As spring approaches, so does outdoor portrait weather! For now though, here is a little sweetie to warm your heart... Introducing, baby Ayden!! ♥♥♥

floral beauty

I love flowers. I love to look at them, I love to smell them, and I LOVE to photograph them. There is something so moving about floral photography. That small beauty that can light up a face, cheer someone up, or brighten up a house.

I've recently started playing around with textures, and some of my favorite flowers shots seemed the perfect place to start!

Here are a few of my favorites, and I've considered adding them to my shop. Let me know what you think! The first, I have entered into the www.rocktheshotforum.com contest for March!

snuggles and yawns

Infant portraiture...

A new experience for me! I was able to tag along with another photog friend and gain some experience working with newborns. Talk about fun + work + adorable overloads!

The is the beautiful baby Aeryn. He was such a cute little bundle of joy to work with! His coos and yawns made us giggle (quietly) throughout the session.

 I had difficulty figuring out which pose was my favorite. Sleeping with daddy's tie, or his Air Force uniform...In the end, the ADORABLE fox outfit his beautiful momma made him was just the cutest! <3>

 

leaves and snow

This day was in the making for about a month! The beautiful Bowers family wanted to do a family photo session to welcome husband + daddy home from deployment! The Misawa weather was not in agreement, though, and rained us out every time we tried to do the session! We finally had a fairly clear day, and headed to Tateno Park.

It ended up being the perfect day for a session! There were still beautiful fall colors...

 ...but also winter snow! This family was made up of some troopers! They had a blast in the snow, and we got some great photos!

beach baby!

Kadie + Jerrett + Abigail + baby bean!

I had a blast photographing Kadie's maternity session! It was a beautiful day to spend at the beach, and this family is all about the fun!

Abigail, who was about to turn three, is excited to welcome her baby brother to the family! She had fun comparing her belly with Mom's to see whose was bigger!

kihi wedding

Last weekend, I shot my first Japanese wedding. I feel incredibly lucky to have had this experience. Though it was incredibly stressful, it was a beautiful event that I will remember forever. The bride and groom, Aiko and Steven, were amazing. They were married at Kihi Shrine, which is about ten minutes from our house. This shrine has been featured in television shows aimed at showing what life is like around Misawa.

The ceremony was small and intimate, with 20 or so family members and close friends. There were many ceremonial events that happened at the ceremony, including the drinking of sake and the reading of scrolls. I wish I knew more Japanese so I could have understood what was being said!

After the ceremony, we took photos. The sakura started to bloom the day of the wedding and we were able to spot a few buds on the trees at the shrine.

After pictures, we headed to Kizan Misawa, which is basically a building with meeting rooms and ballrooms for events such as these. The ceremony was bigger, with nearly 60 guests in attendance. The party went late into the night and the bride and groom (and photographer) were exhausted once it was over!

While I enjoyed every part of this wedding, the part that amazed me the most was the amount of intricate detail that went into the bridal outfits. During the ceremony, Steve and Aiko wore traditional kimonos. Aiko's was made up of about 10 unique layers and it took several people to get it on her! She also wore a traditional Japanese head piece that weighed about 15 pounds. She looked absolutely stunning after the artists completed their work.

After the ceremony, Aiko returned to the Kizan dressing room, where her assistants helped her to change out her headdress. The bright, colorful hair ornaments were swapped out for sparkling silver ones. The effect was stunning.

Halfway through the reception, both bride and groom returned once more to the dressing rooms to change into their last outfit of the evening. Steve wore his Navy uniform while Aiko wore a beautiful red, ruffled wedding reception dress. I was amazed at how quickly the artists took of the 10 kimono layers and headdress, completely redid her hair and makeup, and got her dressed in the gown. She was in and out of there in 20 minutes flat, which was an amazing feat in itself.

As I've gone through photos of the event, I have had trouble pinning down my favorites. There are so many beautiful photos of this beautiful event, and I am so glad I was able to take part in this very special day!

spring fling!

In the fall, I did a mini session with Megan and the family to surprise her husband, Curtis. It was so great to get to see this family again for the full spring session! It's amazing how, in such a short time, children grow up so quickly! We had a great time soaking in the spring rays and marveling at the bright, vibrant flowers all over Southern Pines. Here are a few shots from our spring session.