Evangeline Renee

Second Installment of {The Show Stealers}

2012-01-09T08:40:00.000-06:00

Awhile back I did a post dedicated to who I like to call "the show stealers",

you can read it here.

It's been almost a year since the last one so it's time for the next installment.

Let me just say, the kids I got to shoot with this year were, and are a.dor.a.ble!

Hope this post brings a smile to your face.

January is an exciting time for me! Lots of people getting engaged over Christmas and New Years and it's fun to be getting their inquiries!
2012 wedding season, can't wait for it to start!

P.S. Just in case you haven't seen it yet, I have a new blog for my family and our little "show stealer".
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{Evangeline Renee} 2011 Recap

2011-12-22T11:28:00.000-06:00

Wow, wow, wow and ect. wows...

This year has been so amazing!

I can't even say what a blessed girl I am.

Every year I like to do a little "year in review" for this blog.

So here is a recap of 2011!
I obviously won't get everything but you'll get the general idea.

I kept and keep falling more in love with this man.

Last November we found out we were going to become parents!
After the morning sickness was gone I had a fairly trouble free pregnancy.
~~~~~
In April Tim and I did a photography workshop and it was a blast!
(You can read more about it here.)

Weddings!
I. love. my. job!

It's so amazing being able to have my husband shooting with me!

Rehearsal dinner on a riverboat? Yes, please!

Got to hang out with so many awesome friends, new and old.
~

I enjoyed helping Tim work on a few video projects over the summer.

Promo shoot for some restaurants.

"Guarding" the equipment or resting, either way.

Since the baby was coming I took a break from shooting, and I actually got to attend a few weddings this year.
~~~~~~~~~
The anticipation of waiting for a child is like non other.

Then August, and the long awaited little person!
Our lives will never be the way they were...and we would never want them to be.

New life...it's amazing.

He brings joy and happiness into every day he enters.

In September we celebrated our first wedding anniversary.
(Read more about it here.)
~~
Now it's only days till Christmas and I'm getting really excited to see my family!
Thank you all for your love and support over this last year.

I truly have the best friends and family and I'm so grateful for you all.

Merry Christmas from my little family to yours!
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Tis the Season of Giving

2011-11-25T04:25:00.000-06:00

I've never done this before, but I want to have an day after Thanksgiving sale too!
I am giving this deal to the first three 2012 brides that contact me.
("Early bride" sale!...sorry, lame.)

You read that right! Two hundred dollars off!
Maybe you're not getting married but a friend or family member is?

Helping them pay for wedding photography is a wonderful gift that they will remember and appreciate the rest of their lives.
(This deal is not applicable to any package already booked.)

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Sophia: Class of '12

2011-11-14T11:30:00.000-06:00

Sophia reminded me early this year that "you get to shoot my senior portraits in the Fall!".

Yay! I love shooting with my beautiful younger sister!

Sophia is one of the sweetest, most caring and really fun girls I know.

She is soft spoken, yet a very passionate person and I'm always reminded how thankful I am to have a sister like her.

If you get to know her she's one of the best friends you could have and she genuinely cares about you and your friendship.

I'm so proud of her for finishing highschool a year early and I can't wait to see how she changes the world.

Sophia loves Fall, and the outdoors so the shoot time and location was a given.
I wasn't able to shoot as soon as I wanted to and so we had already lost most of the beautiful Fall leaves, but we managed to find one colorful tree.

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Hannah: Class of '12

2011-11-09T13:01:00.000-06:00

I was so happy when I heard Hannah wanted me to shoot her senior portraits!

She's a lovely person inside and out and I knew we would have tons of fun.

Anyone that knows Hannah knows she has this charisma for life and it's contagious.

She is a very passionate person but she's not overwhelming, I'm always refreshed to be around her.

Hannah needed some "normal" senior portraits and some specific ones for her music competitions she's in,

so we broke up the shoot into two different days.

Here's the first day's images.

I love shooting in "golden light" which is right before/during sunset.

The week of Hannah's shoot was looking great, the day before was so beautiful and the light was perfect,

the day of, the sky was gorgeous and looking promising.

As soon as the evening came....so came the clouds.

I looked outside and my heart sank.

Yet again I would have cloudy pictures.

Don't get me wrong, having an overcast day gives beautiful light and it's a very desirable sky characteristic for photographers, but not for me, not today, I wanted sun.

I could see the sun but as we pulled up to the place we were going to shoot it disappeared behind a very large, dark, thick cloud and it didn't seem to be coming out anytime soon.

Oh well, what can I do?

Nothing, if you're wanting to stay with natural light.
We'd just work with what we got and have fun.

So that's what we did.

When I was setting up the last location it happened.

The sun broke out from under the clouds and shown it's brilliant rays all over.

YUS!

I was a happy girl.

The lighting for this shoot couldn't have turned out better for what I was hoping for.
And I couldn't have had a most awesome-er girl to shoot.
Bless you Hannah as you finish school and start on new adventures this coming year.

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Hannah: Class of '12 {Preview}

2011-11-03T13:17:00.000-05:00

Hannah and I had a ton of fun last night shooting her senior portraits!

I had such a hard time deciding what one image I should put up here! She's just so lovely!

But here's one of my favorites.

The rest of this beautiful girl's shoot still to come.

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Your Own Style

2011-10-24T11:02:00.000-05:00

"I love how you have your own photography style. Yet the client's style shines though as well.
Any advice on how to both find your own style and incorporate the client's style at the same time?"

This is a question I got when I asked for topics to blog about back in this post.
Here are a few thoughts I would have on the topic.

Develop your own style first, be honest with yourself about who you are and what you like.
Yes, you'll start out most likely coping your favorite photographer but really try to decide what elements you like and then build your own thing.
You want your clients to know you for your own personality and style, not just "anther one of those photographers".
You want people to hire you for you and what you can bring to the shoot.
There are many many photographers but only one you and that's what you can give that no one else can.
If you change your style every shoot, how will people define you and what will they know you by?
They'll never know what they're going to get and it will make them uneasy hiring you.
If your clients know what you do and how you shoot, I believe they'll feel more confident.
When they decide they want a shoot in "your style" they'll know exactly who to call.
If you're making your clients feel comfortable and like they can be themselves, you will get their natural style to show through, they will feel like you really captured them as a person, but still in "your style".
They are paying you to do your thing but make them feel comfortable enough to be themselves and let you capture the real them.
Of course as photographers we are constantly learning, the industry continually has new technology and things to use, but you can still always have something people know you for.

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Feeling the Need

2011-10-17T13:03:00.000-05:00

Wow, can life slow down just two hours so I can compose my thoughts and write a blog post?

Seriously, the last few weeks have been so crazy.

This won't be a long blog post but I wanted to put something up here to prove I'm still alive.

So far this Fall has been filled with weddings, film making, watching my baby grow up, Fall parties and festivals oh and a wiener dog race....can't forget that.

Last night my whole dream was about traveling and going back to Europe.

I haven't been on any big trip for quite a few months now and I'm starting to get antsy.

So, if anyone wants to get married overseas please email me here, ask me to come and shoot your wedding and you will make my day...er week.

I will be anxiously awaiting your email.

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Daddy and Daughter

2011-09-27T11:36:00.000-05:00

What's one of my favorite parts about shooting a wedding?

I love watching dads (or moms) with their little girls.

They are about to give away their little princess to another man and it's so sweet to document.

I love to watch as they beam with delight, hold in the tears, hug longer than they've hugged her before, excitedly shake everyone's hand twice or calmly watch the beautiful day in peaceful happiness.
He's spent her whole life trying to keep her safe, now he is going to trust her to someone else.
Now that I have my own child the feelings are even more relevant to me.

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{Evangeline Renee} One Beautiful Year

2011-09-20T15:51:00.001-05:00

Wow, one year ago Sunday I married Tim.
{See our wedding posts here and here.}

There weren't any "rose-colored" glasses during the time I was getting to know him, there weren't even any when we got engaged.

I tend to be a realist and since I'm afraid of being disappointed I normally don't build things up too much in my mind.

I believe I had a very levelheaded view on marriage, it was a good, beautiful and a right thing but definitely not easy or always fun.

(still true)

Well starting with my wedding day, honeymoon, and then on to normal life I can't even believe how awesome it has been!

I didn't know I could be this happy.

Yes, it's hard, yes it takes work, but it's so rewarding and wonderful.

It's amazing to be doing what you're made to do.

It's not always fun and lovey-dovey but if you put God first, your spouse next and yourself last, even hard things can have joy.

I LOVE YOU TIM!

Thank you for asking me to be your wife and to spend the rest of my life with you.

My life with you is something I'm thankful for everyday.

I can't wait to see where we go, what we do and how our love deepens this next year.

You're my hero.

Let's be married forever, ok.

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{Abby and Ezra} A Wedding Video

2011-09-13T10:21:00.000-05:00

My husband and I had so much fun shooting this wedding!
I can't even say how cool Abby and Ezra are and I'm so so happy for them!
Take a look at their wedding video!

Here is their wedding blog post,
go check it out...it involves love, and lots and lots of pie.
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{Evangeline Renee} The WINNERS!

2011-09-06T10:29:00.000-05:00

Remember the baby name contest I held awhile back?

Well two of you guessed the right names!

I'm actually really surprised...mainly because I thought we were having a girl and the girl names were harder to guess, but anyways.

Allison M guessed Evan for a boys name, (now technically that's not how we're spelling it and the rules did state it had to be spelled correctly but who cares I'm feeling generous) so Allison M get's a Starbucks card.

And Tiffany S guessed August, now she guessed it for a girls name, but actually guessing a unique name like that also deserves a card.

So ladies please email me your addresses and I will send you your piece of plastic that you can exchange for yummyness.

Thanks for all the votes!

I had lots of fun looking through your name choices, you guys are really creative!

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{Evangeline Renee} Q and A

2011-08-29T10:22:00.000-05:00

A few posts back I asked if anybody had questions about how I like to shoot,

so now I will do my best to answer a few of them.

Like I've said before, I am no expert but I have been shooting for a little while and I hope I can help others with their photography journey.

The fist questions I'll address is equipment.

"I am going to ask to borrow a friend's 5d for my brothers wedding, and I was wondering what lens you would recommend using. I really don't want to be switching lenses throughout the day, yet I want to get good results.(Duh) :)"

" As a Canon user, what lens would you recommend for child/portrait photography?"

Good questions!

I guess I'll just go through some of my favorite equipment and tell you why I like them.

(Note, I am a wedding photographer so all my gear will be inclined towards that avenue of photography)

First, my

{Camera}

It's a Canon 5dmarkii.

I love this camera, it's a full frame camera which means {click here for the nitty-gritty}.

The explanation of a full frame camera can be hard to understand but just know I believe it will handicap you eventually if you're not working with a full frame, in most cases.

I started out with a Canon 40d and it served me well but as soon as your business provides you with enough income to upgrade to a full frame camera, I would highly recommend it.

There is a lot more to cover as far as cameras go but that's it for now.

{Lens}

Good lenses are normally quite expensive for someone just starting out, if you've noticed they are normally more expensive than your camera body itself.

There is a reason they cost so much, a good lens is very important and I've learned this the hard way.

I started out with the "kit lens" that came with my camera, I thought it was a great lens, I didn't see any reason to upgrade but once I borrowed, rented and tried out the better quality lenses,

I was amazed at the difference in my images.

Depending on the situation I encourage beginners to get the best lens they can afford sometimes even over getting the best camera they can afford.

The quality of your "glass" affects your image a lot.

There is one lens that I love and that is extremely reasonably priced for what you're getting,

and that is the Canon EF 50mm f/1.4.

I love this lens for portraits, weddings, and pretty much a lot of things.

Because it's 1.4 it's great for low light and a shallow depth of field.

It's such a good lens for the money and I highly recommend it when putting your gear together.
Now you also have the f/1.2 but you're talking a big price jump between the two.

{If you're not going to go with entirely prime lenses}

Next lens I have would recommend is a Canon L series ("L" means it's the professional line of Canon's lens)

EF 24-70mm f/2.8 L.

I love this lens for shooting weddings. It's very handy to have for groups/family shots and a few other key shots you'll want to get.

If I had to pick my next favorite lens to shoot a wedding with it would be Canon's

EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS.

I like using this lens for shooting the ceremony.

It enables me to get a closer shot as well as a wider one without moving around a ton and being disruptive.

Then of course you can get a macro lens for shooting ring shots.

Once again there is so much to say about lenses, ie prime lenses vs. not and etc.

but I won't be able to get into that right now.

If you can't afford a nice lens right now I would encourage you to be renting one for shoots that deserve quality work from you.

I didn't realize how much more I could be giving my clients if I had just rented a better lens.

My advice is to just work a lens rental or two into your price/packages if you can't afford to own one.

One more thing to keep in mind, not all lenses work on all cameras.

{Flashes}

I do have two Canon 580 speedlite EX II flashes in my bag and I really like them, I don't use them too much with my shooting style but it's nice to have around for really low light, fill light or some cool effects.

So those are three of the biggys that you'll be thinking about when you get started or start upgrading.

I hope you found something helpful in all that rambling.

There were other good questions that I'll try to answer in following posts.

Hope you all have a great Monday!

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{Evangeline Renee} The Little Intern Blog

2011-08-24T09:43:00.000-05:00

Hello my friends!

Thank you for being understanding as I take blogging a little slower these days.

I believe family should come before business so I've been spending the last two weeks getting to know my newest little family member and trying to figure out this whole 'being a mom thing'.

So far it's been a wonderful, exhausting, sleep-deprived, beautiful time.

I love my little man so much (still can't believe he's a boy though! we really thought he was going to be a girl)

and I feel so blessed to have him here and healthy.

I do admit my shooting finger is getting itchy but the wedding season will start back up again in good time.

This post is to let you know that I've started a new blog, and I call it {The Little Intern}.

Since this is my official business blog and I know not everyone cares to hear about babies and homemaking-ish type things I decided to make a personal blog designated just for such topics.

Up next on this blog will be answers to a few common photography questions I get, the winner of a Starbucks card and so on.

Have a fabulous Wednesday and make sure to stop by the new blog if you feel so inclined.

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{Evangeline Renee} The Newest Intern

2011-08-11T10:29:00.001-05:00

Our sweet little baby is a boy!

I am so pleased to announce the birth of our first child!

There will be more details for any of you readers who care to hear,

but for now I just wanted to keep all my followers up to date with the news.

Give me a little while and I'll post more.

Hope you're having a great day!

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{Heather and Andrew} A Wedding Video

2011-08-01T10:25:00.000-05:00

This is what happens when a photographer marries a videographer,

and they work together.

{Heather and Andrew} A Wedding Video from Evangeline Renee on Vimeo.
My husband Tim is a great videographer and I'm so happy that we can work side by side documenting weddings.

It's the best ever!

~~~~~~

I got your great questions and I'm working on a blog post to answer them.

Also thank you to those of you who introduced yourselves, it's awesome to be getting acquainted with more of you!

Happy August!

P.S. No baby yet.

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{Evangeline Renee} Any Questions?

2011-07-26T10:30:00.000-05:00

Since I'm taking a break from shooting for the month I thought I'd get some feedback from all you awesome blog readers as far as questions you have about photography, shooting, weddings, making creme brulee, and etc.

Ok, I'm not an expert in any of these topics especially not the creme brulee, although I do make it quite often and somehow it has turned out every time I've tried it....so far.

Anyways, I get emails and messages from you all asking photography questions and I thought it might be helpful or fun to answer some of them in a blog post.

If you want to ask something just leave a comment on this blog and once I get a few that I think would be good candidates, I'll write a post on it.

If no one has anymore questions I'll just pretend this post never was written and forget about the idea,

but if you have some question that you want to throw out there I would be more than happy to answer the best I can.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

On another note...

I've had some of you come up to me and tell me "I follow your blog but I don't comment because I don't want to seem like a stalker",

nothing would be further from my mind!

I love getting to "meet" you whether in person or online.

I think it's totally cool and there's nothing "creppy" about it.

So please don't let that stop you from saying hello sometime.

I just met one of you in Starbucks a few days ago and it totally made my day that you would come up and say hey.

So, I just wanted to thank you all for the support you show me and my photography and I hope some way or another I can meet a lot more of you in the days ahead.

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{Evangeline Renee} More Updates

2011-07-22T18:21:00.001-05:00

Don't worry, you haven't missed anything, the baby isn't here yet.

Unless something unforeseen happens I will be letting all you faithful blog readers know as soon as possible

when little person shows up.

I did want to let you know that I do update my {facebook fan page} with more "day to day" stuff if you're interested in keeping up on just "life".

All you have to do is like my page and you'll be able to get notified when statuses pop up.

Have a great weekend!

P.S. You still have time to enter the baby name contest and maybe win some Starbucks!

{waiting}

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{Evangeline Renee} Clients=Friends

2011-07-18T11:06:00.001-05:00

I was just looking through my hard drive and found a few pictures that make me happy.

{Gotta love kissing contests.}
Looking at these images bring back such good memories from a bunch of my weddings.

I love it when my clients are or become my friends and we can have fun together,

before, during and even after their wedding!

I wasn't able to meet Christina before {her wedding} but afterwards we found out that we were going to be living in the same town as each other!

How random is that!?!

We decided to become walking buddies.

I was pregnant with our little person and we would talk about how everything was going and she would ask questions about the pregnancy.

We had been walking for quite a few weeks when she told me that she was also pregnant

(and had been the whole time)

but couldn't tell me because the family didn't know yet!

So not only were we walking buddies, now we were pregnant walking buddies and we always had a ton of things to talk about.

She has been a great friend and I'm so glad to have her in my life.

Here are two girls I met one day while playing Ultimate Frisbee, I ended up shooting Elizabeth's senior portraits not long after, then a family session and eventually helping shoot both Kate and Elizabeth's weddings.

Now Elizabeth has a beautiful baby boy and Kate is expecting like the week after me!

Whether we're friends before the wedding or we get to know each other the day of,

one way or another I get to be with my old or new friends on the biggest day of their lives and capture it all for them.
I love it!

I think my job is awesome!

~~~~~

I'm lovin' looking through all your baby name votes!

In regards to a baby update.....there's nothin' I'm just waiting patiently for little person to show up.

I get butterflies in my stomach every time I walk by the white bassinet and I can't believe it's all real.

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{Evangeline Renee} Baby Name Contest

2011-07-08T15:28:00.000-05:00

So as you who have been reading my blog know, I'm having a baby!

{Quite soon actually}

Since I'm taking a break from shooting for the month but I still wanted to be updating the blog with fun things,

I decided to hold a contest.

A baby name contest.

I will be giving a $5 Starbucks card away to the first blog readers that guess our baby's name.

We aren't finding out what the baby's gender is but I'll give you some clues as to what we like, name wise.

1st We like fairly uncommon, unique names.

2nd We like the names to have good meanings.

3rd If we can honor a family member in the process we really like that.

There will be a first and middle name.

{Two of you could win.}

So you get four guesses, two girl and two guy names and the first comment to get one of the names correct will be getting some free Starbucks.

{Small print}

The winner won't be announced till after the baby has been born and.....named obviously.

Immediate family members are not allowed to enter this contest, sorry.

Tim and Evy have the right to change baby's name at any time.

Name guesses must be spelled correctly to win.

Comment must be on this blog to qualify.

The contest ends when the baby is born, could be days or it could be a few hours.

Don't think too hard, but then again...

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{Evangeline Renee} Life is about to change

2011-07-01T10:30:00.000-05:00

Has anyone noticed my consistent blogging over the last few weeks?

At least two times a week people!

I think it's a record for me and I'm slightly very proud of myself.

Anywaaayyys...

I think this week has officially been the start of what people refer to as "nesting syndrome".

I've almost got the nursery decorated but it won't be totally finished till I know the gender of my little person.

I have three-ish weeks left before baby is supposed to show up and I can. not. wait to meet him or her.

~
So I just wanted to keep you blog followers up to date on what's going on in my life.

I'm also working on a few extra projects for my clients that I can't wait to show you, hopefully very soon.

{Look what I found in my backyard.}
Happy Friday!
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{Tim Porter Studios} Promo Shoot

2011-06-27T10:44:00.000-05:00

This is my husband.

He is an awesome videographer.

This is part one of his business promo shoot.

I like him a lot.

I think he's cute.

Enough said.

Isn't he cool?!
~~~~
Thank you all for your kind and encouraging comments and emails regarding my last post.
You all are the best!

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{Evangeline Renee} First Hello

2011-06-24T10:28:00.000-05:00

This post has nothing to do with weddings or photography,

it's a very personal post.

I'll start with a little background for you.

Back in '06 one of my best friends and I were joking about being in relationships at the same time, getting engaged around the same time, getting married and raising kids together.

This was partly a joke because there was a quite large age difference between us so most of our planning seemed unrealistic.

Well as the years when on what do you think happened?

Yep, we started relationships, got engaged and both married within the same year!

Then of course the joke was we would both have kids and that the kids could marry each other.

Well it was a fun idea to dream about but, like that would ever really happen.

One day my friend told me the news that they were expecting!

Of course I was thrilled for her!

And guess what?

A few months later I had to call her up and tell her I was also expecting!

How fun to be going through the same things together!

Well she was a few months ahead of me so Memorial Day '11 was her due date.

We waited for her baby boy to come.

I had never been so looking forward to a non- family member's birth.

Well as I was bringing my baby gift out to the car, I got the news that her little baby had died.

They didn't know why, he was doing fine when last they checked but he was gone now.

I was in shock.

What do you say?

I couldn't even cry.

Everything was numb.

Why, why, why just pluses through your mind.

Well I don't know why, I know the Lord has a perfect plan and that He knows what best,

and that's the only real comfort you have in a time like this.

Like I said, I didn't have words so I wrote a song instead.

I am so sobered to know this can happen to anyone and even though I'm passed the "likelihood" of a miscarriage with my own baby, you can never know what one day will bring.

Life is so valuable and precious.

Don't take it for granted.

{First Hello}

Dedicated to anyone who has lost their baby.
(Someday I'll actually get someone who can sing to record it, but for now, you'll just have to listen to me.)

Thanks to my friends Daniel and David for backing me up with more guitar and bass and my husband for helping me record.

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Abby : Class of '12

2011-06-22T11:07:00.002-05:00

I can't even say how much fun I was having on Abby's shoot!

She's really enjoyable to be around and she's extremely photogenic so I didn't even feel like I was working.

I first met Abby when I shot her brother's wedding back in September and I'm so glad that our paths crossed again.

She is looking into becoming an X-ray tech eventually, and personally, I think she'll be the cutest scrub wearing person ever.

I was trying very hard not to be jealous of her hair.

I wish you all the best Abby!

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My Worst Engagement Session Ever

2011-06-20T10:29:00.000-05:00

Ok, first off, this is very unorthodox of me,

I normally would never write a blog post complaining about my clients!

{I love all of my clients...except these two.}

Disclaimer aside, here's the story.

When I was over in Puerto Rico my husband and I were on a engagement shoot with this couple

{who will remain nameless}

and this couple would just NOT cooperate.

Seriously, they wouldn't even stay in one spot let alone smile or do what I was kindly instructing them to do.

They just ran away from Tim, me, and each other for that matter, the whole entire shoot.

Clearly they had some big issues they needed to resolve.

They literally were either hiding their face from us or running the opposite direction.

Despite it dropping my self-confidence as a photographer down about eight notches, I'm glad I can look back on it as a learning experience now.

I'm very happy to say that since then they have gotten counseling and have a great marriage.

They were so kind as to give us permission to show this video of their shoot.

Enjoy.

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{Abby and Ezra} Wedding

2011-06-13T10:41:00.000-05:00

I'm going to use two words that aren't in my everyday vocabulary.

{Simply lovely}

Yep, those are the words that describe this wedding.

I've known Abby for quite a few years now and I think she's awesome, so awesome that it was hard to believe some guy hadn't snatched her up yet.

You know those stories where a girl marries a guy and then you ask yourself

"hmm, I wonder if he has a brother?"

Well this is one of those stories.

One of Abby's sisters had married Ezra's brother awhile back and I always had thought to myself...hmm, I wonder if he has a brother for Abby.

Well so happens that he did, it just took a little bit for them to figure out that they loved each other and wanted to get married.

Abby had been working in Chicago for a couple years until she decided to go move to Missouri to help with some political campaigning.

And who do you think was from MO?

Yes, Ezra, the unmarried brother.

To make a long story short, Ezra decided that he indeed did love his brother's sister-in-law and wondered if she could love him back so he asked her.

Abby wondered too!

They had been friends for years and she never had even really considered the possibility, but it didn't take her long to realize that she could and did love him back and she felt it was the Lord's direction for her life.

What do you do after you realize a thing like that?

You plan the wedding!

I'm so happy I was able to capture Abby and Ezra's special day and I hope you enjoy their images.

The beautiful foggy Kentucky countryside.

{Here is a post about Abby getting ready}

Abby had always wanted to get married in the Estes chapel that was right down the road from her house. When the time came for her to book a venue she was very happy the the busy chapel did actually have a time-slot available for her wedding. Later on she went to a bridal show that the chapel was having, entered a drawing and won the grand prize, which happened to be getting the facility for free!

Here's a shot we got the night before, while we were scouting locations.
You can see why she wanted the place!

This was definitely not my first military wedding, but it was my first sword arch.

I was so happy when I heard the reception was going to be held at Abby's house!

Pie reception, yes please!

No, it's not just you...they really enjoyed kissing...a lot.
Gotta love it.

As you can see their guests had quite a fun time pelting them with rice.

This looks like a good start to happily ever after to me.
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Evangeline Renee {Where Do I Start?}

2011-06-10T10:18:00.000-05:00

Do you ever feel like there are just too many things to do, too many projects to work on and too many exciting possibilities?

That's how I feel like with my photography business this year.

I have too many ideas going around in my head I need to get them out so I can get some sleep.

Jk, about the sleep part....kinda.

I feel like this picture, today.

"Where do I start?"

I'm SO excited about the next few shoots I have to share with you!
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{Abby} Bridal

2011-06-06T10:12:00.000-05:00

I love Abby!

She has been one of my good friends for many years now.

{although I didn't think she really liked me the first time we met, shhhh}

Anyways I was super excited when she told me to block off May 28th because she was pretty sure this guy was going to ask her to marry him.

Well turns out he did ask her to marry him, she said yes and I got to shoot their wedding!

Here are some of beautiful Abby getting ready and then a few portraits.

This would be Abby singing to me about love..or something.

Isn't she the cutest thing?!

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{Evangeline Renee} The Most Exciting Internship Program Ever!

2011-06-03T09:23:00.000-05:00

Well I've been thinking about this idea ever since I was about three,

and now I'm going to share it with you all.

Here is it...

My husband and I have decided to start an internship program.

This is unlike any other internship/workshop I've ever done,

it involves countless hours of teaching and training,

the intern will learn so many things I can't even begin to list them.

This internship will start in July or August of '11 and most likely last somewhere around

18 years....yes, years.

I will most likely only have one intern begin at this time, but over the years I would be very open to letting others join.

Unfortunately this internship is by invitation only and you have to be a total beginner with absolutely no experience already.

We are also only excepting very young interns (at this point) so pretty much none of you would qualify...I'm sorry.

I have a few more shoots to do in the next few weeks and then I will be taking about a month long break to make sure this new program get's started on the right foot.

I can't say how completely excited I am about this opportunity and I can't wait for it to start!!!

Please email me if you're still confused and I'll clarify.

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{Abby and Ezra} Married 5/28/11

2011-05-28T21:31:00.000-05:00

May I introduce you for the very first time {online}

Lt. and Mrs. Ezra Akin!

I had such a blast shooting my beautiful friend and her dashing Marine today!

Don't worry, many more pictures are on their way.

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{Evangeline Renee} Bridal Hair Pieces

2011-05-26T08:41:00.001-05:00

Every one of my brides is and has been totally unique,

which is something about my job that I totally love.

Each bride has different tastes in pretty much every area of their wedding and I love showing up on the day and seeing what each girl has prepared.

Today we're going to look at hair pieces because they're cool and I'm curious to hear what you like the best.

Veil, no veil?

Why?

Flower, feather?

What are you going to do or what did you do?

Here are just a few examples to pick from.

So give me a little blog reader participation if you wouldn't mind and go ahead and tell me what style you think is the awesomest.

Chapel veil, ballet veil, cathedral veil ?

Elbow veil, fingertip veil?
And where will you wear your veil?
High, low?
What about a headband or tiara?
Blusher?

A real flower, or homemade vintage hair piece?

Maybe a birdcage veil?
I have yet to shoot a wedding with a mantilla veil, but I look forward to the day.
~~~
I'm packing and getting ready for a lovely wedding in KY this weekend.
An adorable redhead and a Lieutenant, and in the Marine Corps has won her heart.
Yep, it's going to be awesome!
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{Heather and Andrew} Wedding

2011-05-20T08:19:00.001-05:00

It was so special and a big honor to shoot Andrew and Heather's wedding.

I've knew them both as friends before they liked each other and I have lots of fun memories stored away.

I've worked with Andrew, been in singing groups with him, and played many hours of Ultimate Frisbee on his team or against him.

(You definitely want him on your team, fyi)

Heather and I got to know each other when we were both staying in the same house for a friends wedding and we have tons of funny stories about all the crazy things that went on.

I always love it when I can see Heather again, we always seem to pick up where we left off.

And for some reason we have quite a collection of "really crazy face" pictures together.

Heather wasn't sure about the idea of getting married for most of her life, but when she met Andrew and got to know him better, things changed.

They have a pretty unique love story in the fact that Andrew has been living and working over in the Philippines and they've had to be content with lots of phone calls and skype for most of their relationship.

Like I said, I was very honored to be chosen to document their wedding and here are their images.

Heather used to be a dancer so she got red ballet flats.

Heather is just gorgeous, period.

Andrew is really fun and has a lot of fun friends!

No, she's not a model..yes, she could be.

I was so excited when I found this spot while I was scouting the day before!
And can we say beautiful bridemaids?!

I love this shot Tim captured.

Andrew seeing his bride for the first time that day.
I love watching the groom's face while the love of his life is walking towards him, about to become his wife.

I told you all they were good looking...

There was swan couple just around the island and I was hoping they would swim by for this picture, but alas, geese will have to do.
I guess I'll just have to take swan wrangling lessons for the next wedding.

It seems like my last few wedding have all had rain, and this one didn't want to be left out.
I should be grateful for the learning experience I suppose, rain causes one to think outside the box and be more creative.
They were real troopers the whole day.

I admire both of them greatly for being willing to live in a foreign country and be missionaries.

Heather is one brave women to leave everything to follow the Lord and her new husband.

It was hard enough for me to leave my home state and move, can you imagine getting married and leaving the country all in a couple weeks!

This wedding was a great reunion time for me, there were so many of my friends there!
I wish the photographer got more time to visit, but it was still great to see everyone.

Here is one of my very first brides and her husband.

So blessed to be able to shoot with my hubby!
We have so much fun together.

This isn't good-bye, just see you later Andrew and Heather.
You have lots of people praying for you as you start your new life and ministry together.

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{Heather and Andrew} Wedding Preview

2011-05-16T12:52:00.001-05:00

This awesome couple got married two days ago and I got to document their big day!
I'm so happy and excited for them and I can't wait to show you more images!

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{Heather and Andrew} Before they liked each other

2011-05-13T21:43:00.000-05:00

I was looking through my archives and I came across this picture.

(Andrew's sister in the middle)
This just happens to be the first picture I ever took of this weekend's bride and groom together.

I took this snap shot at one of my very first weddings that I photographed, and it was also before they liked each other

"more than friends", you know.
Needless to say, they like each other quite a bit now.

I pride myself in having the foresight to take this picture and save it....yeah riiiiight.

Anyways, this is the amazingly, good-lookingingly, awesomely incredible couple that will be gracing this blog very soon.

I can't wait for their wedding tomorrow!

Heather is going to be stunning, no doubt about it.

And Andrew is so in love with her, it's just going to be a wonderful day.

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Taylor : Class of '11

2011-05-11T10:41:00.000-05:00

Here is beautiful, fun, sweet, caring, brave and so many other things, Taylor.

I guess the first time Taylor saw me was while I was shooting a wedding for her friend, but I didn't meet her till a couple months later while I was at starbucks one day.

I was very happy to hear that she lived pretty close to me, she seemed like a really sweet person and I was hoping I could get to know her better.

Well, I got my wish when her mother nominated her for my photography contest a little while back.

Turns out she won and that she was going to get a free senior portrait session at one of my workshops.

So anyways, the workshop went awesome and then Taylor showed up at the end for her shoot.

We had a great time shooting with her!

She's just so fun and easy to be around, you can't help but have a great time.

Here are a few of the shots I got from the evening.

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Evangeline Renee {ONE Day Photography Workshop} Franklin, IN (Number 1)

2011-05-09T11:11:00.000-05:00

Well, my {ONE Day Photography Workshop} was a blast!

It being my first one I really didn't know how the day was going to flow and all,

would I have too much information for one day,

too little?

Would everyone get bored or totally overwhelmed?

There was only way to find out, and it happened nine days ago.

So here are the things I learned and will be implementing in any other workshops I do.

1. Having my husband tag-team teaching with me was awesome!

He loves explaining techy stuff and helping people until they understand tricky concepts.

The attendees commented that they liked having two of use there for question answering and shooting help.

{Well cool, because I think we make a pretty good team.}

2. I we do indeed have plenty to talk about and I'm going to have to make sure to stay on schedule as much as possible.

I initially thought most of my interest would be from teenage-twenty year old girls and guys, well yes it was but I also got sign-ups from moms and dads,

and so this first workshop happened to turn into a moms workshop.

And let me tell you, they were a fun group of moms and I loved having each of them there!

Overall, it was a great time!

Here is a little recap of our day,

from teaching in the morning, shooting during the day, a picnic lunch and a lovely senior shoot in the evening.

ONE Day Photography Workshop from Evangeline Renee on Vimeo.
My weekends are filling up but I would like to get some more workshops in during the next few months.

I'll keep you posted.
Oh, I gotta tell you my embarrassing story of the day!
So, I was giving one of the attendees some instruction about her camera when all the sudden I got like my first real bloody nose of my life!
I was like Ahhhh! what am I supposed to do?!
So for five or ten minutes of the workshop I was sitting in my chair, pinching my nose with my head held back feeling really stupid.
lol, Thankfully Tim could take over with some more instruction while I sat awkwardly on the side.
Anyways, good times.

The next post will be about our lovely model we had at the workshop.

I hope you all had a lovely Mother's Day!

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{Jesse and Amber} Portraits

2011-05-02T12:35:00.001-05:00

Portrait time!

When Amber told me who her bridal party was going to be, I couldn't help but think

oooo, portraits are going to be FUN!

Pretty much the whole wedding party consisted of family members, and let me tell ya,

they have fun families.

And of course I was really looking forward to Jesse and Amber's portraits

because they're so awesome and adorable together.

Don't they look AWESOME together?!!

Ok,so we'll start with the ladies.

Now the men.

Run away!

Yes, they're twins.

You gotta love it when you see the groom and best man are twins.

See, I told you they were fun!
It turned out to be a very cold and rainy April day but they all had a good attitude and made the best of it.
I couldn't have asked for a better group of people to work with.

Amber looked simply stunning.

I could take all the raindrops and snow flakes out of these pictures, but I kinda like them,
it's a true picture of their day.
A light snow started while we were shooting and I think it looks beautiful and very "English gardeny"
which is totally Amber.

That's it for now, hope you enjoyed them.

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Evangeline Renee {Real Time Wedding Workshop} Wilmore, KY

2011-04-29T09:58:00.000-05:00

IT'S OFFICIAL!

I've been waiting to tell you this news since December!

I haven't been this excited about a new photography idea in a long time,

and I can finally share it with you!

{Drum roll, please}

Announcing the first ever {Real Time Wedding Workshop}!

As we all know, there are many different types of workshops out there,

one day workshops, weekend workshops, week long internships and so on...

They do a wonderful job teaching you branding, basic to advanced photography, blogging, portraiture, editing etc.

But how many times have you run across a workshop that will actually be centered around a real wedding, with a real bride and groom and real life situations that come up while shooting?!

{Here is a little behind the scenes on why I decide to offer a workshop like this}

Real Time Wedding Workshop from Evangeline Renee on Vimeo.
The workshop will start on Friday afternoon.

You will get pointers on what to do and we'll go over what equipment you have and how it should be used.

On Saturday you will be able to shadow me the entire day and then have a training time afterward.

I'll let you be right there as I set up the shots, pose groups, interact with the bridal party, document the ceremony, play around with cool shots at the reception, capture the getaway and

I'll show you how I make a slideshow for the wedding guests to view at the reception.

After the wedding we'll go hangout with our computers and learn how to edit and what to do once you have all your images finished and ready to go.

I'll show you my blogging process and what I give my clients.

It's amazing how much you can learn from actually doing something yourself!

You can read about it, watch youtube videos "how to's"

but there's nothing like really being able to try your hand at it.

Here's some info you need to know.

You will need a DSLR camera, a laptop and Lightroom 2 or higher on your laptop.

{You can download the 30 day trial version if you don't own LR yet.}

Sounds like something you would like to do?

Or maybe you know someone who would love something like this?

Just shoot me an email at evy@evangelinerenee.com and we can talk more.

There will only be two spots available for this workshop due to the intensity of the training and the amount of individualized time I would like to give to each attendee.

You won't be my official second shooter so there will be no pressure on you, hopefully just fun times and lots of learning.

I think this will be a total blast and I hope it fills need for some young lady out there!

Can't wait to see who you are.

If you're not interested in doing the whole wedding shooting weekend thing, I have some friends who do an excellent job teaching a one day photography class or a five day long internship.
Go check them out!

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Andrew : Class of '11

2011-04-25T10:20:00.000-05:00

Andrew, Andrew, Andrew...

where do I even start?

Andrew is one of my two favorite brothers in the world, and well, I like him a lot.

He is one of the funniest people I know, he is kind, he's loyal, and he's very extremely athletic.

{I'm athletic, but I wouldn't say "very extremely"...so I'm jealous}

There are so many things to like about Andrew but I must confess, getting him to cooperate for a photoshoot has got to be one of the small trials of my entire life.

It's hard to take pictures when you're laughing your head off and trying not to shake the camera.

We had to get his shoot in fast before he leaves for Singapore and Malaysia {jealous again}

so here's what we got.

Enjoy.

Congrats on finishing high school, "little" brother
I can't wait to see where you go from here.

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{Jesse and Amber} Getting Ready

2011-04-20T12:28:00.000-05:00

The anticipation you have the morning of your wedding day,

it's like nothing else.

You can feel thrilled, excited, nervous, overjoyed, ecstatic, concerned, impatient, relaxed and so many other feelings in a few short hours.

It's one of, or the most special and emotional days of a persons life and I find a wonderful thrill in capturing every little moment of it.

This post is about Amber and Jesse and their wedding day morning.

I'm going to go out on a limb and say she's pretty excited.

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{Jesse and Amber} Married 4/16/11

2011-04-16T19:07:00.000-05:00

They're married!

I just had a wonderful day documenting Jesse and Amber's wedding!

Can't wait to show you more images,

but that's it for tonight.

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{Jesse and Amber} Engagement

2011-04-11T14:40:00.000-05:00

You met this adorable couple in {this post},

and now you get to see their engagement shoot!
We had planned this shoot to be a "Springy" shoot but the weather didn't get the memo.

Despite it being really cold out, we had a lovely time shooting together.

Lots of laughs and fun times.

I'm so glad these two are my friends and I can't wait to see how God uses them as a couple.

I think it's really sweet how Jesse wasn't really into reading literature and poetry before,
but because he loves Amber, he's gotten into it, which is so cute.

Amber is going to be a be.a.u.ti.ful bride!

Next up, the wedding,
super excited about that!
Amber is going to be doing lots of cute DIY {do it yourself} stuff and I can't wait to see it all!

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Evangeline Renee {Let the contest begin!}

2011-04-09T09:56:00.000-05:00

The entries are in and the voting is about to start!

I am holding a {ONE Day Photography Workshop} in Indiana at the end of April and I needed a few more models, so I decided to turn it into a contest and give a free

senior or engagement session away to someone.

So here are the four people that have an opportunity to win a free shoot

and the decision is in your hands!

Colin and Alyssa

Abby

Taylor

YOU get to vote and tell me who should win.

Here's how it works,

1. Go to my Facebook business page, click the "like" Evangeline Renee button on the top of the page.

2. Go to the contest album.

3. Then click the "like" button under whatever picture you want to win.

Simple, simple, and whoever gets the most votes wins!

Voting will end the 17th of April and the winner will be notified the next day.

Let the friendly competition begin!

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Evangeline Renee {Photoshoot Contest}

2011-04-04T06:54:00.000-05:00

I promised a contest, so here it is!
I love contests!

Loved them for as long as I can remember, most likely because I'm a pretty competitive person,

{which has gotten me into trouble a few times, but that's a different story}.

Anyways, I believe the time has come for a little contest on this blog.

So here's the deal,

I'm hosting a {ONE Day Photography Workshop} here in Indiana on April 30th where
I'll be teaching about portraiture in the afternoon

and I need one more model{s}.

If you're thinking this means a free photoshoot for someone...you're right!

Yes, I'm giving away one senior or engagement session for free!

{Just in time for graduation or a Summer wedding, how convenient.}

So, here's where you come in.

I need submissions!

It can be yourself or someone you think would really be encouraged to get a free shoot.

Once I have all the submissions I will post on this blog and on my Facebook page so you and your friends can vote for the winner.
Whoever gets the most votes on their picture wins!

If you're interested in submitting/nominating yourself or someone else, here are the details.

1. Whoever you summit must be a senior or an engaged couple.

{There might be room to fudge on this one, but we'll have to see.}

2. You must send a picture of your entry to evy@evangelinerenee.com by April 9th.

{If you're nominating someone else, put in the email why you think they should be the winner.}

3. Go to my Facebook Page and "like it" so you can vote on the entries.

That's pretty much it.

Once I get all the entries in, I'll write another blog post and let the voting begin.

I've never done something like this before and I'm excited to see who might be getting a free shoot!

Feel free to tell your friends, because free things are just plain cool.

Let the submissions begin.

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{Hannah Anne} : Lifestyle

2011-03-31T02:00:00.001-05:00

Hannah is a beautiful girl,

{inside and out}.

She's a passionate person who always has some inspiring idea going on in her head, she knows her mind and you can count on her to not beat around the bush when something needs to be said, she is a great musician and is just a ton of fun to be around.

And I have the privilege of calling her my sister-in-law.

We were down in Nashville for a little workvacation a few weeks ago, Spring was in full bloom and I was just inspired to shoot something.

Hannah graciously obliged me, and here are the results.

I was so excited when I saw these chairs, yeah I'm weird like that.
Aren't they cool though!?!

I think this picture is totally Hannah,
you got the soft, nice, happy, green {which happens to be her favorite color}
with her perky smile, and then you got the bold, intense, strong wall.
Yep, pretty much.
Love her.
~~~
Soo, next post from this blog is going to be a contest!
Stay tuned.
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Evangeline Renee {ONE Day Photography Workshop} Franklin, IN

2011-03-28T12:54:00.000-05:00

Ok, it's been discussed, rediscussed and now it's final,

the first ONE Day Photography Workshop for Indiana will be held April 30th!

Please read here if you're wondering what in the world I'm talking about.

I'm pretty sure two of the spots are already gone, so please let me know if you're interested as soon as possible.

Feel free to share this on Facebook if you think you have some friends who might enjoy coming!

I'm really looking forward to it!

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{Amber and Jesse} Preview

2011-03-24T11:04:00.000-05:00

I can still remember the day very well,

the day Amber told me Jesse had asked to "get to know her better."

She didn't know exactly what to think of this guy she hardly knew, but that all changed rather quickly and she was well on her way to falling totally in love.
And let me tell ya, she is SO in love as we speak.

One thing I regret about when I was getting to know my husband was, we really didn't get that many pictures of us together during that time.

{Two photographers not getting pictures, shocker I know}

Anyways, I didn't want that to be the case for Amber and Jesse,

so every time I saw them together I would "make" them take a picture.

The first one was a little awkward but after that I don't think they minded in the least.

Anyways, here are a few to wet your appetite for the engagement pictures coming soon,

then of course the wedding!

I love it that I could watch their whole story unfold and I can't wait to shoot their Spring wedding!

The day Amber was telling everyone about their news.
I don't think I had ever seen her so happy!

Don't let the serious faces fool you, they were quite excited.

Definitely more of these two to come!
Share

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Evangeline Renee : About Me

2011-03-21T09:57:00.000-05:00

If you look up you'll see the newest addition to my blog,

an "About Me" page.

You know, just some random things that I like and appreciate, nothin' fancy.

Also I hope to be putting up a short video clip so you can get to know me better.

I like it when a photographer let's you look into their life and see who they really are

so I decided to do the same for you.

After all, who are the people you're going to be spending your wedding day with?

Your fiance, maybe your wedding coordinator, but the one person that will be there pretty much the entire time?

Your wedding photographer.

If you don't get to know them ahead of time you might be in for some surprises, not always good, sad to say.

I am a firm believer that you should be very comfortable with who you hire to take your pictures.

Just imagine, you find out you really don't click with your photographer's personality but guess what, you're stuck with them the entire day.

You want your wedding day to be happy and as stress free as possible so you surround yourself with people you trust and that will uplift you, right?

Anywaaayyys, wow, that post got a lot longer than I intended it to be, sorry.

So all that to say, I am making a video so you can get to know me better but it won't be up for awhile because of my crazy schedule this year,

but I wanted to have something about who I am on here so hence...the new page.

~~~~~

I had a blast in TN this last week!
It was warm and beautiful.
I got some sun, shopped, explored, did a photoshoot or two, hung out with friends and family and celebrated our six month anniversary with my husband.
All in all it was wonderful.

I'm still trying to nail down the dates for the next workshops but I'll put it up here asap.

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Evangeline Renee: ONE Day Photography Workshop{s}

2011-03-14T10:36:00.000-05:00

Wow, a lot has happened since my last post about doing a photography workshop in Indiana!

I've been so blessed by all the response and interest I've received.

It was just something I thought would be helpful and fun and it's turned into more than I thought it would!

So here's the deal,

I've had people writing me saying that they would love to come but they aren't anywhere near IN

and would I consider doing some more workshops in other states.

My answer.....yes, totally!

So, as it is now I'll be holding one in my area here, one in the Chicago area and

I'm also planning one for South Carolina!

If you would like to add your state to the consideration pile and/or host a workshop

please write me an email and I'll look into the possibility.

Once I figure out how many workshops there might be, I can get a better idea of timing and dates.

Please read my last post for the general workshop idea.
Feel free to pass this along to anyone you think might be interested.
~~~~~~~~
I'm pretty excited to be traveling to Nashville this week!
Warmer weather pllleeeeease!
I'm letting you all know just in case there are any seniors who need a last minute shoot.
I should have a few open afternoons and it would be awesome to meet some new people while I'm down there.
Also there is a secret project I've been working on in my mind and I hope I can share it with you soon.
I am so excited about it and I think some of you will be too!
Happy Monday!
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Evangeline Renee {ONE Day Photography Workshop}

2011-03-04T12:06:00.001-06:00

Spring is coming soon!

{I think}

And Spring is a time for new growth and learning of new things.

{Amongst planting flowers, morning jogs, house organizing and other fun stuff.}

That's why I think it's a perfect time to announce my first photography one day workshop for Indiana!

Since moving here last fall I've met lots of great people and I've been getting requests to teach a short workshop/class on photography.

Although there are many much more qualified photographers out there,

I'll never pass up a chance to have fun with friends and our cameras while teaching what I know from

my own experience as a photographer.

The first workshop {because I hope to do more} will be designed for beginners.

You have a camera and you want to learn what makes a good picture and what on earth all these buttons are for?

Join the party!
Have you ever told yourself,
"One day I'll become a better photographer"
Well that day might be closer than you think.

You can be an aspiring pro photographer or just enjoy photography as a hobby.

I'll be going over topics like, composition, lighting, basic rules of photography and then I'll show you some options you have for editing/post processing.

The day will look something like this:

Meet at my house at 10:00am for going over equipment, the first training time of the day and also brunch,
I'm thinkin' crepes.

After that, we'll go out for shooting and some hands on training.

There will be chances for one on one questions and pointers from me,

along with time for you to just have fun and experiment.

We'll have some more training

and also some critiquing time if you would like it.

For the afternoon we will be focusing on working with people and shooting portraiture.

After shooting and a picnic dinner we'll do a real shoot with real models!

Man, I getting excited just typing all this!

So after the real photoshoot we'll regroup at my house for editing basics and critiquing time.

Sound like fun?

Shoot me an email at evy@evangelinerenee.com

Know of someone who might enjoy this?

Tell them about this post.

I also would like to know what weekend would be better for you.

Your options are March 26th or April 2nd.

The class will have a size limit of three so if you're interested please reserve a spot as soon as you can.
I want to keep the class smaller so I can make sure I have enough time to work one on one with everybody
and answer as many questions as possible.

The basics one more time.

The cost will be $85 per person.
You will need a digital camera, DSLR or just a point and shoot.
You will be able to learn the same things about basic photography and design with a really good camera or a cheaper one.
It would also be helpful if you brought a laptop, but not necessary.

As I said, if there is any interest I'll be happy to hold a few more workshops this Spring just let me know what you would like to learn.

I could do the same workshop later on in the Spring or maybe you would like one

more centered around portraiture, posing, and interacting with clients.

Just let me know what ya think and I'll try to make it happen.
I'm pretty excited about this and I hope some of you are as well!
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{Kristin and Michael} Wedding

2011-02-23T00:00:00.001-06:00

I love remembering back to Michael and Kristin's wedding,

it was a really fun trip filled with really cool people.

I was excited when I found out the wedding was in CO.

It would be my first time in that beautiful state.

And of course I fell in love with the big, amazing, always changing, sky.

I was driving one night and there were like three sunsets going on in different parts of the sky,

it was A.MA.ZING!
~

From the moment I met the the bridal party I knew this was going to be a fun wedding to shoot.

Jessica Shae {primary photog} and I were there for the rehearsal and Kristin and Michael were so cute together, you could tell they loved being around all their friends and family.
I love getting to hang out with the bride and groom before their wedding, there's so much
excitement and anticipation.

I think {anticipation} is one of my favorite things in the world,

anticipation for nice things, of course.

That's one of the many, many reasons I love shooting weddings.

You have anticipation when talking to an excited bride and figuring out her perfect photography package,

you have anticipation as you correspond with a bride about details and things she is excited about,

you have anticipation as you travel to the wedding and start meeting new friends,

and then the whole wedding day is just smothered in rich anticipation.

I know, I know, you like anticipation too, but this is too much you're saying.

Show me the pictures already!

Ok, ok here they are.

Kristin decided she wanted to wear her mothers dress, now we all know that most of the dresses our mothers wore are, well, you know, a little dated.

Every generation has a different style of wedding attire and it's not often you find a bride who feels comfortable in a 20 to 30 year old dress.

But Kristin added a few little touches and looked awesome!

There were some jokes going around to the affect of, "Michael is marrying Kristin because of her car!",

well we all know that couldn't be true...right?

{just kidding!}

Definitely the favored prop of the day.

Kristin and her dad fixed the car up as a special daddy daughter project.

See, I told you they had a fun bridal party.

Playing around with some bokah.

{The End}

As always shooting for Jessica Shae was awesome.
I think we have too much fun together.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I had a lovely time in Chicago celebrating my birthday and Valentineish things.

Do you remember last year's Valentines day?

Well this year I was married so I actually got to attend a fancy banquet be taken out to eat...it was nice.
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{The Show Stealers}

2011-02-03T10:00:00.000-06:00

It happens at almost every single wedding I shoot.

Sometimes you can tell right away, sometimes you don't know until the dance floor,

but inevitably they appear.

The Show Stealers.

The flower girl, ring bearer, the cute little kid in the miniature tux...the one that is just so cute you can't help but love them.

I think it's awesome when they want to be "best friends"!
So this post is dedicated to all my little show stealin' best friends.

~~~~~~~~~~It seems as though I have a couple different types of friends in the US this week,those that are snowed-in and upset, those that are snowed-in and happy, those who basking in the fact they aren't snowed-in, and those that wish they were. I personally think the recent snow and ice was a great way to end Winter and it should be Spring next week!Yep, that sounds really good to me.On the business side of things, I hope to be announcing a really cool announcement-ish type thing in the next few weeks and

I'm really excited!

Happy snow day to some of you and happy Thursday to the rest of you.

Seniors Portraits {The Secret is Out}

2011-01-28T09:57:00.000-06:00

I am a wedding photographer first and foremost

and over the course of my business I've tried to specialize in just that, but I have a confession.

I love shooting senior portraits!

When I first got into photography and made the leap from flowers and trees to people

I started with senior portraits and I was hooked.

There's just something about shooting with young people just get's me so excited!

Whether they're a little self conscious about themselves or they're totally comfortable in who they are,
we always end up having a good time.
I love it when I can turn the camera around and show them how great they look and their face lightens up and then they feel comfortable with just being them self.
Anyways all this to say, I've been getting emails asking me if I'll do senior portraits
and yes I will.
"They" say you should really just specialize in one thing when you're a photographer but I can't help it
seniors are so. much. fun!
Senior packages for 2011 start at $250.
Inquire {here} for more info.

I will be shooting portraits in the Indianapolis area and the Chicago area.
~~~~~

This is beautiful Kaitlin and this is her shoot.

Yeah, we had fun.~~~~~So if you think you're ready for some portraits or know a senior who isshoot me an email and we'll line something up.I can't wait!~Like my work on facebook~Contact me about shooting~Follow me on twitter~

Puerto Rico

2011-01-21T12:14:00.000-06:00

Here it is, the honeymoon post!

I decided January would be the perfect month to torture everyone with pictures of warm beaches and tropicalness.
You're welcome.
I give you the beautiful island of Puerto Rico.

{Hanging out in Old San Juan}

Just for the fun of it we did some reviews and critiques of our hotels and some of the restaurants we ate at.

The Hote El Convento in Old San Juan
Service:★★★★★
Room:★★★★★
Facilities:★★★★
Location:★★★★★
Tim and Evy Rating:★★★★★

Cafe Cola'o in Old San Juan
Service:★★★★
Coffee:★★★★
Latte Art:★★★
Location:★★★★
Tim and Evy Rating:★★★★

311 Trois Cent Onze in Old San Juan
Service:★★★★
Ambiance:★★★
Food:★★★★★
Location:★★★★
Tim and Evy Rating:★★★★

The Sheraton in San Juan.
Service:★★★
Room:★★★★
Facilities:★★★★
Location:★★
Tim and Evy Rating: ★★★★

J-Taste in Old San Juan
Service:★★
Ambiance:★★
Food:★★★★★
Location:★★★
Tim and Evy Rating:★★★★

Bamboo Tree house in Rincon.
Service:★★★
Room:★★★
Facilities:★
Location:★★★★
Tim and Evy Rating:★★★★ If you like camping.

The Horned Dorset in Rincon
Service:★★
Ambiance:★★★★★
Food:★★★★
Location:★★
Tim and Evy Rating:★★★★

Honeymoon Lean-to in Rincon (built by Tim)
Service:
Room:
Facilities:
Location:★★★★
Tim and Evy Rating:★★★★★

{Just exploring the island}

Turtle Bay Inn in La Parguera
Service:★★★★
Room:★★★
Facilities:★★★★
Location:★★
Tim and Evy Rating:★★★

The Passion Fruit Bed and Breakfast in Fajardo
Service:★★★★
Room:★
Facilities:★★
Food:★★★★
Location:★★★
Tim and Evy Rating:★★

On the way back home I spied some more islands that need to be explored.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Wow, you didn't know a post could have that many pictures did you?
{Now my brain officially feels like mush}
I think I'll do one more post with images that I'll be offering as canvases and prints.
If you just can't wait to get one of these tropical scenes on your wall or desk then shoot me an email and tell me what one you would like and I'll see what we can do.
There were too many pictures to write captions for all of them, if you want to read more about each image then go check out my facebook album.
If any of you decide to do a destination wedding here I will be more than happy to shoot it for you...
just sayin'.
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{Tim and Evy} Wedding Part 2

2011-01-19T09:51:00.000-06:00

I had two main photographers at my wedding.

Michaela and John

and they did a fabulous job!

The last wedding post featured Michaela's work, now this one will have images from John.

Enjoy.

This is one my my favorite shots!
John was there for the last part of the day so he shot our "urban portraits" and the reception.

This is the exact place Tim asked me to marry him.It was really cool we got to go back for the shoot.

{Back at the reception}

I surprised Tim with a song I wrote for him.

Our beautiful cake that tasted good too!

{Yummyness}We had at least three different kinds of cupcakes. I think these are the peanut butter ones.

Our grand exit.

We're married and very very happy.~~~~~~In other news, we're still married and very very happy.I know I've been doing a lot of "personal" posts this January but I think there's just one more, it involves a beautiful island called Puerto Rico.Stay tuned.~Follow me on Twitter~Contact me about shooting~Like my work on Facebook~

Evangeline Renee {2010 Recap}

2011-01-14T12:45:00.000-06:00

Januarys are for planning and reminiscing,

or at least mine are.

Looking through my archives of 2010 has been so fun.

I reminds me of how blessed I really am.
I hope you enjoy this smattering of 2010 life.

{Snowboarding}
Gotta start the year off right ya know.

Februarys are for falling in love.
~~~
I was so extremely blessed to do a lot of what I love...shooting weddings!
2010 was the third full year of Evangeline Renee wedding photography business.

I had weddings in IN, IL, CO, TX, WI, and OH.

I love traveling!
I don't think I even put away my suitcase the entire year.
I got to visit the beautiful state of CO and it got added to my list of places I wouldn't mind living.

To my happiness, I got to shoot a lot with my Jessica Shae friend this year.

Family vacations are the bomb!

This is me on a boat, one of my favorite places to be.

Shooting in beautiful Columbus.

It was great to get together with some photog friends for a weekend of shooting and fun.

Falling more in love with Tim.

Shooting up Chicago with friends.

Tim asking me to marry him and be his wife!

The beautiful ring he got me!
It is perfect! And I'm not just saying that.

I got to meet so many cool people this year!

And hang out with old ones.
~~~
Getting married!

We go on picnics and eat quiche and creme brulee.

I love being able to go on shoots with him.

We go to our farmer's market and buy food.

Loving my life with Tim.

Honeymoon in Puerto Rico!
{Post coming soon}
~~~~~~~
Ok, that was kinda in order and that was definitely a smattering.
But it's what I had on my hard drive so it's what you get.
I am so so excited about 2011!
I hope to become more like my Savior with each new day.
I can't wait to fall more in love with my husband.
And build quality friendships with my family, friends and new friends.
On top of that the 2011 wedding season is shaping up to be beautiful.
I have wonderful people contacting me about shooting their weddings and it's really happy!
Thanks for listening to my ramblings.
Happy Friday!
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{Tim and Evy} Wedding

2011-01-11T13:39:00.000-06:00

Ok, here it is,

the post you have been waiting for.

In fact you've been waiting so long for it you forgot you were waiting.

I think one reason I put this post off is because I have so many images to show you

I just don't know where to start.

How do you decide what pictures to put up of your own wedding when they all are special and meaningful to you?

I decided to be brilliant and make some collages so those of you who don't have the time or desire to look through hundreds of images can just skim the first few and get an adequate impression of the day.

Brilliant huh?

All of these images were taken by my excellent photographer and her assistant.

It's a long story of how I actually picked my photographer.

I thought it would be one of my easiest decisions to make but it turned out to be one of the hardest.

But I'm very happy with who I chose and I love the work she did!

Michaela shot for half the day and then JM|Imagery shot the rest.

{The next wedding post will have his work featured.}

So here they are, first the collages, then a few of my mostest favorite shots.

I can't even begin to thank all the people that helped out before, during and after our wedding!
I seriously have amazing friends and family!

{Getting Ready}

{Getting Ready}

{Details}

{Decor}
I had in my mind what I wanted everything to look like and some awesome people helped me turn it into reality.

{Portraits}

{Bridal Party Portraits}

{Portraits}

{Bridesmaids}

{Groomsmen}

{Food}
One of my friends did a phenomenal job on our food!
And I was so happy with my cake. It was exactly what I asked for.
{Exactly}

{Ceremony}
When I would think about planning my wedding day, there were many things I envisioned would be a part of it.

Rain was one of the last things I ever wanted to happen at my outdoor wedding.
I'm a sun-flare, warm weather, beachy type person.
The Friday before was a perfect Fall day, perfect weather and temperature.
We had started looking at the forecast days ahead of time
it looked good, it looked bad, it looked good and so on.
But on Friday night, it looked bad....really bad, they were calling for thunderstorms and rain all day!
How could this happen?!?
God knew it was my wedding and He knew it was an outdoor wedding!
I picked this day when I was 10....you would think that was plenty of warning.
Well Saturday morning came, I woke up, I laid on my bed bracing myself for whatever I would see out my window.
I walked to the window and looked out,
it was gray and stormy looking.
My heart sank, I walked to my parents room, plopped down in their chair and started to cry.
Why, why, why?
We started talking about back up plans, all the choices we came up with made my heart sink more.
We decided to stick with plan A, God would hold the rain or we would just get married in the rain.
I was hoping our wedding would be fun and exciting for everyone that came...well rain would be exciting.

Getting ready with all my friends was very fun.

I was totally enjoying myself except the rain clouds were getting worse.
Every time I looked out the window it got darker.
Everyone would ask me how I was doing,
I'm great!....if the rain holds off.

I so desperately wanted to shrug it off and just be chill like everyone else.
And I was on the outside....but the inside of me was crying and praying like crazy.
I knew God would make everything ok, but but but the sky was filled with clouds!

I found a cool mansion to have our "first look" at, but as we drove there the rain let loose.
My heroic photographers and videographers were running around in the rain trying to find an undercover place we could meet, but the mansion wouldn't let us go inside and there were no overhangs large enough.
I sat in the car not believing that this was actually happening to me.
We went back to the house and decided to do the first look there.
It turned out to be very special and I was glad we were forced to have it there.
{It turned out better than the original plan}
Next up was bridal party shots.

This is where our day got really enjoyable.
Michaela made pictures fun and I laughed really hard.
Everyone had such a good attitude and they made me forget that it was drizzly.

With Tim, me, and two bridesmaids we had enough vintage camera and video cameras for the whole bridal party to get one.
The rain had stopped and was holding...for now.

We were going to go to different location for shooting but we ended up just staying in our backyard.
We weren't stressed for time and we didn't have to rush 28 people around to different locations.
{It turned out better than the original plan}

As you photographers know, cloud cover makes for some great lighting.
It's normally a challenge to shoot during the middle of the day because of the harsh shadows the sun casts,
not at our wedding.
{It turned out better than the original plan}
The ceremony was getting closer and the decorators had to start putting things up.
I watched as my yard was filled with awesome people running here and there setting things up and finishing decorating just as the first guests were arriving.
As I was getting my hair done for the third or fourth time, I could see our guests arriving.
How exciting!
Besides the rain the only other panic moment for me was.....moments before the ceremony started
I realized that I didn't communicate clearly enough about our vows and they weren't written up.
I didn't know what to do!
We for sure didn't have them memorized and someone would have to type majorly fast to get them to us in time.
My mom remembered I had written them in my journal so she suggested I just read them out of there.
Yes, I had written them in there, but that was just the first draft!
I couldn't remember if I had actually written all of it out or if I had just paraphrased.
I was pretty sure I had just used "Evy shorthand" to write them and poor Tim would be lost.

Well there was no time, I skimmed to make sure there were no horrid typos and hoped for the best.
After I thought about it more I realized that it was a pretty cool idea to read out of a book
and I ended up getting a lot of comments saying that they thought it was a really nice detail.
So actually,
{It turned out better than the original plan}
The parents were seated, the pastor welcomed, the bridal party was seated and my dad and I waited for our cue.

This was it, I was getting married!

We walked down the beach sand aisle that my terrific friends and family made for me,
we got up to the beautiful bamboo canopy made for us and my dad gave me away to Tim.
God held off the rain for the whole ceremony and the "official" reception time!

We're married!!!
We really wanted everything at our wedding to be God honoring and I believe He let the rain come for just that purpose.
If it had been a sunny day everyone would have said "my what a beautiful day" and not thought much more about it.
But since it looked like it would take a miracle for Tim and Evy to have a dry wedding, everyone was praying and asking the Lord to hold it off.
I had so many people come up to me and say "Praise the Lord for holding off the rain!".
And so, He was honored and praised.

And
{It turned out better than the original plan}
~~~~~~~~~
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{My Wedding} Little tiny sneak peek

2010-12-13T11:20:00.000-06:00

Now that the wedding season is over for 2010 I get to work on other personal projects.

Stayed tuned for

{My wedding!}

{These images are courtesy of JM Imagery} I really can't wait to tell you about our special day!I know you've all been really patient with me about this, and please continue.As we all know December has the reputation for being extremely busy and this year won't be any different. Happy Monday to all!Ciao!~Follow me on Twitter~Contact me about shooting~Like my work on Facebook~

{Joe and Tiffany} Wedding

2010-12-06T12:58:00.000-06:00

-Tiffany-Joe-Fall-Wedding-Love-Happiness all around-

I can't remember not knowing Tiffany.
Our families have been friends for years and I'm so blessed that that's true.
One day Tiffany got a job in WI and I had a good feeling about this new adventure.
It was my secret hope that she would meet a nice guy up there and that they would get married.
Welllll, let's just say....I got my wish.
I was very happy to shoot their beautiful fall wedding with my awesome husband
and I pray Joe and Tiffany will have many very wonderful years together.
So without further ado,
{Joe and Tiffany}

I love this family!

"I ran out of flowers!"

I have tons of fun memories with these girls.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~I hope you're all having a great December so far!My yard is covered in snow, the house is warm and cozy, I have Christmas music on and I found out that I enjoy Egg Nog more than I remembered.Ciao!~Follow me on Twitter~Contact me about shooting~Like my work on Facebook~

{Josh and Kate} Wedding

2010-11-29T13:42:00.000-06:00

Kate and Josh's love story is so fun, adorable and just like a story book!
How long have you been reading my blog?

Do you remember a lovely girl named Kate?

Do you remember her sister Elizabeth?

Do you remember Elizabeth's wedding?

Do you remember that Elizabeth married a twin?
Well it turns out that while Elizabeth was getting to know her husband Jason,
younger sister Kate was falling in love with twin brother Josh!
Kate never knew if Josh liked her at all,
she figure he just thought of her as Elizabeth's little sister and would never consider her as an option.
Well it turns out Josh liked Kate back!
And to make a long story short...asked her to marry him and spend the rest of her life as his wife.
I hope that wasn't confusing.

{Recap}

So sister one {Elizabeth} got married to twin brother one {Jason} in May and sister two {Kate} fell in love with twin brother two {Josh} and got married in October.
This blog is dedicated to Josh, Kate and their beautiful Fall wedding.

I'm kinda a stickler when it comes to wedding bouquets, but I absolutely love what Kate picked out!

So, before I shoot a wedding I normally make a little stop at Starbucks. This day my husband was with me so we went together.
As I was sitting drinking my yummyness I spied a fabulous vintage green couch sitting by the side of the road with a little {free} sign resting on it.
I pointed the location out for Tim to see so we could go back and get it for portraits, if Kate liked the idea.
Well soon the cute green couch was sitting on the lawn of the church and it turned out to be a great prop.
I liked it.

Everyone else seemed to like it too.

Annnnd this would be Kate's contagious smile.

I love watching the anticipation on a bride's face right before she goes into the ceremony.
I always wondered how they felt, and now that I'm married, I know.
And the faces right after they're pronounced husband and wife....{priceless}

As always it's super fun to work with Jessica Shae!
She did a great job yet again as the primary shooter!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Thanksgiving was so great!
I loved being with all my family and celebrating all that the Lord has done for us in this last year.
I know I have a million things to be grateful for!
Ciao!

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{Trent and Christina} Wedding

2010-11-15T09:17:00.000-06:00

Trent and Christina are awesome!

They are such a cute couple and Tim {my awesome husband} and I had so so much fun shooting their wedding!

Christina and her family are really good friends with my husband's family and when it was time to book a wedding photographer they called Tim up.

Their wedding was scheduled for the weekend before what turned out to be ours.

Tim knew he was going to ask me to marry him pretty soon but he didn't know the timing for sure
so he said he would shoot it.
Shooting their big day right before ours was crazy but so worth it!

Their ceremony was so beautiful and filled with lots of well thought through and meaningful aspects.

It was raining or drizzling for half the day but the skies cleared up for portraits afterward.
Overall a beautiful day and a beautiful celebration.

Christina was so adorable looking at her man.

Trent has one of the most sincere smiles I've ever seen and his eyes are filled with kindness.

I was so excited to hear that this cool couple was going to be living in the same town as Tim and me!

Someone shouted out "how about a kiss for the road!" and this is what they got.
{lol}
I can't wait to hangout with these two more!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Puerto Rico was AWE.SOME.
I try to get posts up in the order of occurrence so the trip might take a little while before it appears on here.
Just keep checking back :).
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One year ago:France

2010-10-30T09:21:00.000-05:00

Sometimes it's crazy to think about what you were doing one year ago today.

Last year I was in a beautiful country documenting beautiful people.

{France}.

I was so honored to document a missions organization's conference in the French Alps

and then travel around the country for a few days helping some missionaries.

I hope I never forget all the memories I made over there.

{That's why we take pictures right?}

No, it's sad, I know there is so much I have forgotten already because I couldn't have my camera with me at that split second.

I guess I'll just have to go back!

This is my great traveling buddy, Jaclyn.
We had some good times together.

Here are a few more blog post I made while in France.
"I'm in France!"
"Exploring France!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I. AM.SO.EXCITED.

My hubby and I leave for Puerto Rico next week!

We decided to postpone our honeymoon till a few weeks after our wedding and we're leaving so soon!

I will take....lots and lots of pictures I'm sure.

Stay tuned.

Ciao!
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{Chris and Jana}

2010-10-19T13:04:00.000-05:00

This wedding I'm about to show you

has quite an interesting and random story behind it.

And since I like interesting and random I decided to share it with you.

It all started many years ago when I was twelve.

Jana and I were at the same girl's conference in TN and she was the leader of the group I was in.

I thought she was awesome!

She was fun, patient and humble.

She made that conference incredibility enjoyable for me and I never forgot it.

As the years went on I think we wrote back and forth a few times but since I'm such a bad pen-pal it

fizzled out rather quickly.

With the creation of facebook we soon found each other and got connected again.

I would post pictures, she would comment, I would post pictures, she would comment

and so on and so forth.

One time I put up an album and she made a comment something like:

"I love your photography, you should shoot my wedding!"

As a photographer you get comments like this and you're extremely honored and excited

but you learn to not build your hopes up and to realize that people have the right to change their minds as time goes on.

I certainly wasn't planning to hold Jana to her comment but I couldn't help but store it away in my mind.

As the years went on a wonderful guy came into her life and she was starting to think about wedding photography again.

One day she contacted me in a secret message telling me that Chris hadn't asked yet, but she was pretty sure it was coming soon and she was thinking about a Sept. 18th wedding and was I available to shoot it!

I was so excited for her and totally honored that she remembered!

I wanted to accept in a heartbeat but but but you see, I had a wonderful man come into my life also

and I was planning to get married Sept. 18th.

It was the day I had picked out in my mind for at least 9 years.

Tim {my guy} hadn't asked me either, but I also was pretty sure it was coming soon.

It was a really hard choice but I wrote her back saying that that day was already blocked off for my wedding and jokingly I told her she should plan her wedding for sometime earlier.

We went back and forth a little with the wedding day jokes but she told me that Sept. 18th was looking like the best choice and she didn't think they would change it.

I was really disappointed but knew somehow everything would workout okay.

After a couple weeks went by I saw on Jana's facebook that she was engaged!

Aaaaand her wedding was plannned for Sept. 4th!

WOOHOO!

I believe "YUS!" were my exact words.

So long story short, the contract got signed and I was scheduled to shoot Jana and Chris's wedding.

Right about that time though, I got engaged to my man....and yes, we planning the wedding for Sept. 18th.

So that meant I was shooting Jana's wedding two weeks before mine and Tim also had a wedding booked one week before our wedding.

Soo yeah, those two weeks were crazy but I wouldn't trade it for anything.

I'm so happy that I was actually able to shoot this wedding and I wish Jana and Chris many blessings on their new live together.

Jana was adorable the whole day but especially right before the ceremony.She was so excited to she her groom and when he saw her a few minutes early she let out a "humph".

The moment Tim and I saw Chris's dad we thought to ourselves....wow, that is one classy dude.

Jana's friends and their children are very special to her and she wanted the kids to have a lot of fun at her wedding.

"We're only getting married once, of course we're going to smash the cake."

Right after the ceremony they ran off to find a tree to kiss behind.
They were so cute!

It was so fun taking them to a "surprise photo location". ICE CREAM!

{They really liked kissing}

Overall it was a beautiful day and Tim and I were so honored to share it with Jana and Chris. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I am so blessed to be married to a photographer.We have tons of fun shooting together. Yesterday we celebrated our one month anniversary. He is my favorite. I hope you're having a great week so far!Ciao!~Like my work on Facebook~Follow me on Twitter~Contact me about shooting~

{Krista and Eben}

2010-10-05T16:24:00.000-05:00

I am so so so excited to share this post with you!

Seriously, the minute after I met Krista and Eben I was looking forward to blogging about them.

They are such a fun couple!

I've been putting this post off because I was afraid I wouldn't have time to give it justice.
{Besides being extremely busy}

It was so fun, beautiful, and happy!

I was having SO much fun, I felt like I was in a photographer's candy shop.

Or maybe a pie shop or a coffee shop or maybe a steak house with seafood shop!

I'm not a big candy person.

{But wave Reese's Pieces in my face and I'll follow.}

So anyways, on to the pictures!

I went to scout out the shooting locations the day before the wedding. When I pulled up to this park with a beautiful white mansion and lovely gardens I was beyond excited!

I didn't want the portraits to end but we couldn't keep the reception waiting.
And Italians as we all know...um, can cook.
Talk about YUM!

There are so many images I wanted to put on here but I guess I'll have to break up the post a little bit.
~~~~~~~~~~~
On a personal note...
I love being married!
My man is so kind to me and we love "playing house" together!
I've been having limited internet access but that should be fixed very shortly and I should be able to resume blogging more frequently.
Also I know you all want to hear about my wedding and I hope to get that up on here soon.
I'm planning a trip to Boston and also Cali, if you live in one of those two states and would like a portrait session contact me and I will do my best to
add your shoot into the itinerary.
Take care for now.
Ciao!
~Follow me on Twitter~Like my work on Facebook~Contact me about shooting~

One last post

2010-09-16T10:17:00.000-05:00

Hey everybody!

Well here it is,

one last post as a single person.

I'm marrying {The Awesomeness, Tim Porter} in two days!

It's so exciting and overwhelming.

I feel like I'm riding to the top of a roller-coaster and I'm about to drop, really hard and really fast.

I like roller-coasters!

Bring it on!

I'll see ya on the other side.

By the way, Krista and Eben's post will be coming soon! I am so looking forward to catching up on my blogging when things settle down.

Ciao!

{Krista and Eben} Sneak Peek

2010-08-26T16:54:00.000-05:00

I am soooo inspired with Krista and Eben's wedding day and
I can't wait to share the rest of their images with you!

These two great people were crazy fun and easy to work with!

Seriously, they were like models the entire time.

They made my job so easy!

Tell me I'm not the only one who thinks they're extremely good-looking?!

~~~~~~~~
I'm doing my best to keep up with blogging as I prepare for my own wedding.

It's only 23 days!
I'm getting really excited!

~Follow me on Twitter~Like my work on Facebook~Contact me about shooting~

THE proposal

2010-08-19T13:29:00.000-05:00

Whew, I finally have a few moments to sit down and write up my/our engagement story.

I've been engaged for about 7 weeks now and I can't even comprehend all the things that have happened in that short amount of time!

I'm glad I still have enough energy to type...no, it's not that bad.

God is good, and everything is coming together beautifully.

I know there are tons of you who still haven't heard how I got engaged,

so I promised I would blog about it.

So, here it goes.

I had been getting to know this guy named Tim for almost a year now and I just knew a proposal would be coming pretty soon.

{It's near to impossible to surprise me.}

So one day Tim came up for a visit

(He lives in IN, and if any of you have been following my tweets or facebook you will now see why I took so many trips down there:)

I knew we were going to go downtown for a special dinner that night..even though I wasn't supposed to know that.

So anyways, I was preparing for that, when he comes walking in the door earlier than he was supposed to.

Oh yay, happiness all around!

He asked me if I wanted to walk to our favorite Starbucks down the road, I said yes, of course.

So we set off, taking our time and just having fun together.

We finally made it to our favorite little town and favorite place to talk, listen, share what's going on with each other.

I ordered my drink

{not too much creativity today...caramel frap}

then he orders his.

{Mocha frap}

The barista hands me Tim's drink first....strange and somewhat rude, I thought to myself.

Oh well.

So I wait there for my drink, I wait and wait.

In the meantime I go and sit down, right after I do Tim pulls out a cute little book

which is entitled in his handwriting,

"The Village Boy and the Beautiful Princess".

Awww, how cute, he wrote me a book.

I start reading it, smiling when appropriate and just enjoying the cute little story my man has written for me.

Of course it was an analogy to our relationship up to this point.

Finally the barista came and put my drink down on the table.

"I ordered a caramel frap, I don't think this is mine." I said.

"Yeah, it's yours" She replied.

Okkkk, this was the first time I had ever gotten a frap in a small white porcelain mug.

So strange!

And another thing! It was way smaller than a Starbucks tall!

Why on earth did they decide to cheat me out of half my drink!

Why me, and why today.

Oh well, not wanting to make a scene and be rude, I took the cup,

secretly hoping they would at least let me keep the thing..sheesh.

I kept reading and smiling and laughing and looking at Tim and so on and so forth,

until I got to the last few pages...I read

"Meanwhile... the village boy was searching for a very special gift to demonstrate his adoration of the beautiful princess. This would be a token of his promise to protect her forever."

That second as my mind was registering those words my head started spinning...

the next page said that he loved me and asked if I would except this token of his love.

Next thing I knew he was on his knee, this camera started going off, everyone at Startbucks was clapping and he was opening a box with the exact ring I had wanted for about four years.
{That's another story}

He told me he loved me and asked if I would marry him.

I was just smiling as my head was spinning off my shoulders.

A few seconds later I say a simple "Yes".

And that's that, we were engaged.

After more than a year of seeking my authority's advice and the Lord's will,

I was engaged to my perfect match.

He's not perfect, I'm far from perfect...but we're perfect for each other.

So it turns out, he had called up one of my friends with a camera and asked her to capture the proposal.

I'm so glad he did!

{Any of you guys reading this, please consider hiring a photographer to be there or hiding out nearby to capture that super special moment you ask the girl of your dreams to marry you!}

I'm so thankful to have these pictures to share with you and to just remember the details better.

The family showed up to help celebrate.

I think she was happy.

As I said my head was spinning and I'm surprised I can remember anything!

You know the little mug that had me so confused?

Well it turns out that he had brought it by a few hours earlier so that they could put my drink in it and so that he could warn them what was going on.

Turns out the whole place knew what was going on...all except me.

I really thought he was going to propose that night, while we were out downtown.

I mean, who proposes at Starbucks?!?!

He knew that I was totally suspicious and he knew that I wouldn't even imagine him asking there,

so he decided it would be the best place to try and surprise me.

It was.

And he did the almost impossible, he's surprised me :)

I am happy and at peace,

even though I have a mere 30 days to finish preparing for my wedding.

I hope you enjoyed our little story.
~~~~~~~~~~~~

I haven't stopped the shooting!

I have a ton more weddings and portraits I need to put up on here to show you all.

Is it crazy to shoot a wedding two weeks before your own?

How about one week before your own?

No?

Ok, cool, because I'm doing both.

I'll let you know if I survive :)

Have an awesome day!!!

Ciao!

~Contact me about shooting~Follow me on Twitter~Like my work on Facebook~

{Amber and Bruce}

2010-08-16T16:37:00.000-05:00

This could possibly be the most unusual series of events leading up to any of my weddings to date.

Without going into every detail

Let's just say I didn't know I was shooting this wedding until four days before the event.

Thankfully I consider spontaneity in most cases to be enjoyable.

From the moment I walked in the church door

I felt totally welcomed

and by the end of the day I felt like I had known Amber, Bruce and their families my whole life.

It's a photographer's job to make his or her client feel comfortable and relaxed

but seriously, they were the ones that made me feel right at home with no pressure.

Having the photographer and the client both relaxed and enjoying themselves is how it's supposed to be.

It was so much fun!

Amber and Bruce are both photographers which could have been tons of extra pressure and stress

but it wasn't.
I think it's awesome when photographers get married!
Husband and wife teams are the bomb!

They balance each other out so beautifully.

It was great working with Seth Haley and Tim Porter!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In other news, Tim {fiancé} and I found a house!

So I've been reminiscing as I pack my life up into boxes and prepare for a new chapter.
I had my first bridal shower on Saturday night. It was amazing!
I'm so humbled by all the generosity.
And it was way cool to meet some new family members!
{You know who you are}
Pretty much my life is insane right now...I have every weekend full till Sept. 18th.
{Except one, anybody want a shoot before I leave town?}
I have some shoots I still need to blog for you and two more weddings in the next few weeks.
Weddings, weddings, weddings...it's awesome!

Have a great day!
Ciao!
~Like my work on Facebook~Contact me about shooting~Follow my on Twitter~

Nettog:Product Shoot

2010-08-09T10:56:00.000-05:00

Once upon a weekend, a group of local and non-local photographers and videographers got
together, shot things, learned stuff, drank coffee and had fun.
~-~-~-~-~-~

The photography field is very competitive and we often cut ourselves short in one of our

greatest assets...

other photographers.

It's hard to humble our-self and ask for help or

just be willing to listen to how someone else does something different than us.

We all have our strengths and hence weaknesses.

And I love it when people can be open with each other about both.

That's one reason I wanted to put together a fun weekend where my friends and peers could

shoot, learn from each other, hangout, bounce ideas around and of course....drink coffee.

It turned out to be extremely fun and I can't wait to do another one!

One of the first shoots was a product shoot for some of my {Preferred Vendors}.

A {Preferred Vendor} is someone I refer my brides to,

because I trust them and love their work.

I had a blast working with my designer friend Mindy Holt on all the lovely

and creative paper you see on these tables.

Sara Elizabeth at Calligraphy of Oak Brook does a phenomenal job and she is

awesome to work with!
I highly recommend her and her beautiful calligraphy!

I'll be posting more images from the weekend as I have time.

Like I said, I would love for this type of gathering and networking to happen again.

If you're interested in learning more about Nettog {Networking for Photographers}

just let me know.

Ciao!

~Like my work on Facebook~Follow me on Twitter~Contact me about shooting or Nettog~

Sneak peek: {Amber and Bruce}

2010-08-06T07:57:00.000-05:00

It was so awesome to spend the day shooting Amber and Bruce's wedding!

They are a really special couple and I was so honored to help capture their day.

Here is a little sneak peek before the full post comes.

The rest is coming soon!~~~~~~~~~~~~~Well, I just got back from IN...where I've been searching for houses with my fiance.Fun....but really challenging! I got home, emptied the suitcase, grabbed some new clothes, went camping with family and friends in WI, now I'm back home working on wedding prep and trying to catch up on some blogging. And for those of you that have been asking...no, I'm not overwhelmed yet,{not yet}. Have a beautiful Friday! Ciao! ~Follow me on Twitter~Like my work on Facebook~Contact me about shooting~

Bri and Erika

2010-07-10T13:56:00.000-05:00

Bri and Erika are two incredibly beautiful, talented, encouraging, fun and funny girls!

(Because fun and funny are two completely different things.)

I got to hangout with them when I was in Cleveland shooting a wedding

and I had a blast!

We laughed so hard during that weekend!

You can't help but be excited and happy when you're around them.

Their joy is so contagious and I'm sure everyone that knows them would agree.

It was my privilege to do some portraits for them before I had to leave.

I think they turned out great!

Can't wait to hang out again girls!!!~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Have a fabulous day!Ciao!~Follow me on Twitter~Like my work on Facebook~Contact me about shooting~

Evangeline Renee is ENGAGED!

2010-07-05T18:51:00.000-05:00

Yes everybody you read that title right!

I'm engaged to the man I've been praying

God would bring into my life!

If you've been following my blog, you most likely have noticed my

one constant male commenter

and he's been linked to my blog before.

His name is Tim Porter

he's from Indiana

he's a photographer

and videographer.

I can't wait to tell you more about our strange, crazy, interesting and

highly unusual love story.

Hope you all are having a wonderful day...like me:)

Ciao!

{Elizabeth and Jason}

2010-06-25T08:01:00.000-05:00

Remember this lovely girl?

And her awesome family?

Well she fell in love and decided to get married!

Yes, It was so much fun shooting Elizabeth and Jason's big day with Jessica Shae.

Elizabeth was so beautiful and as always, very easy to photograph.

I wish her and Jason the very best in their new life together.

You can find more of Elizabeth's beautiful ring here.

I love it when I see the two families getting along so well!

Thank you for serving our country Jason.

Elizabeth wanted a vintagy feel for her wedding.

The day turned out beautifully. The rain held off just enough for us to get everything we needed.

Can she take a bad picture?I don't think so.
I had a blast working with Jessica Shae! She did a fabulous job as primary photographer.I'm so proud of her! I wish I was as good as her when I first started.

It was great to work with Tim Porter also!

He got some awesome footage for my promo clip!
Check out more images of this awesome couple here.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Had a wonderful time in Cleveland!
One of the most incredible weddings to date!

Stay tuned for pictures.

Ciao!

~Follow me on Twitter~Like my work on Facebook~Contact me about shooting~