Callie's Family

Pictures of moms with their little precious kiddos are definitely some of the most important pictures I will ever take.  I was incredibly honored that Callie asked me to photograph her family since she is also a photographer and one of those people that everyone loves (including me!).  I got to know Callie through The NotWedding (a fake wedding to inspire real brides- an amazing experience!).  Callie comes up with ideas and makes them happen as seen in starting the NotWedding, The GuestBox, and her photography business, Achor and Eden.  I have so much respect and admiration for her, but I would say the greatest part of her resume is being a wife and mom.  Callie and I talked about me coming into their home to capture life as it is on an everyday basis: playing outside, reading books, taking baths, playing snuggly crib.  These are the kind of family pictures I adore taking.  They are a real depiction of this passing stage of life.  And this was even more significant because David and Callie just sold their home and are preparing to move, so these photos will help them remember life in the little years.

Callie's husband, David, serves in the US Navy so it was fitting to get some pictures of him in uniform with his girls.  Wells even put on David's sailor hat which was the cutest:)    It was fun for me to see two little sisters (Wells and Charleston, aka "Charlie") love on each other and play because I always imagine that girls are so different from boys.  But it turns out they are very similar, just different clothes and toys than my little boys.  Although I do wonder if Wells ever knocks over Charlie with the same amount of boy aggression as mine! Wells and Charlie have become sister-friends by playing "snuggly crib," which is when they both get in the crib and play around with pillows and blankets.  It was fun for me to photograph snuggly crib and made me think about the significance of taking everyday pictures of my family.

Charlie loves to take play food, put it in her mouth, and crawl around with it.  Callie had told me about this and then a little later I looked around for Charlie and found her wandering with a plastic chicken drumstick in her mouth.  The camera came out and Charlie was caught with her food.  Meanwhile Wells was giving Callie a checkup with her stethoscope, and she determined everything sounded good.

I could have posted even more pictures than I did because there was so much life and energy and joy in this home.  I know Callie blogs about so many other people and causes through her different businesses, so I thought it would be special to blog about her.  What really stands out to me about Callie is her commitments and values.  She is committed to being present with her little girls, even if that means working early hours before they wake up and using their nap times to be productive.  And Callie isn't afraid to ask for help from others or through Mother's Day Out programs.  She is balancing being a successful business owner (multiple businesses!) with being a present and loving mom, which is one of the hardest tasks I've ever encountered.  Callie and I got to talk over dinner about what it looks like to spend quality time with your husband (i.e. not editing pictures while they are talking to you) and what limits are helpful in how many weddings you photograph a year.  I believe Callie is super wise beyond her years and will reap abundantly some day for all the sowing she has done in so many people's lives.  Thank you for letting me photograph you and your family- it was a privilege for me and a reminder of the beauty of life at home.

Photographing families like this is my dream for family photography- thanks for letting me be a part of your family for a few hours, Callie!!  

xoxo, 

Kaitie

Matt + Emily

I knew I would enjoy getting to know Matt and Emily based on the emails between Emily and I.   Emily told me that she and Matt loved to have fun together and laugh a lot, which is what I would describe as the perfect couple to photograph:)  Emily and I had been trying to schedule a session since April so I was so glad that the rain held off long enough for these pictures finally in July.  As I talked with Matt and Emily we realized we all grew up within maybe even a mile of each other- small world!! Emily had randomly found my website so we had no idea of our Kennesaw connections.  At any rate, I felt immediately excited about taking their engagement pictures and getting to know my long lost neighbors...

We explored the Botanical Gardens and then walked through UGA's campus, even though Emily went to Clemson and is an avid Tiger fan.  Matt and Emily have known each other since they were teenagers (maybe younger?) and clearly have one of those relationships where they know each other so well and are best friends.  My husband and I were friends for awhile before we started dating so I really can appreciate relationships that start this way.  I'm so glad I got to meet you guys and loved photographing you two!!

Matt made this awesome face as they walked together and I just love it.  To me some of the best pictures aren't the staged shots but ones that capture some unique expressions or raw moments.  It makes me want to be a fly on the wall with a camera and photograph natural interactions between people! But since that isn't possible I have to do my best as a normal person 3rd wheeling it with couples trying to help them feel comfortable with me and my big camera around.  Thanks for letting me hang out with you guys- I enjoyed it!

Lessons from Film

“When I shoot with digital, I look for a flaw in the frame. When I shoot with film, I embrace the mistake...”

— Singer-Songwriter Seal

I need to preface this post with a few points:

1. I LOVE digital photography and think there are some incredible benefits to shooting digital instead of film

2. I think both digital and film images can be beautiful.

3. I don't buy into what I call "inner circle mentality" that uses less popular artistic mediums to create a sense of superiority (i.e. "oh everyone is a photographer- I shoot film so I must be better than the masses").   

That being said, HUGE photography lessons can be learned through using film.  I have been going through a book by Photographer Chris Orwig called People Pictures ; it's a book filled with photo projects to challenge and grow any photographer.  My most recent project required the use of film (specifically 3 days of portraits with black and white film).  I have loved doing these projects because of how it is forcing me outside my comfort zone in photography.  My awesome second shooter friend Steven Wallace is a film-guru so he was able to give me some help with the film process and is now developing my black and white rolls for me.  I'll post some of those soon!

I have always loved my instant cameras (Fuji Instax, Polaroid 300, and the old Polaroid One Step camera), so I decided it was time to invest in some film through The Impossible Project.  If you aren't familiar with the Impossible Project, you should definitely check them out.  I say I had to invest in some film because the Polaroid 600 film is about $3-4 per image (so 8 images cost me about $28, although I found it cheaper on Amazon for $24).  YIKES! You could buy a 16GB memory card for a little more than the price of 16 Polaroid images.  But I knew that only having 8 shots would force me to think, be more intentional, and engage with subject and shot than I ever had before.  So for $4 a shot, I took some photos and made some mistakes.

I took my 8 Polaroid pictures while visiting one of my closest friends, Carrie Jo in Knoxville.  We shot a wedding together (hence the nose and glasses photos above!) and got to catch up on life/sit around on her couch with pizza and pajamas watching old movies.  We were out on her back porch and the light was just breaking through the clouds in the midst of a rainy day, so I grabbed my Polaroid camera.  She was drinking her signature french vanilla tea and I had my coffee, so it just seemed perfect to get a picture of her at that moment.  Above is the picture I got (made black and white).  I found out a few things from this shot: a.) You need to stand more than 2 feet away from your subject b.) it's good to read a manual if possible to find out if the flash can be turned off.  So it isn't the best picture ever, but to me it represents a lesson to be learned in imperfect photography.  It's figuring out a moment that is significant to you and capturing it.  So if I walked away from my time with Carrie Jo with just this picture of her I would be happy because it represents so much.  It reminds me of the comfort of our friendship, the ability to be totally ourselves in sweatpants and all, the joy of just being with someone who understands you, and how our journey as photographers is more about understanding what really matters and less about trying to be perfect.

This picture was taken with my Fuji Instax Wide frame camera at the farmer's market in Athens.  I love the colors and people at the farmer's market and it turns out open shade is the perfect lighting for my instant cameras. 

These photos were taken with the Polaroid 300 camera.  I love Athens and thought it would be a fun personal project to take images of favorite local places.  I learned that I didn't have as much control over the exposure as I wanted and this camera does not let you turn off the flash.  But it was a great experience for me to take time, compose my shot, and press a button knowing I wasn't going to take another shot of the same thing. 

I can't wait to get back the black and white Tri-X film from Steven to see how my father-in-law's 35mm Nikon camera held up.  His camera had a great 50mm 1.4 fixed lens, and I was forced to manually focus each shot.  Film causes me to slow down and take my time instead of shooting a million frames hoping one turns out.  I love the idea of taking lessons from film and applying them to digital photography, i.e. slowing down, composing my shot, trying different exposures, and not being addicted to seeing immediate results.  I also love the idea of embracing imperfections- and that is in all of life.  I talked with Carrie Jo about the idea of getting 8 shots per trip I go on.  So 8 total frames to capture it, making me choose what I want to remember most.  When I look at how many external hard drives I have, I get so excited at the idea of having 8 instant film pictures to frame or put in a book.  So what if 5 of them are a little too dark or too bright? That is so my life so it's only fitting that my photos reflect that.  I want to embrace what I get with what I got, and let go of perfection and the idea that more is always best.  Film is teaching me a lot so far.  On a random note- I just found out how to do double exposures on Polaroid film through this Youtube video- that is my next experiment!