My business motto, and really my life motto as well is: It's all about love. Because when you think about it... it is. Love is the most important thing in life. The love of your family, the love of your life, the love of yourself (yes sometimes a little self love is good for you). Love is what makes the world go round and it's what I have dedicated my business to capturing. The love on your wedding day, the love of your engagement, the love of your newborn and your family as a whole. So to celebrate this wonderful day in February called Valentine's Day I'm offering a special. If you are in love, married or not, if you have a beautiful family, if it's just you (remember I said a little self love is OK too) book a lifestyle session between now and Feb 14th and save $50 off your session fee. Treat yourself, treat your family, your loved ones or a friend and celebrate the love in your life by capturing it for all of time! Sessions must be booked before Valentines day and take place between now and May 1, 2013.
XOXO,
Spring
This vs. That
Cats vs. Dogs:
I grew up with cats and now I have a dog. I was one of those kids who begged their parents for a dog year in and year out through most of my childhood. Don't get me wrong I loved my cats but I still wanted a dog. My parents excuse was always "our family is just too busy to worry about taking care of a dog" or more directly from my mom "I don't want my house to smell like a dog". So we've always had cats. We have had quite the slew of cats in my life. We started with Siamese, then on to two sister Abyssinian's and then a string of good old domestic short hair mixes and most recently two long hair fuzz balls. There are a lot of things I like about cats. They have their own personalities, not to say that dogs don't, but cats just seem to be more overt with theirs. They don't' apologize for who they are and I think they even enjoy being a bit sassy. My favorite thing about cats by far is their purr. I think there is just something incredibly soothing about that sound, the soft vibration and the blissful look they have when you scratch their chin. It seems like you have to earn their love and when you do it's a pretty great feeling.
The day that Silas and I got Coby defiantly changed my life. I hadn't had a pet that relied on me every day, day in, day out. Cats you can leave for a day or two no worries, clean litter box, food and water and you are good to go. Dogs you can't leave for more then a few hours without coordinating someone to take them out so to say that I was a little overwhelmed and freaking out a little those first few days with a dog would be an understatement. Now I dont mind it and honestly don't think twice about the change in my life. I'm lucky enough to have a set of family and friends close enough by to cover for us if we leave town for a day or a week. And as much as my mom would hate to admit it she love Coby (her grand-puppy). I think it's mostly because he is lap size and also being a poodle mix has hair instead of fir which keeps him smelling less dog like then most K9's. Coby is my puppy-child. Silas and I don't have kids so Coby is for all intents and purposes our kid for now. I spoil him with treats and toys and sometimes carry him around and talk in a baby voice to him (i know it's a little strange- but i'd be willing to bet a few of your doggie moms out there do the same thing even if you are not willing to admit it out loud).
So for my first this vs. that: cat or dog? which do you have? which do you prefer? and why? Personally I'd vote for both (yes that's aloud) but currently we just have Coby as Silas is defiantly team dog.
XOXO Spring
pinterest.com - I Just Love It.
I've was never really one for inspiration boards. I always loved the idea but when it came down to actually taking the time to cut things out of magazines and paste them all together I just never made it happen. I've made a few over the years by pulling images from websites and playing in photoshop to pull all the photos together but I'd always forget where I found one an image and would spend so much time looking back at my internet history that it just wasn't worth it. This is when my inspiration boards became a word document of website links. As a super visually oriented person this was just not cutting it and I pretty much gave up on the world of inspiration boards.
I was frustrated that it wasn't easier because honestly they can be a great way to keep track of ideas. Be it designs for a house remodel, ideas for re-branding your business or just a group of beautiful images that inspire you. When I first heard about Pinteret.com I honestly had no idea what it was. When someone described it as a "visual inspiration board creator" I got excited and once I realized you could pin things from websites and the pin would link back to that website I was REALLY excited! This was the combination of visual and practical that I was looking for. Now if only I'd come up with this idea on my own- but anyway I'm just thrilled to have access to it and to be able to use it to keep track of all my inspiration and ideas.
I know that Pinterest isn't a new thing, it's been a round for a while now. But I'm still enjoying it and am finding new ways to use it all the time. I know that one of the most popular things to do with Pinterest is recipes sharing. Now I can defiantly get on board with this. Who doesn't need some new ideas for dinner? Be it picky kids, a picky husband, specific dietary needs or just a need for something other then pasta and burgers. I often search for new recipes on sites like foodnetwork.com or epicurious.com but after I've made them it's hard to remember where I found the recipe when I want to make it again- with Pinterest I can always find that pin on my "yumm" board and get right back to that recipe anytime.
One of my new favorite past times is looking at houses. Ok who am I kidding this is not a new thing for me but using Pinterest is a new way I've found to keep track of all the awesome ideas out there for your home. Things as practical as cleaning tips and ideas for organization to ideas for built in book cases and the kitchen I've always dreamed of! I could, and often do, spend hours looking at houses online and now I've added a way to keep track of all the best parts of all the houses that I see and refer to them someday when I can build the house of my dreams.
I think the way I've personally used Pinterest the most was for my own wedding planning. Weddings are full of so many details and keeping track of ideas you find on blogs and other wedding websites can be totally overwhelming, as if wedding planning isn't overwhelming enough on it's own. When I started planing my wedding all the fun details I wanted to include were easily stored on my "Wedding" board and I could pull them up on my phone or lap top to show my friends, bridesmaids, parents and vendors anytime. I can't tell you how many times I sat at my florists going over ideas with her flipping through pinterest.
There are a million ways to use Pinterest and if you are not already a pinner then you defiantly should be. And either way we should be following each other so that we can see all the awesome stuff that we both post. So if you are a member please leave your link below and I'll be sure to follow you and if you have any interest in some dream home goodies, wedding ideas, photography posing ideas and of course some yummy food ideas please follow me as well!
XOXO Spring
Humane Society Photographer
I'm a total sucker for animals. Always have been. Who doesn't love the smushy face of a sweet puppy dog!? When someone from the Conway Area Humane Society contacted me a few years back to see if my business would be willing to donate something to their silent auction I was happy to help. When I was contacted this year to not only donate but to come by the shelter once or twice a month for an hour or so to take photos of the new dogs and cats for Petfinder I was really happy! I could sit on the floor and play with puppies all day!!! And even though some of the cats prefer to keep to them selves I get plenty of purrs from the friendly ones to make it worth my while.
I've been over to the shelter a few times now over the last few months and every time I find at least five animals that I want to bring home. I know that Coby and Silas would not be thrilled with that idea so I have yet to come home with anything but a little extra fur on my clothes and some great shots of some of the sweetest dogs and cats out there. There are small dogs, big dogs, puppies and even a few FAT cats (my personal favorite). I thought these guys are just so stinking cute I had to share a few of my favorite from the past few weeks. Some of these guys are still up for adoption so if you are looking for a little animal love in your life... CLICK HERE!
XOXO Spring
Why Weddings?
When I went to school for photography I was often asked "well what are you really going to do, you know to pay the bills?" I always hated that question. To me it assumed that I wasn't capable of making a living as a photographer. Often that first question was followed up with "Are you going to shoot weddings?" to which my answer was always a resounding NO!
In my mind weddings were boring. They were stuff photos of uptight people with no creativity aloud. I never thought twice about shooting weddings until I had graduated college, moved to GA, then moved to TX and was desperately looking for a job. I didn't want to work in yet another restaurant, or another retail job. I wanted to do something I actually liked and was bound and determined to do so. To the internet I went and I started searching for photographers in the area. I found a local studio that was a mom and daughter and half sister of the step daughter team that worked locally shooting portraits and weddings. Although this wasn't exactly my dream I thought, well they use a camera so thats a step in the right direction.
Of course they were not exactly hiring but when I met with the owner Debbie she told me going into their busy wedding season they might need an extra hand and with my design background they could use some help with some of the magazine layouts that they were in charge of. When that first wedding came around I was honestly petrified. I didn't know what I was doing, I didn't know how to do whatever it was I was supposed to do and I was scared that I would single handily ruin someones wedding day. Thank goodness I didn't. I did however cry during their ceremony and smiled all day long and consequently fell in love with weddings.
When I left TX and came back to New England I wasn't sure I had what it would take to run my own business. To shoot weddings, portraits etc. All I knew was that somewhere along the way I fell in love with taking photos of people and that whatever I had to do to make it happen I was going to do. With the incredible support team that I have with family and friends I set out to create a studio that while taking photos of people's wedding days, their babies, their families and their love that I could still focus on the art. My passion is people and art. I think I've created a business that really highlights the love people have for one another, be it friends, family or pets I try to focus on the love and create some beautiful art that captures that love.
What better way to create beautiful art then to spend a day with people dressed to the 9's, totally in love, surrounded by friends, family, pretty flowers and details? Seriously?! Why not weddings?
To be lucky enough to use the love and passion I have for photography to capture moments and details from a wedding day and provide my couples with images they can be proud to share with generations to come is truly awesome!
Plus I become friends with some of the best people in the whole wide world!!! How could I not love weddings?
XOXO Spring
