This day spent with Lindsey and Seth was full of so much goodness! I spent the whole day smiling behind my camera. Here are a few favorites…

Venue: Anderson Gail Farms

Florist: Dorothy McDaniel

Caterer: Kathy G and Co.

Cake: Nothing Bundt Cakes

HAMU: The Mad Style

DJ: Top Tier Entertainment

Birmingham, AL | Family Photographer

Oh the pressure we feel as moms to have everybody nicely dressed, combed, brushed, matching, HAPPY and smiling all at the same dadgum time for family photo sessions.  And if we are somehow able to achieve this miracle through bribes and gritted teeth, so help me if someone’s eyes aren’t closed (usually Dad’s). Why? Why do we inflict this madness on ourselves?  Your family is beautiful and perfect AS IS.  End of story.  What if I told you there is a better way to capture the real, authentic beauty of your people?

Photography Session Tips

1. Don’t say CHEESE! I’m gonna let you in on a little industry secret.  Photographers do not like for mom and dad to tell their kids to say cheese.  Just trust me on this one.  We are internally cringing when you do this.  Why? Because it produces cheesy, fake smiles.  We are going for authentic here, remember?
2. Sometimes, mom and dad, you are a distraction.  We all know you have the best intentions, but your constant adjusting and fixing of your kiddos is stressful. To them.  I guarantee if you will step back a little and let the photographer do her thing, your little person will feel the freedom to be themselves. This is when the magic happens.
3. Trust your photographer.  You chose her for a reason!  You admire her work, her style, her art.  Relax, she knows what she is doing!  Don’t be afraid to let your kids act like kids.  As photographers, we have seen just about every tantrum and meltdown under the sun.  And, you know what?  We are ok with it.  We don’t think your kid is THE WORST if they are having a bad day.  Odds are, if you stay calm, they will too.
4. Try a documentary photography session.  Mainly, because they are so much fun!  They are hands down my clients’ favorite type of session.  You get to be yourselves and I get to show you just how beautiful that is.

Birmingham, Alabama | Wedding Photographer

I get asked this all. the. time.  How did you get started?  Did you go to school to learn how to be a photographer?  How were you able to turn a hobby into a business?  How do you balance motherhood and running a small business?

The sort-of short answer is that I did not have any plan to become a professional photographer, much less a wedding photographer.  I was a banker.  With a business degree in marketing.  Working 8 to 5 Monday through Friday.  Until Harper.  I knew I wanted to be home with her.  I had a brand new camera and a brand new baby.  I took lots of pictures of my new little muse.  Every once in a while I would take a really good picture. Those few and far between “really good ones” spurred me on to figure out how to consistently achieve those results.  And here’s the big secret of how I did this.  Ready?  I read my camera manual.  You know, the one that actually comes in the box with your shiny, new camera. Not once,  but dozens of times.  I learned my camera. It was a tool that I was hungry to master.  I wrestled with it.  I took thousands of terrible pictures.  Over time, consistency came.  I started shooting images that I was happy with.  I was proud to share them with family and friends.  Friends started asking me to take photos of their kids.  I wanted to do a good job, so I studied more.  I taught myself how to use Photoshop and camera raw…and later, Lightroom (I actually won Photoshop from a contest on The Pioneer Woman‘s website, talk about a God-send!).

I rocked along for a few years shooting primarily family and newborn sessions.  I was ready to learn something new and push myself again.  I reached out to my friend and partner in crime and wedding-cake-eating, Hillary Gamble of JeVois Photography.  She is primarily a wedding photographer.  I wanted to learn from her, and she needed a reliable second shooter for her weddings.  After shooting a multitude of weddings with her and working out all the nerves that come along with being entrusted to handle such a BIG day, I gained the confidence and working knowledge I needed to go it on my own.  Weddings are so much fun to capture.  I view them the same way that I view a family session, through the lens of storytelling (which I will expand on in another post).

As far as finding balance.  Really, aren’t we all just doing our best?  We set aside time each day to make sure our kids know they are known and loved deeply, and we hustle in the fringe hours.  My turn around time is not where I want it to be.  I am not as organized as I want to be.  My website needs attention.  I would love to take some online creative classes.  There is so much room for improvement.  BUT, my kids are only little one time.  So, I do my best.  Just like you.