As we are nearly 1 week into 2016 I’ve been mulling over what I hope to accomplish this year. Writing the numbers 2016 hasn’t seemed to shock my system the way it normally does… wanting to keep writing 15… instead, I keep seeing things regarding 2017 that keep shocking me. That just seems like 4 years away! I’m at a conference this week, and on the program they already have the “save the date” for next years conference….. in 2017. Anyway… this is irreverent. So here are my goals (in no particular order) and some more of my favorite images from last year…. all shot for Julia Wade at Bald Head Island or Lonesome Valley (all detail, non-identifying images). Continue blogging each Tuesday. I made the commitment back in September to blog each Tuesday and have kept it up! Even through vacations I managed to get it done. I’m proud I stuck to it, and will continue to do so this year. Perhaps I’ll get bold and add Thursday… we’ll see! Learn more about the power of social media…. yes, we all know the logistics of posting, tweeting and instagramming…. but when is the best time, what are the best hashtags? I’m trying to learn more. Shoot an elopement/small wedding in SoCal. My cousin lives in San Diego and we hope to visit her family in mid-late April. So, if you know someone tying the knot out that way, I’d love to be considered to photograph it! I’d probably cut them a bit of a deal… and their would be no travel fees! Continue to shoot more film. I looooove film (all the images in this post are film)…. I think my clients are starting to realize this and aren’t so shocked when I whip out a funky-looking camera. Try out different film cameras and learn more about “pushing” film. Sort and organize files… Over the years I’ve worked between 3 different computers, and while my 2015 files are in good shape… the ones prior are scattered! My poor desktop is horribly outdated, so it’s going to take a small army to clear it off, organize all the backed up files and update it. YIKES. Attend more industry events and get to know more people in the Charlotte area (in an out of the wedding industry). I love to go out and have a good time, but I am an introvert at heart… which keeps me home on the sofa a lot. While my schedule seems hectic sometimes, it’s not always filled with productive things. My schedule should only be filled with meaningful engagements! Spend more time at the beach. 2015 was a busy year, but it kept us away from the beach a lot…. we missed out on lots of perfect fall weekends because we were tied up doing other things. Which might make #9 hard….. maybe if I could just book Wrightsville Beach, Figure 8 Island, Wilmington, Southport, and Bald Head Island weddings…. we could kill 2 birds with one stone! I’ve shot some weddings here and would looooooove more! (NO TRAVEL FEES!) This is not new news… but I would love to book 8 more weddings for 2016… taking us to 10. This will greatly help our adoption dreams come true!!   So… CHEERS 2016! I cannot wait to see what all you have in store for us!

A lot of photographers loathe shooting family formals… they can be tedious, scattered and a time suck. I am not one of those people. Why? Because a lot of times, these are the images your mom and grandma want hanging on their walls!! Since the inception of our business, we have desperately tried to make this time of the wedding as painless as possible. Let’s face it, there are cocktails, tiny egg rolls, and giant shrimp waiting! The faster this process goes, the faster the party gets started! Here are a few ways we help this process go smooth….  We ask for your list well ahead of time! About six weeks before your wedding we send a thorough questionnaire which includes a spot for you to list your family formal combinations. We ask that you really think about this! Don’t waste precious time getting every possible combination if you’re not really going to do anything with those images. We rearrange your list. When you make your list, you’re just jotting down those combinations willy-nilly. We take the list, study it and then rearrange it so that we start with the largest group. This is normally your aunts, uncles, cousins, etc. Typically, the people in your extended family are only in this one shot. They get in and out fast and on to your party. It also eliminates the amount of people standing around us, making it difficult to hear. From there, we will shoot smaller combinations on both the bride and grooms sides.   Once we make the order of shots we are taking, we make four copies of the list. I have a list, my second shooter has a list, someone on the brides side and grooms side each have a list. Those last 2 are key! We don’t know who uncle Steve is, but they do! They can help us round up wondering nephews quickly. We will always ask to shoot them outdoors. Even though we are prepared to shoot in dark churches, if we don’t have to, we will not want to. I loved shooting Carrie & Brendan’s family formals on the church steps. It gives a really traditional feel, but offers much prettier natural light. Don’t be intimidated or dread this part of the day, we’ll make it as painless as possible!