brooke • seminole senior portraits

What a perfect day for a shoot! The sun was finally out, and I had some great company. I shot Brooke's sister's senior session a couple of years ago (wow, that is crazy!), so I knew this would be a fun one. 

Brooke totally worked it out for me which was awesome! We did a lot of wandering around- which always results in the best kind of pictures. Here are a *cough* few of my favorites.

This alley provided a variety of random seating. :)

You know I like to "play with shadows" a lot. This is a different kind of playing, thanks to Blake! Haha!

Did I mention that Brooke will be living with Kara next year? I'm not sure I've met an ugly person from Seminole yet!

 West Texas may have some crazy wind, but it sure makes some awesome supermodel hair!

Thanks so much, Brooke + fam! You guys were great! 

kara • seminole senior portraits

Kara is a senior from Seminole who drove in on a very cloudy day and totally ROCKED her Senior Photoshoot! She's been super patient while I waited to post these- it took me a bit longer just because I loved so many of the images. I had a great time with Kara and her Mom- lots of great laughs and fun.

Me: Ok, it's time for a fake laugh. Seriously. Go for it. 

(I'm pretty sure my awkwardness was actually funny at this point, producing a real, beautiful laugh.)

All my favorite colors in one? Yes, please!

We were shooting in a field when we heard a train coming...so of course we had to take advantage of it! Kara did a fabulous job with the wind/moving train/overly excited photographer here.

Can you believe the clouds that day? I love the feeling in the image on the right. 

Love these. So girly.

kuhrt + lindsey • engagement • lubbock wedding photographer

I'm so excited to FINALLY post these. Lindsey has been so patient with me! We shot Kuhrt and Lindsey's Engagement Session a little over a week ago in downtown Lubbock. It was a bit chilly, but all in all the perfect day for a shoot.

What can I say about these two? I love them so much- and I'm so glad that I get to live life with them. Nothing brings me more fulfillment than getting to witness God working...and I can see that fully having watched Kuhrt and Lindsey love each other. 

I have several favorites for you all...so get ready!

I brainstormed a lot on what type of looks would best fit Kuhrt and Lindsey. They are both fun and bright personalities, so we had to start out with some color!

Funny story- Kuhrt has a tattoo on the back of his neck that says "Jesus is not religion". The first time Lindsey ever saw him she was sitting behind him in church and thought she read "Jesus is not real". I think she started praying for him right then! Little did she know...

Yes, this was in Lubbock. I know right?!?

We decided to go a bit more edgy since Kuhrt likes to play hard rock music. :)

Right after their engagement, they were given some pretty cool t-shirts. The red hearts light up as they get closer and closer to each other! Haha, of course I had to have a picture!

Congrats you two! Sooner than later you'll be married and in Mexico! :)

P.S. How are you all liking the side-by-side vertical images I've been posting as opposed to the singular vertical images? Any opinions?

my office makeover • inspiration wall

Wondering what has been keeping me away from my blog the past few days? Clutter. Literally...I could not reach my computer for the junk that covered the floor.

We've lived in this house for a year and a half, and I just realized that the walls to my tiny home office were closing in on me. I was lacking function and a creative space...not ok!

So I decided to go for something truly inspiring. 

I wish I'd taken more "before" pictures. These don't even begin to communicate the mass of mess that I was working in.

I began working on one section, and of course one thing led to another, and voila! Here is the finished product:

A couple of things I have noticed:

1. I like symmetry. And specifically things in two. Perhaps that's why I never get tired of photographing couples. 

2. Clean is better.

My favorite part- the inspiration wall above my desk. I had purchased 14 vintage ivory knobs at a garage sale last year (for ONE dollar!), took out the screw and other hardware, and nailed them to my wall in 3 rows. After that, I hung some coral string between them. Pretty simple!

I LOVE that I can change these bits of inspiration out easily. It's also nice to see an overall picture of "me" as each piece combines to make a whole statement. There are magazine tears, letters, scripture, quotes, travel images, and even some pictures I shot in my first photography course in college.

My bookshelf actually looks decent now. I have a thing for decorative storage boxes. 

I failed to take a picture of what the inside of the closet looked like before I started chunking everything out, but let me tell you, THIS is a MIRACLE. It may not look like much, but the functionality has gone way up, and now all of my gear, files, and packaging materials have a place.

Now for some of my favorite details. On the left, armadillo embroidery I uncovered in a middle school art closet during student teaching. On the right, Manny. He is actually property of my sister, Layne, but I'm hoping she'll let him live here even after she moves. :)

The black and white image is one from the darkroom while I was first learning to shoot. How about that double exposure technique??? Haha. I actually love this image because of where and when it was taken.

The pencil cup on the left is exciting only because it was an ugly mesh and I slapped some paper (purchased at Hodgepodge Design) on it, and now it's pretty! I bought the gray and green boxes on clearance at Target yesterday. Total score- I love the size of them. 

My friend Heather gave me this print for my birthday this year. I just love it! (I have birds all over my house.)

I needed to add two magazine files to my shelf, but could not find any I liked (I already had the black & white and blue ones). So, I bought some cheap ones and covered them with some floral paper. I also purchased a labeler last week, and I don't know how I've lived without one till now. :)

Yes, I have framed portraits of my dogs. This little birdy was in the dollar aisle at Target. I can never avoid the dollar aisle.

In all, I spent 61.00, including the labeler, so not bad! I am totally pleased and refreshed to be operating in a space I love now. 

Since I've spent so much time on this room the last couple days, you should see the other neglected areas of my house. Eeek. 

coffee, lighting, and flying ice

A bright spot in the cold, dreary weather of last week was hanging out with Caitlin and D'Anna. These two girls came down from Plainview to talk a little shop with me. We sipped some coffee and then went out into the cold to experiment a bit. 

Caitlin has such drive and passion that I know great things are in store for her future! Here she is shooting D'Anna:

D'Anna's fun, up-for-anything personality was totally refreshing. P.S. I'm still playing with my new Lightroom presets, so no Photoshop on any of these images, either.

We talked a lot about lighting, and busted out my super-fancy reflector (purchased in the auto department at Wal-Mart) for these images. Ten points if you can guess what it was- and no cheating if you already know!

About five seconds after this image was shot we realized that ice (left over from the terrible weather) was being hurled in our direction. Seriously-- it was coming at a 90 degree angle from somewhere to our right! I thought it was kind of funny and bizarre (albeit a bit creepy too)...but we were never able to track down the culprit. They must have been watching us because when we went to the other side of the building it stopped, and once we came back around, the ice started to fly! Thank goodness we never got hit! 

They're still cute when they're cold!

I look a bit Mad-Hatter-ish in this one...maybe I should ditch the green scarf. Regardless, I'm excited about this.

Thanks, girls! It was fun!

scott + martha • engagement • lubbock, texas

Scott and Martha are so much fun. Really. I totally enjoyed getting to hang out and talk with them while we shot their Engagement Session. Scott lives in Maryland and Martha is in Plainview, so they have really tackled the long-distance relationship and have made it work. Getting to see how they love and respect each other was so refreshing. 

I got ridiculously excited to use my new Totally Rad presets for Lightroom yesterday, so these images were processed using some of those and some of my own. No Photoshop whatsoever, though! 

save the date cards + magnets from a bride's perspective

I received this message from a former bride yesterday:

OK. So my sisters bridal shower was this weekend which meant I got to see a lot of people I never get to see now that I live in Pampa....

No joke, probably 10 different people said to me "I still have your magnet, you know, the one with the roller coaster, on my fridge. It reminds me every day to pray for you and Clay and your marriage." 

I don't know that we knew at the time what a blessing these little magnets would turn into! Friends, and family still have them up and use them to remember to pray for us?!? I'm blessed by your photography still daily and I didn't even realize it. 

Thanks Lissa!

When I asked her if I could post this for you guys, she added:

I want other brides to know what a blessing your photography is too! Just knowing I have all those wonderful people praying for my marriage and my new life in Pampa brought such peace to my heart. Crazy how my Big God works in the littlest ways! 

Here is her Save the Date card from 2009:

I was so blessed by her note I just had to share it with you all. She was right when she said "Crazy how my Big God works in the littlest ways!". I love that somehow God had used that to bless them and give them personal prayer warriors. Wow! Thank you Bandi- I am so blessed to know you!

• A little on Save the Date Cards + Magnets •

I get to collaborate with most of my brides on the creation of their Save the Date cards. It's a fun design process, usually incorporating their Engagement images. Since Save the Dates have one very simple purpose (to announce your wedding date)- the possibilities are endless! 

Now, Save the Date cards are not necessarily a must-have. Depending on your wedding and your date, they may or may not be relevant. I would suggest doing a Save the Date if you are planning a wedding more than 6 months away, or on a date such as a holiday (I was married on New Year's Eve) or a popular wedding date (any Saturday in May, June, or July). Of course, there are no real rules- if you want to do them, go for it!

The cards are all press printed, which means that the ink actually sits in the paper, not on top of it. This allows for a richer, higher-quality look. You can select from watercolor, linen, pearl, or gloss paper. Magnets are created using a photographic print. 

Each one is custom made to fit your personalities and style. This one was also a magnet.

Recently, I worked with my friend Heather on a completely new concept for Save the Date cards. Her cards feature 4 2x3 magnets mounted on a 5x7 card. Each magnet pictures the bride and groom with a different cardboard sign.

When you take the magnets off, you get to see the message below! Super fun!

I do also make Thank You Notes. These are typically folded 4x5.5 cards. This was printed on watercolor paper. Front:

Inside (writing goes on the right side):

Hope you all are having a great week so far! I will be trying to stay warm today while knocking out exciting tasks like filing, organizing, and file management. :)

post processing

First of all, how are you guys liking the new look? I've been having lots of fun playing with my website (which I'm sure you're aware of if you've visited my site within the past few days). One of the things I'm MOST excited about is my new wedding and senior portfolio pages. You've got to check them out!

Today I thought it would be helpful to give a run-down of the post processing I give my images. Work isn't finished for me when the photoshoot is over! I've had many people ask what software/editing I use, and this should answer those questions and more.

After a session is finished, I upload the images to my computer and backup sources, and then it's time to get to processing.

I'll first cull the images down to the best of the best. Then it's time to work on the individual images. Let's start with an image straight out of the camera:

To prep the images for proofing in an online gallery, I'll make a few quick adjustments within Adobe Lightroom. Typically I am tweaking exposure, white balance, toning, sharpening and clarity. The wonderful thing about Lightroom is the ability to use presets. I've made a few of my own, but you can also purchase some- I would recommend these from Presetopia. After batch processing the images in Lightroom, I'll upload them to the online proofing gallery. So, here is the image after Lightroom tweaks.

Before an image gets to print form, I'll do a full edit on it. During this process, I'm using Adobe Photoshop with various actions- here, I used Totally Rad Actions.

First, I'll take out any blemishes/stray hairs with the clone tool or healing brush. With this image I also took out the distracting sun spot/shadow in the foreground.

Then I'll make local adjustments on the exposure (Yin/Yang), sharpness (Select-O-Sharp), and contrast (Select-O-Pop). 

Here I also used the Shadow Separator since it fit the mood of the image. 

That's pretty much it! Here's the finished image:

 

So, was that helpful? Want me to post more like this? Let me know what YOU would like to see here!

snow day!

Lubbock got dumped on yesterday. With the crazy amount of snow and pretty much everything closed or cancelled, I couldn't see why we would NOT get out in it! My sister corralled some friends and we went out for a little photoshoot. It was absolutely freezing but totally worth it! We had a lot of fun- as you can see in the images!

kirby • fashion photography

FIVE MONTHS. That's how long I waited. And Kirby has waited. This may be the biggest case of procrastination I have ever had. 

I asked Kirby to model for me a while back. I needed it, personally...to get out and shoot what I really love. She obliged, and we had a slightly windy, slightly scary, but nonetheless fun photoshoot. Kirby was a fantastic model. 

After the photoshoot, I backed up the images, and then became consumed with other work. The longer I waited to work on the images, the more I worried I wouldn't like them after all. I had a really bad case of being comfortable. 

Today I opened them. And I have learned my lesson. Thanks, Kirby, for providing me with images that I really, really love- and helping me to remember why I do what I do. 

More than anything, I KNOW that I can't be comfortable with what I shoot. This means I have to push myself with every image, try things I an unsure of, and trust that what I make will be bigger and better than I expected. I hope you, my clients, will be up for the journey! There is so much out there that hasn't been done yet.