A Bragg-Mitchell Mansion Portrait Session

I have been looking forward to taking Savannah’s Azalea Trail Maid portraits for an entire year! Seriously, this session was originally scheduled for April 2020. We all know why it didn’t end up happening then. What was planned as a kick off to Savannah’s year serving as an Azalea Trail Maid, turned into an end of the year celebration shoot.

First the pandemic, and then the crazy Mobile weather, forced us to reschedule this shoot multiple times. I was so glad we finally got a chance to get this session in last week! I love taking portraits for any Azalea Trail Maid, but I especially love it when their dress is my favorite color! Savannah’s dress has a lace waterfall in back and features a design of graduated ruffles. It was absolutely gorgeous!

We did this session at The Bragg-Mitchell Mansion in Mobile and it truly is the perfect setting for Azalea Trail Maid portraits! Savannah told me she loves the Haint Blue porch ceiling. Her only request during the session was to get a shot that somehow showcased this ceiling. Her request inspired me to take one of my favorite portraits ever during the shoot!

Savannah is such a sweet young lady and is excited to head off to college in the fall. She dreams of one day becoming a plastic surgeon! With her positive attitude and cheerful spirit, I have no doubt she will achieve any goals she sets for herself! Congratulations Savannah on serving the City of Mobile on the 2020 – 2021 Azalea Trail Court!

All About the Pantaloons

The pantaloons the Azalea Trail Maids wear under their hoop skirts are just about the cutest thing ever! They also have interchangeable, customized pockets so the girls have some place to stash their keys, phone, lip gloss, and anything else they might need during an appearance. The very last thing we did before ending this shoot was to take some pantaloon pictures and they are seriously some of my favorites!

Savannah represented Satsuma High School on the 2020 – 2021 Azalea Trail Court. Her dress was designed and made by Mrs. Elsie Yates and Mrs. Judy Lott.

A Perone Creek Farm Spring Session

If I had to pick one word to describe this session, it would be MAGICAL! And it all started when Savannah asked me for location ideas for this session.

Savannah told me that she and Michael would like a rustic location for their portraits. Then she mentioned that Michael, who is a musician, would like to incorporate his guitar into some of the images. That’s when I had the idea to reach out to Brenda, who owns Perone Creek Farm along with her husband, Jeff. I was fortunate to shoot at the farm last fall, for a story that ran in Mobile Bay Magazine. Brenda is a member of GypsySpark band and the magazine shoot involved music and food. The minute I arrived on the farm for that shoot, I knew it would be a beautiful portrait location. The fact that Michael is also a musician is what made this farm jump first and foremost into my mind for this session!

Thankfully, when I mentioned the idea of going to the farm to Savannah, she was totally game and so were Brenda and Jeff. As I pulled into the oak tree lined driveway on this gorgeous spring day, I nearly gasped out loud. The scene was like something out of a movie. The light was streaming through the trees and the azaleas were sparkling with their gorgeous blooms. I could barely contain my excitement! Then Savannah arrived in the most perfect creamy white dress and I knew we had all the ingredients for some dreamy portraits!

Savannah and Michael are such a sweet couple. From the first minute of meeting them, I could tell that we were in for a fun shoot. I love that they one hundred percent trusted me with this location recommendation, but also that they trusted my vision for the shoot once we were there. There is something about being in such a peaceful environment that is so inspiring! I loved every minute of taking these portraits. I was almost sad to see the sun set because that meant we were finished for the day!

Celebrating 25 Years in Love

Surprising your wife with an anniversary portrait session is always a good idea – especially when you’re celebrating twenty five years together! I have known Walt and Juli through the tennis community for years (Walt is actually the reason I know how to play tennis). When the pandemic caused them to cancel their anniversary trip to France, Walt started searching for an alternative way to celebrate this special milestone. That’s when he asked me about a portrait session. I loved the idea!

I met up with Juli and Walt at Spring Hill College. Juli told me how much she loves oak trees, so the Avenue of the Oaks turned out to be the perfect spot for some portraits of these two. We were super lucky with the weather on this day! The slightly cooler temperature and lower humidity was definitely not the norm for August. It got me all excited for fall weather, which is still a long way off for us in the deep South.

Want to make an anniversary portrait session even more special? Turn it into a true date night and plan a nice dinner afterwards! Walt and Juli headed to Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse after this shoot. While I know it’s not the same as dining under the lights of Paris, I think Walt’s anniversary surprise turned out perfectly. Best of all, you can tell these two are just as in love today as they were the day they became husband and wife.

Tips for Planning a Surprise Anniversary Session

As someone commented on my sneak peek post from this session on Facebook – husbands take note! If it’s been a while since you and your spouse have been photographed together, an anniversary is the perfect time to celebrate with a portrait session of just the two of you! Updating that family photo with an annual Christmas card session is just not the same thing. This is time for just the two of you to spend together. Here are my tips for making a surprise like this a success (ladies, feel free to anonymously send this to your husbands!):

1. Give your wife a heads up! Seriously, no lady wants to be thrown into a portrait session on the spot. We need to make sure our hair and makeup are just right. Plus, we will want to coordinate our outfits. Go ahead and get some dates from the photographer and then share the surprise with your wife in advance.
2. Make reservations for dinner afterwards. I always schedule portrait sessions around Golden Hour, meaning we’re shooting in the late afternoon. This means you’ll be finishing up pictures around dinner time. Plan to take your wife to her favorite restaurant for a delicious meal after your session.
3. Choose a location you love, or that is special to the two of you. There is no shortage of beautiful locations around here. If you aren’t sure where a good portrait spot would be, your photographer will be happy to provide suggestions. If you are planning dinner afterwards, let your photographer know and they can likely recommend a location that is relatively close to the restaurant.

An In-Home Family Portrait Session

Earlier this year I shared a series of blog posts all about newborn photography. So many of my past brides are now moms-to-be and I often get questions from them about newborn photography. Since my calendar is so full with weddings, commercial and editorial work, it’s rare that I can make my schedule jive with delivery dates. The world of weddings and the world of babies are on two different schedules! And so I happily refer expecting moms to my friends Hannah Stinson and Danielle Parker, who are amazing newborn photographers! Photographing babies is their thing!

However, when a new baby comes into our family, I just can’t help pulling out my camera when asked! If you’ve been following my blog for a while, you may remember my cousin Cassie and her husband, Will. I photographed their wedding day back in 2017 and their maternity session earlier this summer. I remember us talking at the maternity session about the possibility of Elsie being a big baby. Cassie still had almost two months to go until her due date and baby girl was already measuring pretty big. At delivery, this little doll weighed nine pounds nine ounces!!!

I always get a little nervous about babies sleeping at newborn sessions. I know all the tips and tricks for soothing babies, but you just never know if you’ll be successful getting them to settle into a deep sleep. Deep sleep is essential for getting snuggly portraits like these. To my surprise, baby Elsie slept practically the entire session, proving that she knows how to work the camera just like her mama! Also, how could the camera not love those chubby cheeks!!!

I loved getting to spend this time photographing my newest cousin. I remember when her mama was born, so it’s a bit surreal photographing her daughter! Cassie is an artist, so I knew she would have a pretty selection of things on hand for this session. I absolutely loved the soft wraps she purchased and was really excited that we got to use all of them. I was hoping Elsie would sleep long enough for us to use at least one. Haha!

Sweet Elsie you are so loved already! You will always be a bright spot of the crazy year that is 2020!

A Wilmer Alabama Maternity Session

A little old house sits at the end of the drive on the land her grandparents own. Cassie’s grandparents purchased it years ago from her great-grandfather. But the house was her great-great-grandmother’s before that. If you’ve lost count of how many generations that is, so have I!

I remember when my aunt and uncle lived in this house when they were newlyweds. It’s the place they called home when they brought both their children home from the hospital. I was 10 years old when Cassie was born and I remember Aunt Gina and Uncle Stan preparing the tiny nursery ahead of her arrival. I remember all of us older cousins being so excited to meet the new baby! Memories like that are what make this session so extra special.

I hadn’t been to the old house since my aunt and uncle moved out of it years ago. While Cassie and Will have definitely done some updating since they moved in, the bones are still the same. I got such a sense of deja vu as I stepped onto the front porch. How exciting that the next generation will also call this little house home!

Cassie has been part of my photography journey since the very beginning. She patiently posed for me when I was first learning how to use a camera. When I started my business, her high school senior portrait shoot was one of my first “official” sessions and in 2017 I photographed her wedding. So many memories documented and I think this is the happiest one of them all!

The day of this session we had the most beautiful weather and golden light! I had been wanting to shoot a roll of film I’d been hoarding for a while, but was just waiting for the right time to use it. Always up for a creative adventure, Cassie was once again patient with me while I reacquainted myself with my film camera. Fingers crossed at least a few of the frames turned out! I’m shipping them off to the lab this week, so we will just have to wait and see!

I know Cassie and Will are going to be wonderful parents and I am so excited to meet their baby girl when she arrives later this summer!