Always Learning - Lake Wylie, SC Beauty Photography

I think it is so important to seek out educational opportunities in photography. There is so much to learn, and I love finding out ways to improve my shooting or post processing workflow.

At the beginning of my photography journey, one of the very first photographers that I admired and started following was Andee Tate of Crave Photography. She offers mentoring and I was finally lucky enough to have a spot in one of her online sessions last night.

I am so excited to put everything I learned to use on my next photo session, but because I couldn't wait to play, I went ahead and re-edited a photo I took at the end of the summer.

Here is my image with no edits (top), my original edit of the photo (middle) and my new "post Crave" edit (bottom). What a difference!


The best black and white photos start with an image with lots of contrast. Unfortunately, my original edit of this photo was fairly soft and flat, so the black and white was a little blah. But check out what a difference the information I learned in the Crave mentoring session made! Wow!





Trey, Liz and Little Mr. W - Fort Mill, SC Family Photographer

Meet Trey, Liz and Little Mr. W! This family was so much fun to photograph at their urban family session and this little guy definitely kept me on my toes.

This was my first time shooting in downtown Fort Mill, SC but it won't be the last! As you can tell from the photos, we had so many great locations to choose from in a small area. I felt like a kid in a candy store trying to decide which spot we would try next!

This was also a perfect location for this family session because Liz is originally from Fort Mill. She and Trey are both native South Carolinians!
Mr. W had a great time running around and laughing at my crazy antics during the session. He was pretty stoic for the most part, but a few tickles from mom and dad brought out a big smile. He gave out lightning fast kisses and hugs to both his parents and the was off to see what else he could find around this spot.
Trey and Liz met in college at Clemson and are both die hard Tiger fans! Don't they look great together? I'm so glad I had a chance to get a few pictures of them alone, because once you become a parent, pictures of just the two of you are all too often a rare thing.
You can see that Mr. W got his piercing blue eyes from his momma, whose eyes are also gorgeous! I think he must get his serious face from his daddy.
Mr. W was a natural model. He posed perfectly on the steps for a fraction of a second before he was up and running again.I think these are some of my favorite photos from the session, I'm obviously a sucker for a sweet smile!
This little guy had a great time popping up out of the basket that I had brought with me. Thankfully, it slowed him down just enough to get a few cute shots. One of his favorite songs is "Rumor Has It" by Adele and he sang part of it for me during the session. I have to say, his singing was pretty impressive!
Mr. W was full of energy and super adorable! I had such a great time photographing this family!

I also designed some cute holiday cards using the photos from this session, so be on the lookout for a peek at those in a future post.

Fall & Halloween Cards - Lake Wylie, SC Child & Family Photographer

I love designing amazing custom cards for my clients using photos from their session. I recently created some super cute fall and Halloween cards that I couldn't help but share!

Custom cards are such a great way to share your photos with friends and family, especially those that live far away or anyone that you don't get a chance to see very often. Adding photos to your cards really personalizes them and gives the receivers a quick way to catch up on how you are doing and how much your family has changed and grown.

Collage cards, like this fall card, are almost like a mini-photo album. Designs like this show off multiple pictures from your session and are great for the times that you just can't pick only 2 or 3 favorites. You can see more of the photos used for this card here.
This Halloween card uses a clean and simple design, with patterns and shapes that keep it fun! The rounded corners are a unique and modern touch that will make your cards stand out from the rest. You can see more photos from my Halloween costume "Monster Mini" sessions here.
And this Halloween card features a cool striped background that pulls colors from the costumes of each member of this dynamic duo. I hand pick the background to coordinate with the photos and the layout to best show off your favorites on each of the cards that I design.
This is an example of the actual printed cards and the paper types used. The fall card was printed on standard card stock and the other two cards were printed on pearl finish card stock, which has a slight shimmer. The Spiderman card also has rounded corners.



Giving Thanks...


I am incredibly thankful for the multitude of blessings in my life.
I have a wonderful family; a loving husband, an active and healthy son and a super affectionate dog. I have caring and supportive friends. I have my health and a stable full-time job. I have more to be thankful for than I could ever hope to list...
I also have a passion for photography that I have been fortunate enough to develop into more than just a dream. Transforming this wisp of an idea into a reality has not been done on my own, I owe thanks to all of you - my clients, blog followers, Facebook likers, and anyone who has ever sent someone my way.
Thank you for sharing about me, supporting me and commenting on the photos that I create. Thank you for trusting me to document your special moments and once-in-a-lifetime events.

Today, and everyday, I am thankful for YOU.


Fall Family Fun! - Lake Wylie, SC Family Photographer

Nothing says fall like mums, pumpkins and bales of straw! You'll recognize Josh, Amy and little Mr. C from some of the other sessions that I've done for them, but I have to admit that this session is probably my favorite so far!

When Amy told me that she wanted to do a fall family session, I knew just the place! I love these gorgeous yellow flowers in the background, but they don't stay pretty long. Luckily, our timing for the session was just about perfect and we had perfect weather to go with it!

Amy did a fantastic job choosing outfits for her family to match the setting and complement each other. I love how the orange just pops off of the background!
Mr. C's first Halloween is also coming up, so he had a fun shirt that we worked into the session. He is one happy little guy with the sweetest smile and bright blue eyes!

I love my vintage Pepsi crate and take advantage of any chance to include it in a session. Mr. C thought it made a great place to hang out for a few minutes while he checked out the surroundings.
I took a few "snapshots" as they were getting ready to leave, because how could I resist capturing that adorable expression? Mr. C may be little, but he already has a big personality!

I also designed some fabulous fall cards for Amy using these photos that I'll be sharing soon!


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