Update and Photoshop CS5

Well with another wedding in the bag this weekend, I am off to Chicago for a few days! I am going to spend some time with my folks and see my little sister's new place. Also on the agenda: Teach my mom how to use her new camera! She actually is really getting into the photography thing (lookout mom, it's addicting) and so I recently helped her buy a used Canon Rebel to play around with. Mom had been getting very frustrated with her point and shoot, because as many of you know most pocket cameras have a time lag on them so bad that usually you miss the moment you were trying to catch (you push the button hoping to get the shot and then you wait. And wait. And wait some more. Until the flash FINALLY fires what seems like years after the moment passes). So she is very excited about her new toy and I am excited to help her learn how to use it!

I will be posting some previews from the road of Karly and Darin's amazing star studded wedding hopefully in the next day or two. It was an amazing day, Karly looked stunning and the entire day went smoothly. I played around with the HD video function on my camera at the reception and took some absolutely breathtaking footage of Keith Urban and Amos Lee singing Karly and Darin's favorite songs to them. What a great moment that none of us will ever forget!

Also a few side notes... If you all get People magazine be sure to check out page 30 this week! A couple photos that I took of Taylor Swift made the cut... Whoo hoo!

And lastly, just caught wind of some new photoshop features about to hit the marketplace with the new CS5, and let me tell you, if you have not seen this video yet you are missing out. Photoshop might be the most amazing program I have EVER seen:

Adobe Photoshop CS5 Content-Aware Fill Sneak Peek

Hope everyone had a fantastic weekend. :) ~Krista

Chelsey and Bryan Dickson's Wedding Sneak Peeks!

A few sneak peaks from Chelsey and Bryan's wedding on Saturday!  I met Chelsey while she was interning over at CMT last year and I was so excited when she called me to talk about her wedding!  She is just the most adorable gal and while at CMT I always would con her into being my test model before our shoots.  She and Bryan tied the knot at the beautiful Cheekwood here in Nashville, with an awesome reception at the Cannery Ballroom.  Enjoy the previews Chelsey and Bryan!  I was so honored to be able to share your big day with you :) :)  More photos coming very soon!  ~Krista



Look, we even managed to get a smile out of Bryan!  Haha :)

Marcus Mumford of Mumford and Sons

Ted Dwane of Mumford and Sons

Toni Collette

Previews: Emilee and Kevin Ray

A few previews from this Friday's wedding!  They lucked out with the most gorgeous weather, it was 65 and sunny and absolutely beautiful.  Emilee and Kevin and their crew were the FUNNIEST crew and a lot of fun to work with (as you will most definitely see from the photos.)  It was great meeting you all.. Enjoy the previews!  More to come soon!  -Krista



The girls... How adorable are they!  And ummm.. LOVE that starry wall!







Emilee looking stunning...





The boys.. 




 







A great shot from Alex's angle!!







Emilee heading out for her photos...





Their private moment, first time seeing each other for the day :)













The entire crew... They were talented jumpers







And last but not least... The shot of the day... (HA!)





 I can't wait to finish processing the rest of your photos, there are soooo many good ones!!!  :) :)

Eli and Will

A few previews from Eli and Will's photo shoot last week {okay, okay, maybe more than a few... there are too many cute ones to pick from!}  Rachel Spence has been one of my best clients for a loooooong time.  Her and Kimberly Wheeler were in a race to see how many kiddos they could have in the shortest amount of time (kidding) so between the two of them they have kept me busy!

As of March, Rachel is actually working with us now!  In order for me to be able to focus on shooting, Rachel has taken over the phones, so when you call in she is the gal you'll be talking to.  She is much more organized than I am (thank God! haha) and has been doing a fabulous job answering everyone's questions and keeping our schedules straight.  Thank you Rachel!!! 

SO I know ya'll have been dying to see the rock star Eli shot.. Without further ado, the previews:

Will... 





Dad's clothes.. .Haha




And now a few of lil Eli... How cute is he?!!!




I LOVE the look on his face in this one...



And last but not least.. The infamous rock star photo.... By the middle of the shoot Eli was completely tuckered out.  I mean, he was D-O-N-E.  Rachel was just dying to get some shots in the Guns n Roses outfit and we were scared it wasn't going to happen.  All of the sudden, Rachel was like "I know what we'll do!" and proceeded to put his little sunglasses and sippy cup into the photo.  Eli completely passed out and we got this hilarious photo of him.  I mean, life on the road is tough when you are a rock star...

In search of the perfect photo shoot...

I would be a big fat liar if I was to tell you that every photo shoot is perfect.. and that every shot out of my camera is amazing and technically flawless.  Sometimes what you think will be an easy shoot turns into a very challenging one, and sometimes what you believe will be a challenging shoot will be a breeze.  Some of my favorite subjects are kids.  They are funny, genuine, and unpredictable.  They do some of the FUNNIEST stuff (oh yeah, I've got stories..) BUT with all that being said they definitely are some of the most challenging subjects that we as photographers have.  Not because they are purposely trying to be difficult, just because they move so dang fast!  And they NEVER slow down, unless they are sleeping, which doesn't *always* make for the best photo haha (stay tuned for a sleeping shot of Eli Spence though.. we took advantage of his sleeping moment yesterday)...

I thought I'd share some outtakes from a shoot last week just so you all can see what some shoots look like.  Yeah, you're probably never going to book a shoot with me after this post, but hey, at least you'll know what to expect if you do!  LOL!  We go through 45 minutes of craziness to get 15 minutes of amazing photos.  I am not a big fan of the "sit down, shut up, and SMILE!" photos.  In my humble opinion, kids just look pitiful when they are forced into a fake smile with a stiff pose.  I think the more natural, playful side of kids gives me the best shots, and yeah sometimes we have to play peek-a-boo or the "I'm gonna getcha" game for a while to get that amazing shot! 

This shoot was of Jakob and Jak, one of my best friend's little ones.  I have been taking their family photos for years now (gah.. .I'm feeling old..) and everytime they come into the studio it is just a riot (In a good way!)  I'm going to let the pictures do the talking for the rest of this post...

Me:  "Hey Jak, wanna play with some toys?"  "umm... okay... not exactly what I had in mind..."





Some chasing and tickling begins...







"Let's go do some photos on the black background!  Give your momma a hug!  Okay, okay, wait, bad idea... how 'bout you just smile and look this way?"







"Okay, that's not really working... Let's try to do some of just Jakob?"







"Okay... He's not having it at ALL...  Let's take a break and change him into the next outfit..." 


"Let's go outside and try some, maybe they'll settle down a little more out there...."







"Alright, drool patrol... Jakob's got a little waterfall running down his face... Much better... Oh wait, he just spewed again..."







"Don't tell me to be quiet silly!  Hey, let's make a deal... How about you smile and sit still if I give you a lollipop?"







Bad idea... He obviously forgot about the "sit still" part!







SO, I am making this shoot out to be way worse than it actually was.  I promise we did get some great shots.  It was worth all of the running, bribing, tickling and drool!  And for you prospective clients now horrified from reading this, I promise if we don't get any good shots I won't charge ya.  Although I might make you promise to bring them back in for a second chance :) :)