I hope that this part of my story can serve as encouragement to anyone who might be feeling similar to how I did, in whatever type of career you’re wanting to pursue. Those first few steps are scary, but it really DOES seem that the best things in life only come after willingness to step out in faith, and take a risk. You can choose not to do that, but you may also miss out on some of life’s greatest blessings.

Have any of you felt that way before? What helped you overcome the fear in order to take the necessary step?

22. FRONT DOOR

23. FEELING

24. FIRST

My first time in the sun for 2013! (Where I promptly missed my ENTIRE stomach with sunscreen…..so, you can imagine the results.)

25. FACT

26. FAST

27. FREE TIME

28. FRIVOLOUS

Pedicures may be unnecessary, but they sure are nice…. :)

This past week was tough because we were in Florida, and so staying on top of the challenge wasn’t on the forefront of my mind. So, I maaaay have taken a few of the photos not on the right day. But even so, I’m really glad I took on this challenge. I had a ton of fun, and it was great to just force myself to take more photos for personal use, but WITH my camera and not just my phone. If you took on the challenge with me, how did you do? Please link to any blog posts so I can check out your photos! I think I’ll definitely do something like this again in the future – and if you’ve never done it before, I say give it a shot! And if you missed them, be sure to go back and check out weeks One, Two & Three!

HAPPY WEEKEND, everyone! :)

15. FLARE

16. FULL

17. FLOW

18.FUNNY

Love this shot from Jimmie & Frank’s engagement session. More will be coming next week! :)

19. FOOD

Coffee may be more of a “drink”….but it’s my morning brain food, so I decided it counts. ;)

20. FAMILY

LOVE being in Florida getting to see my adorable niece!

21. FANCY

This is an amazing vintage dress I was going to wear to an Oscar party, but we’re now not able to go….so it’ll have to make an appearance for some other event. It’s definitely fancy, though. And I love it.

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone! :)

8. FLOWERS

This one gets two photos because after modeling for Katelyn’s workshop, Janie sent me home with the beautiful bouquet that she made, as well as some miscellaneous extra florals. So, I couldn’t help but take lots of pictures of them!

9. FEET

We did dinner & a movie Saturday night with our dear friends Josh & Stacey, and Stacey was kind enough to model her feet for me. ;)

10. FAVORITE PLACE

As unexciting as it seems, my favorite place is our living room. It’s where friends spend the night, great conversations happen, I watch movies with Aaron, I read my Bible in the morning, and the cats snuggle with us. It’s a place of comfort and connection, and I love that. Plus, the photos of our family on the wall make me happy on a daily basis.

11. FACE

Self portraits are not my strength. But even though I DID get photos with my eyes in focus, there was something about this one that felt more real.

12. FASHION

This is a necklace that was my Grandma’s. Accessories are one of my favorite parts of fashion, and sentimental ones are top of my list because it makes me feel still-connected to those I love dearly and in this case, miss greatly.

13. FOCUS ON THE EYES

14. FRUIT

Don’t forget that you can join in on the challenge at ANY time, and if you want to participate on Instagram, use #MTPphotochallenge so I can see what you’re posting. :)

Happy Weekend to you all!

THINK TANK 

My Think Tank Airport International V 2.0 is the newest member of my collection (I got it last summer) and it has DRASTICALLY changed the ease of transporting my gear on a wedding day. I added several lenses to my collection last year and definitely needed the space that it provides for lenses, flashes, memory cards, batteries, etc. And the bonus is that it’s a rolling bag so the stress of all that heavy gear isn’t on your shoulders. It’s also PERFECT for traveling and even the few times that they forced me to check it plane side my gear came out perfectly safe. So, it’s been a game-changer and must have for me!

KELLY MOORE

My Kelly Moore Libby bag is perfect for personal travel or a shoot where I just want to take my camera and one or two lenses, as well as my laptop. Sometimes you don’t want to lug around the Think Tank, but still need a little more space than a smaller, purse-size camera bag. The real kicker of this bag for me, though, is the laptop space. It’s SO nice not to have to carry a separate laptop bag when I want to transport all of it in one fell swoop. The downside is that it IS really heavy when fully loaded up, and that makes airport travel (lugging it around on my shoulder) a little uncomfortable, but I still love this bag and the amount of space that it has for the computer and gear.

JO TOTES

My Jo Totes Betsy bag is the perfect size to use as a purse when I just want to carry my camera for personal use, but still have a cute bag, as well as for a shoot when I want to be able to carry my camera body and only a couple lenses. It’s easy to wear cross-body and I like the flap because I don’t have to zip it every time, yet can still keep any dust from my gear as I shoot. I love this little bag and use it a TON.

SHOOTSAC

And last, but not least, the first camera bag I ever bought, my ShootSac. This is still my go-to bag for carrying my lenses with me on a wedding day. I love how it conforms to my body, how many lenses and other stuff it can hold, and how comfortable it is to wear. Because it can’t carry the camera body itself, the Jo Totes wins out for portrait shoots, but I’ve not sold this because like I said, I still prefer it for wedding days. So, a wedding day involves my Think Tank and ShootSac and the Kelly Moore and Jo Totes are utilized for portrait shoots, personal use, and travel.

Like I said, I fully understand that 4 different bags might seem excessive, but it’s what works for me and I love them all. In a future post I’ll cover what lenses I use and how I pack each bag, etc. But for now, I hope you enjoyed the introduction to my little bag family. :) What are your go-to bags? 

1. FRIEND

I shot some florals for Janie on Saturday for a DIY post and was in charge of finding someone to model them. So, I got my friend Aimee! And she made for an absolutely LOVELY model, if I do say so myself. :)

2. FUZZY

3. FLAVOR

This word JUST so happened to land on Superbowl Sunday! So this is Hallie (one of our Pastor’s daughters) and Aaron making pigs in a blanket for the party. The second photo just gets an honorable mention because it’s cute, even though it doesn’t show any “flavor”. ;)

4. FAVORITE COLOR

5. FACELESS SELF PORTRAIT

6. FROM A DISTANCE

This is another day I forgot to use my DSLR to take a photo….but Aaron and I went on a rock-wall-climbing date and I DID take this from a distance with my iPhone. :)

7. FROM A LOW ANGLE

So there you have it! It was a fun week, and I’m excited to keep going. Who else is taking on the challenge? I’d love to see some of your photos, too!

I’m looking forward to pushing my creativity, as well as just getting into a better habit of remembering to use my camera more and take it with me more frequently, for personal use. So, here’s hoping this isn’t a total flop…. ;) Come Friday, let the fun begin!

It seems that Jon & Leslee MAY have taken the cake for most talented at being awkward. But, Josh & Stacey were a pretty close second, in my book. (Especially their kissing photo in the collage above.)

As it turns out, though, most people could be sweet and “normal”, too!

The concept of normalcy is lost with Aaron and our friend Daniel, however. These two are known to ditch me and Aimee (Daniel’s lovely wife) rather often…

But it’s cool, because as you can see Aimee & I can hold our own, too. :)

It was SUCH a fun night, and I’m truly grateful to have been part of this group for the past year. We’ve been greatly blessed by the friendships that have formed and are deepening and I can’t wait to continue that in 2013!

You can see ALL photos from the party here.

So, maybe I’ll get to curl up on the couch with a book, after all….and still be working! Win-win. :) Happy Thursday, friends!

I used to hate blogging. Not because I didn’t like writing things, or sharing images or parts of my life with the world, but simply because it was a HUGE ordeal before I got a Prophoto blog and Blogstomp (don’t ask me why it took so long for either of those) and it would suck hours of my time away, just to post one wedding. Well, when the wonderfully genius Jennifer Olmstead (of Deleted Space Creative) updated my branding and we launched my new website and blog back in January, a whole new world was opened up to me! Suddenly my blogging space felt like home and I couldn’t wait to invite others in and have fun and pretty things to show them! And with smart software, it now took a fraction of the time it took before to accomplish that. So, through these last few months, there are a couple things about blogging that I discovered that have really helped me, and I wanted to share them with those of you who may not enjoy blogging right now, for one reason or another. It’s so vital to this industry to have a blogging presence, but it can feel really discouraging when you dread it and haven’t found a way to make it fun (I know, because I’ve been there). So, here are a few things to consider:

1) Your blog should make you happy.

When I was just using Blogger, though it was a great option initially, I had a generic blog that I stuck my logo on and added a little bio to. Nothing about it screamed Tori or Marvelous Things Photography. It was just a mostly-white, general-templated blog. It did nothing to make me want  to fill its pages with thoughts and photos. So, the first big step in making me excited about blogging was getting a custom-designed blog that was totally ME. A space that made me happy to log into, and excited to have others see. This is just another part of the general branding process, and how important it is to KNOW what image and feel you want to present. But all I can say is, when you find out what that is….it makes a WORLD of difference. Suddenly you really feel like your blog is an extension of YOU, and not just another random space on the interwebs.

2) It doesn’t matter how others do it. Find what works for YOU.

We all get caught up in the comparison game far more than we’d care to admit, and the blogging world is no exception. I spent years following tons of other photographer’s blogs, and was always going back and forth with what the “right” or “best” method of blogging was. Do I post paragraphs of deep, heartfelt thoughts, and a few images to highlight that? Do I post one sentence, and tons of images? Do I post tons of everything, or hardly anything at all? Every photographer has a different method or preference, and will tell you why it makes sense to them. But here’s the thing….it has to make sense to YOU, for it to work. So, I started going to blogs and asking myself, “How do I respond to the experience of this blog? Do I want to see more or less writing? Would I prefer to see more or less imagery?” And from there, I realized the way that I generally wanted to operate on my blog. I would encourage you to do that! If you find yourself always quickly scrolling past images to read every word written, maybe you identify with writing and want to make that the primary method on your blog. Likewise, if you find yourself skimming the writing to take in every single image….then maybe you’re less of a writer and prefer image-heavy posts. Or maybe you want to do lots of BOTH. Any method is perfectly acceptable, but once you figure out what you like most, you’ll find yourself feeling the freedom to do what makes YOU happy, and therefore you’ll be motivated to actually post instead of feeling overwhelmed and never doing it. Or I should say, that’s how it worked for ME, at least.

3) Think of a weekly or monthly post series that will showcase more of your interests, or draw an audience that might not otherwise come to your blog.

Almost every blogger I know has done or continually does one or more weekly blogging series. Some like to do instructional series (like Zach & Jody’s “Tuesday Tips & Tricks” posts) or a series aimed at brides (like Katelyn’s “Wedding Wednesdays”) and those are always wildly successful weekly posts, because they’re aimed at a target audience and they’re helpful. For me, I realized I wanted to start a series that showcased a part of my personality that wasn’t photography-related, but would help blog readers and potential clients get to know ME better, but also be fun and helpful in some way. Out of that thought process, Wardrobe Wednesdays were born. Style is a big part of my interest in life, and I decided to spin it in a way that would encourage readers to see their CURRENT wardrobes in new ways (thus being “helpful” in a way). And once I started the series and saw the response to it, it made me want to keep posting and think of MORE ideas that I could get others excited about. So, whatever that type of series is for you…whether it’s similar to the ones I mentioned, or totally different, find one that makes you excited and go for it! Giving your readers some sort of theme to count on, or a specific area to connect with you in, at least once a week keeps them wanting more and checking back in each week (and then, of course, looking at the other posts in between). And just because you start a series, doesn’t mean you have to keep it up forever! Start out just committing to a month or two, and see how it goes! Remember, there are no “rules”. Do what works for you.

This list is obviously not all-encompassing, and in so many ways those 3 things are super basic and not revolutionary. But, for me, it took me actually realizing and processing them to find the joy in blogging. I needed to feel the freedom to find my OWN niche, regardless of how anyone else was doing it. So, in summary, OWN your blogging space! If it becomes a place that makes YOU happy, then you’ll post often, and the more you post and put yourself out there, the more people have the chance to stumble across your work and get to know you. :)

So, last Wednesday the super awesome Justin & Mary came to Richmond for the second stop of their Lighting Intensive workshop tour. It was pretty much PERFECT timing because 1) at the beginning of the year I had decided 2012 was the year that I’d finally attack and get comfortable with off-camera flash and 2) they came right to my city! It doesn’t get more convenient than that. Plus, I knew they were the perfect people to learn about lighting from, because I love the subtle, fresh, natural way they incorporate it into their work. And to top off all of the perfection, I knew several of my friends were going to be at this workshop, too. So, it was definitely 7 hours of ridiculous fun, that just happened to be incredibly informative and helpful and massively expanded my photography world. So, a HUGE thank you to Justin & Mary for sharing your knowledge, answering our questions, equipping and encouraging all of us to take this step! (Be sure to check out their official blog post here!)

We started off by just mixing and mingling and getting to know each other. Justin & Mary got this shot of me talking – obviously with much animation – with one of my favorites, Rebekah Hoyt. Haha.

And of course they had a little photobooth set up! I was trying to be taller like Mary… ;)

Then we got into some learning….

And then, naturally, some trying-it-out-for-ourselves!

I had SO much fun with these two. Laura & Rebekah make the world a happier place! :)

Laura working the new lighting set ups!

And another favorite, Ashley – who happened to be the one to coordinate and help set up the entire workshop. So, thanks a million, friend!

It was then time to get practice with two beautiful models to learn the different lighting techniques.

This is Jessica….isn’t her smile just stunning??

And this is Carly – I love her eyes! And how great is that hat?

Our whole fabulous crew!

It was SUCH a great evening, and I’m so, so glad I went and am now so excited to test out my knowledge and play with my lighting set up. No longer do I have to be scared of the situations that may need some additional lighting. It may still take practice to get it where I want it to be, but it’s a fun challenge, now, not something I’m dreading. So, I’d HIGHLY encourage you to sign up for one of their workshops if you could use a little (or a lot) of help and encouragement when it comes to lighting.

I’ve been needing to upgrade my lighting setup for a while, now, to add some off-camera lighting and at the beginning of 2012 one of my goals was to buy better gear and learn how to best use it. Well, the timing couldn’t be MORE perfect, because Justin & Mary are coming TO MY CITY next week to teach just that – an intensive lighting workshop! I was sooo excited when I found out about it last month, and it was a no-brainer. I signed up immediately! Not only do I get to learn from two of the most talented photographers in the industry, but I get to do it here in Richmond alongside several friends! Though off-camera lighting has intimidated me for years, I’m finally ready to tackle it, and I love the excitement of knowing that after a handful of hours I WILL be confident in knowing how to do it, and will have a whole new arena of photography to explore (even if it IS primarily just for receptions)!

It seems like I have a never-ending list of gear to accumulate, but I have to say I feel like I’ve accomplished a big one with this purchase. So, here’s to accomplishing goals and continuing to learn – even when things intimidate you! HAPPY FRIDAY, friends!

#7 = JENNIFER OLMSTEAD! 

CONGRATS!!! I’m so thrilled that you won, and find it especially hilarious considering your comment. ;) For those who don’t know, Jen is the genius behind my logo and website/blog design! So, I guess it’s extra fitting that SHE would be rewarded for me reaching 1,000 “likes” since her designs have helped my brand get to where I’ve wanted it to be. :) For everyone else, thank you SO MUCH for entering! I’m SUPER grateful to have so many friends and supporters – so, thank you TONS! Please keep stopping by & spreading the word! And you never know…there may just be another giveaway sooner rather than later! It was so much fun to host it. :)

ANYWAY. On to the other topic of today’s post….my latest sample album! I was in desperate need of a new one with updated work, and I chose to use Danny & Janelle’s wedding for the first one this year because of all the amaaaazing details they had, as well as the gorgeous pops of color everywhere, and, let’s face it, fall is my favorite season…so a colorful fall wedding was the perfect thing to show to potential clients. I wanted to blog it in its entirety, 1)  because I promised Janelle that I’d show it off :), and 2) so that you can see the beautiful quality of album you would get when ordering one with or in addition to your wedding package!

This was my first order from Madera books, and I’m THRILLED with it! I love the color of brown leather (it matches my brand perfectly!) and that their order form is still very simple. They offer just the right amount of options for you to get what you want, but not so many that it’s overwhelming. Not to mention their customer service is fantastic! The pages also have the perfect matte finish. So, I’m very excited to be offering these albums to my clients!

Let me just say, it was SO hard narrowing down images for this album! I’m in love with so many of the shots from Danny & Janelle’s wedding! But I’m really happy with the choices I ended up making, and I think they all come together to tell the beautiful story of their day. :)

Does Janelle look good in print or WHAT?!

I lovvve detail-filled spreads like this!

I love the drama of this spread!

I really like the party vibe of this last spread. :)

Each album from Madera comes in this great, sturdy leather box for storage and keepsake, too. You can know that it’s secure and well-protected when it’s shipping, AND when it’s being stored on your shelf!

So, there you have it! It’s so gratifying seeing a digital design come to life in a printed album. I definitely encourage ALL of my couples to consider getting an album. Yes, it’s an investment, but one SO worth making. It’s an instant family heirloom and, speaking as a bride, it’s SO fun to be able to pull your album off the shelf and instantly relive your whole wedding day. :)

I hope you all have a WONDERFUL weekend, and congratulations again to JEN for winning the give-away! :D

Without further ado…(this time I cropped them to the ratio they’ll actually be)

DANNY & JANELLE! Yes, friends, it became clear quite quickly that this was a no brainer. I’ve loved this photo since I first took it, and the colors/textures/sky are all just too lovely to NOT get made into a canvas. I know I’ll love looking at it daily, and I know it’ll bring a perfect type of cheer to my work space! However, I’m actually getting it as an 18×24 (one of the groupon sizes I had) because it allows for less of the background to be cropped out.

ASHLEY! It’s funny because this photo, itself, was actually a dark horse….in the sense that I didn’t remember taking it at the end of the wedding day, but when I was editing the wedding it was like out of nowhere it jumped off the screen, into my heart, and became a surprise FAVORITE. Due to the fact that cropping it around the edges doesn’t take away from the photo, I knew it would make a great 16×20. (The black and white of my sister didn’t crop in a way that I was happy with.)

Annnd, PETER & KARI! I couldn’t bring myself to not also have this one! Again, I think it works with the more cropped ratio, the colors will be perfect for my office AND it adds a little more sentimental/love without being TOO drastically emotional.

It was so hard choosing, and I made sure my dear sister knew that just because she’s not a canvas, doesn’t mean she won’t make it onto the office walls. :) Likewise, I LOVE the shot of Ben & Amie in the field, but one friend actually pointed out it would be better suited for an even larger canvas. Like a 24×36. And I agree. So, hopefully there will be a time and place for that one in the future…. :)

So there you have it! I cannot wait to get these beauties!

Ben & Amie:

Danny & Janelle:

Peter & Kari:

Ashley:

A similar photo, but I like them both so much! My sister, Aimee:

Aimee, again:

These are just a handful of ones I think could actually work well as a 16×20, which is kind of an odd shape for me, honestly. I don’t like that crop very much, but when it’s free, I’ll certainly take it! It really IS hard to choose out of SO many lovely weddings and shoots that I’ve had the privilege to shoot. The good news is this won’t be my ONLY canvas order, by any means. But a girl’s gotta start SOMEWHERE! So, thoughts/opinions are welcomed! Which one strikes you the most? What do you think would look lovely hanging on the wall of my soon-to-come office space?

And, of course, when I say Las Vegas, what I really mean is WPPI (the huge wedding/portrait photography conference where 16,000+ professionals from the industry all come together to teach and learn and grow and celebrate all of the things we love about what we do). I didn’t really explore much of Vegas, itself, (I really had no interest) because I was focused on being there to learn. (Though we did have a pretty great view from our room at the MGM Signature, if you can’t tell.)

I went into the week especially wanting to learn more about the business/marketing side of things. And boy did I learn. Rather, boy did I take a lot of notes….and boy do I have a good-sized “to-do” list of all the things I need to do to follow up with the things I learned. To be honest, I’m not really going to delve into all of that too much, but here’s a bullet list of some of the top things I took away:

- I need to write a more clearly defined “belief statement” for my brand (learned from Tofurious)
- It’s OKAY to make decisions for my business based on what works for me and MY family/priorities, regardless of how others do things (via Jessica Claire)
- I need to dream bigger than I currently am – in my business, and also in my life (encouragement from Mary Marantz)
- I was reminded that what I do MATTERS, that a simple photograph really CAN change lives (inspiration from Jeremy Cowart)

I mean, those bullets don’t even really begin to summarize what I gained from each of those speakers, and the others I heard. But, by far, those 4 were the most impacting to me, and I’m so, so glad I sat in their sessions. And even got to talk with some of them, afterwards. I’m also SO grateful for all of the other amazing people I got to reconnect with, and all of those I had the privilege of meeting for the first time. I can’t even express how much EVERY part of the week – sessions, meeting new people, conversations with my roomies, etc – played a role in impacting what I gained.

I need to give a special shout out to the Showit community (my website company) that does SUCH an amazing job of creating community among photographers. It was so cool to be able to join in on some of Showit United (their own conference that was being held during WPPI) and make so many new friends. What an incredible group of people! They even do things like start off sessions by rapping, sometimes…!

It’s especially wonderful that my dear, dear friend Sarah is a Showit user, as well, and that we had so many opportunities to get quality time together during the week. I’m SO grateful for her friendship.

It was so great to run into Zach & Jody a few times, and get a little bit of chat time with them, too! There are few people who I admire more than these two, and the way they live out their faith, prioritize their marriage, and run their business.

One of the first photographers I ever started following, and consequently one that I was MOST looking forward to hearing was Jeremy Cowart. He’s an amaaazing celebrity photographer, and while I’m not aiming to be a celebrity photographer, myself, I gain so much by  following him because his greatest passion isn’t his star-studded portfolio or his own incredible abilities. Rather, his passion is living a life that makes a difference and leaves a legacy of love and humility. He founded Help-Portrait, and always seems to be working on amazing projects that bring awareness or that benefit and serve others. Do yourselves a favor and follow him. He’s truly inspirational, truly genuine, and truly humble – and that’s a combination I highly respect and admire.

I also loved making a new friend, Lydia, and finally meeting in person one of my first ever “photographer friends” (of 7 years), Katherine!

My cousin Justin (who lives in California, so I rarely get to see him) also happens to work for Zenfolio, and I just happened to FORGET THAT (awesome of me, I know). So, when we ran into each other in the hallway on the first day of the conference, I was shocked to see him. Haha. But, it was great to get a little chance to chat with him and hear all of the reasons why I should switch to Zenfolio…. ;)

Two of my awesome roomies, Korie & Melissa!

I may have had a bit of fun with reflections from the cool doors to our balcony….

Korie was eating a cookie with a PICTURE on it! What will the world think of next?!

My curly-haired kindred! I love her.

And we BOTH love Chrissy, another sweet friend from Virginia. :)

I loved getting some time to hang out with Jackie & Cory (awesome photographers from Indy, who shot my cousin’s wedding – that I was in – back in December)

…and Jenna Davis, also an awesome photographer from Indy! It makes me feel closer to home to still get to hang with Hoosiers now and then. :) (A fellow curly-girl, to boot!)

I also really loved getting to meet and talk with David & Tammy Molnar! I started following them a couple years ago after they shot a friend’s wedding, and they’re every bit as cool in person as they are on Twitter. :) They’re yet another amazing husband/wife duo that are genuine and humble (and incredibly talented!), and I have much respect for them.

On the last night, we realized the week wouldn’t be complete without some room mate pictures! Laura was my travel partner and bed buddy, and since we both have the same “good side” of our face….this is what you get! Haha.

I could NOT have asked for more amazing ladies to get to room with, talk with, laugh with, and learn with. Thank you all for being so awesome! It was SUCH a joy to get to know each of you so much better. :)

Sarah and I also had a killer time with the ever-awesome Chris & Julie Massie (from right here in Richmond!) at the big Airplanes & Blazers party. I mean, did we rock this smilebooth OR WHAT?! Julie & Jenna Davis ALSO organized a FLASH MOB!!! And I was in it! I’d always wanted to be in one….so, whenever the official video is released, I’ll be sure to share it with you all. :)

It was a crazy and full week. And like I said, I’m still processing. But I’m SO glad that I went, and already so excited to (hopefully) go back again next year! :)

(P.S. Did I mention that one of my friends from here in VA got engaged and then MARRIED during the week? Yeah. That happened, too…. :)

In large part, what I’m MOST excited about is getting some quality time with the amazing ladies I’m going to be rooming with. Korie, Laura & Melissa are all such talented, sweet, genuine women who I’ve already been so grateful to call friends, but am SUPER grateful to be getting to deepen friendships with this week. I also can’t wait for more quality time with other dear Virginia photographer friends, and fellow Showiteers! It’s going to be a good, good time! :)

Since I leave TOMORROW, it’s obviously time to pack today. So, one thing I love is that I have cute camera bags, that will protect my laptop and camera gear for traveling, but also carry lots of other stuff and not LOOK like camera bags. So, I thought this would be a good time to show them off! :)

The yellow one is a Jo Totes bag, and it’s for carrying around my camera, maybe an extra lens, a notebook, cell phone, wallet, etc. I plan to use this as my “everyday” bag to take to sessions and such, to be my purse/tote in one. The gray one is a Kelly Moore bag and it fits my laptop, camera, extra lenses, batteries, etc, etc. I plan to pack that one with all of my gear while actually traveling and then have it continue to be my laptop bag while there (it’ll probably mostly stay in the hotel room). Of course I love that the two together are both colors of my brand. :)

And since it’s the little things that make me happy, I was also excited to find some cheap notebooks at Target that also match! So, I’m taking these along for all of my note-taking. (I put my logo sticker on them because they had a little blank white spot to write something, if you wanted, but I obviously thought the sticker was cuter).

So, it’s a cute little family, if you ask me. :) But, as clothes are the REAL ordeal when it comes to packing, I think I’ll wrap up this post so I can go start rummaging through my wardrobe…. Can’t WAIT to see/meet lots of you in just a couple days, and for everyone who’s not a photographer, or just not going to WPPI, you can be sure I’ll update along the way (if possible) and for sure when I return! Hope you all have a WONDERFUL weekend!

WITH THAT SAID, what better way to break in this lovely new space than with a slew of photos of fellow photographer friends?? It only seems fitting that this particular group happen to be fellow Showit users – which is the super fabulous company that we’ve all used to build our custom websites. I’ve only been part of the Showit “family” for a month, now, but I’m already blown away by the sense of community that they’ve built from the very top down. I’m amazed to be cared for, encouraged and be-friended by so many photographers here in my community, annnnd across the country! I already feel like these Richmonders (in what is known as our SHARE group) have become true friends, and I look forward to each monthly meeting with much anticipation! Mega thanks goes out to Katelyn James for being the leader of our local group and making get-togethers so stinkin’ awesome! We met up on Wednesday to do a “shoot-out” (aka, take updated photos of each other) and it was sooo much fun. But really, I think I’ll just show you instead of continuing to TELL you about it!

My lovely shooting partner was Katelyn (you should check out her post, too)! I’d be lying to say it wasn’t intimidating to photograph such a talented photographer, but at the same time, Katelyn is the sweetest, most friendly, and most genuine person you could ever meet. I’m SO grateful to have gained her as a friend over this past year of living in Richmond (in fact, she was the first local photographer I met). She goes out of her way to love, encourage and serve everyone around her and that passion is contagious and inspiring!

Is she INSANELY gorgeous, or what??

Woooorrrk it!

I LOVE the drama of these. The hair blowing, the lighting, her face. And she didn’t think she was good at the “serious” face!

More of the lovely ladies (Jen & Stephanie) we were hanging out with!

We wandered around and found the rest of our group occupying an entire street. Hah!

I then grabbed Chrissy to do some shots of her. (Is she STUNNING, or what??)

I LOVE these black & whites….especially the one on the right.

We grabbed Ashley and added her in for some, too!

Laura and I are traveling to, and rooming together, at WPPI (yay!) so of course I had to grab a shot with her!

Before we headed to dinner, Katelyn insisted on doing photos of “the blondes in the grass”. Haha. So, the rest of us grabbed some, too, while she was at it!

The next few are quite possibly my favorite from the evening….

Laura’s necklace was KILLER.

Whew, sorry! I know that was a lot of photos, but it was so hard to narrow down favorites because, as you can see, these ladies are GORGEOUS. I’m sad that I didn’t get a chance to photograph everyone, but it was still a ton of fun and I can’t wait to continue to see what everyone else got throughout the evening!

In summary: yay new blog, yay Showit, and yay photographer friends! :) Check back again soooon as I’ll now REALLY be catching up on posting shoots and weddings that I was waiting on, so they could be seen here.