Franklin, Brentwood, and Nashville TN newborn, child, and family photographer

My boy | Franklin TN family photographer

March 27, 2012

I don’t write personal posts very often, so I thought I would today. Yesterday, Matthew (my 2 year old) and I headed to a nearby park for a family project. More on that in a few minutes!! While there, I decided to take full advantage of the lush grass and wildflowers. It seriously was gorgeous, and I honestly hadn’t known those flowers were going to be there when we arrived. It’s usually nice and overgrown (my goal), but I majorly lucked out! When Matthew wasn’t picking up rocks, he was picking flowers. He even brought some to me, so I must have him trained well! (Matthew’s future wife, you can thank me.) It was perfect.

Without further ado, this is how it played out:

What was our family project, you ask? Getting this photo for a special announcement 🙂

Late winter clothing ideas

March 15, 2012

Here’s a little inspiration for family sessions!

Hiring a Birthday Photographer

March 13, 2012

Why in the world would you pay someone to take pictures at a birthday party?

Maybe you’ve never thought about it before. Honestly, it had never crossed my mind until a couple years ago when I saw it done. Then I realized what a help it would be.

You’re the mom. You’ve planned the party. You’ve arranged for food, bought/ordered/made decorations, put together treat bags, sent invitations, come up with party entertainment, cleaned, come up with a birthday shirt/outfit for your child, and (potentially) hosted out-of-town family. You are busy.

On the day of the party, you’re juggling all of those balls, trying to make sure everything goes smoothly. You honestly don’t have time to take pictures. If you are trying to take the party photos, you won’t be able to talk with family and friends. If your husband is the one taking the photos, then he can’t be helping you with anything else that needs to be done.

Ultimately, don’t you want to be in the pictures, too? Don’t you want to be the one placing the cake in front of your child? If you’re the one behind the camera, the likelihood of you being in the party photos is pretty slim.

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Here’s where I come in:

When you book me for your child’s birthday party, I generally plan to arrive 15 minutes before guests do. I want to capture a few family portraits and individuals of the birthday boy/girl before you are all tired or otherwise occupied (or messy, in the case of the birthday boy/girl!) Once we’ve done those, I’ll start documenting the details– cake pre-smash, decor, etc.– while you greet guests. You and I will have decided beforehand if you want 2 or 3 hours of party coverage. During that time, I’ll mingle with guests and watch what happens, making sure to get photos that depict the mood and on-going events. I can also help you with the schedule, like determining when the cake smash should occur.

Really, it’s a win-win. You have one less thing to worry about on party day, and I get to photograph and hang out with children (which is what I’m all about).

Wondering how much this costs? Check out my pricing page.

Want to see some examples? Check out these recent examples.

Still have questions? Contact me at elizabeth@elizabethclementsphotography.com

Lissie’s 1st birthday

March 11, 2012

Understandably, there are fewer family photo sessions in the winter months since most people had that on their minds in the fall. Lucky for me, I have been booked for lots of birthday parties recently, which are always so much fun. Lissie’s was no exception! Good food, lots of family and friends, a happy baby girl, and gorgeous weather (seriously, it was amazing!) = all the ingredients for a perfect party. Lissie’s mom found something that I had never seen before– a pinata that required no hitting. Instead, the kids each pulled a ribbon until the bottom loosened and the goodies fell out! This was definitely manageable for the under-2 crowd. As you’ll see, Lissie was a pro at digging into her cake. Of course, it probably helped that she got to do a test-run the night before. 🙂

Julia & Nick

March 4, 2012

You all know by now that I don’t typically take photos of couples alone unless they’re of the maternity-variety. My little sister, Julia, asked me to make an exception last week while we were at the beach. She and her boyfriend, Nick, rarely have their photo taken together (outside of a Blackberry pic, perhaps), and wanted to have something they could actually frame. I was willing to remedy that, so we started outside the Sanctuary Hotel on Kiawah Island before heading to the beach. Though it was pretty breezy, the light was just gorgeous!

Since this is also my sister’s first appearance on my website, I seriously considered throwing in a little juicy tidbit– like what her nickname was as a child– but I restrained myself. I definitely won’t mention the hilarious comment she made about the Washington Monument as a child or the silly things she used to refuse to eat. Nope, definitely won’t mention them. We’ll just leave it at “Munchkin.”

Hope you guys enjoy your preview. 🙂