the little girl.

This little one spent some time over at the house the other day. And of course we took some photos!!!

We had fun and used props and outfits that I had there in the studio!!

This one is so full of life and love, she’s the sweetest!!

Vivi, love you sweet girl!!

b r o t h e r s

I was glad I could spend some time with these boys last weekend. They mean so much to me. They are like family to me.

Hayes is already 10 1/2, and I’ve know him since he was around 2. He has grown up into an amazing kid!!

Hayes, I love how you are always filled with curiosity…about things around you, about life. You are the smartest kid I know!!

Vonn, you make me smile every time I see you!!! I love your joy that overflows to others around you.

Keep smiling Vonn, the world needs to see it!! Love you both!!

Where the Wild Things Are

“Let the wild rumpus start!”

Another fun session with J today!! We went for a ‘Where the Wild Things Are’ theme today.

There’s story behind J’s outfit for this shoot. I used it in a session with his older brother, years back. I sized it for J for today, making into something that suits him for this theme. I had designed it and my late Grandmother Ruth sewed it for me.

And his hat, well that thing has been around since J was around 4 or 5. It was part of a costume he wore for a Lost Boys session. And it was used again last year and then today. Each session I added onto it, to make it a bit different, and to fit the specific theme.

J, thank you for always being a good sport and helping me out!! Thanks for being so fun and cool for adding ideas of your own to our photo sessions!!

The kid with the long hair.

I’ve seriously missed working with this kid. It’s been way too long!!! I was so excited to hang out with him yesterday and get some new shots!!

Thanks for being so cool E!!

Can we just say, E has THE best hair ever!!!

Sometimes you get those shots, where your model is just being himself, belting out a song, and you get a great capture!! Love this kid!!

little Jean Ralphio

“I almost fell asleep during that sentence.” Jean Ralphio

“I made my money the old-fashioned way. I got run over by a Lexus.” Jean Ralphio

“I like your energy, Hombre.” Jean Ralphio

“Why don’t your turn that frizown upsidizity.” Jean Ralphio

“That’s too much responsibility. I got to find a way out of this.” Jean Ralphio

If any of you watch Parks and Rec and know the character, Jean Ralphio, you understand these quotes!!! His character inspired this photo session. I LOVE me some Jean Ralphio, he’s hilarious!!! J and Jean Ralphio both have some amazing hair!!

/ Creative Colors /

We had a lot of fun on this session!!! We both used our creative imaginations for this one!!

I always love working with J, he has some crazy fun ideas!! I love having him share his ideas with me when we are working together, and implement them into the sessions. Like this photo above...he started to take the strong and throw it all over his head and said, hey, take my picture like this!!

Stay creative and fun little dude!!

Space Boy

This was such a fun photo shoot with J!!! He did such an amazing job, I love working with this kid!!

These photos were also featured on the magazine blog of Babiekins, which was an exciting opportunity!! 

Y O U T H F U L L N E S S

I love working with Elijah. I love the outcome of the photos we take. They are always more than I have imagined. To see my ideas in my head come to life, it’s amazing.

Youth in the sunshine

"It's a beautiful thing to mature into yourself - to accept the world that we live in and make it vibrant, colorful, and beautiful" - Hayden Byerly

This boy right here is growing up to one amazing kid!! He has an amazing heart, he's compassionate and thinks always of others, he's got amazing hair and he's a ninja boss!!

"It's up to you whether you have a good day or not - not anybody else. It's about saying; 'You're going to have an amazing day'. Self-Confidence goes a long way. Be confident in who you are." Gavin Casalegno

"I try every day to make a little difference in someone's life. Not something catastrophic, but just simple tokens of gratitude." Brandon Larracuente 

"When you're a boy and you're young, the world is a wonderful place." Montell Martin

the retro kid

This session with J was so much fun!! I had come across this old abandoned general store in Franklin. I wanted his clothing and props to have a bit of a retro 80s vibe.

the cool senior of Franklin.

I had the privilege to work with this beauty again last week. I took some photos of her a few months back, and she contacted me again to take her senior photos. 

And again, I had a blast working with her!!

I love it when my clients let me also add my creative flare to the photos. The photo above, I held a pair of sunglasses up to the lens. The photo below, I had a piece of brown paper, full of holes up to the lens. I love playing around with different things, holding them up to the lens, getting a different look or feel for certain photos. 

This photo above was another cool shot with the sunglasses in front of the lens. 

The above shot I think is one of my favorites from this session. This was taken in a tight spot, next to this old storage building, and a tree. I used the tree for my advantage though, holding one of the branches with leaves up to the lens. 

Maya, stay cool, stay cool!! You are unique, beautiful and amazing!! I'm so glad I have had the chance to photograph you twice this year and I hope we can work together again in the near future!! You rock!

T R A C K

I had this idea for Elijah for a while and was happy to accomplish it. I thought he would be perfect for this session, since he’s been on a track team for the past couple of years. 

The day we planned to do this session was a beautiful day. We packed the car up and we were about to head to the location spot, and all of a sudden it started to rain really hard.  

We waited a while to see if it would let up, but ended up having to wait around one hour. We ended up going to plan b for location, away from the rain. This location worked out just fine for us. It’s always good to have a plan b with your location, when you never know what the weather is going to be like. The weather app said it was sunny and warm, but when we looked outside, seeing the dark clouds and the raining falling, we knew we had to think of another idea, or wait until another day. 

The light was pretty good too, right after the rain. But…..we were attacked, literally attacked, by mosquitoes like crazy!!! We were fighting them off left and right. I would snap a few shots and than have to smack my arm, to get them away. We got some good shots…but we had bites on our arms and legs.

I can’t say it enough, I love working with this kid!! He always enjoys being my model in many of my shoots, and helping me see my ideas and creativity come to life in the photos.

Thank you again E for helping out, even if you had to fight off the mosquitos!!! You’re awesome, kid!!

Lazy Jane // Part II

I had the privilege last week to photograph this amazing duo, Lazy Jane!!! I’ve been working with them for a couple years now. They always love my photography style and together with their amazing style, it always works great together!!

"There are many people out there who will tell you that you can’t. What you’ve got to do is turn around and say, ‘Watch Me’”.  Jack White

If you haven’t checked out their music, look them up!! You can find them their latest single on iTunes!!

“It’s not out of frustration and desperation that I say ‘I don’t give up’. I don’t give up because I don’t give up. I don’t believe in it.” Johnny Cash

I always love it when my clients love my creative side of things and let my ideas run wild!

Madison and Tristen, thank you again for reaching out to me and trusting me with your photos!!! Look forward to working with you again in the future!! All the best to the both of you!!

the cool kid of Franklin.

Yesterday I had the opportunity to work with Maya. I had been wanting to collaborate with her for a while now, and we finally had some time. 
I have known her and her family for a number of years now. And I’ve taken photos of them in the past, but it’s been a while. 

I started scouting locations for this session a while back. I wanted to find some new cool places in Franklin, TN. that I’ve never shot at before. It’s always good to find new and fun spots to have your sessions at. I have a few regular places I go to, but for yesterday, I wanted to find new places. 
Some of the places we ventured to yesterday will be added to my list of future session locations! And I’m sure I will find more  down the line. 

One of my favorite places we found was this cool old general store, Davis General Merchandise. About a month ago I drove around and found all these cool old general stores in the area. All were still up and running, except for this one, it had closed down a couple months prior to our visit. It wasn’t until later that I realized, this would be an awesome place for photos. 

Another place I found was this white wall, with cool old windows and vines growing all around. It totally makes for an awesome backdrop!

And if you are familiar with my photography, I tend to enjoy shooting through things or holding things up to my lens….pieces of plastic, a piece of broken crystal, a prism, pieces of colored cellophane, etc. I love adding texture to photos this way, I love getting these unique looks shadows in some of my photos. 

Maya, thank you again for hanging out with me and getting some amazing photos!! You’re awesome!!! Can’t wait to work together again in the future!!

T R U M P E T / B O Y

I loved working with this kid again, using my Dad’s old trumpet!!

let go.

I’ve been going through some personal stuff lately. God has really been teaching me about letting go of things. Things I tend to hold onto that I shouldn’t. Things I think I need in my life, but really, I don’t. I have been struggling off and on with bad anxiety and at times, fear. These are two of the things I am learning to let go of. I don’t need fear in my life, I need to let it go. I don’t need anxiety in my life, I need to let it go. I need to continue to trust God for my future, for my family, for the plans He has for me, but not to let the fear or anxiety cripple me, or stop me from doing what God has for me. 

This letting go, it’s not easy, and yes, it needs to be done on a daily basis, but when I start to let these things go, when I start to say out loud, ‘I let go of all my fears’, than I start to feel God’s peace upon me. 

I believe that God has some awesome things in store for me this year. And I know that the enemy is trying to attack me. The enemy is trying to pull me down, put fear in me. I have a choice though, and my choice is to fight this fear, to fight this anxiety, because I am a child of God! I will not let the enemy pull me down, or discourage me, or stop me from what God has in store for my future. 

Over the past weeks, there have been a number of worship songs that have pretty much been on repeat. Actually, most of Lauren Daigle’s album has been on repeat on my phone. I can’t really think of one song that has helped me, but all of them have been so uplifting and encouraging to me. God speaks to me through these songs. Bringing peace, comfort and life. They help me focus on what is true. 

Another song that has encouraged me recently is one of Kim Walker-Smith’s new ones, called ‘On my Side’. One part says, “You tell my fear to run…”. I will not let fear control my life, it has to run in Jesus name. I will not let anxiety control my life, it has to run in Jesus name. 

All of this though is a process. It’s a daily battle and struggle at times, but I will fight, I will get through this, I will become stronger, because God is on my side. 

If you are reading this, and going through something similar, don’t give up. It’s not easy, but it get easier and it gets better! Keep fighting, keep praying, keep praising Him! He is on your side!

A boy in black and white

Once again, another session with this kid. I seriously love this kid and working with him, he's the best!! 

"There are no ideas too wild and no dreams too big."

"Never stop doing your best just because someone doesn't give you credit"

"I promise if you keep searching for everything beautiful in this world, you will eventually become it." - Tyler Kent White

"And than I realized that to be more alive, I had to be less afraid, so I did it, I lost my fear and gained my whole life."

"Anybody with artistic ambitions is always trying to reconnect with the way they saw things as a child." - Tim Burton

The boy with the cool hair

I love this kids hair!!! I knew that I wanted to mess around with his hair and get some cool shots!

He is seriously a natural in front of the camera, and I'm never disappointed when working with him. 

J, you are one cool kid!! I'm so happy to know you, and have the opportunity to capture these moments for you!!

The boy in the red suspenders

I took these photos of J in the red suspenders a couple of weeks ago. I meant to get this blog up sooner. 

Some of these shots, I was playing and experimenting with different light techniques, and shooting through things, to give different texture, shadows and shapes on my subject. 

This shot had some paper with holes in it, on the flashes soft box, getting a different texture come through with the light. 

This shot had an old film slide up to the lens. 

This shot, as well as the one below, had a film negative held up to the lens. 

Thank you J for being so awesome and always up to work with me!

Brothers in black and white.

I love these boys! And I love to have the chance to document their lives. 

I take a lot of photos of them, but it's been a while since I have taken photos of them together. I was looking back through my photos, and it has actually been 2 years since I took some of them together. I thought it was about time!

J has the serious look down so well!! 

My favorite shot from this session...so much LOVE!

Thanks E and J for letting me take these photos of you brothers!! I hope you had fun!