a little peek into how I photograph crazy kids

Okay, so it wasn’t a real session–as you can probably guess, it was my family and I at the beach. But as my clients can verify, this is pretty much how my sessions go too! And the crazy is 100% real… I specialize in crazy kids.
I really didn’t mean for this video to even happen… I downloaded all the footage from my dad’s flip video camera and saw a bunch of me shooting, and I thought it would be really cool to combine watching the shot get taken with the resulting images. And, by the way, I found the perfect service to do that–animoto.com! Click that link to let them know I sent you, and get a special rate.


Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.

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vacation | isle of palms, sc

It feels so great to go on vacation… but does it rival the feeling of being back home? Call me a homebody, but I love coming back home after a long trip.

We traveled to an island outside of Charleston, SC–an island I have visited every summer since I was born! It feels like home to me, and every year I love greeting once again the sand, the sun, the humidity, and all the beach wildlife on the island. It’s truly a magical place.

…and it’s so special to me to be able to share this island with my children. I love reliving the excitement of being a kid on the beach with my kids!

More later! Just wanted to pop in and update!

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to : the mamas of the world. from : me. | tennessee child and baby photographer

to all those moms…

…who feel sometimes like a waitress. or a busboy.

…who are familiar with the feeling of sacrificing a good night’s sleep.

…who have to be the bad guy every once in awhile.

…who clean and pick up only to make room for more dirt and clutter for another day.

…who keep the family going even when she’s sick.

…who have ever worked hard to make a meal, just to have everyone turn up their noses.

there is no job so grueling, so thankless, so important… so rewarding. oh, did I say thankless?

because even when it seems like it is, just remember you are being thanked in different ways than you’d expect.

…like with a lap full of weedy blooms (complete with dirts and roots, and handfuls of grass there and there) because your boys decided to pick you a flower.

…the eyes of a 6-month old, on you from every angle he can get from his bouncy seat as you cook dinner. (you’re the most beautiful thing in the world to him.)

…a bed full of boys in the early hours of the morning, all sprawling and sleeping and snoring. (even though you needed a good night’s sleep you gave in.)

…the exclamations of joy you get when you arrive home after a long day, or a long trip. (you never wanted to get away so badly, yet you’ve counted the hours until your return.)

…contented smiles from a sick boy, under a pile of blankets on the couch. (having the power to make him feel better with a sonic slush and his favorite movie is a wonderful thing.)

…a fake-food onion and chocolate sandwich with a side of plastic lemon served up by your 3-year old to sustain you while you’re working (yes, you have to do the “fake eating” thing, but it’s so worth it!)

you matter. your job is important. your job is difficult. your job is unique.

everyone has a mother, yes. but you were created for your children, and your children were created for you. there is no other relationship like it in the world.

from one exhausted, blissful, frustrated, contented, joyful, overwhelmed, wouldn’t-trade-it-for-the-world mama to another,

happy mothers’ day.

(this is a snapshot of me and my three boys, taken by my husband a few weeks ago.)

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belly laughs | cookeville child photographer

Is there any better sound?

And although I didn’t get a shot of it, I heard a lot of belly laughs from my sister when I showed her my self-portrait attempts. Yes, I tried to photograph myself. I wrote an article about photography for next month’s issue of At Home Tennessee, and needed a bio picture. I’m not kidding, I enlisted my 5-year old to try to shoot me. That didn’t work out so well. So out came the tripod, and self-timer. We finally got one, but it was still enough to make me so thankful I am most often on the other side of the lens!

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kicking shoulda woulda couldas to the curb

You know, sometimes I get followed around by “should be” “could be” “would be” clouds that bother me all day long. Are you familiar with these? The “I should be spending more time teaching Jack to read” or “if I had gone to medical school, I would be out now, practicing” or “I could be in bed right now but someone decided they were hungry at 5 am.”

Don’t those thoughts just plague you sometimes? It really takes the wind out of your sails. Sometimes I need a good shaking–a mental shaking–to realize that living in the shoulda coulda woulda’s is psychological suicide. Living in the true present, the actual reality, is so much more satisfying. There are things to do, people to love, days to accomplish right here, right now. The secret to happiness is embracing your reality!

There are pictures to paint, and brothers to hug. Always something to do, with all your heart.

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