This is my favorite picture from a newborn session from yesterday. I am working through the session now but this picture made me stop and smile. I love how big brother is peeking at me while little sister is sleeping. More later…

My most requested shot that I take for families and couples is what I call the “eyelash” shot. It is also one of my favorite pictures to take of my clients. And I want to share with you how it all started. The picture above is my first ever eyelash shot and it was by accident. This little guy was having a hard time warming up to me and was being shy. I was snapping away, trying different angles, and even taking pictures of him not looking to show him on the back of my camera. We did eventually get some shots of him looking at me but when I went home to process the session I absolutely fell in love with this shot. The mom did too and then the “eyelash” shot was born! I have learned some tricks at getting the right angle even with fast moving children and babies. I photographed another photographer’s family a little while ago and when she saw me take the shot of her child she exclaimed “THAT’S how you do it.” I love the challenge! But, not only moms love this shot. Couples and seniors love it too! So, it is now part of my routine in most sessions.

Why do I love it so much? As mom, I have held my children as they slept and gazed at thier eyelashes. It is view that I never want to forget. I know other moms feel the same way. And for couples, I love the eyelash shot because the couple must be sitting close together to capture the right angle and it looks so intimate without being too close. It makes women look so feminine and I love it!

This couple is from Texas and when they called to book us, they figured we wouldn’t have time for an engagement session since we are HOURS apart. But, we have done this before and I try to always schedule an engagement session even if it the day before. WHY? Because I don’t want the first time we take your pictures to be on your wedding day. I think it is so important that we have time to hang out, get to know each other, and it gives me a chance to see what poses work best for you, if someone is a blinker… and it also gives us a chance to talk about the wedding day!

We scheduled the engagement session for the day before the wedding. On the morning of the session, I called this couple to confirm timing and location and that is when I learned that their plans changed a little. The plan was for them to drive from Texas the day before and meet me the next day. BUT, when a close family member was admitted to the hospital, they needed to stay closer to home until the very last minute. Can you believe the couple looks this FABULOUS with only 30 minutes of sleep after driving straight from Texas all night?!? They were game for a session and I told them I could remove dark circles from under eyes if needed (I didn’t need to!).  We had a short engagement session with their puppies and then they were off to the rehearsal dinner with family and friends. So this weekend, they were my heroes. The engagement session with no sleep, the after session with crazy cold weather… and the wedding… well, more on that later. But, they took it all in stride and enjoyed the wedding weekend to the fullest!

I came across this website a few weeks ago and I was so intrigued. The last 6 months or so I have realized that I don’t do anything but work and take care of my family. I keep telling myself that when I slow down I can do this… that… etc. You know how it is! But I have come to realization that life will never slow down and it is up to us to stop and do our best to do the things that make life worth it and at the same time taking care of the responsibilities in our life. That is why I thought 101 things in 1001 years is a great way for me to purposefully do things that I have always wanted to do. I plan to share each number with you on the blog. 1001 days is roughly 2 1/2 years. Some of my goals are hard to reach and some are very easy and simple, some are silly and some are more serious. I am excited just thinking about all the neat things I plan to do on purpose to enjoy the life that God has given us. Now, you will notice there are a few missing. I am just at a lost for more and I think I will be adding more as I think of them. Since so many of these are business related, Cory has added several of his goals on here too. (Well, God does consider one, right?). So what do you think about my list??

1. Photograph a session with 5 generations. (know anyone?)
2. Spend a long weekend vacation with another family.
3. Make mud pies with my children.
4. Go on an overnight trip with my husband, without our children, and NOT for work.
5. Photograph a bride in the ocean or gulf in her dress in the water.
6. Replace all of our current artwork in our home with just our pictures.
7. Use my antique highchair in a portrait session.
8. Host a formal dinner party on my grandmother’s china for 6 people.
9. Paint Sarah’s finger nails and toenails (when I think she is ready)
10. Sell our current home or add on to our existing home.
11. Take 12 weeks of dance class.
12. Overnight vacation with a friend.
13. Visit Savannah and photograph my children under the oak trees.
14. Photograph my step sister with her horse.
15. Do real portraits, not snap shots of my children with each grandparent. (Nana, Pop, Oma, and Grandpa)
16. Go to the beach with my sister and all the kids but no husbands.
17. Read an entire book not for work or for a class but for enjoyment alone.
18. Spend an entire day alone with Elijah doing the things he enjoys most.
19. Spend an entire day alone with Sarah doing the things she enjoys most.
20. Organize a meeting with local photographers for fun and to get to know each other.
21. Approach a complete stranger and offer them a free session.
22. Host a client appreciation open house.
23. Give away a free wedding.
24. Schedule a portrait session for my family where I leave location and ideas totally up to the artist.
25. Photograph another photographer’s family
26. Photograph an Indian wedding
27. write down my story of how God led us to start our photography business
28. plant a garden
29. Repaint my house.
30. Make peach jam and fig jam from the trees in our backyard.
31. Host a potluck dinner for friends.
32. Spend an afternoon with a friend, letting her teach me what she does best. (bake bread, sew, paint, etc.)
33. Spend an afternoon going through old pictures of my family with my mom, letting her tell me te same story over and over again.
34. Host a Bible study in our home.
35. Photograph my elementary school best friend and her family.
36. Take my children to a Braves Game.
37. Take a class or seminar that is offered by one of my favorite photographers.
38. Host a Gallery showing??? maybe…. big maybe.
39. Second shoot with a photographer that I admire.
40. Go on a woman’s retreat
41. Make a fine art album of my children (one for each child)
42. Visit Israel.
43. Cook Indian food from scratch.
44. Visit Ikea.
45. Hand out gospel tracts on a street corner.
46. Take our children to a movie with popcorn and extra butter.
47. Take our children to the Civil Rights Museum.
48. Teach Elijah how to ride his bike.
49. Visit New York City and eat at three places on Food Network.
50. Visit Washington DC.
51. Find my best friend Jennifer.
52. Meet Cory’s extended family in Calofornia.
53. Take a cooking class
54. finally get a passport for all of us.
55. Go camping, in a tent.
56. Release a brand new website.
57. Attend Imaging USA with Cory.
58. Take a roadtrip without a destination in mind.
59. Find and reconnect with my brother, Matt.
60. Photograph my brother and sister in laws family.
61. Send my best friend a gift in the mail, totally unexpected.
62. Go snorkeling.
63. Photograph a wedding in another state.
64. Visit Mexico.
65. Teach Sarah how to fly a kite.
66. Register Elijah for soccer.
67. Register Sarah for Ballet class.
68. Dance in the rain with my husband.
69. Blog for 30 days straight.
70. Make spaghetti sauce from scratch.
71. Eat at Highlands Bar and Grill
72. have our work published in a magazine
73. host a BIG giveaway on a local radio station.
74. Purchase a lensbaby
75. have an entire day with the phone off, no tv, no computer.
76. Take ballroom dancing classes with Cory
77. Renew our vows on our 10^th anniversary
78. Photograph a Jewish Wedding
79. Buy Sarah her first pair of dance shoes.
80. Have a reunion with my two foster sisters at the same time
81. Have a picnic in the park.
82. Lose 40 lbs.
83. Spend an afternoon by myself at a bookstore.
84. Get a hot stone massage.
85. Memorize a bible verse a week for 12 weeks.
86. Eat at Paula Deens restaurant.
87. Visit New Orleans and take my kids to visit my favorite zoo when I was a child.
88. Visit a National Park.
89. Make a snow angel
90. Make a new filing system.
91. Photograph my high school best friend with her husband and kids.
92. Have a personal shopper (or someone very stylish) pick out an outfit for me.

Start you own list here! If you have a blog please comment here you list too. I would love to read what others are doing!

Sometimes the weather for your beach wedding, doesn’t work out as planned. Sure, everyone hopes for beautiful sunny weather but… you just never know. The day of the wedding the surf looked like it a hurricane was coming through. We quickly made some changes to the wedding day schedule.  The rain calmed down just in time to get all of the pictures of the wedding day on the bay but we never had the opportunity to take some shots of the couple in front of the gulf. I asked the couple if they were up for a quick session the next morning before they drove back to Texas (and then onto Hawaii!!). They were game and I was so excited. The pressure was off the next day, we didn’t have to worry about the wind being too strong to mess up her hair, she went with her hair down and we played in the wind. Amazing… just amazing results! It was probably the shortest after session ever, but I wanted to let the bride and groom go on thier way. Aren’t these the most romantic portraits?

I love how dad was getting in on the action too! He also helped since I was shooting by myself. He held her veil when we were using it and even held her dress to get the serious wind effect and cool lines. Love it! Look for the wedding pictures very soon!

The house behind them is the house that both families stayed in during the wedding weekend. I love how we have a record of the house in pictures!