This Old Saddle

At a recent session, out in 'the country' (as I call it), even though I was actually shooting the 2 children (their pictures coming in another post), my eye was caught by a saddle. The mom (and a dear friend of mine) told me it was her saddle, she had used it lovingly for years on her sweet horses that have since been put down. She could tell in an instant that I wanted to shoot it....I loved trying to capture all the little details. So, with some beautiful natural light, here's something a little different....

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Two Peas out of their Pod

You may remember awhile back I did a maternity session for a mom-to-be who was having twins. Well, this is their big debut! These little teeny ones really were happiest being fully swaddled. So the lesson at this session was - the value of a good and proper swaddling fabric. They endured a little bit of 'nakedness', but they really feel deeeeeep asleep once swaddled (and cuddled, of course, my favorite part!).

Thanks to the twins, and mom and dad for letting me into your home during this busy (and sleepless) time!

Cades Cove

Recently, we enjoyed a nice weekend in the TN mountains, near a little town called Townsend. This place is near and dear to my heart, as I spent some time there every summer at leadership camp in high school. I think it's when I fell in love with the mountains....crickets chirping at night, clean crisp air, wooded forest paths, sitting around a crackling firepit singing songs in the evening....ah, memories.

Anyway, one day during camp we'd all pile into buses and drive the scenic Cades Cove, a beautiful 11-mile loop of pastoral landscape. There are refurbished original buildings there, too. someday I'd like to bike it (which apparently they reserve for Saturday mornings).

I enjoyed getting outside my comfort zone, and shooting something other than people. Interesting how differently I see the place now. It also has revealed my strange fascination with old buildings, fences and wood....

I"m getting caught up on a lot, so check back!

Fashionista

I went shopping recently (which is kind of rare, as I hate shopping) and found these fabulous red cowboy boots! At first I thought I'd buy them for Sarah, as after all, every girl needs her own cowboy boots. But instead I snagged them for some photo prop usage - if your child has size 13 feet, and you'd like these in your session, just let me know!
I also have this great blue boa. Hey, why not wear them together? Childhood is all about play and dress up, right?

Sweet Expectation

I love how every session is completely different and unpredictable. You can never know for sure exactly what shots will 'work', and what won't. This mommy-to-be let me play around with all kinds of props and poses, with some great results.
I was SO glad the rain held off for us. I didn't think we'd be able to go outside, but indeed we did; and as a bonus, the major cloud cover proved a fabulous light diffuser :)

Check out my Facebook Fanpage (Laura Alvis Photography) for more images from this session!

Daily Candy

Hey blog followers, check out Daily Candy website (an insider's guide to your city)! You may remember that awhile back I took some product shots for a wonderfully creative Children's Stationary artist. You can see an article about her business - and 1 of my photos - here: http://www.dailycandy.com/kids/atlanta/article/75664/The-English-Pea-Childrens-Stationery .

More posts coming soon, I've been busy!!

Sassy Senior

I don't know about you, but I remember Senior pictures being pretty boring, stuffy and 'posey' (think mirrors, robes and roses). I have been excited to see that the world of Senior Portraits has evolved into SO much more! Nowadays, Seniors can choose to get their portrait session done on location, with a multitude of outfits, accessories, etc.

And as I was processing this session, I realized why a great Senior portrait session is so important. Most Seniors probably haven't had the typical 'kid' portraits done in awhile (as they go thru that awkward middle school phase). And they likely won't have good pictures again until they get married. So this is an important time for Seniors (or rather, their parents) to get a killer photo session that's all about THEM!!

And that's exactly what we did here - this fun and sassy senior brought all her tack and lots of personality! It was lots of fun, and I"m looking forward to doing more Seniors next year!