Helen Claire

I received a sweet card in my mailbox the other day containing this:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I had a photoshoot with three-year-old Helen Claire (also known as Princess Rapunzel) a few days ago. She wrote me this special song before we even met, so I knew we’d be instant friends. We ran around cherry blossom trees, read books, made a fire out of pine straw, had chats on a bench and miraculously got some adorable pictures out of it! I loved this session.

Spring is so full of life, and I’m thankful that Helen Claire celebrated spring’s arrival with me. Please enjoy these, and I would love to hear what you think!

Headshots: Sharon Mays

Sharon and I wandered up by the cherry blossoms to get some headshots yesterday. Sharon is so special to me–she’s so kind and caring, godly, passionate, my choir buddy and a living database of all things choral. AND she happens to be gorgeous. Enjoy these!

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Identity

I’ve honestly always thought that sermon series, girl books and conferences about “finding your identity in Jesus” were stupid, boring and repetitive.

“Don’t these women get it yet?,” I always thought.

Oh, how wrong of me to think those thoughts, to dismiss the important lessons that needed to sink into my heart.

If you’ve read any of my previous posts, you know that I’m a PK. And I’m in the minority that has always loved it. I’m grateful for loving, gospel-centered parents who always taught me that my beauty is because of the Lord, and that my identity is found in Christ.

I’m confident in my identity, which is why conferences and such sometimes annoy me (which they shouldn’t; I’m working on it!). But that doesn’t mean that it’s not hard sometimes. It’s like the gospel–I need to preach it to myself every day. It’s not a “one and done” thing. I struggle. I hurt. I feel inadequate. Yet, when the Lord is my identity, I don’t have to let those feelings linger for long. As Christians, we are able to claim, speak and meditate on scripture that combats Satan’s lies of insecurity.

You see, Satan attacks in many forms. He targets strengths, he targets weaknesses. If we don’t have God-confidence, then attacks on our identity will shake us. We must have a firm foundation in order to stand strong.

But what is that foundation? Funnily and ironically enough, it’s nothing that we can manufacture. Our identity in Christ is this: “I am crucified with Christ and I live no longer; it’s Christ who lives within me.” Galatians 2:20.

I’m thankful that the Lord carries me. He fills me up. He is my everything. May I live like that is true.

“Hallelujah, all I have is Christ! Hallelujah, Jesus is my life!”

Biltmore

Mum and I have spent the past day and a half at the beautiful Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina. We have been enraptured with the weather changes–from sunny and blue skies to a snowstorm in a matter of hours! It has been a beautiful sight to witness from our warm hotel room while watching “Sense and Sensibility”… good choice, I hear you saying.

Enjoy these–hopefully as much as we have done!

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Come Together

Last night was New Hope’s fourth “Come Together” concert, and boy, was it awesome!

Canton Jones, Wess Morgan, Darwin Hobbs, Vickie Yohe and the incredible Yolanda Adams led us in worship to unite under the cause of eliminating child exploitation, supporting Wellspring Living. 

It was a beautiful night to celebrate the Lord with a diverse body of believers–exactly what heaven will be like. Enjoy these pictures!

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Wedding: Phil & Jennifer

As I have a wedding shoot tomorrow, I figured now was the time to present this October wedding to you guys!

The wonderful Elizabeth Bacon–fellow photographer and sweet friend–asked if I would second shoot for one of her weddings this past October. I hesitantly yet excitedly said yes–confident in my abilities but nervous to go down a different avenue of photography.

The day was splendid. Liz was a great encourager, organizer and, of course, photographer. I asked questions, she gently directed. What up, dream team!

Jennifer and Phil are so in love. As some of the most easy-going people I’ve ever met, they made Liz and I feel like part of the family. Their reception essentially felt like Thanksgiving–close friends and family gathered around a fireplace, singing songs, eating dessert and peering out the window as a collection of kids played in the moonlight.

It was a beautiful thing to watch Jennifer and Phil smile at each other with giddiness as they began a new life together. Jennifer has two children and Phil has three. It was fantastic to watch them get along so well and be so encouraging of their parents’ union. The kids made for some pretty hilarious pictures…obviously nobody wants to see their parents kissing, so why not take a picture of their horrified reaction?

The wedding was so enjoyable, and I loved working alongside my talented friend who is second shooting for me this weekend, and I for her in some fall 2014 weddings!

 

Headshots: Rebecca Rafla

Meet my stunning roommate, Miss Rebecca Rafla.

This woman is full of so many talents: jazz singing, being smart, smiling, singing, loving Jesus, did I mention singing? Oh yeah, and I forgot to mention that she’s great at being beautiful. Because she is. It’s effortless.

Moving on… Rebecca is going to the University of Kentucky this coming fall for dental school! She’s a Bachelor of Science of Music, which means she’s studying pre-dentistry and vocal performance at the same time. We took these headshots on Saturday morning and had such a fun time! If you’re interested, please contact me for headshots via the “contact” tab.

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Headshots: Melissa Carson

Are all my friends stunning, or what?!

This afternoon I had the pleasure of taking Melissa’s headshots. We’ve been in choir together for three years, and she’ll be graduating in May! Her senior voice recital is coming up soon, so we wanted to go ahead and take this pictures!

Unfortunately, it was in the low 40s today, which doesn’t exactly say ‘comfort,’ but Melissa handled the photo shoot like a pro. Enjoy these shots!

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Headshots: Abi Benke

Meet my best friend, Abs. We headed to Morris Avenue in downtown Birmingham at nine o’clock this past Saturday morning and spent time strolling along the street, experimenting with my flash and her facial expressions–two birds with one stone!

You’ll quickly recognize–like, after the first picture–that she is a woman of effortless and natural beauty. Her laugh can literally be heard from many feet away (everyone knows the “Abi laugh”), she wears bright orange socks like a boss and has no trouble whipping out a blue steel face, or making me laugh for that matter. Abi is a treasure, and it was an honour to take her headshots!

My favourites are the darker shots. They were taken in an alleyway with my lone flash bouncing off the brick wall to my left. What outstanding colour!

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Light in the Piazza

For my internship, and also for sheer fun, I took pictures of Samford’s production of Light in the Piazza this evening. It opens this Thursday! Unfortunately, I only stayed for the first half, but it is officially my favourite Samford production. Great story line, gripping and humorous. Oh yeah, and my friends have lead roles! Grab yourself a ticket for this weekend!

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