New Blog

It's here, it's here!! I am excited to share with you my new blog. Please visit the new blog at the following link:


NEW BLOG

Please bookmark the new site as this site will no longer be updated.
Write me a quick comment to let me know how you like it.

Miss *S*

I had the wonderful opportunity of meeting this sweet little girl last week. This is Miss *S*. I photographed her and her mommy and daddy at the beach. Have I mentioned how much I love beach sessions?! Miss *S* was just as sweet as can be. She held out for 2 hours. She just cracked me up when she put a handful of sand in her mouth and *crunched-crunched* on the shells. I know, makes you cringe, doesn’t it? Kind of like fingernails on a chalkboard. Yeah! But her face and words afterwards were priceless, when she would get a big smile on her face and say “Yum.”

*K* and *R*, thank you for making the drive. I really enjoyed meeting your family. You were great. Thank you for allowing *S* to explore. I got some great shots because of your patience and calmness! Can’t wait to show you the rest!

Breast Cancer Book

As many of you know I have been working on a project to raise money for Breast Cancer. I am doing my last photo session on July 17. The book has grown from 32 pages to 64 pages due to the amazing response from the women in the community who have been affected by this horrible disease. I would like to let you know that the books are now on sale. I have not finished designing them as I am waiting on this last session. However, I must place my order for the books by August 1st. I still need about 150 orders for the books. So, I need your help. Please if you are interested or know someone who is interested in purchasing a book have them email me at photosbyrachel@aol.com.
Here are the specifics.

Amount: $50 (ALL proceeds go towards the cause)
Amount due before Aug. 1.
Email me for more details on how to make payment.

Here are some preliminary photos of the book. The cover will actually have one of the women's faces on it. Each woman will be featured on a page. This is a beautiful coffee table album which you can proudly display. Thank you for your help on this!

Interested in me coming to your town?

I have had people ask me if I will travel for a session. The answer is YES! I do travel. If you aren't in my area or if you are out of state, don't fret. I will travel to you. :) If you are interested in me traveling to your town contact me. Let's set something up! You can email me at: photosbyrachel@aol.com

Christmas in July

Yes, it's that time again. Time to begin thinking about your Holiday portraits. I am currently booking for holiday sessions. Holiday sessions typically begin at the end of September through mid-November. The cut off date for holiday sessions is November 17. All orders must be placed by December 1st to receive them in time for Christmas. Contact me right away to schedule your holiday session to ensure your desired date is available.

New Slideshow Program and a View of Destin

HEy Everyone. If you are a photographer you know I am way behind on purchasing this program! lol But I finally did it. I thought I'd share a quick preview of our trip to Destin.
Thanks for taking a peek. Please leave a comment letting me know you were able to view it. I am still trying to figure everything out.

Click the link below to view the slideshow.


Destin Slideshow

Follow-Up to Yesterday's Post

So, yesterday's post got me thinking about the video my friend Lisa emailed me. This is Jace last month when we visited Michigan.
Thanks for capturing this for me, Lis. I need to get a video camera.

Laughter

I love laughing. Ever laugh so hard your stomach starts to hurt?! I love that. We laughed like that on our way to Destin this past weekend.
Anyway, I just love the sound of a child's laughter. I am sure many of you have seen this before, but I just had to share.

New Blog Coming Soon

Keep checking back often, I am working on a NEW and IMPROVED blog. The best part, you won't have to login in to post a comment. You know what that means... I expect more comments from all of you readers. *wink, wink*

I wish I had a million dollars...

or even an extra $700 would suffice.
I desperately want this table (in blue). I already have a spot picked out for it and the perfect wall collage to go above it. Is it wrong to want a peice of furniture so bad?! LOL
I think I am going to take up wood working and painting and....

Just for you "K"

I know you are getting anxious. Here are just a *few* of you and "N." There are still a ton more I need to go through, but it's 3 a.m. and I am whiped! Talk to you soon.

A date has opened up...

I have had a date in June open up. If you are interested in booking a session in June, please contact me a.s.a.p. and I can get you scheduled.
Thanks.

Shabby Chic

Are there any decorators out there? I desperately want to change my living room. Right now my home is probably what most would consider eclectic. I like it, but I want to change it. I love the look of shabby chic. I don't want to go extreme shabby chic but would love to add some great accent peices to give it that feel. I love the light blue distressed look. It is also time for new furniture so I would love some ideas on sofas, coffee tables, and end tables. So, come on you designers, help me out. Design my living room. I need all the help I can get.

I'm Back

Back from Michigan.
Just thought I'd share some recent work.
Hope everyone is well.


*Miss K*


I've been photographing her since she was 3 months old. I have enjoyed watching her grow over the last 2 years. This was the last session of her baby plan. I hope Mom and Dad continue to bring her to see me. She is such a joy to photograph.




Here is *Miss R* This little sweetie captured my heart. I had so much fun photographing her. I don't know why I love this photo so much, but I do!




And here is *Mr. C.* I just love when newborns let me do what I want with them. He was SOOO easy to photograph. He was also my youngest newborn to date, 4 days old.

Out of the Office

Hey Everyone,
I am headed to Michigan to photograph a wedding, I will be out of the office until Wed. June 6. All phone calls and emails will be returned then.
~Rachel

Breast Cancer

Those are 2 very scary words for a woman. I have recently had the opportunity to meet a wonderful number of woman who have been affected by breast cancer. I am working on a project to raise money for breast cancer research and I need YOUR help. A little bit about my mission:
I am currently photographing women of all races, ages, etc. who have or have survived breast cancer. I have photographed 10 woman so far and I can not even begin to tell you the emotion I've felt from these wonderful ladies. Each story is different, yet similar at the same time. I won't go into too much of it right now. I will save it for the book.
What book, you ask? Well, in an effort to raise money for research, with the photos I am taking from the session, I will be designing a coffee table book. Each woman I photograph will be featured in the book. I have found a company who will be professionally printing and binding the books. I know they are going to turn out beautiful. The one thing about the company is they do require a MINIMUM order of 250 books. So, I am taking pre-orders for the books now. These books are NON-profit. ALL proceeds will go to Breast Cancer research. So, I need your help. If you would like to purchase a book, please email me at photosbyrachel@aol.com

My last photo session will be in July and the book is expected to be out sometime at the end of August, beginning of September. It will be between 48 and 64 pages in length and measure 9x11 finished off with a dust jacket.

We also expect to have a press release coming out soon and maybe some news coverage to get the word out about the books.

If you know a woman who has breast cancer or has survived breast cancer who may be interested in doing a photo session, please have them contact me. My June and July sessions are just about full, so I may open up one more day.

Friday, May 4

I will be out of the office all day today and throughout the weekend. I will return all calls and emails on Monday. Have a good weekend.

Sunday's Wedding

This wedding was SO fun to photograph. Thank you to the bride, groom, and bridal party for being so fun and relaxed. You made my job easy. L, I can't wait to TRASH YOUR DRESS!! :) I shouldn't even be looking at these yet, I have other sessions that I am in the middle of proofing, but I couldn't help myself.
These are just a few I opened up while clearing my cards.
Hey E and L, please let L and T (groomsmen) know I am so proud of them getting their feet off the ground for this shot!! ;) Thanks again for an awesome time! (Please click on photos to see larger version.)


*THE FUN ONES*




*SIGH*




*THE BEAUTIFUL ONE*





Now back to proofing....

R Family, your gallery and slideshow will be online tonight. :) I will be sending you an email very soon. But while you are waiting, I couldn't resist this smile. :)

Sneak Peak...

...for the R Family.
I am steadily proofing this session.
These two were a joy to photograph. L reminded me so much of my own little guy. He loves to play and run...away from the camera. *smile* I absolutely adore the first photo of L. To me, it just screams childhood innocence. :)
K and C, thank you once again for the opportunity to photograph your precious boys. I have enjoyed watching L grow and now meeting baby N.

Bridgette Cruz

I have posted about her before, some of you may remember her. I photographed Bridgette for the cover of her cd. Her cd is out now and her popularity is growing. I am so happy for her. Bridgette is an awesome girl, with a huge voice. Take the time to visit her website. You'll feel your feet tappin' to the beat of her music.
I am also posting an interview from Entertainment World. Do the photos look familiar?? ;)

website: www.BridgetteCruz.com
interview: http://entertainmentworld.us/EW1/templates/indieinterview.aspx?articleid=9245&zoneid=63

TRASH THE DRESS sessions

Okay Ladies,
I am looking for a couple of models to participate in a Trash the Dress session. I have posted about this before and if this is the first you've heard of it, you can read more about it here. http://trashthedress.com/
I found (well actually someone I know found ) the most amazing place today. I photographed some commercial stuff there today and the whole time was envisioning a bride there. It is grungy, it is dirty, and it is AWESOME!!! I have so many ideas for this location. So, if you would like to be model for me for a "Trash the Dress" session, please contact me as soon as possible so that we can set up a time. Remember, your dress WILL get dirty. This is a free session so what are you waiting for, let's TRASH THAT DRESS!

P.S. If you haven't visited the "Trash your Dress" website, please do so.
http://trashthedress.com/

email: photosbyrachel@aol.com and put TRASH THE DRESS in the subject line.

In Action

I had the opportunity to meet with some other photographers here in Florida. Can I just tell you how amazing they all were?! We had a blast and it's so neat to see how we all captured the same children SO differently. I feel like I've made lifelong friends. One of my new friends captured this of me in action. Thanks, Katie.


And here are some of the beautiful children I was able to photograph while I was there.

My New Favorite Song

Fly Away...
I have heard this at two of my sessions in the last month. No, I don't carry a radio around with me, what I had was better than a radio. 3 of the sweetest voices belting out "1, 2, 3 like a bird I sing..." Oh my goodness, can it get any cuter?! I think not!!
So, Miss P, Mr. P, and Mr. L, thank you for making this my new favorite song!!! I LOVE my job!!

"His, Hers, and Theirs"

You know, I love to photograph little ones. So, when I got the call to photograph a family of grown boys (the girl I knew I could handle), I wasn't sure what to think. Let's face it, what guy likes to get his photo taken?! In my experience, not many. Well, I have to say I was pleasantly surprised at how the session went. As most of you know I am a very laid back, kick off your shoes kind of girl. So, when I saw they these guys were the same, I knew I would love this session. And I did! The session ended in the pool (literally). I just started proofing and wanted to share this one. I can see this 20x40 hanging on a large wall.


"L", "C", "Ljr", "J", "R", "K", and "K" thanks for the awesome session. It is a session that I will NEVER forget!

A Sneak Peak for My Alabama *Friends*

Hi "A."
I want to thank you again for traveling so far. "P" and "P" are so precious and I had an awesome time *playing* with them. :) I know you are anxious to see your photos so I wanted to give you a sneak peak while I work on getting everything online.
Your gallery and slideshow should be up no later than Monday. I'll email you as soon as they are ready.

A Little Behind on Posting and Phone Problems

Hello Friends! I am a little behind on sharing and posting. I was very sick. Then of course when you don't work for a week there is a lot to catch up on.
So, I thought I'd share some of my recent work. First, I wanted to share a pic of Mr. A. My dear friend's little guy. Isn't he beautiful?!!







I will add more later...
On a side note, I am having some problems with my phone. If you have called me, please email me to confirm I've received your message. I am hoping to resolve these issues by the end of the week. Thanks.