What does Individualizing your Wedding Photography Mean?

It means...Put yourself in your images! Be creative.... Add personal items to your sessions.... Have ideas on what type of images you see in your mind!
What type of setting would you create?
Where was that special place you and your soon to be talked about getting married?
Where was that romantic moment that you'll always remember?.... Even when you're turning gray with one another?
I talk to all of our couples about what they imagine their images to be and most don't really know what to say! But sometimes we have couples that really want to get involved in the creative part of their sessions! We've gone to places where the husbands have proposed.... We have couples that come up with ideas on how they want to show their Wedding Date in their images! This is more fun and means more to the individuals if they're personally involved in the creative end of their photography!!!
When a bridal session is coming up and our bride is looking through magazines.... She sees an awesome image she absolutely loves.... We tell her to tear out that magazine page and we'll do our best to emulate it! It's being involved and creative that individualizes your Wedding Photography.... And not just leaving it up to your photographer to create every image!

Historic Downtown Franklin!
We had an AWESOME time with this couple in Downtown Franklin! There are so many photo opts in Franklin.... Lots of history.... And memories being made by hundreds daily!
Steve and Julie were a pleasure to work with!

How would you individualize your images?  

Baby Mason

We had the great pleasure meeting Baby Mason a few days ago... He was such a sweet little baby! He comes from a family that also gave us the honor of doing their Wedding.
The parents of this sweet baby went to school and grew up with my sweet daughter/assistant/office admin (my right arm), Dawn. Emily and Will are going to make the best parents! They both come from very structured, Christian families! We are very proud to know both families.

But back to Baby Mason!
He came in right from his mid morning nap and he was in the best mood ever! You can certainly tell, if you look at his images that he was at his best when his session first started. We captured tons of expressions from this little man! After looking and editing his images, I'm thinking... WOW! Do I see Will (his dad) in that baby! Looks like Will has molded himself! Looking forward to future sessions with this little man as his features change and he grows over the next nine months!

Both grandmothers were at this sweet baby's session. If I was his grandmother I would be there too!

Beautiful Baby boy Emily and Will..... I know you're very proud parents!!!

Congrats to Kasey and Derrick on their upcoming Wedding nuptials!

Before we got started, we had Derrick and Kasey create a few signs to commemorate their Save the Date!

The Save the Date Session turned out beautifully!! They brought their babies Jake and Bailey.
Jake is this sweet, docile, shy pup that loves his Mama! Every time we took him away from his Mama he looked terrified.
Now Bailey was the total opposite! He was very anxious and excited to be here. He wanted to go and see everything! He was very interested in the pond.... I think he would have leaped right in... And he almost did get away from me once... But of course they couldn't let him loose or we probably never would have gotten our hands on him again! Wild little Bailey!
They loved our treats..... Especially Bailey!

The day was absolutely gorgeous! The winds were a little challenging, but the temp and the fall look for the images were perfect!!
The look that Kasey and Derrick created was perfect too! They were very casual and comfortable and very much themselves for the session, which we LOVE!!
When you are comfortable and relaxed, it shows in the images!

Derrick and Kasey came up with the idea of "tying of the knot" which turned out FABULOUS! We love using our clients' ideas for creative, fun images... And that makes it more personal for Derrick and Kasey!

What type of Photographer would you Hire?

I've been studying the art of photography for fourteen years and there are several different types (personalities) of photographers to pick from.

Lets see....There's Intellectuals, Masters, Self taught, Moms with a Nice Camera, Degree Holding (schooled), Photo Journalists, Instructional (university instructors or professors). The list could go on and on!

 I can say I know some of all of these types and personalities of photographers. Can I say one is better than the other? Absolutely!! But who am I to say what's good or what's best for someone else? What I may think is a great photograph, someone else may think is boring or just plain awful! A certain personality or style may fit me, but not necessarily you!!

What makes our industry so difficult for individuals looking for that perfect wedding photographer? We are all so different in personality, education, business sense, style, prices, products and techniques. I could go on and on about our differences! The range of photography as a whole is actually quite fascinating really! Everybody thinks they're a photographer...What's the criteria of a photographer? That's the hundred dollar question!!

All we can do is advise couples to look at several wedding photographers before they make that final decision. Go with your heart!! If you do your shopping in the correct way, I guarantee you'll find that perfect fit for your
All So Perfect Wedding Day!

What type of Photographer am I? Well, first of all... I hate talking about myself! I'm a schooled photographer....I took my very first class (basic photography) about 14 years ago...Back then I started as a non degree seeking student and took so many classes and finally said to myself "Get Your Degree!" and by golly that's what I did! It took a while but it was well worth every minute! I've studied under Master Photographers and have learned from some of the best! I've come to figure out that this photography thing is very much my passion!!!

I love doing self portraiture for this very reason.... I LOVE having AWESOME images of myself!! Tell me somebody who doesn't??

If I want to forget it all for a moment or two, I grab my camera and tripod and take a nice long walk on our farm and shoot away! Life is pretty darn good!  I Thank the Lord for everything in my life!!!

What's the Most Important Aspect of Your Wedding....

Your boyfriend has popped the question and it's time to start the planning stages of your Wedding. The list making, the questions in your mind.....Is my fiance' going to be involved in the planning stages or do I just want his support??? Question after question will continue to pop up in your brain!

One of the best questions you can ask yourself is in the title of this post! What are we going to put the most emphasis on? The photography, the venue, the food, the flowers, the dress....Where are we going to cut corners? This is hard for every bride on a budget. What we advise, if asked, is that you should visit and spend a couple of days at our bridal shows and collect vendor information and go from there. Then you should have a clearer idea of what's important to you and your fiance'.

Our Bridal Shows are absolutely FABULOUS and we feel they are a great investment to a bride preparing for that special day....

Here's more great ideas on Wedding Planning....

Would your husband, fiance' or boyfriend watch "Say Yes to the Dress" with you over a Football Game??

If there's a game on my husband wants to watch (which are ALL FOOTBALL games) and there's a Wedding show on I want to watch...would my husband watch it with me? Absolutely not!!!

Why? Who knows! It's something about shows we like to watch....I think men think they are going to lose their masculinity if they watch one.  Really......Who knows what they think sometimes!!! I wish I had a dollar for every football game I've watched over the twenty-seven years of marriage! I actually like football or most all sports for that matter! What's wrong with shopping for wedding dresses, cooking or a great love story every once in a while???

If you have a boyfriend, fiance' or husband that will watch your shows with you, be a little grateful for that very humble part of your life!

What's wrong with having the best of both worlds???

Where are the Best Picturesque Places to Shoot?

As a professional photographer, I see a photo opt at every turn. I know that's what I've been trained to see in my studies. And...It's become almost automatic for me to capture the beauty of an individual or family just about anywhere at anytime!

BUT...

This time of year is the prettiest time of year for me, especially this year! The colors that the Lord has provided are just so vibrant! And they're hanging around for a while longer it seems (or maybe it's just me being more observant). The best family portraiture is this time of year. The temperature is great, wearing warm colors are best, and it's just plain Picturesque!!!

I encourage families to do their portraits at their family home (grandparent's or parent's home place). It's where they spend most of their time and it's very personal to them. It means so much more to families when it's done at their home instead of the studio or on location. Our studio is located on our 40 acre family farm and we have lots of places for Family Portraiture, but I still recommend family portraiture at your home!

We LOVE this Family!

Venues or Any Vendor....

Had a couple come in yesterday to interview us for their Wedding... "Absolutely beautiful couple"!!!

They were telling me about looking around for their venue for their Wedding. They went to some of the best and most beautiful places in Nashville. There's one in particular that they got terrible customer service from. She (the bride) played phone tag with someone and then went to the venue for a consult and she (the bride) was totally turned off by the lady conducting the consult!

Now, this is one of the premium venues in Nashville! Would you book your Wedding with a venue that gave you terrible customer service from start to finish? Does the beauty of a venue mean more or over-ride terrible Customer Service?

Congrats to David and Brandi on their upcoming nuptials....

What an AWESOME "Save the Date" shoot we had!!! Brandi and David brought the pumpkins to show their Wedding Date and their creativity in their images! LOVE IT!!! Awesome job guys!!!

Wedding Drama

It seems there is always some type of drama at Weddings! If I think about it, I'm sure I could come up with something from every Wedding that we've done. Think about it folks....When you put two families together and you've hired all of these professionals to work your wonderful, unforgettable event...your Wedding....Some drama is inevitable!!!

In the society we live in today, there's drama at every turn. We turn the TV on...We all live to see reality shows! We watch the news...Nothing but drama! The weather....Mother Nature's drama!  Really....If there wasn't a little drama, life would actually be boring! 

During the planning stages of your Wedding Day, there may be family drama (seen a little), Wedding party drama, cake drama, disc jockey drama, and even photographer drama!

I actually think some people LOVE drama! Me, I try my best to stay clear of it!

Okay folks....This is a drama story for ya! The guy who's circled is a guy at this Wedding that nobody knew! He was in the middle of everything at the reception (don't remember seeing him at the ceremony, but I bet he was there). I believe he was a sport fan of the couple....They both played collegiate basketball. He took tons of pictures and I don't think a single soul said a word to him about being there!

This guy was so out of place...Everybody was like.... "Who is that guy?" I even asked! I guess you could call him a classic Wedding Crasher!

He was everywhere!

If you had a Wedding Crasher at your Wedding or say Your Daughter's or Son's Wedding, would you ask them to leave?