A Hard Week

For those who don't already know, I work a full time government job in addition to my photography business. This is the main reason that I accept only 25 weddings per year and rarely do any portrait work that is not wedding-related. Well...this week has been an exceptionally rough week.... and it is only Wednesday.... and Monday was a holiday.

People ask me all the time when I am going to go "full-time" with my photography. Well, I already consider myself "full-time" since I spend 30+ hours per week working on business-related tasks, but I do understand what they are asking. Although I love my day job and find it very rewarding on most days, after a day like today, sometimes I wonder why I haven't given up the "day job".

But then it dawns on me. Yes, I LOVE wedding photography. I love the entire process, from packing up my gear to every shutter release to handing over finished wedding albums. I love it.... but would I love it as much if it was my "job"? Maybe. All of a sudden, it becomes a "have-to" instead of a "love-to". I have thought many, many times of the day that I would be able to lay down the pen and pick up the camera for good.... but I have to ask myself this: If somewhere down the line I begin to love it less, will my work show it? I don't know the answer to that question. And I just won't risk it.

And even though some of the day-job times are tough, knowing that this Saturday I will be in the presence of so much love makes all of it better. I guess you could say I've found my balance.

Stephanie & Scott

This past weekend I was in the beautiful town of Eufaula, AL. Stephanie and Scott had their wedding at the Old Springhill Plantation. I arrived several hours early and got to enjoy the beautiful scenery. The plantation was a sprawling 3,000 acres with huge pecan orchards and 110 acres of lakes! WOW!

This was the view from the rocking chair on the front porch of the lodge.The flowers at this wedding were stunning and the most fragrant roses ever! This is the first time they got to see each other! It's a really sweet, personal moment for those who choose to see each other before the ceremony. Ain't she purdy?! I just loved this picture because I caught the sun sparkling in Stephanie's beautiful comb she wore with her veil. What a beautiful little family!There was a fountain/birdbath there that was full of clover growing up through the water. It took me a few minutes to notice but EVERY one was a 4-leaf clover! There must've been 200 in there.Steph's cake was very hot....very modern and classy.See you again soon!

It's a HEATWAVE...

And it had NOTHING to do with the weather! Last Monday I made a day trip up to Chattanooga to shoot a Day-After Session with Melody. After meeting the couple, I knew that the 6 hours of driving time was well worth the opportunity to photograph them. They were so outgoing and totally up for anything we suggested. Talk about some newly-wed heat!
;)
Ah...my favorite sequence of the night...so steamy.

Ashley & Eric's E-Session

Just posting a few shots from Ashley & Eric's session on Sunday. We had originally planned the session for Saturday but it was cold and rainy. So Sunday rolls around and isn't looking much better. There were heavy clouds, temp in the low 50s, and 20 mph winds! Yuck. On top of the not-so-ideal weather, Eric would be coming straight to the session from his grandmother's funeral. Our appointment was set to begin at 3:00pm and guess what happened at about 3:02pm? The clouds blew over, the winds slowed down, and we had a fabulously fun time shooting! Thanks MawMaw!

THE BEST E-SESSION YET!

On Monday I got a call from my sister's boyfriend. He told me that he was planning to propose to her on her birthday...which was just 4 days away!

He picked her up for lunch and then they took a walk through the UA campus. He'd had a flower arrangement set up at the President's Mansion lawn. She had no clue what was going on. She thought someone had accidentally left it there. I was lucky enough to be there...camera in hand. With the assistance of a friend, we captured it all as it happened.

I can't believe me little sister is getting married! I couldn't be happier for the two of them. Here are a few of the key moments.