Aw, this family was so sweet, you guys. It was a beautiful fall day and mom did an excellent job keeping everyone’s outfits in cream and blue tones! So pretty!

As can happen with kiddos, this little girl just wasn’t having it for a while, but I never ever find that a problem. I’m all about letting kiddos be in whatever mood they want to be in. Often, just allowing them to be a little cranky or clingy for a bit is enough to pull them right out of it. Plus, clingy (aka snuggly) photos can be some of the absolute sweetest!

This particular family photoshoot was at Harlinsdale Farm in Franklin, which is a great choice! And probably why it’s so popular! Lots of space for littles to run and roam freely without worry.

Father

I’m a complete sucker for all things moody, so when this mama was like, “I’m thinking I want to do a rainy day,” I pretty much gave her no other option than to stick to her word! ha!

It actually turned out to be a perfect moody day for a family lifestyle photoshoot in that it rained JUST ENOUGH. No one got soaked, but there was enough drizzle to wet the umbrella and turn hair into a moody dream.

Kristina and I have been friends for a few years now. She is one of the most kind-hearted people I have ever met in my life. She is HONESTLY just as beautiful inside as she is outside. And her art is equally as beautiful.

I had wanted an art piece from her for a while, so I was like, “HI. Do you want to trade?!” I got a gorgeous and giant painting that hangs in our entry way and she got all these gorgeous photos of her beautiful self, family and art!

She’s the third painter I’ve worked with, and it’s just so fun. I get so inspired by other artists and it becomes to use the look and feeling an artist’s paintings to help me in creating a concept and look for their brand photos. Kristina’s home matches her artist vibes so well (clean and cool) that it was easy to shoot in her home and have it mesh with her work photos.

When I work with a brand client with kids, we always have a conversation about how the kids fit into the brand. Some clients don’t want their kids in at all and it’s not necessary to do to connect with their ideal client. Some only want a little and for other clients the family almost IS the brand.

For Kristina, family is hugely important for her and her kids are her life. She loves encouraging them creatively, so it made sense to include them in part of our brand photoshoot. She got out some watercolors for the kids and they enjoyed painting while we captured some creative time with kids!

As with any brand shoot, we make sure to capture a mix of headshots, behind-the-scenes, “working” shots, details, some more thoughtful shots that let the individual talk about deeper thoughts and feelings, family time and fun!

If you want to check out more about Kristina and her beautiful art, she’s over on IG and she keeps her stories updated when she has sales! You can also contact her about commission work. She’s amazing!

When I arrived at Meg’s home, my immediate question was, “Why is this not ANYWHERE in your Instagram feed?!” See, Meg is a painter, whose style is distinctly like her mother’s, and she is also a non-practicing architect. And, with her architect’s eye and skill, she designed her current home. And it’s stunning.

I was immediately thrilled about her upcoming brand photography shoot just two days later.

As I walked through her home, hearing how she simply hated the entire process of posting on social media, I knew that showing the beauty of the spaces around her house would only serve to lend legitimacy to her artistic eye as a painter.

Not only do people love seeing behind-the-scenes, they also want to see evidence that you’re good at what you do. That you not only talk the talk, but that you walk that gorgeous walk as well, and Meg certainly does. As we walked around and chatted during her pre-session consultation for her brand shoot, I began talking about showing her house along with her art. I talked about how she could share her artistic process, how she learned painting from her mother, how she designed her home, her favorite spots in her house, what motivates her as a painter, etc.

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Often, we’re not excited about social media because we don’t know our ideal client and we don’t have a plan.

See, like most women, Meg wants to be able to leverage Instagram to sell her paintings, but she’s been inundated with the idea that she has to share all kinds of private things in order to be successful. MANY women tell me this. They say, “I’m a private person, but I know I need to be on Instagram for my business.”

Like I talked about in a recent weekly live in my Facebook group Create Your Badass Brand, you do not need to spill personal and private details about your life in order to be successful, I PROMISE! For someone like Meg, simply sticking to the categories of things I just mentioned would give her plenty to talk about, AND feel like her audience was getting to know her!

We can talk about things we love, things that motivate us, things that can get us stuck, dreams we have, even a favorite eye cream - all without divulging intimate details about our marriages or our finances or any other private matter that is no one else’s business and still make it so that we have created a connection to our audience.

Once we got through that and the ideas for images and content started rolling, Meg began to realize how much easier it was going to be posting on Instagram once she had the photos to help her say what she wanted to say! By the end of our consult, she was telling me she was EXCITED!

Two days later we had a beautiful shoot, which resulted in not only a unique brand photography session that showed off her super artsy in-home studio and her at work, but also the beauty of the home around that she created. I can’t wait to see what she does on social!

If you’d like to see more of Meg’s work and what she’s up to, check her out on Instagram!

Good gosh was Diana a treat to work with! She’s a clarity coach for millennials (how cool is THAT?) and helps them make decisions! You guys, I’m technically a “Xennial” (those few 6 years right between Gen X and Millennials where we didn’t have the internet growing up, but we applied for jobs online), and I’m pretty sure I could use her help, because I can TOTALLY get stuck in second guessing myself! Anyone else?

Diana was already working with a web designer and re-brand coach, Tiffany Tolliver of The Emma Rose Agency, when she found me. Working with the two of them was AMAZING. The funny part is that I met Tiffany at Amber Housley’s intimate event, Inspired Retreat, last May and she didn’t know Diana had chosen me to be her brand photographer, so when we each found out were were like HEY, GIRL, HEY!

Tiffany had done tons of work already on Diana’s new brand, including all her brand colors, her brand words and they even picked out this amazing Air BNB called Niido’s Treehouse in a super trendy apartment complex in Nashville! How cool is this place?! GAH!!! The photos of it had me drooling before I even got close to the building!

Don’t worry if you don’t have someone helping you with all that yet! When we work with my On Fire packages, I help you figure a lot of that out! Also, if you need to get clear on your ideal client, I have a blog post to help you do that and have fun at the same time! And THEN, once you’ve got that, I’ve got a freebie guide + workbook where you can figure out what kind of imagery you need to use to ATTRACT that amazing client on Instagram!

I was also excited to work with Diana because this was my first brand photoshoot for an African American woman of color, and goodness, you guys, is this an under-represented area when it comes to not only female entrepreneurship, but entrepreneurship in general! I was like, “Yes! I will give you amazing photos to support you in doing amazing things!” (Which is also how I treat all my amazing ladies.) Just the other day there was a woman in of my biz groups on Facebook saying how hard it was to find inspiration on Pinterest for women of color brand photography, and IT IS!! So, we’re definitely getting Diana’s shoot on some boards!

So, as I was ogling all the photos of Niido’s Treehouse and the common areas we would be able to shoot in, I was dreaming of beautifully lit photos on the green couch, sun streaming in, soft diffused light…and then…it rained. Like, so much rain and darkness and thick clouds. And Diana’s schedule was squished and we only had a certain window and, because of the weather, the whole place got DARK. FAST.

We definitely got some amazing shots of her in the apartment in front of that to-die-for muted green bookshelf with that golden frame that worked so gorgeously with her skin, so that was a major plus! As for the rain outside and the darkening sky, it wasn’t what I’d pictured and it wasn’t ideal, but you know what? WE MADE IT WORK. I’d even go so far as to say WE ROCKED IT.

I had brought one of my lights with me, so I just moved it around until I found a spot I liked and we kept shooting!

So, one of the things I like to do, even with my Getting Started packages, is to make sure my clients have a few shots that will help them tell stories - either of the creation of their brand or something more personal (though, they are often one-in-the-same) - so when Diana started talking about the high expectations placed on her at an early age, I knew we needed something for that.

Toward the end of the shoot, back in the room, I had the idea of her “casually” knocking a bunch of books off the table as a way to represent breaking through that perfection syndrome for her. She loved it, so we shot it.

In designing her shoot, Tiffany & Diana had decide on a shoot that was:

• Regal

• Classy

• Velvety Smooth

• Like a masculine-scented candle

We needed people to see her photos and feel:

• Safe

• Like Diana could be a friend and a guide

• Inspired

• Confident in Diana

Personally, I LOVE her shoot, (even with the dark clouds!) and I love even more how Tiffany so brilliantly and beautifully incorporated the photos into her brand!

CHECK OUT DIANA’S WEBSITE TO SEE HOW SHE USES HER PHOTOS
CHECK OUT DIANA’S INSTAGRAM TO SEE HOW SHE USES HER BRAND PHOTOS TO TELL HER STORY

Lindsay Stafford, the owner of Prickly Dame, mama to two adorable kiddos & wife to the original guitarist of the band Train, makes some dang cool jewelry. She started woodworking in 2015 and now makes jewelry out of reclaimed wood.

She recently launched her business online and wanted some photos for a “creator card” that she’d be putting with each purchase as well as having some new personal branding photos for her website.

In our current online consumer world, potential customers and clients want to see your face. They want to feel like they have a general idea of who you are, and having a variety of photos on your website - especially where you are looking directly into the camera (basically, virtually making eye contact with your customer) - can help achieve that. If you’re not a recognizable giant brand like Target or you don’t have that personal connection point, people are simply not as likely to purchase from you as they are from someone willing to share a bit about themselves.

Now Lindsay, like most women and business owners I’ve worked with, came to me going, “I HATE getting my photo taken.” She’s obviously very photogenic, so it’s not about whether or not “the camera loves you.” For anyone who is camera shy, it’s about feeling awkward, feeling like you don’t know what to do and like you don’t know how to relax and be natural so that the camera can capture the real you. So, how do we overcome this?

It’s all about your photographer, truly. You’ve got to make sure that whoever you choose to do your branding photography is someone that you feel comfortable with. It helps if you can laugh with them and even feel like the two of you are friends. A photographer doesn’t just hold up a camera and snap photos. A photographer’s job is to help you shake off your camera anxiety and have some fun. For this shoot, Lindsay even asked if my neighbor - a friend of hers - could stop by to help her loosen up! OF COURSE I said that’s fine! I’m always game for anything that can make my clients feel less self-conscious!

We blasted some music that she loves, had her friend there, laughed a lot and maybe poured a small glass of champagne (not me, ladies, I need to keep my wit’s about me when shooting)! And we did the whole shoot in about 30 minutes.

The result? Photos that she LOVED and that are getting tons of Instagram love and that are now all over her website. Why? Because they accurately represent who she is and also show off her awesome jewelry!

When I realized that my sweet pregnant friend, Kristina, had a look-alike (not twin) sister and that they were both pregnant only a few weeks apart, I just about BEGGED them to let me photograph them! At first I was thinking a drone shot of the two of them lounging on pool mats in a fancy pool would be AH-MAZING, but they were feeling too “pregnant-y” for that (you mamas know what I’m talking about) so we scrapped the swimsuit idea.

We ended up going to Kristina’s house and her sister brought over some dresses and we did a very casual maternity photoshoot with the two of them that probably lasted maybe 30 minutes.

My vision was to have them on the front porch together, shoes off, just enjoying each other’s company. The image I had in my head was to give the photos a current-day take on the photos we see now when we look back at our grandparent’s images - not a lot of background blur because that wasn’t really a thing yet, black & white and simply showing daily life.

We did some maternity photos like that, but then her sister also had these matching lace kimono things and I was like OH. WE NEED THESE. I pictured them with backlight pouring through, accentuating the feminine designs of the lace & the obviously feminine lines of two baby bellies.

BUT FIRST - haha! - I got there before her sister arrived, so we just hung out in her bedroom looking for good light and chatting, so I had to snap some images in there. The painting above her bed is her own! Her artwork is amazing and you can see more of her work HERE.

If you’re looking for maternity photos, let’s chat!

Warm weather is HERE and it’s time to pull out the sprinklers and pop-up pools! Summer is so ripe for photos with it’s long days of sunlight, colorful palettes and large, popsicle-stained smiles!

We want to be able to capture that summer magic in photos. It’s so fleeting and the years move on too quickly, so having memories of our summers is so important. While I love gathering all the kiddos in one big group and asking them all to give me a crazy grin, I’m REALLY a fan of candidly capturing these hot-day & warm-night moments.

Now, I am always available for a summer lifestyle session - which I fully believe more people should do!! No one ever thinks to have a summer day or night professionally captured and it’s just THE BEST!!! But, since I can’t be there for you allllll the days…

…I want YOU to be able to be the best memory keeper that you can be for your family, I thought I’d share some of my top tips when it comes to taking candid photos of your kids!

And what would photo tips be without photos?! haha! DUH.

I’m often not far from my camera, and when we blew up this darling little MiniDip pool from Target for the first time, I KNEW I had to grab it and capture the first dip of “summer!” (Summer in quotes because it’s technically still spring.) And it has shows just about all the tips I talk about!

That brings me to my tips:

1. Capture the FIRSTS. First dip in the pool this summer. First steps into the ocean. First lick of an ice cream cone. First one to cannonball into the pool without even feeling the water beforehand!

   In these images, it was our FIRST time in this adorable pool!

2. Capture the LASTS. The last one out of the pool. The last one left cleaning up. The last one to fall asleep. The last neighborhood gathering before school begins again.

3. Never ask anyone to look at you. That’s the whole point of CANDID! You don’t want to bring anyone out of the moment - it’ll stop the moment and ruin all the candid fun. Try to be a fly on the wall so that you can truly capture your kiddos all caught up having a good time (or maybe pouting in a corner - haha!)

4. Move around. Stand up. Lie down. I talk a lot about changing your point of view when shooting the same scene. Most people simple stand there at the normal height they normally and shoot normally. Normal is no fun! haha! Get high and get low and move all around!

5. Take photos of DETAILS. You don’t always have to see everyone’s face to tell your story! Don’t you love baby butt cheek hanging out of a swimsuit?! It’s the best! Take a photo of it! Wet hair, grass-covered feet, little fingers and little toes, even details of the objects that you’ll probably forget about years from now.

6. Make it so no one can see you. If it’s possible to get completely hidden, but still get some photos, this is the BEST for capturing candids! On this day, once my girls started inviting some neighbor kids over to play, I went inside and shot through our kitchen window. They had no idea! haha!

BONUS TIP: Use a black & white filter on some, especially ones that you took in bright sunlight. They look amazing and it will add a “moment in time” feel to your photo!

So, take a look at my little backyard shoot and see if you can see my tips at play!

Ah, my favorite Miss Gia! I have been shooting her birthday photos for three years now, and her mom and dad always want something unique, which I LOVE! We met originally because our kiddos used to attend the same school in Franklin, TN, but now I love being able to call her mom, Corbi, a good friend AND a stellar realtor. ;)

This year Corbi wanted to incorporate some of Gia’s love of all things kick-ass, namely, her jiu jitsu skillz. Oh, yeah, with a “z.” She is one of the only girls in her class and she totally thrives on beating up guys! haha! If she were my kid, I’d be like YOU WALK IN FRONT - haha!

The photoshoot is really about her as her mom always uses it to create an annual album for her grandma, but Gia still insists her parents promise that they’ll hop in a few with her & make it a little family shoot. Isn’t that adorable?! My kids are so over photos that they just want it all to stop!

We knew we wanted to do a little face paint to make her look even more fierce, but I was a little nervous! Normally, my hair & makeup gal, Brittany, is all over that, so I had to bring out my face paint skills (no “z”) for this one! Thankfully, it wasn’t too difficult. ;) And, it only made sense that we head to the Nashville Zoo at Grassmere to utilize their amazing property and jungle-like jungle gym! Such a fun shoot! I have to imagine Gia will show these at her wedding, RIGHT?!

Love this sweet family! Their daughter and my oldest used to go to preschool together, and each kid learned everyone’s first AND last name, so our daughter would come home talk about each kiddo using both names, so I will forever think of lovely Miss V here as both her first and last name together! haha!

Now, they wanted a family session, but they really wanted a lot of focus on their daughter. They’d done a shoot with me a few years back and hadn’t done anything since then. I have to say, I adore shooting this age. She, like my oldest, is 8 and they have this very interesting developing sense of self where they are not game to simply smile and giggle at you anymore! They want to be serious and they want their serious side seen. And I LOVE Miss V’s serious side! Could she be any more gorgeous!

Since the focus was mainly on V and since the family wanted some more traditional “looking at the camera” shots, this went a little differently than my usual lifestyle sessions. It was a little more posed, but nothing too stiff. And V was kind of in model mode for a while, so I just embraced it!

It’s always sweet to me to photograph mom and daughter and then dad and daughter. Each relationship can be so different, but still so special. I love making sure that moms and dads have those. And having just one child makes it easy!

How is your relationship different with your kids than your spouse’s? Let me know!

So often as parents we say, "Stay here, I'll be back in a second," right? Maybe we need to run upstairs to grab something and don't want our toddler clunking up eight steps in the time it would have taken us to run up and down past her about 14, waving hello as we flew by.  For me, this time is walking the dog - either in the freezing cold, the boiling heat or simply when my kids whine I DON'T WANT TO GO.  So, there they are, left looking at me out the window.  Taking a photo of your kid with you on one side of the window and them on the other is a great way to show just how much we really are in two different worlds.  Maybe they're on the other side having tons of fun without you, or maybe, like this one, they wish they could grow up fast and be an adult just like you.  If you try a photo like this, put it on Instagram and tag #lhp-throughthewindow - let me see what you've got!

This past April was my first annual Celebrate Mothers Mini Session Event.  It was three days of just mamas and their babies (of any age!).  Along the way, I learned a few things I'd do a teeny bit differently next year, but what I got out of it the most was HOW MUCH LOVE there is between mothers and their babes.  Oh, my.  Each session left my heart warmed!  And so did the COLLAGES!

My first session was with Lisa and her girls, Kate and Anna.  Anna is now THREE and I also got to shoot her six month photos (see them HERE). If you look, you'll see some things never change - she broke down during that shoot and she broke down during this one!  One of the things that endears me most to Lisa is how she loves the photos of the kids losing it!  It's just such a natural part of motherhood/childhood - I love mommies that embrace it!  (See Anna down there in the corner?  Still so pretty through all the tears!)  We got her to smile eventually, though.  The shoot was in my backyard, so we had her hop on the YELLOW swing (much more desirable than the green one, you know), and that improved her mood immediately. 

By far my favorite "perk" of this session was the mother-child collages.  Each mother wrote a little letter to their children describing what they wanted to remember about each child at this age, and each child drew or wrote (or both) a love note to their mom and then they got a complimentary 8x10 of their collage.  Isn't it adorable! 

For the first few people who signed up, I had a gift.  I let them purchase a $1 gift session to give to a mom in their lives who meant something special.  Lisa chose one of her daughter's teachers, Michelle.  Then she showed up with HER mom, so we had three generations!  So sweet!  Little Chandler (isn't that a great name?) was the sweetest - and look at those eyes!!  

Here's Michelle and Chandler's collage:

I'll be sharing the rest of the sessions soon!