Are you all ready to see Brooke’s “Mad Men” inspired portion of her session?!   I felt like a boxing announcer just then for a second, ya know that whole, “Let’s get ready to rumbllllle!!”   I mean, I didn’t literally just yell it out loud, but in my head, that’s exactly how it sounded!  ;)  Seriously though, I have been so excited to share these with you all!

Before we look at all the images, just a little on the behind the scenes work that went into creating this fabulous shoot.  A few weeks into our planning the shoot, Brooke found the perfect dress.  Literally, it was perfect – perfect style for her vision and the perfect fit!!   I visited local antique shops and researched how to find period appropriate pieces.  I even enlisted the help of my mother to hit some antique shops on her side of town.  All of this was for the mission of finding the perfect 1950s-1960s style props to help with our shoot.  After binge watching hours and hours of Mad Men episodes, I couldn’t wait for this shoot!

The day of the shoot was perfect and Brooke, as you can tell, did an amazing job!   If this girl didn’t channel her inner Joan Holloway / Betty Draper, well my friends, no one can.  ;)

I cannot wait for another “Be Unique” portrait session like this!!!  It’ll be tough to beat this one, for sure, but I bet there is another fabulous senior girl out there that’s ready for the challenge!  ;)

If you want to stay up to date with all the most recent sessions and behind the scenes, click HERE and “LIKE” and also HERE to follow on Instagram!

Makeup - Laura Briscoe Makeup Artistry

Oh my goodness, have I got to play catch up!

Forgive me, because it’s been a while since I’ve done a session blog post, but I’m back and trying to get all caught up again!  ;)

First up – we have Peachtree Ridge’s Paige Guerreso!

I can’t say enough about Paige and her mom Julie.  Between consultation, shoot, order session, delivery, etc…I think I spent every weekend for about 6 weeks with them.  After all of that, I was having serious Guerreso family withdrawals because they are such a sweet family!   And let me tell you, their kitchen smelled wonderful – every . single . time.  ;)  I didn’t try the food, but if it tasted a smidge of how wonderful it smelled, I might still be over at their house.  All of those wonderful italian aromas…meatballs and gnocchi….

wait, maybe you shouldn’t blog post or grocery shop when you are hungry, right?  ;)

seriously, Paige – this is gorgeous!!  ♥♥♥

awww….looking at these makes me feel like it’s time to visit the Guerreso’s again!  This was one of those shoots that had just as many interesting stories as it does beautiful images!  Like the completely unexpected sun shower, or the random truck driving behind us in the field.  It’s these moments though, that make all of my senior sessions so memorable.  :D

That’s all for now….Anyone else feel like meatballs?  

If you want to stay up to date with all the most recent sessions and behind the scenes, click HERE and “LIKE” and also HERE to follow on Instagram!

Makeup - Laura Briscoe Makeup Artistry

It’s about that time!  and by that, I mean time for the Chic Magazine Cover Contest!!   This issue’s theme is Vintage and I couldn’t think of a more suitable and perfect image for this theme than Brooke’s Mad Men themed shoot!  sooo, here is my submission for Chic Critique Forum‘s Issue 9 Cover Contest!

Wish us lots of luck!!!!!!  :D

In the meantime, go visit Chic Critique’s Forum and all of the other amazing photographers.   It’s a tremendous resource, so if you haven’t visited them before now, you are totally missing out.  Don’t worry though, you can totally catch up.!  ;)

If you want to stay up to date with all the most recent sessions and behind the scenes, click HERE and “LIKE” and also HERE to follow on Instagram!

I have been soooo excited to share this with you all!!!

First, let me back up a bit and explain why I haven’t shared until now though.

If you haven’t heard of Holly McCaig and Two Pear Designs, you really must visit these sites right away.  Holly is responsible for some of the best Graphic Design Templates for Photographers, as well as some other products for scrapbookers!  That’s how I first heard of her, when searching for templates, but then I started following her on Instagram too and immediately fell in love with the posts of her dogs!!!  I could just squeeze them, they are so cute!!  :)

Back in April, Holly asked me to contribute to Two Pears Designs’ Inspire Magazine.  I honestly wasn’t sure what to say.  I was shocked and so incredibly nervous.  Could I do it?  Was I good enough?  Would she actually like anything I submitted or would she say, “Thanks, but no Thanks!”  I was also super busy at this time with it being the end of the school year and was knee deep in planning the “Once Upon a Summer” shoot.  I didn’t know how I could possibly fit this into my schedule, but deep down, I knew that I had to try.  How could I pass on such an opportunity?!

Somehow, with all of the craziness, I made it happen!  Don’t ask me how, because that entire weekend of shooting “Little Red Riding Hood” and then this shoot, pretty much made the weekend a blur!   And to top it all off, I barely made it in time for the deadline!!   Whew!!!

The actual shoot was back in May.  While I wanted to shout from the rooftops about the issue and post pictures from the day, I had to keep it “hush, hush” until the issue came out.  If you know me, you know that was the longest 4 months, ever!  ;)  Seeing the issue though in September, it was well worth the wait!!

sooo….here it is!!!

Because I took a lot of images that day, I will be sharing more soon.  It was such a beautiful session and a beautiful day!

I could not have done it without Laura, Ashley and of course, the lovely Devan!

Thank you so much for this opportunity Holly!  I am so incredibly grateful and I appreciate you asking me to be a part of this issue with so many other extraordinary photographers!

If you haven’t seen the issue and would like to purchase it, you can buy the print version HERE or the digital version HERE.  It’s a beautiful issue with lots and lots of eye candy!

Come back soon to see more images from this shoot (and some fun Behind the Scenes)!!  I am so excited to finally share them!  :)

Model – Devan Heyburn

Makeup – Laura Briscoe

Wardrobe Styling – Ashley Flores with Bloom Styling and Boutique

If you want to stay up to date with all the most recent sessions and behind the scenes, click HERE and “LIKE” and also HERE to follow on Instagram!

I have been dying to share this Harrison High School’s Class of 2014 Senior with you all!!

Brooke Armbrester is fabulous in every way!   I don’t say that to be over the top or jokingly either.  Brooke is super crafty and is a crazy mad planner.  She rivals anyone with her Pinterest skills!  ;)

I loved planning this session with Brooke, every last second of it.  Every little detail was so much fun preparing for and I’m so sad that it’s over.  Seriously.

For anyone wanting the “Be Unique” Portrait Session, this is going to be the one to beat.  Any “How I Met Your Mother” fans out there??  “Challenge Accepted!”   And if you don’t understand that reference, well then, I just feel silly.    ;)

If you aren’t familiar with the “Be Unique” Portrait Session that I offer, you get to have a Fabulously Styled Shoot in addition to your Senior Portrait Session!  You all know how much I love, love, love styled shoots!

We’ll get to Brooke’s styled portion in an upcoming blog post.  Because she just has so many images that I love, I couldn’t possibly fit them all into one post!

If you want to stay up to date with all the most recent sessions and behind the scenes, click HERE and “LIKE” and also HERE to follow on Instagram!

Makeup - Laura Briscoe Makeup Artistry

Greater Atlanta Christian’s Natalie deLatour is probably one of the sweetest girls I’ve ever met.  She also has one of the nicest, most welcoming families ever.  Like one of those families that you could just sit down at the kitchen table with a cup of coffee and talk for hours.  I just adore all of them!

I remember at our first meeting thinking that Natalie had a fabulous sense of style and fashion.  Everyone knows how I love me some accessories, and shoes, and boots!  So day of her session, when her mom showed me her closet, I could have died and gone to accessory heaven right then and there!  ;)  I was in love!  We didn’t even need any of the accessories that I brought.  I had so much fun styling Natalie with her own wonderful accessories, that I could have spent all day doing just that!!  Maybe I was a stylist in a previous life, because I LOVEEEE it so much!

Anywhoo…let me get back to Natalie and her gorgeous senior portraits.

This is pretty much my dream senior session – beautiful locations, beautiful light – everything was perfect.

Don’t you just love her!  How perfect is Natalie in these?!  ♥ ♥ ♥

Keep an eye out for this super stylish senior!  You will be seeing her again real soon!  ;)

If you want to stay up to date with all the most recent sessions and behind the scenes, click HERE and “LIKE” and also HERE to follow on Instagram!

Makeup – Laura Briscoe Makeup Artistry

Well, “It’s a Wrap!”  This is it – the absolutely, positively final post for “Once Upon A Summer.”  

First, I want to thank again everyone who participated in this shoot.  If you have been following the story and the backstory, you know of all the challenges that we faced.  That’s why it makes it all the more exciting to share how all of our hard work paid off!

Not only did “Once Upon A Summer” receive a national feature on the website Seniorologie, but one of Devan’s images from the second half of Cinderella was chosen as a Top 3 of the week on Seniorologie, resulting in the Spotlight Image of the week!

Also, one of Kathryn’s images from “Little Red Riding Hood” was published in The Bold Issue of Chic Magazine!  This image was an Honorable Mention for the Cover and I couldn’t be more excited by this!

Soooo, how about some Behind the Scenes action?!

Kat, looking all super fab as “Little Red.”

If you saw the short video on Instagram, here is the extended version:

Staci working on Devan…

“Rrrrrr…”

I’m not even sure what Devan is doing here.  ;)  Flying like a bird??

One of Casey’s 8000 takes!

Awww…aren’t they the cutest!?

and….SMIZE!

Laura touching up Devan…

and then losing her mind and hiding inside my reflector bag…

And finally, the mother of all Behind the Scenes – Devan’s best Ozzy Osbourne impression!

Well, that’s all folks!!!!!!

If you want to stay up to date with all the most recent sessions and behind the scenes, click HERE and “LIKE” and also HERE to follow on Instagram!

Makeup – Laura Briscoe Makeup Artistry
Hair – Staci Gibbs- Freelance Makeup Artist
Models – Kathryn Dickerson, Devan Heyburn, Casey DeArmon

ohhh…I’m sad!  This is the final post for “Once Upon a Summer.”  Can you believe it?!?  Well, I suppose it should come to an end soon…I mean, it did take all Summer to tell the story!  ;)

I might have one more post coming up, but we must talk about the second half of Cinderella first.

When we last saw Cinderella, she was soooo sad and full of sorrow, missing her mother and having to complete all of her chores.

Now, she is off to the King’s three day festival….

With a little help from the white birds, Cinderella gets ready every evening before the festival…

And finally, Cinderella loses her slipper as she tries to quickly leave the festival and the Prince.

These next few images, aren’t really part of the Cinderella story necessarily, but we wanted to find a way to wrap up the entire Fairy Tales series.  We discussed a few different scenarios, but in the end thought that the addition of storybooks was perfect!

Because the Grimms’ version of Cinderella is different from the Disney version, I ended up taking elements of both versions to make ours come to life.  While pumpkins have a role in the Disney version, they do not in the Grimms’ version.  I am a sucker for all things Fall though and have a ridiculous amount of pumpkins at my house.  I absolutely had to incorporate them somehow!  :)

All good things must come to an end, and so does our story “Once Upon a Summer.”

I will have one small follow up post soon, so please come back for it.    In the meantime, what do you think of our Fairy Tales?

Which character was your favorite?  Did you love one character’s makeup?   How about the hair?  I would love to hear your thoughts!

If you want to stay up to date with all the most recent sessions and behind the scenes, click HERE and “LIKE” and also HERE to follow on Instagram!

Makeup – Laura Briscoe Makeup Artistry

Hair – Staci Gibbs Freelance Makeup Artist

Is everyone enjoying the start of Fall?!  I know that I am, but we technically aren’t done with Summer yet…”Once Upon A Summer,” that is.  ;)

This was a tough one for me.  For obvious reasons, Little Red Riding Hood and Cinderella were easier stories to tell.  Laura knew exactly what she wanted to do for makeup, but I had no idea how to visually tell this story.

Using Grimms’ Fairy Tales version of Rumpelstiltskin for my inspiration, our third character was brought to life – The Miller’s Daughter.

and because you cannot photograph a story about spinning straw into gold without a little (A LOT) of gold glitter!!!!!!    

Have you all been enjoying “Once Upon A Summer?”  I hope so!!  We aren’t done yet though, so don’t forget to come back for the second half of Cinderella!  See you then!

If you want to stay up to date with all the most recent sessions and behind the scenes, click HERE and “LIKE” and also HERE to follow on Instagram!

Makeup – Laura Briscoe Makeup Artistry

Hair – Staci Gibbs Freelance Makeup Artist

If I had to pick a favorite from “Once Upon A Summer,” that would be difficult, almost like asking me to pick a favorite shoe or something!  I have to say though, it just might be this one.   I’m not sure what it is about Devan’s version of Cinderella that I love so much.  I love everything about it, everything.  I thought this part of the shoot was going to be very tough in comparison to the second half.  It was perfect though and the imagery is just beautiful to me.  Honestly, since the police showed up, it probably should bring back not so great memories, but really it doesn’t.  ;)  By the way, if you’re getting worried about the police incident, it really was nothing.  And the police ended up being super nice and laughing with us about it, but still.  I never get in trouble, so just the idea of them even being there freaked me out.  Seriously, I could fill a book with the amount of crazy stories I have from photo shoots, but those are stories for another day.  ;)   

I’m rambling again, so I’ll stop and get back to our story -

Again, I chose Grimm’s Cinderella for my inspiration.  I envisioned a moodier storytelling, so I told Devan to look very sad and sorrowful.  Devan nailed it, as she always does.  

This is Devan as Cinderella…

Be sure to come back for Part 2 of Cinderella and don’t forget the Miller’s daughter from Rumpelstiltskin!

oh yeah, Devan, thanks for introducing me to M.I.A. and “Bad Girls.”  I will always think of this shoot when I hear it.  :D

If you want to stay up to date with all the most recent sessions and behind the scenes, click HERE and “LIKE” and also HERE to follow on Instagram!

Makeup – Laura Briscoe Makeup Artistry

Hair – Staci Gibbs Freelance Makeup Artist

So I bet you are thinking…”why wait to squeeze in the “Once Upon a Summer” blog post right before Fall!”  ;)  I know, I know!  You all may have been waiting since May or June, but trust me when I tell you, this shoot has literally been in the works since last year, probably around this time last year in fact!

What started out like any other shoot, became a massive project.  And like any other massive project, we hit lots of bumps in the road.  So many that some days, we didn’t think the shoot would ever happen or even if it should.  I can’t even tell you how many times Laura and I met to plan or look at locations.  Or how many hours we spent shopping for props.  Or how long Laura’s husband spent building a spinning wheel.   Or how Laura’s Aunt spent hours making tulle skirts for us.  Or how the weather made us postpone, I think four times…see, I can’t even remember anymore.  HA!  :)  I think you probably get the point though now.

So, as you can imagine, when the day finally arrived to do the first part of the shoot, we weren’t sure if we should be excited or worried that lightning would strike us!  ;)  Well, since I am here to write this, you’ll be happy to hear, no lightning strikes occurred and in fact, we couldn’t have had a more perfect shoot!   Wait – now that I think about it, the police showing up on day two, probably wasn’t a perfect scenario, but at least we have a funny story to tell now.  :D

Ok, ok, enough of that!  I won’t keep you waiting any longer.

Let me introduce you to Kathryn Dickerson, or as we like to call her – Little Red Riding Hood.

Let’s join her as she makes her way to Grandmother’s house…

If you recall Grimm’s Fairy Tales, you may remember that Little Red was taking cake (we improvised with cupcakes) and wine to her grandmother.  After she met the Wolf, he attempted to distract her by telling her to look at all the pretty flowers along the path.

and our Little Red is so tired from her journey that she decides to lay down for a nap.

What?  Wouldn’t you do the same?  ;)  I mean, come on, it’s got to be tiring looking this cute while hiking through the woods and avoiding a Big Bad Wolf, right?!

and someone please tell me you noticed the “Big Bad Wolf” in these shots?!  

That’s all of our story of Little Red Riding Hood – be sure to come back for Cinderella and the Miller’s daughter from Rumpelstiltskin!

If you want to stay up to date with all the most recent sessions and behind the scenes, click HERE and “LIKE” and also HERE to follow on Instagram!

Makeup – Laura Briscoe Makeup Artistry

Guess what day it is??  Nope – not Hump day and this isn’t the Geico Camel commercial, although, I do love that commercial!  :)

It’s actually the final day to enter Chic Critique Forum‘s Chic Magazine Cover Contest!

I am so excited to enter one of Kathryn Dickerson’s images from our Once Upon a Summer styled shoot!  This is my submission for Issue 7!

Wish me luck!  I would be ecstatic to see this on the cover.  *fingers crossed*   Every little bit helps right?!  ;)  Have a great weekend everyone!

Makeup:  Laura Briscoe Makeup Artistry

If you want to stay up to date with all the most recent sessions and behind the scenes, click HERE and “LIKE” and also HERE to follow on Instagram!

I wasn’t sure that this shoot would ever happen.  We’d been planning since last year…literally.  We had husbands building spinning wheels and aunts making custom tulle skirts and tutus.  We had model recasts and location changes.  We had to postpone three different times due to weather and oh yeah…the police showed up on the day of the shoot!

So you can see, it’s like the little engine that could – except it’s “Once Upon a Summer” and here is your sneak peek…

If you want to stay up to date with all the most recent sessions and behind the scenes, click HERE and “LIKE” and also HERE to follow on Instagram!

Makeup – Laura Briscoe Makeup Artistry
Hair – Staci Gibbs- Freelance Makeup Artist
Models – Kathryn Dickerson, Devan Heyburn, Casey DeArmon
“Helper Extraordinaire” – Parker Thompson

I was beyond excited when I first received the email that one of Devan’s images was selected to be the back cover of Issue 4 of Senior Style Guide!!   I have been such a fan of their blog and magazine, so this was a very special day for me!  In addition to receiving the honor of being chosen for the back cover, a few months earlier, one of Devan’s images received honorable mention for Senior Stunner of the Week!

To have an image inside the issue and the back cover was more than just a little exciting – I was elated!  Such a wonderful day!

If you want to stay up to date with all the most recent sessions, click HERE and “LIKE.”

Candace is my very first Prince Avenue Christian School Senior.  I first met her a little over a year ago though.  Back when I photographed my very first styled shoot, we had a model that had a last minute overseas trip come up.  She couldn’t pass up the opportunity and I didn’t blame her at all!  We needed another girl though.  One of the other model’s best friend happened to be available and was willing to step in and help.  To this day, Candace’s images from that day are my most requested looks from my current seniors.  I’m sure Candace probably thought we were a little crazy that day, but little did we know. we would end up where we are today.  :)

I can honestly say, Candace, her family, her boyfriend…some of the best, kindest, most genuine people that I have ever met!

I am so thankful that we met a year ago and I cannot wait to see all that Candace achieves after graduation.  She has such a bright future ahead of her!  :)

Makeup:  Laura Briscoe Makeup Artistry

If you want to stay up to date with all the most recent sessions, click HERE and “LIKE.”

Peachtree Ridge High School’s Abigail Bennett and her mom are two of the sweetest, kindest people I know.  Spending any afternoon with these ladies, you’ll find lots of fun and lots of laughter!

Like most of my seniors this year, Abigail keeps a busy schedule…as a member of the Peachtree Ridge High Swim Team!  And has received numerous awards as a result of all of her hard work!

In the fall, she’ll be attending one of my personal favorites, Kennesaw State University.  I might be biased though.

Shout out to Blade, one of the coolest little dogs I have met!  :)

Oh…I guess that I should show you some of Abigail’s senior portraits, right?

Makeup:  Laura Briscoe Makeup Artistry

If you want to stay up to date with all the most recent sessions, click HERE and “LIKE.”

My very first Prince Avenue Christian School Senior, Class of 2013 – Candace O’Neal, braved some pretty cold temperatures and not to mention was probably up at 4 am that morning so we could be shooting by sunrise!

Her boyfriend David was such a trooper that day too, but you can’t tell me that he didn’t enjoy himself and have a little fun!  ;)

Can’t wait until tomorrow to show Candace and her family the rest!

If you want to stay up to date with all the most recent sessions, click HERE and “LIKE.”

You have seen Parkview High School’s Devan Heyburn a time or two already!  I am not done sharing though.  :)  I was recently fortunate enough to have some of her images featured on the website Seniorologie.  You can view that feature here.   I did have a few more images from Devan’s senior session that I wanted to share though.  :)

Hair:  Lacy Wade

Makeup:  Laura Briscoe Makeup Artistry

If you want to stay up to date with all the most recent sessions, click HERE and “LIKE.”

“After looking for weeks for a photographer for her Senior Portfolio shots, my daughter chose Tricia Toker.  She definitely chose the right photographer.  From the first meeting Tricia and Devan hit it off.  Tricia has a fun energy that my 18 year old responded to immediately.  After the first meeting it was full speed ahead.

The day for the shoot was a cold day.  Despite the weather, Tricia could pull so much out of Devan on film.  The experience was so much fun for her: from the beginning with Laura Briscoe doing make up, to the shoot itself.  The day was full of laughter!  It was not a chore for Devan.  Despite the cold, she would have gone on forever.

Tricia can relate so naturally to a teen girl that she brings out amazing shots.  She puts them at ease.  They forget anyone is watching.  It was just her and Tricia having a blast, trying new things.  Tricia has a vision through the camera that is incredible.  This has not just been a business adventure.  I believe the two have cemented a great friendship as well.

Devan now cannot get enough time in front of a camera!”

-Doreen

(Devan’s mom)

Abigail is my first Peachtree Ridge High School Senior!  She was also my first Class of 2013 Senior in the year 2013.  I don’t often get to shoot my girls in January, but we had a random warm January weekend…it was 75 degrees!!  It was just what we needed and it was perfect!

If you want to stay up to date with all the most recent sessions, click HERE and “LIKE.”