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Lauren and Kristin~ Editorial Part 2

Kelly — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 02:37:08 +0000

Now for the final installment. I am gonna be honest, these are my favorite shots from the whole session. The sun completely and utterly cooperated with us on the timing of the final scene. Nothing but dreamy, creamy, warm backlighting. The girls did an amazing job styling themselves for the field shots in their sundresses, boots, and accessories. The beauty of friendship and motherhood seems to ooze from these and I find myself smiling with each edit. Please be inspired and leave them some love.

Once again my wonderful friend Sarah, from Solace Restoration, hooked us up with some great props. For mother’s day, her husband made this amazing sign from some old barn wood. He hand stenciled a portion of a song of blessing on the sign. It is a powerful song with incredible lyrics of blessing for children. The sign was perfect for these mommies-to-be. I also grabbed some vintage pillows that she sewed out of old sugar sacks. The quilt is actually an unexpected find of Adam and Lauren’s. If I remember correctly, they were given an antique china cabinet from Adam’s great grandmother and in one of the drawers they found this half sewn quilt made by his great grandmother from the 1950’s. The quilt will grace Beatrice’s nursery. Without further ado……

Scene 3: “The Field”

ADDENDUM since posting: Some of you asked for full lyrics. Here they are. Song written by Dennis Jernigan.

I bless you with joy and peace and love that won’t let go. I bless you with grace and faith and fire in your soul. I bless you with dreams and visions most men don’t know of. i bless you with a deeper knowledge of our Fathers love.
I bless you with strength and power, grace through any trial. I bless you with wisdom and with comfort in your smile. I bless you with great adventures, journeys yet unknown. I bless you with hearts gone wild because you are His own.
I bless you with the heart of a warrior, grace to stand and fight, I bless you with brothers who will stand right by your side. I bless you with courage till the battles have been won, I bless you with the faith to hear your Father say “well done”.

CHORUS:
I bless you with joy and laughter, I bless you with a steadfast faith, I bless you with the hopes and the dreams that your heart goes after, I bless you with amazing grace.

This next one cracks me up….either we are really funny or we were confusing them with directions.

Beatrice was making her presence known.

These girls are amazing at pulling out vulnerable, beautiful looks.

A little out-take. Getting in this position for Lauren was a logistical feat. She had to balance against Kristin’s thigh which Kristin was a little too zealous to lend; tipping her over.

Much better.

Before we end with the adorable watermelon eating I just want to break to our two prop wenches that helped load and unload all over the property for us. These are not flattering shots but alas, we want to give honorable mention.

This is Kristin’s Adam working the pinwheel while frolicking with the horses.

and Lauren’s Adam taking a quick shot for Kristin’s sister.

These watermelon shots absolutely crack me up. The girls were starving by the end as it was a HOT, long five hours from start to finish. They devoured these watermelon slices in seconds.

Le sigh…..

Girls, I have said it a million times but THANK YOU! You exceeded each and every expectation I had for this shoot. We are so proud of the images and we are so pleased that these remind you of the blessing of pregnancy and friendship. We can’t wait to meet Violet and Beatrice in the upcoming months. Blessings!

Lauren and Kristin~ Editorial Part 1

Kelly — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 20:08:32 +0000

Did you all enjoy that dramatic pause? Good. Nothing like leaving town for a week after blogging a teaser. Seriously, it was torture not to keep throwing these pictures up but duty called in NY and we answered. We just got back and I am ready to showcase some more images from this fantastically fun shoot.

First of all, thank you for your very generous comments and feedback on Facebook and the blog. I am so pleased that this shoot was inspiring for so many! I got a lot of questions on props and locations so I will touch on a few things as I blog each section.

So for a brief history of this shoot because it really came together in a few weeks….let me share. Ryan and I have known the extremely talented Adam Barnes for many years. Those of you long time fans may have seen the vintage editorial shoot we did of Adam and his wife Lauren about a year and a half ago. There is no denying Lauren’s incredible beauty, poise and style in photos. She was a DREAM to shoot. She took my ideas and RAN with them while purchasing her clothes and accessories….the shoot would not have been half as impactful without her eye for style and her incredible talent at hair and make up. It can also be noted that Lauren has the most beautiful heart too.

Fast forward to the present. Adam has a very talented and very beautiful associate photographer working for him named Kristin. I have gotten to know Kristin over the last year loosely through the internet and because she worked part time at the salon I get my hair done at…score. Talk about another beautiful woman both inside and out. Kristin and Lauren also happen to be great girlfriends AND they are just 5 weeks apart from having their first babies together!

So a similar itch started about a month ago to create a stylized shoot, rich in details, themed, but this time with women. We don’t boast that we are maternity photographers, in fact we tend to shy away from anything family, maternity or baby. But as a woman, mother and now an expectant mother again…..I am in total girl mode. I think I pondered the concept of this shoot for about a minute when Lauren and Kristin popped in to my head. Two great friends, similar stature, naturally photogenic, stylish, and TOTALLY into details……oh yes….this was it! I fired off an email to them both asking if they wanted to do this shoot with Ryan and I for funsies. I explained how I saw three different scenes in my head. One was going to totally be bright, kitchy, summertime…borderline gaudy bathing suit scene. The second scene was going to be more “glam”, an outdoor living room scene with stronger poses…more serious. The last was going to be at sunset…dreamy, soft, lots of back-lighting, sundresses, quilt-on-the-grass sort of deal.

Well they jumped right on board, a flurry of emails ensued, they went shopping, I went collecting props and well…..there you have it. A hot July evening on an abandoned farm, two gorgeous pregnant women, two husbands named Adam that did the heavy lifting, one husband named Ryan that was along for the ride to shoot and execute what was in my brain and one GIDDY Kelly watching it all come together.

Enjoy Scene One….”Summertime”

As far as props for this scene. The lawn chairs are ours. Those amazing pinwheels were a last minute find at Big Lots $7.99 each!! Mini pinwheels and popsicle bubbles are from Joanne Fabrics, straws are my children’s, and little stool is mine. I think I spent about $20 for this simple set up!

So the LIFE game was a little epiphany I had a few days before the shoot racking my brains about how to show they were having girls without all the stereotypical ways. We already owned the game so it was a free addition to the props pile. To my knowledge, I have not seen this before but I do know there is nothing new under the sun….so maybe you have. I don’t really hang out on maternity blogs!

Scene Two…”The Living Room”

Props were scored from two sources. One…Ryan’s full time job as a commercial photographer at Moore and Giles leather. The chairs, the full hide, even the distressed door and mantel are all props from his workplace..MAJOR SCORE! The vintage calendar pillow, some bottles, vases, candlesticks are all from my dear friend Sarah who refurbishes and sells at Solace Restoration. The ladder was found on the property.

Part Two coming soon…..

Lauren and Kristin~ Editorial Maternity Teaser

Kelly — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 19:16:12 +0000

I don’t know where to begin to explain this shoot or my sheer delight in working with Lauren and Kristin. I am going to save the story for Part 1 of 2 posts coming soon. All I can say is this was an adrenaline shot to the heart for me in photography. Every once in awhile I have to plan a shoot that is left of center for what we normally do and remind myself why I love working with women and why photography is such a powerful medium. Enjoy the sheer amazingness, beauty, and exquisite detail of this shoot. Lauren and Kristin you are pure pleasure. (Oh and not to shaft Ryan, he was totally there too, but he won’t take credit for the ideas, just the amazing photos…thanks babe!)

Third trimester and in bathing suits, I couldn’t love them more for agreeing to this!

Both ladies are expecting “pink”! Little Beatrice will be joining Lauren and Adam in September. Little Violet will be joining Kristin and Adam (different Adam..I know it is confusing!) in August.

My friends and renovation specialists at Solace Restoration, loaned me this sign. This is a portion of a song of blessing we sing at our church. Ryan and I sing this song to our kids every night before bed. It is incredible.

Sylvette and Nate~ Engaged

Kelly — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 03:02:42 +0000

Oh man oh man…I have been dying to get this post up. We finally have a little breathing room after the last five weeks of traveling. I am ready to pump out some posts and I am thrilled that Sylvette and Nate will kick it off.

You know you have only great things ahead in a relationship when your first conversation sets you up with an inside joke. All we have to say is “muscle tank” and the four of us will bust up laughing. Not sure what we are talking about…good…you aren’t in the loop my friend. I can’t say enough incredible things about Sylvette and Nate. It was a shame we even had to label our afternoon with them as “work”. We absolutely laughed ourselves silly and what started out as a two hour shoot turned into four hours followed by an awesome dinner together. Good times, good times.

Sylvette is one foxy mama. If you are a Modern Family fan then you may find a striking resemblence between her and the character Gloria. Sylvette is a natural with the camera. Some people take a little longer to warm up but from the first frame Sylvette was hitting it. Not to be outdone, Nate was no chump as her arm candy. Together they gave us some images we are tremendously proud of. Let’s get started, this is a long one!

Can we just point out how stinking funny we must be. (blows hot puff of air on fingernails and rubs them on shirt) I mean look, we were killing it with Sylvette and Nate.

Nate mocking Sylvette…just a little.

Another serious bout of teeth envy going again. Nice chompers Nate.

I’m gonna set the scene for this next series.

Man cleaning an alley see’s hot woman sitting nonchalantly on top of a random table (it could happen)

Man is drawn to hot woman…broom is clearly in the way. (Nate was killing us with the roll playing.)

Change of scenery. This is the park where Nate proposed to Sylvette. There was a really cool tangled tree, dome enclosure that we set up camp at.

Nate is what we call….talented. He knows his way around a guitar and serenaded us all for a little bit while Sylvette got her dance on.

Outfit change and on to some of my all time favorite pictures as the lighting went from great to AMAZING. First a few grass shots..because, well…the grass was insanely lush.

On Sylvette and Nate’s engagement questionnaire she said that they describe themselves as each other’s puzzle pieces. They fit perfectly together. I asked her to play off that theme and create a little puzzle for the shoot. Her nickname is SeeBee so it was only fitting to make a good old fashioned declaration of love.

Brief pause before the dreamy lighting shots. Nate thought it would be funny to come up with a go-to “pose” for the photoshoot. This was the pose.

Here are some beauty shots of our sassy latin goddess. Sylvette…you are stunning!

Guys, guys, guys…we know we are funny…stop…seriously….

Going

Gone

23 days till the big day….can’t wait to reunite our super powers again guys. You were simply a joy to photograph.

Sylvette and Nate~ Engagement Teaser

Kelly — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 02:48:44 +0000

Our marathon trip up to DC has commenced. We are overly giddy about the two couples we got to spend copious amounts of time with. In a weird twist of fate we found out both grooms went to high school together and know each other but had no idea they had the same wedding photographers…..US!!!

Sylvette and Nate were first up to bat. I seriously had to tell myself “too many Kelly” while picking some teaser photos. I could not narrow down just a few. Sylvette is one sassy looking mama. If you watch the show Modern Family you may find a similarity between “Gloria” Sophia Vergara and Sylvette our Puerto Rican lovely. Nate can hold his own with his freckles, dimples, perfect teeth and charm. Enjoy this teaser of our gorgeous Saturday evening shoot.

le sigh…..this light was magical.

Katherine and Jacob~ Engaged

Kelly — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 20:24:33 +0000

When one of the first things Katherine said when we met her was “I LOVE color!” I knew we were going to jive just fine. Jacob and Katherine quickly identified a few key details that they wanted highlighted in their engagement shoot. One very important thing was that we incorporated water. Katherine’s father is a fisherman on the Chesapeake Bay and the water means a lot to her. Her father has been collecting bottles and driftwood that have washed up on shore for some time. These are going to be centerpieces for their rehearsal dinner but we got to sample them first! Katherine also brought the most amazing quilt for their dock-side picnic from my *swoon* favorite store, Anthropologie.

Keeping with the theme of color, I knew a perfect wall to kick-off our shoot. It is not only loaded with color it sends a positive message to our couple to be. You would be surprised how many jokes you can also milk from this phrase. (playfully)

That’s right folks…just Be GREEEEEEEEEEAT! (Sorry I am from Battle Creek, MI….Kellogg’s Company….Tony the Tiger…anyone, anyone…Bueller?)

These are the legs of an amazing dancer! Her calves are made of titanium! Looking good Katherine…looking good!

*****SIDE NOTE***** came across this gem on our walk. Any takers?

DANCE BREAK!!!!!!!

Let’s get some more romance on shall we…….

Major transition to the water.

Seeing as Lynchburg is a little void of the seashore we had to make due by driving up to Sweet Briar College and set up our picnic on their lake. It was such a gorgeous night but we were losing daylight fast and the chill of the night came quickly. Katherine brought some terrific details for us to set up on the dock. Pops of color everywhere!!! How could you not love this little set up?

My good friend, Beth Baxter of Taste Selects Confectionery, threw in some adorable teal cupcakes with Jacob and Katherine’s initials.

Jacob and Katherine…you guys were a total and utter blast to spend a Friday evening with. You are so easy to be around and have a great sense of humor. Katherine thanks for going the extra mile on all the great details you added to the shoot! It took every ounce of self-control not to steal your necklaces and quilt, EVERY OUNCE! We wish you a life time of happiness and remember…..BE GREAT!

“Whirling Turban” Lifestyle shoot with The Brides Cafe

Kelly — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 13:40:43 +0000

We were so honored to be asked by Janie at The Brides Cafe to come photograph another lifestyle shoot. Back in the fall we photographed a collaborative effort with Janie and Courtney of Merriment Events, called“Stitch in Time”. We had an awesome time working together so when Janie was sent some incredible vintage dresses from Whirling Turban she was ready for us to reunite for another shoot. If you are into vintage dresses you MUST spend some time on Whirling Turbans site…amazing!

We asked our friend Sara, of our recent three part series labeled “Todd and Sara” to come stand in as a model. I wish you could understand how insanely cold it was outside. It was literally only in the 20’s with a severe windchill. These girls were TROOPERS. With goosebumps and chattering teeth they soldiered on as if it were a lovely spring day.

To see Janie and The Brides Cafe posting on this shoot click here. To see Courtney and Little White Book posting on this shoot click here.

We had to give in and let them wear their coats. I mean we are humane :-)

Flowers by Janie Medley of JM Flora and The Brides Café

Styling by Courtney Spencer of Merriment Events and little white book

Dresses by Whirling Turban

Makeup by Erika Nixon of Makeup on Demand makupondemand@comcast.net

Cupcakes by Two Sweet

Pink feather fascinator by One Little Dove

Featured: Sara and Todd on Green Wedding Shoes

Kelly — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 00:28:05 +0000

We are so delighted that Sara and Todd are front and center on the always inspiring Green Wedding Shoes blog today!
The winning combination of great style, details and amazing chemistry make this one of our favorite shoots of 2009.

Click on over to see which images Jenny chose to feature.

The Besties 2009 “Because being the BEST is all that matters”

Kelly — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 04:03:02 +0000

Being the BEST is a huge responsibility, being the BEST as a Kellan client…well that is a whole other realm of importance. Can you handle the pressure candidates? ….CAN YOU????? It’s game time.

It is an arduous task plowing through a year’s worth of photos picking moments, expressions, looks, style, color and emotion that grabbed our eye. This year we structured “The Besties” into categories and changed around the voting.

So we ask you to take a moment with each category, consider it, savor it, marinate in it, and cast your vote! There are 15 categories so scroll all the way down.

It is just that easy!

We will open the polls on Monday, January 4 and close them on Monday, January 11 at midnight. The winners from the 15 categories will then go into a random drawing. First winner will receive a 16 X 24 canvas wrap, the second winner will receive a 12 X 12 canvas wrap and the third winner will receive an 12 X 18 enlargement. JUST FOR BEING THE BESTEST!!! How rad is that?

BUT WAIT DEAR VOTERS…..you can win too! By leaving a comment at the end of the post you will be eligible for a drawing for a $15.00 Starbucks card. All you have to do is link to a photo that meant something to you in 2009. It could be a personal photo, a photo from another photographer or one of ours. We would love to see what moves or inspires you! That’s it…..leave a comment, be in a drawing. (Unfortunately, Facebook links will not work)

Get your clicking finger ready and vote, vote, vote….THANK YOU for helping support our awesome 2009 clients.

And…. Begin!

Romance

Mark and Katherine:

Adam and Lauren:

Ellen and Erik:

Heather and Tim:

Dustin and Christy

Hillary and Josh:

Cindy and Josh:

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post’s poll.

HOT POTATOES

Sara and Todd:

Candace:

Heather and Tim:

Chrissy and Jay:

Ellen and Erik:

Molly and Chris:

Thad with groomsmen:

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post’s poll.

CUTIE PETUTIES

Amanda and Jason:

Jamie and Paula:

Jill and Jed:

Cindy with bridesmaids:

Julie and Steve:

Joe and Joanna

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post’s poll.

PASSION

Jamie and Paula:

Chrissy and Jay:

Kristin and Tim:

Adam and Lauren:

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post’s poll.

COLOR POP

Jamie and Paula:

Heather and Tim:

Kristin and Tim:

Stitch in Time Editorial Shoot:

Jay with groomsmen:

Chrissy with bridesmaids:

Josh with groomsmen:

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post’s poll.

BEST UPS

Joe and Joanna

Christy and Dustin

Erik and groomsmen

Chrissy and Jay

Jed and groomsmen

Tim and groomsmen

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post’s poll.

JUST PLAIN PURDY

Jill

Sara

Jill and Chris

Ellen

Natalia

Lauren

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post’s poll.

SHOES GLORIOUS SHOES

Molly

Ellen

Jill

Heather

Hillary

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post’s poll.

PUT A RING ON IT

Cindy and Josh- Charity tokens

Molly and Chris

Comic book lovers Kenley and Michele

Chrissy and Matt’s signature drink at their reception

Jill and Jed

Heather and Tim avid gin lovers

Susan and Thad

Catherine and Nick

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post’s poll.

HAPPY HAPPY JOY JOY

Molly

Candace

Kenley and Michele

Chrissy and Matt

Susan and Thad

Joe and Joanna

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post’s poll.

INTENSE

Natalia

Ellen’s mom

Michele

Jill and Jed

Molly hugging her mom down the aisle

Jay

Kristin dancing with her dad

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post’s poll.

DETAILS THAT CAN’T BE IGNORED

Molly’s awesome derby hat

Ellen’s chalk signs at reception

Ellen’s vintage bridal shoot wearing her mothers wedding gown, grandmothers headpiece at the church her parents got married at.

Jill’s mother’s necklace worn on her wedding day.

Set up a ring shot on Chrissy’s favorite tattoo of Jays: Lion/God defeating the Snake/Satan.

Tim’s grandfather watch that was given to him after his passing, held by his grandmother, the recent widow.

Ellen standing on the tractor her grandfather used to ride on many decades earlier. It now resides on their friends farm.

Josh’s dad officiated his son’s wedding ceremony to Cindy. This is the Bible he used to read scripture and during the vows.

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post’s poll.

MISCELLANEOUS

During Ellen’s vintage bridal shoot, we worked in a portrait of her mother wearing the original bridal gown.

Heather and Tim’s wedding…flower girl hit her limit.

Molly and Chris’s wedding. Bridesmaids switched to flip flops and shoved into a photo booth together.

Matt and Chrissy read separate vows to each other after their ceremony but had an ill-timed moment where they bashed heads.

Kristin and her mom during reception.

My brother Jamie putting out the vibe.

Dustin doing yoga in the desert

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post’s poll.

OUT OF A MOVIE

Jill and Jed

Chrissy and Jay

Catherine and Nick

Cindy and Josh

Adam and Lauren

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post’s poll.

Sara and Todd ~ Part III ” Boho Meets the Great Outdoors”

Kelly — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 14:08:15 +0000

Our third and final installment of Sara and Hot Toddie.

I am so excited to share this last set. In some ways it is my favorite. Probably because Ryan and I are friends with them so we know how much they laugh together as a couple and how laid back they are. These pictures really focus on that lighthearted side.

Todd grabbed his guitar and serenaded us to a haunting little medley as well as a “colorful” rendition of “Following the Leader”- Peter Pan. Between all of us laughing and gabbing we were able to wrap up this session successfully!

Todd grabbed some of his mom’s old records to throw in a few shots.

Todd decided to get the laughing ball rolling by throwing his head back and doing some ridiculous fake laughter which eventually turned into genuine belly laughter by all of us.

Got it together for a few more serious ones.

Heading in for one last change. I haven’t mentioned that this amazing location is my wonderful, godly mentors farm. It is a virtual goldmine of backgrounds. Mary doesn’t understand why we want to come out there and shoot, she just can’t see how all these “old” things and rustic backgrounds work into photo shoots. I think we could shoot there a hundred times before running out of original spaces. Thank you Mary and Ronnie!!!

It’s SMORES time! Sara and Todd are huge campers. I thought it would be fun to make some smores and wrap up the night with a campfire. Really, how can you go wrong with smores? Everybody was a gooey winner with strings of sticky marshmallow on their chins by the end.

Flaming mallows…fire, fire, fire. My favorite comment of the night by Ryan, “Sara, where did you get that sweatshirt, I can’t tell?” Love sarcasm….LURVE it.

Sara and Todd, there are no words to express how much fun this shoot was. You rocked it out outfit change after outfit change. Thank you for going the extra mile in styling this shoot. There was so much to inspire and work with. Your marriage and friendship is such a blessing to us. Thank you for giving us one of the best photo shoots ever!!! We love you guys. ~ The Pantis’s