Welcome to 2018. A few days ago I had the privilege of taking some family photos for some friends who were in town. The wife/mom/aunt is from here and I know them from Durham. Its fun when people come visit! 🙂
It was cold and I had the boys with but we made it work and had a fun time. We ended the time with some play on the playground.
The Savannah Rapids is such a perfect place for photography. Great lighting, different places and backgrounds, water, sun, wood, barn, perfect for family shots.
Friendships are super important to me. I love keeping in touch with people and I’m very glad for social media for that reason.
This friend in particular, we’ve spent most of our friendship apart from each other. We got to know each other while she was across the globe serving as a missionary. We shared stories of Jesus and the Gospel and health and weight loss. We’ve been together in NC some, sharing stories of engagement, marriage, loss, struggles.
Bonnie asked me to take her and Chuy’s engagement photos and it was so much fun.
They’ve gotten married, we’ve moved away, they’ve had two beautiful little girls, and now are preparing to move cross country to serve our country in the Air Force.
B – girl, our friendship has survived and thrived over the years. Thanks for visiting me and bringing the girls. And bringing the owls, and the Pete the Cat books, and your love for conversations! Here’s to a trip to NM!
These dear people have been friends of mine for almost 20 years and across the entire country. I’m so excited this family is back in the South for a little bit. I got to meet their youngest daughter, laugh, off-road it, and explore their family’s land for this family session. Enjoy. And stop sometimes and take photos of the pretty things you come across on your journey. And keep friendships! They are important!
This family is a favorite. I love this lady’s barstool, where the past three years I’ve spent many an afternoon, sitting there, talking, creating, sharing parenting secrets. Our boys plays so well with their kiddos, like hours on end. I’ve had to kick a door in at their rental because the door was locked with kids locked inside. We had a few taco nights under our belt.
Because chips and salsa and fajitas cement a friendship!
This past Saturday was chili but we had great sunshine as we ventured to the Savannah Rapids Pavilion. It was fun to show off our new town.
I’ve been a little busy in the last few months, moving, etc, that I’ve not been able to blog about this little maternity session yet. And yes, the little sweet boy is over a month old now – but I still wanted to share these photos with you. I’m so thankful for the friendship of this mama, and all of her creative help and encouragement over the last few years.
Thanks to the beautiful Mommy model, Celina D, and Kandi Daniel Studios for coming along too! We shot at Turnipseed Farm south of metro ATL. Such a fun day.
Atlanta metro is such a fabulous area for meeting other creatives and supporting each other in our craft. And there are plenty of playgrounds around so even though we do have young ones, we can still hang out and our kids can play.
Allow me to introduce you to another photography creative, Kelsey.
Who are you and What do you love?
I’m Kelsey of Kelsey Butcher Photography. I am constantly inspired by and love Jesus, florals and tulle, period drames, books, visually pleasing things and Asian cuisine.
Tell my readers a little of your photography story, please.
During my Senior year of high school, we were required to compete a senior project. I wanted to do something artistic, but something I’d enver done before. As any high school senior, I also wanted something that wouldn’t be too much work since I knew there was a research paper, along with several other tedious tasks that the project required of me.
I chose photography because I’ve always been a a hands on/visual type of learner, so I figured what better thing to choose than photography, which is the embodiment of that and because I had always found imagery compelling to me personally. I got an A on that project (woohoo!) and I just unexpectedly found a hidden passion for photography through the whole process. And since then, I’ve not looked back. I started my photography journey in September of 2010.
Because I’m a visual person, I have always enjoyed most art forms, painting/drawing, dancing, music, etc. I play violin and I also draw (mostly for fun), so I have always been artistic in more ways than one. I would say, when I was just starting my photography journey, I was inspired by my sweet friend and fellow photographer Kayla Johnson. Her testimony is incredible and moving and I’ve always felt that her photos reflected that in a beautiful way. She inspired me to keep on growing and how to show people the love of Christ with this creative outlet.
I love how photography can represent emotions, how images can evoke and endless variety of feelings from person to person. And it can freeze that moment in time visually so it can be relived, whether its captured with an iphone or a DSLR. These moments like a couple’s wedding, birth of a baby, and anniversaries can all be remembered through photographs.
We can relive the past, even as those moments come and go in a single breath. I love that so many people could see the same setting or image and all have different perspectives and feelings about it. Just a perfect picture of how unique our Creator made us.
What do you love about the metro area?
Visually, everything is so stimulating, from the nature of North Georgia to the metropolis of actual Atlanta. I love the geometry and clean aesthetic of the city buildings, with all of the reflective surfaces and green space combined. It’s a great place to feel inspired when it comes to shooting bloggers’ street style and just going to feel inspired from places like Crate and Barrel, and other stores that have that light and clean feel I like that inspires my photography.
I love further north and all the suburbs for more greenery like woods and downtown areas that inspire my more whimsical inspiration. In every direction, being the visual person I am, there is just endless potential that constantly inspires me. I’ve traveled to several places within the US and outside of the country, but where I really want to go is the Pacific Northwest like Oregon/Washington, as well as California, because the aesthetic there, just from what I’ve seen online is just a completely different vibe than here on the East Coast.
Outside of the US, I would love to go to Europe because of the history that translates into every part of each country there. Plus, who doesn’t love want to try authentic European food? I see photographers like Ben Sasso and Jordan Voth, as well as some others I keep up with, who live over there, and their work inspires me to someday shoot on the West Coast.
If we were hanging out over coffee, etc – what would you get? Where would you go?
I’m so not a coffee snob, and I don’t even care about such things as pour overs. Neither do I care for alcohol because honestly, my body doesn’t tolerate it well, so I pretty much never venture into all of that anyways. I like my Starbucks, so we could always go there where I would proceed to either get a White Chocolate Mocha (espresso) if it’s cold outside, or I would get a Very Berry Hibiscus Refresher if it’s hot. I also love their “Pink Drink”, the Strawberry Acai drink with coconut milk. If I’m feeling like I still want coffee, but it’s hot outside, I sometimes get a Frappuccino of some sort. If we went to a more independent coffeehouse/place, I’d choose either Copper Coin Coffee or Chrome Yellow Trading Co for either a White Chocolate Mocha or an iced version, depending on weather. Like I said, I’m not a coffee snob or social drinker, so it helps to not make me that picky, really.
Summer has been great, but what are you looking forward to about Fall?
I’m super excited about the weather and leaves changing colors which so evidently display God’s Creation, all of Fall attire I’m going to get to wear, and all of the exciting sessions and projects that are coming up! I physically feel my business growing, and I love that. Never stagnant, and never boring! I honestly hate summer, but I would have to say the ONLY good thing about it was watching my daughter play outside and going to the pool with her and my husband.
How do you balance a life of a photographer, a mom, and a wife?
It is a true joy to capture your BFF and her family on camera. I wish I could do their family justice. But, they welcomed me and my two littles into their new home in West Tennessee. We talked, we laughed, we played, we ate cake. It was good. As it always is with this family. They were a blessing to me when I was single, letting me hang out with their little growing family. They were a blessing to me when I started dating my now husband (who was their worship pastor at the time). They are a blessing to my whole family now even though we live in different states. There is such a good thing called text, and gas (to travel), and email, and social media.
They have an ideallic backyard: beautiful trees, covered patio, grassy areas for soccer practice, fenced in safety net, now a trampoline, and a FIRE PIT! You can bet I’m making a return visit soon!
This girl has taught me much about parenting – and even how to just call bad days what they are and hope the next day is better. How to preach the gospel to myself and how to have good style. And read different books. And eat asiago cheese bagels – oh, wait, that’s her not me.
I love doing life with these friends. Even if we are 5.5 hours apart. This is what friendship is.
I’ve said before that living in ATL provides me great benefit because people often come here to travel, see the sites, or since it is a big city, they may have multiple friends here – and I get to be privileged to see them when we they come visit.
I met this sweet girl right after she married her handsome husband. I was facilitating a small group Bible study at our church and she was in it. I remember praying for her as a teacher and a newlywed. A few months later I would meet my now husband and those girls were giddy for me to grow in that relationships.
More than 5 years later and a few kids between us – and I love this girl, yall. I love her beauty and her realness, and her hope in Christ, and her taste in clothes, and her little home in Raleigh – oh, gracious – so much style and class. And that she has a husband who knows photography and helps me learn on shoot – and that she fits me in to a busy schedule on the road.
Every one needs a friend like this in their life. Averi girl – I’m glad you are in mine!
One of the most important parts about being married is receiving constant encouragement in your marriage. Whether its reading books, listening to sermons, asking questions of your spouse, dating your spouse, or being with couples who have been in marriage longer than you – or even coming alongside couples who haven’t been married as long – marriage encouragement is a MUST!
This past weekend I got to shoot at a beautiful location in Buckhead (in Atlanta), and be encouraged in my marriage. Similar to a regular wedding ceremony, there was a music, vows, family, a “sermon” – but no unity candle for which I was glad! 🙂
The joys for me: knowing this was where the groom proposed and this vow renewal was his idea (15 years of marriage – good man), how they incorporated their girls into the ceremony, how the bride and groom gave the charge to other couples there, and how laid back the bride was. That usually doesn’t happen at a wedding.
The most important thought for me was “Marriage is a long vision” Meaning – think long term for your marriage, don’t get so disgruntled with the here and now. This too shall pass. Marriage is for a lifetime.
Photographer: kcreatives photography
Location: the duck pond – buckhead, atlanta, georgia
Bride’s Makeup: Woo Skincare
When a woman is pregnant, I think one of the things she needs reminded of often is patience. Carrying a baby can’t be hurried up. 24 hours a day is 24 hours a day no matter which way you look at it. And babies take time to cook 🙂 God created a woman’s body to bring forth life. That is just one of the many important roles a woman can play – giving life. And whether it is by birth, by adoption or fostering, or by pouring life into other people – life giving is so a God-given task.
Patience and life-giving was the name of the day when I got the chance to meet Baby Alistair (named for one of my favorite preachers, Alistair Begg), and hang out with his sweet family at their home. Baby A had a head full of dark hair and he loved being held by his brother and sister, and of course his mommy and daddy.
There is something about capturing the way parents look at their newborn that is mesmerizing – and this shoot was no different. Any mom can tell you that the first few weeks with a newborn are pretty tough (sleepless, hormones), but the joy and baby snuggles completely trump those sleepless nights.
My prayer for baby A is that God would mold him to be a protector like his daddy, a nurturer like his momma, and a best friend to his siblings. And that he would love the Lord with all of his heart and preach the gospel like his namesake.
If you would like any newborn shots of your sweet little, please contact me @ kcreativesphotography @gmail dot com and I would love to talk with you.
