dsl internet vs using the cable internet that we have and at&t couldnt come til then!!! booooo...see you then! ROLL TIDE

cotton session...

2009-09-04T09:35:00.001-05:00

i have had an session open up in the cotton field session...call me at 665-6467 or email me for info...immediate payment required

thanks

RTR...

2009-09-03T20:16:00.003-05:00

...ROLL TIDE ROLL!!! the tide rolls in just 2 short days and i CANT wait!!!! i LOOOOOOOOOVE me some bama football baby!!! so here's a lil something to get you pumped for the season (as if you werent already!)

guilty pleasure...

2009-09-02T23:36:00.002-05:00

...so i have a ton of guilty pleasures:

perezhilton.com

facebook

cheese and rotel dip

lemon berry slushies from sonic

spongebob square pants and icarly

greys anatomy

any and everything twilight

blog-stalking

this list goes on and on and on

actually as i type, im watching jimmy fallon's monologue and just spit mt dew outta my nose when he said-" whitney houston is catching alot of criticism from her comeback performance in central park...apparently when she hit the high notes, her voice had some crack in it!" BAHAHA

back to the GP

...i have to say one of my biggest guilty pleasures as of late is something that im lil more ashamed of {even more so than the sbsp/icarly one}...you see im obsessed with music...lady gaga, kings of leon, britney, jt, flo-rida, t-swift, brad paisley, black eyed peas, muse, indy music, well anything really...however lately (especially since dance started back), i have been into bubble gum pop...im talking jonas, miley, demi, selena-all things tween! my newest guilty pleasure is miley's new song "party in the usa"...i freaking red puffy <3 it... its sad really and im embarassed to say how often i listen to it but its often lets just say...

so darn catchy...

"so i put my hands up their playing my song and the butterflies fly away, nodding my head like YEAH moving my hips like YEAH, and i put hands up their playing my song and i know its gonna be ok, yeah yeah yeah yeah its a party in the usa!"

fab : ) listen.love

fab firsts...

2009-09-02T13:26:00.003-05:00

...yay (again) for my new word! ok so my bff lindsay has one of the most energetic BOYS that i have ever seen! i mean BOY instead of boy because he is all BOY!!!! he got pics made with his tractor, he played with sticks, and the word "gas" like pass gas made him smile!! LOL no lie, we kept saying "cooper do you have gas?" and he would grin and grin and grin haha! i cant believe the coops is almost 2!!! seems like yesterday we were 16 and hanging out at the bowling alley!!! anyways! these pics are g-r-e-a-t, especially for a 2 year old session {yall know how i have that love/hate relationship with 2 year sessions! if cooper were my 2 yr old (even though i love him like he is mine), i would be so happy with these pics!
fab firsts:

i love seeing kids play in water

one of my favs : ) its awesome in bw too

farmer coop hard at work

"gas"

love love love it!

10,000...

2009-09-01T21:54:00.004-05:00

...well 10,003 (as of the time i was writing this)! thats a huge landmark in blog-land for me! i actually discovered the ticker thanks to miss kriss and i started it way after my blog so i know its way more, but still it makes me smile to see 10,000 on there!

...i want to announce that sneaks will officially be called FAB FIRSTS compliments of client alyse taylor (mom to splash page model aubree and slideshow stars "rotten to the core" : ) she writes:

*Fab Firsts* You use the word Fab in pretty much every blog and well the sneaks are the Firsts we get to see :)

i love it...yay thanks alyse...you win an 8x10 whoop whoop...

my dear friend and new client, miss-kriss (co-star of the awesome lynchburg engagement session) also submitted a great suggestions: GORGEOUS GLYMPSES...

she writes:

I LOVE Fab Firsts. I think that's super cute. I was also thinking you could do something like --.:.Gorgeous Glympses.:. (You know..."Glimpse"...except with a why not an eye...) Yes, I'm cheesy like that

i love gorgeous glympses too and will prolly use it from time to time so MK gets an 8x10 too YAY...everyone's a winner! do yall not watch ellen, where even when you lose, you still get the prize?? same concept!!!

...oh and i lied about cooper's pics!! its 10pm and i havent started them...doesnt look like its happening tonight but tomorrow is preschool day for both girls so im guessing lots will be accomplished, unless of course i come home and decide to go back to bed { <~very likely}
BUT i am doing POTD...i wish i had one of those applause remotes like sam uses on icarly (love that show btw)...i would have used it about 10,000 (magic number tonight) times in this post!

since alyse won the contest, i figured i would share one of my fav pics of one of my fav lil models, aubree! she is such a free spirit and such a sweetheart!!! nothing like seeing a lil girl twirl her dress!!!

nighty night : )

photo of the day...

2009-08-31T22:11:00.002-05:00

...as promised in my last post! i had a hard time deciding what to share, but since i am back and worth with editing the brewer wedding pics and ray's bridal pics, im in bridal mode so imma share from ray's session : ) cooper's (yall know coop, aka: my son i'll never have) FAB FIRSTS/GORGEOUS GLYMPSES {eye not a why, right mk} will be up tomorrow!

sharing...

2009-08-30T23:15:00.006-05:00

...im not a sharer when it comes to my inspiration and motivations, but this is just something that i want to share...this is one of my fav websites that im obsessed with...its called the maternal lens and its pretty much awesome!!! they are just moms that love photography and they are a great resource too... plus they do something that i have contemplated many of days which is a POTD (photo of the day)...i have wanted to do this because often times when i am done with a session and put the galleries up, which you dont get to see), i love different images that i didnt share in previews...remind me to say something about that in a sec...so anyways, im thinking of doing a POTD...thats a commitment im not sure i can follow through with, but i can try : ) anyways, check out maternal lens
MATERNAL LENS

ok so enough about that...
wasnt i suppose to talk about something...ah yes, sneak previews, sneaks as i like to call them. well im looking fot something else to call them. something unique to me and my biz...while im deliberating on it, ok im not even gonna pretend...well basically, im too lazy to do this myself so im making a contest out of it! so if you think of a new thing to re-name my SNEAKS, you get a free 8x10 whoop whoop...post your response in comments...oh and if you arent a client: first of all, why not tehehe? second, you can choose a fav session of yours to donate a free 8x10 to...ya know, do something good : ) and i will announce the winner and give that person FULL creative rights to my new SNEAKS name!

oh and i finally updated my slideshow on my website! i didnt update the actual galleries, just the initial webshow...baby steps : ): ) anyways, it is totally me! simply complicated...often imitated, never duplicated!

sooo...

2009-08-27T15:12:00.002-05:00

...first of all thanks to my clients for be so amazingly patient with me!!! i just started back dance last week and my crazy schedule went from chaos to insane!!! incase you all didnt know, i teach dance a local studio and this year i am teaching 4 (count them 1-2-3-4) nights a week : ) i am trying my darnedest to work on pics during the day some when the girlies nap but my main time to work is after im home at night...usually about 9-11pm...since addsie is such an "energetic" (for lack of a better word) baby, she gets up between 5 and 530 so if you count that, its like less than 6 hours of sleep a night...which is ok every once in a while, but i have to admit, between running my ava to preschool, dance, and gym and running errands, keeping the house somewhat clean (i wouldnt even call it that right now), teaching dance almost every night, then editing pics for a few hours AND little sleep--i am running on fumes here!!! i have always tried hard to post proofs for portrait sessions within 7-10 days, but these days, its not unheard of if its 2 weeks...and sept is my only "slow" month if you wanna call it that. so those of you that are booked with me throughout the rest of the year (especially special edition and christmas sessions) be prepared for it to take about 2 weeks to view your proofs! i am a busy girl!!! thanks for understanding!

...also, thanks for blowing up my blog lately! i know 90% of it is miss-kriss sending her blog traffic my way to see her engagement pics but still!!! my blog has gotten OVER 1000 hits since monday...impressive to say the least...im used to about 100 per day...on a good day so thanks for viewing and for comments and emails! its truly appreciated : )

...lastly, i have VERY little time remaining in 2009 for sessions...less than a handful of dates...if you want fall or christmas pics, get with me 5 minutes ago ; )

thanks again!!! loves

here comes the bride...

2009-08-27T07:11:00.004-05:00

...so this session is another that is near and dear to my heart...you see lil ray is my bff, amy's lil sis, so basically that means that she is like my lil sis too! i grew up with her and spent countless summers and vacays with her just like amy! and now she is all grown up and getting married!! she wanted her bridal session to really reflect her and i think hit the nail on the head!!! it is SO her! she was such a great sport hiking through tall grass and sitting on fallen limbs, etc, etc, etc...im always impressed when clients are so cooperative but did i mention that ray was in her WEDDING dress...umm yeah! so asking her to hike/sit/touch things that are dirty and old was a lil different, but she was all about it!!! oh and her dress was to DIE for!!! it is ivory and lace and beads and that veil, whoa nelly!!! her veil is longer than her train! wow-o-wow...it doesnt hurt that she is absolutely gorgeous too!!!! did i mention that she may have one of the best maid of honors ever!!! when we were shooting on the bridge we had her bouquet laying on the rail and of course, it feel into the creek below...erin, with ZERO hesitation (im talking not even a split second), runs down the hill, through the snake infested brush and into the knee high cold water to rescue the bouquet!!! really? really!!! i love my friends, but im not sure that i would've done that!!! anyways, the pics are beyond stunning!!! rachael (and her fam), i hope yall enjoy

in my daughter's eyes...

2009-08-24T22:53:00.005-05:00

...so anyone who knows me knows that i HEART music! i love listening to lyrics and even the silliest songs give me chill bumps because of their lyrics (ie: people are crazy LOL)...im a sap that cries and the drop of a hat especially when it is a song about my mom, man or girls! that taylor swift song "best day" is among my favs! another fav is martina mcbride's "i just call you mine" (if you know dont know this one, look at the lyrics). well tonight martina pulled through for me yet again with a song that i heard on the radio...its called "in my daughter's eyes" and its awesome! made me think of my girls of course and if you are a mom (especially to girls), you will be putty...the video is here too so you can hear it...also a pic of my girls from their first day of preschool : )

In my daughter's eyes I am a hero
I am strong and wise and I know no fear
But the truth is plain to see
She was sent to rescue me I see who I wanna be
In my daughter's eyes

In my daughter's eyes everyone is equal
Darkness turns to light and theworld is at peace
This miracle God gave to me gives me strength when I am weak I find reason to believe
In my daughter's eyes

And when she wraps her hand around my finger
Oh it puts a smile in my heart
Everything becomes a little clearer
I realize what life is all about
It's hangin' on when your heart has had enough
It's giving more when you feel like giving up I've seen the light
It's in my daughter's eyes

In my daughter's eyes I can see the future
A reflection of who I am and what will be
Though she'll grow and someday leave
Maybe raise a family
When I'm gone I hope you see how happy she made me
For I'll be there In my daughter's eyes

im sorry if you see my butt...

2009-08-24T22:52:00.004-05:00

...was by far the most common phrase heard over last weekend...that is because my good friend miss-kriss was in and out of a very jacked up jeep, up and down and over and under fences, hills, tall grass, etc, etc etc (all in dresses) and heath was usually right beside and/or behind her, so that is what she said everytime!! "sorry if you see my butt!" LOL...

...let me back to to the beginning! this past weekend heath and i drove up to the cantrell farm in lynchberg tn for a weekend filled with fun, peace, and of course pictures! you see my great high school friend, kristin, just so happens to be marrying dgc and his family just so happens to own this BEYOND amazing farm so we decided why take pics in d-town nashville when we could shoot in this paradise! back to kristin for a sec...this is MISS-KRISS!! the miss-kriss that is the author of one of the world's most fabulous blogs and lemme just say, it is an honor to take her pictures and get a write up on this blog!! im flattered, seriously! MK was a friend of mine at MCHS and then she went off and got all fancy smancy with her law school awesomeness (thats really just my jealousy shining through) and it wasnt until a year-ish ago that we reconnected! i have SOOO loved reading her blog daily and begging her for legal advice and designing her blog headers (until she got too good for me and started doing it herself haha) and gossiping! this weekend was fab on so many levels, but one of my favs was definitely catching up with her sipping wine in a plantation house built in the 1860s! ahh yes, its a tough life i lead : )

sooo back to the weekend...heath came along as my "assistant"...we have joked about m&m photography LOL...he actually was EXTREMELY helpful and im so grateful for his input and help carrying props all over the 200ish acre farm! the house was gorgeous and, as i stated above, built in the 1860s. it was full (STOCKED) of nothing but antiques and was my heaven! (heath's too) the land surrounding it cant be described as anything but breathtaking! and i got to take pics there...not just any pics...pics of a couple that is more in love that prolly anyone i have ever seen...no direction from me...just a fly on the wall (or in this case in the tall grass) capturing THEM as they ARE! for me, it was the best session i have ever done!!! there are over 800 pics to go through and i havent even really scratched the surface so where normally i pick my favs to blog, i cant say that for certainty...i know i LOVEEEEEE these ones i have picked but honestly i cant stop drooling over the pics long enough to analyze them technically!

dgc and mk, thanks so much for the bottom of my heart for a truly awesome weekend of a lil work and all play : ) dgc, thanks for grilling dinner, and cooking breakfast for us and for being so hospitable start to finish!!! cant wait to see ya'll again!!!! SNEAKS...

the house!!!

the "sound of music" shot
REAL sun flare, not photoshopped fake stuff!

i LOVEEEEE this shot..one of my favs

completely accidental
<3<3<3

awesome close ups make me torn between color and bw

and my most favoritest shot of the day, maybe ever and of course i cant choose a finish but im leaning toward the full color ; )

the winner : )

personal request from MK...dontcha love his monogrammed cuffs

special session...

2009-08-19T07:42:00.003-05:00

...this session was awesome for me! pam works with my mom and her son adam is home for a vacation from germany where he is stationed in the army! he has been deployed to active combat twice and only got to come home for a few weeks...i think they told me this is the first time he has been home in a year or two! so while they were home, they wanted a family pic with mom, dad, sister ashley and adam! mark was hilarious and kept me on my toes...i would have loved to have posted the naked one for your mantel, but i decided to keep it PG!! hope yall love them...the others will be ready before adam leaves : )

shout it from the roof tops...

2009-08-18T16:11:00.005-05:00

...literally! location: random fire escapes and rooftops in dtown...yes, for this engagement session, we got creative. but then again, as a photographer, thats my job...but i had some awesome help for this session! i'll keep the post short because i have to make the most out of the girls' naptime, but i'll just say this was one of my fav sessions in a while...not just because of the way the pics turned out but just because jennifer was such a pleasure to work with! she even photographed me...you'll see what i mean! anyways! what can i say, climbing ladders in a dress and wedges and playing around on unsecure rooftops are all in a days work!!! cant wait to see more of this couple : ) jennifer i hope all of the suspense was worth it

hard at work...

...to get this shot!!!! ahhhh swoon : )

looking at her diamond : ) which is gorgeous with an invisible setting

im usually all about the color but these just HAD to be in vintage and bw's

TODIEFOR

he is so funny hahaha

sweet lil fam...

2009-08-18T11:27:00.004-05:00

here are a few sneaks that i have from a precious lil family that i did last week!!! mom has her hands full to say the very least : ) im so excited too because i'll be seeing them again in oct for the cotton session and i cant wait to see the outfits that mom is having made for them!!! oh and i love the family shot so much i did it in color and bw!!! enjoy!!!!