Popcorn Dog

Bo loves popcorn! Unfortunately it’s not good for him. Still, this photo where you can see his excitement over the popcorn the kids dropped is an amazing showcase of his very excited personality!

 

Sometimes in a photo session there comes a found moment that just defines both the session and the personalities of those being photographed. Bo (the dog) isn’t supposed to be eating popcorn, but he gets pretty excited not only when he hears it being popped, but when the kids are enjoying popcorn themselves. A little bit of unguarded popcorn on the kids’ table provoked this great expression that just says it all!

This photo was a great addition to the family album we created, that also included photos of the kids, their parents, and the entire family together, as well as individual photos of Bo and his dog brother, Kobe.

Extended Family Session: Brass Family

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How awesome is this family photo?

A few weeks before Christmas a runner friend asked me about photographing his family while they were all in one place for Christmas. As his oldest grandchildren get older and start thinking about going off to college, he expects that it’s going to be more difficult to get everyone in one place.

It’s important to document families at all stages of their lives, but when big changes are coming it becomes very important to us. It was a joy to be able to document these families both individually and as part of a whole.

I’ll share more of these family pictures as the separate families come in and see their photos, but for now I wanted to share the photo that has already been purchased twice … because it’s awesome.

Young children are always great, but she really makes the entire fun family photo ultra-fun … don’t you agree?

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Kid’s Photo Session: C and G

family photos

It was great to see a friend who I haven’t seen for a while when she brought her girls in for photos as part of my Christmas card promotion back in the fall.

These girls are day and night, but they also show a lot of sisterly love. C is the more reserved one: incredibly intelligent and always read to tell you what she knows, but not as demonstrative as her sister. She can get very excited talking about science and was telling me facts during during our photo session that I had never heard!

G is outgoing and always trying to engage people. When she and her sister accompany their dad to the grocery store, she is the one who is always trying to get the attention of the other shoppers. She’s got a big personality for such a little girl and that certainly came through during our photo session.

Family Portraits: Torres Family

As 2017 gets started, I’m enjoying reviewing 2016 and some of the amazing families I worked with! The Torres family came in in Spring with their two children, after a difficult winter when baby Sophia spent a long time in the hospital.

In fact, last Christmas was a tough one for this family with their new baby in the hospital, seriously ill. During that time, big brother David even asked if Santa would bring his sister home for Christmas.

It wasn’t until after Christmas, but to this family’s great joy Sophia did come home, and is now thriving and happy with no signs of the difficult time she had in her first months!

Her big brother loves to play with her, as you can see from these photos. He’s her superhero, entertainer, amusement, and fan. There’s so much joy in this family, so much love and affection. The happiness of these parents has definitely transmitted itself to their children, and they are surrounded by so much love!

Happy New Year!

What are you ready to receive in 2017? Health? Happiness? Love? Open up your life and get ready!

Happy 2017!

Judging by my Facebook feed, a lot of people were happy to see this year be over.

I am both glad, and not glad. We’ve seen a lot of change this year; a lot of hopes dashed, a lot of promise not come to fruition.

But if we turn that around, we have seen good, we have seen people being heroic, we have seen beauty and love.

You can always look at the other side of things.

I think we like to see the turn of a year because it gives us a chance to hope again. It gives us a chance to look forward, to put behind us some of the things we feel have been keeping us locked into an old way of life.

So many times it’s just a hope.

What are you going to do in this new year, to see a new you? What changes will you make? How will you see yourself anew? How will you stop wishing for the new, better, more improved life to just appear, and just go out and get it?

What are you ready to celebrate from last year? What are you willing to promise yourself from this year? Mark a milestone with a photographic session, and give yourself permission to transform. Call us at 501-517-0962 or fill out the form here and we will give you a call!

Let’s Stop Body Shaming Ourselves

When I was a teenager, there was a store in the mall called 5-7-9.

I guess it was the Abercrombie and Fitch of the 1980s. Certainly the name said it all. The store only sold sizes 5, 7, and 9. They were very clear in their assertion that no one outside of their idea of the “best” size should bother shopping with them.

Unlike A&F, they didn’t catch a lot of flack for this. In fact, in the 1980s, it was almost virtuous to shame people who were of a larger body type.

Having blown through size 9 (a “junior” size, whatever that is) by the time I was 12 and before I even HAD an allowance, I never even went in this store. And I think not being able to shop there formed a big part of the idea of who I was and what I could expect from others in terms of acceptance.

Yesterday I went shopping. I found this really cute outfit. I found my size but it was still a little loose so I asked if I could try the next size down. “I don’t think they make them that small.”

I’m not saying that to brag at all. In fact, what I want to say is the opposite.

Because, when I look in the mirror, I still don’t see that body type that I dreamed of as a teenager. I don’t have the boobs of Barbie or the rear end of Kim Kardashian. In fact, it’s still hard for me to believe that this body I see in the mirror fits in the size that I wear now. Somewhere in my head, the scale, the clothes, and everyone else’s eyes are lying, and I’m still the same large size I was when I started this journey a year ago.

I also know I’m not alone. I know women who are just as cute as can possibly be, who just don’t like themselves. I have had perfectly amazing women in the studio who almost have to force themselves to look at the photos.

I don’t think it’s a huge coincidence that so many of these women seem to be from the “5-7-9” generation.

Ladies, I have good news and bad news.

The bad news is, that picture you have in your head about what you “should” look like? That’s probably never going to happen, even with extensive surgery, diet, exercise, and some very good skin care. Younger women, brought up on a steady diet of body acceptance and the exposures of egregious Photoshop retouching — they seem to understand this more. But our generation still has this picture in our heads. And, quite honestly, most of that picture is based on lies.

That’s not to say that really great composition, lighting, and posing can’t make you look amazing. It’s to say that no one has huge boobs that just stick straight out by themselves, that skin is not pore-less and plastic looking, that everyone has a few small differences between the two sides of their face, that lips are usually normal lip-size and not plumped-up-pouty. That, in effect, there is a lot of crazy Photoshop stuff that goes on and has always gone on (in the case of our generation, pre-Photoshop, it was airbrushing) and so when we look at those images we should know they aren’t true.

The good news is really good.

It doesn’t matter.

We are still loved. We still have great friends and amazing relationships. Our kids think we are amazing. We can do incredible things, whether it’s packing the perfect lunch, making a cute birthday cake, decorating our house, or participating in the physical activity of our choice.

We have incredible lives. We are intelligent, capable. We run businesses and we run families.

I am learning to focus on what I have, what is right in my life. It was focusing on the love and joy that I already had, that inspired me to make a few changes, and then a few more.

In one year, so many things have changed, and it’s fabulous. But it started with celebrating myself, right where I was, with all the good and the bad, the fat rolls and the crazy hair, the beautiful hugs from my youngest and the goofiness of my oldest, the laughter with my husband and the delight in life that we all share.

It really doesn’t matter how you look, and it never will. Most of us aren’t walking the runway or baring skin on the cover of Sports Illustrated. What matters is love, and laughter, and health, and living, and being able to DO the things you love.

So know what? Do them. Do them now. To whatever extent you can, do what you love. Then a little more. Do something great. Then a little more. Make a difference. Then a little more.

It will all add up to something truly amazing and enviable: the true, honest, incomparable YOU!!

The Decision that Changed Everything

Little Rock Marathon MedalToday was an anniversary.

One year ago, I saw my brother use an app to track his exercise and his food intake. He showed it to me and I thought, “I could do that.”

So I did.

That’s the short version of the story, but the long version is not that simple.

Because the longer story goes back many years, with many unsuccessful attempts to lose weight. There’s frustration, depression, feeling inadequate, anger.

It’s a time of year that I reflect. Some highlights:

Six years ago I attempted Pike’s Peak Marathon for the first time since I had kids. I had tried to train, and I had told myself I would lose weight. But, I didn’t. I even gained a few pounds. My intentions were good but my actions were not. I had to quit on the way up the mountain, and no matter the excuses I made about training with young children, the fact was it was too much for my body to try to haul itself up that mountain.

Two years ago I was being asked to go to a diagnostic clinic so they could test me for lupus. I had caught a virus and my body was responding with some pretty scary symptoms. My joints would not stop swelling and hurting, and I could barely walk up the hill by my house. My knees were shot.

One year ago I had photos taken, and when we saw the slideshow, I thought, “Where did all those fat rolls come from?” We went on vacation and physically I was drained at the end of every day. It felt like a chore to enjoy time with my family.

Eleven months ago I shot a wedding and I thought I would cry with the pain in my knees. I kept squatting down to try and stretch them. I thought, “If this keeps up, I will have to not book any more weddings, because I can’t do this to my couples; If I can’t be confident I can serve them without pain and with a smile, it would be better for them to hire someone else.”

Ten months ago a friend asked me to run with her, and I had to admit — with shame — that I couldn’t keep up with her 11-minute miles. She promised to slow down and walk for me and for that I am so grateful!

Eight months ago I ran the Three Bridges Marathon, and exceeded the qualifying time for Pike’s Peak Marathon by an entire hour. I felt certain I would never qualify. But, I felt a bit better.

Seven months ago people started to compliment me on losing weight.

Five and a half months ago I was at a photography business workshop in Dallas and on my day off I went shopping. I tried on a shirt – medium – and it fit. This was inconceivable! I was used to trying on XL shirts and finding even those to be too small.

Five month ago I ran the Little Rock Marathon. And somewhere there was a shift. Halfway through the marathon I realized that even if I only pulled 15 minute miles – walking pace – from that point on I still stood a chance of qualifying for Pike’s Peak.

The next week I got into the Pike’s Peak Marathon!

Four months ago I realized I needed an entirely new wardrobe.

Two months ago I ran Catsmacker, a fun run in the Ouachita Mountains, that involved climbing a couple of peaks. I was slow, but I finished with ease and didn’t feel too bad afterwards.

Two weeks ago I ran my first ultra marathon, a 50K also in the Ouachita National Forest. At the end, I felt fantastic! I stayed and watched the other runners come in. Chatted with my friends. Had fun.

In 16 days I will run Pike’s Peak again – achieving a dream I’ve had for six years. And the path to that dream started a year ago when I decided to watch what I eat, and be consistent, and change the way I thought and felt and acted, one day at a time.

I MUST say this: I never thought I could do it, until I did it. I had every excuse under the sun why I couldn’t lose weight.

All that changed in one day. Though the results weren’t seen for months, everything changed that day I made a decision. Not a wish, not a plan, not a hope.

A decision. A decision that I was going to BE someone different. Not do different things, or try something, or plan something. Just be something.

What decision do you need to make? Stop procrastinating. It’s time.

 

Play

Family portrait session

This blast from the past is in honor of the fact that this beautiful family will be back in front of my lens tomorrow. This time it will be all four of them, plus their two dogs.

Yorkies Bo and Cobe are getting on in years, and we want to be sure and capture a family photo with these two very special family members while the whole family is still together.

Each boy has his special dog that he has bonded with, and the brothers also enjoy playing with each other — to the extent that they rarely play alone. I love hearing about sibling relationships like this, because it reminds me of playing with my sisters all the time as I grew up.

The sibling relationship is one of my favorites to capture, because I know that as we grow older siblings may move away from each other, not spend as much time in each other’s company, but that bond is still one of the closest we will ever enjoy.

Just DO LOVE | Arkansas Same Sex Wedding Photographer

I was at a wedding Saturday night. Two women, who have a long friendship that has turned into love, and it’s a very strong love. They see the good in each other, and they enhance the good in each other. They accept each other for who they are, and they see better — they each see the other person for the best in them. It’s the kind of love that makes the world a better place.

A big, very public same sex wedding in one of the top wedding venues in Arkansas is a big deal. Something like 250 people were there celebrating. At one point I looked around the dance floor at all the smiling faces, at all the laughter. They were from different towns, dressed in different ways — from the very conservative to the very counter-culture. Some of them probably grew up fearing gay people or thinking they were abnormal, until the love they had for a family member helped them understand that we are all created differently and that this is a beautiful thing.

And one thing they all had in common: love. They were there to celebrate love, they were there because the loved either Lindsey or C.B. (or both, which isn’t hard to do once you meet them!)

I came home late and fell into bed … only to wake to the news of tragedy, of hate, of a massacre in a gay bar in Orlando. Orlando, a city where I have spent a lot of time in my life. A city where I have have family, and where that family has friends. Since we don’t even know who all was affected by the tragedy yet, like many people I find it impossible this morning to know exactly how close to home this hits.

But the very image, the very picture in my head, of someone readying his weapons of destruction just as we wrapped up a beautiful celebration of love: it’s just beyond my comprehension.

I’ll tell you this: on the way to this wedding I prayed, as I do almost always when I’m on the way to a wedding or client meeting. What do you want me to do, God? What do you want me to say? I’m always trying to collaborate with God to figure out how much good I can put into my clients’ lives. And the answer coming back was very clear: Just find as many people to love as you can, and love them. Nothing special. Just love.

There is a lot being said today about the tragedy in Orlando, a lot we need to express. There is senseless loss, and the question of “Why?” For me, having lost friends to murder when I was a young adult, there is the pain of knowing how many families will have to endure what I and their families endured: all the questions, needing answers, not understanding and realizing that there are no good answers for some things. Having to accept that.

And there are two pictures in my head: love, and terror.

But here’s what I want to say: I’m going to look at this picture: LOVE. Not to deny or turn away from what happened in Orlando — I’m not saying that at all. But to choose to believe we can ALL be that picture of love. We can all choose to welcome, to embrace, to value each other. We CAN.

And I choose to believe we will. To believe it without turning away from the suffering and pain; while supporting and acknowledging all the sorrow that is in this now moment; giving these families our support in their grief. It’s important at this moment — more important than ever, actually — that we see a hope for a time when the reality is LOVE. When the worth of all persons is a firmly established value held by each of us.

This is my prayer: that we pray, that we hold the hand of the hurting, that we give them space to breathe and grieve and whatever they need to do. And then, not timidly, not half-heartedly, but boldly, confidently, aggressively, we LOVE! We love and love and love and love until love is beating down the doors of prejudice and injustice and judgment that have been shut against it. We love until the sky is raining down love that blesses all that will be loved (and probably feels like burning coals to those who will not acknowledge love — but we don’t want that, we just want them to experience LOVE). We love. And we DO. We DO LOVE. All the time, everywhere, for everybody we come in contact with. DO, and LOVE.

It’s all we were ever called to do in the first place. It’s all that we will ever be called to do. So, let’s do it already.

 

 

The State of Photography | Arkansas Portrait Photographer

Some of you may have read an article in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette this past Sunday in which I was quoted.

I can’t really link to the article since there’s a paywall, but the gist of it was that professional photographers are in trouble.

The quotes from me were short:

Michelle Posey, a Little Rock-based portrait photographer, said in order for portrait and wedding photography businesses to survive, they have to offer printing services.

Posey said she’s seen photographers give in to the demand, cutting their printing services, selling their studio spaces and offering digital files. She said she’s watched most of these photographers go out of business.

When consumers want only digital files, Posey said, they’re willing to pay less for a photographer than if they were to purchase prints.

“I totally understand that you wouldn’t want to pay that much for it, because if you’re just putting it on your computer, I would argue that you’re getting almost no value out of it,” Posey said.

The overall tone of the article was hopelessness, that professional photography was in trouble. So while I’m proud to be included in the elite group of photographers included in this article, I certainly have more to say.

I have more to say, because day after day I encounter people who do NOT want digital files. Sometimes it’s clients, other times it’s simply the lady in the coffee shop who says in a mournful tone, “But I guess it’s all just digital now.”

I used to wonder what that mournful tone was about, until it hit me. People are mourning the passing (from most “professional” photographers’ offerings) of the ONE THING that actually gives clients value: the printed photograph.

They mourn what they believe is the passing of the “real” photograph, the enjoyable, beautiful, meaningful artwork their families purchased in years past.

They long for a more professional experience, one where their wants and needs and desires are taken into account. They long for a professional person to give them that experience, so they don’t feel responsible for coming up with all the ideas for their photo session.

These are the people who usually love to work with professionals in all areas of their lives. They want the best. They want to be taken care of, shepherded through an experience that they know is superior to what their friends and neighbors are getting.

And, this is what I offer. This is what I’m going to revisit in the next few days.

Professional photographers have been getting it all wrong. It’s not that professional photography isn’t in demand. It’s just that too damn few of us remember how to be professional, how to really take care of clients and treat them as well as they deserve! Photographers who don’t know their craft photograph people in unflattering ways, with unflattering light, then leave them high and dry when it comes to printed products, and don’t even bother to figure out how to create something that’s meaningful to the client.

But that is going to change! At least in this state, I am providing a better option: the best possible quality of photography, married to the best possible quality of product, that tells the story that is near and dear to YOUR heart!!

I am turning Arkansas into the best possible state for the best possible photographic experience!

Want to know what that’s all about? Planning your session is free, and it’s the best 15-minute phone conversation you’ll have all week.

Call 501-517-0962 right now and we will get started!

Oh, sure, you COULD go here and just fill out the form but that just takes longer. Why wait? Talk to you in a few!