Maternity Portraits- Alisha

When Alisha contacted me to take some photos of her and her growing belly I was so happy! This was my first maternity shoot and I was glad to take photos for a friend. The shoot was pleasant. Alisha had a wonderfully relaxed and happy demeanor and was practically glowing. Her husband joined her in many of the photos but was very helpful to us while I took her portraits. The winter didn't leave Bowling Green with much green scenery but luckily the couple lived close to a row of pine trees. I had to get creative with the framing. You can probably hardly notice that we were next to a school and other homes. I was very happy with the results and wanted to share some of my favorites with you (although there are many more). Thank you for asking me to document these special moments! Can't wait to meet the little guy! Hope you enjoy!

My First Boudoir Shoot!

I recently was asked by a friend (who's name will remain private :]) to do a boudoir shoot so that she could use the prints as a v-day gift. I was really excited to do this type of shoot because I think there's room in this area for photography for photos that are more moody, natural and romantic. I wanted to bring more of a lifestyle approach to the shoot but also get those classically boudoir shots. I was on a relatively low budget in terms of lighting equipment but the shots turned out great. I ended up editing about 50 more photos than I had planned! She was nice enough to give me permission to add a few to my blog. So, here's a handful of the photos from the shoot. They are all very classy and sweet. If anyone else is interested in boudoir photography, let me know! I'd love to do more shoots, especially some with a vintagey feel to them (I see awesome furniture and props!!).

Read more »

Walks in BG- dendritic trees, etc.

Sometimes when my boyfriend and I go on walks I like to bring my camera along to snap photos of visually interesting things. I've always loved the look of dead trees in the early evening or on a cloudy day. The contrast of the  branches against the sky is really beautiful to me. I realized after having recently read a chapter from my biopsychology book that they kind of look like neurons with dendrites reaching out from the cell. So, if you were wondering why I decided to take a bunch of pictures of dead trees, this is why. I'm a nerd (for science and visual aesthetics). Also on our walk we stopped by my friend Heather's house and I snapped some photos of her quirky cat Murphy. He has the biggest paws on a domestic cat I've ever seen and maybe the prettiest meow I've ever heard. He's a funny little guy. Then more pictures of plants/trees and the neighborhood outdoor cat we call "Lep" (for leopard, not leprosy). Anyway, just a random collection of photos. Enjoy! 

Just for fun- teacup candles!

My friend's birthday was coming up and I knew that for at least part of her gift I wanted to make something. She's a really crafty, diy, antique loving kind of gal so I thought a teacup candle would be a nice gift. Now that I know that it's so easy to make, I am now thinking of other ways to make candles out of odd items (e.g., wine glasses, fish bowls, etc.) Anyway, I wanted to post the photos from the venture and share the steps for making one.

First we went to a local consignment store to find a teacup that was dainty but also seemed sturdy enough to not break once we poured in the hot wax. Many of the sites I read online suggested buying wax and the wick from a craft store like Hobby Lobby. Considering that I wasn't sure I could pull this off at first, I decided to go another route. I simply bought a rose colored pillar candle, removed the wick and had my boyfriend break the candle into little bits. We then took two shish kabob skewers to hold the wick in place. 

We were lucky to find this double boiler also at the antique store for only $4. However, a double boiler is essentially a pot within a larger pot, with the larger pot containing bowling water (so you could probably pull this off with pots you already have). Once the water started to boil we put the chunks of wax in the smaller pot of the double boiler.

It only took about 15 minutes for the candle bits to melt completely. We then simply poured the melted wax into the teacup and adjusted the wick after it had moved out of place.

After about an hour or so of waiting (actually I didn't keep time, we got distracted by video games) the wax had hardened.

 I got so excited that it was done that I started snapping pictures, only to remember that we needed to cut the wick so it doesn't look freakish.

And voila! A teacup candle that was super easy to make!