Natasha + Alex e-session sneak peek

Hey All,

Cristina here. I wanted to post a few photos from an  e-session with Natasha and Alex. I'm very excited about their wedding coming up this summer. They'll be getting married at Pebble Hill Plantation. I, personally, love plantation weddings.  Anyway, here's a sneak peek.

Carolyn + Lilah Kate, sisterly love

Hey Everyone! Molly here! A couple of weeks ago, Carolyn and Lilah Kate's mama took advantage of the Easter portrait special that we had. I have known Carolyn's parents for a lllllloooonnng time. We all went to different schools, so I didn't get to meet Carolyn until just last year, when we all moved to the same town. Carolyn has this bright inquisitive personality that I LOVE. This time, I got to meet little miss Lilah Kate, as well. She is only 2 months old, but she is so big! She has baby rolls galore, and is super long. It *almost* makes me want to think about having one. But no.
Anyway, Carolyn is a great big sister, and sometimes loves Lilah Kate a little too much. Oh, and their mama MADE their outfits, right down to the tutus!






Lilah Kate really wasn't into this whole model thing, just yet.














This one is possibly my favorite. Either this one or the next one..can't decide.
They are just too gorgeous.


Or maybe the left one?

Ramblings.

Hey Everyone! Molly here!
So, my husband and I randomly decided to go to Savannah when I got home on Sunday. So on Monday, we booked a room and drove the three hours. We both really needed to get away. I wanted to keep from getting burned out on shooting with wedding season really starting to go full speed. I actually didn't take my camera with me. I know, please don't be mad at me. Who goes to a beautiful city without a camera?! But when I came home on Sunday I was SO tired that I didn't unload and double backup the cards, so when we left early on Monday, I stuck them in the fireproof box...because I'm paranoid like that. Sometimes I feel like I'm so busy trying to take a beautiful photo that I feel like I'm letting the other beautiful things go unnoticed. That, and I wanted to spend all my time with my husband, not my "other love". So we went just for the day/night/today. We had fun, ate steak, went on a ghost tour, walked A LOT, drove a lot, and unsuccessfully shopped at an outlet mall. All in all, a successful trip!
Meanwhile, Cristina is taking some time off too, to go visit a few of our friends from college. I think she is in Atlanta, now. I'm sure she's having a blast!

In other news:
People keep asking me about Peyton's eyes. I have gotten "have you enhanced his eye color?" " did you add a star/ sparkle to his eyes?" things like that. No, I didn't enhance his eye color, or his lashes. He's just naturally beautiful. I sometimes DO sharpen people's eyes in adobe photoshop (cs2) in post. Here's how I do it. First, I color correct/ do other edits. Then I make a duplicate copy of that layer by dragging it to the new layer icon. On the top layer, I select the area around the eyes , and sometimes lips (not teeth!), and feather by about 15 pixels (on a 15 mb photo). Then I go to filters, sharpen, unsharpen mask. I play with that until I have decided to go a little overboard. Then I let it process, and reduce the opacity on the top layer until I can see barely noticeable changes to the eyes. I think that's what brings out some sparkle. However, people should keep in mind that babies and kids (usually 5 and under) have wonderfully reflective eyes, anyway. I don't know what it is, but it's kind of ironic that it dwindles as we get older, huh?
But that's it. That's the sparkle technique, i guess. It sounds like a lot of steps, but it's SUPER easy.

Before I go, I'll leave you with a picture from our trip taken by my husband on his cell phone.
It is a gravestone from the cemetery in historic Savannah. Apparently when Sherman's soldiers camped in the cemetery during the civil war, they got bored, silly, and probably drunk, and decided to deface gravestones. TJ and I found this one particularly humorous. Read it carefully, and if you can't figure it out, keep reading...


Ok, if you didn't figure out why we thought it was funny, here's why: Josiah Muir died at the age of 11, his wife (Mary) at 17, and their son (Lewis Phaenex) at 12. Now then, how did that happen? HAHAH. ohh, maybe it's a "you had to be there" kind of thing.

Peyton, Lala, & Lizzie

Hey Everyone! Molly here!
Peyton and his puppy posse also took advantage of the Easter portrait special we did last weekend.
His mama brought his two new puppies, Lala, and Lizzie, out for the session. They were so tiny, and all they wanted to do was sleep. Peyton was pretty sleepy too, but ohhh my gosh how cuddly is this little guy? I ended up getting hugs AND kisses.
Peyton's mom actually convinced me to take the plunge into photography, as a business, about four years ago. I remember doing his sister's Easter portraits when I was just starting out, and how much their portriats look alike! wow! Luckily, they both got their mama's eyes and eyelashes. I'm totally jealous of a two year old boy's eyelashes. .. sad, I know.

In these first few photos, you will notice that Peyt is not as fond of the puppies as they are of him. It may be more fun to play "I spy the puppy".










Once again, baby boys have the best facial expressions.


"Maybe I want to touch the dog?"




Yay puppy contact! And then....Kerplunk. Peyton dropped her.
Poor Lizzie..or Lala (whichever one this is)




Can I borrow your lashes, please, Peyton?






I looove his facial expression in the last one. Maybe my fav.

Jones

Hey everyone! Molly here!
Thanks to everyone who is leaving comments on the blog below!

Jones and his fam took advantage of the Easter portrait special that we did last weekend.
Normally, I would say it is a (welcomed) challenge to photograph kids who are little Jones' age.
At 18 months, they are normally running everywhere they go, and won't sit still for a minute.
Jones was easy. I have to say he is the most well behaved baby EVER!
Wanda, the lab, joined us on the shoot. Best behaved dog EVER!
His sweet mom and dad entertained Jones and I with excellent renditions of "The Itsy Bitsy Spider". Worked like a charm.
Anyway, thanks Jones, Wanda, Mom, & Dad, for letting me hang with y'all at the plantation for a little while.




I love all of his facial expressions!












Wanda Kisses! Fav.




Here he was asking, "get up?"
I mean, what kid asks if he can get up instead of just running off?