Carolyn and Levi :: Wedding | Chattanooga Wedding Photographer

I could write this blog post about how excited (and nervous!) I was about traveling to Colorado with my youngest daughter to be the photographer for my cousin's wedding recently. I could tell you what I learned about shooting weddings - what worked, what didn't, what I loved and disliked... But, when I look at the images in this post, I know that I can't write about any of that - there is no story but the love story between Carolyn, my dear cousin, and her husband, Levi. Their love is so palpable and they did such an incredible job planning their celebration to infuse the whole day with elements of their story that to talk about anything else would be irreverent to their magic. Their choice of kilts for the groom and groomsmen honored their cultural roots. Her cowboy boots were a nod to the story of them meeting at a country-music nightclub. Carolyn included a charm on her bouquet with a photo of our sweet grandparents, whose love, devotion and faith were so strong that, even in eternal rest, they serve as a beautiful example of the virtues of marriage. I could go on and on, but I'll let the photographs do the story-telling...

It was an amazing day.  Congratulations, Mr. and Mrs. McKay! Thank you so much for letting me be a part of your story!  Here's to a lifetime of ever-growing love....

Lillie :: Senior Model Class of 2013 | Chattanooga Senior Portrait Photographer

Kicking off my season this year, I started out with the lovely Lillie with her senior modeling session.  She is one of my reps this year, so her session was meant to be fun, capture her personality, and get some great images. 

Oh. My. Word.  Right out of the gates, Lillie was fantastic at taking direction and had a knack for knowing how to interact with the camera.  She let her poses flow naturally and had a grace and ease about her that really made her session fun from start to finish.

I was SUPER excited when she told me she was going to go with a boho chic look.  I had been eying a couple of pretty locations with great light and interesting textures for a while and just hoping one of my girls would give it a shot.  Normally big prints don't work super well for photos, but the big graphic on her flowy dress was just enough color to make a big statement without being overwhelming.

The blue was great with her eyes, which are so, so beautiful.

You can see her gorgeous class ring in some of these shots and even that was awesome - understated and elegant.  VERY awesome.

I love Lillie's sense of adventure.  Snuggle up to a rusty pipe thingy?  Sure!  Stomp around an abandoned shoe factory at dawn? Sure!  Climb this sketchy ladder?  No problem!  I couldn't have asked for an easier girl to work with if I had thought for days about what I'd want in a model.

At this point, I also feel I need to give her mom a giant shout-out; she was my assistant and worked the reflector like a pro!  She was so patient with my constant, "a little more to the left" directions and never complained about lugging it around!

I honestly can't think of a better way to start out the season than by working with Lillie.  Seriously.  She rocks.  The only drawback is getting spoiled right out of the gates...

...But I can think of way worse things to endure!