Katie and Aaron’s wedding was very unique. Don’t get me wrong, every wedding is completely different, but normally the bride (and/or the groom) come in to book me and see my work. But not in this case.

Katie’s mom had been referred to me by another bride of mine (previous blog) for the year. And since Katie & Aaron live in W. Virginia and were having the wedding here, Katie had her mom and her sister, Gretchen, come and pick out everything–down to the cake flavors!

I think the dress was one of the few items Katie did pick out herself and it was GORGEOUS. She got it from Love, A Bridal Boutique out at the beach. Locally owned and operated, they have some gorgeous stuff.

After the dress was finally on and they were getting ready to head down the aisle, I caught this above shot of mom, Katie and Gretchen. So sweet.

One of the most unique aspects of the wedding was this quilt, made by the groom’s grandmother. Made from 1,200 pieces, she also handmade the country’s bicentennial quilt that traveled the US and abroad and I believe may still be at the Smithsonian.

Here is the plaque that was with it. Everyone who attended was encouraged to sign it. Hopefully you can read it ok.

Katie had a couple of laughing/funny expressions during the ceremony. I’m pretty sure this is probably right about the “obey” part. You can see the groom is laughing too.

And you know how I feel about a crying groom–love it!

They did a prayer circle around the bride and groom during the ceremony with some of the relatives. I had never seen that before.

I see many candle lighting and sand ceremonies, but never have I seen a couple build a cross together. The cross was in pieces and they each put a piece together alone and finished it together, while the pastor spoke about the parts of the cross and what they were doing.

This was a really nice touch and aspect, I think, for a religious couple. I think Katie said she found the idea online somewhere.

They got married in the middle of the day and the sun was beating down so we looked for some shade for their family photos, and a porch at the Jacksonville Gold & Country Club worked out beautifully.

And Katie with her mom:

Their cakes were by Metro Custom Cakes–yummy!

They had a gorgeous simple cake for their cake with an intricate design embellished on it. And then for the groom’s cake, he works in a coal mine and loves basketball so Metro combined the two for their cake.

This is a shot of the couple coming in and seeing their cake. I think it was the groom’s first look. I know everyone was in awe.

They had a very laid back reception with no dancing or anything like that.

This was Katie’s something borrowed and something blue. Her mother got it from an auction. It’s GORGEOUS. And it looks just like Princess Diana’s engagement ring.

When I met with Judy & Gretchen about Katie’s wedding, they told me all these details they had planned for the wedding including “I do” on the shoes. Katie didn’t really know about ANY of it. On the wedding day I came in and noticed that the shoes didn’t have the writing on them and they said they had run out of time. I noticed “I DO” written on a box with this type of sticky tape almost and mentioned to Katie that maybe we could pull it from there and use it on the shoes. She quickly went to work and it worked out awesomely!

Wedding Dress: Love, A Bridal Boutique

Bridesmaids Dresses: David’s Bridal

Wedding Design: Judy Zapf

Cake: Metro Custom Cakes

Venue: Jacksonville Golf & Country Club

Kathy and Willie got married out at Ponte Vedra at a place called The Driftwood House. I had never heard of it, but it’s right near the Ponte Vedra Golf & Country Club. It’s a two story house with a backyard space and right on the beach.

We’ve been getting lots of requests for “First Looks” at weddings. This is where a bride and groom see each other before the ceremony. I’ve had many brides ask me my opinion on this. Honestly, I like it.

The wedding day can be full of emotion, anxiety and stress. The first look is a great way to see your significant other before the walk down the aisle and possibly ruin your makeup for your ceremony photos.

We line a photographer up on each side of the couple so that we get the full emotion of the turn. Sometimes it’s hard to see a groom’s face if the first time he sees you is walking down the aisle. Plus he might be less inclined to cry in front of all those people. But a first look is very intimate and breaks the tension.

If we’re doing the first look on the property of the wedding ceremony, we usually do them about an hour or so before the ceremony starts. Either a photographer or someone from the wedding party will help bring the groom to the bride (typically). In the above case, we found a long white napkin we were able to use as a blindfold. I’ve also had a bride bring a party mask. This is an additional chance to make your wedding unique and to add special touches.

I usually use this time to take the bride and groom photos without the stress of being rushed into the party. It also breaks the photos up a little bit so you don’t have to do all the group photos AND then the couple photos. Makes it a little more relaxing.

Speaking of group photos. Both Kathy and Willie had sons from previous relationships. And I just loved how close and sweet Kathy’s photo turned out with her sons:

They had their reception in the backyard of The Driftwood House and had a tent set up. This is a time lapse shot from the balcony of a bedroom upstairs.

There was an interesting moment during this wedding where whales surfaced in the water. I heard some guests talking about it afterwards. My secondary and I were so focused on the bride and groom we never saw it. I know that Jacksonville is along the path for migrating whales but I’ve never seen them.

I searched my photos and couldn’t find the whales in the background of ANY of them.

When Kathy went upstairs to have her dress pinned, I let her know about the whales and also forewarned her that I was so focused on her I didn’t get any photos of the whales. I can’t remember what exactly she said, but I remember laughing, because she said that basically my eyes were where they were supposed to be and that everyone else should have been watching the wedding too.

Venue: The Driftwood House

Tent: St. Augustine Rentals

Cake: Publix & 3 Sisters Chocolate

Ceremony Music: Violinist Beverly Chapman

Other Vendors: St. Johns Illuminations

So let me first say– CONGRATS!

You’ve got the ring, all shiny and blingy on your finger, now what? Well first, if you haven’t noticed yet, everyone is going to start asking when the big day is. If you aren’t sure yet, just give them a vague, “we’re planning for Fall 2012″ or something like that. It gives you a goal and answers their question.

The Wedding Planner

To go this process alone or enlist the help of a wedding planner is an important decision you’ll have to make. Most planners can be hired for anything from day of to full out planning.

I HIGHLY recommend contacting a wedding planner. Meet with them, even all of them. Find out what they can do for you. See which one makes you feel the most comfortable and sees your vision the way you do.

I’m not going to lie, planning a wedding on your own is TIME consuming, LIFE consuming, and STRESSFUL. And look at it this way, if you are employed you are trained to do THAT job. A wedding planner, is trained to take the stress out of wedding planning. Plus, they KNOW the vendors in this area. They know who is reliable and who is horrible.

Don’t think you have the extra money to put towards a wedding planner? Many of the ladies I’m about to recommend have sewn many a bride into their wedding dress, fixed floral and cake emergencies and hauled off an unruly guest–and I’m sure all those brides said they were worth every penny!

Here is a blog I wrote on wedding planning with examples of things gone wrong.

Lisa Burnett: Elegant Weddings by Lisa, 904-268-1429

Heather Canada: First Coast Weddings and Events, 904-739-8003

Tanya Hendricks: Southern Charm Weddings & Events, 904-731-5978

The Venue

There are a lot of brides in Jacksonville scoping out the same locations you are. Most getting married a year or more away. If you MUSt have a specific location for a specific date, BOOK IT IMMEDIATELY.

All the vendors (florists, photographers, etc) are going to need to know your venue (sometimes to give an accurate quote, for say how many flowers you’ll need or if that location has set up time issues) and these get booked FIRST. So do NOT hesitate, go scout locations and book ASAP, otherwise you may not get your dream location.

If you are flexible with your date, but not the location, the vendors still need to know, because your chosen photographer may be booked or the florist may already have a full schedule of weddings.

If you are running on a tight budget, some of the cheaper spots may also fill up fast. Did I say go book your location immediately? Yep, I’m serious. Even if your wedding is a year or more away, you are competing with 100s of other brides who also got engaged.

Some of my favorites wedding locales I’ve shot at this year include:

The Keeler Property–Gorgeous bridge to get married under and a huge barn to have your reception party in. Located on the Westside off of Normandy Blvd. With the cute picket fences and all the details, this is THE spot to book for country-styled wedding.

The Glen Venue–Located aprx. 30 minutes from downtown Jacksonville, right off of I-10. This is an awesome old wood mill. They have a main house in the front with a gazebo and such in the back to get married under all the trees. Or, as pictured above, this gorgeous house with a tree lined front. If you want a vintagey wedding, THIS is it.

Deercreek Country Club–They recently added a gazebo and wedding area right outside it’s reception hall that makes it one of my favorite spots for weddings

The TPC Sawgrass-Gorgeous verandas, an amazing back lawn, what else can I say?

Jacksonville Golf & Country Club--Another beautiful choice

University Club–I like this reception site for it’s location on the riverwalk. You can get awesome shots with the blue Main St. Bridge in the background before going into the club for your party. Decent locale as well and good food.

The Driftwood House–Next to the Ponte Vedra Yacht Club, this is a great spot on the beach.

Winterbourne–I love this old house, very pretty and the gardens are great for photos. This is really ideal for a small wedding of maybe 50.

Running on a tight budget? Check out the local parks, last I checked it was only $50 to reserve one for your wedding ceremony.

The Photographer

You are on a photographer’s blog, so of course, I’m going to offer my services to you. BUT, I also have some advice for you.

For one, I’m not a “weekend warrior” as many in the industry call photographers who fill every weekend with weddings. That’s not me. Why? A couple of reasons. One, I don’t want to become numb to weddings or treat them like just another job. I want to enjoy each wedding I shoot.

Plus, weddings can be very hard on the body (a lot of equipment to carry, going up and down stairs, squatting and laying for the right shot).

I only shoot one wedding a day (weddings run over time, etc. I don’t want to be rushing to another shoot) and limit the number I shoot a year.

How do you know which photographer to choose? Here’s some help. For one, please do not base it on price. The BIGGEST complaint I hear from people I know is they had their uncle shoot their wedding or a friend and the pictures came out horrible, dark or they never got all the images. This is the biggest party you will ever throw, these are often a couple’s most prized photos, INVEST in them.

1-Look at a photographer’s portfolio. Make sure they have wedding albums with a COMPLETE wedding in them. You don’t want to see the best photos they have ever taken you want to see WHOLE weddings, to get an idea of their full capabilities.

2-Is the photographer insured? And by that I mean, do they have EQUIPMENT insurance. If my equipment gets stolen, or I drop it and break it, my insurance covers for me to have NEW gear. If you are using a student and they get all their stuff stolen, guess what, you are just out of luck as they aren’t as likely to have $2,000-$10,000 to get replacements in 24 hours.

3-The second shooter. Does your photographer have one? Here is an article I recently wrote about second shooters. Consider them an additional insurance policy.

4-Does the photographer carry TWO cameras? Electronics are finicky things and they just sometimes get error messages and stop working. If your photographer has a problem with his one camera, and that’s all he has, then you have no photos. I carry two professional Canon cameras and my secondary carries her own equipment.

5-Style. Look at the photographer’s images, are the poses and colorings your style? Do you love the images you see on their website and in their portfolio? Don’t come to a photographer expecting something completely different. Find a photographer whose work you love and meet with them.

6-Personality. This is a trait many overlook in their wedding vendors, but it is very important to mesh with your vendors, including your photographer. On the wedding day, I am the one vendor that will be constantly at your side, talking to you, etc. If you meet with a photographer that has a great style but their personality doesn’t match yours, go somewhere else. I have heard horror stories of brides being overwhelmed by too assertive photographers who demanded shots and made the bride uncomfortable or even cry.

Last tip. Have you gone to meet with several photographers and love 2-3 of them and don’t know who to hire? Why not hire them all, I’m only kidding–well sort of.

Book each of them for an engagement session. This will cost you a little more up front, but this will give you a REAL feel of the photographer’s personality and shooting style. I recently booked a bride who had done her engagement portraits somewhere else and was horrified to find that he didn’t even bother to make sure her engagement ring was turned the right way or even showing in some of the key engagement shots. Another bride complained the photographer she went to just had a list of poses and she felt like a number.

Florists

When I got married I did my own flowers and now looking back I see how horrible they really looked. And I go to many weddings where I see the same pitfall. A good florist creates a piece of art.

This is one area where many brides decide to cut costs by doing it themselves. Call a florist. Seriously. When a vendor asks you what your budget is, a real business is not going to inflate their costs to balloon their price to match your budget. If your budget is unreasonable or very low, a good vendor will offer alternatives.

I love to work with A Fantasy in Flowers and Blossoms & Accents. Neither have a minimum purchase requirement and both are run by a friendly staff.

If you let them know your wedding date and colors, they will help you put together flowers that are appropriate (read–affordable for the season) and within your budget.

Top image with honeycombs is from wedding with A Fantasy in Flowers.

Bottom image with blue and white handle is from a wedding with Blossoms & Accents.

Cakes

Let’s get to the yummy part–cakes!

There are tons of great bakers in town. I have worked with and highly recommend Kakes by Katie and Metro Custom Cakes. Their cakes have never failed to be moist and yummy!

They make their cakes fresh and custom ordered. They also deliver.

DJs

This is the make it or break it vendor. If you hire a crappy DJ, not only will you have a party that might never get on the dance floor (if that’s what you want) but you may end up with someone who doesn’t know what is appropriate lighting, etc.

I recently had a wedding where a DJ did this and a key shot where the father was teary eyed was ruined by a huge purple spot on his face from the DJs lighting.

Several photographers in town, including myself, have also experienced bad DJs who failed to make sure we were present (we have to take potty breaks too, or in my case, I was photographing the flowers and rings!) while doing announcements or toasts.

DJs I have worked with who know how to communicate properly!:

D’Land Entertainment–They will get your party going and get people dancing. Very professional.

Deejay’s DJ Service

Hair & Makeup

A good makeup artist will know which makeups to use to make your face less shiny, etc. And if you are doing a vintage look for your wedding, might as well make sure your own look matches, a good hair stylist can help complete the look.

Hair stylists I have worked with before:

Alina Castillo, ACF Hair Studio–my go to girl for vintage looks

John Freeman

Kasey Jones, Blonde Glam Hair

Siera Bushor– Licensed for HAIR AND MAKEUP, works at Tress it Up Salon

Makeup Artists I have worked with before and are licensed:

Paulina Perez

Jill Stonier, Ruthless Beauty

Siera Bushor– Licensed for HAIR AND MAKEUP, works at Tress it Up Salon

Transportation

I don’t often see who the bride uses for her transportation, but many dream of a “Cinderella” or fairy tale wedding, for which I would highly recommend Pinto Custom Carriages. They have both a Cinderella top (as pictured) for their horse drawn carriage as well as a standard carriage.

Food

Many locations have their own food a bride must use, but if you do have an option and don’t want to go with the customary big chain, here are some places that cater:

D’Vine Cuisine, Great staff, very organized

Catered Cocktails, for your bar and beverage needs, 904-246-4410

Other Vendors

Ten23 Designs, Vinyl decals great for accenting walls, signs, dance floors and more.

Scentsy by Nicole Rendon, Wickless candless, great for bridal party gifts.

Put it On Canvas, Awesome canvases at a great price. Local.

Other Useful Info

On a budget, advice.

Want to see MY wedding photos and my own wedding horror story? Check out an old blog post here.

If you’ve lived in Baker or Union Counties or know many people from there, you know the Whitehead name.

Whitehead is not my husband’s last name. While I was born in Oklahoma, I have been here for more then 25 years. And I get asked ALL THE TIME, if I am “related to the Whiteheads…” and I cut the person off at that point and say “no.”

All of my family are basically in the Missouri area. In 2010, while pregnant with my daughter I started actually doing family research and got sucked into websites like Ancestry.com (where I have over 2,000 family members found). I have been able to trace my Whitehead line to a my great grandfather who was Whiteid but swore that the name was supposed to be Whitehead and changed it back. I have traced his family line up to a relative who came over from England to possibly NC or Va.

Well, after all of these years of saying “no I’m not related to them” about the Whiteheads here in Florida, nor having ever met any of them, I am now photographing one of their family’s weddings.

The funny thing is, my father is a retired police office and my uncle is a police officer and because of my work for law enforcement publications (writing and photography) my name is often recognized. And if you know the Whiteheads here in Florida, you know that the Whiteheads have been Sheriff in Union County/Lake Butler for many years.

So meet Josh Whitehead and his fiancee Amber:

Tanya, of Southern Charm Events, is the wedding planner for this wedding. And being that she is the ONLY person I know who lives in Lake Butler and I’m the only Whitehead photographer I know of, this seems like a perfect match! Not to mention, we share office space. (Please note, while we share office space, we do not work exclusively together, but sometimes things just work out that way!)

I took these some time ago, when it was a little warmer outside! But I kept putting off posting them. And since the holidays are all about family, I figured when better to have these up then right after Christmas!

I love that we were able to get some fun ring shots at the engagement session with something personal of theirs. Amber was fantastic about bringing props and special items.

And they are such a cute couple. I mean, together and individually.

They were sooo worried that they wouldn’t do good for photos, but they did just fine.

Josh said one of his family members asked if we were related and he told them that I was a “long lost cousin”, lol. This is kind of funny, because as we talked about ancestry he thinks that we might have the same/common relative that came from England. He’s supposed to put me in touch with his aunt. I would love to find out before the wedding if we REALLY are related and such, would be kind of fun to know.

They are doing a Cinderella themed wedding, complete with horse and carriage (Pinto Carriage Works). This should be loads of fun!

From my family to yours I hope you have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. And for my Jewish friends, I hope you are enjoying your Hanukkah!

I wasn’t sure how my daughter would react to Santa so we had him come up behind her first in hopes of at least getting one shot of her not crying. (But as you can see from the photos above, a little bribery with a candy cane and she was good!)

This is actually the photo we used on our Christmas cards this year as well, I just love her expression.

I wanted to share this photo too, because it makes me laugh. Since I was photographing Santa with my clients, my friend Lauren, who owns Ten23 Designs, brought my daughter and her daughter up together for photos. But Mya was NOT having photos with Santa.

Jocelyn & Brant got  married on October 8, 2011 at the TPC Sawgrass. They had hoped to get married out on the lawn but it started storming right after the guys got their photos done.

Rachel Ely, owner of Blossoms & Accents did the flowers.  Brant and his groomsmen wore leis instead of the usual boutonnieres. I thought it was a very nice touch, especially with their slightly more casual attire.

Loved the little bee pin on her flowers.

Jocelyn’s necklace. If I’m not mistaken, I think they went to Hawaii for their honeymoon. Would explain all the flowers!

These two were so cute, and sooo in love. It was really sweet. The above image is two images, each during the ceremony. I just love the looks on their faces.

And I am a SUCKER for crying grooms.

The top image was when she was walking down the aisle, the bottom image is from the ceremony.

And we caught several shots of Brant’s tears being wiped away. Just love that.

It just makes a couple all that more endearing.

Dancing with his momma. Love the expression.

But of course, the day wasn’t only tears. These two were goofs as well!

When Brant started walking up to do the garter retreival I noticed he looked a little bulky. And then as soon as he went under her dress I realized why, he started throwing out cookies, napkins and even a liquor bottle!

The cake was done by Classic Cakes.

When it comes to the wedding cake “feed” 9 out of 10 times it’s the woman who will smash the cake into her groom. Of course, if I ask before hand, both will deny that they would do such a thing.

But this time Brant decided to do a little smashing himself!

One of the things they wanted to do was to go outside and take photos. But since it was storming they couldn’t even have their ceremony outside. So as a compromise we round up an umbrella and took to the balcony.

This is the second wedding in as many months that I’ve ended up doing photos on the porch, and I actually have loved it.

My secondary, Bev, saw this porch and saw the chairs and everything going on and was for sure the images would turn out horrible. But she was surprised to see how pretty things can be!

The creams are sooo nice. I think I like it more then the golf course. Of course, seeing as how I don’t play golf, I may be biased.

When Jocelyn came in for her consultation, she told me they were doing a golf themed wedding at TPC (flags are waiving in the background). So in April, while visiting my brother up in NC I was at a shop and saw this little golf cart and had to buy it.

Location: TPC Sawgrass

Coordinator: First Coast Weddings & Events: Emma Murfin and Jamie Fowler

Cake: Classic Cakes

Flowers: Blossoms & Accents

Hair: Marcy Jones- Hair Studio 22

Makeup: Cherie Michel- Mary Kay

Location to be announced, but likely at a library or in the conference room of my office.

A handout will be provided with room for you to take notes. Christy will explain all the main functions of your camera (an SLR camera is needed) and explain the most common problems and how to fix them BEFORE taking the photo.

There will be plenty of time for one-on-one explanations with each person and their camera as well as question and answer time.

After a break for lunch (at the location of your choice) everyone will meet outside at a location to try out all your newly learned information. Christy will give everyone challenges to push their knowledge, but she’ll also be there to help anyone having trouble.

You’ll leave with a better understanding of your camera, how to take a better photo and more confidence in your abilities.

This class is meant for moms (or dads!) and anyone else who has a decent camera but doesn’t know how to use it to it’s full capabilities. This is not intended for professionals.

Class tuition is $125 and will be held on Sunday the 26th of Feb.

You can email Christy@Jaxphotographer.com (or send payment via paypal) to register. Class size is limited to ensure everyone gets the hands on attention needed.

I always get things like “your camera takes great photos” or something like “my friend is a photographer.” It seems everyone who owns a camera is a photographer. But most don’t even know how to use their manual settings or adjust their camera to get a specific look or change the depth of field (how much is in focus).

One of my good friends, Lauren Atwaters, owner of Ten23 Designs has a nice Canon Rebel SLR. She is always joking that she’s going to be my 3rd photographer for weddings. Well one day I decided to play a little game with her. I told her to bring her son Isaac over and her camera.

(Christy and Lauren on another day, goofing off in the kitchen.)

Using my backyard we delegated certain rules. Isaac, being the oh-so-good kid that he is wouldn’t tell either of us the other one’s posing, etc. We had two different shirts for him to wear, to give a little bit of a mix.

I live on 4 acres deep on the Westside, so we didn’t want to just have a free for all in the backyard. I wanted the photos to have some similarities to them. So Lauren and I went and decided on four locations in the yard to shoot. She went first and I was to stay inside while she did her session. I said she had 5 minutes, but the girl must have been out there 20 minutes. I’m surprised Isaac even wanted to smile when it was my turn, lol!

In the past when she’s pulled out her camera I’ve kind of given her quick lessons on what certain settings did to achieve a look she wanted. And she was good, she didn’t leave her camera on completely manual for the shoot, she says she tried several settings.

If you know Lauren, she’s REALLY competitive. Which in a way is really good for this type of challenge, I knew she would do her best.

Now, in that competitiveness Lauren was ADAMANT that when I showed the photos that I not edit mine if I wasn’t going to edit hers. So, this is a rarity on this blog. Unless otherwise noted, ALL images are STRAIGHT OUT OF THE CAMERA (other then downsizing and sharpening for the web).

We’ll start off with location number one, the chair in the middle of the yard, and Lauren’s photo:

(Uncropped)

These were actually horizontal images (the one on the right is the SAME image as the one above it, only cropped) with a lot of extra grass and such so I cropped them vertical for her. Plus I figured it would make them match mine (below) a little more, for a better comparison.

All of Lauren’s photos appear to be in focus. And for being her own son, he interacted well with her. I love his smile, and obvious laughing in the right shot.

Mine:

Lauren and I both shot in the same general direction in the yard. When I got there the clouds had subsided and given us a strong bright light.

As you can tell from the background in my image compared to Lauren’s, mine is blurred more. I chose a very low depth of field and used my 70-200 L lense for all my shots. It provides a very pretty background and is great for portraits. But at about $2,000-$2,500 for JUST the lense, the average hobby or start up photographer isn’t going to have it.

When I pulled Lauren’s photos onto my computer, I started laughing when I saw these. Isaac didn’t tell me what his mom had made him do. I just thought it might be a fun, more action type shot to have him jumping. But what was even funnier is we both had him jump at the SAME spot.

(The white thing on his belt in my photo is a bug thing, the mosquitoes were horrible that day!)

I chose these two to show you because they are soooo similar in posing. Remember, there was NO color actions or anything like that done to these, these are pretty much straight out of the camera.

It’s amazing to me the color difference. We’re both shooting Canon, both within about 20 minutes of each other, in about the middle of the day (overcast for the most part).

Other then that, I can see that mine is sharper. And based on my posing of myself to take this shot, I can see that I went lower to make it look like a more obvious of a jump where she probably photographed straight on.

These are the stairs leading to my chicken coop. Lauren shot in one direction and I was apparently on the other side shooting the other way. I chose my direction based on the fact I knew the background would blur better.

But you can see the depth of field and coloring are obvious differences.

Towards the back of the yard there was a little bit of an area that was cleared along the side to show a little of the fence and fence posts.

The first thing that I notice between the two is “rule of thirds,” which is how you set up the image in your camera. As a photographer you generally don’t want the head of the person in the MIDDLE of the image or the person in the middle of the image unless necessary. By putting Isaac off to the side it adds more visual interest and the wire fence kind of leads your eye into him.

The narrower depth of field also meant that my photos didn’t look quite as “messy” behind him.

Here’s two vertical shots. Once again, depth of field on mine is a little cleaner and provides a nice colorful backdrop. The colors look richer as well.

——-

Because I love the emotion and genuine look in the photo of Isaac in the chair, I would say that’s her best shot. So I have taken that shot and edited it a little bit.

And here are a couple more of mine, UNEDITED.

I did this post for a couple of reasons. 1-to show in an easy comparison the difference between the quality of a professional and someone who has a good camera (have to know how to use it!) 2-to have a little fun with a competitive friend and 3-I’ve been thinking about offering up a class for “Momtogs”. So many of my friends and clients either own a decent SLR or will be getting one for Christmas and I get asked all kinds of questions all the time, so…

MOMTOG 101: Getting to Know Your Camera

I’m aiming to have the class in probably February or March.

Ideally it would either be 2 half days or one full day. The first part would be explaining your camera, settings, how things work, etc.

The second part would be a field trip so that you could put that knowledge to use, but I would be RIGHT there to help you. Because the worst part about having someone teach you something is going out to do it and running into a problem!

So if you would be interested in the class, watch the blog. You can also send me an email at Christy@Jaxphotographer.com or leave a comment and I’ll try and message you when all the details get put together.

I’m going to send a special thank you out to Lauren for agreeing to this challenge where the results would be made public. THANK YOU!

If you don’t have me added on Facebook, you can find me here. And Lauren’s page is here.

The church has a strict rule about no flash photography and no movement during the ceremony so I stopped by their rehearsal for a few quick test shots and saw their decorations for their rehearsal dinner–bandanas and country, it was soo cute. So I asked Sarah if she wanted me to bring my “Just Hitched” umbrella and she loved the idea.

Of course, I’m getting ahead of myself… The bride has to get dressed first!

They had a very pretty ceremony at the church.

They had their reception at the University Club. Which is very pretty. And of course, the outside is perfect for photos of just the bride and groom.

Sarah had a little bit of a fish theme going on and I found this pretty fish paperweight and couldn’t help but incorporate it into her ring photos.

I’m not sure why, but I have a fascination with getting a good shot of the wine glasses for toasting. They just look so pretty to me.

Congrats to Sarah & Travis! May you have a long and happy marriage, you both are soo sweet!

DJ: Bouquet Sound

Cake: Kakes by Katie

Ceremony: Avondale United Methodist

Reception: University Club

I loved Staci from the start. She is friendly and sarcastic, and for me, that’s fabulous. Staci, like many people, really cherishes her family photos and tries to get professional family photos done at least once a year. So when she got pregnant, I knew what my gift to her would be.

And now I introduce to you, “Bella Bug” (nickname of course):

(Tutu, headpiece and ribbon were made by Karensa.)

This next photo makes me smile. Not only does she have a smirk, but she’s pointing at it. And she reminds me ALOT like her brother for some reason here.

And do you see all that hair!?!

Of course baby lips are always the sweetest.

But while I’m saying sweet things about Staci, I must also confess something about her husband Stephen.

I feel like I have been lucky, I have known many great guys and a couple of really great daddies, you know the ones, that actually care about their kids and want to play with them and be there for them. What’s important to these guys is being part of a family, making it work, making sure their kids have food and showing them the ways of the world. I am eternally blessed to know several of these daddies, my own husband being one of them. I’ve known Stephen for about 3 years now and he’s another one of those great daddies.

(Stephen posing for a test shot while Staci gets Bella dressed.)

And here is big brother, how old do you think he is? : >

I have a couple of shots of Xander with his little sister, but this one makes me laugh:

And what a beautiful family they are…

Now back to Miss Bella…

Staci did Bella’s room in owl print. So I brought a hand crocheted owl hat I got off of Etsy.com, but I also hand made a nest prop and owl bowl for the shoot.

I think this was a doll’s couch. I borrowed it from Bev, who did not think it was big enough for a newborn.

I envisioned a baby on a couch, looking like she just came home from work and was exhausted. What do you think?

And to show you what this image looked like before and after (for the fun of it):

I often get asked about where a family should do their photoshoot at. I often recommend their home, just like in this session. Not only is it extremely convenient (especially with newborns) but you can add personal touches. People usually don’t think their homes are big enough or pretty enough for a shoot, but we can usually make it work. A couple of feet of blank wall can do wonders (just move furniture and photos).

For example, the family dog was a last minute decision, just to have some fun. We shot the purple wall in Staci’s master bedroom and the mini couch was in a hallway. In the before and after photo you can see the door knob from the bathroom door and the baby gate on the left. These things make the photo personal.

The family photos we did outside in their backyard. Actually, in the doggy potty area, as it was shaded.

Congrats Staci & Stephen on your beautiful little girl!