My August couple is the completely stunning Anna and very handsome Warren. You’re not going to believe this, but they don’t much like having their photos taken. However, they met with us to have their engagement session done. It turned out that Madison and Anna attended a couple of schools together, and were even in the same Brownie troop! (Anna actually doesn’t know that… Until now..)

Truly, I cannot think of a better way to spend an afternoon. It was a warm and windy day that was made just a little bit hotter by this gorgeous couple!

Here’s just a few from their day. Really looking forward to August!

The only thing I love more than meeting couples like Summer and Bobby is spending time photographing them. There is always such a special quality to that time when the love shared by the couple is so obvious. That was the case when I first met them to talk about their September wedding (Summer can’t wait!— Me either!) and was equally so when we met last Sunday on a warm Spring day.

Just a few from our time together…

On the first day of May, in the light of mid-morning, at the lovely Wintergreen Woods, Sarah and Brad were married. There was just the slightest worry about rain. Even if the rain had come, it wouldn’t have dampened the joy of this day. The intimate gathering of friends and family simply could not have been any better. It’s one of the great pleasures of this job to be part of celebrations like this. A glowingly happy and beautiful bride, a distinguished and equally happy groom, and the love of all the families gave everything that special sense of “meant to be.”

And now, just a few images from a wonderful day.

In “27 Dresses” the main character reveals her favorite part of the wedding ceremony. Just as the bride enters, she looks at the groom to see his face when he sees his bride for the first time. I’ll be honest, I do to. This is why.

Sorry, have to interrupt again. I’ve seen a lot of dances at weddings. None surprised me more than this one. (Mother and Father of the Bride.) I almost stopped photographing just to watch. They moved together with a flowing grace and obvious passion that many would say is usually reserved to the younger crowd. It isn’t!

Sarah is my May 1st bride. The thing I don’t like about doing bridal portraits is that I can’t blog them until the wedding day! Oh well… It’s May 1st now!

So this is Sarah. Gorgeous, isn’t she? During her bridal portrait session her mom and mom-in-law-to-be were wondering if Sarah should be a Scarlett or a Melanie. Sassy or Southern Belle? Having come to know Sarah a bit from our first meeting, way back last June, there was just very little doubt in my mind. Smart and sassy all the way.

However, she wisely decided to have it both ways. She chose “Melanie” for her bridal photo in the paper and “Scarlett” for her bridal portrait.

Their wedding is coming soon, but now… A few from the day with this beautiful bride!

The Scarlett Sarah!

The “Melanie” Sarah.

Spring and Fall are my favorite times of year. You just can’t beat the colors or the nice cool temperatures. Having a cool couple to shoot during both those times is just icing. Steve and Jessica are one of my October weddings this year. And I assure you, they are VERY cool. (Especially Steve!)

We met downtown on a nice cool April Sunday, and spent some time at the Capitol, and then wondered down Main St. Where we found an interesting surprise. It was a fun day, with a great couple and three very happy dogs!

Oh.. Just a word on this little surprise we found. You could say that Steve is HUGE fan of CAT. While we were walking, he happened to see this GIANT generator made by CAT. As you can see, Jessica quite played along. (I told you they were cool!)

With the photo sessions of the awesome JoAnna, Korynn, and Bailey, (Bailey…? I don’t see any “Bailey” here… That’s right, you can only see her on the Senior’s Blog or on DLP Seniors.) we’re creating a branch of the photography business that will cater just to high school senior portraiture.

You’ve all seen typical high school yearbook photos. Same pose, same black wrap, (and in some cases… a feather boa?), same tux. It’s what has to be done in order to get uniform, consistent photos that will all line up in those little rows in the pages of the yearbook. Doesn’t do much to capture anything of the personality of the senior. Well that’s what DLP Seniors wants to change.

Our Senior Style sessions are far more like a fashion shoot than anything else. We don’t put limits on number of locations or on wardrobe changes. The pace is fast and geared to capture the best in our seniors at this very important time in their lives.

Pop over to DLP Seniors and see what happens when we get seniors out of the little boxes.

Irmo High Senior Korynn’s session just couldn’t have been any better. Perfect weather, great locations, and a young lady that I personally found inspiring. Athletic, intelligent, very classy, and just downright beautiful, shooting Korynn was an absolute pleasure. And the best thing about her (well for me anyway) is that she is one of my two Senior Reps at Irmo High School.

With out further verbiage, the very lovely Korynn.

Last weekend, I had the pleasure of shooting senior photos of JoAnna. Like so many high school seniors, her school photos just didn’t capture her personality, and they certainly didn’t capture her at her very best. So we headed out to downtown Columbia to remedy that.

For a couple of hours we walked around the streets and parking garages of Columbia looking for the next great shot. With a young lady as lovely and energetic as JoAnna, the task was nothing short of a complete joy.

Tonight, she saw her photos for the first time, and I have to say, she was thrilled. In fact, she was thrilled enough to want to do a second photo session right around prom time. I really can’t give too much away now, but you’ll see it soon enough.

In the mean time, enjoy these from last weekend.

This is just a quick notice that all 5 of the winners have been notified via the email addresses that they used when voting. Winners were selecting using the best darn Random Number generator on the Internet. http://www.random.org/integers/ (Yes. I am a nerd.)

The results of those sessions will be appearing here soon. And maybe, just maybe, there will be another Baker’s Dozen contest next year!

This will probably come as no surprise considering the amazing efforts of her greatest fans and promoters, but Madison is the VICTOR!

The WINNER

All participants have been notified via email of the results, and everyone involved has received a small prize as well. By the way, the email I sent is the only email that you guys will receive from me.

I have also decided, due to the HUGE response, that I will be giving away 5 not 4 portrait sessions. The winners of these $200.00 prizes will be notified via email. (So, I guess that means that 5 of you WILL get one more email from me.)

When those sessions are done, you’ll see the results here! Again, THANK all of you who voted and sweated out the VERY close competition!!