Erin & Rick: Engagement

(Whew! I’m getting this post in just in time…I really want to post every day this month!)

I love to shoot engagement sessions. They are so much fun and serve two very important purposes: 1) They provide the opportunity for me and my clients to get to know one another, and for them to learn to relax in front of my camera and become accustomed to my shooting style. This way, they’re totally natural and relaxed on their Wedding day, which is most important; and 2) the couple gets a bunch of awesome, relaxed photos of themselves that they will enjoy for a lifetime! It’s win-win!

But this engagement session with Erin & Rick served a 3rd purpose: it allowed my husband (my assistant for the day) and I to hang out with our good friend Rick, and to finally meet and get to know his beautiful fiancee, Erin! Rick is a member of our church and we’ve known him for a few years, and we’re so excited to welcome Erin into our extended church family…they are a truly wonderful and blessed couple!

Our photo session was a couple of weeks ago, and it was a typical cool and rainy April afternoon in Central Ohio. We shot a little bit indoors, but then thankfully it stopped raining long enough to shoot outside for just a little while. Indoors or out, rain or shine, it was impossible to take bad photos of this couple! The love they have for each other is so evident! And it just illuminates each and every photo. Take a look at a few of my favs:

Erin and Rick were not shy about kissing and being affectionate, but Rick’s son, who came along for the shoot, wasn’t very happy about it. I love this little sequence:

The Loving family:

A natural model (who LOVED the camera!):

To Erin & Rick:

Shamon and I had so much fun you both! Thank you so much for allowing us to spend some quality time with you all, I can’t wait for your Wedding in just a few weeks!!

~Chantal xoxo

14 Years!

Today is my 14th Wedding anniversary! 14 years ago I married the man of my dreams, my Prince Charming. I can’t believe how quickly the time has passed! I guess it’s true that time flies when you’re having fun. I can’t imagine what my life would have been without Shamon in it. He has made all of my dreams come true, and as quick as I can dream up new ones, he’s right there to make them happen!

I’m happy today, knowing that the man I have spent my entire adult life with is also be the man who will be pushing me in a wheel chair when I’m an old lady (or vice versa if he keeps playing basketball on that bad knee!!). But I’m sad that I can’t be with him today. At least I have a lifetime of memories to fill my heart, and three beautiful children who represent the best of him and I together.

Happy Anniversary Shamon, I LOVE YOU!! xoxoxooxoxoxoox

Below is a photo of Shamon playing his saxophone. He began playing saxophone when he was just a kid, and played all through high school. Once he graduated, he put his sax down, but his love and passion for music only grew stronger. I always knew he was meant to be a musician, and I was so happy that he decided to pick up his old sax again and relearn his first love. But he didn’t play like someone who hadn’t touched the instrument in nearly 17 years…he’s SO GOOD! The melodies that came from that horn after only hours of playing for the first time in nearly two decades were astonishing. And after a year of practicing while in Iraq, I expect a full serenade when he comes home again, days before our 15th anniversary 🙂

Janice & Henry: Married!

While were were in Georgia the other week, my husband’s Aunt Janice got married! They had an intimate ceremony performed by the j.o.p., but afterwards we all were able to gather as a family and enjoy some time together. And of course, I was happy to snap a few of my signature casual portraits of Janice and her new husband Henry.

Don’t they look happy?! Congratulations, Janice & Henry!!!

KAT’S CAFE in Atlanta, GA

I’ve been such a bad blogger lately, but I swear I have a good excuse. I have TONS of photos that I want to share, many from our trip to Georgia, lots for my SoFoBoMo project, and even an awesome Engagement shoot I had over the weekend. But the truth is, I’m just not spending much time behind the computer right now… I’m spending as much time as possible with my husband who goes on active duty next week for Iraq. I have been taking photos for my SoFoBoMo project, but I can’t even guarantee when the final book will be ready….hopefully in just a few weeks. AHhh, I sooo need to get caught up before my busy season starts!

So I do have some photos that I want to share today. (And these technically qualify for my sofobomo project) When we went to Georgia the other week, we spent a day with my brother, Mike and his girlfriend Kat, at their new restaurant/cafe called KAT’S CAFE. It was SO much fun!! It’s only been open for 6 months so we knew my brother would be busy working and we really just wanted to stop in a say hello, check out the place, but not really get in the way. The plan was to stop in for a quick visit in the afternoon, then leave to go look around Atlanta for a while, do a little sight-seeing or something, then come back to KAT’S once it was open.

But once we got there, the kids immediately attached themselves to my brother and we never left. He put us to work! I chopped vegetables and 2 of my kids learned how to make Mike’s signature chicken wraps and pizzas. They preped and cooked food and once the restaurant was open, they even served the customers. I’m sure we broke some child labor laws somewhere, but my kids had a BLAST!!

Here are Chanel and Sharif with Mike… you gotta love kids at a bar 😉

The Kids earning our dinner for the evening…

My brother Mike…

His girlfriend, Kat…

There was a great live band that played the night we were there…I’ll have to call Mike to get the band members’ names…

And my favorite image from the night… the color version is cool too see here.

They’re Geniusz’s! (literally)

Before I left for vacation last week I spent the afternoon with the Geniusz family. The photo shoot was a birthday gift for Ann, so before she and I took off alone, I photographed her with her husband Brian, and their two adorable little girls. And I couldn’t have asked for a more picture-perfect family to spend a beautiful Sunday afternoon with. We had such a great time! Take a look at a few of my favorite photos from the day…and by a few, I mean a lot!

A family portrait…

Their lovely daughters…

Enjoying a game of Uno! (I love that game!)…

We shot this in the shade, but the sky was still so bright. Still, a fun portrait…

Afterwards, Ann and I took a ride into downtown Columbus where I photographed her alone. She’s an absolute natural in front of the camera!

She has the most incredible eyes…

When I was editing these photos I noticed I have a habit of framing my subject to the left. I don’t always do it…but it’s a rather consistent thing. Funny.

I LOVED the light here in this parking garage…

Happy Birthday Ann! Thanks so much for spending your day with me. I had so much fun with you and your family. I look forward to seeing you all again soon!!

Bekki & John: The Engagement Session

Last week I had the ultimate pleasure of spending a drizzly afternoon with two people who are so obviously and completely in love! I can’t describe how it feels for me to be around people who are SO into each other… love is infectious! A wonderful couple, each with a fantastic sense of humor, Bekki and John were such troopers with me last Sunday, trudging through the wind and rain so that we could capture the essence of their bond. No matter how chilly the breeze was, I couldn’t help but feel warm and fuzzy being around these two! I can not wait for their Wedding in June. After just an afternoon of laughs, I know the wedding will be a blast!

I’m a HUGE fan of bold colors, and I even chose a location to shoot that has great background colors and loads of personality, but something about these intimate images just felt like b&w to me. Here are a few of my favs:

We started off at their favorite restaurant…

Bekki and John met at a grocery store, so we went to the same store to try to get a few shots of where they met, but we were quickly escorted out of the building. I believe the door greeters last words to us were ” and don’t come back!” Apparently large grocery stores don’t appreciate a little papparazzi. I did manage to snag a few great photos though (shoot first, apologize later). And I’m certain Bekki and John will love the pictures, but for this set, the warm b&w just spoke to me.

So after we left the store, we headed outside and captured these special moments…

Bekki & John: Thanks for hanging in there with me all afternoon. It was a soggy day but I had so much fun with you both!! See you soon!! xoxoxooxox