The printing is absolutely crystal clear and gorgeous.

RedTree also offers 5×5 mini albums. They are perfect as parent’s albums– which is exactly what my parents and in-laws received for Christmas! I own this swatch ring of gorgeous Italian leathers, suede-like nabuk leathers, and gorgeous Japanese silks for all my lovely brides to choose the perfect cover for their heirloom album. I went with a champagne colored leather that matched my wedding decor and dress.

I went with the big mama, a 12×12, and you can see how stout she is. 10×10 albums are also available.

This one is blurry, but it gives you a hint as to the thickness of the pages. They feel VERY sturdy.

RedTree uses micro-fold technology, so that we can create big gorgeous spreads for you like this one that go across the middle, and you lose nothing of your photo in the gutter.

So, this is my plug not only for these gorgeous RedTree albums, but for a wedding album in general. In this digital age, many brides just want a disc of files and that’s it. But this tends to make me get on my little soapbox and remind people that an album is an instant family heirloom. You will not get something of this incredible quality on a DIY photobook site, and your wedding is a once in a lifetime event. It deserves to be honored and commemorated with something tangible. Why have all those gorgeous photos taken if they are going to simply sit on a hard drive somewhere?

I understand that wedding albums are expensive and don’t seem to always make it in the budget. But, this is one of the only lasting things you will have from your day– and what a better way to commemorate all of your cute DIY details, your perfect wedding dress, all the people who you love and travel to be with you, and your gorgeous flowers? Sometimes my brides choose to use wedding gift money to purchase an album for themselves after the big day, or sometimes it is a gift from parents. Either way, I just wouldn’t be doing my job if I didn’t urge you to have one of these priceless treasures for yourselves!

Big thanks to Josh at RedTree and my fab wedding photog, Scotty Perry!

We started the evening with a small girls dinner at the Grape Leaf, and then transported Shannon to her super secret birthday surprise.

Every birthday girl needs a crown and a glow necklace, dontcha think?

And here are a few photobooth faves.

We love you Shannon. I already used up all my sappiness in your speech, but you are one of the best friends I could ever imagine. Love you.

Friday when we arrived, we headed downtown and walked across this incredible long pedestrian bridge, which takes you to a park and some quaint shops.

Seeing as we had no real agenda, I saw a spot that I liked, and declared an impromptu photoshoot!

Saturday morning we headed to Rock City, a place with a supposedly beautiful view. We quickly discovered it to be a $20 tourist trap… so we hopped right back in our car in search of some unexploited beauty. We visited the Chattanooga Nature Center, which the bride’s family had a hand in creating.

When I got out of the car to shoot the wildflowers, what did I see, but a bamboo grove! And one with a path to let you walk inside!

After the wedding on Sat night we again set off in search of adventure. We found a road that looked like it went up a mountain, and were going to try to catch the sunset. We ended up on Raccoon Mountain. Although we were slightly concerned that either a) they were going to lock the park gates with us inside, or b) we were going to run out of gas up there, the views were totally worth it.

For a long while we drove on this crazy road that had guardrails on both sides because on either side you would tumble like 100 feet or more into a lake or a rocky ravine. The pic doesn’t really do it justice. This road was insane.

Thank you Chattanooga for letting us see God’s handiwork and letting us breathe your fresh air. It was quite lovely spending the weekend with you.

These two are twins. Look at those smiles!

I asked Cadin what he liked to do. When the first thing that popped out of his mouth was “gymnastics” I told him to have at it!

It is springtime in Kentucky, and the dandelions are poking up everywhere. The girls LOVED blowing out the “wishflowers” (I think that’s what they called them), and their brother loved to kick the puffballs and aggravate his sisters. The girls were very concerned that he was going to kick them all and that there would be none left for them to blow. There was no way this was going to happen, seeing as there were hundreds, so I got a big kick out of the sibling drama.

I told them to race.

Look at these little models– I did not even tell them to do this, and look at the poses they struck!

Family pyramid! Soo funny.

The twins just turned 10 in March. Double digits!

Thanks Caldwell family for a fun day in your backyard!

You may remember way back in October, that Lee left for a couple of weeks in Kenya. I sent him along with a camera, and he came back with some very fun pics. Before he left, I was throwing every possibly photography tip I could think of in his direction, because I really wanted him to be happy with the images he captured in Africa.

I thought I should write a few of these tips down, and share them for my blog readers out there who enjoy using their camera (whether it be iPhone or a point and shoot) to make pretty pictures. All of us begin somewhere in photography– for me it was with a hot orange Vivitar camera in kindergarten-(which I just googled, and alas, could not find a photo of). And, hopefully one or more of these items will help you on your photographic journey!

1. Look for pretty light.

Photography is a documentation of light. It is about how the light highlights shapes, reflects colors, and adds depth. And yet, oftentimes people want to look for pretty scenery before they consider the light. Here are a few tips:

• The higher the sun is in the sky (noon being the highest), the harsher (and less flattering) the light will be. If you think about it, if the sun is shining straight down on the top of your head, you are going to have shadows under your nose, chin, lips and eyes. The closer you can take shots to dawn or to sunset, the more gorgeous the light will be.

Sometimes we HAVE to take pictures in the middle of the day, however. There are a few solutions here.

• One- wait for the sun to go behind the clouds. The cloud acts as a diffuser, spreading the light out (and hence not straight down on your head).
• Two- Utilize open shade. Have your subject stand in the shadow of a large building, under a tree, or another structure, like a pavilion to take the shot. This seems counterintuitive to most people– usually people think they need to bring their subject into the brightest light they can find. Put them in the open shade and you’ll be much happier with the results. (One warning though: if you are using a tree as your shade, make sure that you don’t have dappled light all over them from light falling through the leaves.)

2. Look for an interesting angle.

By this I do NOT mean tip your camera cock-eyed to make the portrait set at an angle. This was all the rage a few years ago. You can shoot one shot out of oh, let’s say, every 3,000 like this. No more. Promise?

By “look for an interesting angle” I actually mean this– try getting down low, up high or shooting from a different vantage point. Most people shoot just standing up straight, but have you ever tried shooting the same subject from a squat? How about shooting up at the underside of a flower rather than straight down from the top?

Another tip that almost merits its own point, but fits here: shoot children at their eye level. Squat down to their level and shoot from there. Get down where you can look straight in their eyes, and it will be a much better image than always with their heads cocked up to look in the camera.

3. Compose your shots with a foreground, middle, and background.

Usually people think only of their subject, which they want to be right in the middle of the shot. Often we think also of the background. But, to create a more visually interesting image, include something in the foreground as well.  If you are on a beach, try including some driftwood in the side of the frame as you focus on the sunset going down over the water. Or at a birthday party, include part of the back of the child’s head looking down at the birthday cake. These are just ideas– but the next time you look through your viewfinder– see if you can include something that you might have otherwise left out, to give your photo three parts, and hence increased depth and interest.

4. Practice the rule of thirds.

This rule was explained way back a year ago, but as a little refresher– think of the rectangle of your photo as divided into thirds, both vertically and horizontally. Try to put the subject of your image (like one of the eyes of the person you’re shooting) at one of those places where the third lines come together. Having your subject slightly offset makes for a much more compelling image than just setting the person in the dead middle.

5. Try not to shoot only “posed and smiley.”

Some children, especially, tend to go through a phase where every time the camera is out, they plaster on the hugest, cheesiest, fakest smile ever. Is this really what you want every one of your photos to look like? Try stepping back and taking pictures as though you are a journalist, sent to cover the assignment. Don’t tell everyone to look at you, but take some time to capture candids. Keep your camera to your eye, and wait for people to exhibit different emotions, which you can then quickly capture. It is so valuable to have photos that document the way our every day lives are lived.

6. Shoot, shoot, shoot!

The more you shoot, the more likely it is that you will take more visually arresting images. What I don’t mean is that you need to shoot the exact same pose 40 times in a row, but do keep shooting. Try different angles and compositions, and take way more than you’ll ever need or want– this is the beauty of digital– you can delete all but the best later from your computer if need be.

7. Shoot “tack-sharp.”

I would venture to say that the single most important rule that will make or break a photo is whether or not the image is sharp— crisp, clean, and with the right thing in focus. If you are shooting in full automatic, with a point and shoot camera, there is not too much you can do to affect how sharp your photos are, other than being sure that you are very still when shooting, or placing your camera on a stationary object before pressing the button. However, if you are shooting in manual, and are able to change your focal point, lock in on the subject’s eyes, and then just practice practice practice getting consistently sharp images.

And to end, some randomly stumbled upon photos from April 2009. Yay for spring green returning to our lives!

Mr. Owl wanted in on the action too. He also graces my office and I LOVE HIM.

Thanks for lookin! Why dontcha stop and say hi?

Out with the cold, in with the woo.  ~E. Marshall, “Spring Thought”