raleigh bridal portraits: erika

i’ve been waiting for over a month to post erika’s bridal portraits! we couldn’t post them back in september because we would run the risk of dustin, erika’s fiancé, seeing them. however, the two were married this weekend in a beautiful ceremony and are now on their honeymoon in vegas, so it’s safe to post! :) i can’t wait to write more about their fantastic wedding after i’m done editing their photographs.

but anyway, back in september erika contacted me to do a bridal shoot that was fun and different. she was getting married at hill ridge farms in youngsville, nc and there were tons of places on that farm to take awesome shots. erika’s a lot of fun and was not afraid to run around a corn field, sit in some hay, or climb over a wall or two! (don’t worry – her dress was fine!) since hill ridge farms is a children’s farm, they had a lot of great “props” and different areas to take some really fun photographs. we had a blast and came away with adorable shots.

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remembering why i love fall.

fall is the best time ever. and although it’s very much my favorite season, i can never quite articulate why until it rolls back around again. it’s turning out to be a beautiful season in raleigh so i’ve been doing a lot of hiking and nature walking during the afternoons. autumn colors are my favorite and are surprisingly much more vivid and expansive than the colors of summer. it’s nice to have them back. i also visited the state fair (of course) to eat (of course) and to marvel at the other people attending the state fair. my main goal this year was to meet the barrel monster who i heard was lingering around the home and garden show, but alas, after looking for him everywhere i gave up after a few hours only to drown my sorrows in a giant bucket of cheese fries.

so here it is… the only thing missing is the pumpkin pie. ladies and gentlemen, i present to you: the fall.

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tabitha nicholas: dog model extraordinaire.

more tabitha, the adorable dog i had the pleasure of photographing this weekend. someone needs to sponsor her as a dog model for purina or something.

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morgan and tabitha!

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in north carolina, dogs have favorites when it comes to college sports too. :)

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tabitha, morgan, and elisa: tabitha only sits still for more than 2 seconds if there’s lots of attention involved – one of the few pictures where her tongue is not out. :)

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such a sweetie! hopefully i have the opportunity to do more pet photography sittings in the future. i love to photograph everything, but pets are especially fun to photograph because they present a unique challenge: you cannot pose them. unusually obediant dogs, maybe, but even then it is nothing like posing a person. it’s candid and action photography as its best and definitely keeps you on your toes. you have to constantly adjust camera settings and patiently wait for that perfect moment when the dog actually looks in your direction. :) it was a blast!