A Valentine’s Themed Anniversary Session in Raleigh with Kim+Joe.

What better way to celebrate your 4 year anniversary than tromping around in a field surrounded by red balloons, a totally sweet tent made for children, fake crows, hand-painted tights, and more doilies than you can possibly imagine!? :D

We happily took pictures of the stunning Kim (mom and photographer) and the handsome Joe (Army man) in a field nearby our house. Kim and Joe celebrated their anniversary with a session to celebrate their amazing awesomeness. Kim’s starting a photography business of her own, and photos are mega important to her. She wanted these pictures to be fun, relaxed, and show how in love her and Joe are… which wasn’t hard to do. :) She also wanted it to be Valentine themed with the major color scheme being red, white, and pink. Ironically, they had a lot of the same ideas that Geoff and I had for our own anniversary session last year: using a lot of props and things from their actual wedding, bring glass Coke bottles and birdcages equipped with crows (which we still had from our wedding and took along for this shoot… the crows were happy to be included and so often used), colored shoes, and decorations that were meaningful to them (a Mason jar full of golf balls to represent Joe’s love of golf, and a jar full of buttons to represent Kim’s craftiness).

Kim and Joe came equipped with TONS OF PROPS that, apparently, also fill their house at any given time of the year. You see, Kim is a major crafthead (hence the jar of buttons). Constantly, constantly crafting. Every decoration you see in this shoot that involves ribbon, yarn, doilies, necklaces, tights, fabric flowers – Kim made herself. She has an incredible talent for creating things that are fun, sweet, and inherently happy.

They were our first couple to come to their session equipped with their own party-sized helium tank.

**I want to give major photo props to Geoff, who helped me set  up and style the table of crafts that Kim brought, but who also took freaking awesome pictures, many of which are below. Geoff always shoots weddings with me, but he isn’t always able to make it to portrait shoots because he has a regular software engineering job and I shoot portraits on the weekdays. But when he’s able to make it, he takes really great stuff (in addition to coding our website, blog, ordering system, and everything else behind the scenes). So, in order to give credit where credit is due, I’m now watermarking all pictures with our names in the lower left hand corner. It’s very subtle (I despise watermarks as I find them distracting and don’t believe they stop people from stealing anything unless they’re right over the picture… which is even more distracting) and I hope it serves the purpose of giving Geoff credit while not taking away from the pictures. :) GEOFF, YOU ROCK.

 

 

The Downtown Raleigh Alliance Annual Convention at the Raleigh Convention Center

As some of you may or may not know, I am an on-site photographer for the Downtown Raleigh Alliance… meaning that when they host an event or activity, they frequently call me to do freelance work for them. They use my photographs in publications for the city and various Raleigh magazines. They do an amazing amount of positive work for downtown Raleigh and I’m always more than happy to work for them! On February 23rd, they hosted the Annual Convention at the Raleigh Convention Center and I was on-board to photograph it. It was an excellent convention with stylish decorations and an amazing speaker. Awards were given out to several prominent members of the community, including CAM and other downtown businesses that have made a positive impact on the community this year. The guest speaker was Roger Brooks, President of Desintation Development International and author of author of several books about how to turn your city into a destination.

And if you get a chance to stop by the Downtown Raleigh Alliance office on South Wilmington, pick up a copy of the 2011 Annual Report, a Raleigh Map & Guide, or a Year in Sponsorships (2012-2013) booklet to see my photography featured! *End of shameless self-promotion* ;)

Schedule your portraits now or forever hold your peace

Hi, everyone!

I usually don’t do posts like this, but based on what happened last year and the amount of weddings we have this year, I know that I should. :D

I have gone through my schedule for the year and blocked off weddings and sessions and set aside time for editing, orders, rehearsal attendance, travel, etc. With all of that included, I have anywhere from about 1-3 slots left for portraits per month for the remainder of the year (except December, which is always open!). So if you’re thinking about booking portraits for sometime this year, I suggest doing it soon/now/ASAP! No amount of tears or begging can open up an extra slot, so planning is key here. :) I have very specific days open, so it would kind of be like setting up a doctor’s appointment. :)

If you are owed a session with your wedding package but have not scheduled it yet, you need to do so also as soon as possible. That takes slots away that could otherwise be gobbled up by other portrait people. :)

Portraits are taken on a first come, first serve basis. This means that you actually have to have the contract signed and back to me in order to be booked – sometimes multiple people request the same dates, or the same time frame, and only one of them can have it, so if you want it you must sign the contract. :) Unfortunately, inquiring doesn’t count. :( Please plan accordingly and as soon as possible. Thank you! :D

xoxo – Carolyn