Union Academy Prom 2009

Malida & Steve: Married

Malida and Steve met through a set up. According to the maid of honor, they were "inseparable". I heard a few stories about their relationship involving toilet seats and boat accidents that just go to prove their love for one another. Despite lots of rain and having to move the ceremony inside at the last minute, the day turned out beautiful! Both bride and groom were full of smiles, laughter and tears!

Congrats to you both!!

Helpful Hint - "Say Cheese"

Children can be one of the most difficult subjects to photograph. But they can also produce some of the most adorable portraits. One of the things that makes portraits of children so adorable is their expressions. It can be extremely difficult to get a decent expression from children. One of the most common things parents say during a portrait session is "That's not your real smile. Smile nice now." The thing is, that is their real smile.

At a very early age children get used to smiling for the camera. Kids as young as toddlers can already have a "fake" smile. How do you get rid of it? Well, the answer is to make the child laugh or giggle. We photographers use lots of different tricks to get kids to smile including funny phrases. However, saying "Cheese" is the last thing we want them to say! While "cheese" produces a smile like expression, it's the same word they are used to saying for the camera. Kids typically end up saying "cheeeeeeeeese" which produces the fake smile.

Next time you're photographing your children try something different. One of my favorites is "Stink feet!" The trick is to get them smiling. Instead of taking the picture when they say the words, take the picture right before or after when they laugh at themselves. Or tell them a joke. Anything to get your children smiling and laughing. Those are the expressions you want to keep!

Sarah & John: Married

May 16th was Sarah's day to be princess. She was an absolutely gorgeous bride at a beautiful ceremony where she became Mrs. Sarah Moore. She and John were married early Saturday afternoon surrounded by friends and family. They were such a fun couple to shoot! Afterwards, we took the bride and groom for some shots alone in the park. Gorgeous!

Congrats to you both!!

Bryan & Meghan: Engaged

A House Divided. Or at least that's what their Save the Date cards say. You see, Bryan is a Duke Blue Devils fan and Meghan is a UNC Tar Heels fan. Therein lies the problem. Their wedding on May 30th will be an "historic event" (quoting the Save the Date again). We're pretty confident they'll make it work though!!

Amy & Chris: Married

May 9th started out hot and sunny. By 4:30pm (an hour before the ceremony) it was a mad scramble to put the tent back together, save the flowers and linens, and pray for sun amidst the thunder and lightning. By 5:30pm Amy and Chris were married under a beautiful sunny blue sky.

Congrats to the both of you!!

Everything I needed to know...

This morning in my routine blog reading, I came across a wonderful idea on Holly Furtick's blog. In a tribute to Mother's Day, I wanted to share some lessons and notable sayings from my mother.

It started with the question: "MOM! Have you seen my _______?" And was followed by: "It's wherever you left it." Then came the 5 words I hated hearing because it meant I was on my own: "Seek and you shall find." This phrase was most often used in my house during the frantic tearful search... many times at the very last minute possible. To this day, when I can't find something the first thing that pops in my head is "It's wherever you left it. Seek and you shall find."

During any movie or tv show with questionable content I got: "Now Christy, is that right?"

Then of course there was the time I was home visiting from college and she said "Christy, I'm gonna teach you how to cut a whole chicken."

And whenever I was too "sick" to go to school I was told "If you REALLY feel like you are too sick to go to school I'll let you stay home." Which was generally followed by me feeling guilty for trying to make my runny nose seem like the flu. Which ultimately led to me attending school with a box of kleenex.

And my personal favorite:
"Don't drive when you're tired. You might kill a small family."

Thanks Mom!