A Comparison- Cell Phone vs. Professional Cameras with Prime Lenses

This is a simple comparison.  Enjoy. 

I have always wanted to see a comparison but always forget to shoot with my phone during a shoot.  But not this time!!! Phone images are taken by Julia's loving father, David Mays. Julia is my Senior from last night. We shot at the Folk School. LOVE that place. I shot this session with two Nikon D750 DSLR cameras with a 24mm 1.8 lens and a 50mm 1.8 lens. Edits are in Lightroom with LXC 04 C preset with tweeks to fix white balance.  All images are shot with camera and sunlight, no flash or reflectors, and the metering mode is set to shoot for the highlights (thank you Sean Carr, Twyla Jones and Brooke Allen for teaching me this.) We did have Julia's father close by to help with laughter and wrapping Julia in her scarf that she made. 

Want to talk more about photography? I'd love to!

Want me to be your photographer? I'd love to!

Want to just hang out? I'd love to!

And these are more of my favorites. Just because.

Reflections of a Completed Wedding Season and the Future

I had a conversation this week with someone asking me about shooting weddings and how stressful it must be. As I thought about what they were saying and reflected, I disagreed with them. Shooting weddings starts with our first contact, building a bond of trust and being a soundboard for my clients.  I have shot eleven weddings in thirteen Saturdays and each one was special.(Weddings love Autumn!) Some of these weddings booked a year ago in 2016 and I have been able to walk through life with my brides all along the way. I have gotten texts from brides at fittings that were so happy they needed to show me the dress and see what I thought.  I've been able to share life with a momma-bride that was missing thier baby back at home during her elopement, gluten/dairy free bridesmaids searching for yummies, a mother-in-law who shared her heart with her soon to be daughter (tears), toasts with families so supportive that I cried three times in ten minutes, a bride almost in tears because the dress was so tight that we didn't think we could zip it up (thank goodness for determination), a bride that was about an hour behind schedule coming from the salon that she thought her day was ruined (not on my watch!!!), drunk guests that needed help making it off the dance floor with the essentials covered, fabric tape, spanx, 24-hour lips gloss, tape-on bras, messy bridal bags that have somehow eaten the garter and rings, groomsmen on thier very best behavior, a groom who wept like a baby when he saw his bride for the very first time and allowed me to shoot every-single-moment of it.

The biggest thing about being a wedding photographer is being able to share these moments with my husband, who happens to be one of my favorite wedding photographers. He packs my bags, charges my batteries (in all the ways!!!) and supports me so much. He takes over when I need to get a family member who has disappeared for family portraits, he checks my settings to make sure we are synced, and he tells me when I have a killer shot.  He is always on the search for the light with me and I love that. He has totally revamped our lighting setup for our 2018 weddings. So BRING IT ON!!! 

Give me all the couples who want to be real, want to put it all on the table and love deeply. I promise to meet you were you are and walk beside you in this journey. I promise not to shoot posed pictures if you want a total candid wedding. I promise to wear camouflage to your wedding and blend in with the greenery. I promise to be your bouncer and your mirror. 

Give me all the couples who want to make their day theirs. Couples who are bold enough to wear pj's to cut their cake, moon me through the reception windows or give their daddy an extra long dance because they had to. Give me all the feels, the real stuff. I will capture it. My husband will be there too if you have a second shooter and book my Ultimate Collection. (www.chadericksonphoto.com plus www.emiliegates.com makes yummy magic together.)

(Pictured below: Chad's Savannah wedding that I second shot for him. We stayed in an Airbnb in downtown and walked hand in hand exploring the area and eating Pho. This couple was so special. One of my favorite pictures is the momma and the bench (she prayed for days sitting on that bench for her daughter and new son and the weather.... oh the weather. It was supposed to be storming that day. The last drop fell on our way to the chapel.)

Country Boy

I am not sure what is in the water in these mountains but we grow some fine boys.

This shoot was at Garrett's father's shop and Nottely Lake down in Georgia (right down the road from me.)

It was such a joy watching this sweet family support their high school senior's photo session. Garrett is attending the welding program at the college and loves his truck, of course. (First thing my husband said when I showed him my session from tonight was, "I wanted that truck when I was in high school. That exact truck. Is that his?")

A Beautiful Life

SeniorFest is something I made up. I am not sure if it is real. Most people think I am shooting a 80+ year old when I tell them I have 4 seniors to shoot this week. It is funny. They say, "Why would you shoot a senior?  Don't they deserve life?" I tell them, "Na, they want me to shoot them." 

Enjoy this beautiful senior.

A Senior Star

Chapter 1: Let me tell you straight up, Caleb here is not comfortable in front of the camera. Not at all. So I ease into the shot. I take aim. I shoot. I miss about the first 20 shots. I don't give up. I shoot again, talking to my prey all along. I hit. I show him the image. He lights up.

Chapter 2: He trusts me. He lets me see his real smile. He starts working hard for the camera and listening for my shutter. He is looking for ideas with the waterfall as his backdrop. He masters his Senior Portraits like the champ he is.

Chapter 3: His mom cries when she sees these. She loves me more. Everyone it happy...ever after.

The end.

 

Hailey the Horse Whisperer

First time working with a horse during a shoot. Hailey rocked it on the side of the highway. We loved it!!!

Here is her story with her horse. Enjoy. 

The horse in the pictures, Colby, is pretty special. Hailey's aunt had a boyfriend that was a young bronco rider from Hayesville and he and his friend died from carbon monoxide poisoning in an RV while away at a rodeo. His brother gave her aunt his horse. Hailey's granddad has kept him for years even though he doesn't like quarter horses (only Tennessee Walkers) because Colby is so special. Hailey fell in love with him and claimed him as her own. The rest is history.

New Life, New Love

You never know what is going to happen during a newborn shoot. Let me tell you. Spit up, blow outs, unending crying and refusal to be comforted, nursing, changing and changing again. Not yesterday. This little angel slept the entire time. Once, only once did she open her eyes for a second. The unexpected happened. What a dream.

More baby shoots. More new families. More love. More of this.

Katie is just Katie - Class of 2018

Let me just talk in Emilie speak here. Shooting senior sessions fills my love tank. This year I have a pile of senior sessions in the Fall. I am not sure why. I am not sure if it is because I finally learned how to use Instagram. Last year I had zero. Not one senior. This year, my schedule is almost full. It is strange to say that. I like to say that.

I have a fresh outlook finally. A more artistic outlook than before. I am not scared of light like I was in the past. I am more confident in my settings and lenses on my camera. I have an ease with the camera that has not been there before so I am freed up to find my light, find my art and know my subjects more intimately. I have waited a long time for that feeling; trying to keep patient and persistent. I am grateful to my husband and teacher of all things good about photography and camera talk, Chad Erickson (yum yum). I am grateful for a recent photography workshop that sponsored me on a partial scholarship called Photo Rehab. My knowledge grew and my outlook on my business widened. Thank you, Chadwick Braithwaite, for that (whoop whoop). I am also recently in love with a fellow photographer's work. Her name is Brooke. She and her husband have a sweet business up north (Michigan) and produce the most amazing senior photography that I have ever seen. Really, it is art. Pure and simple. Makes me want to be a senior again (all heart eyes Brooke!).

Pictures that follow are of a Lo-Cal(that is an exaggerated way to say local) girl whose heart is wide, smile is contagious and can hold her own in a bubble bath shoot. This Murphy High School Senior set the bar.

Let's make art people. The time is right. The children are getting older. The weight doesn't matter to anyone else. You are what is important. They think you are important. So do I.

I am still booking a handful of Seniors during the Fall season if it is NOT a Saturday! Weddings love the leaves. So shoot me a message.

Meet Me At The Lake

This is what happens when you get two body builders and take them to the lake instead of going to a park for an engagement shoot.

More of this!

Wedding coming up in October at McGuire Millrace Farms, here in Murphy, NC. Whoot, whoot.

Day 4,728 - Stephan and Jody

I've been dying to do a "Day One" shoot with a newly married couple. Wanting to do a more intimate shoot of their first actual day of the rest of their life together. The idea came from another photographer who brought coffee to the bride and groom at their hotel the morning after the big wedding day. Whit McGuire, you are genius. 

These two are on day 4,728 and totally blew me away. Now I am thinking that I would take any day, just to be able to capture the fun and sweetness of these moments. To me, its not embarrassing to be in a bra and panties or sweatpants and shirtless. It is real. It is sweet. They love each other. They swim together and play together. 

Give me more shoots like this!

 

James and Brandi- The Retreat at Hiwassee River- Hiawassee, GA

Meet James: the wedding coordinator, the organizer, the selector of vendors and yes, the groom. He is  a teddy bear who teared up at the memory of loved ones who could not make it to the wedding, almost passed out when he saw his bride in her dress for the first time and cried when he told me how emotional this day was for him.  It was so much fun working with this guy on the details of their big day. Brandi called him "the bride". The cool thing with James coordinating everything was that Brandi had all kinds of surprises on her wedding day. One surprise was that she had no idea there was a band! How cool is that? She was able to take the back seat and enjoy the day unlike most brides I work with that are the main "go-to" person for the day. Well done Bride.

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Tiago and Amy - "Amazing Grace" VRBO - Blue Ridge, GA

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This sweet couple tied the knot in Blue Ridge, GA with their closest friends at a cabin, The Amazing Grace Lodge. They rented it for the week. Partied, played, and then got married. 

Question and Answers (sort of...) Tell me about your something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue.           My dress is Melissa Sweet , purchased at David's Bridal "something new". These bridal gowns have a secret pocket sewn in along the side.  My husband is Catholic, and so I wore his baptism cross in the secret pocket; this was my "something borrowed". My shoes were a steal. INC from Macy's (I got them on sale for $15!)  - I knew I wanted to wear a pop of color with my shoes and I needed "something blue". So I went with these bright, blue suede pumps. I wore pearl earrings and a diamond tennis bracelet from my great, great Aunt from the 20's; this was my "something old". Everything else was my "something new" and I love the internet! Handmade feather clip, with pearl embellishment Etsy - KirahleyKreations . The boutonniere's: Fly Fishing Lure Bout's ; purchased from Etsy - TieFly . The flower girls' headbands and feather crowns were purchased from Etsy   -BrightStarrCoutureCo  and dresses purchased from Etsy - PoshPeanutKids . The wedding cake topper "Amy & Tiago" is from Etsy - lightpaper .    

Question and Answers (sort of...)

Tell me about your something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue.           My dress is Melissa Sweet, purchased at David's Bridal "something new". These bridal gowns have a secret pocket sewn in along the side.  My husband is Catholic, and so I wore his baptism cross in the secret pocket; this was my "something borrowed". My shoes were a steal. INC from Macy's (I got them on sale for $15!)  - I knew I wanted to wear a pop of color with my shoes and I needed "something blue". So I went with these bright, blue suede pumps. I wore pearl earrings and a diamond tennis bracelet from my great, great Aunt from the 20's; this was my "something old". Everything else was my "something new" and I love the internet! Handmade feather clip, with pearl embellishment Etsy - KirahleyKreations. The boutonniere's: Fly Fishing Lure Bout's ; purchased from Etsy - TieFly. The flower girls' headbands and feather crowns were purchased from Etsy -BrightStarrCoutureCo and dresses purchased from Etsy - PoshPeanutKids. The wedding cake topper "Amy & Tiago" is from Etsy - lightpaper.

 

 

What made you decide on a mountain wedding?

We live in Florida, and we go to the beach just about every weekend. We love being outdoors. We knew we wanted an outdoor wedding, but we wanted a change of scenery. What is better than the beach? The mountains!

What made you decide on a small guest wedding compared to a larger, church and/or venue reception? 

We both wanted to keep it simple and have a small guest list for a few reasons: 1) Tiago's family are all in Brazil, and it's very expensive for them to travel here. We are going to Brazil next year to celebrate our marriage with his family and friends. 2) My mother has dementia, and big crowds make things difficult for her. I wanted her and my father to be able to relax, and enjoy a special day with us. 3) We wanted to have a really nice day that we could share with our loved ones without going in debt over it. We weighed our options, and Blue Ridge won.

What was my best find for our wedding ceremony?

Our altar!  Two days before the wedding, we were in downtown Blue Ridge( at one of the many awesome shops they have there) and I asked my brother-in-law if he had any ideas about how we could make an altar?  The store clerk overheard our conversation, and said she knew where we could find one.  It turns out that her best friend had just gotten married not long ago, and had this rustic altar fashioned from tree limbs.  She showed me a few pictures, and then gave me her friend's phone number.  I tried to rent it from her, but she just wanted to sell it.  I ended up buying it from her for $100, and it was the perfect finishing touch for our ceremony!

If I could do something different, what would it be?

Honestly, I can't think of anything I would want to change.  I'm sure there were lots of stuff that could have been bigger & better, but that's not what we wanted.  I guess if anything, I would have planned the reception music better.  I don't think anyone noticed, but I totally forgot my playlist.. Pandora saved the day.

Vendor's: Hair/Makeup: Katherine Mahinis Officiant: Randy from "Weddings by Randy" Music: Jody Hughes Cake/Food: Ingles Supermarket in Blue Ridge Bridal party bouquets: N & N Florist in Blue Ridge Other flowers were bought from Ingles & Home Depot

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Jason and Lisa- Cherokee Mountain Cabins- Topton, NC

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Jason and Lisa decided to elope in the mountains at a place they fell in love with when traveling around seeking adventures together. Cherokee Mountain Cabins caters to elopements and small family weddings.

Lisa wrote me later after she joined her family and shared, "Our pictures you took captured every moment and you are a very talented photographer.  I wanted someone just like you to take the photos.  When I looked at your website, I knew you were the one.  I wanted someone to capture those moments that are not posed- the “real” life moments & you can see the feelings in every pictures.  We looked at the pictures & both said “I didn’t even know she was taking pictures at that moment”!  We have been so pleased with every detail of our wedding day!  Thank you Emilie & Cherokee Mountain Cabins for a PERFECT day we will always remember & cherish!"