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I love wearing my photo jewelry! These pieces are all handmade, waterproof, and UV resistant. You can order jewelry from any session image or from your own photo. Click on the catalog above to view the full line of jewelry I offer.

Before and After | Alpharetta GA Portrait Photographer

I am not a crafty person. Creative, yes. Artistic, yes. But give me paint and a block of wood, and I'll turn it into a fine art piece, not a craft. That's why, if you see crafts in my home, it's most likely that I did not make them. I bought them.

Every year, my church's women's group has a craft night, "Friday Night Frenzy." And it is a frenzy! Imagine 30+ women completing crafts ranging from modge-podged family photo displays to homemade lime sugar scrub. Oh, so not my thing.

Last year, I tried. I really did. I finished one craft -- a job chart board that got used maybe 5 times -- and took home the makings for about 3 other craft projects. I didn't touch them, month after month. Finally, my husband looked at them and said, "You're not really going to make these, are you?" And off they went to Goodwill.

The organizers of the night know not everyone wants to do crafts, so it's a social event with yummy, yummy soups, salad, and goodies, classes, and plenty of time to visit. I always enjoy getting to know members of my congregation better, so I never miss the night, but this time, I had a plan.

I brought my laptop and edited photos. It was, in a word, awesome. Most of the time while I'm editing, I'm alone, up too late (or too early) and not interacting with anything except Netflix. I got a lot of editing done, and had a blast chatting with old and new friends. It was such a nice change!

Here's a sample of what I did last night.

LA Shop Reflector Stand Review: Atlanta GA Photographer

One of the cool things about being a photographer is getting to know other photographers -- and getting to play with their equipment! On Saturday, my friends Jennifer from Whistling Girl Photography and Christie from Christie Lynn Photography and I spent an afternoon shooting in studio. We practiced lighting patterns, experimented with backgrounds, and set up the equipment for Jennifer's shoot that evening.

Plus, we had a good opportunity to work with my new toy, this reflector stand.

8 1/2 ft Photography Lighting Telescopic Reflector Stand

SKU: 01RST001-HFS-280

I got the stand from the LA Shop, who sent it to me for review. Here's one of my favorite shots using the reflector as part of the lighting setup:

And a BTS (behind-the scene) shot:

And the lighting setup:

As you can see, the key light did most of the work, but the reflector helped fill in a bit of the shadow on the short side of the model's face. I love using reflectors as fill, but (unlike this time), I'm usually alone and have to do all the lighting work myself. So, having a reflector stand has been wonderful. 

The stand itself is nice -- better than my other Westcott stands and spring loaded as well. You can use the stand as a regular light stand if you aren't using it to hold a reflector. The grip holder could have been made of sturdier plastic, but it worked fine. The arm is very light and there are little clips on the arm to hold your reflector. But, I just used my own clamps instead. The reflector stand doesn't come with a reflector, but the LA Shop sells this 5-in-one Reflector which would work well. I'm not really font of the round reflectors, so this rectangular one is nice -- and at a great price.

The one thing I should have had was this Sandbag for Boom Arm. It would have come in handy since my reflector was held up by my clamps and it needed a counterweight. Also, it would have been nice if the reflector stand had come with directions. It's pretty simple once you figure it out, but I didn't know how to put it together at first and it was a little confusing.

Some other things at the LA Shop I think would be worth a try:

10x20 Muslin Background (Just drooling over this.) -- all of their backgrounds are reasonably-priced

Carrying Case for light stands and tripods 

Newborn Love | Alpharetta GA Newborn Photographer

With the holidays over, I'm finally getting a chance to catch up on posting. (That, and doing a major clean-out of closets, kitchenware and clothes at home.) So, it's fun to take a break and show off some of my favorites from a recent shoot. 

Look at this darling little guy! He was just a week old at the time of this in-home session. The first photo is what I call a "miracle pose," really a tough one to set up unless you have a very sleepy baby and cooperative arms and head. I love the blanket he's on -- made by his grandma and a great personal touch. I love using props that have an actual meaning for my clients. 

Lately, I've been asking my clients how their session experience compared to what they expected. Here are some tips from this session:

• Expect it to take a while. Newborns are on their own schedule, and with eating, changing, and diaper breaks, a typical newborn session can take around 2 hours.
• Posing newborns takes time and patience. I think we worked for about 25 minutes to get that "miracle baby" shot. 
• You will get wet (and sometimes worse). With those darling "nakey baby" pictures, there's always the risk of "accidents." No worries, just make sure to wear something washable. This little guy's mom said that the worst came out with soaking in OxyClean. Good to know!
• You will be tired at the end, so plan on an easy schedule the rest of the day. And if I have time, I am happy to watch your little one while you take a shower and change at the end of our session. I love babies!