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!

A Spring Hill College Family Session

Things are far from back to normal around here, but after so much time of staying home, I’m thankful for the normalcy of a portrait session! I still think it’s important to be vigilant when it comes to the coronavirus pandemic and practice social distancing is definitely top of mind for me. However, that is something that can easily be done during an outdoor portrait session. After so much time away from my camera, it has been a joy to get back to photographing my sweet clients!

I always look forward to photographing the Wolf family! They have been clients for the past few years and it has been so fun to see their family grow. The last time they were in front of my camera, their youngest was just a newborn. It is so crazy how fast the last year has flow by! Little Lucy recently celebrated her first birthday, so that meant it was time for an updated family photo. Not only is Lucy walking now, she is fully capable of keeping up with her older siblings. I loved watching her chase after Mary Helen and Gus during the session. She was keeping up and those two are fast!

Mary Helen and Gus seem so grown up since our last shoot together. These two are a bundle of energy and I love their big personalities. They love to play games and taking “silly” pictures is something that they really get excited about. When I showed them one of their “silly” photos on the back of my camera, they squealed with delight. It was the cutest thing ever! They also love talking and told me all about how they love riding their bikes and that they camped out in their backyard one night. “Everything with them is an adventure,” says their mom, Chelsea.

I can hardly believe we’re already headed into the end of May and that the summer season is just around the corner. Yes, things are still far from normal around here, but my love of documenting special moments and preserving memories has not changed! Enjoy!

McGill-Toolen Catholic Senior Portraits

I will always remember my senior year of high school for many reasons, both happy and sad. I remember all the fun festivities, celebrating with friends, and nerves about final exams. In August 2001, we had no idea what was coming on the eleventh day of that September. Ironically, that is the year that many of the class of 2020 seniors were born. The events surrounding the 9/11 terror attacks stand out in my mind and I’m sure that the class of 2020 seniors will remember the coronavirus pandemic in a similar way. It’s left it’s mark in a way we never imagined, abruptly ending their senior year.

Despite missing out on many of the traditional celebrations, the senior year is still something to celebrate! I was so excited when my first session after the government shutdown was one for high school senior portraits. These sessions are always so much fun! I love getting to hear where the seniors are heading to college and what they hope to study. It reminds me of how I felt at their age, which seems like yesterday and so long ago at the same time!

Anna Bailey has such a joyful personality! She is actually related to my cousin by marriage, so this was not our first time meeting. I love that she and her mom were game for strolling around downtown Mobile with me as I hunted out good portrait spots. Because they were so laid back and easy-going I was able to find two new spots I’d never used before and squeeze in some tried and true favorites.

Next year Anna Bailey is heading off to Southern Mississippi for college, with plans to major in nursing. Even though her senior year didn’t end as she envisioned it, she is still looking forward to her graduation ceremony. It has been moved to an outdoor venue which will allow for social distancing. How amazing is that?!

Congratulations to all the Class of 2020 graduates – both high school and college! It’s certain that you’ll always remember your senior year and the events that altered it. I hope that you’re still able to celebrate your achievements with joy!