Yeah,  call me a nut – I CAN’T STAND ANYTHING ON MY COUNTERTOPS! No cannister sets, no crocks of utensils, no knick knacks. You can imagine how I feel about coffee spoons laying on the counter every morning between Jim and I, let alone when we have guests who all get up at different times and each requires their own spoon for their cup. So when I saw these from CB2, you know I ordered a set for myself before you could say “coffee please”. I think they would make a real unique hostess gift, too! Get them here

Another fun engagement session from the fall; Jason and I will be doing their wedding next June at the Duquesne Chapel. You know what I love most about these images? (no, not the fabulous pink heels, but good guess!) What I love most is how HAPPY they look!

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Posted on the blog The Plug – I thought it was brilliant! Note is his -

He tied a disposable camera to a bench in Atlanta with a sign that read:

Good afternoon,
I attached this camera to the bench so you could take pictures. Seriously. So have fun. I’ll be back later this evening to pick it up.
Love, Jay / The Plug

When I retrieved the camera that night, I was happy to find that the entire roll of film (and then some) had been shot.Click the link to see the photos that were taken.

The Plug

I am. so. behind. in. blogging. However, soon my busy season will be over and I’ll be able to post lots of great images from the past few months. Almost didn’t think I would get this one up before he graduated, lol! Kyle has lots of interests, and we tried to incorporate them into his session. I’m not usually one for props, but in this case the props are just sort of a natural extension of Kyle – he always has his guitar or board at hand.

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We had the most delicious Thanksgiving dinner at Stacey & David’s home – brined roasted turkey with chestnut stuffing, squash with Parmesan sauce, sweet potato casserole with pecan topping, mashed potatoes, mushroom and leek gratin, brussels sprouts casserole – need I go on? After dinner we went outside to take some pictures after bribing Genevieve and Gavin with belated birthday presents and Jim and David with desert. The kids did really well! I’m hopeful that they are now pretty well  past the refusing -to-cooperate-with-pictures stage…it sure looks like it here:

What do you do when Grandma wants a shot of all of her grandchildren – five kids total,  with three under three – do you run away and hide? Nope, you plop them down in a hammock! And when there’s a hammock in your logo, you KNOW that it’s destined for your website, tee hee!

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…when I became a nanna for the first time. Whole new outlook on life, for sure! Here’s our little grand-doll Genevieve in October:

The other day when I was shooting sessions I finally remembered to take a before and after shot, to help illustrate the difference between a “straight-out-of-the-camera” shot and one that has had a little professional attention.  I think it helps to understand what the difference is in the images that you get from a photographer who sells you a CD of images without any post-processing for a much lower cost (because they don’t have to factor in the time,  among other things). Sometimes that is all you need, but sometimes you are going to want images that are much more polished.

Here is one I snapped of the Richey kids (more of them later) – straight out of my camera, perfect exposure but no additional contrast or sharpening. This is what you could get with a regular dslr. It looks pretty good because the kids are cute and have big smiles, but if you look past that you can see that it will be rather muddy and lackluster in print:

Now I actually made some adjustments to my custom camera settings before I snapped this one, did a little processing, and now we have this  – still have cute kids but now the image is vibrant, sharp, and much more suitable to hang in your home :

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I just love it when I get to see great clients again, like this family. They are so into their family and preserving their memories, and it’s always a blast to see how much their children have grown – and meet the newest members! Katie and Joe are no exception, and this year not only was I wowed by how much Johnny had grown, but I got to photograph Andy for the first time. He was a little hesitant in front of the camera, but just look at those eyes and that blond hair!

And I always love it when parents swallow their reluctance to get in front of the camera and get some images of themselves with their children that will always be treasured by their family:

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