Charlotte, NC wedding photographer, senior portraits photographer » Charlotte NC photography- weddings, senior portraits, headshots, family photography in NC

I receive numerous emails every month from clients asking for advice about what to wear to their engagement sessions. I always recommend showing a little personality and completely disregarding the old rule of wearing only solid colors. Bold patterns are great in moderation! Choose a combination of clothing in coordinating colors and patterns. Black photographs well and is always a good color choice; add colorful jewelry or shoes for a pop of color. Bring hats, scarves, and other accessories to add a little variety. In the examples below, notice that each couple chose outfits that incorporated 3 colors: purple/white/denim…black/white/tan…pink/white/denim, etc. If you’re still unsure about what to wear, bring several options to your engagement shoot. Your photographer should be able to help you narrow it down to the best choices for each location.

Katlyn and I go waaaaay back! I first met her 5 years ago when I photographed her senior portraits. We got together again to celebrate her graduation from Appalachian State with a degree in teaching. As beautiful as ever, here are a few of her grad pics:

This has been a busy summer for senior portraits!! I’m going to try to get a few sessions on the blog within the next week starting with Chloe! We had a fabulous time shooting her senior portraits at Daniel Stowe Botanical Gardens in Belmont. She and her family moved here from Pennsylvania. She will be finishing her senior year at Concord’s Cannon School, where they actually assign homework throughout the summer months! We roasted during her 90 degree session, but still managed to get a ton of great shots. A few favorites:




For this one, I added a border, texture, and a peach fill at 40% opacity. Last summer, I was considering purchasing a vintage-inspired Bludomain website that would only shine with textured, vintage-y (is that a word?!) images. I would have had to convert all of my images. I came SO close to buying that website, but I changed my mind when I met Keith and Amie with KA Videography Studio at the Charlotte bridal show. (Check them out if you are looking for a videographer!) They had the same website, so I kept searching for something unique. I finally found it and couldn’t be happier….but now I have all of these vintage looks that I need to put to use more often! This one wasn’t a family favorite at the viewing session, but I like it….just for something a little different =)

I have had a ton of blog traffic this month! I have a gazillion weddings, engagements, and bridals to blog but I’m swamped with wedding season right now so the blog is being neglected. I’m trying to update the blog every Friday during the summer so keep checking back! For now, here are a few favorites from Ashley’s senior portrait session in April- isn’t she stunning!?

I have worked with Matt and Ashley a few times over the past year. They have the most adorable family! We schedule the portrait sessions in their home so it’s convenient for them and it allows the kids to be themselves. I haven’t met a kid yet who was thrilled about spending time in the studio! It doesn’t matter how many toys I drag out during a studio session, they are just more relaxed and happy in their own environment. I couldn’t believe it when Ashley told me that she was expecting another little one…how freakin’ precious is Renli?! We worked through a few baby announcement designs. This one ended up being the favorite. I was so excited when I opened my mailbox to find one of my own. =)



These were printed on linen paper. It has a textured look and feel:

Emma has grown so much since I first photographed her. Then, she weighed only 3 lbs- now, she is a handful! She looked just like daddy when she was born, but now she is beginning to look more like mom. Two-year-olds are not easy to photograph. It is hard work to keep them entertained and to get them to sit still for a minute! Here are a few favorites from Emma’s session…doesn’t she have the prettiest blue eyes!?

More senior portrait fun with Brooklyn last month…have I said how much I love working with seniors?! =)

A few more from Alyse’s senior portrait session. We got so much variety, I had trouble narrowing them down! Where I grew up, everyone hired an independent photographer for their senior portraits. The schools even allowed modern senior portraits in the yearbook verses the traditional shots taken by the school photographer. We had to pose for the boring school headshots, but nobody purchased them. Who wants pictures that look like everybody else’s?!

I wish senior portraits would catch on here the way they have in the Midwest because I adore photographing these sessions! I always get the shots that mom loves, along with more adventurous shots that show some personality. I’m running a senior portrait promotion through the summer. Email me for all the details on how you can save on your session!

When my daughter saw this one, she was sure that I had photographed Miley Cyrus/Hannah Montana!

I had the opportunity to work with several amazing families this month! I would love to be able to blog more from these sessions but I have been so busy with photo shoots and weddings recently that I just haven’t had a chance to spend a lot of time blogging. I will be adding separate entries for all when I get a chance, but for now here are a few favorites from recent sessions…I have more newborn sessions scheduled in coming weeks so stay tuned for more adorable baby pictures!

Some of you may recognize Jess from my senior portraits gallery. Almost 4 years have passed since then! I was a little shocked when she got in touch to schedule a bikini shoot in the middle of January- Brrr! She had no choice but to get her portfolio together in the winter. Luckily, we ended up with a high of 56 on the day we chose to shoot. She is such a natural in front of the camera; it was a joy to work with her again!

I’m normally very cautious of shooting on wide open apertures because the depth of field is so shallow. I like both eyes to be sharp and in-focus at all times. To me, the eyes are the most important part of the picture! If the eyes are fuzzy or the background is severely overexposed, I am not a happy camper! I often shoot dark receptions below F2, but I only shoot about 10% of my portrait sessions wide open. This one was taken at F2.2…that is about as low as I will go for portraits. I’m really happy with the way it turned out!