I had such a great time last week with the Saxton family for a sweet and fun mini session.  It was really hot, even later in the day, but the kids had a blast!  I love little sessions like this that are long enough for fun, but not too long for the kids to get bored.  Little Mulberry Park is a huge area with several entrances and I found this "secret" one that had a nice field that had not been mowed yet this season! There was a perfect little tree up the hill that cast a nice shady area for us to settle into.  The best part is that they could go around the corner to the playground after for the kids to play!  I will definitely be heading back to this little spot again in the future!

Last fall I had the fortune of having a family drop in to my fall mini session event.  It was just the dad, Ralph, and his little boy, E.  I took the most adorable portrait of E.  Ralph mentioned at the time that his wife was a dentist and would be needing new photos for her practice soon.  I was excited for the opportunity to work with her. 

Christmas came and went and 2018 started off with me being ill and unable to run my business, but just as I was feeling better, his wife, Erin called.  She was taking over her mother's dental practice in Grayson and they were updating the name to Heritage Family Dentistry as well as the website.  Including new headshots, team photos and an outside image of the location was her priority.  Having a mobile studio makes this a great fit for me because I'm not tied to a physical location and can set up anywhere. 

We looked ahead and the weather was cold with a bit of rain expected, but we set the date for a few weeks out and though it was a mostly cloudy and windy day, it turned out perfect.  They close early on Thursdays and I came in just as they were wrapping up the day.  I set up in their office with my lights and used a gorgeous rock wall in the lobby for the backdrop on the headshots - it would flow with the website colors she had picked out and give a visual reference for new patients when they entered the office.  

For the group photo we went to a nearby park.  I wasn't sure about where to set-up, but then the suggestion came out to use one of the huge oak trees - the symbol for the new practice is an oak tree and it made perfect sense!  The ladies all looked so lovely and organizing them around the tree was a challenge as it was not the most pose friendly location, but I think the final shot came out wonderful!  Each of these ladies has such a beautiful personality and are just the warmest, kindest people you could hope to work with. The wind did pose a bit of an issue, but thankfully we did the group photo after headshots so that the close-ups were as perfect as possible. 

I also took a shot of Erin with her mom.  It was so heartwarming to see a strong love between them.  The practice was built by Kathy and passed on to Erin, so it made sense to include a photo of them together.  The name of the practice, Heritage Family Dentistry, truly fits! 

After the ladies headed out for the day, I walked around the main outside area of the office.  As a newer building, it featured offices above and retail below with a few restaurants that had tables set up.  Because of the wind, the umbrellas on the table could not be opened and there was quite a bit of the famous Georgia green spring pollen on the black awnings, but I was able to clean those up in Photoshop. The main goal for the outside photo was to help new clients find the location on the upper level in a corner.  The only signage being on the upper side of the building.  I decided to climb up on a brick wall to get a better view with my wide angle lens so that I could prominently position the sign.  There was a perfect break in the clouds, giving a swath of blue sky just over the building, but the remaining light cast only light shadows on the buildings, making the resulting image just gorgeous. 

I could not have asked for a better group of women to work with.  Erin and her team at Heritage Family Dentistry are the kindest people I have ever met and if I lived in the area, I would use her as my dentist!  If you live nearby, I suggest trying them out for your dental needs!

It was such a delight for me to work with the Hairston family.  They are full of love and energy and just gave off this feeling of the perfect American family. They had a wonderful little park area across from their house where we shot some lovely outdoor photos and then we went inside to get some special shots on their hearth.  We were laughing and having a blast the whole time. I just love how their images came out!  Here are just a few of my favorites!