Photography has always been a passion of mine. I took classes in high school & swore I was going to NYU to get a degree in it (before I realized how cold & broke I’d be; I wised up quick after that!).  I’m a pictureholic–the girl who’s annoyingly snapping away non-stop.  The one that forces her friends & family to pose for Pinterest inspired ideas & the one that will make you march back outside for a retake if the angle wasn’t right. A nuisance to many…but you can’t beat a perfect shot. To me, it’s worth all the hassle in order to have that moment so perfectly captured in time. To have something to look back on that will allow memories to flood into your mind and heart. What is better than that??

I got a D7200 from hubs for Christmas last year which has only further influenced my love for photography as I dabble with shots from time to time (read: all the time). I still have A LOT to learn, but for the time being I rely on editing to spruce up the photos that would have looked better if I had manually shot with the best arpeture or shutter speed. I’ll get there one day.

I had taken some graduation pictures for close friends about 6 months ago & I was so flattered when someone I wasn’t as close with reached out to me in hopes to have hers taken. Talk about a boost of confidence! I won’t lie though, I was pretty nervous about how things would go with a newborn but I was super excited (shout out to #dadoftheyear for keeping E in check)!

It was the perfect setting: cool weather but not freezing & 4pm, just in time for the golden hour to be hitting Old Main — the go to building for grad pics. Too bad someone had the exact same idea I had…. UGH! So we walked around campus doing other shots waiting for “our spot” to be available. Of course, by the time they were done the sun was blinding in that location, so we had to do some shaded shots to kill some more time.  FINALLY we get to the point where I could take some pics with decent lighting & the first group is still hovering at the building. Thankfully they were understanding (& actually quite nice) & backed away gracefully, because I was ready to fight! Y’all already got the best lighting, no way you’re getting this lighting, too!! Seems like something so little,  but they’re just not UNC-P grad pics without some good Old Main shots & we were NOT taking them in the dark!

Anyway, we got everything we needed in about an hour (killing it) & E slept through it all! So I went straight home & started editing. I love watching the photos come to life. How a dull pic can be spectacular with just a few tweaks, it’s amazing!  The hard part for me is choosing the best ones. I took approx 300 pics in that hour…but somehow narrowed it down to 43 favs. Which is still like a ton, but whatevs. I don’t know which angle shows off her “good side” or her preference in poses so who am I to force her to be stuck with a bunch of pics she might not even like! Plus, it has always been a pet peeve of mine when a photog has 25 awesome images but only lets ya pick a handful without charging an arm & a leg (I mean c’mon, what are they gonna do with them anyway?!) and who doesn’t like getting more than they expected!

Here are a few of my favs (from the favs lol). Hope you love them as much as I do!!