Kegan + Mason | Isle of Wight County Fair Session

OH MY GOSH!!! This session was amazing!!!! I had THE best time working with Kegan and Mason. My very first couple. 🙂 Don’t get me wrong… I LOVE the kiddos I get to work with, but it was awesome getting to work with grown-ups. Just two people obviously head-over-heals for each other.
Kegan has been a fan of my work I feel like since the beginning. I have never even met the girl and she always likes my posts, my photos and my blog. I am so grateful for her support and encouragement.  I was thrilled when I asked if anyone wanted to do a session at the Isle of Wight County Fair last weekend and she said YES! I would finally get to meet one of my biggest supporters and thank her in person! What I didn’t know was, that Kegan has worked with a lot of amazing photographers, including my mentor Amanda Hedgepeth!! Umm, whoa! Now she is getting me to take her photos. Gulp! Thankfully, I didn’t find this out until we were in the middle of the session. Completely humbling and it also made me feel very honored that she would allow me to take her and Mason’s portraits.
The moment I met them it felt so comfortable. Kegan and I found out we have a lot in common. From being raised country girls to both being dancers, and we both share an obvious love for photography.
Kegan and Mason were amazing in front of the camera. Complete naturals. I just would put them in a spot and they have such natural chemistry that the rest came naturally! I couldn’t believe it when Kegan told me she was nervous. It was a very busy day at the fair and we were dodging photo bombers left and right! People were apparently staring at them posing, but it didn’t seem to bother them. From the way Mason looked at Kegan, I don’t think he even remembered I was there. The man is completely smitten with her. I love the shots I got where you can tell he is just drinking her in. LOVE IT!
Their wedding is in April and I wish them all the best. They are both currently serving in the military and I thank them so much for their service and sacrifice. Thank you both for the pleasure of allowing me to capture your love and playfulness! You guys are amazing!! Best wishes.

             

Keeping the faith | Personal

So I had to reschedule sessions again. This time it wasn’t because of the weather. It wasn’t because of a conflict on the clients end. My baby was sick. Is still sick. This is our first time with being really sick.  He has had a couple of colds that turned into sinus infections and ran a bit of a temperature once. This was our first full-on sick.

He woke up in the morning and nothing seemed unusual. He was sitting in his crib, just handing out, as I could see him in the monitor. Then he laid down for a bit. Again, nothing out of the ordinary. I went in to get him once he stood up. As soon as I walked in his room the smell hit me. Vomit. That is a smell that is so distinctive. You instantly recognize it, and never mistake it. The poor little guy had thrown up everywhere. It was all over the crib, all over him.  He was pale. I took him into the bathroom where my husband was getting ready and we both kind of panicked. We are first time parents and this was our first time dealing with a sick baby. Luckily, my husband is a better thinker in situations like this. I held onto Steven for a bit while we talked it out. Then I bathed the poor baby and got the vomit out of his hair. Dressed him in clean clothes and fed him breakfast. Big mistake! About an hour later, we saw breakfast again. This time it was all over the both of us. First time getting vomited on. I was officially christened into motherhood. I had been puked on.

That’s when I had to make the call. To reschedule my sessions for that day and the next. I am extremely cautious when it comes to spreading germs. I also teach dance and I am around kids and constantly getting exposed to things. I hate when kids come to class sick. I could get sick, then my family could get sick. I won’t do that to someone else. So I cancelled both sessions for the weekend.

I was totally excited about this week. I had 5 sessions within a week. Only one happened. My own! It’s no one’s fault. Life happens. Kids get sick. Mine got sick. The weather happens. I will always be a slave to the weather in this profession. It is discouraging though. To be so excited for a session. To get prepared, get inspired. Then it doesn’t happen.

I know what this is. Satan. I truly believe he is an extremely hard and dedicated worker. He is trying to discourage me. To make me think I’m going down the wrong path. To make me doubt and question myself. Well, you’re going to have a tough job. I’m going to persevere. I believe God has guided me to this point and I will succeed. I will work hard and push on.

So here’s to making it happen. I will reschedule and it will be better than what it originally was going to be. The experience just makes me want it that much more.  So get back Devil, you’re going to lose this one! I’m keeping the faith that this is what God has planned for me. That I am doing his will. Capturing people’s memories with my camera. I won’t give up.

Some pictures of my handsome little man. He loves looking out the window. Dyeing Easter eggs and getting his Easter basket on Easter morning. Then finally dancing in the kitchen. I love my little man. He is my world and I hope he feels better soon.