Ashleigh Dees Photography

the 2nd half...

2010-10-06T23:13:00.000-04:00

Big things are coming for this blog. That's all I will say for today, but the expect the big reveal by the end of the week! Until then, check out some more of my mini-sessions! :)

This sweet girl gave me a RUN (quite literally) for my money during her mini-session, but we still got some good stuff. Check out Miss Madison and all of her cuteness!

Love her blonde, blonde hair!

Love this one...she finally had to take a little break and we caught her! :)

Next up were these sweet girl Ava and Anna. They were super cute and both SOOO happy. I LOVE how their session turned out!

Isn't she the happiest baby EVER? So sweet!

Lastly for tonight...

We had scheduled a session for sweet little Hallie, but it really turned into a Mommy and Me session. She wasn't feeling my camera but would tolerate me as long as Mommy was close by. Luckily Mommy was dressed cute and ready for some pictures and I love the results. Hallie's daddy is in the military and away right now, so I hope being able to see these images of his girls happy and safe brings comfort to him. We definitely appreciate all he does!

I have one more collection of posts from these sessions and then some weddings, newborns...I know, I MUST catch the blog up soon!

More minis

2010-10-02T20:38:00.000-04:00

I'm sorry I've been M.I.A- I just can't seem to keep up with everything. Anyway, here is a little peek of some more of the sessions from last weekend. I will have a wedding peek for you in a few days and some more minis. I'm going to do better; I promise! :)

First up is Christina's cute little family. They were super fun and her little man was ADORABLE! Apparently he's been rocking this mohawk his whole life! So cute!

I love this one!

Miss Lucy was my next client for the day. She has a big brother that they left at home, so this session was all about her! Everyone deserves a little pampering and time in front of the camera and she was awesome. Mom dressed her extra cute and made the shots perfect!

Love this one...

Next were these sweet, adorable sisters. I could tell IMMEDIATELY that they had different personalities, but still got along so well. I have said it before, but I LOVE the bond sisters share- so precious!

Miss Anslee the sweet, quiet one...

And Miss Hartlee, still sweet but so spunky! ;)

Sooo.....sweet! Ok, that's all for now. See you back here tomorrow! :)

Covington Mini's

2010-09-30T12:51:00.000-04:00

Last weekend was INSANE! I had 12 mini-sessions, 1 full maternity session and 2 weddings! It was CRAZY! I've been an editing fool since we got back, and its time to update the blog! Anyway, here are the first 3 sessions from last weekend. I had some super cute kids and some really fun families come out to make it an awesome morning. I'm so blessed with fabulous clients. I hope you enjoy! :)

Here is sweet Will! :)

And the family.

I adore this one! :)

This next little cutie made me work hard to get some good shots of him in our limited time, but I think we accomplished it and got a few keepers! He was precious in this little outfit, but he just didn't love my chasing him with my camera! ;)

I love the composition of this one and how he looks just like a little man! :)

And lastly for today...

You saw this sweet girl a few months back as a tiny newborn and look with a beautiful baby girl she has turned into!!! :)

I think this is my favorite family shot from their session. Didn't Mama do a good job coordinating everyone's outfits? :)

I think this one is SO sweet!

CUTE! ;)

Ok! Keep checking back...there is SOOOO much more to come!

And the Winner is...

2010-09-28T10:31:00.000-04:00

Before I announce the much anticipated results of our cutest kid/baby contest, I want to say how much fun this was! I was able to see your cute kids, make so many "friends" on facebook, and now I get to reward all your hardwork with some free and/or discounted sessions! I can't wait to get these little cuties in front of my camera. We will definitely be doing this again in the future! And now for the results...
I will start in the 3-12 year category:
our runner up for this group is:

Lily D.

She receives a $50 credit towards a session or prints!

The winner for this group is:

Raylee H.

She receives a free mini-session (30-45 minutes) AND 20% off any prints from that session!

Ok, now for the baby division (ages 0-2).

The runner up is:

Ollie C.

She also receives $50 off a session fee or prints.

The winner of this division is:

Chandler C.

He also receives a free mini-session (30-45 minute) and 20% off prints from this session.

AND NOW...the kid with the most votes out of every contestant and the OVERALL WINNER of Ashleigh Dees Photography's Cutest Kid Contest- Fall 2010 IS....

JADYN C.

Jadyn will be receiving a FREE full-session AND the complete disc of images from her session with copyrights. She is also receiving free entry into the upcoming Holiday pageant hosted by Butterfly Beauty Pageants this December in Evans, GA.

Congrats to Jadyn and all of our winners! All participants will receive a free $20 print credit with any full session booked throughout the remainder of this year. Just a quick reminder that all prizes MUST be redeemed before this year ends. If you are a winner, get with me SOON to set up a time to redeem your prizes!

Thanks again to everyone who participated! It was lots of fun!

Santa Claus is coming to town...In NOVEMBER!!!

2010-09-26T22:22:00.000-04:00

If you are tired of the standard, ordinary, traditional pictures with Santa Claus we have the PERFECT solution for you. ADP will be throwing a Christmas Portrait Party on November 6th in Covington where an authentic (no fake beard here!) Santa will be available to take pictures with you, your children, or your whole family. To attend there will be a $15 session fee which will include an 8X10 of your favorite image with the option of buying more prints at reduced rate packages which all include a disc of images for printing for gifts and Christmas cards.
You will have the option of taking family pictures around a tree, a decorated fireplace, or other Christmas scenery as well as having pictures done with Santa. If you are interested in having pictures with Santa, you may have 2 times slots (one for Santa and one for family pictures).
This will all take place in a fun, exciting, welcoming atmosphere to get you in the mood for Christmas!
Packages for this special event will be at a reduced rate and will include images on disc for you to use as presents or to make Christmas cards with. There is a VERY limited number of spots available for this and your $15 session fee is non-refundable and must be paid in advance to reserve your spot, so contact me soon at ashleighdeesphotography@hotmail.com, or at 770-715-1723. Here are a few from our Santa shoot last year to get you in the spirit! :)

This is a great opportunity for your kids to have a fun, personal, priceless memory with Santa! Contact me soon to get your spot!

Sweet, Sleepy Samantha!

2010-09-22T22:56:00.000-04:00

I was able to go take some pictures of this adorable, perfect newborn yesterday. She was wide awake when I got there, but fell our very quickly (while I was unloading my stuff), and made for an amazing baby to photograph. We opted to go outside in their fabulous yard, plus I love natural light, and I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE these images. Enjoy!

She let me play LOTS of dress up! :)

We got some cute family shots too...

Back to the star of the shoot:

I took some heat in for this next one during my critique section of my photography class for all the "wasted space," but I love how tiny and precious she looks in the middle of all the yard.

Big sister Bekah wasn't feeling all of the accessories I kept putting on Samantha! :)

One of my new favorites. I love this family photo! :)

Congrats on this perfect, precious, baby girl! I hope to see more of her soon! :)

Pretty in Pink AND Full Term!

2010-09-21T22:13:00.000-04:00

Holly will be welcoming sweet baby Katie ANY day now. I can remember when she was first pregnant (and in denial) complaining with all her symptoms at work, and now she is almost ready! She was exactly 37 weeks yesterday when we met up (in the extreme heat) to do her shoot. She was a trooper, so laid back, and just ready to be a mama. I can't wait for her sweet one to make her entrance so I can go play with her! Good luck, Holly! We can't wait to meet her!

I SO love this one...

I'm feeling the vintage finish with this shirt. It just works! :)

Ok, Sweet Katie. Mama's maternity pictures are up. You can make your appearance now! :)

WRAP UP M-Ville Portrait Party

2010-09-19T23:23:00.000-04:00

Here are the last 3 sessions of the day. Again, more beautiful, fun people. Enjoy!

Check out these Ah-DORABLE twins. They were so fun to work with and SUPER-DUPER cute!

They are just TOO CUTE!

The next pair were SO much fun. They were both working it for my camera and made my job easy and I had a great time during my 20 minutes with these 2! I hope to see them again soon!

Meet Miss Kaitlyn

And here she is with her pretty Mama.

And she knows how to "work it" for the camera...

but let's face it...she gets its honest! :)

My fav from their session:

Our last session was Miss Peyton and her sweet mama Maggie. They were a great way to finish up the morning.

Oh, yes...she is super cute!

I love this one! :)

Alright folks, another set of mini-sessions done on the blog. We have SO much going on in the next 2 weeks so check back often! Also, remember we have about a week left for our cutest kid contest and the winner will ONLY be announced HERE- on the blog! So bookmark us and keep checking! :)

M-Ville Mini-Sessions PART 2

2010-09-18T22:43:00.002-04:00

Here is the 2nd group of mini-sessions from last weekend. I have one more to share with you tomorrow and then I will move on to the other things I have been doing since.
I met some beautiful babies and people while at this party, so enjoy them! They are precious!
Meet sweet Lindsey. She was super cute and a little shy, but she came around! :)

And her big sister Lauren. Both of these girls are in my cutest kid contest, so give them some love and go vote for them!

Sweet sisters!

These next 2 cuties were a little shy and made me work for my pictures, but I think they were totally worth it! :)

Here's sweet Maya

And big brother Darius.

Finally giving me some smiles! :)

Just too handsome!

This next sweet one STOLE MY HEART! She is adorable and OH, so serious! She didn't give us many smiles, but she's so stinkin' cute it didn't matter!

Meet sweet Miss Emma. You will be seeing more of her very soon. Her mama is throwing a portrait party next month, so she will get a free session!

Caught a little smile...

Ok, so the cool fountain you have seen in some of the pictures is on the campus of Georgia College and State University. We had this great idea when no one was around to strip Emma down and put her in for some cute pictures. Emma, however, thought it was too cold, but we still got our cute pictures! :)

I couldn't choose between the next 2. I love them both!

Playing with a little antique finish. Not usually my style, but I thought it fit this one.

Ok. One more post and I'll have all of the mini-sessions up just in time for a birthday party, maternity session, and newborn session coming up this week followed by more mini-sessions and a wedding! Whew! I get tired just thinking about it, but I'm very blessed! Thank you, clients! :)

Milledgeville Mini-sessions Part 1

2010-09-17T23:18:00.001-04:00

Last weekend I traveled to Milledgeville to have a little mini-session party and got to meet lots of new, fun, beautiful people. Meeting new people and hanging out is definitely one of my favorite perks of the job. I feel like I walk away with 10 or 12 new friends. Anyway here is the first part of our sessions. I was surrounded by all sorts of cuties in their red and black. Unfortunately, the dawgs didn't pull it out for us last week. There's always tomorrow! ENJOY!

First up was Blake. He was Mr. Serious for our little session because he was still half asleep. I got to see him opening up before he left, but I think the sleepiness gave us some great shot. These little guys are quick when they are wide awake. Check out these baby blues...

My next group was one of my most cooperative group of kids EVER. They LOVE having their pictures made which makes my job extremely easy. They were great in front of the camera. Check them out!

Kennedy

Raylee- who is a contestant in my cutest kid contest that is going on right now!

And even this little cutie, Mr. Cade, was cooperative for a while! He was quick to tell me when he was "all done" though! :)

One of the girls.

And ALL THREE sweeties!

Ethan was decked out in his Georgia gear early this Saturday morning too. He and his mommy had a little fun in front of the camera and it made for some great shots.

I love when you look at a picture and see so much more than the image. He is looking at his mommy right here and it is SO OBVIOUS how much he adores her. So sweet!

I. LOVE. THIS. PICTURE!

Time for a "traditional" one of Ethan and Amy!

Alright kids...time for bed! Check back tomorrow for part 2 of the Milledgeville mini-sessions! I have LOTS more for you! Until then...

Charleston, again!

2010-09-15T22:46:00.000-04:00

Last week I took Charleston's disc of her birth to her mommy and couldn't help but break out a few props and take some pictures. It wasn't really a session- more like us hanging out, but I wanted to share some of my favorites. She's just too precious.

This was one of the very last shots because I had my 5 month old with me who was getting tired, but we finally caught that sweet, sleepy, smile!

Thanks, Christina for letting me come hang out and play with that sweet girl!

Sweet Addison

2010-09-14T21:21:00.000-04:00

I will admit that I am SO behind with the blog. Between sessions, portrait parties, this CRAZY contest we are running, my poor blog has taken the back seat. Anyway, I'm going to do better to play catch up, so keep checking back. Anyway, here are a few from my session a few weeks ago with Addison. She was so cute and sweet. Her daddy is courageously serving our country overseas and hasn't even been able to meet her yet. I'm so incredibly grateful for his sacrifice and the sacrifices of his family. Thank you! I hope you are able to see these and enjoy!

Sweet brother Jonathon jumped in for a few shots. He was too cute not to get a little camera time!

Again, thank you so much for all that you give to keep us safe!

Also, I wanted to let you know our cutest kid contest is going on RIGHT NOW. Check out our facebook page, become a fan, and vote for the cutest kid to help them win free sessions and prints! Thanks SO MUCH!

The Howards

2010-09-09T18:26:00.000-04:00

This fun family wrapped up my last trip to Covington with a late afternoon shoot. I had been wanting to shoot at Oxford College, and they were up for it. We had to battle the rain and even a few injuries, but I think the images are definitely worth it! Thanks again for coming to hang out with my camera and me! Enjoy!
Ok, so we started at this cool building that I pass every time I go see my Nanny and Pop. It isn't on campus, but they went with it. I love it!

The two boys.

Being brothers...

This family was so much fun and up for anything. Heather got the coolest mom award for climbing a tree better than all the boys!

I adore a lot about this picture but the thing I love the most is the 2 boys on the end. They are posed EXACTLY the same and this was TOTALLY not prompted. Like father like son, I guess!

LOVE. THIS. ONE.

One more of the family! Thanks again, y'all! :)

Mini-Session Wrap Up

2010-09-08T20:14:00.001-04:00

Well these are the last 2 sessions from the mini-sessions in Covington. They were great and I really enjoyed meeting everyone.
I just wanted to take a minute to remind everyone that Sept. 12th is the last day to enter your child into our cutest baby/kid contest. ALL entrees get a free $20 print credit with any future sessions and the winner gets a free session WITH prints! All children ages 0-12 are eligible. Click HERE for more details and email your picture to ashleighdeesphotography@hotmail.com soon!

Ok enough promoting my contest. On with the pics! Here is Roy. He LOVES his tractor and I was so glad mom brought it because it made for a GREAT prop! I wish I had one for future sessions!

Here's a cute one of Roy and Mama! :)

So sweet! :)

My last session of the day was ONE MORE set of twins and a little sister. These girls were SO sweet! I had a great time with them. They were adorable together and made some awesome shots!

Alexis and Breana

Sweet girl Mariah with her beautiful hair!

Aren't they just so precious!?!

We snuck Mama in a few shots and I LOVE everything about this next image: the background, the light, everything...

OK- GO GET SNAPPING an email me those pics so you can win some FREE pictures of your cuties!

Welcome to the World Miss Charleston!

2010-09-06T20:22:00.000-04:00

On Friday I had the amazing opportunity to hang out at the hospital and take pictures of Charleston when she was only minutes old. Charleston's mom, Christina, had to have a c-section and we tossed around the idea of me being in the operating room, but eventually decided they probably keep visitors out for a reason. So while I didn't get to see the actual birth, I was able to capture all of the amazing, sweet moments that occurred as Charleston was meeting her anxious, loving family for the first time. This type of photography REALLY made me feel happy. As a mom, I realized what an amazing experience birth is and what an amazing blessing you are given in the form of a little person, and I was so happy to be able to be a part of such an amazing event in Adam and Christina's life. Anyway, here are a few pics from the day. Don't worry there is no nudity or grossness here, only a beautiful new life surrounded in lots of love.
Mama and Daddy waiting for surgery.

Sweet Charleston one more time before she makes her big entrance.

Big brother Carson, waiting his new sister.

AND...she's here! Carson checking her out for the first time!

All of the anxious family, happy to see their new addition!

I love this picture. They totally adore her, even sweet little Carson!

Adam and Christina, Thank you SO much for letting me be around to witness such a fun, amazing morning. Congrats on your new baby girl. She is precious!

While I realize that birth photography is probably not something that interests everyone, it is something that is becoming more common. If you are looking for a photographer to be present for the actual birth, or just around afterwards to take some pictures so you have one less thing to worry about, PLEASE contact me for pricing. This was such a fun opportunity, and I would LOVE to do it again!

Babies at the mini-sessions!

2010-09-05T15:06:00.000-04:00

I was so glad when Brooke brought Miss Reese who had just turned one. She has the cutest smile and personality. She broke out all her tricks: walking all alone, dancing, exploring in our little 20 minute session, I think these photos capture her sweetness (and beauty) perfectly! :)

Look at those 2 little teeth!

This is one of my favorite photos in a long time. I love the contrast, the mommy behind taking care of her, how cute both of their shoes are...everything about this shot makes me happy!

She's so sweet! Thanks!

Our next session was Reese's cousin (I think!) Hutch. He was only 2 weeks old and WIDE awake the whole time. Newborns are hard to do in only 20 minutes. During a regular newborn session we can wait them out and make them sleep, but Mr. Hutch was too interested in what was going on. Luckily he was awake but SO happy. He never fussed- not once when I moved him and dressed and undressed him. I think his mama is one lucky lady to have such a good baby!

Isn't he JUST PRECIOUS?

This little guy can make EVEN Tech cute, and that is hard to do! ;) This is for his daddy!

Sweet time with mama!

I had 2 newborns in a row at the mini-sessions and they aren't strangers. They were born on the exact day at the same hospital, so these two were probably hanging out in the nursery together when they were just hours old. Naomi slept like a champ in the midst of the bright light, cars passing, and everything else going on around her. I think her mama is a lucky one too!

Doesn't she look too perfect to be real? SO sweet!

I. LOVE. THIS. ONE!

This is another fav.

Sweet Naomi with her happy mama!

DON'T FORGET TO SUBMIT YOUR CHILD'S PICTURE TO OUR CUTEST KID/BABY CONTEST! The deadline for submissions is Sept. 12th. You can send them to ashleighdeesphotography@hotmail.com. We are accepting one picture per child (not family, so if you have more than one child, submit one for each). We are accepting kids ages 0-12 at the time of the contest. Everyone gets a free $20 print credit and winners get free sessions. Check out full details here.

April and Drew!

2010-09-04T19:48:00.001-04:00

Congrats to this sweet couple. They tied the knot today at a destination wedding in Florida. I hope they had great weather and an amazing day. We met last week to get some bridal shots and some pictures of the groom since they wouldn't have a photographer present for the big day. We're going to get together when they get back and take some fun ones together, so you will see more of this pretty pair!

Here is the beautiful bride...

We got permission to use the cutest little place in Conyers. I hope they let me come back again!

Thanks April for battling the grasshoppers to fulfill my vision! I think it was totally worth it!

I think this one is SO elegant!

Ok, I know. Big blog, but I love so many of them!

Ok, one more of April and then we will give Drew some blog time. This may be my favorite...

I was a little worried about the groom part. Most men don't love having their pictures done- especially dressed up, by themselves, but Drew was SUCH a good sport. He did whatever I asked and was so much fun to work with. Thanks for cooperating!

There was even a cute, little, white church where we shot!

I can't decide between the last 3 which one is my favorite!

Thanks guy! I wish you both a lifetime of happiness. Congrats, and I will see you soon!

Fun Family

2010-09-03T22:47:00.001-04:00

I waited and put these two sessions together because they are all one big family with more on the way. We had one session with Brandey and her cute little group with a few maternity pics thrown in and then later her mom had a session with her other kids and we got all the boys together for a few. ALL of the kids (including the one on the way) are boys! I can only imagine how much fun they all have together! Thanks for bringing everyone out! It was fun!
First off, check out this little cutie! He was great through both shoots and full of grins and smiles!

Here's their growing family! :)

Brandey's cute belly! She looks fabulous to be due in November!

I have a soft spot for daddies and baby boys!

Round 2 of this sweet bunch!

Meet Dalton, the oldest of the boys!

And Dylan, who isn't far behind!

I'm obsessed with this wall- you will see it again soon; I promise!

One more of all the boys!

Beginning of Covington Mini-Session

2010-09-03T21:10:00.000-04:00

Last weekend I spent some time in Covington and organized some little mini-sessions on the square. I had 10 groups of people come out and we had a great morning. It wasn't too hot, we had a good overcast sky, and I had great company in my sweet sister being my assistant all morning. I love the square in Covington. I can shoot session after session there and always find a new place. There is so much character and so many great places to shoot.
Anyway, my first session was Brandi Hodges and her family. I was honestly a little nervous about this one because Brandi is an awesome photographer too, so I knew she had expectations. She owns Three E Photography in Covington, and I got to meet the 3 "E"s. They were precious and VERY well trained! She had great ideas and totally knew how to work the other side of the camera. Enjoy this sweet little family!
Aren't they SUPER CUTE?

Aren't they so sweet in love?

As a fellow photog I knew Brandi may have PLENTY pictures OF her kids but probably very few WITH her kids, so we tried to fix that!

This is her and the sweet older brother, Evan.

Mama with her twins! She's like super mom, for real!

Love these sweet faces!

Definitely one of my favorites of the day. I LOVE how natural is it!

This day I encountered THREE sets of twins! It was crazy. Meet Avery and Presley. They are Ahh-DORABLE and SOO sweet! Their mama will have another little girl to add to the group in a few more months and these two are gonna be great big sisters!

I adore this one. They look so sweet and innocent...

I love Presley's pout. So sweet! Thanks again girls!

Smith girls

2010-09-02T16:39:00.000-04:00

These fun girls met me at the park last Thursday and we had a great time. The weather was finally coolers and they were cute and worked it for my camera. It was a fun, laid back, silly kind of shoot. I love the relationship between sisters. It is so deep. You get along, you fight, you tell on each other, you aggravate the other one, but in the end no one knows you like your sister does. These girls reminded me of my relationship my sweet sister who I love so much. Anyway, here are some of my favorite images from the night. Enjoy!

Cassie is the oldest.

Syndey

And little Kaitlyn

Gotta love girls that can climb trees!

Thanks girls! I hope you had as much fun as I did! :)

Packard Wedding Favorites

2010-09-01T17:19:00.000-04:00

A few weekends ago I was able to tag along with Jessica Villeman from Jessica V Photography and shoot a wedding with her. Being that I am newer in this field of photography, this was definitely a learning (and exhausting) experience for me. I caught myself watching and soaking in all that was going on. I feel SO MUCH better prepared for my own weddings that are coming up in the near future. I'm still going to be shooting a few more with some other more "seasoned" wedding photographers, so things will only get better. Anyway here is a VERY SMALL overview of some of the pictures and my personal favorites. I'm hoping to get a little gallery up with some more samples soon, but right now I'm trying to keep up with my other sessions. Anyway, enjoy! It was a beautiful day!

We started at the salon...

The beautiful church where the ceremony was held.

All of the fun before the wedding.

The beautiful bride is ready!

And the amazing wedding.

These two were so much fun and SO in love- exactly the way it should be! :)

CUTENESS!

And the reception was SO MUCH fun!

The cake was amazing (and yummy!).

I love this one- even with the little bit of blur...

And the dance floor was hoppin'

One more smile before the head out...

into their happily ever after!

Ashley and Nathan, thank you so much for letting me tag along and help capture your amazing day. I hope you enjoyed your honeymoon and have a long, wonderful life together! If it is anything like the wedding, you have SO much to look forward to!

CUTEST BABY CONTEST!

2010-08-30T11:58:00.000-04:00

I am SO excited to announce Ashleigh Dees Photography's cutest baby contest during the month of September! Here are the AMAZING prizes:

GRAND PRIZE WINNER- A free full session AND package A ($200+ value)

Winner of each division- a free mini session (30-45 minutes) and 20% off prints

Runner up of each division- $50 print credit

There will be 2 divisions; one for babies/todders (ages 0-3) and one division for children (ages 4-12).

ALL CONTESTANTS WILL RECEIVE A $20 PRINT CREDIT WITH ANY FULL SESSION BOOKED DURING 2010

Here are the rules. If you break the rules, you will be automatically disqualified! Play nicely! :)

1. You may only submit ONE photo per child.

2. All photos should be sent via email to ashleighdeesphotography@hotmail.com by MIDNIGHT of September 12th. Late entries will not be accepted. You will receive a comfirmation email when your photo is received. Please include child's name, parents' names, age of child, and contact information (address and phone number) in email.

3. Photos SHOULD NOT be professional pictures. To keep the competition fair, we are only accepting UNEDITED snapshots taken by you or a friend or family member.

4. Photos should be recent pictures (within the last 6 months).

5. Voting will last for 2 weeks. It will begin on September 13th and end September 27th at midnight.

6. At midnight on September 27th, all photos will be taken offline and winners will be posted and contacted.

HOW DO YOU VOTE?

All photographs will be uploaded on the business' facebook page together on September 13th. You will have to be a member of facebook and "like" Ashleigh Dees Photography. This will allow you to "like" the photograph(s) of the cute children you want to vote for. You only get one vote for each child per facebook account.

HOW DO YOU WIN?

Go ask all your friends, family members, coworkers, neighbors, to find my business page and "like" the picture of your child. It's very simple. The child with the most likes, will be the child who wins the contest. You can comment and campaign for votes (if done nicely!), but only "likes" count!

GOOD LUCK! SEND ME THOSE PICTURES OF YOUR CUTE KIDS!

All prizes must be redeemed on a WEEKDAY during the months of October or November of 2010 at the location of your choice in the Augusta or Covington area.

Miss Benton turns TWO!

2010-08-25T22:49:00.001-04:00

I met this sweet little one this past weekend after a LOOOONG day of shooting a wedding. I will admit I was a little tired, but she woke me up real quickly and before I knew it I was chasing her around with my camera! She is so cute and is FULL of personality. She and Cameron (my little boy) were in the same class for a while when he was in daycare. Their behavior is remarkably similar even now. She's definitely an opinionated two-year old and SOOOO cute! Thanks y'all!

Oh and this girl LOOOVES her daddy. SO SWEET! :)

I. LOVE. THIS. LOOK! :)

Did I mention the lovin' the daddy thing?

I SO adore this one...

Pure cuteness...

We scheduled a little family mini-session after Benton's 2 year pictures to get a few of her extended family as a gift. They were great and Benton did AMAZING to have 2 shoots back-to-back!

Benton's aunt, uncle and cousin. She was VERY excited when they joined in the fun!

Because every girl needs some camera time and she is SOO pretty!

She's just precious!

And at Mom's request, one last one of the whole gang...

I'm getting ready for a crazy busy weekend. I'm headed to Covington where I have 3 shoot and a portrait party all within 3 days. It will be chaotic but FUN! When I come back I'll have a blog from the wedding last weekend and LOTS to share from Covington!

My girl...

2010-08-24T18:10:00.000-04:00

I have really been slack on taking pictures of my own babies, so Miss Macey got her own little shoot last week. It was definitely time for her to get some updated pictures and I wanted to try out my new trench bowl I had bought for a newborn prop. Anyway, she is just beautiful, and I wanted to share!

My pretty girl!

And here is the bowl...I can't wait until some of my newborns arrive to try it out!

And in color...

One of my favorites!

Love this sweet baby!

The Littles

2010-08-19T15:32:00.001-04:00

This family is as sweet as they are gorgeous. I had a great morning with them last weekend. The rain tried to ruin our plans, but luckily they have an awesome house with amazing porches and we went ahead with the pictures anyway. While I didn't have as much variety in my pictures since we stayed mostly on the porch, this session still turned out great. Reese will be 3 VERY soon and I will be shooting her birthday party. Her mom bought the birthday package, so you will be seeing more of these beauties really soon! For now, we substituted a family session in as part of her package. Here they are!

Remember, I warned you they were beautiful!

Sweet Reese who will be the birthday girl in a few weeks!

Precious baby Carys.

The ladies of the house...

We took some special ones of Reese since this was official her birthday shoot! :) She is definitely a Mama's girl. Pictures like this make my heart melt!

One more of the family. See the rain in the background! Mean Mother Nature!

Proud Mama...

2010-08-17T18:50:00.000-04:00

As you all know, I quit teaching so I could stay at home with my babies and turn this photography gig into a full-time business. My little man Cameron had been in daycare until this past spring. We decided to pull him out to stay at home, but I wanted him to still be able to go for "school." He is attending preschool at Grace Baptist Church in Evans, and Monday was his first day. I guess because this was PRESCHOOL it had a little different feel to it, and I couldn't help but get a little emotional. Anyway, here is my heart before he went to his first day!
He had to get a backpack and a lunchbox. Such a big boy!

We attempted to take some pictures outside but it was so humid and gross...

And this one, well, it breaks my heart. He looks like such a little man. So big and independent ready to head off by himself.

When we got to school he went straight to playing. He couldn't have cared less if I was there or not. He wanted to be a big boy and I was pretty much in the way...sad.

After grabbing him and forcing him to take a picture with me, this is all we got! He was unhappy because I was holding him.

Anyway after telling him I was leaving at least 4 times with no reaction at all, I sadly headed out the door and hoped for the best!

I was anxious to pick him up and hear about his day. When I got there I noticed this sticker on his shirt...

I was then told that he had been EXCELLENT at school and was the star student who lead the line to lunch, helped clean up and was well-behaved all day. I COULD NOT have been more proud of my precious little man.

So as a reward he got to watch his favorite of the moment, Little Einsteins, on my computer in the office.

And he quickly returned to his sassy self! By telling me "No, Mommy!" when I continued to take pictures of him!

Don't get me wrong, Cameron is an amazing child. He is just DEFINITELY 2 years old. He does have good manners and we are trying desperately hard to make him do right early on. I just didn't expect PERFECT behavior on the first day (or the 2nd!), but so far he is doing amazing. I think a lot of it has to do with his awesome teachers, but we are so thankful and blessed for our sweet, handsome superstar student and SO proud of our little man who is growing up TOO quickly!

Wrapping up the Mitchell Park Party

2010-08-15T10:39:00.000-04:00

Sorry the blog has been slack this week. It has been CRAZY around here with the kiddos. They both were sick, and Casey was REALLY busy with the first week back at school. He had orientations, back to school dances, and needless to say, I was a little busy keeping sick babies happy. Anyway, we are all feeling better and on the road to recovery; school has started and things went smoothly, so the blog is back up and running!

Here are the last 4 sessions from last weekend's party. The first one is sweet Reilly. She will be a big sister sometime next year, and she is going to be great! She was awesome for the camera and SOOO pretty!

Isn't she just so pretty and sweet!?!

The next session was the sweet Murray family. Katie and her husband remind me of us. They have been married about 5 years (I think?) and they already have 3 babies. People are always surprised when they find out we have 2 babies and have been married a little over 3 years. We know it's crazy, but we wouldn't have it any other way and I know The Murrays feel the same! :)

Here's baby #1- Sweet Jack!

Baby #2- Miss Avery

And #3- baby Grant!

These kids were amazing to work with. I will admit I will was a little nervous about getting good pictures of all 3 at their ages and in only 20 minutes, but they were awesome! We even got a few of all of them together!

And a family shot!

I was pretty impressed with all we got accomplished in 20 minutes! Thanks again!

The next session was definitely one of my favorites. These sweet sisters are so cute, and it is obvious how close they are. They have another little sister who will be here any day, and I know they are going to be GREAT helpers!

Here are the big sisters:

Sweet Elizabeth.

And here's Miss Audrey...

And here is their pretty mama with little girl #3.

And here is a sweet one of ALL the girls!

I adore this one of these sweet girls!

The last family is Kirsten and her girls. The whole family was going to be there, but Dad and little brother snuck out to go fishing. No worries though, we caught them on the way back in. This family is GORGEOUS, and I had a great time with them.

Here are the pretty ladies...

Miss Zoe who definitely knows how to work the camera!

Mya who was also amazing

And little brother who was less than thrilled but to gorgeous not to bribe into a few...

I adore this shot. It just oozes (is that how you spell it?) sweet mommy love...

Sweet sisters!

Ok! That's a wrap! This week's kinda slow in the photography world but then things pick up again. I have a sweet family session and a few more surprises for this week, so check back!

Mitchell Park Portrait Party

2010-08-11T08:40:00.000-04:00

My friend Jennifer hosted a little party this past Saturday in Mitchell Park. We love, love, LOVE this neighborhood, and I did even more after I met some of the people who live there. Everyone was super-sweet, friendly and very cooperative as we took some pictures. I'm going to post the first half of the session today (4 "guests") and I'll post the remainder later this week.
I wanted to remind you that portrait party guests only get 20 minutes, so all of the picture taken during the portrait party are captured in ONLY 20 minutes. It is a fast, fun morning that produces some great pictures for everyone who comes. Contact me if this sounds like something you are interested in. Remember, this is FREE to the guests. They only buy pictures if they like them- they pay NO session fee. Ok enough advertising, on with the pics! :)
This is sweet Holden. He is almost 7 months and so, SO sweet. He didn't fuss the entire session and was just PRECIOUS!

His mommy said she loves this face- so do I!

Love, LOVE this one

Here is one of Holden with his mommy and daddy. He has two siblings at home. Maybe we can get the WHOLE family together for a shoot soon! :)

Parker and Carson were next at the party. These two kept me on my toes and laughing the whole time. Parker is hilarious and full of personality while Carson wanted to make me work for his picture. We had a great time, and I think we got some good images in the time we had together!

Look at those eyes and those curls- CUTIE!

Sweet brothers.

I went from 2 brothers to 2 sisters. Kate and Jane would have much rather been in the bed than taking pictures, but they did amazing! :) They were so sweet and VERY good in front of the camera. It is funny to me how at the end of the summer all children think that 9:00 is early, but it has happened the past 2 Saturdays! Now they are back to getting up around 7. :)

Isn't she sweet with those little curls in front?

I know this probably isn't the pic her mom will choose (because she isn't smiling), but I LOVE the composition in this one.

Sweet, sweet girls!

I was very excited about the next session. We have known Casey and Melissa for a LONG time. Their youngest and our oldest babies are only 3 days apart. If you have come to a Greenbrier basketball game in the past 2 years and saw a little kid running across the court (before, after or DURING) a game, it was probably one of ours! These girls are super sweet, and so so pretty, and I was SO glad I got to take their pictures!

Here's Natalie, the big sister.

And here's Madeline. She's only 3 days older than my sweet boy, Cameron.

And here they are together. They are SO sweet with each other.

Okay, that's all for now! Look for the 2nd half soon. Thanks again to everyone who chose to spend Saturday morning with my camera and me. We had a blast!

Christina is having a baby...SOON! :)

2010-08-09T15:00:00.000-04:00

Christina and I ran with some of the same people when we were in college, but we have recently found we have so much more in common even now than we did then. We are both blessed to be mommies, see the same doctor, have the same love of photography, and so I was thrilled when I got to meet up with her, her hubby Adam, and sweet soon-to-be big brother Carson last week. She is only a few weeks away from delivering sweet baby girl Charleston, and she looks awesome. Anyway here are a few from her session!

The belly...

As I mentioned before, Christina stays at home with her babies and is talented in all sorts of things (photography, monogramming, sewing); she's great. You should check her out at www.andersonoverflow.blogspot.com

She had tons of great ideas for the pictures and we were able to take lots of her sweet boys. They are all very excited about baby Charleston. She will be one, LOVED baby girl!

This little guy stole my heart. He's going to be a fantastic "big bro!"

A few more of the whole soon-to-be family of four...

I adore this picture. There is SO much love in this sweet family, and I think this just captures it.

One more of the pretty Mama.

I know this was Christina's shoot, but this was too cute not to share...precious!

Wrap up from the Portrait Party

2010-08-07T16:44:00.000-04:00

I'm going to blog the last 3 sessions from the portrait party together. These parties are so much fun. I get to spend a morning hanging out with lots of different people and capturing some great memories for them.

You may recognize the little one below. He came over for some newborn shots when he was around 9 days old, but mama wanted some more of him in clothes and outside. So here is sweet Jeremy round #2.

He again, slept like a champ!

Sweet feet.

Jeremy's dad jumped in for a few- so sweet!

The next session was Lexi. Her mom was the director of the beauty pageant that I shot a few weeks ago. She was so sweet to hire me and let me try my hand in the pageant world. She brought Lexi out for a few shots just because. I think every girl should have a day in front of the camera to feel special and beautiful, and Lexi did great!

She was such a natural in front of the camera and made my job easy!

I love her dark, curly hair- so pretty!

My last session is a cute couple and their sweet dogs. Photography doggies is a lot like photographing little kids. You have to take LOTS of shots and PRAY that some of them turn out. I thought we definitely got some keepers from this short session as we battled the heat around lunch time. Thanks again!

Here is a group shot of the Natalie and Adam with both dogs!

Sweet Torque is a baby and was still being trained, but he did great for his session! :)

Miss Abbie was also very well-behaved and cooperated for the camera.

Sweet doggie kisses!

Had to get one of just the people. :) Natalie's hair is GORGEOUS!

One more of sweet Torque. I loved this one so much I couldn't not share! So pretty!

Thanks again for coming out and bringing your dog-babies. I hope we can get together soon and let me meet the kitties!

Schneider Girls

2010-08-05T20:40:00.000-04:00

Amanda brought her sweet girls out to the portrait party this past weekend. They were literally asleep on the table when their turn came around. She said they weren't use to being up "early" during the summer. Oh how I look forward to my kids sleeping in that late. It's going to be amazing!
Anyway, we had a great time and they were great in front of the camera and SO pretty! Thanks Amanda!
Here's one of all 3 girls.

Taylor- the baby of the bunch and full of cuteness!

Presley who is the middle girl and SO photogenic. I hard a hard time choosing which pics were the best ones of her.

And Kayla, the oldest sister

I feel really sorry for their dad when all these pretty girls become teenagers and start dating; he is going to have his hands full!

Coming soon...Baby boy #2!

2010-08-04T18:05:00.001-04:00

Angie and I went to high school together and we probably haven't seen each other since. Thankfully good ol' facebook allows us to keep in touch all of our long lost friends and classmates. I love it! Anyway, she now lives in Tennessee. When I saw she was pregnant, I knew she would make an ADORABLE little pregnant woman- and she didn't disappoint. She came back home to Covington for a shower and we were able to meet up and take a few shots. She's all belly and too cute! Congrats Angie, on sweet baby Jaxon!

A closer look at sweet Jaxon! He was LOVING having his picture taken and doing all sorts of tricks in mommy's belly!

One of my favorite images in a long, long time...

Her perfect little belly- round, tan, and strech-mark free. If we could all be SO lucky!

Another favorite...

Big brother Bryce (I hope I spelled it right this time!) was along for the shoot. He was so good and patient while Mama had the spotlight, but I couldn't resist throwing him in for a few; he was TOO cute not to be in front of the camera!

TOO sweet!

One more of the big brother! Thanks y'all!

Portrait Party Group 2

2010-08-03T08:11:00.000-04:00

Here is a preview of the next 2 sessions from the portrait party. A sweet set of siblings and one precious little girl.

I was finally able to get together with these two last Saturday. I had been talking to their mom for a while, and I'm so glad we were finally able to meet up! They are sweet kids! :)

I had the honor of teaching Cami when she was a little freshman. She was a great student and is going to be a JUNIOR this year! :)

That this little cutie is her brother. I had heard so many stories about him from his mama at work, so it was great to finally meet him!

A little sweet sibling love! :)

This next precious little one was brought by her grandmother who makes the BEST cafeteria food in Columbia County. I swear, that place is like a yummy restaurant. I was never a lunchroom food fan until I was at Grovetown with her. Now I still crave spicy chicken! :) Anyway, Noa is so sweet and pretty and one of the most well-behaved 3 year olds I have never worked with! She is busting at the seams with personality and makes the cutest faces. She was a super-fun session!

I love her sweet little fly-away from her ponytail. So precious!

Love her sweet face!

Luckily her grandmother brought her some extra clothes. At the end of her shoot she got to play in the water so I took a few of her there too! :)

Mommies and their daughters

2010-08-01T20:27:00.000-04:00

We had a portrait party up behind the Columbia County Library yesterday and my first two sessions were mommies and their daughters. This now has a special place in my heart as I have a sweet girl of my own. It was neat because these mommies are at total opposite ends of this mother-daughter bond. One is a mommy about to send her "baby girl" off to college, so we took some pictures for each of them to have a cherish while apart. The other mommy has a little girl with another on the way. Both relationships are beautiful and precious in their own way. I hope you enjoy!

Because Debbie is one of my best friends I know the amazing relationship that exists between her and Carrie, but I think these next 2 pictures capture it perfectly. They are definitely some of my favorites!

The next session was Donna and her sweet girlS! I worked with Donna before I quit teaching and we alternated years having babies! She is due pretty soon so we did a maternity/mommy-daughter session crammed into 20 minutes.

Here's Donna looking fabulous with only about 6 weeks left!

And here is the sweet girl who will soon be a BIG SISTER!

She loves her mama, and Donna is so sweet with her!

Love this one! Such a sweet baby girl.

Thanks ladies for coming out bright and early to beat the heat!

Avery's turning TWO!

2010-07-31T15:09:00.001-04:00

I love, love, LOVE when parents have their own ideas for sessions, and Avery's sweet mama was full of them! It also puts a little more pressure on me to deliver the exact vision the parent has for the pictures too, but it's ok; I work well under pressure! :)
Beth Anne and I messaged back and forth about this shoot for a few weeks before it actually happened. We shared ideas, made plans, and FINALLY got together to carry out our plan. As we all know, with little ones, things don't always go as planned. This session had a few detours, but overall it was great and I LOVE the images of this sweet girl!
Happy Birthday Avery! I'm so in love with this first image:

BUBBLES...

This sweet girl LOVES her mama. She hardly left her lap the entire shoot. This caused me to be creative, but their relationship is SUPER SWEET!

I don't know if Avery went to bed after this shoot. I know she had to be full of sugar thanks to mom's creative props! She may have been hyper but the pics are SO worth it!

Ice cream running down your chin is yummy! :)

I love this picture and the story behind it. Avery is very attached to her "Geoffery." She was born 9 weeks early and Geoffery kept her company in NICU. She still loves him today- so sweet!

Avery's uncle came along too because he can always make her smile. They were sweet!

Okay- that's all. I know there were a few more than usual, but I had a hard time choosing. THANK YOU Beth Anne for your fabulous ideas and for setting this up! She is precious!

August Deals and the Johnsons

2010-07-29T23:38:00.000-04:00

Before I blog this session, I want to tell you about the deal for August. My weekends are pretty much full for the month of August (with the exception of the 14th, if you're interested), but I have some openings during the week. So as my Back-To-School special, when you book a session scheduled for a WEEKDAY (Monday-Friday) you will receive a FREE 11X14 print AND 10 extra images on your disc with any purchase of a package when you order within 2 weeks. Keep in mind this is only valid on weekdays and only for the month of August.

Ok on with the Johnsons. We met earlier this week to get some pictures of the boys. David's (the dad) and my mom were best friends while we were growing up. We have plenty of pictures of the two of us as babies, at birthday parties, playing at each other's houses, you name it, but I hadn't seen him in forever. Luckily his sweet wife hired me to do this session. We spent most of the session talking about how the boys were just like their daddy. Chase didn't want any part of my camera until the bribe came out, and Dallis couldn't get enough. Anyway I think there is a great mix of some super-cute little boys here. Hope you enjoy!

This was DEFINITELY after the bribe! :)

I love his cute freckles!

This is one of my new favorites, for sure!

This was Chase fighting the smile, trying to make my job difficult. Mission accomplished anyway! :)

AND...just because I can't look at this picture without laughing out loud, I thought I would spread the happiness. Silly boy!

Hometown Beauty Pageant

2010-07-29T00:10:00.000-04:00

There are many perks to my fun job but one of the very best ones is all of the people I get to meet. I got to meet and photograph a celebrity a few weekends ago when I was hired to cover a beauty pageant in Evans. I got to meet, hang out with, and photograph the new Miss Georgia, Christina McCauley. She will be in television in January representing our whole state, and now she is my friend on facebook!
Now if you know me at all, I am an outdoor, go-with-the-flow, catch you in natural surrounds kind of girl. Photographing a beauty pageant made me a little nervous. I wasn't sure how I was going to like posed pictures in front of a backdrop inside, but I think we made it work. It helped that these little beauties knew how to work it in front of the camera. Anyway, I wanted to share some of the pretty faces that I was able to hang out with.
Let me start with the celebrity of the day. I must take a minute to tell you how wonderful, caring, and sincere she was in person. She was great with the girls and so nice to talk to!

Of course, I did my normal thing, photographing kids being kids and took some "action shots" before. I think they are cute too!

My fabulous husband second shot this event with me. While I was running wild backstage, he was shooting some of the action onstage. We were a great team! Here are some of the pics of the actual event.

One of the coolest parts of this pageant was every girl got to meet Miss Georgia and have her picture taken with her. Miss Georgia was extremely nice and great with them. We then got all the girls together for a group shot, and I think it's great!

While I will admit this was not my usual style and was a challenge for me, I really enjoyed meeting these sweet girls and their families along with Miss Georgia. Good luck at Miss America, Christina! I know some little girls that will definitely be cheering for you!

Last of the Portrait Party

2010-07-25T12:06:00.000-04:00

Well I didn't forget my host family. They were amazing and gave us amazing places to shoot pictures, and I appreciate it very much. It was an extremely fun day filled with friends and family. It didn't really even feel like work and I had a great time meeting everyone and seeing them. You have seen the babies before that are in these pictures, but in the down time and between the morning and afternoon sessions we took the time to get a few family shots, and I wanted to share! Thanks again Shanon, Audrey and Ms. Renee for letting us use your house!

And a few more of sweet Addie because she is just SOOO cute!

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the tire swing pictures! So Sweet!

And here are a few of Shanon's sister Audrey and her hubby and cute little man!

Can you tell he is a mess? SO FUNNY and ALL BOY!

We had to do a little chasing!

SO CUTE!

One more family shot!

And that's a wrap on the portrait party! I have another one lined up next weekend. If you're interested in hosting one PLEASE let me know!
The blog will be quiet for a few days as I head to Covington for a couple of shoots, but when I return there will be some pics from my first pageant! It was a lot of fun and filled with photogenic babies- a photographer's dream!

Birthday Party Plan!

2010-07-22T20:56:00.001-04:00

As our little business continues to grow and expand, I keep thinking of cool things I could do and offer and this is a new one. If you are like me, birthdays are a REALLY big deal. They are so special because it is the ONE day that you get a holiday all to yourself. My birthday use to be a huge deal to me, but now that I have kids, I get more excited about their big day. With this in mind, I thought I would offer to photography birthday parties and throw it into a package with a session. This would give you a milestone portrait session (1, 2, 3, year old pictures etc.) and coverage of your party. I know with all of our parties I get so busy entertaining and preparing that I forget my camera and miss big moments, so let me come capture everything for you so you will have these memories for years to come!

Below is a SMALL sample of a few of the pictures I took at a birthday party this past weekend. There were about 150 from the party edited. They will come in the package so their mommy can print copies for herself and others AND she is getting a slideshow with these pictures set to music to treasure forever!

I will take pictures of the decorations, cake, goodies, food, etc.

And of course, PLENTY of pictures of the birthday boy or girl (boys in this case)

Pictures of them with their family...

AND pictures of all their guests and cute friends!

And some more of the guest(s) of honor...

I will make sure to document all the "BIG" events so you can just enjoy them and not worry about getting pictures

And definitely get some of the cake time

And some pictures of the gift opening...

And we will DEFINITELY get some good family shots to celebrate the year and all the fun memories of the day!

I WISH, wish, wish I had hired some one to document my baby's birthday parties so I could enjoy and know that all of it was being taken care of. If this is something you're interested email me and we will chat! ashleighdeesphotography@Hotmail.com

Sweet Newborn

2010-07-20T09:56:00.000-04:00

Well we were supposed to have Baby Jeremy's session last week but we had to reschedule to Sunday. I was a little worried about light because we didn't get started until about 7 and I try to avoid a flash if at all possible. Luckily for me we got to get straight to work. He slept like a champ while I moved him and repositioned. It was a great session! He is super cute, and I'm so glad his mama brought him over to play!

Definitely a favorite!

PURE SWEETNESS!

Sweet kiddies at the portrait party!

2010-07-18T09:18:00.001-04:00

I'm wrapping up the portrait party pictures. These are my last 2 guests and I have a few left of the host family, but for the most part I am done. It was a huge success and SO much fun. It is a great way to get pictures for a lot of people in one day. So far, I have had LOTS of happy customers which makes me VERY happy too!
Anyway here is Christine's boys. I took their pictures a little over a year ago. They were my first "real" session aside from my family. I was SOOO honored that she came back. I hope she is able to see how much I have grown as a photographer over the past year. Her sweet boys have grown too and are even more cute!

Sweet Austin...

And Andrew...

And their big brother Cameron!

All 3 boys again.

I love this last one. It just reminds me of little boys on a summer day.

Christine brought a friend along with her to the shoot. As we walked the property we took turns taking pictures of the boys and sweet Anslee would be so patient, and then say, "My turn." She is beautiful and was great in front of the camera. Her dress was also very meaningful as it was made from a pillow case from one of her grandparents (or maybe great grandparents) and was very old. It was such a cool idea! I wish I were crafty like that! Anyway, here she is!

We tried to get one of all the kids together for the moms, but by this point the boys were silly. I don't mind. I think the picture is cute and a great example of boys being....well, boys!

That pretty much sums up the day of the portrait party. A great time was had by all. Lots of smiles, laughs, and an amazing day!

Matthew- Class of 2011

2010-07-16T07:30:00.001-04:00

Earlier this week we headed out one evening for Matt's senior pictures. The weather was great, there were clouds in the sky, it made for great light and a little breeze and Matthew was amazing in front of the camera. I'll be a honest. With boys (especially teenage boys), you never know what you're going to get. Some of them HATE having their pictures made, so it takes a while for them to warm up and get in the groove. Matt came out with it. We were able to get his session done quickly with SO much to choose from. He's a great kid, and I am so glad I got to do his senior portraits. I promised a sneak peek by the end of the week, so here it is! ENJOY!

This is one of my favorite images, EVER.

So good in front of the camera. He made my job EASY!

I love the guitar pictures. They look like they could be on a cd. :)

Class of 2011!

Another favorite. Good luck choosing, Mom!

I will admit one of my biggest fears in life is that my little boy won't always be the "mama's boy" he is now. I know teenage boys have a tendency to stop needing their mamas and not talking to them about things. These two give me hope. They are so cute together. They have an amazing relationship, and I can only hope Cameron loves me as much as Matt loves Michelle when he is about to graduate high school!

Thanks again, y'all! ~Ashleigh

Couples!

2010-07-15T13:44:00.000-04:00

Well after we took our middle of the day (when it was ENTIRELY TOO HOT to shoot) break, I returned and had 2 couples. I was so excited to have adults for a little change in pace. I LOVE kids, but I also love teenagers and adults because they are easy to direct, and I don't have to chase them with my camera!

Shauna works with my sister. This is the first time in 9 YEARS these two have had pictures done. That has GOT to be a sin! They are super cute together, and I was so honored to be the photographer they trusted enough to photograph them after all that time. I had a great time and I LOVE your images!

Again, I will give credit where it is due, this shot was at the request of Shauna and I think my favorite!

Aren't they cute? Can you believe 9 years!?!?!

Just for Dr. Rosie! :)

I think I may have a tie for favorite...I like this one a lot too!

My next session was Ansley and her boyfriend Dean. They are precious. They seriously act like cute little kids together. They laughed and giggled the whole time. It was so fun to watch and they are SOOOO photogenic.

Aren't they adorable?

SOOO sweet!

I don't usually go all crazy editing. I just fix a few things, add a little color, change the exposure some, but I was playing around and really liked this one. Obviously it doesn't look like real-life, which is usually what I'm going for, but I just wanted to share.

Newborn Addison

2010-07-14T14:53:00.000-04:00

I shot this sweet newborn the day before the portrait party, so I though it was definitely time she made the blog with all her cuteness. Newborns are a little challenging to shoot. I had a bag full of props, hats, headband, the works but Ms. Addison wasn't feeling it. She was so excited about me visiting she didn't even sleep. Anyway after waiting her out for about 2 hours, I decided I would just have to take some of her awake. Even though they aren't the typical newborn, sleeping, curled up shots, you can still tell how beautiful she is. Enjoy!

See- I told you WIDE awake!

I love this one.

Don't be fooled, she wasn't asleep, just blinking! :)

Thanks Chris and Ashley for sharing your sweet girl with me for a few hours. She is beautiful! Congrats!

Wrapping up the morning sessions!

2010-07-14T00:18:00.000-04:00

Well this is the last of the morning sessions from the portrait party. I still have 4 guests and a few of the host family left to do. I don't think I realized the editing that would go into this, but I did get a break to do 2 shoots today. Previews are a comin'. Anyway here are the last few groups from the morning on Saturday.

These girls are SO incredibly sweet and well-behaved, not to mention beautiful. This is another mama I hadn't been able to meet until the party, and I'm so glad she came. Thanks again for letting me work with your babies.
I'm telling you these girls are BEAUTIFUL.

LOVE this one...

I love the bond that sisters share...

The next session was the Callies family. Sweet Harrison is a spitter which we can totally relate to, but he is totally happy and one of the best babies I have ever seen! He had a wardrobe change in the middle of the session, but his super-prepared and cute mama had it all under control. Talk about a pretty family!

I love this one. He looks like he should be in a magazine!

His mama and daddy adore him!

This sweet baby was the next in the session. I will admit with only 20 minutes to work with, I was worried about the little ones cooperating. They all did GREAT and we were able to get great shots of everyone. This little man acted like he had been working the camera since day 1. Sweetness!

I love pictures like this:

This one is definitely a favorite!

Good luck choosing, Mama!

The LAST session for the morning was the Harper family. Shaunda just had baby #3 and finally got her a little girl. I took some pictures of her as she slept and posed perfectly. We were able to work her 2 brothers into some, and after I did some chasing we had some good pics. The attempts at family pictures make me laugh, but I think it just captures life. Enjoy!

I'm so in love with this next image...

The princess of the family.

Ok folks, that about wraps up the preview for the morning session. Keep checking back because I have SO much to share. I have a newborn session to post and the afternoon sessions from the portrait party. I also have a BRAND NEW senior session all on the editing table. I'm working hard, so hang with me!

Megan is a SENIOR

2010-07-13T15:38:00.000-04:00

Ok please forgive me if you are still awaiting your preview from the portrait party. I had to take a break and get a little sneak peak for Megan. Her mom and I use to work together and she babysits our babies for us when we need her, so I was especially excited to take her pictures. We had to put them back a day because of rain, but I love the results. I haven't edited your entire session, but I just wanted to tease you with a few! Enjoy.

So pretty!

CLASS OF 2011

So I had this sunflower field vision for some pictures. My vision didn't include getting stung by a bumblebee but I guess compared to what could have bit me WAY out in the country, a bee sting isn't bad. Thanks for letting me shoot my vision and thanks to Mr. Williams for all the sunflowers!

The LAST shot of the day, and I think it's my favorite...

Then here are a couple of her and her sweet mama, one of the strongest, most faithful women I know! Love y'all!

Portrait Party Madness!!!

2010-07-13T13:55:00.001-04:00

One of my favorite things about portrait parties is the amount of people I get to see, meet,and hang out with in a day. I'm a very social and friendly person, and I love being around people. Portrait parties are great for that. I met Stacy through my sister. She works in the same office as Abbey and in our few encounters it was already obvious how proud she was of this boy. I finally got to meet him and I totally understand why. Aren't mommies and their boys so sweet?

And she was nice enough to share some of her alloted time at the party with Blake's girlfriend Holly, also a sweetie!

I wish I could take credit for this next picture, but it was his mom's idea. I LOVE it!

The next session on Saturday was with an old friend from high school. Her boys were precious and so well-behaved. It took this one just a little while to warm up to the camera, but when he did he could work it!

This sweet boy had not sick for a few weeks and was starting to feel better, but he was full of smiles for me. Such a sweet little guy!

Gotta love brothers.

Sweetness

I did not know Felicia when she volunteered to come to the portrait party. I love meeting new people and I had a great time with her sweet little family. These boys and their eyes are going to break some hearts one day! So cute!

Definitely my favorite of this little one!

Aren't his eyes amazing?

I LOVE this picture. This is definitely how little boy's feet should look cute and dirty!

Thanks again guys! More to come soon, I promise!

The Bruce Cousins

2010-07-12T20:58:00.000-04:00

Well the portrait party was a complete success. We had a total of 14 guests for the day. It was a little chaotic, but overall we managed to stay on time and everyone got their 20 minute session. It was fun to meet new people, see old friends, and spend LOTS of quality time behind the camera. This was my first two sessions of the morning. These are cousin and their grandmother desperately wanted a picture of all of them. With 3 babies ages 2 and under it wasn't easy, but I think we got her something to hang on her wall!

This is Rowan...adorable, I know.

His big brother Gavin who was EXTREMELY patient for us!

This is Hayden. He is the oldest of the 2nd set of brothers.

And precious, easy-going Liam. He is SUCH a good baby!

Kim's family arrived first, so we took some pictures of them while we waited on the cousins to arrive.

I love these next two. It is obvious how much these boys adore him!

Definitely a favorite!

Hayden with mommy.

One more attempt to get all 4 boys...

A BIG, HUGE thank you to Shanon Phillips for helping put this together, to Rick and Renee Bruce for allowing us to play all day on their beautiful property, to my sister and brother-in-law for being babysitters and my assistant, and to my wonderful hubby who wanted our children all day and is continuing to watch them while I spend hours editing. Love you!

Seth and Sawyer- a year later

2010-07-11T21:17:00.000-04:00

A little over a year ago, I started this photography business and started offering to take pictures of people besides my family. Nicole was working with my sister then and volunteered her little one Sawyer who was about 3 months old (I think) then for a photo session. Fast forward a year later, and here we are. A full-time business and it is because of people like Nicole. She has been one of my biggest supporters and this is the 4th time I have been able to take pictures of these sweet boys. One of the best parts of this job is getting to know people and their families. I feel like we are now friends and I love these sweet boys and watching them grow! Seth has calmed down a little in the past year, but still doesn't like to smile. Lucky for me he is cute anyway, and his pictures still turn out great. Sawyer amazes me with all that he can do and is such a little cutie. Hope you enjoy the sneak peek!

Aren't those eyes ridiculous?

The first sweet baby I photographed- here he is a year later!

He really does love me...

So CUTE

Ice cream was the promise, and we always keep our promises. It made for some really cool pictures, too!

This picture makes me laugh out loud every time I see it. In our first session, we tried to get Seth to hold "Baby Sawyer" and Seth held him for about .5 seconds before he dumped him head first into the grass. This is Seth's form of torture these days...

I think he still looks like a baby in this one...

One last funny story from this session. Cameron (my 2 year old) is no stranger to my business. In fact, everyone that was scheduled during the morning sessions of the portrait party met him. I'm going to have to edit him out of the background in some pictures. When Nicole told Seth that I was coming to take pictures he asked if the boy with the squishy cheeks was coming too. I love my baby's cheeks! :)

Alicia's senior sneak peak!

2010-07-07T23:57:00.002-04:00

Meet Alicia! She will be graduating this year and I had so much fun hanging out with her tonight taking her senior pictures! I have SUCH a busy, busy weekend that I wanted to go ahead and get her sneak peek done, so I am awake at almost midnight FINALLY posting these pictures. I love seniors! It is a good break from children and babies because they can listen and hold a pose for a while, but more importantly, senior pictures mark such an important milestone. It is my desire to let these pictures capture the beautiful, successful, person these young people have become. I hope I accomplished this tonight.

Pretty girl!

These next 2 are BY FAR my favorite pet images yet. I couldn't choose just one, so you decide which one is best!

So talented. She plays the guitar.

And she plays softball. Another favorite image, but I admit, I'm biased!

Another cute one of the doggie and A

Serious softball face!

It was fun, girl!

Thanks again!

~Ashleigh

TWINS turning ONE!!!

2010-07-05T08:43:00.000-04:00

I was introduced to these sweet boys and their amazing mommy through our realtor (yes, we are selling our house, again!). I was SO excited about this shoot for several reasons: one, she had twins, which I had never worked with before and two, they are having their first birthday VERY soon, so I wanted to incorporate ideas of their birthday into their pictures. Thank goodness their mommy was super laid back and let me have fun with these sweet boys. We spent as much time cleaning them up as we did shooting pictures, but I so love these images. It just reminds me again how much I love working with little ones.

Happy Birthday Boys!

Baby Carter.

Baby Barrett.

I adore this one.

What's a party without some balloons?

Time to get serious about some cake. Shirts are off!

They LOVED it!

What a SUPER cute sticky mess!

The mess...one my of most favorite images EVER!

Pure sweetness!

Heather, thank you so much for letting me spend the morning with your babies. I know we made a mess, and I appreciate you being so cool about it.

Business stuff...

2010-07-04T15:10:00.001-04:00

I have been working extremely hard on so many things within the business since we decided to go full time. It is such an exciting venture to me, and while I want it to be successful and lucrative, I also want to be one of the best in the business. I realize with no photography classes and being self-taught I have so much to learn. I'm just trying to immerse myself in all things photography. I read up about my new camera and how to change settings manually to get the perfect effect I want for each image. I'm CONSTANTLY on the computer (during any down time) looking at other photographers for cool, new ideas. I've even started reading a how to start a home-based photography book. One of the first chapters discusses defining yourself as a photographer. He suggests you choose one field and be the best around in that field OR be really good in several fields. I am having a hard time with this. I haven't yet "found myself" as a photographer according to him. I love children, even little ones that make me earn every penny and then some of a session fee to get a smile. I adore families and seeing the bonds and love there. I love teenagers and older kids who will stand where and how you want them to and telling a story of who they are through their photos. I love couples and being able to capture the intimate relationship and love between two people. I am SUPER excited about starting with weddings next month, and I FULLY expect to enjoy those. I just don't know who I want to be yet.

On another business note. Be on the look out for some big changes coming soon. I am hoping to give the website and blog a make-over and come up with a new logo. I'm also practicing shooting video with my new camera, and I'm hoping to add video/photo slide shows to the list of products offered soon.

As we continue to get this business off the ground, please keep us in mind when you show your pictures to your friends and family. Any person you refer that books a session with me will results in a $20 gift certificate for YOU. This can be applied to a future session OR pictures from a previous session. There is no limit to how many of these you can earn. If you refer 5 people to me, you get a full session, 1-2 hours of shooting time for FREE. So, go spread the news! :)

And because every post is better with a picture, and my babies have been deprived of camera time lately, here are a few of my precious ones. They are my heart and the best thing I have ever done in life.

Can you guess what we had for dinner?!?!

If the first picture didn't give it away, here is another hint. See the noodles?!?!

A satisfied customer.

Miss Macey couldn't have any spaghetti just yet, but she turned 3 months old a few days ago, and we couldn't leave her out!

My pretty girl already growing WAY TOO FAST!

One more business note. This weekend is going to be CRAZY busy, but I'm super excited. I have portrait party guests scheduled every 20 minutes from 7:45- 11:20. I had additional people want to come on top of those guests, so I have opened up night slots. I already have a few, but if you would like to come at 6:40, 7:00, or 7:20, let me know ASAP and we will fit you in!