Featured: Carolina Bride

It's hard to put into words how excited Geoff and I were to find out that some of our images had been published. We couldn't wipe the smiles off our faces when we flipped the newest issue of Carolina Bride magazine to see a mini-feature with our photos.

In addition to our feature, many of our images were used throughout this issue (the dress shot is ours).

Julie and Jason: Engaged - Part Two

As promised, here's part two of Julie and Jason's engagement session.

A favorite.

I usually am not drawn to out of focus images, but I LOVE this intimacy of this one.

And to close out the night, we had a little fun with some lighting.

I SO can't wait for Julie and Jason's June wedding!

Julie and Jason: Engaged - Part One

As I was editing through the engagement session of Julie and Jason, I decided I would do a two part blog post. Part one has more of a romantic, vintage style feel to it, whereas the second part is very fun with bright colors, etc. Posting them all together would have just taken away from each other. So, problem solved.

The inspiration for this part of the shoot came from a picture of Julie's grandparents that she wanted to recreate. She's planning on displaying the two side by side at their reception as a surprise to her grandma - I can't wait to see it. Before we got to the location of the car, we had planned to take a few pics and be on our way to the next location. But when I saw the car + their outfits + the insane light, I knew we had go with it. We ended up spending the most amount of our time with these shots - I was loving what we were getting.

And Geoff? He was completely over the moon, as he got to shoot with our brand new 5D Mark II camera body. Every couple minutes we shot, he would shout, "oh my gosh......these are SO good...I can't believe this!". The three of us were laughing at him every time he would do it. He he had been shooting with a 40D up until this point, so what was coming straight out of the camera was quite a difference.

Here's what we came up with to recreate the shot:

Oh, and I forgot to mention that the day of our shoot BY FAR must have been the coldest of the year. Can't tell, can you?

Shooting in ultra cold weather can be a very good thing - the snuggling is a matter of survival!

What did I tell you about the insane light?!

Check back tomorrow for part two!

Distinctly Unique

One of my very favorite quotes reads, "if we lick the lollipop of mediocrity, we will suck forever." I so love that.

I've been using a lot of my time lately to think bigger and beyond where my business is right now and to put down on paper how I'd like it to look in five years from now....ten years from now....and even further. For the most part, I've been feeling really inspired and encouraged lately. As I walked out of church this past Sunday morning, the encouragement that I felt was off the charts. It was one of the five part "Purple People Leader" series at Elevation and man, was it awesome. I frantically took notes as our Pastor ran back and forth across the stage, totally pumped about sharing with us that God doesn't intend for me to be just like everyone else - He calls us to be unique. And it is that uniqueness that will make us powerful. Mediocrity will not suffice. His words were speaking so clearly to my heart as I contemplate my next steps to take in this business.

God didn't call me to be good; he called me to be GREAT. He has put this passion for photography and business ownership on my heart very intentionally and I fully intend to live up to the greatness He has called me to through it.

Since Sunday, I have had a fire lit under me to strive for uniqueness in my business instead of just following a template. As soon as I got home from church, I went straight to my journal and poured my heart out:

Lord, show me what makes me distinctly unique and how to implement that practically in my life.
Lord, keep me humble and to always remember that my success comes only from you - not from my work.
Lord, give me the wisdom I need to make the best decisions to advance my business.
Lord, keep me grounded and remember my core purpose of this work.
Lord, use my life for your glory.

These prayers certainly aren't incredibly profound, but they are a raw, honest account of my heart at this point in my life. :)

I have so enjoyed having some down time this month (and will continue to enjoy it next month) before the spring hits...because it's going to get crazy! As nice as it has been to take some time out to just breathe, I have to admit that not blogging consistently gets me a little stressed out. So here's to jumping back on the blog train...AGAIN.

Stay tuned for the super hot vintage engagement session of Julie and Jason, as well as some REALLY exciting news we got last week. For now, I leave you with a screenshot of my freshly updated website - it was SO in need of a mini-makeover.

Purple People Leader

New series starting this Sunday at Elevation - I'm excited! Check out the animation that my super talented husband did for the bumper!


Elevation Church - Purple People Leader Trailer v2.0 from Geoff Schultz on Vimeo.

Happy Friday all! :)

Snow Day

I grew up in California, which meant that I didn't see much snow growing up unless we were up in the mountains. So, waking up to snow in your front yard is a REALLY exciting day. Before going to bed last night I peeked my head out the front door to discover that it was FLURRYING. I began to wish with every ounce of my being that it would snow enough overnight to cover the ground. I was super excited. Geoff thought I was nuts - but whatever - the guy is from the midwest, so a few flurries don't mean a whole to him. This morning when Ellen woke me up at 7am to be let out, my wish had come true - our neighborhood was covered in a beautiful white blanket of snow!

As you can see from above, Ellen really did like the snow, but after awhile she started hobbling around because her paws were frozen. Before taking her inside to get warm, Geoff left me this note on my car. That's a VERY sweet husband I have. :)

I begged Geoff to let me practice my off camera lighting a bit this morning....just because I wanted to see what it would look like in the snow...and for the most part, he was a good sport. :)

Sneak Peek: Julie and Jason

Just wanted to share a couple from Julie and Jason's engagement session - I mean, seriously?

Check back later in the week for more!

Natalie and Matt: Married - Meredith College Jones Chapel

Natalie and Matt were married on January 3rd in Raleigh. It was SUCH a great wedding for us to kick off 2009 with! The ceremony took place at in the chapel on Meredith College's campus, which actually reminded me a lot of Charlotte's Belk Chapel - the big windows let in a ton of light.

Also beautiful was the room that Natalie and her girls got ready in, which in my opinion, really does make all the difference for these type of photos.

I love love loved her dress!

I am a BIG sucker for peonies - my jaw about hit the floor when I saw her bouquet.

I always love it when my brides take their time to slip into their dress and put on their jewelry/shoes. It was really nice to watch Natalie soaking in every moment.

I'm sorry, but this girl is CRAZY pretty.

Across the way, Geoff was over hanging with Matt and the guys as they got dressed before heading out for some pictures.

Seriously?????

For January, it really wasn't terribly cold, so we opted to take the girls outside for a few shots prior to the ceremony.

They were a fun and crazy group.

Whenever we first arrive to a wedding, we will always scout to what our options are for bridal party/couple pictures - when I saw these hedges, I really wanted to use them....lovin' the clean lines and color.

This one has a different look and feel then most of our work, but something about it makes me REALLY like it.

So hot.

And one more quick shot in the elevator before heading up to the reception.

As I made my way around the reception, I was floored by all of the details there were to shoot - everything was planned so thoughtfully and coordinated so well.

Natalie's grandma was cracking me up when she ran out to the dance floor, grabbed Natalie and went at it.

Congratulations to you guys and thank you for allowing us into your special day. Many blessings for your marriage!