The Wolstenholmes

Boy, did I have fun last night! Karen and I drove down to North Topsail to take some family pictures of the Wolstenholmes to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary. That is an event that deserves MAJOR celebration. And, from what little I got to know about this family – they know how to celebrate First they were staying in a palatial home right on the beach. I’m not talking a little beach cottage – the kind I knew growing up. This place was enormous, and gorgeous. And they packed this place full of some of the nicest people I’ve had the opportunity to work with. They were a blast!

We arrived a little after 7:00, started shooting shortly thereafter, and kept shooting until it was just too dark to keep going. I wish I could show a sample from each grouping we shot, but I think there were something like 1,297 groups (maybe just a slight exaggeration here – but there were a LOT of groups) so I’m only going to be able to show a few. I’m a sucker for children and dogs and they had some mighty pretty children and a dog that understands posing!

Here is the entire clan. Please note that the dog is smiling. And the baby, while not exactly smiling, is looking straight into the camera.

And here are the Wolstenholmes with their grandchildren. Have you ever seen a better looking group?

We decided to shoot the family with the baby next because it was way past his bedtime and we were afraid he wouldn’t last much longer. If you counted the people in the first shot, you found that there were 17 people in this large family. Well, since there are only three people in this picture, can you guess where the other 14 are? Right! They are all standing just behind me yelling, clapping, jumping up and down and generally making fools of themselves trying to get this little guy to smile. And they succeeded admirably.

Next I decided to do a picture of the Wolstenholmes with their 4 children. When I looked at their daughter with her brothers, I remembered growing up in a house with 4 brothers. When I was young those brothers were the bane of my existence. Now, I realize how blessed I am to have them in my life. I hope the same is true for her.

This part of the family wanted something casual. So, we decided to do a back picture. I LOVE back pictures. They walked down to the water and were gazing at the wondrous view when their dog (without prompting, I might add) settled in behind them in a pose fit for a queen. Can’t you just tell that she knows this picture is all about her. I’d have to have a huge print of this for my wall if this was my family. I just love it!

One of the problems when working with such a large group is that you don’t know names. So, when you ask someone to move one way or another, you point – but nobody knows exactly who you are talking to so everyone moves. I wish I was better at learning names so I could get there and learn them quickly. But, it takes me half a semester to learn my students’ names, so there is no way I can get 17 names in a just a few minutes. I do, however, know this little guy’s name. This is Jake! And the reason I know Jake is that his dad works with my sister-in-law, Anne. And Anne loves Jake. Anne referred this family to me and told me in advance that I would fall in love with him, and she was right. There is only one little thing that keeps Jake from being absolutely perfect. He’s a Wolfpack fan – and he was quick to tell me that!

That’s all for now.

To the Wolstenholmes – a huge thank you for letting me be part of your celebration. Karen and I had a great time and talked about how wonderful you were all the way home. Enjoy the rest of your vacation.

Amber & Matt

Amber and Matt got married today. But wait, I’m up so late that it’s already Sunday which means they really got married yesterday! I first met Amber a little over a year ago when I had the pleasure of shooting her senior portraits. At the time she told me that she wanted me to shoot her wedding – I just didn’t know it would happen so soon. But she was sure even then that Matt was the one for her. When Matt gave her a ring and she started planning her wedding, sure enough she called and I was able to photograph her wedding. I’m so glad I had the opportunity to work with Amber again and the pleasure of getting to know Matt.

First we did bridal portraits. I never realized that bridal portraits are really a southern tradition – not often seen in many other parts of the country. I love bridal portraits – so I’m glad I’m southern. I’m showing two of Amber’s many poses. The first is probably my favorite – the second, Amber’s.

When I shoot weddings, I take lots of help. I have an assistant, Karen, and a 2nd shooter, Lisa. I haven’t even downloaded all of our cards yet, but wanted to get some pictures up for Amber and Matt and their families to see. So, I’ve selected just a few. Since I blog before editing all of my images, it’s quite common that the pictures I show on my blog end up not being my favorites. But I think some of these will end up in my favorite file.

Amber was a stunning bride. She was so happy – you could not only see it, but feel it. Even after spending half a day with her bridesmaids getting their hair done, Amber was still all smiles. Thankfully I got this shot before the comb on her veil nearly pierced her scalp.

While waiting for the wedding to get started, I like to take some detail shots. And since diamonds are a girl’s best friend, the rings are some of my favorite details to photograph. Amber and Matt had gorgeous rings – so I had fun playing with them for a while. Her are a couple of ring shots that I really like.

Then came the ceremony. Matt was all smiles watching Amber being escorted down the aisle by her father. And both were all smiles when the ceremony was over.

The reception was lovely. You just can’t beat beautiful flowers, delicious food, lively music, and a magnificent wedding cake. Throw in a room full of family and good friends – and you have the makings of a great party.

Congratulations, Amber and Matt! You had a wonderful wedding – so now you can start your wonderful marriage.

The Rogers Family

The Rogers’ celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary by renewing their wedding vows. Isn’t it wonderful that after living together for 4 decades they are committed enough to do it all over again? Congratulations Noel and Diane.

Since all the family was in Jacksonville for the celebration, we did a family photo shoot. And what a family it is! There were 14 total – with 5 children, 4 of them quite young. When working with such large groups, it is always a challenge to get everyone’s eyes open and looking at the camera at the same time. About the time you get all the children looking and smiling – the parents are looking at the children, not the camera. But patience generally pays off. I haven’t gone through many of the pictures from this session yet – but found this one of the family that I like.

After doing the large group, we broke up into smaller groups. It’s always easier to shoot when it’s just adults – and not too many of them. Here are Noel and Diane with their three children.

But even when working with smaller groups, it doesn’t guarantee that you’ll get that perfect shot. There are times when someone just isn’t happy about the whole picture taking experience.

And when you get two brothers and a sister together you can expect some shenanigans – regardless of the ages.

After playing around for a minute or two, I was able to get a really good shot of the 3 siblings. Watching the Rogers kids (the big ones) interact made me miss my brothers.

It was fun working with this extended family and I look forward to editing their pictures.

Clouds

If you read my blog regularly, you may remember that I’ve complained more than once lately about not having clouds when shooting on the beach. I like white, puffy clouds to add depth and dimension to beach pictures. Well, when I was shooting the Humphreys on Thursday, we had clouds. Only, they weren’t the nice, friendly, white puffy clouds that I requested. They were mean and angry, dark, bothersome clouds.

As nasty and threatening as these clouds were, I was hoping they would give us some much-needed rain (after I finished shooting, of course). But sadly, not a drop of rain fell.

The Humphreys

Yesterday was one of those hurry up and wait kind of days. Rebecca and Ronnie’s anniversary is coming up and Rebecca wanted family portraits made at the beach. Ronnie and the girls agreed, so we scheduled the date weeks ago. According to the National Weather Service there was only a 10% chance of rain – but it was quite overcast – so we decided we should meet at the beach an hour earlier than I normally shoot. When I first arrived at the beach, there were very heavy, dark clouds overhead but the light was perfect. But, by the time the Humphreys arrived – the clouds were gone and the sky was blue. The sun was way too bright to shoot – so we waited. Every now and then a small cloud would cover the sun so we’d take a few hurried pictures. I was really worried that everyone would get tired of waiting around – but the Humphreys are a very patient family. We ended up shooting until dark so that Rebecca would have a great anniversary present. This was a great group to work with and I’m looking forward to editing all the pictures we took.

My Dental Assisting Students

Photography is only one of my jobs. My “real” job – the one that pays the mortgage – is Department Head for the Dental Assisting Department at Coastal Carolina Community College. I’ve been in dentistry for 34 years – and a dental assisting educator for 28 years. I’ve got to tell you . . . I love my students. That’s why I’ve been doing this for so long! For the past several years, I’ve been blessed with wonderful classes. My students are bright, energetic, motivated – and just plain nice. They are a joy to be around (well, most of the time they are) and I can’t imagine doing anything else.

I took class pictures yesterday for the group who will graduate in early August. I’m proud to say that these are my students.

Kortney

I’ve heard several photographers say they don’t like to shoot seniors. Well, I’m here to tell you . . . I LOVE to shoot seniors. Maybe I’ve just been lucky with the seniors with whom I’ve worked, but I’ve had a great time at each and every senior session I’ve done. I’ve never had to deal with a bad attitude. They have always been respectful and friendly. I’d shoot seniors every day if I could.

Today I got to shoot Kortney. We were scheduled last week but the forecast was 70% chance of thunderstorms. I try to be an optimist, but looking at the glass 30% full just didn’t work out – so we rescheduled. Good thing, too! The weather was terrible when we were supposed to be at the beach. Today there was a 50% chance of thunderstorms, but we decided to go for it. I’m so glad we did. The weather was really beautiful. There was a little breeze – but not the winds we’ve been faced with most of the year. And the clouds didn’t roll in until we were nearly finished. Our only problem today was sharing the beach with a lot of other people. I wish I had my own private beach to shoot on.

Kortney was terrific to work with. She changed clothes 3 times – and I got her wet and sandy 3 times. But, she never complained. Riding home with a wet bottom couldn’t have been fun, but Kortney wanted good pictures so she went along with all of my suggestions. She was relaxed and confident which made my job easy.

Kortney is leaving for vacation tomorrow morning, so I wanted to give her a sneak preview before she left. Here you go, Kortney. Hope you like them!

Mike + Christina

Meet Mike – the smartest man I know.

You want to know why I think Mike’s so smart? Well, he’s marrying Christina – that’s why! Mike and Christina started dating just before Christina turned 17. They were high school sweethearts – for just a little while. Then Mike graduated and went away to college. Their relationship has survived for 8 years – most of those while living in different states! They have both finished their college educations and have worked hard on their careers. Now they are ready to settle down and get married.

This is Christina.

I told you Mike was smart! Not only is Christina beautiful on the outside – she’s beautiful through and through. I know I shouldn’t have a favorite bride. It’s kind of like having a favorite child or a favorite student. But let me tell you some things about Christina. I first met her when she was 3 days old. The first time she spent the night away from home it was at MY house. I remember her standing on my front porch on Halloween stomping her foot demanding that my husband, Rusty, not scare her. I should note that the demands never worked. She played dress-up in my den with my daughter, Megan and her sister, Adrienne. Christina truly cares about others. She is smart, kind, considerate – and she loves me, just as I love her. I’m so glad that I will be a part of her wedding.

Now here are a few pictures of Christina and Mike.

Here’s another reason I think Mike is the smartest man I know. Mike is a manly man. He knows more about hunting than anyone I know. He even has his own television show about hunting. Truly, if there is such a thing as a professional hunter – that’s Mike. I know he was dreading this photo session like the plague. But, because he knew it was important to Christina, he endured it. He played along with whatever we wanted to do – with a smile on his face. That’s a smart man indeed.

So thank you Mike. You were a trooper. And Christina, thank you for being you.

To check out Mike’s business, go to www.soehunts.com

My Last 2007 Senior!

Jonathan will be graduating in just a little over a week, so we took time yesterday to do his senior portraits. By far, most of my seniors have been girls, so it was great to work with a guy. The whole dynamics are different when working with boys. For one thing, boys aren’t nearly as worried about their hair. Jonathan pulled up to the shoot in a jeep with the top off. That’s not something you’ll see one of my female clients do! And boys do that brooding look so well. Jonathan reminded me of a young James Dean. I wonder if he even knows who James Dean is?

In just a little over an hour I learned a lot about Jonathan. He has been playing violin since 5th grade, he is an active Boy Scout – and has even earned his Eagle, and he plans a career in Criminal Justice. He knows what he wants and what it will take to get there. That’s something I always admire in young adults.

I had a great time at this shoot – and I hope Jonathan did, too. Here’s a sneak preview.

Sweet Caroline

Adrienne and Caroline came to visit me at the beach last week.  I’ve known Adrienne since she was about 3 years old.  It has been such a joy to watch her grow into a beautiful, confident, smart and savvy woman.  And now she’s a mom – and a very, very good mom at that.  I had the pleasure of taking Adrienne’s engagement portraits, bridal portraits and wedding pictures.  She and Russ got married in the middle of Hurricane Charlie, so we kidded them that they should name their first child Charlie.  But they had other ideas.  And Caroline is the perfect name for this sweet southern belle.  I had lots of ideas for our portrait session, but the wind was blowing (again!) and it turned very chilly.  And by the end, Caroline (who hadn’t had her nap) was getting tired.  Even though she was tired she didn’t get cranky.  Why would she?  There were 5 women doing anything she wanted to do!  She has us all wrapped around her chubby little finger.    Meet the Princess.

That sandy thumb was so good to Caroline.

I guess I should mention that Aunt Christina and Grandma Barb came with Caroline.  But this time Caroline was the center of attention.  Thanks for sharing her with me.