sarah

Sarah came to me for her senior portraits yesterday and I’m so glad she did. Sarah is a very motivated student who is hoping to attend Carolina in the fall. So, we had lots in common even though I’m a few decades older than her. After getting to know Sarah, I can’t imagine Carolina not wanting her. In fact, they should be fighting to get her! And Sarah was just as sweet as she is smart. She was extremely easy to work with – and laughed often. I love it when my seniors have fun at our session and Sarah certainly seemed to have fun. Even her mother mentioned that she was having fun.

Now that the weather is cooler, I’m not shooting at the beach. Sarah liked the idea of shooting in my standard locations downtown and in a local park. She was so funny . . . when we would arrive at a new location, she would exclaim, “There are the blue doors!” Or something similar. Sarah has spent some time on my blog so she was familiar with my work and my locations. I do try to do some different things – even though I often use the same spots. And we were able to get plenty of good shots of Sarah.

I haven’t looked at Sarah’s entire gallery yet – but here are a few of my early favorites.

Check out the jacket in these pictures. We did Sarah’s senior session on her birthday and this was one of her gifts. I bet North Face would love to have these shots!

We did some poses downtown without the jacket, as well. I like the simple shirt in the urban setting. Sarah and I both loved her necklace – but her mom wasn’t crazy about it. In this case, the majority ruled.

When we went to the blue doors, Sarah changed and added a really cool, LONG scarf. I loved the colors.

Then we went to the park. I absolutely love the park – especially now that the leaves have mostly fallen.

We packed a lot into the time we had together. When I returned home, Rusty and I were discussing how much I enjoy taking pictures. I feel so blessed that I am able to have a business that I love and that I have the opportunity to meet such wonderful clients. It just doesn’t get better than this.

November special

As you may know, I have decided to run a special one week each month. It’s time for the November special!

Here are the rules:

1. In order to purchase portraits at the special price, you must have had a portrait session within 12 months

2. You must have placed a minimum order from your online gallery

3. The order must be placed and the payment received by the date specified

That’s all! It’s easy-peasy.

OK, now for the November special. Just in time for your holiday cards – all wallet sized portraits are 25% off. So, instead of paying $16 for a sheet of 8 wallets, it will be $12. My wallet portraits are printed on professional paper and are die cut to provide a rounded border.  Very professional!  If you would like to order wallet portraits, just drop me an e-mail and I’ll reactivate your gallery for 24 hours. I’ll also reply to your e-mail giving you specific instructions for ordering. Please use this e-mail address: ebeall@ec.rr.com

Act quickly. The November special is for one week only. Your order must be placed by midnight on Sunday, November 23rd. And, I must have your payment in hand by 5:00 on Tuesday, November 25th.

jessica

Earlier this week Jessica and I finally had the opportunity to meet for her senior portrait session. This was our third try; the first two scheduled sessions were rained out. We couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful fall day than we had. It was so pretty, I shot for longer than usual. In fact, I think I might have worn Jessica out. She didn’t expect me to take so many pictures. When I shoot for so long, it makes it difficult to choose the best of the best. I have been through Jessica’s gallery quite a few times and hope she’ll be pleased with what we were able to capture.

Jessica is a very motivated and busy young lady. She travels to Raleigh twice each week to play soccer and works three days a week.  And, she’ll graduate a semester early so that she can start her college career in January. I think UNC-Charlotte is going to be very lucky to get Jessica. After spending just a little while with her, I was very impressed.

When Jessica first pulled up I noticed her sunglasses, so I asked her to keep them on – but pull them down a little. I think she thought I had lost my mind, but I really like this image. I like it a LOT!

We did part of the session downtown and the rest in a local park. Here are my other favorites.

You’ll notice that a lot of my favorites are close-ups. I love eyes. So even though I shoot a variety of poses from full-length to close-up, I tend to prefer the close-ups. And close-ups work so much better for wallet photographs.

It has been a very busy week and the blog has been updated often. I’m taking a break for the rest of the night. But check back in Sunday for more sessions and some late breaking news!

christine and victor

Whew, it has been a BUSY week!

Christine and Victor were married on a rainy, dreary Saturday – October 18th. But their wedding was anything but dreary! To view the photographs from their wedding, go to www.elisebeall.instaproofs.com. Just click on their name and sit back and view the pictures. Christine and Victor had two photographers and an assistant for quite a long time, so they have a LOT of pictures.

Try viewing each gallery using the slideshow option. I always set the speed to the fastest possible and zip through the gallery. You can press “add to favorites” to make a list you can view later. To stop the music, press the music notes on the upper right.

As always, all pictures will be on sale for the first 30 days! Enjoy.

tee, erin and lily

I love it when I have the opportunity to photograph families that I have worked with before.  Tee and Erin came to me for their engagement session.  I shot Erin’s bridal portraits, their wedding, and this is the third year I’ve done family pictures for them.  And this year was the most fun ever!

We went to the farm several miles from town for their portrait session.  It was a beautiful place to make portraits and Lily loved being there.  Lily is a riot.  She is the most verbal two-year old I’ve ever met.  She doesn’t just babble; she speaks in complete sentences with a vocabulary that is amazing for a child her age.  At one point Lily was telling me something about her shoulder blade.  Now tell me, what two-year old talks about shoulder blades?  Another thing about Lily . . . she has the best manners I have ever seen.  She could teach my daughter a thing or two!  If I asked Lily to do something that she didn’t want to do, she would look at me and say, “No, thank you.”  I’m sure it didn’t help that I would crack up.  At the beginning of the session I despaired that we would get any decent shots.  But, I was SO wrong.  I ended up with a lot of really great images.  Here are a few.

We tried doing some poses on a bale of hay.  In this one, Lily was getting ready to show me what a roly poly does.

Lily didn’t care much for the hay, but I did get a cute picture of her parents there.

My favorites of Lily were down by the pond where she enjoyed fishing.  She found a cane pole so her father put some line and a bobber on it.  There was no hook and no bait, but Lily still enjoyed fishing.  She even told me one time that she caught a fish.  She got particularly excited when Tee fed the fish and you could see them come to eat.

We went for a walk in a field and Lily showed me deer tracks.  Again, how many two-year olds do you know who can recognize deer tracks?  I am quite sure Lily is a genius.

My very favorite pictures of Lily alone were taken by the pond after our walk.  She wanted to feed the fish herself and was ecstatic that the fish came close to the shore to eat.  I was nervous that she was going to end up IN the pond, but she is very sure footed and never came too close.

Just before we left the farm, Tee found a tiny lizard on the porch.  Lily wasn’t the least bit afraid.  She even reached out to hold it – but changed her mind at the last minute

It was a beautiful afternoon at the farm and I totally enjoyed my time with Tee, Erin and Lily.   I wonder what they’ll come up with for us to do next year?

ashley & scott’s gallery

Ashley and Scott’s wedding gallery is now ready for viewing and ordering.  I can’t wait for you to see these pictures.  The colors are absolutely stunning.

To visit the gallery, go to www.elisebeall.instaproofs.com and click on their name.  The easiest way to view images is to click on the slideshow for each category.  You can regulate the speed the pictures will stay on your screen using the slider.  If the music drives you crazy, just click on the music notes on the upper right.

The gallery will be active for 60 days, but the earlier you buy, the more money you save!

Enjoy.

mallory + chaz

As I posted yesterday, Mallory and Chaz are married. And what a glorious day it was! Though rain threatened a time or two, when it was time to prepare for the wedding it was a gorgeous fall day which was perfect for the theme of Mallory and Chaz’s wedding. They chose to decorate using a fall theme with beautiful, rich fall colors. There was an abundance of leaves, flowers and candles everywhere you looked. I truly don’t believe I have ever seen a church and fellowship hall decorated so well.

We started by taking pictures of a few of the details. Since I love rings, Karen and I started by taking a few ring shots while Lisa took Chaz and his best man (his father) outside for a few portraits.

Then it was time to take a few pictures of Mallory getting ready. Most people don’t realize it, but getting into a wedding gown isn’t one of the easiest tasks around. Trying to get the gown over Mallory’s head without messing up her hair or make-up was a major ordeal – but her sister, Emily, and her mom were up for the job. I love taking pictures of the girls because I love the primping. While I concentrated on the bride and bridesmaids, Karen was taking pictures of Owen, Mallory’s nephew (who lovingly calls Chaz Knucklehead).

There are several things I really like about weddings. One is seeing couples who I have worked with before, like Amber and Matt who were married last year. Another is seeing the emotion on the men’s faces. I wasn’t sure how Perry would handle giving away his last daughter – but just before he walked down the aisle he was all smiles. Probably my very favorite thing is seeing the expression on the groom’s face when he sees his bride walking down the aisle toward him. Chaz’s expression says it all. I also love watching the bride and groom recess down the aisle – when the ceremony is over and they can relax and enjoy the rest of the day.

After the wedding, we did a few posed portraits, then it was on to the reception. After a delicious dinner, Chaz and Mallory cut their wedding cake. At first, I thought it would be nice, civilized cake cutting. But it didn’t take long for things to get out of hand. I think Mallory may have started it – but Chaz held his own. Then, it was time for the garter and bouquet tosses. One of the groomsmen was excited to catch the garter – but I’m afraid he didn’t have much competition. The same can NOT be said for the bouquet. One piece of advice . . . never, ever get between a single woman and a bouquet. It can be quite dangerous!

Mallory and Chaz had a wonderful wedding – a beautiful beginning for their life together. I am so glad that I was able to be a part of it.

mallory

Mallory got married today – and I’m so excited! Now I finally get to show a few of Mallory’s bridal portraits. I never show bridal portraits until after the wedding and sometimes it’s SO hard to wait. That was certainly true with Mallory’s bridal portraits. We shot them a few weeks ago and it has been driving me crazy not to blog about them.

I am used to seeing Mallory in jeans, so the first time I saw her in her gown and veil she literally took my breath away. Mallory is one of those people who is beautiful inside and out regardless of what she’s wearing. But dressed in her wedding finery, she was absolutely stunning. And what made her even more beautiful was the fact that she didn’t even realize it. She was still the sweet, loving Mallory I’ve known for over a year. I’m so glad she chose me to take her portraits and photograph her wedding. My job is special all the time, but when I’m working with someone I care about – it’s even better.

I’m going to blog about Chaz and the wedding tomorrow, but tonight it’s all about Mallory. Here she is!

That’s all for tonight. But check back tomorrow (or possibly Monday) for more on the wedding. There is lots to show and tell!

maureen

When Maureen’s mom, Susan, called to schedule her senior portrait she told me that Maureen wanted to either go to the beach or downtown for her session. Since it’s a bit too late in the season to plan on pretty days at the beach, we decided to shoot in downtown Jacksonville. And I think this was a great choice. Maureen really fit in well in the downtown area. And I am always able to get a nice variety of poses and locations when I work downtown. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE the beach. But, I also love downtown. Another great thing about the downtown area is that there are buildings to block the wind. Sunday was a beautiful fall day, but about the time we starting shooting, we started getting big gusts of wind. Thankfully, the wind didn’t cause too much trouble.

Here are a few of my early favorites from Maureen’s session. It was very hard for me to choose only a few because there are so many I like. Maureen has a really nice serious expression and a beautiful smile. I like it when I am able to coax different expression from my clients. Again, I love the variety. And Maureen was a natural in front of the camera. I’d start to show her how to pose – and she’d just assume a great position without much instruction.

When we pulled into the parking lot downtown, three beautiful, blonde girls piled out of the van. I looked at Susan and said, “Tell me, please, that all of these girls aren’t yours.” She just laughed and said yes they are. I just don’t understand. Susan has three gorgeous, high school aged daughters and she doesn’t have any gray hair nor she does she just stand there and babble like an idiot – the way I would in her position. How can that be? When I showed my husband, Rusty, a picture of the sisters his response was that he’d have to lock them all up!

Here are a couple of pictures of Maureen with her sisters, Gillian and Catherine. It took me a while, but I finally got the right name with the right sister. Anyone who knows me well knows that names are a struggle for me. Thankfully, Gillian and Catherine were patient with me and corrected me gently until I got it right.

I’m so glad Maureen was scheduled for Sunday because the weather has been dismal ever since. Even though it’s getting dark earlier, we were still able to get some fantastic portraits of Maureen. I can’t wait to get back to her gallery – but it will have to wait. There are a few clients ahead of her!

mat and emmie

Saturday afternoon found me back at the park for a family portrait session with Emmie, Mat and their parents.  I was surprised to find that so many leaves have fallen from the trees,  we had to wait quite a while for the light to be right.  While we waited, Mat ran 100 miles around the park and Emmie explored and played.  Every now and then I’d stop Mat to take a picture or two, then off he’d go.  I got tired just watching him run!  He didn’t slow down often, but when he did – he gave me the most gorgeous expressions.  Here are just a few of the many pictures I took of Mat.

Can you even believe how precious he is?  I know boys aren’t supposed to be called pretty, but Mat is downright gorgeous.  And he was very easy to work with.  Emmie is also quite stunning.  And she is full of personality.  Every time we would have her sit on a stool for me to take a few pictures, she would clap and say, “Yay!”  Emmie was quite proud of herself.  And for good reason.  Just look at her!

Sadly, by the time the light was nearly right for the family picture – Mat and Emmie were worn out with having their pictures taken.  I only got the chance to take a few shots and the kids were uneasy.  I did get one nice family pose.

I particularly wanted a good picture of Mat and Anne alone.  Too often, the kids take priority and couples don’t have their portraits made together.  Emmie is just a tad too young to sit and wait quietly – and we were worried that she would fall into the ditch that was right beside us – so I only took three quick shots.  This is my favorite.  Mat prefers color and Anne likes black and white – so this one’s for Anne.

It was great to have the chance to meet Mat and Anne, and to see their beautiful children.  Just looking at the portraits of Mat and Emmie make me smile.