Happy Mother’s Day!!

By Rachael on May 13, 2012

I wanted to do a quick post today since I don’t live near my mom any more and wasn’t able to spend today with her.  I haven’t seen her since Christmas and I’m not really sure exactly when we’ll see each other next.  I hate going this long without seeing my parents!  That’s definitely the hardest part about living in North Carolina.  Here’s a picture of my mom and me in the hospital almost 28 years ago.

 

Since I just got home from a camping trip this weekend, I wanted to post this picture of my mom and her 3 camping girls.  For those of you who don’t know, I’m the little pouting blonde on the left. Camping with my parents are some of the fondest memories I have from growing up.  I can’t wait until I have kids that I can take camping (kids other than my dogs that is).

Happy Mother’s Day to all the mothers out there and especially the ones whose kids live far away.  We miss you!

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Jason & Mackenzie 50′s Inspired Engagement Session

By Rachael on May 5, 2012

I had a blast shooting Jason and Mackenzie’s engagement session!  They went all out on this 50′s inspired shoot.  Their creativity, love and excitement for each other really shines through in these photos!  I met Jason and Mackenzie at a bridal show in February.  They came by my booth but left after we found out I was already booked on their wedding day.  A little while later they won my raffle prize of a free engagement session.  I couldn’t be happier that this is the couple that won that free session!  Just sad I can’t photograph their wedding too.

 

Mackenzie and Jason found this this sweet little diner whose owner let us come in before business hours to take pictures.  Its a good thing we got to do that because apparently they are packed from opening to closing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Love the shoes! (and the socks ;)

 

 

This one is hands down my favorite :)  The people at the diner were even willing to make some food for us as props for our pictures.

 

Yummy onion rings!  (Nothing better than edible props).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My second favorite.  I’m so glad they put those menus out as the customers started coming in!

 

Mackenzie, you are so beautiful!  Its almost a shame you didn’t live in the 50′s, this looks suits you so well!

 

Mackenzie changed her dress and we were off to a new location.  This location was perfect and I’m totally using it again for future shoots!

 

This is totally how I imagine my grandparents when they were our age, sitting on a porch in rocking chairs, drinking cokes from glass bottles, wearing clothes like this.

 

Jason plays the mandolin in a blue grass band.  How cool is that?!

 

 

This makes me think of WWII movie’s where a soldier would take a photo of his wife out of his pocket to look at while writing her a letter…  That locket around her neck (and her earrings) were given to her by her great aunt.  The quilt was made by her grandmother and won a blue ribbon in a fair.  I love sentimental items like these!

 

 

 

I don’t think many other people could pull off the bright pink lipstick.  You go girl!

Oh we had so much fun!

We recreated their engagement.

I LOVE her expression in this one.  So cute!

 

Thank you guys for such a fun Sunday and an incredible shoot.  I also appreciate all the forethought and work you put into your session, it definitely showed!

And to extend the cuteness just a little bit more I took a couple videos of them.  How cute are these?!  (They may take a second to load once you click on the link)

Video1_J&M

Video2_J&M

 

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Josh & Lyndsey Mooresville, NC Engagement Photography

By Rachael on April 16, 2012

Josh and Lyndsey are hands down one of the cutest couples I’ve photographed.  They came to the shoot with several great props and great ideas.  I had a fun time working with them to make their session unique.  We did their pictures at Carrigan Farms in Mooresville.  It is a really pretty location and I get to go back and shoot and wedding there this weekend!

I love the bright colors in these grass pictures.

 

Hello pretty lady!

Love that I live in the south and cowboy boots are popular.

 

You two are way too cute to handle!

Lyndsey picked the perfect dress, it really pops in these pictures.

 

This one is my favorite, I love how happy they are.

 

 

 

It was a perfect day for a (pretend) picnic.

My favorite ring shot I’ve taken in a long time, possibly my favorite one of all time.

Mmm, popcorn.

 

 

I love the bubbles.  What a great idea!

I’m lovin the retro 70′s feel in this one.

 

 

Always Coca-Cola yeah!

Again, mmm popcorn.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Matt & Lauren Statesville NC Engagement Photography

By Rachael on April 13, 2012

 

My sister Jennifer was in town and came along to help me with this shoot.   We had a lot of fun taking pictures of Matt and Lauren!  They are such a sweet and cute couple and it was a gorgeous day.

 

Someone that works with Lauren’s step mom had this awesome farm he let us use for the shoot.  Love this white barn!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My view.

 

 

Jennifer’s view.  I arranged ahead of time with Mother Nature to have her turn on the wind machine.  I love the way Lauren’s hair looks blowing in the wind!  Jennifer’s favorite.

 

 

 

 

 

My view.

 

 

Jennifer’s view.

 

 

I love how the light is hitting Lauren’s pretty face.  One of my favorites.  My view.

 

 

Jennifer’s view.

 

 

This was Jennifer’s idea.  I love how it turned out!

 

 

 

 

 

My other favorite.

 

 

 

 

 

Love this shot Jennifer took!

 

 

Less then a minute drive from the farm there was a bunch of little old cabins.  I guess they are part of the Statesville Historical buildings.  I’ll have to remember this location for future shoots.  My view.

 

 

Jennifer’s view.  This photography gene definitely runs in the family. :)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I had no idea until this shoot that tulip poplar trees actually had tulips.  (Duh, I can just hear my mom and dad snorting now) We have a ton of these trees on our land, I’ll have to look closer next time we walk our trails.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Another one of Jennifer’s. She has a great eye for detail and I can’t wait to bring her along on a wedding or two this fall.

 

 

Hello gorgeous!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Another shot from Jennifer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Matt and Lauren are getting married in October at one of my favorite venues, The Arbors.  I can’t wait to see you guys all dressed up for your wedding!

 

And finally a few action shots.  I wish I had gotten one of Jennifer taking photos.  Opps, next time.

 

 

 

 

 

And finally a blooper shot.  Achoo!

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Chase and Savannah Charlotte Engagement Pictures

By Rachael on April 10, 2012

Chase and Savannah are the most gorgeous and sweetest couple I think I have ever met.  They are so comfortable with each other and so natural in front of the camera.  I cannot wait until Savannah’s Bridal session and until their wedding this fall!

 

Savannah you are so pretty!

 

 

I love how much you love each other!

 

 

 

 

 

You’ll see more pictures of this barn this fall, this is the location of their wedding.

 

 

It is an old (huge) 1920′s horse barn that was renovated to an events venue.

 

 

 

Favorite #1.  I love their body language in this one.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As I was editing these pictures I kept getting really excited because photo after photo was just drop dead gorgeous!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Oh, did I mention that Savannah is the definition of a southern bell?  So beautiful and oh so sweet.

 

 

 

 

 

We had to carefully avoid some poison ivy to get to this cool old barn.  (Luckily I was wearing pants and tennis shoes and did not end up with any).

 

 

I love how the light is hitting Savannah’s face in this photo.

 

 

 

 

 

We were trying to recreate this scene in Dirty Dancing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yeah, they totally climbed on that train, we are rebels.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Savannah’s great-grandmother made this quilt.  I love when couples bring props to their shoots that have significance to them .

 

 

Chase is one lucky guy.  You can tell he knows it by the way he takes care of Savannah and how sweet he is with her.  My other favorite.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Take note of the sweet tea in mason jars on the back of the blanket. :)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bet you can’t guess when their wedding is…

 

 

Our version of American Gothic, we just need a pitch fork.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chase used to live by here growing up and would play with his friends on the railroad tracks.  A little bit like Stand by Me.  I’m just full of movie references today.

 

 

 

 

 

I just love this couple and I cannot wait until their wedding!

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Haidinger Charlotte Baby Photography

By Rachael on March 25, 2012

When I moved to North Carolina 3 years ago, Shawna and Donovan were the first couple Matt and I bonded with.  Matt knew Dono in college in Wisconsin and when he moved here before (about half a year before me) he started hanging out with them.  They are such fun, loving, energetic and kind people.  Shawna is hands down the most kind hearted, sweetest person I know.  She is truly beautiful inside and out.

I love how Isaac is looking up at his daddy.

Shawna and Donovan have gone through a lot heart break in the past few years.  That is a small part of the reason why Isaac is so incredibly special.  He truly is a miracle baby.  He was born on December 20th at 27 weeks gestation and weighed 2.7 pounds.  Isaac was in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit for about 3 months until he was finally brought home on March 19th.  This is the picture that was texted to me the day he was born.

 

Yesterday Matt and I spent the day with them at their house and took pictures while we were there.  Isaac now weighs over 6 pounds and is growing fast.  He is now a giant premie :)

Baby toes.

 

Shawna mostly breast feeds but in order for Issac to get a few extra calories and vitamins, Donovan gets to give him a bottle a couple times a day.

 

 

 

 

 

I love this next series of photos.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Isaac’s hair is turning red just like mommy and “uncle” Matt’s hair.  I just love redheads, they are my favorite people :)

 

 

Shawna knitted the yellow blanket in the background for Isaac.  I love his little tongue sticking out.

 

 

 

 

 

 

My favorite.

 

 

 

 

Daddy and Isaac.  This photo is perfect.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Isaac is the most loved little baby.  He is so lucky to have these two as parents.

 

 

 

Beautiful Momma Shawna.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I am happy and sad to say that they are moving back to Wisconsin in about a month.  We will miss them but they will be happy being close to so many friends and family.  We wish you guys

the best of luck and hope to see you soon!  We will never forget all the fun times we had together here in North Carolina.

 

 

 

 

 

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January 2012 Self-Portrait

By Rachael on January 26, 2012

Happy January!  I can’t believe it is almost over already.  This new year I would like to lose a few pounds (which got jump-started when I had the stomach bug), eat better, improve my photography business, etc.  One goal I have every year is to make more blog posts.  Usually the amount of blog posts depend on how many shoots I have that month.  I’m going to start something a little new this year to get me posting more.  With many New Years resolutions, they tend to not go much past January so we’ll see if I can keep it up this year.

Here is the beginning of my self portrait series.  Last year I read as other photographers did this through out the year and decided I should give it a try.

January for me has been a month all about babies.  My good friend Shawna had a premature baby in December and I got to meet the tiny little guy in the NICU this month.  Also another friend of mine is having a baby in February so I threw her a shower.  This was the first real event I’ve thrown and luckily my sister came to town to help me.  I don’t know what I would have done without her!  She helped make sure the planning and the day went off without a hitch.  She made that awesome cake (with a monkey on top) in the middle of the table.  Also, this is the month I’ve started bugging my husband a little about when we want to start thinking about having a baby of our own.  Now don’t get too excited, it is still a ways off, but its definitely been a topic of discussion.  I was running out of time as I was getting this photo, so its not the best, and part way through the shower someone asked me if my belt was crooked on purpose :)  You can also see one or two of those pounds I want to lose in between my hand and the belt.  I’ll try to take a little bit more time while doing my February self-portrait!

 

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Courtney North Carolina Maternity Photography

By Rachael on January 11, 2012

Courtney and I took her maternity photos on a perfect “winter” day.  I love living in the South with several spring-like days in January. Courtney is due on February 21st and I’m excited to throw her baby shower this Sunday.  I’ll definitely be getting a photo of the whole family (with dad) on Sunday.  Marshall is also getting ready to have his 2nd birthday in February.  Its going to be a big month for the Robinson family!

We started the shoot out a little shy.

 

Starting to warm up a little to the camera.

 

 

 

 

 

 

There’s nothing like a game of run through the crunchy leaves to get completely warmed up to the camera.

 

 

What a happy boy!

 

 

 

 

I just hope I’m half this gorgeous when I’m pregnant.

 

This is definitely one of my favorites.

 

 

 

My other favorite.

 

 

 

 

 

 

What a precious little boy!  He’s going to make such a great big brother.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Boy or Girl?  I can’t wait to meet you little baby Robinson!

 

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Jakob’s 6 months NC family photography

By Rachael on January 11, 2012

I shot Jakob’s 6 month pictures before Christmas and never got around to posting them.  Since most of them are Christmasy and (even though I haven’t even taken down my tree yet) I thought I would just post a couple of the non-Christmas ones.

My favorite family of four to photograph:

 

And the little cutie:

 

I can’t wait for his one year photos!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Alex & Stephanie: Asheville Engagement Photography

By Rachael on November 23, 2011

Stephanie and I were roommates all four years of college as well as best buds in high school.  Stephanie put together my amazing photography website and does all kinds of other small things behind the scenes for my business.  I am so thankful that we have been able to keep in touch these past few years through our businesses.   You can check out her website here.  As Steph said, it’s great to have such talented friends.  Steph, I’m so glad you found such a perfect man and I can’t wait to be part of your wedding day!  I may be a bit biased, but this may be one of the best sessions I’ve ever done!  Enjoy the photos!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is favorite number 1.  Steph has a beautiful singing voice and plays guitar.  Alex also sings (don’t think I’ve heard him sing, but I’m sure its beautiful too ;) ) and plays lots of instruments, which make for perfect props!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Album cover?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Favorite number 2!

 

Love you guys!

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