A little sweetness for your Sunday...

Swizzle sticks,
Snickers,
Milky Way,
M&M's,
Gummie Bears, and
Reese's Peanut Butter Cups...OH MY! This was a commercial shoot for a client in Florida, but hey, we can all benefit.

Are you hungry yet?

This may become a series, because I absolutely love this bride, Maureen! She is the sweetest girl, and we have had a blast at our shoots. Being beautiful inside and out just lends itself to the photography sessions, and I look forward to sharing more of the shots with you. Happy Saturday, and enjoy your day! xo

Don't say I didn't warn you...

...actually, I have a good excuse for my negligence: the growing baby inside my belly right now. I missed my posting yesterday, so I feel like I need to make it up to you by giving you a peek at my first little one that my hubby Brandon and I are expecting.

This particular shoot was done for a cover of Atlanta Bride and Groom Planner. Dress left: Vera Wang; Dress right: Meg Butler. Both were equally stunning except one fell victim to a stain in our very beautiful barn setting. Who knew that among the rust, grass, and gently aged wood of the barns, the real threat to the dresses' well being were the rubber coated clamps used to hold the dress in place! Nevertheless, the shoot carried on as the sun slowly sunk in the sky creating this amazing warm light on the bride.

This shoot was one of my favorites...Carson is an absolute DOLL! Despite the fact that her beautiful frilly communion dress implied tea and cookies, she was totally in her element to run around, arms outstretched in the sun, dancing. And much to mom's dismay, grabbed her scooter to fly around in her white dress playfully pulling a small hole in one of the dainty layers. Oh goodness, she is just precious and full of life-it's hard to be upset with her. Bless her heart.

The above logo was created for my dear sister-in-law who is starting a new and creative venture constructing designer fabrics like Amy Butler's into fabulous things like bibs and burp cloths for baby among other specialty hand-sewn items. Let me just say that this chick has got it going on! Her Etsy shop will soon be available; in the meantime, feel free to email her to request product photos or place orders. Her boutique lovely items are shipped delicately with card, ribbon, and colorful tissue. [email: threeguysandachick@nc.rr.com]

Happy Sunday! Today's featured shoot is Lauren, a high school senior who just had her portraits done with me. What a fun and laid back girl! We got started early, so we were able to escape the warmest part of the day that eventually hit upper 90's by the afternoon. It seems so hard to believe that it has been over 12 years since I graduated from high school, because some of those memories seem like just yesterday. I remember making midnight runs with my girlfriends Rachel and Jennifer to Dunkin Doughnuts/Baskin Robbins and killing a pint of ice cream in one sitting. Those were the days! Hold onto your memories Lauren, but also cherish your dreams for the future! There is so much to look forward to. Congratulations Class of 2009!

The Hollie Files

As my blog begins to take shape, I believe it is important to share a bit of myself with you, hence, the beginning of the Hollie Files. Really, quite simply, I'm just going to use the second part of my daily blog to post a personal photo or two and explain the reasoning for my posting. Some will be funny, some just cute, some obnoxious (because they're always fun), and hopefully, some inspiring. Today, I want to introduce you to my dog, Sydney. She turned 10 years old in May, but runs around with the energy of a toddler after cotton candy and soda pop. She's amazing, and I love her like she's my own born. She is a rescued cruelty case pup and I have to say, was the only good thing that resulted from a relationship with a college boyfriend of mine. Here's the thing, she has about a million names: Syd, Boog-Boog, Boo, Yella Girl, Muffin, Nibblet...anyone have any new nicknames for her? Maybe the photos will inspire you...

Suri Cruise ain't got nothin' on me!

So today is my first official blog posting and I'm excited for the opportunity to share some of the fantastic and sometimes hilarious joys of my photography. Every shoot is different, so every shoot means genuine personality. Today was a sixth month shoot with Baby K, who arrived with her favorite partners in crime: mom and dad. The funny thing about Baby K is that she was much happier in her birthday suit than the purple tutu frock that was worn by the one and only Suri Cruise! This was my first experience with baby couture with a celebrity history, so I felt honored. It seemed that Baby K wasn't the only one with big shoes to fill. We opted not to sit her in the shallows of the river today as planned because unlike the recent temps of the past few days, it was only about 80 degrees and breezy...kind of cold for infant dips! Instead, we played in the shadows of the tall oak and pine trees, tried on a few different frilly frocks, and basically just had a ball...until nap time drew near...