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Ireland is the most beautiful country I have every seen. America is of course gorgeous but Ireland is filled with so much charm and history and I just cannot get enough of it! I know most of you do not want to stare at a million photos of my family vacation but I just HAVE to share some of the charm I met in this gorgeous country. We have traveled from Dublin, to Cork, and all the way North to Belfast. I didn't expect to see so many cities in one country in only two weeks! We are still enjoying ourselves in Belfast at the moment but I just had to share a few things I have seen.
One of my favorite things about Ireland is the grazing animals that sit amongst the grassy green fields of Ireland. I just love how natural and beautiful the scenery is with old ancient walls that line the roads. I LOVE just being able to soak up the natural history of this country!
Sheep are some of the CUTEST animals. Lets face it... some of them just aren't so cute... but the little fluffy white babies are just so lovable. I couldn't resist these little fellas while staring at the gorgeous scenery of the Slieve cliffs.
They graze on the cliffs RIGHT over the steep rocks that jet right into the Atlantic Ocean below.
I'll be posting here and there some more as the trip goes on, but for now these are only a few of the wonderful sites we have seen! |
| This little guy wanted a little cameo shot. He even stood up and posed for me. |
| Don't worry mom, I didn't get too close to the edge! |
| I want to squeeze them! I love their little knees that bend inward... |
| We visited the Aran islands which are incredible. I'll be posting more of this later. This was one of my favorite islands I've ever visited. So charming. |
| And of course, a castle. OH MY GOODNESS this place is incredible. The beautiful Dromoland Castlehas so many beautiful nooks and crannies to see. |
| Including a quaint little garden. I could live in here.. |
| I also found a little tiny leprechaun that shared the history of this place with me. His name is Blarney. We did share in the excitement of falconry. |
| Another favorite animal of mine are OWLS. Look at these beauties! This one especially loved to be rubbed. He would close his eyes as I graced his head. |
| He looks so smart and something out of a harry potter movie. |
Since the beginning of my business, Stephen has been by my side supporting my every effort and dream to become a wedding photographer. It has been fun watching our relationship and business grow together from our beginning days of college until now. We are so excited to stretch ourselves even further together. I wanted to address this post specifically to those couples that are thinking about working together as photographers. I hear all the time that it's a "thought" that many have, but most are afraid to try. Honestly, it's not for everyone, but those of you thinking about it, it is worth giving it a try.
We were told many times that working together probably wasn't a good idea...but it was important for us to experience working together for ourselves. We gave it a shot... and for us it has been GREAT! I mean, spending all day and night with someone is bound to cause a few arguments... and believe me, we have had our share, but we've also gotten quite good at working together in all areas of our life. Stephen and I may be rareities or maybe just plain strange, but we honestly love being around each other all the time. I mean, don't get me wrong, we definitely need our time apart and GET our time apart, but it has been fun working together as a team!
We often see different perspectives in the work aspect, the communication aspect, and of course the visual aspect. It's a great balance to listen to each others perspective because it just makes you THAT much better than YOU are alone. I don't think everyone needs to work with their husband or wife, but I do think you can make it work with ANYONE. Working with a friend on particular shoots can help you see things differently. Ask friends for advice, editing suggestions or even location ideas because it's SUPER important to hear other people's opinions in every area of your business. I think it's even great to hire a friend or fellow photographer to help you on a shoot. An extra set of eyes always helps! This is how I believe you become a better business woman/man. I always ask at least three people close to me their opinions before actually making a decision because everyone has a DIFFERENT perspective.
For those of you that have thought about working together as a husband and wife team... I say go for it... BUT definitely set aside time for yourself. It's also important to nail down exactly what both your strengths and weaknesses are. Stephen's strength is in the behind the scenes numbers. He helps with the invoices, contracts and financing... You should have seen me in college math.. YIKES... and that's WHY my strength is behind the camera! Steve ALSO is quite good behind the camera.... I thought I would add a few photos to show his sneaky talent!
Another suggestion is finding your own thing besides your one business together. Stephen does some investments on the side and also is tweaking his golf game as he is hoping to possibly play professional golf someday. It's a nice break from each other as we have something new to share with each other at the end of the day. We do however struggle with working at home together. We often need to leave home and begin our work at different times of the day since its hard to constantly be at home. For us, work is hard to stop because we find ourselves editing even late at night. The downfall of this job is not having scheduled days and not having scheduled breaks like everyone else. I have found a way to fix this.... SET A SCHEDULE! :) Stop working at 5pm (like everyone else)... shut off your phone, your e-mail and stop working until the next morning. Also, for holiday breaks, it's OK to take a break too! Set up an away message on your e-mail. DON'T sit in your PJ's all day and watch tv re-runs. Ok ok, I'm totally guilty of staying in my PJs at least until noon some days but it definitely helps your day stay productive longer if you get ready earlier.
I have SOOO many suggestions and words of advice for those of you wanting to work with your spouses and I'd love to share them through e-mail! Shoot me an e-mail if you are looking for encouragement! I thought I would add a few images from a few of our favorite shoots this year. This is Stephen shooting Natalie and Reggie's engagement shoot....
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| We like wide open spaces... |
| We are always looking at different perspectives through the lens. This is Tarah and Josh. |
| This isn't Stephen. This is actually my brother Michael. Michael and our friend Steve are working on a business together as videographers. I will be posting a future post on them but for now, I had to share this photo of my brother Michael in action. It's great to have yet ANOTHER perspective through the lens :) |
| Stephen DEFINITELY helps when we do child shoots. He is a great distraction behind the camera. They always seem to laugh at him... (it makes sense right? :) This is little baby Annie. |
I was overjoyed when Kimberly and Jason contacted me to photograph their grown up little Annie once again. It has been SUCH an honor to work with them since Annie was a a new born. I cannot believe how FAST time has flown and just how BIG little Annie is! The last time I saw Annie was her six month photos. She has definitely grown up quite a bit but her personality still has remained the exact same. Her bubbly ecstatic enthusiasm is CONSTANT! Annie just celebrated her first birthday and Stephen and I feel so honored to have been able to document her thus far.
Annie is a rare little girl. There aren't very many one year olds thats smile NON STOP! Stephen and I just couldn't stop smiling through our lens! We felt so overjoyed to be working with such amazing people and photograph little Annie's huge blue eyes and irrisistable adorable smile. We met again at Silverleaf golf club once again to document sweet little Annie. Since Jason plays golf professionally, we just HAD to take some photos on the Silverleaf course with her daddy. I have the claim to fame when little Annie debuts her modeling career and WHEN she becomes an amazing golfer like her dad :) |
| I don't even have to pose this little gal. She is ALL about the camera! |
| I am obsessed with little shoes. The little uggs were definitely PERFECT for her pink and gray outfit! |
| Silverleaf is adorned with amazing stone staircases and adorable little windows everywhere! |
| I couldn't resist this sweet little gate when I saw the incredible light peering through! |
| This is what I've been waiting for. We talked about having her use the sweet little antique bathtub once she got older and FINALLY we could use it!!! She was a perfect little accent to this adorable white tub! |
| When Kimberly pulled out the pink tootoo I almost wanted to put it on because I LOVED IT SO MUCH! |
| Since Annie just celebrated her first year, she HAD to eat her little cupcake in her pink tootoo like ANY little girl would like to do! |
| I have this love for light. When we walked in front of the golf club I just couldn't believe how gorgeous the road looked when the sun reflected sparkles! |
| Something about this photo just made me smile... |
| This is the beginning of Annie's love for golf. |
| Last week, I had the wonderful pleasure of documenting baby Annie yet again. Annie's last session,was quite a breeze. She was just beginning to perfect that gorgeous smile and get in touch with all her new surroundings. This time, she was full of excitement and couldn't stop grinning with her little button nose and PERFECT blue eyes. We met again at the beautiful Silverleaf Golf Club to document another chapter in baby Annie's life. Kimberly and Jason, are still some of the nicest people I have ever met. I ALWAYS enjoy my time with the both of them as we admire this beautiful gift God gave to the earth. Her chubby little legs and perfect little cheeks are irresistible. Seriously. Don't you just want to squeeze them?! Check back soon for a slideshow! |
Last year, I donated a photo session at Covenant Community Church for the church action that will benefit those in need. My brother called me last minute and asked if I had anything I could donate. I rushed to get some photos printed and set a few frames up with my name. Thankfully someone signed up! I was thrilled to spilt the one session for the The Allred's and the Hoxworth's. I felt honored to have been able to document these two families. After meeting James and Sarah, I knew it wouldn't be difficult to make them laugh. With all smiles and a lot of laughter, the session was a breeze. I LOVED getting to know little Molly and Michael.
James is the youth pastor at Covenant Community and is AMAZING with the kids. If you are looking for a church, I highly recommend checking Covenant Community out. I felt so welcomed by everyone at the auction and loved getting to watch it all happen! I just want to thank the Hoxworth family for giving me this opportunity to share in God's beauty. You all are amazing people and I can't wait to watch what God will do with your lives. |
| I adore this photo. Michael is so sweet with Molly! |
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