Well, it’s my last official wedding post for LeahAndMark.com. From now on, you’ll have to get your Raven fix from YouAreRaven.com.

But anyway, I have a ton of stuff coming up for you, including “glamoir” shoots, singer/songwriter portraits, Renaissance paintings come to life, and as always, weddings.  Weddings from all over the US, including Florida, Connecticut, New York, California, Tennessee, and South Carolina.

Hunter & Misti’s wedding, however, was in GA.  It was simple, elegant, and incredibly sweet. They were married at Red Top Mountain State Park, right by the edge of the water, on a gorgeous day.
They had tons of bits they made themselves, even the cupcakes, which were made by the bride herself!

Thanks, Hunter & Misti. You guys. Are. Awesome.

Today marks 3 years of marriage for me and Mark! And the first Friday of this month was our 7th year together. When I look back over our relationship, I can’t believe that I was just 23 when we met. I wasn’t thinking about marriage then. Mark was just supposed to be a guy I dated for fun until I moved to Nepal. Because I was going to have an adventurous, exciting, and kinda crazy life… and I thought I needed to move to Nepal to do that.

Oh, 23-year-old Leah, you have no idea just how awesome life can be, and you don’t even have to be living in Nepal.

There are many things I love about Mark, and many reasons I decided not to move to Nepal, but one of my favorite things about Mark is what a great father he is. I knew he would be. It was one of his most attractive qualities, really. Even before I was considering marrying the guy, I was sure he would be an amazing dad. I loved how he treated kids with respect and humor. I loved how kids loved HIM. And I loved the fact that even at the age of 26, even just 2 weeks into dating, he openly voiced his desire to be a father. There was no wavering, no “maybe in 10 years I’d like some kids”… it was just an enthusiastic YES! OF COURSE I WANT TO BE A DAD! I love his certainty in the face of something so terrifying and life-changing and huge. It helps me get through my own fears and doubts. YES! WE ARE GONNA ROCK THIS PARENTING THING!

Photo by Arrow & Apple

Happy Anniversary, babe! I love you!

(Wedding photos courtesy of Jason Spruill and Bonnie Heath!)

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Hey! Guess what? I’m a plus!

First off, a secret. When I started the internship with LeahAndMark.com, I had no idea what I was in for… which was actually kind of the point. Sure, I wanted to shoot more, meet new people, and find ways to both improve and feel more confident in my work, yadda yadda yadda. But most of all, I had no idea what to expect. All I knew was that I’d seen these crazy photos from these crazy photo shoots in rivers and junkyards and bombed out buildings, with people jumping on trampolines and breathing fire and getting drenched in buckets of fake blood. I saw this and knew I wanted…. no, NEEDED to be a part of this. And somehow, after the fastest three months of my entire life, I’m an actual part of it now. And I’m honored.

I shoot everything. Weddings? Check. People? Check. Drag queens, cupcakes, a psychic in the woods? Check, check, check. I love that I keep a pair of rain boots in my trunk at all times and have used them on countless shoots. I love that my scenery changes so drastically from one day to the next. I love that my job is fun. And fulfilling and creative and forever evolving, changing, moving. I love that I’m constantly being challenged- by Mark, by my fellow photographers, by my clients, by myself. I strive to make a photo that’s interesting. Remember my affinity for staring at old photos for hours, days, weeks, years? How I love getting lost in a photo? That’s what I work to create every single time. Lose yourself in the details, or someone’s expression, or the sky or the light or the dark. Whatever grabs ahold of you.

I have a really awesome family. (Really. I have the cutest kids ever and a husband that happens to be my very best friend.) I have a penchant for busy cities, film noir, and punk rock covers of Broadway showtunes. I’m happiest when it’s cold outside and wear the salt stains on my winter boots with pride instead of buying a new pair, because the salt reminds me of the blizzard I survived in New York City last year. Life is better with pasta.

Thank you, Leah and Mark. Thank you, Raven. Thank you, Debra and Jo and all my fellow Alumni Interns. You guys teach me and inspire me and push me, and I’m so proud to be a part of your team. You. Are. Awesome.

 I’m +Krista. And I’d love to be your photographer.

- Posted by Mark

This past weekend we had two weddings. I flew up to Virginia on Friday to be with Stephanie & Alastair on Saturday – and then after getting back to the hotel around 1am – at 4:30am Raven & I hopped onto a flight back to Atlanta where I photographed another wedding until late into the evening on that Sunday.

Hey – it’s wedding season! And ours just goes from February until December. SO. Get ready for a lot of wedding preview posts and a lot more traveling – because we’re criss-crossing the country (and of course I do have a few here in Atlanta as well.)

It’s been a long time since I photographed Stephanie & Al for their engagement session. After finding us on A Practical Wedding – they flew me up to Virginia and spent a looong afternoon with me. I landed late that morning and they drove me all over Charlottesville – and then dropped me back off that night. SO – it was really nice to finally get to be there for their wedding. Because in case you haven’t noticed – we really like our clients. They’re awesome. We screen them to make sure they’re awesome (… no we really do…) and wow. Stephanie & Alastair, your wedding was badass.

Thank you very much.

Stephanie & Alastair. You. Are. Awesome.

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And by “The Beautiful People,” I mean you.  <3

At the very beginning of my decision to become a photographer – well, I say decision, but really, it just HAPPENED – I was timid about a lot of things.

Weddings, for example. They terrified me. After hearing countless horror stories, I had pretty much made up my mind that I would never be interested in shooting weddings. And then something changed my mind, and now I’m kind of obsessed with them.

A similar thing happened with me and boudoir. I had never been interested women’s portraits, and boudoir was scary for someone who was a bit of a prude {well, I was}. I didn’t understand it.

Now, I do. I understand how important it is to have images of yourself that you LOVE. I understand that some women don’t think of themselves as beautiful, even though they are. I understand that absolutely everyone can have a beautiful portrait taken, even if they think they’re “unphotogenic” {which is a word not found in my dictionary}.

I don’t really shoot “boudoir” in the traditional sense. I like to call what I do “Glamoir.” {Pronounced “glam-wawr,” with a bit of a purr. And yes, I’m patenting that.}

What I shoot are portraits, plain and simple. But they combine elements of boudoir and elements of modern glamour into simple images that make women feel AWESOME.

The awesome thing about the way I shoot, is that it covers pretty much any level of shyness. So if you want to stay in a regular and fully-dressed state throughout your whole session, let’s do it! And if you want to get down to your skivvies, or even less, we can do that! And if you want to run the complete gamut, we can do that, too.

My entire mission, if it could be boiled down into a sentence, is to make people FEEL GOOD. Feel good about themselves, feel good about their pictures, feel good about LIFE in general.

And glamoir, or glamour, or boudoir, or whatever, is an awesome way I’ve found to do just that.

Thank you, ladies. You. Are ALL. Awesome.

Now that BabyRoX is 6 months old, I thought I’d give y’all an update about our journey with Elimination Communication.

It’s going well, but that doesn’t mean BabyRoX doesn’t ever go in diapers. He would probably use the potty a good bit more if I was willing to take him all the time, but I quickly realized that I was not a fan of pottying him at night – it interrupted my sleep too much. Some nights he stays dry, but he’s been growing – and thus nursing – a lot lately so he’s been going more at night. It’s way easier to put him in a super absorbent diaper and change it once than take him to the potty a few times. So we don’t do EC at night. We’re good about practicing EC when we’re at home, and BabyRoX still signals fairly regularly that he needs to go, although now that he’s crawling/scooting around, sometimes he tells me right as he is going or just after he’s gone, rather than giving me a minute’s heads up like he used to. I’ve been told to expect more misses as he gets more engaged in exploring the world.

I’ve started signing the word for “potty” each time I say it and take him to the potty, so hopefully in a few months he’ll be able to sign when he needs to go. For now he just gets squirmy and a little fussy and I take him. I plan to move more towards taking him to the potty at specific times throughout the day rather than waiting for his signal as he gets even more mobile – and then of course taking him when he signals, as well.

On days we are out and about, I rely on diapers. (My fave diapers are FuzziBunz, by the way! So soft and cute and easy to use!) It’s hard to potty him when we’re in the middle of running errands, especially if I’m shopping or making a bank run or whatever I happen to be doing. And then when we’re out visiting people, I’m not always aware when he signals because I’m chatting with someone else or the grandparents are holding him and I don’t know that he needs to go. So we’re pretty part-time with the EC for now, but we’re still definitely doing it and BabyRoX still goes on his potty at least 3-4 times a day even on the crazy/busy/lazy days.

In case you’re wondering the “tools” we use… We have 2 potties in the house and one travel one for the car. We love the Baby Bjorn Potty Chair because it has a high back and is sturdy and easy to clean. We also have the My Carry Potty for the car because it seals up good’n'tight in case we’re not somewhere we can easily dispose of the contents. I really haven’t used the travel one much, because if BabyRoX needs to go while we’re out and about, it’s usually while I’m driving, so I tell him to go in his diaper and then I change him when we get to our destination. But it’s nice to have just in case, and especially for when he’s older and transitioning out of diapers – I like that he’ll already be familiar with the travel potty. We primarily use the FuzziBunz for diapers now, and I just got some Bumboo ones for overnight (we had been using disposables overnight previously). If it’s been a few days of craziness and BabyRoX hasn’t been signaling, I’ll switch back to the prefold diapers with covers because they are less absorbent and he feels it more when he wets, and then he starts signaling again.

Am I glad we’re doing EC, even if it’s only part time? YES, definitely! I think it’s important to help BabyRoX maintain an awareness of his bodily functions and feel comfortable using a toilet for his elimination. I think it will make the true potty training phase easier, because he will already be aware of the sensation of needing to go, and aware of where it is appropriate to go to the bathroom. I also understand his cries and gestures much better, because I’ve been paying such close attention to deciphering them. I know when he’s hungry or tired or gassy or needs to go to the bathroom, and I can respond to those needs accordingly. BabyRoX hasn’t had a diaper rash since he was 2 months old, and I think that is in large part because we practice EC. Even when he does go in his diaper, he lets me know right away and I change him, so he never has to be in a dirty diaper for very long. I’m a fan of EC. Yes, it takes work, but to me it is totally worth it!

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I have always considered myself a night owl. I tend to stay up until the wee hours of the morning. I find myself most productive during the middle of the night. In college, I pulled my fair share of all nighters especially during finals week. I remember taking study breaks to watch the sunrise. There is something so majestic about watching the light spill over the landscape. So when Maria first approached me about doing a sunrise engagement session I was thrilled!

I made sure to go to bed at a semi-decent hour the night before so when my alarm went off I was raring to go! If you’ve never been to Piedmont Park at 6 am I would highly recommend it. It is quiet, serene and of course beautiful.  We saw a few joggers and cyclist, but for the most part it felt like we had the park to ourselves.

Maria and Sean are amazing! I knew from my initial meeting with Maria that they had a special bond. Maria’s eyes light up when she talks about Sean. That bond was even more evident when I saw them together.  You can tell by the way they look at each other they truly belong together.

Thank you, Maria and Sean for spending the early morning with me.  You are awesome.  I can’t wait for your wedding!

Also a special thanks to Intern Christine for waking up early and braving a mound of ants to get the shot! Check out her blog here.

do you know what the Human Rights Campaign is? you should. I didn’t. I do now. when I first heard of it I had some vague notion of an organization having to do with the violation of humane treatment of individuals in other countries…prison conditions, political prisoners, canings. or something. I’d seen the ubiquitous blue square with a yellow equal sign in it, and knew what it represented. I just didn’t know it belonged to the HRC. I don’t necessarily say this proudly, but I live in a media vacuum when it comes to world events. hell, local events. what’s going on at my kids’ schools, even. largely, if not exclusively, by choice. avoidance of reality is a thing with me. probably why I read a lot. not to say I don’t check topline news stories, or try to learn more about issues that are important to me. I guess it’s a selective reality. and I know I’m not the only person guilty of that.

so ANYway, I was assigned to shoot the HRC awards dinner at the atlanta hyatt regency as my first official post-internship/+elaine shoot. and I get that for some of you, HRC might not be your thing. but for me, the evening, the organization, was a revelation. people being themselves freely, in an atmosphere of support and acceptance. people who were involved, emotionally and financially and politically, trying to make the world what I would consider to be a better place. it’s hard to work a camera when you’re busy applauding and laughing and cheering. but I’m a professional and managed it.

did you see my post on facebook that night? I had minions. some of the season 8 interns (andrew, christine, kristi and vee) were mine to do with what I would. this was their first official shoot after their intern introduction night. they were nervous, and I encouraged and instructed and checked back with them when I could, because that was just me a few months ago. but really, I had to trust them to do their jobs, and they just had to get out there and shoot. and they did. and I was one proud mama. but let’s get back to me. I was THE photographer at this incredible event. I got to be that person who firmly but politely gets to shove other shooters and camera-wielders aside so I (or my interns) can get the shots we want. such a night of satisfaction and potential and a sense of so much further to go. for me, for HRC.

from that moment when I first got bitten by the photography bug, and the years since—asking, practicing, helping, assisting, interning–and finally, it was me. mine. power, baby! I promise I will do my best to use it for good.

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Well, I finally visited New Jersey. And it was more than a little terrifying, for this slow-moving Southern tortoise. BUT Eileen & Alex’s wedding MORE – way, way more – made up for dodging all those quick hares and their no left turns on the highways. And no convenience stores.

There’s a lot of traveling left to do this year, and I’m STOKED that this one was in the list.

Grounds for Sculpture is one of THE most amazing places I’ve ever been. And it’s right smack dab in the middle of Jersey. Who knew?! You should look it up. It’s crazytastic.

Aside from having completely breathtaking and amazing sculptures every five feet, there’s a whole aviary dedicated to peacocks, which wander the property.

When I was going through these shots, trying my best to narrow down the ones I wanted to post on the blog, I was dumbstruck – AGAIN – by the sheer amount of LOVE and JOY that exude from Eileen and Alex. In every single shot I have of them – except for the ones when I made them do “apathetic model face” – they’re GRINNING. Ear to ear. Superbly happy. I loves it.

Thank you, Eileen & Alex. You. Are. Awesome.

- Posted by Krista

Once upon a time, I didn’t like high school. I got good grades and managed to avoid the shame of riding the bus once my friends and I could drive, but mostly, high school sucked. I couldn’t wait to break out and move on, away from the math classes I loathed and the mean girls that teased me. (And now, the lessons of adulthood: I really don’t ever need to differentiate functions or find the points of tangency in a right triangle, and while some of those mean girls have changed, some haven’t changed a bit.)

But what I did like about high school- loved, in fact, more than just about anything else but graduation- was the Prom. I always loved the Prom. Dress-shopping and corsage-wearing and boutenniere-pinning and limo-riding and awkward-photo-posing and dancing the night away. It was just FUN. I got to dress up, dance with this tall, handsome guy that I ended up marrying, and have a night out on the town. And almost ten years later, those are the date nights I still like the best.

Not everyone can take something like the Prom for granted.

That’s where Athena’s Warehouse comes in. They’re a nonprofit charity organization devoted to improving the lives of teenage girls in the Atlanta area and beyond, and one of their specialties is the Prom Project, where they distribute donated prom dresses to young women in need. Little things like that have an enormous impact on the lives of teenage girls, and that impact fuels self-empowerment where it belongs the most: in our youth.

Athena’s Warehouse had their 3^rd annual adult prom fundraiser at Sutra Lounge a few weekends ago. My fellow Intern Alum Edwin (ha- say that one ten times fast) and I covered the event, mostly manning the Photo Booth but also sneaking off for some event photos here and there. (Check out Edwin’s post about it here.)

This year, the theme was “A Night in Paris”, which translates into Awesomeness of Exponential Proportions when you’re adding French-themed props to a Photo Booth. Berets, roses, mustaches, feather boas, and baguettes. REAL BAGUETTES. They don’t mess around with props, people. I WANTED TO EAT THE PROPS.

Thank you to Athena’s Warehouse founder Bee for having us be a part of the night. It was a tremendous honor to be involved in something so important as granting a young girl her dream of dancing at her prom.

To my dear son,

Thank you for making me a mother. Not just any mother, but YOUR mother. For you are a radiant and joyful being, serious yet happy, intense but filled with light. You take my face in your tiny hands and stare so deeply into my eyes… focused, probing. I wonder what you see there. And then you break into a smile so huge (and toothless!) that I wonder if your look of intense concentration was just a figment of my imagination. How do you switch so quickly from seriousness to levity? Perhaps one day you will tell me.

This is an imperfect world, and as you begin to encounter some of the harsh and painful aspects of it, I hope your seriousness will allow you to give each issue, each feeling, due consideration. And I hope your levity will help you continually find the joy of this world, to shine light into the darkness.

I love you with a fierceness that scares me at times, and I will use that ferocity to fuel my efforts to make this world a happier and more just place. I will be your protector, your biggest champion, your most adoring fan, and hopefully one of your best and most favorite teachers. I will listen. I will ask questions. And sometimes I will talk too much and sometimes you will humor me and sometimes you will let me know that you have your own answers and I need to trust you.

We will have grand adventures and more ordinary ones, but I promise that each day will be an adventure.

One day you will not need me so much, and I will be enormously proud and incredibly sad at the same time, and I hope that I will smile and wave you on your way and I hope you will remember to look back and blow me a kiss, to call and write and visit, because at this very moment I cannot imagine a single day without your sweet face greeting me, your tiny hands cupping my cheeks, your serious eyes staring into mine, and your smile lighting up my world.

Love you always and then some,

Your mother

- Posted by Mark

One of my favorite things about being a wedding photographer is simply the fact that I get to attend so many different types of weddings. Along with all of the traveling I do – the many variations of ‘wedding’ is one of the reasons I’m never bored – and why every wedding is both a challenge and honestly still very entertaining to me.

This year so far I’ve photographed engagement sessions in San Francisco, weddings in the Bahamas, Arizona and of course here in Atlanta – and even flying up to Chicago and down again for back to back weddings. Last year’s weddings included stops in New York, Maine, Michigan, Florida, North Carolina, California, Alabama, and New Jersey.

This year we’re still headed to Connecticut, back to California, back to Arizona, Iowa, Indiana, Michigan (Three times!), Nebraska, Virginia,and Colorado. And that’s just what we have so far. There’s still so much year left and somehow, we’re still getting booked for 2012.

Even though I’m not likely to say this to your face, or act like I get choked up – weddings are one of the few things that hit me hard, and that do get me choked up. Because you know what? Weddings are badass. All that love and emotion flying around and filling the air – just makes me want to hide behind my camera rig. It’s powerful stuff and when I think about how many couples have decided that I should be there for them; that I should be the one to photograph such an important and meaningful celebration – well – that’s probably the main reason we work so hard while we’re photographing a wedding. I just can’t F*ck it up. Ever. And you know – that’s alright.

Sarah is the awesome artist behind The Small Object. Just like us – she and Dawn are regulars at the Indie Craft Experience and over the past few years we’ve been fortunate to know them both.

Sarah & Dawn. You. Are. Awesome.

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