After taking a look, leave me a comment and let me know what you think.

So, a HUGE thanks to the awesome people shown above!  Without them I don’t think I would have been able to put together such a fabulous team of 2014 seniors.Without further ado, I introduce to you my 2014 Senior Team!

Brianne Van Apeldoorn, New Bern High School

Savannah Buday, Havelock High School

Veronica Crickenberger, Havelock High School

Katelyn Espenship, West Carteret High School

Madeline Hille, Havelock High School

Catherine Koontz, Havelock High School

Sabrina Machado, Havelock High School

Tracey Poythress, Havelock High School

Erica Quinn, Havelock High School

Danielle Rendon, Havelock High School

Camaryn Singleton, Havelock High School

Lauren Wagaman, West Carteret High School

Welcome aboard!  I can’t wait to work with each one of you!

I’ve been pouring over the images trying to figure out which images should be included in the sneak peek and I decided to go with some of my favorite, emotion capturing images.  When I started out in the photography business I was super concerned with getting everything right and posing people just so.  As I have learned and grown I think my “style” has as well.  Nowadays I explain to families that  while I will certainly capture a formal portrait if that is what they desire, I also like to mix in activities that will help to bring about emotion in the images.  I love to capture families having fun.  I believe that in between the fun and games I can capture the connection that family members share.  I love the smiles, looks and laughter the two images below captured.  It takes me right back to that evening and I can hear the laughter and giggles as we played our silly games.  Such fun!

Every once and a while we would take a break from the silliness and grab a few more posed images.

And, we even sent the kids off on a little beach walk so that I could work with mom and dad.  After all, without mom and dad this beautiful family wouldn’t exist.  And again, these peeks are some of my favorites simply because of the connection they show.  To me these images just scream love and adoration.  Can you see it too?

Mom and dad also got sent on a beach walk so that I could work with the kids.  Well, actually I should say play with the kids.  I am sure mom and dad were a bit concerned that I was losing it as I let the kids push each other, slap sand on each others’ shoulders and semi-tackle one another.  Yes, I know it probably appeared crazy but I had a method to my madness.  After a while, I think the kids semi- forgot we were there for pictures and we began having fun.  You know what comes with fun??  REAL smiles.  Mr.Man down there is in middle school.  I have my own middle school boy and I can’t say they are ever excited about getting portraits done.  But check him out down there.  He isn’t’ being tortured is he?  He was actually having FUN!!

And as for little sister- she was quite easy to work with.  She brought her instrument and gave me a little concert on the beach.  And yes, it sounded just as dreamy as the image looks.  She was great!

So those are my chosen sneak peeks for the Crow family. I shared a few other images on Facebook earlier and I loved them so much I jut had to repost them here. Beautiful family! Thanks for being so much fun to work with!

Have you ever heard that expression, good things come to those who wait? Well, I hope this family feels that way! This family has been waiting and waiting to see their images! Way back in the spring this family bid on one of my donated sessions at a Gala hosted by The Epiphany School. The family won a senior session for their son. To make it even more exciting, this family is not local to New Bern. However, they live in Cary, very close to where I grew up. After speaking to mom on the phone it was discovered that we had actually met years ago through a mutual friend. I am never ceased to be amazed at how small the world really is. Anyway, we planned and planned. We decided on a beach session, set a date and then waited.

The big day finally rolls up and so does a lovely thunderstorm. Ugh! We would have to reschedule. No worries though. We decide to try again the next day and I promise to call and check on the weather before heading down to the beach. The next day rolls around. It is sunny and bright. I call and get a clear report so I set off. As I get closer and closer to the beach I begin to see some dark gray clouds. Surely it won’t rain though. I make it to the location and although it appears a storm is coming we press on.  I’m glad we did because we got this fantastic image.

Shortly afterwards, the thunder, lightening and rain begin.  So, it is another few days before we try again.

Seems the third time was the charm however.  Our third meeting gave us warm weather and sunny skies. We explored our location some more and captured some great images.  I love this one.

We were even able to head out to the beach for a bit.  I must confess though.  As we were shooting these images a little black rain cloud followed us out to the beach.  We even got a  little scare when a giant clap of thunder sounded off when we were near the ocean.  See those lovely clouds down in that image?  They weren’t really quite like that.  I had to work a little magic on the image.  Who wants a  lovely image of themselves standing on the beach with stormy gray clouds?  I like the blue sky and white puffy clouds much better.  What about you?

After the thunder scared us away from the water for a bit we headed towards a few dunes.  And, because I love a good close up, I captured a few images like this.

Last but not least, I had mom tell her son one of her memories of him as a little boy. You see, I have two boys myself, and I already can tell how fast time is going. Putting myself in this momma’s shoes was easy. I wanted to snap a picture of the two of them together. I know all too soon senior year will be over and this young man will be heading off on the next stage of his life’s journey. I didn’t warn her that she would be in a picture because this picture isn’t about how pretty her outfit is or how beautiful her make up is. The image I was going for was about her relationship with her boy and I think this picture about sums it up.

Can’t you see how this mom feels about her boy? I love it!  And, I hope she does too.

So, my dear, sweet family from Cary- I am sorry you had to wait through three different dates to get your images done.  On top of that, I am sorry you had a bit longer of a wait to get your images in a little sneak peek.  What I didn’t reveal is that in the midst of trying to get this post ready and the gallery up, my hard drive failed.  After all these years of working on a computer it was bound to happen to me once.  Luckily, all my image files were safe and sound in two other locations.  What wasn’t so safe and sound were all my programs.  So, after a week of having no computer, I finally got my machine back and began the process of putting all of my programs and other helpful files back on.  So, yet again, this poor family ran into a delay.   I hope you have found this little peek to be worth the wait.  There are many more images heading your way this weekend!

In honor of the new class moving into the rank of senior, I spent last Saturday afternoon hanging out with one of the “new seniors”. We had a great time exploring Fort Macon and enjoying all the different looks we could capture at one location. I must say, I was a bit overwhelmed when it came time to cull through the images. I mean just look at how beautiful this senior is!

Not only was she gorgeous, but as you will be able to tell from her sneak peek images, she is quite photogenic.

This black and white image just makes me feel happy  To me, I see a confident, fun, young lady.  As a mom, I look at this image and feel certain that her parents probably look at it and wonder just when their little girl turned into this gorgeous woman.  They probably remember the cute, little three year old girl she used to be.

During our session I had time to talk to and get to know her parents too.  I loved that her family was able to be involved in the session.  Mom was our stylist, providing us with choices for jewelry, clothing and shoes.  And don’t leave dad out.  He gave advice and feedback on our locations.  I especially loved how every now and then I would hear dad’s comment about how his girl looked like she could be in a magazine.  I think every little girl should have a dad that tells his little girl that  Even better?  I think he is totally right!

Thank you to this whole family for making my Saturday afternoon so enjoyable.  It felt like I was out and about with a bunch of friends having fun.  Hope you guys had a great time too!

I can’t end a post without giving you a little something to do. Let this “new” senior know which image you like the best by leaving her a comment. Let’s see if you can do a better job than I could with narrowing it down!

And, if you would like to have your own, unique, senior, photo session, just shoot me a message using that contact link at the top of the blog. I’ll get right back to you and we can begin to plan YOUR session!

Lucky for me, he had a bit of time to fit in a late afternoon photo session.  After e-mailing back and forth about location we finally decided on the back of my neighborhood.  Yes, you read that right- my neighborhood.  Strange place for a session you might be thinking.  And while it does sound strange, it was perfect.  Austin was interested in outdoorsy looking images- things done in a natural setting.  And, you can’t get more natural than the back of my neighborhood.  With several lots that back up to a creek and open fields, it made for a fun location.

In this image below you can see one of the activities that Austin enjoys-lacrosse!  I love to incorporate things in senior portraits that help to portray what the seniors like to do and the lacrosse stick was the perfect addition to our image.

I am also a sucker for symbolism in senior portraits, so in this image below you see Austin sitting on a dirt road.  He is seated toward the beginning of that road while you can see the road leads on toward the back of the image.  Isn’t that just like graduating?  You finish up the first part of your educational journey and then you keep on down the road.

Another thing I am a sucker for? A good old close up! I call this the momma shot. What momma doesn’t love to see a close up of her boy?

Finally, an artsy one.  Austin was kind enough to indulge me as we tramped through some brush to get to a creek.  Once we got back by the creek bed we found this cool little area.  I processed this image a little different to give it a dreamy, wistful sort of look.  Kind of like he is contemplating the next part of his journey.

Thanks for a wonderful session!

I first met this little man before he was even two. Check him out now. He’s such a big kid. He’s cute and curious and just plain fun!

We played hide and seek.

And made animal noises. Here you can see he was quite exasperated when I asked him if he was sure that cows don’t cluck.

Mr. Man up there also has a little brother.  And, I would be glad to share some pictures of little brother sitting and playing games but you know what?  He’s a boy!  And he just wanted to play.  Like most mommas to boys, his mom was prepared.  She pulled out the bubbles and wa-la!  I could catch little brother!  I just love this picture.  Mom is working hard and her little boy is captivated.  This image really symbolizes being a mom doesn’t it?  We do all sorts of things so that our kids can learn and grow and simply wonder.

And you know what? These boys LOVE their mom. Even if they can’t verbalize it, they know their mom is awesome. Just look at this image. Pure love I tell you.

As if that image weren’t enough, I just love this one. I love it so much I converted it to a black and white image to strip everything away except the emotion of the moment.  Can you see that special connection between a mom and her boy?  Awww…. makes my heart melt it is so sweet.

I have one more image to share so that you can see some of the sweetest eyes you’ve ever seen.  I did manage to wrangle a few shots of little brother.  Even caught him smiling!

These boys are so lucky to have such a special mommy.  Happy Mother’s Day!

I’ve had a really hard time picking images to share for Jordan.  I just have too many favorites!  As I was working on preparing her images I thought it might be fun to show you what a subtle before and after looks like.  I started with this lovely image of Miss Jordan.

There was already a lot that I liked about the image but there were a few things I wanted to tweak.  I loved the airy feel to the image and I wanted to keep it but overall I thought the image was a bit cool.  So, I warmed it up a tad and gave it just a bit more of a glow.  Check out Jordan’s face.  Can you see how she is a bit brighter?  Next, look at the background.  Can you see the warmth I added?  These are the types of things I do when I am working on my client images.  I capture the image with good exposure, in a nice location and  pleasing composition and then, while you wait, I “play” with the images.  It is so much fun to watch an image really come to life on your screen!

This next image might be my session favorite. I just love it! The location, the pose, and Jordan’s perfect appearance. Wow! My neighbor saw it and said it looked like it was an album cover or something. So, if Jordan ever becomes a rock star, I’ve got her first album’s cover art all done for her

After a while Jordan changed outfits and we went for a slightly different look. I love how Jordan is gazing right into the camera for this one. Her expression seals the deal for me and I think it is a winner.

And speaking of winners, I love a good close up and I believe this image is the winner for that category. I loved it so much I converted it to a black and white image so that you could we could simply focus on the beauty it features.

And lastly, I really like these “gone country” images as well. One of these was posted on Facebook and a comment was made that Jordan had gone country. I love it! So, in case she becomes a country star we have cover art for that as well! LOL!

Thanks for a fun session Jordan! It was great to spend some time with you, your mom and your aunt! I hope you love your images!

And, just in case you want some awesome images, like Jordan ( or if you are needing cover art for your latest album!) just visit my Facebook page and let me know. I’ll get right back to you and we can set it up.  It wouldn’t be fair of me to not tell you one more thing.  From now until May 15th, you can save $50 on a senior session.  The best part?  You don’t have to hold your session by May 15th.  You just have to book it ( complete session forms and pay session fee) by then.  So, if you are a rising senior and are planning on getting your portraits done this summer or fall, go ahead and book your session now and save yourself some money!