smitten photography

katie + paul wedding

it was something about a spoon, but she said fork...  

the joke that sparked a whirlwind romance...short & sweet, ended with an amazing marriage ceremony on saturday.  katie & paul laughed so much with each other that it was hard finding photos of them being serious!  it was the kind of day that photographers dream about...beautiful weather, a playful-loving couple, supportive familes & great friends.  

i have been looking forward to this wedding for several months & all day i was reminded of why i feel so blessed to be a photographer.  katie's dad asked me at the rehearsal dinner if i ever get tired of capturing all the moments as they happen, always having to "click away".  i replied with an animated "NO WAY!" and told him that those moments are my favorite...when a groom looks lovingly at his bride, when a dad kisses his daughter after their dance, knowing that she is no longer "his" little girl, when a bride holds back tears as she walks down the aisle and says her vows in front of all her friends and family, when the sun comes out from behind the clouds in just the right way to light her veil from behind, making her look like an angel.  these are the moments that can't be staged, posed, or forced.  they are the moments that just happen.  they are the moments that make each and every wedding fun. fresh. & real.

katie and paul, thank you SO much for letting lauren & i share in your amazing day!  we laughed & cried along with you & couldn't imagine two people better made for each other.  hope your honeymoon is a glimpse of heaven & that you enjoy some of the best images of the day...

****CLICK HERE FOR THEIR SLIDESHOW!!!****

smitten photo academy {SPA} x 2...

here are the long awaited date announcements for the next upcoming SPA classes...

friday, july 11  {5-9 pm}

&

saturday, september 13 {10am-2pm}

where:

smitten home studio.  huntersville, nc

tuition:

$150 per person

details:

your tuition to the SPA includes the workshop, lunch or dinner, tips & tricks, a photo shoot with two models to practice your new skills and a q&a session.  there are only 10 spaces available for each class, so sign up quickly!

what to bring:

-your camera { a digital SLR is preferred }...with battery, lens & memory card!

-a pen & notepad

-any questions you have

who is this for?

this workshop is for anyone who owns one of the most amazing tools on earth...a digital SLR camera & wants to learn some easier ways to take the kinds of photos that will make your happy instead of frustrated!  moms, dads, grandparents, husbands, wives, college students, etc. are welcome!  please remember that the material is not geared toward professional photographers or those who are looking to enter the field.  this is specifically for those who want to know how to take better pictures of their favorite people!

questions OR to sign up:

contact sharon clark

sharon@smittenphotography.com

yippeeeeee for fun pictures! :)

birthdays & blue eyes...

evan celebrated his FIRST birthday, yesterday, & i was happy to get to share an hour of his big day!  his mom & dad were serious rock stars & i had to do very little coaching to get them in a laughing mood at 8 am :)  

happy birthday, evan!  hope your wishes come true...

she's lovely...

all three & a half days of her...  

say hello, to kit.

she's got a head full of thick, dark hair.  she's got a perfect pair of shiny blue eyes.  she has a wonderful little girly mouth.  she's even got her daddy's crooked pinky toes.  its amazing how a new life melts the hearts of those around her.  take a look & she will melt you, too.

enjoy:

good things...

come in small suitcases :)

andi loves black and white photos, so i thought i'd sandwich my favorites between two color shots that i absolutely adored!!  their sweet little 12 week old was a sleepy delight during most of our shoot & i was loving it :)  thanks for letting me capture your growing family, andi!

its been a busy week for smitten photography...i've had two shoots already since monday & have two more tomorrow morning & a FABULOUS wedding this weekend!!  that means lots of eye candy is coming for your viewing pleasure :)

***for the many of you who have been waiting for a date to be announced for the next SPA day {smitten photo academy}, the wait is almost over!!  due to the huge response, i am going to hold the class on two different days, to try to accommodate everyone.  the dates will be announced on friday & each class will have 10 spots.  the spots were taken within just a few days last time, so if you are interested, make sure you sign up FAST!  check back on friday for the dates!***

toes in the sand...

on sunday, lauren and i traveled to south carolina at 5 in the morning and spent the day lounging on the isle of palms, walking around downtown charleston, eating a yummy sushi & hibachi dinner & having a photo safari.  i am so busy with my client shoots that i often don't have time for any of my favorite types of personal photography...especially photos of old, rusty, chip-painted, hole in the wall, random stuff.  lets just say that i was high on my camera for the hour and a half that i clicked at every turn while strolling the cobblestone streets in charleston!!  you will see some of those images later this week, but for now, i wanted to share some of the photos from my early, early, early morning session on the beach with the awesome family that brought me down to SC.  

what i LOVE about my clients are oftentimes the same things that i love about my own personal relationships with friends and family.  i seriously say that i could be friends with most of the people i shoot because they are so darn awesome!  well, this is my third shoot with sam, scott & mackenzie and i love them more every time they are in front of my camera.  they are expecting baby #2 in august and lets just say that scott gets the "good-husband-gift-giving-award-of-the-year, thus-far" because he gifted ME to his adorable wife for her mothers day present!  because i LOVE the beach & i love sandy little toes, this was the perfect set up for both of us!

here is a whopping huge post from our shoot yesterday morning...hope you enjoy lots of my favorites!!

new baby smell...

i seriously love the smell of new baby's.  if you hire me to do a newborn shoot for you, please don't be alarmed if when i move your baby to a new position i lean in for a big whiff of johnsons-newness-lotion-dreft-clean hair-untouched by the world-perfect baby smell.  i just can't help myself.  my husband thinks i'm a freak the way i talk about smells all the time, but seriously, new baby smell is one of my top three favorites :)

anyway, i traveled to durham and back yesterday to do a new little munchkin shoot with this handsome guy.  he's 14 days old, his name is hudson & although you may not be able to tell from the photos, he weighed a whopping 9 pounds 2 ounces when he entered the world from his mommy's belly.  needless to say, he's a hungry, growing boy & was sweet as pie for our whole photo shoot!  congrats lindsay and brian on your sweet smelling little baby!  :)  hope you enjoy some of my favorites...

megan & ej...the love story.

authentic.

passionate.

loves others well.

the calm to her storm.

relentless pursuit.

constant.

these were just a few of the words mentioned by megan & ej's friends and family on the night before their picture perfect wedding this past saturday, in the mountains of north carolina.  the words were used to describe them both as individuals and as a couple.   they were serenaded by megan's grandparents, applauded by life long friends, affirmed by their parents & given the seal of approval by megan's three brothers.  it truly was a weekend filled with love, tears, joy & anticipation.  the weather was a constant ? but in the end, we were given grace by god for a perfect scene to help megan & ej remember their wedding day forever.

megan and ej were the winners of the 2008 smitten love story contest when blog readers voted on their favorite couple between three finalists.  it was more than apparent to me why they are so loved by others & i was so blessed by sharing in their wedding weekend.  i chose my one favorite photo to go with this post because the slideshow tells the whole story so perfectly...

***CLICK HERE*** AND ENJOY :)

oh, and ps...

keep your eyes out for the announcement of the next smitten love story contest coming soon...!!

cuter, happy & smiling...

today i did baby kate's second watch me grow photo shoot & it was amazing to see how much she has grown in four months!  i LOVE doing newborn pictures but it is really awesome when baby's start developing personality, smiles & charm.  kate definitely has acquired all of those traits and her big brother cooper warmed up towards the end of our time together enough to ask for a hug and blow me some kisses!  {i love my job} :)

tomorrow i am headed to the beautiful {& hopefully cooler} mountains of north carolina for megan & ej's wedding!  they were the winners of the smitten love story contest {which will be coming again this fall!!!} & i have been so excited anticipating this awesome weekend with them!  stay tuned for their wedding post!

in the meantime, enjoy some of my favorites from this morning's session...

be smitten.

big brother cooper.

what?!  can you believe these lashes?  

i'm smitten over this picture.

the little miss.  

in all her drooling glory.

love these colors.

oh. my. gosh. i LOVE this photo of kate's eyes.

these next two are probably my favorites of kate.

cooper playing with mommy.

all of us should laugh until we can't breathe...more often. 

sing your heart out...

i have been doing some photography for our church, which we LOVE, called mecklenburg community.  they are updating all their web stuff & wanted to have some modern worship photos for the new splash page.  i was really excited about how these turned out so i thought i'd share a few of my favorites!  enjoy...