I remember when I first started learning about bokeh - it was taught to me as the ‘circles of confusion’ in a photo. The part that was not in focus, often in the background of your subject. I would try to capture it, and when I did (accidentally) once, I was so proud! I loved me some bokeh, and still do
So when Molly chose our focus word “bokeh” I was pretty excited to focus on getting images with noticeable bokeh. And this time I felt better equipped and a bit more knowable on the ‘how to’.
Here is what I got…

Kinda in love with that shot of Bristol Bee, there are more where that came from and I’ll share them soon

Now, head over to Click of the Wild and see which one I choose to use, how the other girls captured bokeh!

My little sister got married yesterday. She has been in front of my camera so many times over the years. The first picture I ever remember taking of her has stayed in our Dad’s truck ever since. I used my Mom’s camera, and I was maybe 6 or 7 years old. I had no idea what I was doing (obviously) and didn’t even have her in focus. But, it has always been a family favorite. Which makes me think, no matter how much we practice and get our photo’s ‘technically’ right, it’s really the ‘feeling’ of the photo that makes it special.
Since taking that photo I have grown to love photography on a deeper level. I have practiced to get it ‘technically’ right and now try to put the technical with the ‘real’, and create beautiful images that are true to life and full of feeling.
I am still learning and practicing with every photo I take.
I borrowed the picture of her as a baby from my Dads truck… here it is…

Yep, harsh flash, shadows and all. (I still have no idea what I am doing with flash!) But what I (also) see is a happy, cute, smiley baby.

So, with all that being said, shooting her bridals was extra special for me. We went to Charleston, SC. A place we have visited so much over the years, and our Mom lived there as a child.  It is beautiful. And honestly, I was ecstatic to not only have a gorgeous bride in front of my camera, but also the backdrop of Charleston – It was a photographers dream!

(anyone want bridals – or any session in Charleston?! I am ready to go do it again!)

Without further ado, here are my sisters bridal pictures… enjoy!

The Battery in Charleston was an extra special location to shoot at, since my Mom played here in this park as a little girl….








































































































Tressa Ann, Thank you for trusting me to capture you – always. You are one of my biggest cheer-leaders, and I appreciate it so much.
Mom, Thank you for exactly the same. As we set out to do this session I was a little nervous. You all (my family) often have more faith in me than I have in myself. Without ya’ll pushing me sometimes I might would get stuck in my comfort zones. Thank you. XoXo

These three surprised their Mom with photo’s for Christmas. She had been wanting updated pictures of them for years. She’d had the same photo framed in her living room for 16 years! So, they asked me to re-create that exact same photo (since it has always been a favorite of hers)… I loved the idea. So we did exactly that (as best we could), here is an Instagram photo so you can see the old/new together…

And then we just wandered around the pasture and barn that means so much to them and their Mom… I loved it.
Meet Jonathan, Ashley, and Shelby…

Jonathan, Ashley, and Shelby… Thank you for asking me to do these for you! xoxo

These moments… let me tell you about a few moments this morning while getting the girls hair trimmed….  Kennedy and Bristol got into a fight over candy. Kennedy yelled. I had to pry the candy out of Bristol’s hand. Bristol screamed and threw a huge fit. I was mortified and apologized to the ones who had to witness such a fit. And then I got out of there as fast as I could. (I was getting waxed when this went down too, by the way!)

Sigh.
Never a dull moment.

Now, let me show you a few of the good moments….the ones I love and soak up… Mornings are sometimes my favorite. And this particular morning was a really sweet one. I turned around to get something and found Bristol up on Tenley’s changing table with her. They both thought this was hilarious and so I grabbed my camera and snapped a few pictures

Drawing with Mya (my sisters little girl)…

Window markers. I have a love/really-don’t-love feeling about these. At least they look cute doing it and have a lot of fun!

Tee ball. This is an iphone picture before their game on Saturday. I kinda love this shot, like, a lot.

Thanks for looking!

Confession: I feel a bit intimidated by newborn sessions. I considered not doing them for awhile. But, I really love the special time of having a brand new baby. It’s different. It’s new and happy and sleep deprived, and a whole lot more. It’s a special time.
I still get nervous about newborn sessions. But I also feel that I am finding what works for me. I go in and take pictures of the baby in their own surroundings. I shoot what inspires me and what I feel tells their story best. I hope my images capture not only the special time of having a newborn, and the baby (of course) but also a feeling of the home. Because home really is where the heart is.

Also, getting some sweet baby snuggles as I shoot is definitely a plus!

Meet Brinley Faith…

Thank you Emily, for asking me to capture your sweet bundle of joy!

Mallory chose “playtime” as our focus for Click of the Wild this time. I absolutely love this focus and all the ways it can be captured. Playtime is fun and can vary so much!
One of the first things (maybe the very first thing?) that came to mind was bedtime for our girls. They seem to think that bedtime is playtime, and get totally wild and crazy. One of their favorite things to do lately is jump off the beds into their Daddy’s arms. I decided that I really wanted to capture this as my playtime picture.
We have two weeks to get each focus. I waited till the night we posted to get this shot. Yep. Nothing like waiting till the last minute! I really wanted a shot with all three girls in it, but it didn’t happen. I still love what I got.
This is yet another reason that I love Click of the Wild, without this focus, I probably would not have pulled my camera out and captured this moment. These moments happen and pass and they move on to other things and they grow up. I am thankful to have this picture to look back on and remember when they jumped into his arms giggling and yelling and saying “I feel like a bird! I feel like I am flying!” -Kennedy
“Daddy, catch me!” -Bristol
“Daddy! Me!” -Tenley
 

These are a few other pictures I got in the last two weeks. Honestly, I have more, but haven’t gotten around to even looking at them yet!

Thank you for looking! Now, head over to Click of the Wild and see the other “Playtime” shots!

Meet Jarrad, Megan and sweet little Tucker. We wandered around the Helms family land and got some pictures of them back in the fall… I fell in love with Tucker’s red hair and blue eyes – he is precious! Here are a few of my favorites

Megan and Jarrad, thank you for asking me to capture your family with my camera

And suddenly my baby is two years old!

Wow.

Two years ago today we welcomed our 3rd baby girl. Tenley Rhyann. She is our blue-eyed, thumb sucking, independent, sweet girl. And I cannot believe two years has passed so quickly.

I have found that the hospital pictures are some of my favorites. I absolutely love to look back on these, I feel like they take me right back to that day and all those wonderful ‘new’ moments…. finding out boy or girl… telling the name… showing them off to friends and family and big sisters for the first time… holding them… oh, holding them! So, I went through my folder of Tenley’s hospital and first day at home pictures and pulled out a few of my favorites

Happy Happy Birthday, Tenley! We love you so very much!

one of my all-time favorite pictures…

another all-time favorite!

And here she is today!

Linden chose our focus word for Click of the Wild this time, and I loved it as soon as she sent it to us. Profile.
So why did I wait till the last day to pull my camera out and focus on this word? I have no idea! I had one particular image in mind that I really wanted to try and get. But I just got busy and didn’t make it happen.
So, while outside planting flowers today Kennedy walked around the house carrying all this stuff and I said “I need to get a picture of you!” So I did.

This shot was from a doggie session I did on Saturday, I feel like it fit the focus word pretty well

While I had my camera outside getting Kennedy’s picture today I decided to grab one of Bristol too. I fell in love with this shot. Everything about it. From her little cheeks all puffed out, her hands holding the dandelions, the way she squeezed her eyes shut, her little lips, to the dandelions blowing away…


I also love it in black and white…

okay, now head over to Click of the Wild and see how the other girls captured profile.

If you follow me on Social Media, you may have seen this shot of my girls already. On Easter Sunday, they were all in their matching dresses and I wanted to run outside before leaving for church to grab a quick picture. The wind roared, Tenley screamed, Bristol cried and Kennedy informed me she was cold.
And then I was all why can’t I get just one good shot of my girls dressed up together?! I do it for others, why can’t I do it for myself?!
Sigh.
But then, when I uploaded this picture to my computer, I laughed so hard. In a way, it feels just right. Oh yeah, for sure I wish I had a pretty picture of them all three standing and smiling at me. But, this is such a good reminder of real life. I know I will love this photo even more 5 years from now!

That week I did what I do best. Just captured them as they are. Not dressed up and not posing together. I love these moments. But, Tenley still refuses to let me take her picture. I may have to try harder this week
In this first shot they were watching caterpillars in their cocoons. It was amazing and now I realize that I didn’t get a shot of it! I’m sorry..

Kennedy loves hiking in the woods. So as we hiked I asked her to stop and let me take her picture a few times…

I love these next two shots SO much. The sun was high so the light was not the best, but it doesn’t matter because this is my three running to the swings. And I feel like I managed to capture a small part of their childhood here. (well, first picture 2 of them, obviously… )




I did managed to get Bristol to give me a few minutes for some pictures later that same day… I love these. They are so Bristol Bee!

Happy Monday ya’ll! Thanks for looking