Baby C Newborn Session

These two little ladies are now the first thing you see when you go to my website!!!

My first Baby of the new year was such a treat to have in the home studio! Baby C & her mama have been on my radar for some months & this little lady came right before new years eve! Don't be fooled by the photos, this little lady did not want to sleep, even though I was interrupting her nap time! She kept one eye on me the majority of the session but once she fell asleep she was OUT! This little lady made some of the cutest faces in her sleep!!!

This is probably the girliest session I've ever done & I've got to say that I am a HUGE fan of frill!

I've been waiting to share this gallery till this lovely Mama & Baby come back to my home studio to finish their session but the ice hasn't been helping much (& I couldn't hold off another week!!!) If all my babies this year were as sweet & photogenic as this little lady it's allthan it'll be a great year!

Vendors in Order - Emmy Blue Handmade (https://www.facebook.com/EmmyBlueHandmade/)

Baileys Knits (http://www.baileysknits.bigcartel.com/)

Love Adorn Accessories (https://www.etsy.com/shop/LoveAdornAccessories)

Maya C

Maya, Darling, Light of my life...

Take note guys. On a first date, you want to take a beautiful woman like this to a big giant field where she can frolic. Even if it's in 30 degree weather. It's been weeks since I've been able to see this beautiful woman but the wait is well worth it! I can happily say you'll be seeing this face on my website (blog/FB) for many moons to come.

Even though this was Maya's first time being photographed professionally she did way better than I could have ever imaged! I guess it runs in the family though! Maya looks good from every angle & has her smolder down (watching ANTM pays off guys)

This family has produced nothing but beautiful & kind woman & has always made me feel incredibly comfortable & welcomed. I haven't laughed or so smiled so much in a long time & it was well worth the frostbite! After several hours of spooning for warmth & thawing out our hands Maya & I had to say our parting goodbyes (until next time of course!). It was hard trying to narrow down what photos to share & I'm happy to announce I have a new consistent model who I'll be gracing my page for many years to come!  Be sure to check back soon for a full blog covering her little princess!

Jessica & John Engagement Session

After months & months of talking & trying to meet fellow photographer Jessica E we finally spent a morning together (doing what you ask? Why) taking photos of course! Jess is a talented photographer located in Pegram whom I had spoken to on several occasions about meeting, working together, & all that jazz, BUT, something always came up & it just never happened. However, this lovely mama of two recently got engaged to her handsome now fiance John & it seemed like the best time to finally get together! Meeting Jess was well worth the wait though! She was just as kind & considerate as she I thought she'd be & twice as pretty!

To my surprise (& of course pleasure) J & E brought along their youngest son D, who almost stole the show from his mama & papa! He was so photogenic it was hard not to include him in more photos, you could tell he was accustom to having a camera in this face!

Though their older son couldn't be there for the session Jessica still managed to include him in their photos!

It was so nice not only getting to meet Jess for the first time, but to also have a fellow photographer as a model! Her & John made the session go by too quickly & made my job a piece of cake! We were sadly finished so much sooner than I expected(Even though thy had a little one with them!) but now I get to look forward to working with these two again come wedding day! I'll be sure to bring the blanket John made so much for of during our shoot

Bre & Drew Maternity Session

This Evening Mama Bre finally gave birth to her little lady!!!! I've tried to keep from harassing her all day but I am over the moon that Baby C has finally made her big debut & it seems that Momma & Baby are doing just fine!!! (Which means I'll get to see her within the week) In honor of Baby C's birth, today seems as good a day as ever to share Bre's maternity photos! Though we did our session some time ago we were holding out for another day to add to her gallery, but sadly time just didn't seem to be on our side, especially with this lady working her butt of almost every day! We shot at an amazing location at sunset that  Bre & Drew's maternity session took place at sunset, which gave us some beautiful lighting at an amazing location (even though we were horrified every time a car drove over the bridge!)

I can't even begin to tell you how excited it makes me that I'll be starting off 2016 with a newborn session, I've already seen a few photos of Baby C & I'm already trying to color match all my props & accessories for when her Mama, Papa, & brother come to visit me. This small family has already been so wonderful to work with & nothing but wonderful to me that hopefully you'll be seeing these guys more than once over 2016! Happy Birthday Baby C & congrats to Mama Bre & Papa Drew! (Also big brother E)

See you guys soon!

Claire & Doug

Writing a blog is like writing an essay in school, in so many ways... Not just that you have to have an intro, a body, & conclusion, & you have to somehow captivate your audience, but also that I hate to do it. Especially when it's a blog about someone I'm not that fond of. I mean at all.  

Just kidding...

Hey ya'll, it's Doug & Claire Bear! California's don't say ya'll but Claire has been in the south long enough & says it. I was just as excited as everyone else to see that these two got engaged & I patiently waited to be asked to do their photos! If not for their wedding than to at least do their engagement photos! I had awkward encounters with Claire over the last 3 or 4 years, & she's always been someone I know I can text for a good laugh! We have so many stupid stories between one another & I knew that any man willing to put up with her must be some guy! Turns out, I kind of knew the guy! Small world isn't it? Her handsome hubby to be used to skate with my older brother Jonathan & he seriously doesn't look like he's changed in the last ten or so years!

When these two FINALLY contacted me about doing their photos I kindly invited myself to their home & spent the morning playing with their dog, trying to make their cat love me, & oh yeah, taking their photos.

Even though these two photographed beautifully it was hard to compare to Baxtor, who stole the spotlight from his Mama & Papa during out session!

I'm sure you're wondering why a butt picture made the cut... if you weren't before, you are now.

One of the things I've discovered over the last few years is that it doesn't really matter how long two people have been together... when you know you've found the person you want to be with the rest of your life, you know. Just being around these two for a short amount of time would make you think they were a couple that had been together for years. They already know how to make one another so happy & have pretty much pushed all the boundaries in just how weird you can be around one another.  I couldn't think of a more considering or kind man for Claire & I wish them the best with their future together, even though they obviously don't need it.

The only advice I can give to you is to put a limit on how many pets you have... but if one just casually walks up to your door, by all means let it in.

Ash & Ruch

All of you parents know that once Baby comes along it's all about them! Mom & Dad get put on the back burner, it's a sad fact but we all know it's true... SO! It was incredibly nice to get to meet Mama Ash & Papa Ruch before their cutie pie to be comes along! This couple was so incredibly kind & interesting & it was so easy to carry on a conversation with them! We basically held an ongoing conversation throughout our session.

Ruch, being the smart husband he is, sent me to Ash to talk about all the details of their session & Ash knew way before we even spoke what she wanted to do for their family photos & I was so thrilled to put all her brilliant ideas into play! These two were such wonderful models for their maternity session & were up for just about anything, including climbing a very questionable ladder to get up onto an even more questionable platform!

Despite my ridiculous fear of The Grudge Girl, who resides in any dark corner of the earth, I sucked it up & went inside an incredibly creepy (but beautiful) barn & didn't die. I still refuse to go into any attic ever, for anything other than Christmas decorations.

Despite the storms a few days prior (taking off most of the leaves we were hoping for) & our original location being unavailable we had an amazingly colorful & creative (thanks to Auntie & her adorable props) session!!! 

I love meeting families at the beginning. I love watching two people become parents & I love that they allow me to experience & document a small portion of that first year as a family. Though they still have what seems like forever till their little guy is here I feel like I'm once again going to be constantly checking FB watching for baby updates way earlier than necessary! Congrats again to the interesting couple & I can't wait to see you two again!

Baby C's 1/2 Year

Some time ago I received an email from the beautiful Mama Courtney, asking about a family session for when her little dude hit his 6 month marker. I have not so secretly always wanted a baby boy (FIRST, I'd love a little girl after) so whenever I have a session with a little dude I get overly excited. We exchanged emails & texts for some time & when I was sure she wasn't a serial killer we set a date & started making plans for Baby C's 6 month session!

I've said this before but typically before a client actually books a session with me I'll find one of their online accounts & browse through their baby photos. Whenever I see an extra adorable baby on FB or IG I always imagine what type of stylized session I would do with them & what type of colors they'd look good in... it'd be a lot more creepy if I wasn't a photographer right? I didn't get this luxury with baby C & his family right away. I couldn't find Mama C anywhere online & it wasn't until much closer to our session that I actually asked for a photo of C. She sent me two of the most adorable photos of C I have ever seen taken on a cell phone & I fell in love with him right away! I still didn't know what Courtney or Rob looked like but that wasn't important at the time. The day of our session finally came &  I was invited to C & R's home to start our shoot. I was pleasantly surprised to not only see that they had a fat cat (& an okay dog I guess), but that R was so handsome & C was so beautiful!  The two were so incredibly kind & hospitable & though they had basically never had their photos taken (other than both their senior photos) the warmed up to the camera incredibly quickly!

After we left their home we went to a gorgeous location that the couple had suggested, which has now turned out to be one of my favorite places to go walk in the morning! I've lived in Nashville all my life but had never been to Radnor Lake, which was RIGHT down the road from where my mother lives! I seriously probably burned more calories pulling a wagon full of pumpkins two miles (yes I'm exaggerating)  down a windy trail, but I think Papa Rob had it worse pushing Baby C in his stroller. These two were so patient & kind while I tried to determine tree from tree, trying to recall which way took us to our location. It was worth the short walk though & even though the trails were semi busy everyone around us was kind enough to stay out of our way!

Though C was only 1/2 a year he had more personality than most adults I've met! He is wise beyond his years & is so incredibly photogenic. This family was nothing but smiles but it's hard to be anything else when you've got a happy/handsome little pumpkin like this with you!

Working with these 3 was such a wonderful experience & Baby C was so well behaved he seriously gave me Baby Fever, which I haven't had in ages! I couldn't have asked for the shoot to go any better & I couldn't have asked for better models! Thanks again to the P family & I hope to see you guys again at some point! Happy 1/2 year Baby C & thanks for being such a great sport throughout our session!

Candace & Brian

As soon as I mention in a post that I never work with adults anymore (that don't have children accompanying them) I have a week full of happy newly engaged couples! Candace contacted me months back about doing an engagement session with her handsome Fiancé Brian & I was incredibly bummed that she was booking months in advance (even though that makes it much easier for me)! I always love suggesting style, locations, & outfits to clients but Candace knew right off the bat all the details she wanted incorporated into her session & had her outfits picked out & sent to me weeks before! I was eagerly counting down the days till our session & though we had to reschedule due to weather it was well worth the wait! We blew through the first portion of our session in less than 30 minutes.

 I can always tell a lot about a couple based on how smooth our session goes & even though C & B asked to be directed throughout our session it wasn't at all necessary. The two of them worked so well alongside one another & had too much fun  just being around each other & had such difficulty treading through the tall grass that I don't think they even realized they were having their photos taken. Brian had sadly heard most of my jokes but gave me a few new ones to add to my artillery!!! He spent most the session making her (& me!) laugh & everything was just so incredibly genuine that I couldn't stop photographing them.

One of the big things Candace had discussed with me that she wanted incorporated into their session was their love for the outdoors & the two were very eager to tug their new canoe along with them. Though they both informed me that there were two perfectly good seats at either end of the canoe (& apparently that's where you're suppose to sit) I couldn't help but make them pretend they liked each other for a few minutes & made them sit next to each other. Thankfully (but much to my disappointment) the two didn't flip as they went adrift.

It took a weekend of heavy rain to truly bring out all the fall colors we've all been dying to see & we thankfully managed to capture all the vivid colors before the next storm came & blew all the leaves off the trees!

It was nearly impossible trying to narrow down what photos to share from B & C's colorful & romantic engagement session & it's going to hopefully be even harder for them to narrow down what photos to use for their print order!

A big congrats to Candace &  Brian on their engagement. I know they're going to have so many wonderful years together & I'm so thankful you guys allowed me to work with you & I can't wait to see wedding updates in the near future!

Ms. Huff

It's rare now that I get to work with adults & even more rare that I get to do personal shoots! A few weeks back though, I somehow managed time for one of my oldest models! (just kidding, she blessed me with her presence & I was very fortunate to catch her in town!)

If you look at my portfolio today you'll still see some of our images from 3+ years ago! Lindsey is the model in one of my most popular images/series to date & if the images were credited back to us we would pretty much rule the world.

After weeks of talking about it & trying to work out a day & some type of theme I asked Lindsey to pack everything & we just decided to work with what we had & wing it, which has worked for us before & worked for us this session as well! Though she hasn't modeled since our strike & spare shoot (over a year ago) she still somehow managed to knock it out of the park & helped me create more stunning images than I know what to do with!

Here's a sneak peek at our session together!

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Baby R Newborn Session

From Belly to Baby, Baby R is finally here!

After what seemed like forever R finally made his big debut & his still incredibly beautiful Mama & Papa came to visit the home studio! Baby R was by far one of the biggest babies I've ever seen & had so much hair that his mom & dad kept having to comb it over during our session! As expected, he was so incredibly handsome & had some of the biggest lips I've ever seen! Though he was less than a week old (I believe) when he came it seemed like Tess & Noah never missed a beat. His tummy was upset the day of the session so he was a bit fussy but T & N would simply pass him between one another, feed him, burp him, coddle him, whatever it took! It came so naturally to them, it was almost like they were seasoned parents & I was incredibly impressed!

These two were more than happy to do the majority of their session outside & outside babies have to be some of my favorite babies!!! We did a small session in the studio one day & had to continue to a second day, simply because we were on a time limit with Noah's work. Second visit took hardly any time & we were finished just a bit over an hour when we actually got started! Baby R was happy to be held by his parents & was constantly eating in between shots! Noah had his bottle shoved in his pocket the majority of the session & would pop it for ten seconds than put it right back up.

When we did Tess & Noah's gender reveal we briefly spoke about doing newborn photos. I had asked them what type of theme they were planning on doing for his nursery & what type of things they liked, in which Tess immediately answered Elephants! (Like the wonderful boyfriend Noah was, he just agreed with her.) Sure enough a week or so later I ordered this amazing set! I wasn't even sure at this point if they would bring R to me just because I was simply in love with the idea & just like them, I loved the jungle theme for little boys!

This was the first time I was ever actually able to get this pose to work! I had a lot of help from Tess though & this has probably turned into one of my favorite image to date!!!

When we did the first segment at my home studio I probably spenta good 30 minutes wrapping & unwrapping R. He was SO strong & so resilient, but when he would settle down long enough for me to snap a few shots he did wonderful!

Hopefully in a years time I'll be writing a blog covering R's cake smash, & I'll be talking about how crazy it is that he's already a year old & how it seems like we just did his newborn photos...  time flies but I always love being able to see families at their earliest milestones & that they trust me with documenting such important events! Baby R was well worth the wait & I can't wait to see his lovely family again!

G's Second Birthday

Happy Second Birthday G!

About a week ago I was visited by the amazing J & W family & had the privilege to once again work with them! G & her family have now visited me on 3 separate occasions & each time has been more enjoyable than the last. G is ALWAYS on her best behavior & always makes me job of narrowing down photos incredibly hard. I don't know much about her mother Aravon or her father Chris outside of what I've learned about them during our sessions BUT looking about at photos I saw a lot of similarities in mannerisms as well as certain expressions & it was incredibly obvious that she gets her amazingly sweet & bubbly personality from her parents. The fun these 3 had during our shoot was completely genuine & these 3 were truly happy just being in one another's company.  

G spent the majority of her session showing her parents off to me & was milking them for everything they had! She's an incredibly smart two year old & was very aware of what was going on & knew that we were all doing everything to keep her happy & was using that to her advantage. She spent the majority of her session getting swapped between mother & father, climbing up them and than the rest of her session trying to get them to swing her in between them.

Despite being cold & tired she was always on the move & spent the final portion of their family session chasing after all of us. I would get them set up somewhere than run about twenty feet back to get a shot, only to turn around & see G hot on my heels!

Now, if you've by chance bumped into me in the last few weeks I've told you this hilarious story, but for those of you who haven't had the privilege... At G's first Cake Smash I had everything set up & ready to go as soon as they walked in the door. The cake was in plain view so as soon as they came through the back door G's eyes were glued on the cake. Mama A even took her to the other side of the room, changed her, moved her around ten thousand times, & she NEVER took her eyes off the cake, so as soon as they let her go it was over. The Cake was destroyed in no time & she was the first baby to ever really dig into her cake without her parents help. Needless to say I learned from the past & waited till they were inside and changed to set up. When the 3 of them came in the cake was still in the kitchen & I didn't bring it out until A & C had settled in & got G changed into her final outfit. By the time I came back in the room (cake in hand) G was sitting on the couch, nestled between her parents, playing on her mama's phone. The second she looked up & saw what I had she dropped the phone, (I'm SO surprised she didn't break it), scooted off the couch & started making her way towards me, the most determined look on her face... She was mesmerized by the cake & had completely forgotten about everything going on around her. Her parents had to hold her back while I got my test shots in, & though she was being incredibly patient you could tell she was getting annoyed.

I managed to get two good shots of the set before letting G get ahold of her cake. She automatically stuck her face in it & for the next five minutes I was taking photos non stop... she never really made it past the icing, which most babies don't, & instead spent most her time eating the big fondant bow on top of her cake (which matched her bow perfectly!) & trying to pick up her cake & walk off with it. I could have been done within two minutes because of how expressive G was & how everything she did was just beyond cute but I couldn't stop taking photos of her & the chaos (cakeos).

G is such an expressive little girl & it was SO hard to narrow down what photos to show for her preview (trust me, there's A LOT more behind this). She is the epitome of sass & wasn't afraid to tell us how it is. I caught her on several occasions looking at me & her parents like we were stupid, because we kept telling her 'do this, do that, look here'... G made it very clear she was only here to eat cake.

I imagine her saying in this photo something like 'Why are you guys even here?' or 'Stop telling me what to do, I'm eating the darn cake!!!'... or maybe even 'shut up, it's my cheat day'

As we were wrapping up she made sure to let us all know that the cake was going home with them. They were going to have pizza for dinner AND cake (G added)

I've loved watching G grow from a beautiful giant one year old to a beautiful & incredibly smart two year old! I briefly discussed in my last blog how much you felt our age when you see your friends children hit milestones & I swear it didn't seem that long ago Aravon & I were planning their first session! We even exchanged a few text messages the other day talking about how we were comparing photos & how we couldn't believe it had been a year already!

Happy Birthday once again G! I hope you, your beautiful mama & sweet papa have an amazing day & a very safe but spooky Halloween!

Behind the scenes

Even though G looks completely majestic walking through the tall grass, truth be told she hated it (BUT THAT'S WHAT BEING A GOOD MODEL IS ALL ABOUT). We stuck her in a patch thinking she'd walk right out but instead she stood there with her arms outstretched waiting for one of us to come get her. This first image is of her begging me to save her

G wondering why her parent's were running away from her & not swinging her in between them instead (note the outstretched arms)

G wondering why her mother was touching her

Baby L Cake Smash

One of the things we all star to notice when we get older as how quick the years go by (I guess that's a cruel trick that gets played on us once we're out of school, cause GOD KNOWS THE SCHOOL YEAR DRAGGED ON). We all thought our parents were joking but it's something we can't deny! It's already almost Halloween & Thanksgiving & Christmas will be here before you know it! One of the biggest indicators of how quickly time goes is when you're celebrating babies milestones... I don't have children myself (yet) but it blows my mind when one of my friends say they're about to be celebrating their child's first birthday when it seems like we JUST did their newborn photos!!!

I guess it was a year ago we did Baby L's newborn photos & about a month ago we planned his cake smash! His handsome Papa & beautiful Mama woke up early & got pretty for our morning session & walked a good half mile to get to our location!

Despite being exhausted, of course, & despite the fact that L's sweet father Josh had a hurt back just days before our session they still somehow managed to throw L up and down, spin him around, walk forever to get to our location with such ease & still look great while doing it! While his parents woke up model ready Baby L was so interested in everything going on around us it was hard to get him to sit still, so most of the session someone had to have their hands on him! He still managed to look so handsome for all his photos though. You can tell this little dude has his photos taken all the time!

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Baby L's parents have always been up for anything & have been pretty much willing to let me do anything with him, so I was over the moon when they allowed me to document his chunkiness with some amazing nude river photos. Baby L didn't seem to mind at all & spent most of his time in the water splashing or trying to eat what I can imagine were some incredibly tasty river rocks.  

After being oh so cruelly denied his river rocks L was more than ready for his cake! The location we chose was one of the fields his mother used to play softball at when she was younger & with high hopes maybe one day, when the time comes, he'll be playing baseball at one of these fields! He sure seemed interested enough!

20 & 15 in the first INN, crazy right?

Where as L never really got past the icing (that's the best part anyways) he was still probably one of the messiest babies I've ever had, without the help of his parents, & was so sweet even during the clean up process! It's always so sad seeing my newborns again for their one year but I'm always so honored that I get the opportunity to watch them grow & that their parents choose to come back to me again & again!

The M family has always been so wonderful to me & they're always so incredibly so great to work with! I was looking forward to this moment for a year & now that the time has come & gone I really don't know what I'm going to do! Thankfully I'll still be able to see this family from time to time but it's been a real treat watching them grow as a couple over the years & now to see their little family complete!

Happy Birthday Baby L!

I want to give a huge thank you to the awesome vendor who custom made L's onsie & got it to me so quickly!!!

Onsie by the awesome SimplySublimeBaby - https://www.etsy.com/shop/SimplySublimeBaby

Behind the scenes

Breanna & Drew Gender Reveal

With Fall coming up I'm prepping the studio for all the babies that are about to be born (because we all know what everyone is doing in the winter!) &  have probably bought about 50 pounds of icing for all the cakes I'm going to be making. But, to my pleasure, I've had lots of families that have only begun the start of their pregnancy working with me! I can't even begin to recall just how many gender reveals I've done over the last two months!

Breanna contacted me weeks before she knew the sex of her baby & booked a session the day after she was to find out. I was one of the first few people that knew & I was so thrilled to finally put our weeks of planning into play. We knew this was going to be an incredibly messy session so we traveled down to skip the studio & travel to one of the many beautiful parks in Nashville & let the chaos to commence there. I'll give you one guess on what they're having...

Looks like we'll be (hopefully) having another beautiful baby girl sometime in the near future! Papa Drew already had a handsome little guy so both mommy & daddy got the sex that they were hoping for! Still we found no better way to showcase the reveal than to conduct the messiest but most colorful gender reveal I've ever done!

We had a very special guest for our session as well. Drew was able to bring his adorable son, the soon to be Big Brother E, who was overly excited to participated in the paint throwing! He has one stipulation & that was to not get paint in his eye. Guess what Papa Drew did? After rinsing his eye out for a good minute Big Brother E was determined to get his father back, so he the rest of the session trying to gather as much paint as possible to throw on his father. I had to supply water several times to dilute the paint so he's have more!

This adorable growing little family is now anxiously awaiting the birth of their little lady & will be making another debut on the blog in just a few short months!

Baby RED's Newborn Session

If you look at my previous blog covering the DW's maternity session you can see an awful lot of gloating on how awesome this family is! We've grown so much together but never have I gotten to experience something like this! My youngest model ever weighed in at 7 pounds 12oz & was photographed within her first few seconds of life. Anyone that knows me or has come in contact with me sense that day has probably been forced to hear the story of this dramatic birth! This little lady was to be induced Friday, but she couldn't wait that long! I got a call at 2:15am Wednesday(?) morning, just as I was about to go to bed, from Papa Keith telling me it was go time!!! Contractions were about 6 minutes apart so I grabbed my jacket & all my camera equipment & FLEW up to Kentucky. I arrived around 3:35 (it's been a month & I've already forgotten the details!!!) & not but 45 minutes later she had Baby RED! She had her so quick she didn't even have time to get any sort of pain medicine in her, which I still applaud her on.  The birth was fine, it's what came after that scarred me, her husband, & all the nurses on that floor half to death.... Mama is thankfully fine now but it's something I don't think any of us will ever forget! Fast-forward later that week & I'm driving back up to Kentucky with my car packed completely full of newborn stuff!  I had no room for lighting equipment so her whole studio session was shot in the DW's kitchen right in front of their patio door!

Baby RED was probably the strongest & wiggliest baby I have ever had the pleasure of working with! This little lady broke out of every wrap I did with her & somehow managed to get her hand back up to her mouth! Besides that she was so incredibly well behaved & quietly watched every move I made (as best as I imagine she could!)   

After our 'studio' session we went across the road with her Big Brother M, as well as her lovely mama & papa. After being held by Mama P for less that five minutes Baby RED fell right asleep & stayed that way for the rest of our session. Even though the park was right next to him, with all the fun slides & swings, Big Brother M was very eager to be around his little sister. I was told that while the 3 of them were still in the hospital he was more concerned about when his baby sister would be home rather than his mother & father. He gave her kisses all on his own & was just so incredibly sweet to her, I couldn't have asked for a better set of models!

After we asked him to 'push' Baby RED in her stroller it was hard to get him to do anything other than that! Even when we took her out he was pushing it all around the park & even tried to get in it a few times. Sadly Big Brother M was too big & he was incredibly heart broken over the matter. That was until Daddy started playing with him. Doesn't he look like he belongs in one of the next Fast & Furious movies?

Even though I could hardly imagine just how exhausted these two were they never missed a beat & were more than willing to go above & beyond to help each other out & to keep each other happy. While I did Patricia's photo's Keith was pushing BB M up the hill in his car, chasing him around, things that exhausted me just watching! I can't even begin to tell you how impressed & amazed I was with this couple & what they were able to bring to the table with no sleep!

It's been such a pleasure getting to know these two, than three, & now four & how much I love watching this family grow. I have so much more respect for them as parent's & as a couple, seeing everything they've gone through over the years& just how crazy they still are about one another.

Baby O's Cake Smash

Now here’s a little guy that’s always smiling!

Baby O visited for his first birthday! For those of you who don’t remember, Baby O visited the CMP studio for his newborn photos last fall! At the time he was the best baby that I had ever had the pleasure of shooting in terms of sleeping & staying posed. He was just as easy to work with this time & had all of us chasing him around the park for his session with his Mama & Papa. You can tell when a child has had a ton of photos taken of them! Baby O loved the camera, & couldn’t stop looking at it, & the camera (photographer) loved him!   

When it came time to do his cake smash we tried to keep to the theme we had during his newborn photos & even used the same location! He might not have been able to fit in the best of my trucks anymore but he sure was up for playing with them. I’ve become such a fan of outdoor cake smash sessions, even though there's a few downfalls, one of which is that there’s so many distracting things around (especially when you have a huge row of toys behind you!). Baby O wasn’t too sure of his cake but he sure did enjoy the rocks he was sitting on.  

Eventually he destroyed his cake by standing in it and dragging his knees through it... But hey, whatever it takes! I love watching babies grow & it was such apleasure seeing this little guy again, no matter how old it makes me feel!

So once again, Happy (Late) Birthday Baby O!

Tessa & Noah Maternity

Mama Tess & Papa Noah came back to visit me the other week!

Over the last two years my clientele has changed to primarily being under the age of two & that’s totally okay with me! As a result, everyone always assumes I have crazy baby fever! This isn’t entirely true, however, when the time comes Tess is the type of pregnant woman I want to be!!! Everything she does is just so full of enthusiasm & she just radiates style & beauty. Almost full term & still gorgeous!

We all managed to somehow travel through the tall grass & somehow not get eaten. Noah did however step in a yellow jacket nest half way through the session & somehow managed to tough it out despite being stung in his leg several times & keep his lovely lady happy & comfortable.

I can’t gush out too many feeling about this awesome couple because I won’t have anything to say when they come back to me for their newborn session! Noah & Tessa are such a happy couple & Baby R is so lucky to have a mama & papa that are not only so in love with him already but that genuinely enjoy the company of one another.

Baby C Newborn Session

This is the time of year where we know what everyone was doing during the winter! I’ve had so many beautiful babies in my studio over the last few month but Baby C takes the cake for being the calmest and sleepiest baby yet! She was probably only awake for 20% of our shoot & slept through being wrapped, unwrapped, posed (unposed), & lots of itchy head bands!

This baby was also extra special to me because her mother was one of my lovely models! I’ve worked with Luisa on mulitlpe occasions, mostly though in my advertisements for the amazing Nikolette Bags (which I use mine ALL the time). We tried our hardest to do a maternity session but Baby C came before that happened, so a newborn shoot was defiantly in order! I spent more time than I would like to admit picking out fabric and making head bands for her session.

Despite the miserable heat I somehow managed to convenience Mama L & Papa R to come outside (In increments) to do photos during the golden hour. The two were more than willing despite the harsh conditions to spend any given moment with their sweet little baby. Luisa was simply stunning throughout our session and despite being a new mommy somehow managed to be a fashionista and jump right back into model mode! Rey also brought his A game and looked so handsome for all his photos! Everything he did came so naturally and he was just so genuinely in love with both his ladies that it was hard to stop taking photos!

Our session was cut short due to the heat & we immediately rescheduled for the following day (or something like that), which made me so incredibly excited to get to work with this couple in a new environment! I was even more excited we’d be able to do a whole new wardrobe & that would give me the opportunity to share that many more photos! Baby C was once again on her best behavior but this time she was wide awake for our session!

Isn’t this chick a knock out?!?!?! 

Though I spend the majority of my sessions directing people & making sure they feel comfortable in front of the camera it’s always such a relief to have a couple that is so comfortable with one another you can hardly tell that they might have felt awkward or uneasy about the process. Before our session I went to Luisa & Rey’s church with them during service to do photos of Baby C’s announcement & I instantly fell in love with this couple. You could tell just how much they loved each other by sitting next to them for an hour. No matter how tired they might have been or how hot it was they still somehow found a way to unspokenly say I love you. I can’t wait to update my portfolio with this adorable family & to see this amazing couple & little lady again!!!

April & Rhyan Gender Reveal

IT’S A GIRL!!!

Baby Season seems to be among us! Over the last two months I’ve gotten to do so many gender reveals & the majority of them have been pink related! (which makes me so excited because I have so many frilly pretty things in my studio!)Hopefully some of you are having little boys though!
The Mama & Papa to be have known for a long time that they were expecting but decided to keep it a secret until we could do our session, where they could do an announcement & a reveal all at the same time! However they couldn’t wait & let slip that they were expecting… I was still given the privilege to do the big reveal & have been dying to share these images for weeks!

I’ve known April for some time & I was over the moon to find out she was expecting! Especially with such a handsome youngLad! 

April & Rhyan spent so much time poking fun at one another I hardly had to direct or tell my bad jokes. They actually gave me some great material that I’ve added to my artillery!!! Rhyan was accustom to being in front of the camera & was the biggest helper during the session. He kept April laughing & playfully picking at him throughout the evening. You can always spot a happy couple simply based off their mannerisms & how they interact with one another & even though these two bickered at each throughout the session they always ended a conversation with a smile.

Rhyan & April wanted to do something a little out of the norm for their big reveal, which I’m always up for coming up with spankin new ideas, especially for such an awesome couple! We debated for the longest time on just what to do for their session over bad waffles ‘late’ one night & after throwing dozens of ideas there way & April scavenging the depths of Pinterest we finally settled on like four different ideas (because we were too indecisive to settle on just one or two)!
We ended up going with two of my ideas, which were the cooler ideas of course. Of the two smoke bombs I ordered only one worked & of the two packs of bubblegum April bought both were pink. You get the general idea though, it’s a girl!

In between lots of attempts at blowing a bubble at the same time & debates on how to properly pop a bubble it finally came down to plucking.

Despite the short amount of time spent with this couple I love their personalities & it’s made me overly excited for future sessions! Baby V has already brought her mama & papa so much closer together & I can’t wait to plan more unique sessions with this couple & to get the opportunity to watch this family grow! 

DW Materinty Session

Happy Second Birthday Baby M!

See how long it took me to get myself together? Though Baby M’s birthday was a week ago I’m happy to be able to share these photos! I always love getting to work with new clients but it’s even more special to get the opportunity to continuously work with ‘old’ clients! Not only do I get to see watch my work develop through their photos but I also get to watch the families grow!!! I’ve seen babies when they were just a couple of days old, I’ve got to capture them taking some of their first steps, & I’ve even gotten to see some as they went to their first day of school!

I first met the DW family at their wedding in 2012. If I remember correctly it was the 4th wedding I had ever done & my first out of state wedding! Despite me 'Lack of Experience’ Tricia & Keith blessed me with the privilege to capture their special day. You would never know just how cold it really was by looking at the photos!

To my surprise Tricia contacted me just seven months later to do maternity photos! This was my second maternity shoot!

A few months afterwards Baby M & his family made a trip to my home in Nashville, where I did my first ever newborn session! Baby M spoiled me, he didn’t use the potty at all throughout our whole session, which was something I wasn’t even thinking of when I set him on my fur coat!!

Now, almost three years after our first session the cycle starts once again as I work with this growing family!!! There family has grown from two, to three, & now they’re expecting their fourth, who will be here any time now!!!  I’m always amazed how far this family drives to meet with me & how well behaved Baby M ALWAYS is. As soon as the new Big Boy M was out of the car he was running away from the car & through the field, Papa K & I hot on his heels! While Mama T got ready Baby M showed me just how much of a Daddy’s boy he really was.

Trish has thing she seems to unintentionally do with her maternity sessions… at Baby M’s maternity session she wore a pink dress, despite being pregnant with a little boy, & this session she wore a blue dress even though baby RED is defiantly a girl!!!

Keith was deployed while Trish was still pregnant with Baby M so you can only imagine how excited the two were to be able to experience every step of their second child’s growth together!

I’m always appreciative of all my clients but this family I must say takes the cake. I started with them when they were first starting their lives together & now that they’ve grown & flourished it’s given me the opportunity to do the same. This family has had so many first & I’ve been so honored to share all of them with them & despite how old some of their photos might be I still love having this gorgeous growing family in my portfolio!!! Even if T wasn’t pregnant I’d still find a way to swindle them down to TN for a visit! Being able to work with them is just as good though!!!

I’ve got my phone volume constantly up & check it in the wee hours of the night waiting for this mama to let me know she’s having RED, so her face will defiantly be gracing my blog & portfolio soon!!!

Words can’t describe how much I admire & appreciate this family & once again a huge THANK YOU to the DW family for keeping me in your lives!!!

Baby A's First Birthday!

It’s with a heavy heart I must share Baby A & her families one year session! Ever sense we did her six month session I’ve waiting for this day to come & now that it has I don’t know what I’m going to do with myself! Almost right after Papa J booked Baby A’s first session Mama M & I started sharing our enthusiasm about her first birthday session! Cake Smashes have got to be my favorite thing to do. If I could only do one thing the rest of my photography career it would definitely be cake smashes!

It’s always so amazing how much babies as well as their parents grow in such a short amount of time! Jarett & Matoka seem like they’ve grown so much closer together as a couple but were still the overly affectionate parents I remember from our prior session! Baby A had a smile that could warm even the coldest heart… but something changed in six months! She’s now so menacing it’s ridiculous! 

Just kidding… she’s as sweet as ever & was amazing at keeping herself busy! J & M make such a cute couple that I couldn’t help spend a little extra time with them taking some adorable couple photos. There was so much going on around us & despite this & all the distractions Baby A was the perfect little model & pretty much let her parents do whatever they needed to do.

When it came time to do her CS we started to loose her. Baby A’s curiosity grew too strong & she was more interested in the flowers behind her! (I still can’t help but show off her adorable ensemble!) I love customizing outfits almost as much as I love making sets! I made the little Mossy Crowns months before & I’m always looking for an excuse to use them (which is how we ended up with a bit more of a rustic woodland set, sorry Matoka!)

This was my first outdoor Cake Smash so of course I was a little nervous on how it would turn out! It’s a lot easier having an indoor set simply because you only have a small amount of space to fill when you’re outdoors there are so many other factors to take into consideration! After lots of trips to Michaels & lots of burns from the hot glue gun later, I’ve got to say though this is probably my favorite cake smash to date & I’m so happy I got this experience with this wonderful little lady! I had a general idea of where I wanted to get setup after out family session & while I waited for my little brother to bring the cake from home I scouted the area. I found a beautiful tree with some low hanging vines & it looked just perfect! I was about to go back to my car & move everything a little further down (so I wouldn’t have to make ten trips) but than I saw something that instantly changed me mind. Wrapped around one of the low hanging vines was a HUGE snake that was making it’s way into an opening of the tree. The tree I was about to set a baby in front of. Needless to say, that didn’t happen. Thankfully there was a beautiful location much closer to us!

Though Baby A was a little angel the majority of our shoot the last 30 minutes of Baby A was growing pretty tired of our shenanigans & was about ready for her nap. We couldn’t let this delicious cake go to waste though! Thankfully we had a mommy, daddy, & photographer with enough enthusiasm to go around!  Baby A wasn’t about to dig into her cake either, she was content with a chunk of icing on the side of the cake so we had to help her a little bit & get her hands dirty! (Photos Below) It was a great excuse for all of us hungry adults to grab a chunk of cake or glob of icing while Baby A regained her composure.

 I spend so much time directing clients & trying to get them comfortable with the whole process when we first start that my shoots normally run a couple of hours! At the point it just comes natural for Jarett & Matoka but I still can’t help spending all my morning with them! I look for any excuse to extend our time together a little more than necessary! You can ask any of my clients, most of our sessions are spent exchanging funny jokes that the little ones thankfully don’t understand or telling stories of something ridiculously stupid that happened to us ‘not to long ago’. I don’t run a lot anymore but my mouth sure does! (If only that burned calories) .

There’s never a down time, especially with this couple & I love it. I’ve absolutely loved getting to know this family over the last six months & I’m so incredibly thankful that they’ve tolerated my shenanigans throughout the time!  Hopefully there will be lots more oatmeal cream pies & root beer floats in the near future!

                                            Behind the Scenes!

People always ask me how to keep a baby happy through the session & how I get them to stay on their best behavior the whole time! I think people assume that because I always post pictures of such happy babies that I have some magical power over the little ones (which I try & convince myself that I do sometimes) & that all the happy giggling photos you see throughout our session is what it is in real life! One thing I love about working with babies is that they’re unpredictable & take no direction! Babies never do what you truly want them to so sometimes it takes lots of fart noises & lots of patience!

Thankfully I always have a mommy or daddy that’s willing to help!