It seems like I've been shooting Kylie's pictures forever. I guess it probably has been 10 years since the first time I had a session with her and her younger sister, Hailey. Just like with a lot of seniors coming up for the class of 2020, I was floored when I actually realized she was a senior this year (I think that calls for a split screen later on in the year). But for now, let's take a look at the first images from her summer studio session. Most were actually taken outside the studio, but still.. 

A few times a year, I get the opportunity to work with a senior away from central West Virginia, where we call home. Sometimes it requires special arrangements to coordinate the shoot, and sometimes it lines up with a vacation or a work trip I'm on. When Zoe came in for her consultation, we were discussing the details of destination shoots and we learned that we'd both be vacationing in Florida during the same time in July. Even though they were still a couple of hours away from where I would be, it was too good of an opportunity to pass up. I drove down to meet up with her and her family in Siesta Key. Along the way, I picked up my friend Octavious — he's a Florida based photographer and was kind enough to bring along some of his own lighting equipment so I didn't need to pack all of mine. After battling heavy winds, rain and lightning the entire drive, we got to the beach at around 7:30 and were already in sunset mode. We were only able to knock out a couple of outfits, but wound up with some great images that will be an awesome addition to Zoe's senior portrait collection. Here's a little of what we were able to get.

Before heading to Florida, I told Justin to be sure to pack up his football uniform so we could go ahead and knock out some of his football shots one evening with some downtime. Thankfully it wasn't one of the hotter days we've had on this trip — I might have felt bad having Justin standing there in full gear, posing and jumping, etc. I had hoped for a little more daylight before we got in to that evening look, but the sun dropped behind the trees during dinner and by the time we got out in the back yard, it was already starting to get duskish (I think I just made up that word). Regardless, we got some good football pics to kick off his senior pictures. Going to get some more looks before this trip is up, so check back on the blog for those!

Hey guys! For those who know me, you probably know I'm a crazy perfectionist when it comes to my creative projects. My web site is no different. Well, I suppose it's a little different in that not only is it a creative endeavor for me to make sure it's visually appealing, but it needs to be informative for you guys at the same time. 

So, I've been working on that here and there as time allows over the past several weeks trying to think of what needs to be available online and how to best present it to you. I've been making some pretty good progress and while it isn't 100% complete, it's further along than my previous site, so I'm going ahead and launching the new one. 

So far I've added some more information about seniors, sports mini sessions, weddings and commercial headshots. I also added lots of new images for seniors, sports and weddings and posted an availability calendar. You'll also find a studio tour (photo gallery) on the site. 

In the next few weeks, I'l be adding more new photos from the classes of 2018 and 2019 and will also be adding a product guide to help you remember what you'll be getting in your print collection.

Thanks to everyone for your patience and if you have any special requests, by all means drop me a message!

I was beyond pumped to open this month's issue of Professional Photographer Magazine and see a familiar face in the contents section. Staring back at me was a shot I had taken of Class of 2016 senior Hali Carpenter from Nicholas County High School. 

A couple of months ago, I did a phone interview for an article to be written by Jeff Kent, but wasn't exactly sure which month it would appear in the magazine. So, when I saw the picture of Hali, I started frantically flipping through the pages to find the article. When I got to page 80, I think I might have peed a little. Leading off the article were two of my favorite images from the Class of 2016 — the infamous LawnBoys (Nicholas County's Ethan Miller and Marshall Newlon) and a fun field commander shot of Savannah Schafer from George Washington High School. 

It was so cool to see how they had chosen the which images to run where and how the page layout was pieced together. To me, it was perfect and I even felt like it matched my branding pretty well, so that was a big bonus.

The spread showcases some of my favorite images and the article covers my approach to working with high school seniors. It also previews my upcoming Imaging USA presentation in Nashville, TN in January. If you'd like to read the article for yourself, click here.