A Complete Wedding Photography Blog

Welcome back to America Ashley and Nathan!! I hope your Jamaican honeymoon was amazing! Since I loved so many of these images from your flawless day, I decided to post my first ever complete wedding blog. Usually I showcase a select few, maybe fifteen or so, but for you (and your awesome friends and family), I decided to include ALL my favorites! This is as complete as a wedding photos a blog could get. Everything from the decor to the send off is included, and I hope you love it!

This was such a cool idea, to ask for advice and showcase it so beautifully.

The amazing venue- Michael W. Smith's farm in Franklin, TN.

Their taste in decor is impeccable. I might need Ashley to decorate my new home!

Cupcakes are popular, but this couple added an awesome twist. They had several different people, including grandparents, share their favorite recipes.

Fried pickles. Fruit tea. Can you say AMAZING?

Even before she was ready Ashley looked gorgeous.

The beautiful dress!

Pure joy

Daddy's little girl. First look.

THE first look. Incredible. Couldn't have been lovelier. I'm so glad they decided to do this.

See what I mean?

This just happened to be there, so I had to use it. I've always had a thing for power lines in portraits.

They asked for my favorite time of day to shoot the bride/groom, and actually followed it!

These ones show you how fun this wedding was. I barely felt like I was working.

Takes a lot to get a serious face from these two.

The whole party was a ton of fun, and they were so kind to correct me each time I mixed up names.

From the scenery to the flowers, everything came together perfectly.

This pool table was Nathan's idea, and I am SO happy he asked for it because I love this set!

Unexpectedly, every single groomsmen threw Nathan a Frisbee on the way into the line. Everyone was laughing.

The beautiful bride.

Getting married under a Weeping Willow is the most beautiful thing I've ever seen.

The looks they gave each other during the ceremony actually made me cry.

They're starting it right! Love, Prayer, and Laughter.

The first dance was so sweet.

Followed by a very proud dad stealing the bride for a minute.

They somehow still looked amazing even with cake smashed into their faces.

Nathan and Ashley rented a real photo booth and it was so much fun!!

Here's proof!

Very enthusiastic catchers in this group, not naming any names.

Then we went outside for games. Frisbee, corn hole, and others. Such a cool idea.

I love capturing the long-married couples looking on to the newlyweds.

This exit was fantastic. No one had to tell them, and all the guests starting blowing bubbles in advance to accumulate a ton of them! Off to Jamaica!

Lily Fae's Newborn Photos

I'll be honest, I told Jason to expect a difficult photo session before we went over to Lily's house. Usually we shoot (no pun intended) for newborn photos be taken the first two weeks after birth (they're more pliable at that time), but Lily was already one and a half months old! So, that being said, I was expecting a squirmy, newly independent baby, who would cry when touched by an awful new red-headed lady she didn't know! Well, Lily was amazing. Not a single fuss, whine, or unusable squirm! Definitely the best one and a half month old I've ever seen! The hour flew by, and we had a blast rearranging furniture for the best light, while developing a slight case of baby fever! I can't wait for her next session for Christmas!!

The vibrant colors of the baby room were amazing!

 

Mommy touches = Love

Rolls Royce Wedding in Nashville? Oh yes!

Like cars? Honestly, I'm not a big car person myself. I can't tell you what I'm looking at, but I can tell if something is gorgeous. THIS was a gorgeous car! Every detail was shiny and perfect, and it made the most amazing getaway car. Everyone knows the name Rolls Royce, even me...

 Gerald and Clarissa were classy! If the Rolls Royce wasn't evidence enough, check out Gerald's duds and Clarissa's beautiful dress. We just walked down downtown Nashville, and they  stopped traffic, literally!

Indoor Maternity Session

Wendy and Travis are having a little girl named Aleena. It's a variation on a family name, and I think it's beautiful! We did this session in their home, which is always my favorite for maternity and newborn sessions. It's just very personal and sweet.

The light in these shots below is all window light, with a simple reflector and bounce fill light from an off camera flash on the walls behind. The background is a white shower curtain with light streaming through a window. You should have seen Wendy's face when I suggested shooting in the bathroom! She's super photogenic though (I did their wedding in 2009), and so I knew there was nothing she couldn't pull off. 

 

Wendy had the idea to spell out Aleena's name with blocks! I loved it! There are so many ways to do this, but this is probably the most popular. She had the perfect round baby belly, and so the blocks looked awesome!

 I think getting the wedding ring in the shot makes this image even more meaningful.

Black and white makes this so powerful. How cool that all three people made it into the photo!

Beforehand, we discussed props and particular ideas, especially where exactly to shoot. We knew we waited to do the shoot to make sure Travis had completed the baby's room, and so that was a big idea. We wanted to implement the room and all the meticulous details that went into the baby room. It was beautiful! This is a tiny bit of all the detail that went into that brown and pink room, the same as their wedding colors!

This shoot was so much fun. I'm looking forward to October, which is when my next maternity session is. For that one, paint and kids will be involved! Stay tuned!

Nashville Professional Portraits

Rhonda. Quite a character. To say we had fun is an understatement. With Jason as my light guy, we visited Rhonda in her home in Franklin (which is on sale btw and is gorgeous!) and realized how beautiful it was! We knew we were going to do professional portraits for her website, and we wanted to be sure that our outside location didn't look too "country." So, when we discovered how pretty her house was, we decided that it was the best location.

 So we went into five different rooms, using as much available light streaming through the windows as possible. The most flattering light is natural light, especially though the window, so we supplemented with a reflector for as long as we could, and then eventually set up our own light. You can see the light difference of the artificial light in the left-most photo in both collage. I love all the photos, but window light is my favorite!

I don't get the chance to do professional portraits often, but it sure was fun! I didn't have any examples to show Rhonda, since the last time I did business portraits was when I worked in a studio, so she wasn't sure what to expect. Rhonda stated halfway through the shoot "Who knew you'd actually know what you were doing?!" Needless to say, I wasn't offended, I was just glad she had fun and liked my work! I hope we can work together again, because that was a blast!

Never forget 9/11 Ten Years Later

I took these photos long before I had a professional camera, and maybe they aren't my best photos, but I am proud of the subject. I am very proud to be an American, and proud to display these photographs of my country's great flag. Never forget September 11, 2001.

Mother-Daughter Pictures at Ellington Agricultural Center

Meet Christy and Avery! As soon as Avery got out of the car I was green with envy from her gorgeous red hair! I pray for red-headed kids! We set up at the gorgeous Ellington Agricultural Center near Nippers Corner in Nashville, and it was just stunning. These ladies had three outfits, so we got lots of variety! From Sunday dresses in a gazebo to cowboy boots and jeans on top of a hay bale! Enjoy!

 I love their reactions when they're making each other laugh!

 No one pulls off cowgirl this well! I was so stoked, we took a quarter of an hour longer than normal so I could get every shot I wanted!

The many faces of Avery. All these collages were made exactly like the pages in my KISS albums!