Here’s a session that I was so happy to do…we’ll be covering Justin & Stephanies wedding next July. We actually shot her sister’s wedding a few years ago, and when they called me to book Stephanie’s wedding coverage, I was already booked.  Guess what? They changed the date so that Jason & I could do it! I was so touched that they were willing to change the most important day of their lives so that we could be there to capture it. It’s one of the reasons I love my job – and here are nine more:

My Favorite:

(photographer in Anderson, SC; Clemson SC photography, engagement sessions in Anderson SC)

How in the world did it get to be the last week of summer?! I am on a mission to get caught up on my work today & tomorrow so I can enjoy this last weekend before Labor Day. I have also been having friends over a few evenings a week for dinner on the deck, and I have to share this great recipe with you. It’s really summery, super fast and easy,  and goes with everything – if you are a blue cheese lover, of course! You can also add cherry tomatoes if you wish, for color.

Blue Cheese Coleslaw

• 12 slices bacon
• 1 bag shredded cole slaw mix
• 3/4 cup cole slaw dressing (I use Marie’s)
• 1/2 cup (or more)  blue cheese, crumbled

Place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Crumble and set aside. In a large bowl, combine the bacon, cabbage and dressing. Mix well. Sprinkle with  blue cheese. Refrigerate and serve chilled.

I have to share a very special experience with you. Last summer I was hired to do family photos at a lake house where several families were spending a fun weekend. It went smoothly, and I got good images of each family and their kids…including the Fords, whom I just met for the first time. Fast forward to this spring, when I received an email from Meredith asking about using one of the photos of her daughter Emily to submit to the National Down Syndrome Society’s 2009 Times Square video contest.  Of course I said yes, we picked our favorite photo, and then she sent me this email:

Pam, Thank you so very much!

So when you photograph two little girls that are blonde, blue-eyed, and precious as can be – how can you NOT fall in love with every image? I seriously could have posted about 30 images of Jordan and Peyton, but I would run out of Blog space…so here is just a sampling.

At the playground…love the muddy pants!

Love this one of Peyton with her dad:

Hi everyone…just wanted to let you know that I will be in PA to shoot a wedding on Sunday September 6 (Labor Day weekend), so I will be available for 5 4 sessions at Mingo Park on Saturday, September 5th - 10, 11:30, 1pm, 2:30, and 4 pm. Rain date will be Monday, September 7. Since it is sort of last-minute and on a busy weekend, I am offering a free 11×14 collage if you book. Call me on Monday if you are interested!

I will likely be making 3 more weekend trips before the Christmas deadline, but I have not finalized all of the dates. The first will be October 9 and the 11th (wedding on the 10th) for sure. I’m looking at Halloween weekend (Oct 30, 31)and then the weekend before Thanksgiving (Nov 20, 21). I will let you know as soon as I finalize everything.

Ran across this list of  50 things everyone should know how to do, and I thought it was perfect for all you parents of teenagers out there. I think it would be fun to go through this with your kid, especially when they are in the “I’m-an-adult-and-you-refuse-to-see-that”  phase. I would add a few, notably manage a checking account and learn to pay bills, unclog a toilet and other basic household repairs, and doing laundry/ironing.

1.  Build a Fire
2.  Operate a Computer
3.  Use Google Effectively
4.  Perform CPR and the Heimlich Maneuver
5.  Drive a Manual Transmission Vehicle
6.  Do Basic Cooking
7.  Tell a Story that Captivates People’s Attention
8.  Win or Avoid a Fistfight
9.  Deliver Bad News
10.  Change a Tire
11.  Handle a Job Interview
12.  Manage Time
13.  Speed Read
14.  Remember Names
15.  Relocate Living Spaces
16.  Travel Light
17.  Handle the Police
18.  Give Driving Directions
19.  Perform Basic First Aid
20.  Swim
21.  Parallel Park
22.  Recognize Personal Alcohol Limits
23.  Select Good Produce
24.  Handle a Hammer, Axe or Handsaw
25.  Make a Simple Budget
26.  Speak at Least Two Common Languages
27.  Do Push-Ups and Sit-Ups Properly
28.  Give a Compliment
29.  Negotiate
30.  Listen Carefully to Others
31.  Recite Basic Geography
32.  Paint a Room
33.  Make a Short, Informative Public Speech
34.  Smile for the Camera
35.  Flirt Without Looking Ridiculous
36. Take Useful Notes
37.  Be a Respectful House Guest
38.  Make a Good First Impression
39.  Navigate with a Map and Compass
40.  Sew a Button onto Clothing
41.  Hook Up a Basic Home Theater System
42.  Type
43.  Protect Personal Identity Information
44.  Implement Basic Computer Security Best Practices
45.  Detect a Lie
46.  End a Date Politely Without Making Promises
47.  Remove a Stain
48.  Keep a Clean House
49.  Hold a Baby & feed/change her
50.  Jump Start a Car

The weather was conspiring against us – rain on our first try, blazing hot & humid on our second try – but you would never know it from these images. Natalie was as cool and poised as they come, and my camera just loved her. She has the most amazing eyes; you know, the kind that look blue OR green depending on what is around her. I’m posting lots, because I simply can’t narrow it down.

Anderson SC senior portraits, Clemson SC high school senior pictures, SC senior photography

We are back from a long weekend visiting family & friends, and of course I had to take some pictures of our newest granddoll Eislen! She now weighs 9 1/2 lbs at two weeks and is thriving. Nicole & Steve are relaxed and enjoying her immensely. She was a little fussy at picture time and we were sort of pressed for time, but I got some that I love:

I think she smiled for me:

Anderson Sc baby & newborn photographer, Clemson newborn photography

I was thrilled to meet up with this wonderful family on my last trip to PA; I have photographed their boys many times, and I can’t WAIT to meet their newest addition who is due in just a few weeks. You just know that he/she will be just as adorable as these little guys! Here’s the suave Nicholas, who was much too cool to smile for me:

But his Dad was doing who-knows-what behind my back:

And his eyes are dancing anyway:

And the adorable Carter:

Look at that face – just look at it!

I could eat him up!

(children and family photography in the upstate SC region and travelling to  western Pennsylvania)

A few months ago, I promised to write about the different factors that make quality custom photography cost what it does; i.e., more than the chain studios or hobbyists charge. As tempting as it is to talk about some of the obvious business factors (ie, taxes, insurance, equipment), I’m going to start with the actual differences in the images themselves. Some people look at their images simply as a way of documenting a particular stage in a child’s life; the quality of the image is not as important to them as, say, the cost of that image especially if they deem it “good enough”. Over the next few days/weeks, I’m going to share the qualities of an image that pro photographers strive to control, so that the final images are so much more than a photograph…they are ART!

First we are going to talk about the most important first step in a great image – proper exposure. Cameras have an automatic exposure meter that works pretty well for regular snapshots. It works by analyzing the amount of light, shadows and highlights in a scene and adjusts the exposure to balance it all out. But there are many instances where the camera can be fooled…in backlit scenes where the background is much brighter than the subject, for instance. In this case the meter tones down the bright background, but in the process the subject is underexposed. Experienced photographers know how to handle this situation, either by positioning the subject so that doesn’t happen, by filling in the light difference using reflectors and or flash, and by overriding the automatic exposure meter to increase exposure for the subject…and sometimes all three! You can see in these next before-and-after images that the bright background caused the images to be somewhat underexposed. In the first set of Genevieve, I was able to increase the exposure in Photoshop to help it along…the “after” shot is corrected for exposure only, no other tweaks yet so that you can see the difference:

These images of Natalie & Ben were taken fifteen seconds apart, long enough for me to see that I needed to adjust the exposure somewhat for the second one. It also has some additional sharpening & contrast, but you get the gist of it – and we’ll talk about those issues soon!

(educating the client about photography basics, consumer guide to custom photography)