Cats Getting Stuck In Trees Is A Real Thing

Remember as a little kid growing up, there would always be a show or movie where the firefighters had to come rescue a kitten out of a tree?

Kind of ironic that our blog post this week had to be about cats or dogs. The reason it’s so ironic is because my cat Jasmine is currently stuck in a tree about 80 feet up. We are waiting for animal control to come help get her down. He told us from his experience that sometimes cats will let him grab them and sometimes they just jump. As scary as that sounds, he says he’s never seen a cat not land on their feet.

So I guess I learned two things were true that I learned as a child: sometimes you really do need to call someone to get your cat out of a tree & cats always land on their feet. I guess if she doesn’t, she still has 8 lives to go right?

All work & No Play

The fall semester of my last year in photography school is finally winding down…I have a couple more assignments to get done but I’m almost there. I’m not going to lie, this semester has been a test for me in so many ways. I wanted to quit, I wanted to give up, I wanted to just lay in bed and not do anything. However, it’s times like that when I have to remember why I came to school in the first place. I love photography! It’s my passion and it’s what I want to do with the rest of my life. All of these deadlines and all of this stress is just temporary and I’ll get through it.

My support system at home and around me is what got me through this time. I want to thank my Heavenly father for always having my back (even when I don’t deserve it), my daughter Lily, my parents and my friends for pushing me through it and helping me keep my eye on the big prize!

Internship is next semester and I’m super excited!

I’m posting the link to my Portfolio slideshow so you can see what I’ve put together this semester…

 

 

Hope you all enjoy!

You make me happy when skies are gray.

Not gonna lie, it’s been a rough few weeks. I’ve been overwhelmed between school & work & trying to be a good mom, daughter, sister, friend. I’ve been in a rut where I haven’t been feeling myself and not really liking my own photography. However, things started to turn around when I had the chance to photograph my friend Terri’s two little girls. They are the cutest! (I mean, look at those smiles and tell me how you couldn’t feel better immediately.) This session was just what I needed to get me back on track & I love these photos.

 

I hope you all do as well 🙂

Loyal to Doyle

It was a beautiful weekend for a wedding at the Duplin Winery in Snow Hill, NC. Haley (a good friend of mine from high school) & her new husband Sean spent a lot of time putting together a great wedding to remember. Also, their daughter McKenna was such a cutie in her flower girl dress! I had been excited for a long time to photograph this wedding & I’m so honored they chose me.

 

 

I hope everyone enjoys the photos Sean & Haley!

Family Session 2017

It’s been pretty crazy with school lately..seems like all I do is work and go to school. However, I am learning a lot and I can see my growth within my work since I first started school (actually a huge growth!)

Today I had the opportunity to work with an extremely adorable family that I met at work. They happened to sit in my section (I’m a waitress) and were some of the sweetest, funniest people I’ve had the pleasure of meeting. I was telling them I had a family assignment coming up soon and asked if they would be interested in some free family photos. Of course they jumped at the opportunity & I hope they love them as much as I do!

Here is the link to the photo slideshow I created from the session & my one of my personal favorites: https://animoto.com/play/enUp2mfLRCkqrJ7ZnMUjcg

Beautiful Bride, Beautiful Weather

 

I don’t know about each of you but fall is hands-down my favorite season of the year. The leaves changing colors, the cool breeze, the smell of campfires & not to mention all the delicious food at the North Carolina State Fair. However, Fall is also my favorite time of the year for photoshoots.

I recently posted a video that I shot for an assignment for school on my Facebook. Phillip (an awesome co-worker) and his then fiance Bethany were getting married. They allowed me to come crash their wedding & shoot some video for my assignment. I love the way it turned out and they were super excited about it too which is always the best feeling for a photographer.  You can watch the video here –> https://vimeo.com/234528557

I knew that I had a bridal assignment coming up soon after that for school so I asked Bethany if she would be interested in getting her dress out one more time for some photos. She was more than willing and excited to help me out and get some more use out of her beautiful gown. We met at the Arboretum in Greensboro and the weather was absolutely perfect (seems to be a going trend for Bethany.) I am really pleased with how the photos turned out & I hope she likes them just as much as I do.

I’m posting a few on here for my readers to see, let me know what you think!

 

 

 

 

Panoramas

 

So I missed our lecture this past Monday on taking Panoramic photos so I kind of had to figure it out on my own. You start out by shooting multiple photos of the same scene but move your camera in each shot. You then compile them all into one image in Photoshop. I went out around my apartment complex to look for different opportunities to shoot. I started on my deck outside because the leaves are starting to change colors and I thought I’d like to show what I see every morning from my window. I also liked the different perspective on the second photo I’ve posted. I wanted to do a horizontal panoramic and a vertical panoramic. I look forward to playing around with this some more when I have the opportunity to go somewhere more interesting than my apartment. (Maybe the engagement shoot I have coming up at Hanging Rock!)

Bridal in Studio

So today I had the opportunity to work with one of the most beautiful ladies I know, Corinne. She truly has one of the best hearts of anyone I’ve met. I was given an assignment to do a bridal shoot in the studio at my school. I immediately thought of Corinne because she is so easy to be around and has a really genuine smile. I haven’t even turned in the assignment but I wanted to share a couple photos from the shoot that I absolutely love! Hope you all like them too!

 

 

Working with Photoshop

 

 

This week in my portrait retouching class we learned about fixing blemishes, whitening the eyes, perfecting smiles & fixing skin discoloration. I actually love learning about these things because it allows me to enhance my photos without making my subjects look like “barbies.” Since I plan to start my own photography business and mainly focus on weddings and portrait photography, all of these skills will definitely come in handy. Thanks to David Peng & Ashley Tomlin for allowing me to use you for practice this week. You both made it difficult to “fix” your images because you both have naturally good-looking skin. I can’t wait to learn more in Photoshop!

When you can’t photograph an eclipse, do a puzzle instead.

Originally this week I planned to photograph the Solar Eclipse that happened Monday. However, like usual, my plans didn’t work out how I wanted them to. I ended up going to my parents lake house over the weekend and spending some much needed time by the water. On my way back to Greensboro I stopped to get some gas and a DOT worker pulled into the pump beside me. He asked me if I had a chance to buy glasses to view the eclipse and I told him I didn’t. He then proceeded to pull his welding mask out of his truck and let me use it. I was able to see the eclipse which was awesome and I didn’t have to stress myself out about getting a perfect picture.

On another note..my roommate purchased a new puzzle for us to complete (we live a lavish lifestyle I tell ya.) It is probably the most difficult puzzle I’ve ever tried to complete. These images show how much we’ve finished so far..which isn’t much at all. On a side note: it is helping me work on my patience.