Lisa's Trash the Dress

I like to consider myself a good photographer, one who is willing to go the extra step and get the really cool shot. And while this has seemed to work out for me in past shoots, I think I took it one step too far this time.

When my sister-in-law asked me about doing her trash the dress session, I thought it would be fun. But that was only after much hesitation and reminding her nearly every time I saw her that her dress will never be pretty white again. But she was okay with that and she wanted some fun photos in her dress one last time. So we did it. We decided to shoot Lisa’s session around seven that evening. She wanted to go to Big Talbot beach, which is a beautiful beach, by the way! The whole way up there, Lisa, her husband, and myself had our iPhones out watching the storm on top of Jacksonville. Not just any storm, severe lightening, hailing, and possible flooding. (What can I say, we go all out when we plan for shoots!) Needless to say, I was a little concerned. And it wasn’t like we were going to a place when if all else fails, we can shoot inside. No. We were shooting on an isolated beach, with fallen trees, in open water. Not exactly the safest plan.

So we said a little prayer. Or two, or three, and so forth. We get out there and shoot for about one minute when we felt the rain. Yikes! My brand new camera and water do NOT mix. So my wonderful husband stood over me with a towel over our heads, my sweet bride and groom posed quickly, and we got the shots.

Does anyone know how big waves get during a storm? HUGE! Trust me, I was standing in them. My poor husband was still holding a towel over my head and had gotten the job of telling me when the waves were coming so we wouldn’t drown. We were not always successful. And I’m pretty sure we got dirtier than our bride or groom, by the way. But we said more prayers. These prayers of course were not by any means that it would stop raining. The prayers went more like this: “Dear Lord, I know we’re stupid. By standing in open water during a severe lightening storm, I feel as though we’ve proven our stupidity to You. Just please just don’t let us get struck by lightening and no one be able to find us.”

The rain eventually stopped and we were able to get in a few more shots. The storm made for a great sky and nice effects in the end.

To all of my current or future clients: If I ever encounter a rain storm, we will NOT be shooting and we will be rescheduling. :)

The Ryan Family

For those of you who have been following my on facebook, I’ve done two “$25 Shoot.” The Ryans were my first lucky winners! They are a beautiful family with a sweet little girl named Dallas.

One of my favorite things about shooting with little ones is all the “behind – the – scenes” that are not in the photos. Dallas had just learned to crawl a few days before this shoot and she was all excited to put that into practice! So keeping her in one place wasn’t too much of an option. Instead, I followed her around in one area with the camera while Angela, Dallas' mom, kept singing, clapping, dancing, you name it, to get her attention. I’m seriously thinking of recruiting Angela when I have children sessions because after a few minutes, Dallas managed to look right at me and even smile! And Dallas was such a sweetheart and kept up a happy face even though she was hot and sticky. What a trooper!

Meet Mason Dean

Such a tiny little hand grabbing on to his mommy's hand means such much sometimes.

My best friend gave birth to the most beautiful little boy names Mason Dean on June 2, 2010. With any birth, there is always an excitement. But with Mason, there was extra excitement and sweetness to it.

In July of 2009, Bethany gave birth to a precious boy named Hunter Dean. When Hunter was born he unexpectedly was not doing well. After spending a few days in the NICU, there’s was eventually nothing the doctors could do to save his little life. Hunter passed away August 1, 2009.

I am not a mom. I do not understand the pain and grief that Bethany, her husband and family went through. I do know that God is good and He grace is enough. And I know that Bethany and her family held on to that.

When Bethany told me she was pregnant, I was excited but nervous. I did not want to watch my best friend lose her child again. But Bethany is stronger than just about any woman I know. And if she could do it, so could the rest of us. Bethany went into labor three weeks early but still gave birth to a healthy little boy. He was in the NICU for a few days just until he was completely strong enough to go home.









I’ll never forget the first time I saw him. He was so sweet, so little, so precious that I just almost cried. She walked over to him and held his tiny hand and talked to him. Then she looked up and asked if I wanted to hold his hand. When I said yes, she rubbed his hand and said, “Mason, let Aunt Sarah hold your hand now, okay?” But as soon as Bethany let go, Mason’s little fist balled up and refused to open! I was not his mommy and he knew it. After a few minutes, he finally opened up and let me hold his hand.




In conclusion, God is good. God is always good.