Meet my good friend Ashley Hesseltine.

Take a good. Hard. Look.

Remember that face.

Well maybe not that face, but remember her because she is going to be famous. She didn’t say it – I did so it’s not bragging.  I promise you.  She will.

Ashley is a writer, blogger, vlogger and all around personality and funny girl.

She let me photograph her and try to get some publicity shots and this was my first portrait session.  We shot at my (and Mark’s) favorite place: the West Egg Cafe. (Below is probably my fave).

I took pretty safe shots since it was my first time and I wanted to make sure I could get some keepers (cause Mark says you can only start charging for this stuff if you 100% can always deliver certain standard shots) – plus I wasn’t feeling too great so my creativity was not at its peak.

I wanted to shoot at West Egg because of the area above and the wonderful light that fills the place in the afternoon.  Very pretty.

I think I played it a little too safe. A lot of these kind of look too similar. But we tried to have some fun with this one.

If you want to laugh your ass off please visit Ashely’s blog, she is also the Atlanta editor of DailyCandy and an expert on BAD KISSERS.  Yes my friends are super cool.

LOVE YOU HESS!!!!!!  But I only did this because I wanted people to visit my blog and find this when they googled you!! Just kidding….

If you’ve met me, I’m probably the fastest girl you’ve ever met.  I was a runner and I was fast.  I ran a mile well under 5:00.  I could sprint 400 meters in 56.4 second (that’s 1/4 mile).  I ran a lot.  Some months I averaged 10 miles per day every week.  If I didn’t run of a day or two I felt the urge.  I felt imbalanced and I would have to go for a run.  Today was the first time I’ve ever felt that way about photography.  I haven’t shot anything in about a week and I felt the urge.  Friends of mine where going to the Old 4th Ward skate park tonight – so I planned to get my hankering out there.

There were some areas of improvement for sure.  The pics weren’t sharp.  I had to keep the f-stop and shutter speeds low because I couldn’t use a flash – but of course it made the movement blurrier than I hoped.

However, I did see a major area of improvement in my composition.  Skaters where flying everywhere, but instinctively I was able to frame via the rule of thirds without much thought.

The best place to shoot was the bowl.  It was the more advanced place to skate so the tricks were impressive.  But I really, really loved the shadows.

I took a few notes and I’m looking forward to trying this again with some adjustments.

This statement may make me sound shallow but it’s the truth: pretty people make for pretty pictures.  I said it.  Maria was the first person with modeling experience who I have ever shot.  She is beautiful on the inside and out and made it very easy for me to make pretty images.  She was comfortable with herself, energetic, inventive and the best sport I could ever ask for.

You may be noticing a theme of cars here.  The whole LeahandMark troop headed to Canton or Conyers (I wasn’t driving – but somewhere far away) to Old Car City.  It’s a graveyard of amazing other cars on 40 acres of woods.  Lots of bugs – rust and with the right imagination lots of fun places to shoot.

While everyone else went straight for the woods, Maria and I held back to the well-conditioned cars inside.  The owner let us into a roped off area and let us shoot (we are the first people to ever do this) in Elvis’ last car before he died.  With my 50mm lens it was hard to shoot in close quarters.  She is actually wearing Elvis’ jacket (so they say).

We finally headed outside and I found myself on a hunt for the sun.  I didn’t want to use a flash on this shoot – I wanted natural light and once I saw the locale I wanted to get a lot of nature in the shots, too.

Found the sun!

I loved being able to explore to find the perfect place.  I really wanted to be in the opposite direction of my fellow photogs to get unique shots.

Then we hit the MOTHER LOAD.  This old, creepy van that looked like it used to transport crazy people to the looney bin.

How hot is she?  Smokin’

One thing I am good at is sacrificing my body for photography.  I have wounds to prove it.  For these shots I was laying on the hood of the car, on the trunk. I got filthy and loved it.

Then we found this school bus at the back of the property filled with old parts.  It looks like skulls.  Loved it.

I really owe so much to Maria.  She was a natural and was such a positive person to work with.  Mostly I am grateful to have spent this time with her and get to know her better.  She’s a beautiful soul.  Check out her new business Homemade Yoga and support her!

I’ve been looking and hoping for a photography breakthrough.  I don’t know what that will look like, but I was hoping it would be this day with this shoot.  I’m not sure I had that.  I’m not sure when I’ll know.  I do know that I’ve never wanted to share more of my work than after this shoot. And I am sure that this is a positive outlet for me and that I’ve learn a lot in a short amount of time.  I am grateful for this experience.  I am grateful in particular for Mark who has become a dear friend.

I. Am. Grateful.

Raven was kind enough to take a chance on me shooting my first wedding.  I wasn’t sure what to expect of myself considering I have a short attention span and I’m not really a “wedding” person.  But I really enjoyed the experience.

The day started at the Bride’s home where she was getting her makeup done in the kitchen.  It was a challenge trying to come up with angels and shots that made it look like we were someplace a bit more glamorous.

Since there were limited places to take detail shots in her home – we went outside.  I thought it’d be nice to get a shot of the shoes in front of the home she shares with her future husband. I’m not sure if it’s successful or not – but I like the idea of them remembering their first home together when they reflect on their wedding.

I spotted the flower girl’s dress during a down time and decided to take it way back into a woodsy section of the yard where we hadn’t shot yet.  I found steps to an old tree house which I thought was a cool location to shoot the dress.

We then headed to the wedding venue to shoot the bride in her quarters.  There were a lot of people in and out of the room – including several kids. Below is the junior bridesmaid.

The flower girl did not want to be photographed at first.  This face says it all.

Here are some pre-wedding detail shots…

Raven then had Abby and I shoot the groom and the groomsmen across the hall.  They were a spirited group!

To be honest, I didn’t really have a feel for what I should shoot at the actual ceremony.  Raven and Abby where on the bride and groom’s side and I was in the back trying to get wide shots and reactions.  It went so fast I a didn’t really come up with anything creative.  I guess I didn’t like any of them enough to publish here – which means I probably would have been fired if I was the first shooter.  These pics are kind of the whole point.

While Abby and Raven where shooting the wedding party pics I went in to get details shots of the reception area.

There wasn’t a ton of dancing past the first dance and the parent’s dances.

I couldn’t resist these!!  Even if they are cheesy.

Raven challenged us to get a good shot of her harry Potter tat.  I did!

All in all it was a great experience and an easy way to ease into the whole wedding game.  I would definitely do it again and I have tons of ideas for next time.  Excited to see what the other ladies came up with!

The non-profit I chair, One Love Generation, (and how I met Mark) threw an adult prom at a real boarding school.  I was there to work and support the event and shoot for Metromix and A Social Mess (I will link to the full galleries once they are live on the sites).  I wasn’t planning on shooting the whole time….

(I like how this pic has the band, dancers and the scene)

But I was having so much fun shooting I literally could not stop myself.

I have to say Gabe was amazing.  He was volunteering his time at the photo booth and I kept asking him questions.

I was in a very low light situation with very high ceilings and I couldn’t get my flash just right.  Then Gabe suggested turning it backwards to bounce off part of the wall.  It changed my whole shoot.

Some of the images (above and below) came out a little dark and I had to get them brighter during editing and they are a bit grainy.  BUT I loved them too much not to include.  Look at the faces of all the people around these guys.

This really gave me a taste of what it would be like to shoot at a wedding reception.  If I would have known I’d be shooting so much I would have brought a light set up with a remote flash.

I couldn’t help but to remember the last time I tried to get dancing shots…READ HERE and this is experience proved I have learned a lot during this past 6 weeks.

I spent a LOT of time on the ground shooting up.  It was the only want to get full body shots without just holding camera up and praying.

I wish I didn’t cut his hand off – otherwise I like this one.

Crowning of the prom queen!  My friend JAN!!  Visit her site Pets and the Sity.

I’m shooting a music festival next weekend, so I wanted to take some shots of the band for practice.  These are with no flash and my 50mm.

Please support One Love by liking us on Facebook.  We have great events and do lots of work with teen artists who give back to the community through their artistic gifts.

Raven asked to host a shoot at the One Love studio at the Goat Farm.  It was for a line of hair accessories that couldn’t be cuter. This was a sneak peek before the shoot.

I honestly did get very many shots that I loved so I am sharing the best of what I got that day.  I kind of just felt off that day.  I’ve been very tired going 100 mph and I caught up with me.

I wish the whole feather was in this one.

I really wanted to focus on the head wear so I’m only showing shots that feature the products.

I didn’t have my 50 which would have been super helpful.  I shot some with my 55-200.

I appreciated being able to work with some ladies who were entertainers and very comfortable modeling.

The coolest part was shooting in the tunnel with the back light.  Hooray for Raven.  I want to try that again sometime.  Below is my favorite shot.

I’ve been hanging on to these images for a good, long, while.  I had memories of being frustrated on the shoot because my model didn’t show and I found myself in the 2nd shooter position again.

I just kind of scanned the pictures the day of the shoot and put them away.

Then I saw Mark’s pics from this same shoot and I felt even worse.

Today I saw on Facebook that some fellow interns went to the river and I thought I’d take another look.

Surprisingly, they are way better than I remember.  I finally decided to share.

Below is the shot I came there for….

I loved the way the sun hit in this shot so much I came back AGAIN.  But they opened the dam and I had no luck.

I also think coming back and not being able to shoot in the same way made me appreciate these shots even more.  Gina also brought a model who I shot.  I just wanted to make sure that I was respectful of giving her time and not intruding.  My favorite shot isn’t up yet.  Still working on editing it since I’ve been practicing with Photoshop.  Will post soon.

I started this internship because I was following what makes me happy and it lead me to trying my hand at photography. One of the things that makes me most happy in life, is watching my boyfriend perform.  He is an amazingly talented musician who plays every, rock instrument as well as being a wonderful singer.  I know you probably think I’m just saying that because he is my boyfriend of a million years, but it’s just the truth of the matter.

That’s him.  The love of my life.

Last night he played a show at Eddie’s Attic for a charity called Poverty is Real.  He played in both sets.  First, with his band Rantings of Eva (he plays drums) and then with a band, Trances Arc (playing bass).  Below is Ryan Flanagan for Rantings.

Since I am friends with both bands I was able to get a great seat and get better access than your average person.  But I was stlll conscious about being in the way or distracting.  At least I didn’t have to use a flash.

The best part for me, was that both bands played a few songs together with each set.  This is Ryan from Rantings of Eva (right) and Eric from Trances Arc.

When Ryan but down his 1950′s mandolin I took some photos of it.  It is beautiful.  I tried my hand at getting something a bit more abstract.

TrancesArc where really wonderful.  They are one of my favorite bands and it’s really amazing to see Deke on stage with them.  Both of these bands are full out rock – but they stripped down a bit and it added something special last night.

Eddies was really great to shoot.  The lighting was great and warm.  It was pretty easy to get my settings right and just focus on getting some shots.  Other venues it gets really tricky shooting.

I honestly think I prefer this kind of shooting.  It’s natural.  No posing or forcing moments.  You’re just there to capture what is going on and document the evening.

I have this thing with feet, shoes, legs.  I don’t know why I always want to shoot them.

At the end of the set there were 5 people on stage singing 4-part harmony.  It. Was. Amazing.  I tried my best to get all of them in a shot, but it was really tricky.  I wish Deke’s bass was just a little further back.  But hey, it’s a live show and you can’t control the elements.

To recap: Rantings of Eva and Trances Arc.  Look them up.  Buy a million of their records.  Come to shows.  They are seriously amazing.

PS – I LOVE DEKE SPEARS.

I have been to “The River” twice with Mark last week.  Once for a couple’s shoot (with dogs) that I’ve blogged about before and once with models that I have yet to blog about (coming soon).  With the couples I spent more time barking to get the dogs attention than shooting.  At the other river shoot my model didn’t show up, so I found myself the 2nd shooter again and wasn’t aggressive enough to get the shots I wanted.  So, I figured the 3rd time would be the charm and +Laura and I headed out to the same location (because she overslept the last time – OOPS!) and tried again.

Well, the 3rd time certainly wasn’t the charm.  The river was so high it was waist deep with a strong current where it used to be ankle deep.  Strike three. At the end we came back to the water…

…but most of the time was spent in the woods.

I really was excited to shoot my sister Jackie.  She was in town for a quick visit and I selfishly wanted to take cool images of her that I could hang in my home as artwork.  After shoot Dani (age 16 at the river) I was looking forward to shooting someone young.

Below is +Laura taking some shots of Jaclyn.

Abigail was the other model who Laura brought – she happened to be wearing something very similar to Jackie.  Since we ended up in the woods I liked how the models looked like elves in their brown dresses.

Here is what was hard.  The location didn’t inspire me that much.  The sun did however.  I spent the day trying to figure out how to use the sun.  Sometimes it worked and other times it didn’t.

It was also hard not coming up with lame images and portraits.  This was my very first portrait shoot so I should be a little easy on myself, but I seemingly always want to get “the” shot with every frame.  I think I’m putting too my much pressure on myself and taking the fun out of everything.

Another strange thing is happening and I can’t quite tell if it’s helpful or not.  I keep on hearing Mark, +Laura, +Raven and +Gabe in my head.  When I look at my images I think, “What would be said at a critique” and it almost paralyzes me.  Like for the above shot I think the collective “they” wouldn’t like the sun spots and the shadows on her dress and face.  I happen to like those “imperfections” that make it look like we are actually in the woods with actual sun instead of in some fabricated place.

I also really like this image, that I’m thinking would not go over well in a critique.  We were in a sunny area and I made my camera settings really sensitive to the light.  The raw file was super blown out but her eyes looked so blue.  It was beautiful.  In post I changed the color a little bit – but I think this is the one that will be printed for my wall.

We had the opportunity to shoot a fashion for the AIA at the King Plow Arts Center last night.  My 2nd shoot that day.  It was interesting to go from natural light, outdoors to flashes and dark.  I was the first one there and Mark encouraged me to go back stage to get some shots.  This is the best shot of that set.  It’s one of my favorite shots I’ve taken so far.  I was using a 35mm lens (auto focus was AMAZING) that was borrowed.

There was some lighting testing, etc before the show started.  However, since there were skylights and the sun was setting – plus the event dimmed the lights when the show started, it was really pointless to test too much.  I did get to shoot some of the run through to get an idea of angles.

At our recent critique there was a lot of focus on detail shots and I haven’t had much experience in that.  Luckily, I spotted a table of cup cakes set up and a balcony.  I remembered an emphasis on overhead, food shots – so I took some of the advice I remembered and tried my hand.

Then the show finally started.  I have to say just having an on-camera flash made me feel highly inadequate compared to Mark’s 4-5 light set up.  He basically instructed us to focus on composition more than lighting, because what we had wasn’t ideal.  After looking at his photos – I almost don’t want to post mine.