so much has happened this year for me and my business. i was featured in alabama bridal, i was interviewed for a website feature that was released in December of 2015 and i took a few leaps and made decisions i did not think i would be making this early on in my business.

i have decided a few things that i want to make a part of my business. i have also seen what i don’t want to do with my business.

this past year was a learning experience and a chance for me to grow into my style.

i’ve dealt with negativity, clients that want free work, and people who just down right appreciate what i do and how much time and effort i put into my passion!

over the year i discovered my style of shooting and my style of post processing. i met some people along the way that have helped shaped me and my business and i could not be more thankful for them!

let’s review the past, so we can move on to the future!!!!

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anyone who has ever shot with me knows that i have a passion for seniors. i absolutely love taking senior portraits because they really want to be in front of the camera. they’re willing to do whatever it takes to get the shot and i cannot even begin to tell you how happy that makes me! they really inspire me and have driven my business this year. 2015 was the first year i have taken on senior representatives.

i was able to photograph more newborns this year. i just cannot help but be happy after leaving a newborn session. there’s something magical about a fluffy head of newborn hair and some flakey skin! makes my heart skip a beat or two!

i photographed my first wedding for a 65+ couple and all without flash…due to some church regulations. i found out about 5 minutes before the bride walked down the aisle. things worked out perfectly though! 

i also got to dabble in “pre-teen” photography. which is now one of my FAVORITE things. there’s just something about the competitive spirit of a bunch of preteen girls in front of a camera 🙂 i remember being that age, and i was not that fierce!

this girl right here, adria…might possibly be one of my favorite people of all time. this girl will model for me anytime…no complaints! she’s also offered to babysit/nanny for me when things pick back up 😉 i’m glad for any chance i get to shoot with her. who knows…maybe one day she’ll be my makeup artist/second shooter!!!

i got to have a session with one of our best friends. i’ve known this girl for years and i am so glad that i get to watch her little girl grow up! her and my son play so well together…we’ll have to watch those two 😉when one of my senior reps asked me if i did group sessions for best friends…i could not say no. then i met them. they blew me away! why didn’t i look like that in high school!?!?!

it was a fun way to get to know all of her friends and see them interact with each other. this is a special group of young women.

whenever people contacted me about sessions this year, they always said they came to me because they wanted something ‘different’….

i had NO clue what that meant! but apparently i was doing something right. no less than 12 people said they wanted ‘different’ images than what everyone else was getting from other photographers. another reason i love photography…there is something for everyone!

i have watched this little girl literally grow up before my eyes. she was my first newborn session and goodness gracious…her parents were so sweet and patient with me! i was just starting in photography and they really encouraged me in my first year of business. i love them.

this little guy came for a smash the cake session and after driving almost an hour to get there, mom realized dad forgot to put the cake in the car! thank goodness i had some leftover cupcakes from my son’s first birthday party! he got some cake, don’t worry 😉

i feel like i’ve just talked and talked and talked about this engagement session…but it really was one of my favorite sessions. we spent two hours together and i was not ready for them to leave when the sun was going down. they’re so sweet and i just love watching how joseph makes kaleigh laugh! 

i also got to photograph my very first vow renewal. i can’t wait till my husband and i have been married a little longer, so we can renew ours! it was so sweet getting to watch the kids, watch their parents get married! they were so excited!!!

this family session was so fun! little andy was a hoot in his wrangler jeans. we had beautiful weather and a gorgeous sunset. i also got to photograph an engagement session for our friend’s mother.

is he not the cutest little guy?!the engagement session was quick and simple, but nothing short of beautiful! i’m so glad i got to do this for miss vicki!

this family called me last minute, needing pictures for christmas gifts! the catch was…they had 20-30 minutes, after church…yes…noon. the absolute worst time of day to take pictures due to harsh lighting….but we worked through it and got some great shots for them!

this was an engagement session that we had in 20º weather. if i remember correctly, it snowed a few days after. it was so cold…we were downtown and all of the buildings gave us shade…which made it 20º colder!

i got to photograph this couple for some christmas pictures. this was also on their 1 year anniversary. they had such a fun wedding!
this maternity session was so fun! it was a little cold out, but she really wanted pictures by the water because their nursery is a mermaid theme! i cannot wait to meet their baby girl!

one of my oldest friends {we literally have pictures of us as babes…} and her family needed some christmas pictures as well. i haven’t gotten to see her in a while and it was so nice to finally catch up and to meet her husband. and yes, you guessed it…that’s adria 🙂 my on call model!

okay…so here is a total review of tucker’s year with me! haha

here are the maternity pictures, the hospital pictures, newborn session, 3 months, 6 months, and 9 month pictures! our 1 year/cake smash session is this coming weekend!

these little guys were so well behaved on their family shoot. i told their mom, i’ve never seen two brothers act so proper! they were so sweet too!

here’s my sister in law! see her belly…that’s jackson. he was still cooking 🙂 i love this woman!

mostly because she gave me this little peanut! i just love my little ballerina. here’s peanut’s little brother…jackson 🙂 guess what…he cooked completely! 🙂 to perfection.

this was one of my weddings {i literally only shot two…} from last year. this was a military wedding and i loved getting to be a part of it! i also shot the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner, so it was a long weekend!

this little lady…has stolen my heart this year. her mother emailed me saying she needed pictures of her little girl before she became a big sister. i asked what she had in mind and she specifically said, “madelyn has such a fun personality and loves to dance…in her own way, and i want to capture that!”. so we did. i think the series of images below shows just how fun she is. she definitely dances to the beat of HER own drum.

and last but not least…my FAVORITE session from this year…. my very own, first styled shoot. complete with professional hair and makeup. this is something that i have decided i will offer to my clients upon booking. they can either style their own session, or hire my creative team. trust me…it’s worth the extra money!