Beach Bums! {Outer Banks Beach Photographer}

***as of 4/18: 24th-25th is booked. Now we have the 26-30th and one spot at sunrise on Oct 1st. Will keep you updated in this post****

Raise your hand if you love the beach.
Super geeked out over this one folks! I mentioned this before it was set in stone and already have 2 spots taken, 2 more pending. So here's the official announcement.....you ready? I am! Click on the ad for larger view


Adios and Vaya Caminos! The countdown to Nags Head starts now! Spread the word!

Stacey + Jason {Lake Gaston Photographer}

I swear you could feel the sparks half a mile away with these two. What can I add to that? Wait, I can add to it....a super cute little boy with balloons. I am one blessed photographer!

Meghan + Bobby {Creedmoor Engagement Photographer}

I seriously adore Meghan. She's beautiful, witty, and makes you feel like you've know her for years from the first hello. Her fiance' I actually have known for many years; we both grew up in this small town. Bobby spends his days putting out fires and Meghan will graduate from nursing school soon. It was a privilege to have them in front of the lens.





Bobby said this ain't no arts and crafts fair. But his love for Megan trumped that manly instinct and he picked up the chalk anyway. You'll see the finished product on their save the date cards.


Wonder what these two are up to? Hmmmm....

Bobby, thanks for letting me pick on you. Meghan didn't need any coaching, she's a natural in front of the camera. So pretty!

Big huge thank you to the guys at the fire department for bringing out the truck. Extra thumbs up for holding the reflector. You've got a rock star photographer in the making there boys! My dear friend Kiley, thanks for saving my rear and finding sidewalk chalk at the last minute. Wish you could have stayed longer.

Can't wait to see these two walk down the aisle. Bobby's finally getting married!

Boys! {NC Beach Photographer}

We went on a family vacation to Myrtle Beach back in June. As luck would have it, an old friend and her best friend were there around the same time. So we got together with the kids for a little session on the beach. It was a challenge, so thank goodness I had beautiful subjects! Sand was flying everywhere and it was close to 100 degrees even in the afternoon. But look how cute these little guys are....

Baby A! 9 months {North Carolina Child Photographer}

This little dude is special to me. I've been photographing him since he was a newborn. Check him out at 9 months old- from Oct 2010.

Why are my pictures blurry?

Camera shake, slow shutter speeds, and a moving subject are all sources of blurry photos. What can you do about it? If you own a DSLR, stop letting the camera decide what settings to use- get that thing out of auto and learn to shoot manual. Show him who's boss. We'll talk manual mode another day.

-Camera shake is exactly what it sounds like. Shaky hands? If you can't get your shutter speed high enough to compensate then break out the tripod.

-Low shutter speeds will cause blur. Most of the time you'll see this with dim lighting and no flash. Your camera is leaving the shutter open longer in attempt to gather more light, so it's very sensitive to any movement. Always shoot with a shutter speed higher than the length of your lens. Or, move to an area with better lighting and get out the tripod again.

-Your kids won't be still because grandma fed them junk food and brought them home that way as payback for all the gray hairs you gave her growing up. Back to the subject. Tripods won't help in that situation. Nothing you can do here unless you are shooting with a fast shutter speed. It's gonna take at least 1/250th to freeze motion- I prefer 1/500th. This applies to your kid's soccer game equally well. Again, you have to be the boss of the camera. Spending all that money on a DSLR and leaving it on auto isn't going to give you what you were looking for when you wrote the check. The "your camera takes good pictures" article comes to mind. Please read it.


Sometimes blur is intentional and fun. I took this at night in December of 2009 with my older camera. And I like it.

Baby L and Baby J! {North Carolina Newborn Photographer}

First up we have baby L. I believe he was about 5 weeks old in these- February 2010. I'm a bit behind on blogging photos. You think? I'm so excited to be seeing him again for his 1 year photo shoot the end of this month!




This is baby J from April of last year. He has an older brother that's just as cute as he is. That's for another post :)