Ellie B Photography

this journey

2012-02-08T09:39:00.001-05:00

I like to call this "Journey to the Center of the Earth." Or: "How I Started this Crazy Thing Called Taking Pictures of People For A Living. AreYouSeriousICanDoThat."
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I remember telling my mom that knew what I wanted to do after high school. 13 year olds don't say "when I'm grown up." They say "after high school" or "in college."

Except I wasn't going to go to college. My career of choice needed no formal education, just hands on experience and a lot of passion. I wanted to be a photographer.

You know how most people find out they love photography while in college + pursuing something else like law? (Oh wait. That's j* and J+M? Whoops.) Well, I learned while being babysat. By an awesome person named Kristen. She brought her camera sometimes and would take pictures of my siblings and I for practice. And boy did I fall in love. With the camera, with the pictures, with that fact that you could TAKE PICTURES with a CAMERA. I asked her so many questions, she should have gotten sick of me. But she didn't. She listened, answered, and even let me hold her camera a few times. I meeellllltttedddd.

Fast forward a few years later (2009) and I now had about 15 families, a senior, and a Nikon D80 under my belt. It was a whirlwind of God's kindness and enabling me to pursue my dream. I loved it. I loved my life: God was (and is!) so good. But then, I started to think about weddings. I loved them. So. Much. I loved the idea of taking pictures at weddings. And ruh roh. The idea snuck in of me being a wedding photographer. Nothing really happened until I second shot for Kristen for the first time. I mean, I had taken pictures at both of my aunt's weddings, but I wasn't getting any business from that. (Hey. I was 15 and had no wedding experience whatsoever. ;))

Slowly, slowly as I second shot more and read up about wedding photography I kept thinking "Yes. This is it. I love this. I want to do this for a living." See, now we are at the "for a living" stage.

God in His KINDNESS gave me the opportunity to do many weddings + an internship with Kristen last year. It was some of the most fun I have ever had and I said with an emphatic "yes!" that I wanted to do weddings. Are you fo real girl? Oh yeah.

So now, I am doing some more second shooting, getting my name out, shooting portraits (which I LOVE!) and building up my knowledge in the wedding photography realm. I love learning. Sounds so cliche, but I really do love reading and developing new ideas. I'm not perfect. Duh. And I don't know everything.

Katelyn James is hosting a workshop + is giving away a free spot. For a senior in high school who doesn't have the world's money supply at her fingers, a free spot would be excellent. :) But also like I said, I want to learn more. I want to be challenged, and informed, and uplifted, and meet new people. Right now I am in such a happy place. But that doesn't mean I can't grow.

So that's my story. Obviously there are little details that I left out like how I spit out my cereal when I found out that I could actually be a photographer + live off of that job. (Okay, maybe I didn't.) But it's the basic jist. What's your story?

[that little fine print: this post is my entry into the contest. it is due by tonight. that's why i am posting it on wednesday. ;) however, i did want to write one of these posts because i believe we have some new readers/commenters over here. hello there! nice to meetcha. hopefully my story isn't too boring for ya. ;) ]

and it was all yellow // and blogging

2012-02-07T07:00:00.000-05:00

Look at the stars,
Look how they shine for you,
And everything you do,
Yeah, they were all yellow.

via

I came along,
I wrote a song for you,
And all the things you do,
And it was called yellow.

via

So then I took my turn,
Oh what a thing to have done,
And it was all yellow.

via

Your skin,
Oh yeah your skin and bones,
Turn into something beautiful,
You know, you know I love you so,
You know I love you so.

via

I swam across,
I jumped across for you,
Oh what a thing to do.
Cuz you were all yellow,

via

I drew a line,
I drew a line for you,
Oh what a thing to do,
And it was all yellow.

via

Look at the stars,
Look how they shine for you,
And all the things that you do.
[yellow - coldplay]

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My favorite color is yellow. I absolutely love it. The shades of golden, sunflower, and ginger yellow make me smile. It's kind of like Katelyn James and teal. Think of me and yellow and boom, you have it. :) I mean, for crying out loud I painted my whole bedroom yellow. I thought I was crazy but it is amazing. Really.

I've been thinking about this whole blogging thing. I really do love to blog. However, the time factor? Ha. Call me a chicken with its head cut off. I am literally running around all of the time. But it also isn't kind to y'all (I just went southern on ya) to post like once every month. My blog becomes an abandoned grave yard and then POOF. It's back!

So I have decided something. Twice a week I can do. It's possible with my schedule, it's possible while being a chicken. With its head cut off. I am going to be posting (respectively) on Tuesdays and Thursday. One post a week will be devoted to something random like the color yellow, chocolate, or sharpies. The second post will be photography related. A photo shoot I did, a bridal session, photography tips, something like that.

I have been inspired by many bloggers recently to blog more consistently. It doesn't have to be every day. I can't do that right now. Twice a week sounds just fine. Now to stick with it.

How do you blog? Twice a week? On the weekends? Every day? Gold stars for you whatever you do. Even if you don't blog, you deserve a medal or a star or something. You put up with all of us crazy bloggers. :)

p.s. the song "yellow" by coldplay was introduced to me by a good friend. it suits me just fine because the color yellow + coldplay? pretty sweet combination if you ask me.

sarah

2012-01-30T20:28:00.001-05:00

This is Sarah.

She is a 14 year old who plays the violin, sings, dances, acts, and draws. She's kind of the "creative one" in our family. She also has a killer sense of style.

She loves Anne of Green Gables: she can literally quote whole chunks of those books. We tease her for her ability to bring up a AGG [that's the abbrev. of Anne of Green Gables. I'm a cool kid.] quote in any situation.

I was trying out some of my VSCO film presets on these photos - which explains why they aren't my normal editing. Just having fun.

Sarah has a heart of gold. Anyone will tell you that. Her friends love her to death because she is so kind + extremely funny.

And, in our family, she is such a bright spot. She has a smile + a laugh that will cheer you right up. Her music fills the house constantly. She's also in the youth play at our church [crowd ensemble + understudy for a role!] She's brilliantly talented like that.

Ha. This next series was funny to shoot. I was like, "okay now skip across the street and look like you are having fun!" Didn't work out for the first few shots but we got some keepers. ;)

Beeeeyootiful.

Strawberry, I love ya.

ps. i dont usually do portraits - i'm a wedding photog hollaaa! but if you would like some portraits done, there is no harm in asking. :)

jude dude.

2012-01-19T19:34:00.004-05:00

I want to say something. It's not eloquent, it's not beautiful poetry. But it's something.

2 years ago, I blogged 10+ updates on the labor + delivery of my little brother Jude. Folks, 2 years ago.

Some of you have joined on the bandwagon since then and maybe you haven't even seen pictures of him yet. I have been horrible at posting them.

This is Jude. He will be 2 on February 21.

He was born into our family of seven and honestly I really can't imagine life without him.

Right now he is talking, signing, crashing into things, throwing things, and loves elephants, school buses, and airplanes.

He is our little boy. Words cannot describe how much I love this kid. I really, really, really love him.

His nickname is "Jude dude" and sometimes he only responds to that. He loves the Backyardigans and turning things off and on. He also loves pretending to sleep on my bed.

This is all just for the record because I can tend to forget little things sometimes.

josh + samantha

2012-01-06T20:06:00.001-05:00

This couple wins the best Ellie Be Photography wedding award for 2011. I'm sorry if you think otherwise because I am standing my ground.

Tucked away, up the gravel road and in the beautiful mansion, Samantha was getting ready for her big day.

I went downstairs to snag a couple photos of Josh and his crew getting ready too.

Let the wedding begin!

Kids at weddings = my heart melts.

His face when he saw her. Ohh my stars that's love people.

While the guests were milling around, we snuck away to do some portraits.

Please take a breath because you might lose your ability to do so after looking at the beautiful-ness that follows.

It got dark quickly, so we hurried back to the reception.

Where they entered into their adorable first dance. :)

They had Georgetown Cupcakes at their wedding! Hello! Your newest fan is me!

Okay. They are cute.

Awww.

Beautiful wedding done with Kristen. They are gorgeous people with a gorgeous wedding. Love love. :)

content to be

2012-01-02T11:01:00.001-05:00

When I was 7, I grabbed a piece of orange construction paper and a blue marker and went outside to sit on my driveway. I glanced around at the house next door with it's worn plaster, our own stone steps leading up to our front door. I looked at the garden that belonged to the person behind us, and the tree lined street that stretched out in front of our house. We lived in an older neighborhood and for a little mind like mine, it provided so much inspiration. I scribbled down the story that was coming to my mind, a modern day tale of love and happiness. A story where the man confesses his love for a woman and she tries to understand exactly what love is. It's quite comical to read what my little mind thought about such subjects.

I'm not much of a writer. I take English classes and get by with adding on to my meager knowledge. But I can't take words and make them sound magical. In other words, I'm not a blogger.

I guess technically I am. Because I blog. But I am not a blogger in the sense that I take words and pictures and combine them to make something beautiful. I am a photographer.

This is what I am trying to learn this year. I am tempted as I look around and all of the bloggers in the world to compare myself with thoughts like, "Well she takes good pictures AND writes good stories!" or "She's better than I am at this... or that."

I love photography. I love being a photographer. That's my passion and job and I am so blessed to be doing what I love. I'm not a blogger. When I write, I write like I think (apparently my thoughts aren't very organized). Some people are gifted with writing talent, some photography talent, some general blogging skills.

And I am learning to be content in the place that I love. To be grateful to God for this wonderful opportunity to be a photographer. I've started a blog called Be Content and Trust as I seek to glorify Him in this. It's like my One Little Word project for the year using the word content. Follow along if you would like.

becontentandtrust.blogspot.com

Have a wonderful week starting off your new year. What are some of your resolutions? And are any of you doing One Little Word as well?

goodbye

2011-12-30T09:19:00.001-05:00

2011 has come and gone.

So quickly it seems though when I think about it, I distinctly remember 4 seasons represented and therefore it seems much longer. I remember specific events and think, "That happened this year? It seems so long ago!" Or, "wow I thought that was 5 years ago!"And then the year becomes short again.

I would post pictures from this year. I really and truly would. But my camera is being sent away to be fixed and my hard drive crashed halfway through the year so I only have pictures from July until now.

At first I freaked out. What was I going to do without all of those pictures. How would I go on? (Movie quote. By the way.)

But God's been teaching me something. Trust. That simple word has defined and radically changed my life this year. Trust in my God who never changes and is always doing what is the absolute best for me.

So here's to next year. A new start, a fresh page, new mercies every morning from our Savior. I'll be posting about my resolutions (and hopefully pictures of New Years Eve!) on the 1st. But for now, goodbye 2011.

You've been good.

p.s. share your favorite memory from 2011. or link up to your year in review post. i'd love to see your thoughts. :)

christmas cheer

2011-12-10T20:11:00.000-05:00

It's the most wonderful time of the year.

Christmas has it's own season. Have you ever thought about it? Halloween has one day and couple of candy feasting ones after. July 4th's excitement starts the day before when you buy fireworks from a local store. Arbor Day has just the one day. You know, for celebrating the Earth or whatever.

Christmas has a month. A whole month dedicated to music, decorations, preparations, and general Christmas spirit. A whole month for anticipation + hot chocolate. Because I mean, hot chocolate really is better during the Christmas season.

Last week we got our tree. Friends of the internet, we got. Our. Tree.

[we go a tree farm quite aways from our house. it is a lovely family-owned business with a barn, hot chocolate, + dogs to boot]

Yes, this is my little brother and yes he is growing like a weed. I think he's the cutest thing ever.

And here it is in its lighted glory. I think it has been deemed one of the best trees in our 20 year history of tree hunting. #winning.

And we also did some of this.

Paper snowflakes are always a must. This year, we found a new way of doing them and they have been the highlight of the Christmas decorations this year.

Christmas cookie decorating. A mandatory part of Christmas. Period. Done. Thank you.

Christmas cheer is here folks and I am looking forward to soaking up every minute of it. How are you all celebrating Christmas this year?

geoff + kelly

2011-12-08T07:00:00.000-05:00

This wedding deserves exclamation points, fireworks, and maybe a parade. It was that beautiful. But not just the decorations or venue. The love was beautiful. (Cheesy line alert! Cheesy line alert!)

It started at the George Washington Hotel. After a long drive in the country through farmland, up pops a town and smack dab in the middle is this fancy place. Quite disorientating at first but we got used to it. ;)

And in that hotel we found a beauuuutiful bride. Inside and out. :)

Who had a gorgeous dress. I mean this dress had me taking pictures of it for a long time.

Her shoes were also stellar.

After a rainy car ride to the church, the girls were still bubbling with excitement. I mean come on! Their best friend was getting married!!! While waiting for the ceremony to start, Kelly took one last look to check over everything.

Then go go go! It's show time!

At one end with the man who watched her grow up...

To the end with the man who will watch her grow old. They are married folks!

I had some time with the groomsmen to take their pictures. I love doing this at weddings because they all have inside jokes and slap-on-the-back-funny type attitudes. And then the groom is like, "Alright guys calm down. *turns to me* What do you want us to do?" It's pretty great, every time. :)

Loving the parasols. Luuuhveeng.

Pssst secret. If you look hard enough, you can see that it was raining in these pictures. But would you have known unless I had told you? Probably not. These faces are too smiley.

No big deal guys! The extremely good looking mr + mrs!!!

Then it was on to the reception. Not that I wanted to leave the portrait session we were having. But I did hear rumors about the theme revolving around winter? And I was intrigued.

Yeah it rocked.

Okay. Quick pause because I just want to say I LOVED looking around at the other couples attending the wedding. Adorableness overload really.

One last picture of the newly married couple. Lovelove.

(Oh! And by the way I shot this one with Kristen too! So thanks K for letting me shoot with you! And yes that is your new nickname :))

little joys

2011-12-05T21:35:00.001-05:00

Today was a not-so-good-need-to-cough kind of day. And I mean I never get sick.

But even though I was laying bed for most of the day, in my history class, chatting with friends, or reading, and feeling horrible, I could be happy. Why? Because I have the joy of the Lord in my soul. It never leaves. He is my strength + comfort.

But, I also saw little joys in today. My best friend from preschool posting on my facebook wall, a friend from my history class purposely making fun of my clumsiness in class (okay it was really funny), my little brother laughing at my sister's games, the train's whistle in our little christmas village, christmas cookies, charlie brown holiday specials, and this quote, "I do in every way stand into the victory of the ascension and the glorification of the Son of God where all principalities and powers were made subject to Him, and I claim my place in Christ victorious with Him over all the enemies of my soul." SUCH TRUTH.

And another little joy? The winner of the week's giveaway. :)

Drumrolllll please! The winner is...

Hannah Martin! She liked my facebook page (thank you my dear!) and was randomly selected by random.org. :)

Please email me at elliebephotography [at] gmail [dot] com to claim your prize in the next 48 hours!! :)

Thank you to all who participated. It was a fun little thing!

Speaking of little joys, what have been some in your life lately?

a giveaway + a challenge

2011-11-28T07:00:00.000-05:00

There is some excitement over on the Ellie Be Photography facebook page. Below are the rules in case you want to vote over here. (Vote for what? Well in the words of Marcel the Shell: read on!)

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This is the I Heart: Love giveaway + challenge! Here is the lowdown on the hoedown. :)

1. Tell one person (or share on your facebook wall) that I do weddings. You can either share my blog and mention I Heart: Love, tell someone personally, or email an engaged couple. Whatever. Just tell at least one person. That's one entry. You can comment here or on the post on the FB wall to enter that vote. You can only do one or the other.

2. Like the Ellie Be Photography page. New likes are only counted. If you already like it, thank you! But unfortunately your "like" doesn't count.

3. The winner will be announced on December 5th, 2011. The winner will have a choice between the two posters above. Aren't they darling?

THANK YOU for your encouragement + support. Love all of you!

richard + evelyn

2011-11-26T07:00:00.000-05:00

A while back I shot this wedding with Kristen (who is awesome sauce if you ask me).

So usually I go off and shoot some details. It takes me about 15 minutes to capture everything, no sweat. However at this wedding there were so many adorable details it took me almost 30 minutes to get to everything. It was amazingly put together and so beautiful.

Amidst all of these wonderful details, there was practicing going on.

And the bride!! As she was getting ready, she watched the preparations go on down below.

And the groom. He was also getting ready. Sweet moments all around.

Okay, confession? This kid stole my heart. With the bowtie.

But I had to quickly move on. It was ceremony time.

This is going to sound so cliche. Forgive me please. But the moment before the bride walks down the aisle creates this pulpable wonder in the air. Waiting and watching.

Until she comes. And Evelyn was a beautiful bride.

Apparently Richard thought so... :)

Aaaand married!!

Let the party begin. It was in Evelyn's backyard and her family went crazy wonderful with the decorations (remember the details? yes please).

That kid again! I'm sorry.

The wonderful bridal party.

We grabbed a few of the married couple. The candles... well let's just say that they didn't cause any trouble. Of course not.

And that's it folks. Have an awesome week. :)

everyday moments: a collaboration

2011-11-25T16:00:00.000-05:00

It's been two months since the start of the collaboration between Carlotta and I. It's hard to believe really. November has come and gone. Wowsh.

This edition of everyday moments is a little different. You see, it's all pictures from my phone. I used to be all paranoid about getting the perfect picture etc but I think part of this project is accepting the imperfections of every day life even by the way that you capture them. So the focus or the color probably isn't as good as my normal camera but hey. Who cares? It's every day life documented.

[bun]

[cherry berry in oklahoma!]

[thanksgiving decor]

[tea + editing]

[silly boy]

[volleyball in oklahoma]

[post library reading]

[evening music]

This is the post where you can comment with your links from the documenting life challenge that I gave out earlier this week. And don't worry if you didn't do it, feel free to leave a link to your blog anyway. I'd love to check out the way you see life. :)

Have an awesome weekend! I'll be eating turkey sandwiches if ya need me...

banana bread + life lessons

2011-11-22T10:52:00.001-05:00

Yesterday I decided to make banana bread. At the last minute, I asked Hattie if she wanted to come make it with me and she got really excited. She helped me gather the ingredients and pulled up a chair so she could reach the mixer.

As she cracked the eggs and poured the flour, the counter slowly became messier and messier. I was tempted to tell her to pour it slower, or watch where she put the egg shells but I let it go. She was having so much fun.

You know what I learned? It really doesn't matter. I think it took me about 5 seconds to wipe up the sugar off the floor, egg off the counter, and flour off the mixer. I made a memory with her and I know she had a blast. So did I. Seeing her smile was so worth the tiny bit of extra work I did.

Let go. I am going to sound so cliche but this Thanksgiving break, really do take a break and be thankful for what you've got. Not because it's what you are "supposed to do" or whatever. But because it's worth it. Like really worth it.

Even if it costs you that little bit of time that you were going to spend on yourself, spend some time with others. And document it. If you have a blog, post about it. When I come back from break, I will have a post where you comment to link up to your documentation of your "others time." Have fun and I'll see ya on the other side. :)

By the way, the bread actually did turn out to be as tasty as it looks. :)

sentences from this week

2011-11-17T21:04:00.001-05:00

Today, I found the perfect gray nail polish at Target. Score.

I am still missing Oklahoma. Can't wait to go back.

I tripped over a gate a few days ago and messed up my foot. I am so clumsy it's not even funny. Except when it is.

Flying at night is one of my favorite things.

My little brother is growing up so quickly. It makes my heart melt.

Video chatting makes the day better. It just does.

"Guess why I smile so much." "Why?" "Because it's worth it."

I just sneezed and the glasses that were on top of my head fell down past my nose.

The End.

[ps. how was your week?]

oak-lay-home-uh.

2011-11-15T20:56:00.001-05:00

I've never been somewhere, away from home, and said to myself, "I could live here. I can see this being my home."

Until last weekend. I traveled to Oklahoma for four days to visit an amazing friend and her equally amazing family. And let me tell you something folks. Oklahoma is pretty spectacular. I have pictures (phone + camera) and plenty of words to fill a book about my trip but this post will be good for now.

Quick word about flying: I love it. Okay I'm done.

[excuse the different sizes and editing. it's called a variety post.]

Arriving at the airport, I felt like a hipster with no hip. Or something equally uncool. All of these professional flyers were gliding straight from the plane into the baggage claim area and swooping up their bags while holding a Starbucks drink in one hand and a carry-on bag in the other. Me? I was like the galloping elephant that didn't know where to go so she lugged her non-checked baggage around the gate until she got her footing. And then almost fell over while taking her bag off the conveyor belt. Yep.

But then. Oh sweet Oklahoma, then I was picked up by my friend Anna and we drove to their farm out in the country.

It's pretty wonderful out there. I kept teasing Anna about how flat it was but I actually really liked it. No trees obstructing your view of the sky, no extremely steep hills to get over, just miles of countryside.

But enough of the landscape. I visited some people. :)

Anna, her brother and I went to a movie and we brought home these 3D glasses. Apparently, they have never punched out the lenses and made them into nerd glasses... They loved it. And looked pretty stinkin adorable too. :)

Leaf raking + jumping.

Basketball heads. This had them entertained for at least 30 minutes. So awesome. :)

We went to Sonic.

Football games.

...and nature walks (and Christmas carol singing and waiting for the four wheeler. Such a good combination.)

Made me smile during lunch. I look over and Cinderella is upside down. Prince Charming isn't helping much.

And a chocolate covered Twinkie? I think I was a little hyper that day...

Aaand Anna. Oh my dear. She is one of the funniest girls I know. She is so caring and godly, loves her family, and has a genuine interest in what you are talking about. Even though we only met last April, thanks to texting and talking, we have become super close friends.

So there you have it! Oklahoma in a nutshell. Can't wait to go back. :)

the next phase: part II

2011-11-12T07:00:00.000-05:00

[part I]

I am so excited to share the release of something that has been in the works for quite sometime. Announcing, for the first time on the world wide web... [wait for it]

Weddings + couples are my passion. They are my absolute favorite to take pictures of. So I am pleased to announce that I am transitioning over from lifestyle portraiture and into weddings, engagements, and couples. This part of my business is called i heart: love.

So here we go.

WEDDING GALLERIES.

Over the next few days I will be continuing the celebration (yay!) by putting up galleries on my website of weddings that I have done. The family sections will be consolidated to a lifestyle portfolio. I will also be blogging some weddings. :)

PACKAGING

For my clients, you will get cool packaging with your prints and CDs. Yes, I was the lame one who did really lame things with those items. But no more! Over the next few days I will be also revealing that!

So stick around. Because it's going to be a wild ride. ;)

these november days

2011-11-09T20:27:00.000-05:00

I am loving November this year. After our very early (too early in my opinion) snow back in October, I feared the worst for the rest of the fall season. However, it surprised me with 70 degree weather and brilliant blue skies.

I'm very much of a fall girl. I like the spring, except when it rains. Which is pretty much all the time. The summer is great because of no school and sometimes beautiful weather, but I'm not one for Maryland's scorching heat + suffocating humidity (I almost typed humility. Not the word I was looking for there.) And winter. It's okay if it snows. Please don't give me freezing cold days, or sleet/rain coming down. I need cold + snow. Thank you.

So fall is perfect. Wonderful weather, crunchy leaves, blue skies, and the opportunity to be outside and enjoy the day. Today was one of those days.

I put on a fleece and my fun socks and gathered up some school books, an orange sharpie, and my phone. Outside on my front porch, I did my chemistry homework but took many breaks to look around at the wonderful world. I literally couldn't think of a better day. It was the kind of day where your stomach turned flip flop because the breeze was the perfect temperature.

The sun was starting to go down so the glow was amazing. As a photographer I had to grab my camera because I couldn't let it pass. These pictures make me feel glow-y (yes. I made up a word) inside just like the sun on the leaves.

I also have a mild obsession with graph paper. I. love. graph paper. It embodies fall and organization for me. It may be strange to put it that way but pretty much, that's the way it is.

My chemistry notebook has a window into it's own world. ;)

By the way, thank you all for your comments via the comments section, facebook, and email about the last post. You are so sweet. Sometimes I feel like I am the odd one out. You know, the girl who instead of filling out college apps is trying to launch a wedding business. Or the one who took the SATs once instead of twice because I'm not going to college. I trust God yet I doubt Him too. And you all encouraged me and brought a smile to my face. So thank you. :)

On Friday, I am going on an adventure. In other words, a plane. By myself. To the beautiful state of Oklahoma. I look forward to sharing many pictures and words with you all. :)

And by the way, November 12 is this Saturday. Don't think I forgot about it!

much love

ellie

ps. please please leave some love in the comment box if you have never done so before. i'd love to meet you!

the next phase: part I

2011-11-05T14:41:00.001-04:00

I've always been unsettled yet so excited by the future. The possibility of the unknown YET knowing that God has it all in His hands is amazing.

Since I was 12, I have known photography was cool. I thought that I wanted to make it my profession. But that was so far away in my middleschool mind. I had time to think about it.

Then highschool came and went and I'm here. Approaching the end of the first quarter of my senior year. God has taught me so much. Looking back I see that NOW is the future I saw when I was in 7th grade. NOW is the time I thought I would never reach. And it's here. Boom. Like that.

After so much praying and so much thinking I know what I am doing next year. God's specific plan for me is still a mystery but I know what He wants me to do.

He wants me to be a full time wedding + couple photographer.

Yes, fresh out of highschool. Yes, with no solo weddings of my own. Yes, it's daunting and yes it's frightening. It's so tempting to say, "How can I ever get there? How can I ever graduate and then start building a business? Especially in such a popular industry?" Anxiety, fear, doubt, unbelief. How. Can I. No. Maybe.

"Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my rightous right hand." [isaiah 41:10]

"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare, and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart." [jeremiah 29:11-13]

I serve the God who said those words. I believe that He told me part of His plan for me. I know and so I trust. It's not easy. Honestly, when I tell people what I want to do after I graduate, I agree with the raised eyebrows and polite nods. But God is bigger than my fears. He is greater than my doubts. His plan is perfect.

I need to work by His grace to accomplish His plan. It's not going to drop out of the sky and on to my lap. He calls me to work. He tells me to trust and then take action, relying on His strength and grace all the way. That verse says that if I seek Him with my whole heart I will FIND Him. He WILL hear my cries for grace + clarity. He will satisfy me with Himself.

That my friends is the most comforting news. And that is why I am following His direction in my life.

And on top of that, I just really like weddings + couples. They are pretty much my favoritest ever. But more on that in the next post. :)

[stay tuned for part II.]

new blog design

2011-10-30T18:44:00.005-04:00

Winter came sooner than I expected. With the few inches of snow we got yesterday came freezing cold temperatures and frozen ground. I was content to stay inside and read today. However, I also launched the new blog design in preparation for the news that is coming in a couple of weeks. What do you all think? Thumbs up or thumbs down? :)

And that was probably the shortest post I have ever written. But that's okay because I don't think there are rules as to how long a post should be. :)

everyday moments: a collaboration

2011-10-28T18:02:00.002-04:00

[outside with jude dude]

[my view from the drivers seat]

[practicing]

[sick girl on the couch with her beloved magnadoodle]

[puppy + girl]

[pirate day at chem + tea. that was a good day]

[spontaneous campfire with dinner + smores]

[baking]

I went running today. My breath froze in front of me and my lungs gasped for the cold air. The fall leaves are mostly on the ground now but there are still some remains of fall on the trees. October has come and gone. November and its cold air, freezing temperatures, and fires in the fire place is just around the corner. I am not ready for winter yet, I feel like fall just started.

Carlotta and I are back again for an edition of everyday moments: a collaboration. Please check out her photos as well! What are you favorite memories of October?

jojo [maryland senior photography]

2011-10-22T22:53:00.001-04:00

Jojo.

You are gorgeous girl. :)

Okay. She won extra points (who knew I was giving out points right?) because she brought quotes to use in the pictures. I HEART when people come up with ideas like this! Woot woot!

HAVE I MENTIONED that she is so pretty? Because she is. :)

Aaand that's a wrap. :)

the boers [maryland family & children photographer]

2011-10-03T21:07:00.001-04:00

I have known this family for a long time. Before they were married, and had three beautiful children, this gorgeous mother was teaching my sister the violin. I photographed the oldest as a newborn. (I mean check this out. He was one of my first newborns I shot. And this picture still cracks me up every. time.) Please enjoy these pictures and take a few moments at each one to soak up the love displayed for one another. They are a wonderful family, so grateful I got to capture this season in their lives!

One more. This is them. Real and not posed. Love it.

everyday moments: a collaboration

2011-09-30T17:00:00.000-04:00

I love stories. Can I tell you one? Almost a month ago, I was about to press the "exit classroom" button in my online history class. Before I did however, I noticed a name on the list of online participants for the class after me. The girl's first name was Carlotta. I quickly jumped over to Facebook and the Carlotta I had just friended was online. I messaged her and said, "I think you are in the history class after me!" She replied with, "I WAS JUST ABOUT TO WRITE ON YOUR WALL." Boom. Friendship deepened over a history class. We talked over the next few days and found that we both had a love for blogging, writing, and capturing every day moments. A few days later we came up with a project, a collaboration if you will and we are calling it Everyday Moments: A Collaboration. Please check out her darling blog and leave a little note for her. She's amazing and wonderful. We both have our own takes on this project but we both agree on one thing: capturing everyday moments is amazing.

yes and yes. [personal]

2011-09-27T21:31:00.002-04:00

I recently saw on my sitemeter that someone came to my blog by googling the phrase "pretzel flats are awesome." I came up first in that google search.

I'd just like to pause and say that I will now be entering the pretzel flat industry thank you very much.

They came to THIS post where I briefly pointed out that I ate pretzel flats at the Funshop. It's a funny world out there. So that's my cool fact for the day. A passion for pretzels could make you end up on a photography blog.

And by the way, if you were the person who googled that, pretzel flats are truly awesome indeed.

i heart faces [best face of summer]

2011-09-26T07:18:00.001-04:00

Little challenges are fun to do. This is my absolute favorite portrait of summer 2011. Maybe ever. I love it that much. :) And the challenge part I was speaking of has to do with the little "i heart faces" button below. If you like this picture too, could you hop on over and vote for me? Thank you so much!

[almost] four years.

2011-09-23T13:55:00.000-04:00

I am reminded of the quote from the movie Field of Dreams. "If you build it, he will come." I built this little blog, and y'all came.

It's been four years. Well, almost four. Almost four years since I asked my dad if I could start a blog for my photography, almost four years since I pressed "create a blog", almost four years since I posted my first welcome post. (Which was pretty lame. Just saying.)

I have learned so much in almost four years. So much about my brand, photography, blogging, LIFE in general. It's been good four years. On November 12, 2007 I started this blog and on November 12, 2011, I will be unveiling something huge. Something unprecedented. Like really and truly. I have been thinking about this for a bit and I am finally beginning to work on it. It's exciting. And it involves weddings.

I want to thank you all. For the love, respect, comments, visits, referrals, and support. You are awesome.

a random assortment [faq post]

2011-09-19T10:20:00.000-04:00

(the fair. because i am starting to miss summer a bit.)

I wanted to see if I could access the local community college library for a school project. So I emailed a few friends, went on their website and did some general sleuthing. What does that have to do with this post? Absolutely nothing.

It's Monday morning. I have a million thoughts swirling around in my head about school, photography projects (including a very interesting and awesome one that will be revealed in a week or so), and my business. And while I am compiling more posts and scheduling more photo shoots, I thought I would send out a general HULLO to all of you and ask, do you guys have any questions? I'm going to be doing another FAQ post so comment on this post or over on the Ellie Be Photography facebook wall. Any questions are allowed, photography, business, personal. We'll see how this goes.

By the way, I am allowed to access the college library even though I'm not a student there. And that my friends, is called rounding out a post well.

jacob & whitney [maryland couple photography]

2011-09-18T18:46:00.000-04:00

They were both in college. She was a junior, and he was a sophomore.

(I'm already melting from the cuteness in that picture. So try to stick with me here.)

Jacob was looking for a church and was interested in the one Whitney went to. They met, and became best friends. Whitney said that she had no interest in him at all, they were just really good friends!

Then God did something in both of their hearts (siiigh. I love this part.) They started liking each other. And they started dating.

They dated for 7 months and then Jacob asked her to marry him. And, um, she said yes. :)

After 7 months they got married and are living HAPPILY ever after. These pictures are so cute because they are so in love! I love love. :)

Okay. Story time. So the next three pictures are some of my favorites. I told them to pretend like they were dating again. Just chilling and talking by a tree.

So I took this one and Whitney said, "No! Wait! We are dating! We aren't in the touch phase yet!" They make me laugh. (And by the way, do you see that adorable little baby bump? They are having a baaabaaay!! Can't wait for their little one to come into the world!)

Faaavorite. Whitney, you are too pretty for words.

And that rocked that one. Just saying.

They really are the cutest.

Another favorite. That's one good lookin couple right there.

This was at the end of our shoot. We were about to leave and I asked if we could stop the car at the end of the road. So glad we did. We got out and they stood there and I snapped away.

Just enjoy these next few pictures.

One more. Pretty place. Pretty people. It's all good.

applesauce muffins

2011-09-12T20:35:00.003-04:00

I forgot how much I love baking. Going into the kitchen and creating something out of plain ingredients (that actually tastes good!) is quite something. Unfortunately, since I was caught up in the thrill of the Cuisinart mixer and greasing the muffin pans, I did not take pictures of the process. But I did take pictures of the final result. :)

These smelled heavenly as they baked. I think the applesauce + the cinnamon was a factor in that. In this recipe, I only used a little cinnamon and nutmeg because we are not big spice fans in our house. But you can use as much or as little as you like.

| applesauce muffins |

[via taste of home]

1 cup butter, softened
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups applesauce
4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 cup chopped walnuts, optional
Cinnamon-sugar, optional

Directions

In a bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add eggs and vanilla; mix well. Stir in applesauce. Combine the flour, baking soda and spices; stir into creamed mixture. Fold in nuts.
Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups three-fourths full. Bake at 350° for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks. Sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar if desired. Yield: about 2 dozen.

Enjoy! (And thus ends my first food post. Boom.)

life + fall

2011-09-09T19:27:00.002-04:00

Why hello there.

It's officially fall. Okay, not officially. But when school starts my brain takes that and says FALL. (kinda like in UP where the dog says "squirrel!" that's my brain and fall.)

I love the fall. In thinking of all of my favorite things that have to do with this season, pumpkin bread, tea, apple cider, and cozy blankets came up on the list.

And I have decided that every weekend during the fall, I will do some sort of fallish project or create/take pictures of with a fall theme. So tomorrow will be applesauce muffins (and my first food post! joy!) We'll see how this goes.

I have a few shoots planned and I am excited. Photography is one of those things that gets better as you do it longer and it's definitely looking awesome to me right now.

So this is basically to say that I love fall and I didn't fall off the face of the earth (school started that's what). Thank you and that's all.

it's that time! [maryland lifestyle photography]

2011-08-25T11:37:00.000-04:00

Someone was recently asking me about continuing in wedding photography after I graduate. While that is my plan, I can't leave families and children behind. For the first two years of my business, I focused solely on those and I LOVE. IT. Only recently has my passion for weddings started to come out but I could never forget about my lifestyle portraits. I love capturing that emotion and realness of family life.

It's the end of August and that means that "Christmas card" season has started. Before I started this adventure in photography, I thought to myself, "Starting pictures in September? Why? You have four whole months to do it!"

Actually, you don't. (dun dun dun daaaa) Come November, it becomes cold and the leaves are all gone off the trees. So September and October are the best times to take pictures. Warm breezes, green grass, golden leaves, sounds lovely doesn't it?

For $100 you get a ONE HOUR session, lots of fun, and images to be hung on your wall, or put in your Christmas cards.

So my 2011 SESSIONS are open! If you are interested please contact me at: elliebephotography[at]gmail[dot]com.

Can't wait. I am already giddy with excitement.

Bye for Now

2011-08-17T14:52:00.001-04:00

Every year the youth ministry at my church goes away for four days and spends time in God's Word, plays games, and grows together as a group. It is the highlight of my year.

So that's where I'll be for a few days. No email, facebook, blogging, nothing. It will be wonderful. See you all on the other side. I'll have pictures and stories. :)

ashley [maryland portraits]

2011-08-13T09:29:00.000-04:00

I got a facebook message from Ashley three days before we did this shoot. We like to plan fast. She needed some recent pictures of herself and was wondering, could I take some? Um, yes. I'd love to.

Is she not beautiful.

[this is my 300th post by the way. how exciting!]

a winner [giveaway]

2011-08-08T07:00:00.000-04:00

We have a winner. But first...

I love giveaways. They are so fun. Thank you to everyone who commented because really, it wouldn't happen without you (there I go again, stating the obvious). I only wish I could give everyone a giftcard! But alas, there can only be one winner. And that person is...

Natalie!!!

Random.org (what an amazing gift. wow.) picked #12 and that was her comment. Congratulations and your giftcard will be along shortly. :)

Thanks again to all who entered. It was fun! Also, if you haven't checked out the facebook page, please do. It is also superbulous. I like making up new words.

the celebration continues! [personal]

2011-08-06T20:01:00.000-04:00

Guess what. (I can hear a collective "what?") I made a Facebook page for my business! I guess it's kind of like a birthday present to my website (yes I am still stuck on that fact.) So please go ahead and like the page and you will get special previews, information and all sorts of other things that aren't planned yet! :)

Plus it's just cool to hit the "like" button. You know how it goes.

The link is right up there on the link-bar. It's a good place for it next to the website and laughter project links. :) Thanks everybody!

zach is 1 [maryland children photography]

2011-08-04T09:11:00.000-04:00

I told this little boy's mom that he was one of the easiest babies I have ever photographed. And I should know because I've photographed him now four times. (Check it here here and here.) It was such fun shooting this little guy a few times over the course of his first year. Watching him grow and learn and taking pictures of those changes was wonderful.

Yay for cute kids and chalkboards. :)

[giveaway is still going on! comment, facebook, or tweet if you so desire. :)]

happy birthday.

2011-08-01T22:45:00.001-04:00

Well hello there little website you. Happy 1st birthday.

On August 1, 2010, I launched www.elliebphotos.com. It was a cute little thing and I personally still think it is. But it has grown up some. In honor of my website's birthday (is it weird that I am stressing that so much?) I wanted to have a giveaway. Like a birthday present from me to you for my website's birthday (okay that's odd). How about a $10 Amazon giftcard?

To enter: comment on this post. Or put it on facebook and let me know with another comment. Or tweet about it and leave me yet another comment. You have three ways to win, yahoo!!

Over the past year, all of you, the people who read my blog, have been such great supporters of what I do. Thank you, thank you, thank you so much. I love you all. :)

Good night.

p.s. The giveaway ends Sunday August 7. (I was going to add 2011 but that's just weird. What other year would it be?) Hurry and enter! There's a better chance of you winning if you enter. You can thank me later for stating the obvious.

p.p.s. if you start following my blog as of NOW. you can also get an entry ;)

reading and other such wonderfulness.

2011-07-26T19:48:00.000-04:00

I was the girl who could finish two Nancy Drew's in a day and read through four biographies in a weekend. I literally ate books. Every night, my parents encouraged me to read for a while before falling asleep. Over the last year or so, I slowed down in this habit (not sure why) but because I have been sick lately, I picked it up again with a book called Christy, by Catherine Marshall. NEWS FLASH: why did I stop reading so much?

My mom loves reading. I love reading. It's a rich heritage that has been passed down. I love books, especially picking up a new one, opening it up to the first page and smelling that fresh smell of ink and paper. It's a treasure.

Ever since I can remember my wonderful aunt (who happens to love reading as well) has given my siblings and myself a new book every year for Christmas. She writes little notes in front, we have come to call the books she gives us "Aunt Emily books." She has introduced me to books like The Phantom Tollbooth, The Yearling, and To Kill A Mockingbird, which now happily reside on my favorite book list. Last year she got me a book about a photojournalist during the Depression. The photographs are rich with history and are beautifully captured. When pictures and words come together to build something so inspiring it's wonderful.

The next book on my list is The Return of the King by J.R.R. Tolkien. I have read the first two in the trilogy and I've heard that the author saved the best for last. :) What is on your reading list these days? Any good book suggestions or titles you've enjoyed?

here in the north.

2011-07-21T20:12:00.001-04:00

So I feel like I haven't been here in a long time.

Hi there! :)

I have some fun weddings and other cool stuff planned so this is just a little stop to say that a new wedding is on my website!!! Check it. Angel and Lindsay are a wonderful couple. So fun and adorable!

On another note, my summer has been marvelous (i love. that word.) It's been less humid than normal here in unpredictable Maryland so that makes this camper happy. (A shoutout to Anna because she lives in HOT Oklahoma. And giiirrrl how do you do it.)

In all seriousness I love the South. Like everything about it and it is my life goal to live down there for a few months. So yeah.

Hope your summer is going marvelously (ahh!) as well! What fun things have you been up to?

one flag [personal]

2011-07-04T17:27:00.000-04:00

"They missed us. THEY MISSED US." "Well, they probably just skipped over our house by accident." "We are in the middle of the neighborhood. Please tell me how they could have skipped us."

Until now I had no idea that the lack of a small cloth American flag stuck haphazardly into the soft dirt by our mailbox would cause such a ruckus. Every year, a few weeks before July 4th, some people (I actually have never seen them so it could be Independence Day fairies for all I know) put a flag in each person's yard. It's kind of a comforting sight, reminding us daily of the holiday approaching, of the reason we have freedom in this country.

But when you don't have one, it makes for a disoriented holiday season, at least in my family. Thankfully, that's not what July 4th is about, because if we didn't celebrate because of a flag, that means we would skip the fireworks. NOT COOL.

Our freedom as a country is amazing. God's GRACE is amazing. I am proud to be an American and I thank God for the privileges I enjoy every day especially the freedom to worship my Savior freely.

So enjoy your holiday, and if you didn't get a flag either, I'm sorry. We don't have one to give you.

summer celebration [the behind the scenes part]

2011-06-29T07:00:00.001-04:00

Last week, I was a photographer at our church's kids camp. It was amazing and fun and wonderful. I captured some wonderful pictures of the kids. Cute, funny, enthusiastic children. Running around being chased with water and also worshiping their little hearts out. But we [being the photographers] also captured some behind the scenes pictures of us. And to be completely honest, they are my favorite. There is something so special about sharing photography with others and being on this AWESOME TEAM for a week, three hours a day made my week spectacular. It was really wonderful.

Natalie & Nicki. These girls are so funny and amazing photographers. Definitely have a modeling career in their future, right girls? :)

All artwork by Natalie. Maaan that girl can draw. :)

This was our balloon that we all signed. I'm not sure it had a name. But it was definitely cute... until I popped it by accident. Um, oops.

Another photographer, Elisabeth drew this on Natalie. So cute.

She is awesome. End. Of. Story. Exclamation Point.

These are cute little posts I'm doing. A nice summer-y break. :)

life these days. [phone edition]

2011-06-28T20:14:00.000-04:00

Sometimes life just has random things that make you happy. Here's to those moments captured on my phone [which explains the completely all-over-the-map white balance and blurriness. ah well.] and for the little moments in YOUR life.

I had Cheesecake Factory for the first time this week. It was amazing, and yes. That is the 1600 calorie piece of cheesecake. Don't judge me.

This made my day when I saw this at Hallmark. Isn't it cute? I want to be outrageously happy when I grow up. :)

A perfectly healthy salad [to balance the 1600 calories of cheesecake I inhaled on Sunday]. It was very yummy.

Jude likes to play on my phone and I found this as a label for an alarm. I'm guessing it has a secret 16 month year old meaning?

And in the good news arena [like that all up there wasn't good news. psh.] it looks like my pictures can be recovered. Thank you for all of your support and encouragements and "I hope you can get them back!" messages. :)

update [personal]

2011-06-27T08:40:00.000-04:00

Well I feel like it's been a long time since I posted.

Oh wait, that's because it has. :)

There are a few things that relate to you all that I need to update on. So here goes.

1. THE LAUGHTER PROJECT.

Remember this? Well it's still going except it's on hold for a few weeks. (The next item will explain) I am still planning on doing a few more sessions and completing the book. Thank you all for your kind words of support. Can't believe it started almost 6 months ago.

2. MY HARD DRIVE.

It crashed to put it bluntly. So all of those pictures that I have taken are gone, hopefully momentarily. I am Lord willing going to send it away to be recovered or something. ANYTHING. So, that also means that all of the Laughter Project pictures I have taken so far are gone too. Hence the waiting.

3. MY NEW PRICES

I changed portrait sessions to $100 and weddings to $500 for starting prices. Simply put, I wanted to solidify my business a little bit and Kristen talked to us about pricing and I thought this was a good thing to do. Email me for a complete price list. :)

So that's it folks. Have a wonderful week.

k + s [maryland senior photography]

2011-06-17T16:38:00.000-04:00

The wet, hazy days of April were continuing. Driving around Damascus looking for a field that wasn't wet and didn't have long grass wasn't as easy as it sounded. The clouds covered the sun which also didn't make the day very promising. I started to get nervous (what's that you say? photographers aren't supposed to get nervous? oh, whoops). These two girls however, were happy as clams driving and walking throughout the city. They thought they knew of a place so we stopped there. It was a corn field that wasn't wet and did not have long grass covering the surface. SCORE. We headed over the field and the sun peeked out of it's hiding place. I silently thanked God for the beautiful day it was turning out to be as I shot away. Kendall and Shannon are beautiful girls: inside and out. They have been friends since kindergarten (cuuute!!) and definitely rocked out these pictures together. Girls, thanks so much for letting me do this for you. Congratulations on graduating!!

Kendall.

Shannon.

Aaaaand finish up with a fun one.

new and improved

2011-06-08T20:26:00.000-04:00

This is my bedroom. Thought I would give you a little peek into what I see when I wake up in the morning. ;) And I took these pictures when it was clean so please don't be impressed with the tidy desk and the made bed. Definitely happens every day. NOT.

The photo collage above my bed is my absolute favorite thing about my room. It was so easy, I might post a tutorial some time because it makes my day waking up to my family and friend's faces. You can update the pictures too which is fun.

Changing the subject [I hate to do this when I talk. Oh well, here it goes.] Go check out the about me page. It's new and improved and it explains why I changed my business name from "Ellie B Photography" to "Ellie Be Photography."

Have a great weekend and enjoy your family and friends and the other amazing people in your life. :)

summer [personal]

2011-06-08T07:00:00.004-04:00

Ah the warm air, the grill going, the sunshiney days, the freedom from school, the chance to relax. Summer is wonderful, definitely my favorite season. My summer has already been filled with exciting things. Can't wait for the rest of it!

Summer is for the beach. And film pictures.

Summer is for hammock swings and barefeet and everything else wonderful about this picture. :)

Summer is for beautiful natural light streaming into your bedroom.

Summer is for friends, and scooter rides.

Summer is for running through parking lots at 3am in the morning. (This was on our trip down to FL. Yes, we are insane.)

Summer is for views like this.

Summer is for sandy legs, the ocean, seaweed, and little boys who love the beach.

So tell me, how's YOUR summer been so far? And what exciting things do you have planned?

ps. I added the followers bar to the bottom of my blog. If you don't already follow me, I'd love if you could do that! No pressure of course. THANK YOU for reading my blog. :)

the brewer kids [maryland children photography]

2011-06-07T07:00:00.002-04:00

It was a hot one. For spring in Maryland, that's rare but I was glad it wasn't freezing like it sometimes is. I met up with these darling kiddos at Glen Echo which was an amazing location. They just made it look even better.

Love the purse, love the chucks.

Aren't they cute? I'll answer that. YES.

This next one just makes me happy. They are so adorable.

I love this next one. Rocking it out on stage. :)

flor-eeee-da [personal]

2011-06-06T09:48:00.000-04:00

10:30pm. In the car, checking off our last day for our vacation to Sanibel Island. We started to drive. We drove through Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and lots of Florida. Yes, that's 19 hours y'all.

We arrived at the beautiful island the next day. Tired, and extremely ready to see the salty water and white sand, we ran from the car with our bags and into our condo. As we walked through the house, I caught a glimpse of our view from the back porch. Gasp, the ocean. Through palm trees I could catch a view of the horizon. The blue water looked so inviting. We quickly applied sunscreen and put on our bathing suits and ran to the beach. Across the cobblestone pathway and over the grass, we arrived. We all stopped. It was so beautiful. No waves, just the gentle breeze. Shells scattered the white sand and complimented the beautiful trees. It was amazing. And it made me grateful for my camera.

Three days later, I pulled out my camera to take a picture and the focus didn't work. I tried again, fiddled with a few settings and again, it wouldn't focus.

So I only took a few pictures in Florida. And I'm going to go take my camera into a shop to see what they say about it. Hopefully it can be fixed soon.

Pretzel flats + fire [funshop]

2011-05-27T19:50:00.000-04:00

We all laughed at Anna's blog, Rachel's photo booth, and my obsession with late night math. We stayed up late watching movies and eating pretzel flats. I moved the American Army, Rachel took videos of everything, and Anna had a 3 hour long phone call. We walked through stores like soldiers, bought $5 shirts, made a video acting like our wonderful hostess, and typed like madmen on our computers (I had a system. Because I am just like that.)

Kristen watched. And stamped on umbrellas. No bigs.

Those three girls made my life so much happier. I've known Kristen for a long time but Anna and Rachel were so awesome to meet and hang out with. It's like long lost buddies reunite. That's us. So here's to us. Go check out their photography blogs after reading these little blurbs about them.

photo by rachel :)

Anna is like a firecracker from Oklahoma. She has REAL COWGIRL BOOTS. I almost died and went to heaven. She has an awesome family of 15 people that you could totally tell were the center of her life. (and they still are. but I was using past tense because the funshop was in the PAST. okay.)

We have talked since the Funshop a lot (hurrayyy for texting!) and I have gotten to see her sweet and spunky sides come out. She is just crazy amazing and wonderful.

Rachel, I had the pleasure of emailing before the Funshop even started which was AWESOME. We got there and just hit it off right away. She is so crazy and has an awesome sense of humor to boot. She was the one that kept us going (of the three interns) with her common sense.

Anna: "Yeah fire is great."

Me: "The burning kind? Orrr."

Rachel: "GUYS. There is only one kind of fire."

Yeah.

She is godly and wonderful and I love her. We talked on the phone a few nights ago sharing our stories of the past month and it was wonderful. I miss this girl. A. Lot.

So go read their blogs. And comment. And say HI.

zach [maryland children photography]

2011-05-17T15:27:00.000-04:00

This little boy melted my heart. He was woken up from his nap to have this session and I was a bit nervous. Because you know, no naps = fussy kiddos

I was surprised. He was a little grumpy looking when we first started and then warmed up to the camera. And it was amazing.

This kid was crazy cute. He pretty much did whatever we made him do. Another bonus.

And I'm finally back to blogging! Whew and I have so many sessions to post. Like 5 or something. Be excited. :)

phone pics [personal]

2011-05-04T19:13:00.001-04:00

I have so many sessions to post. But, I thought that I would post first (It's not procrastination. Honestly.) some personal pictures that I've taken with my phone and edited with this super cool phone app ShakeItPhoto. Enjoy :)

izze

spanish buddayyys! :)

hanging with some cool middleschoolers at a baseball game. oh yeah.

the cutest boy besides jude. a-dorable.

me and hannah. [or i should say, hannah and i :p] anyway, this is from the youth banquet at our church.

me and my sistaas. love them so much.

just yum.

some amazing friends. :)

izze. again. haha :D

anna and i. my fellow intern. we are so cool.

my early morning-advanced math face. this is for posterity. alone.

aaaand the cutest restaurant: beans in the belfry.

it's a scrabble tile. [personal]

2011-04-24T20:01:00.001-04:00

These are not edited or watermarked. But I needed to post about my beautiful "W" necklace as I like to call it. My friend gave it to me and it's made out of a SCRABBLE TILE. How cool is that?

That's my random Sunday thought. Enjoy. :D

mk [maryland children photography]

2011-04-23T09:11:00.000-04:00

This girl has so much energy. I love it.

She made a tent out of the blanket and then I said, "Okay! When I say three, pop out of your tent!"

Pop! :)

Wow. Those eyes kill me. So pretty.

charles spurgeon [personal]

2011-04-22T13:12:00.001-04:00

Death is no longer a banishment, it is a return from exile, a going home.

What a great truth to remember as we celebrate Good Friday and Easter this weekend.

hoffman family [gaithersburg family photographer]

2011-04-20T17:00:00.000-04:00

This family is amazing. We met them recently, but already we have become really good friends. They are giving, and kind and they all love the Lord so much.

And they are funny. That's good.

Jen and Christine are so sweet. I love them both.

The parents.

One of my favorites from the day. They are such a beautiful family, sheesh!

adam&becca [mt. airy photography]

2011-04-19T18:45:00.002-04:00

Adam and Becca are two very cute lovebirds. And they are pretty crazy.

I was going to write a lot of text with this, but I think I'm going to keep it simplistic. Because they are that cute.

I absolutely love the light in these next two.

A little blur... mm love.

This is definitely a favorite. Most definitely.

And one more. So funny.

Thank you to everyone who said kind words about my blog. I love it too :D

new blog design!

2011-04-18T11:12:00.002-04:00

Comment and tell me what y'all think! I'll be explaining more why I changed it later :D

megan & natalie

2011-04-17T21:11:00.000-04:00

These two girls were our lovely models yesterday. They are so beautiful and fun.

I told them to stand in front of the bell and just dance and have fun. They pretty much nailed it.

Megan.

Natalie.

funshop: day one

2011-04-16T14:18:00.000-04:00

"She's giving us weird looks!"

"Let her look, we want to dance!"

Today started at 10am. With me carrying my equipment (it legit looked like I was moving the American Army) up to Kristen's apartment. I had my backpack, duffel bag, iMac (this is not a laptop and it's not light) and shootsac. I met the two delightful girls that I am interning with, Anna and Rachel, and we hit off immediately. Which was good.

We started talking about our brands and who we are. We filled out questionnaires about what we liked, what we wanted to be, etc. Then, we picked three words that described our personalities. I picked "fun, yellow, and passionate." Yellow is my favorite color but the characteristics that supposedly come with that are strikingly like my own. So it's cool. :)

We had lunch made by our lovely hostess and maaaan can she cook. It was good.

After lunch, we talked a bit more and then ran off to our shoot with janet + audrey. it was 1:30, sun was shining, and the environment was a bit hard to work with but it was SO GOOD. they were so cooperative and I loved shooting them.

Aaaafter the shoot (I feel like an obituary writer. It's so thisandthat. Oh well.) we came home and looked through everyone's pictures and comment, encouraging, and giving critiques. THAT was helpful. We then proceeded to talk about the couple shoot we will be doing on Monday. We each get our own couple and we get to style it as well. So, we did that which was awesome. I'm not going to tell you ANYTHING until after the shoot :)

and we went to chipotle! i got a burrito bowl which was so yum.

then we went skipping down the street acting wonderfully crazy. :) aaand then we got pedicures. best surprise of my life.

Then we watched "Return to Me" (soooo cute) and went to bed. So that's the first day. And the second day is going strong. Update tomorrow :D

those three. :)

2011-04-15T22:38:00.000-04:00

so today was pretty much the best first day of any funshop that will ever happen ever.

and i will post a more detailed recap but my ASSIGNMENT [psh it's photography. so it's not like i can't stand assignments. i l-o-v-e these in fact.] is to post three pictures from today's session that sum up my brand. more details about this later, but my three words i picked are "fun, yellow, and passionate" to sum up me and my business/brand. so here are the pictures and like i said a detailed recap will be coming later :D

fun

passionate

yellow [ i will expand on this :D]

so yep. more fuuun coming later. and details about the two super cute interns that i am with. um psh yes.

think of now.

2011-04-14T21:50:00.000-04:00

Think of now as the changing point in my blog. New font, new look (soon to come) I'm pretty much starting over. Why?

Wellll I'm the kind of person that jumps into things. Fast. Like a race car. So when I did my website last year, I took my time. Sloooowly I picked my colors and stuff for my blog + website. And I liked it. Truly and really. I did. But, now every time I pull up my blog I'm dissatisfied. It's too "dark" with the grey and the orange doesn't hit a bell with me anymore. (I def made up a catch phrase there. Preeeetty sure.)

So, this weekend, while I am at Kristen's cute-o apartment, I am going to shift things up a little bit. Some new colors (esp. incorporating my FAV color which happens to be yellow) and some new logos and branding etc. Some new pictures and other fun stuff. And guess what folks. I'm going to take at least 6 months to decide what I am going to do for sure. I want to really love it. I want to open up my blog and website and SQUEAL with delight. And I want you to love it. But I really would like it to reflect my photography and what my business is all about.

Which I don't exactly know yet. That's why I'm going to figure it out this weekend. Boom baby. And in case you were wondering, the picture of Jude has nothing to do with the content of this post. It's completely included because he is the most adorable boy on the planet.

So, I hope to post daily updates on the funshop and its fun. Stay tuned.

spring time [personal]

2011-04-13T16:49:00.000-04:00

spring time the only pretty ring time

birds sing hey ding

sweet lovers love

the spring

willy wonka - willy wonka and the chocolate factory

i absolutely love the spring. that's when the warm weather comes and ice cream shops open and the cherry trees bloom.

school ends and flip flops come out and my birthday comes. :)

honestly, the fact that i have two more weeks of highschool math left thrills me. and four weeks of junior year left. say whaaat? love it. loooove it.

this weekend i will be at i'm kristen's funshop along with three other lovely ladies that i don't exactly know yet. but it will be wonderful and there will be many pictures. [plus i still need to post a family session!]

thanks for looking :D

ellie

i found this gem

2011-04-11T19:47:00.000-04:00

when i uploaded the pictures from my new camera. i. love. it.

news [personal]

2011-04-11T16:41:00.002-04:00

i share big news on here. and i thought this was big news enough to put on my blog. especially since it directly affects my photography. :D

i got a canon 5D and i love it. pictures of and with my new friend will be up shortly. :D :D

seventeen.

2011-04-06T15:51:00.000-04:00

today is my seventeenth birthday. and i spent it all at school. our church has this "homeschool academy" called mci that i attend on mondays and wednesdays.

but it was really fun. my friends made me a birthday hulaskirt with streamers and everyone sang to me at lunch (which was kind of uncomfortable. 200 people singing happy birthday to you. and looking at you. haha not my thing. but it was very nice of them to do so. :D)

and now i am home with my family (my favorite place to be!) and the girls decorated my room with streamers and "happy birthday" signs. and we are going to have cake later.

so it's been a good one. people keep telling me that i am so OLD. haha. :)

thanks to everyone who wished me a happy birthday via voice, email, or gmail status. love you guys! i have the best friends ever.

yasmeen + elise [senior photography]

2011-04-04T21:36:00.000-04:00

when you have those friends that you grow up and graduate with, it makes high school amazing.

these two girls light up any room they are in. their friendship is so wonderful.

elise. she's a runner, verse memorizer, and she is brilliantly artistic. she loves the Lord and genuinely cares for people. she also loves to pray which gives you a deeper desire to do so too. her laugh is amazing as well. :)

yasmeen. what can i say. we did drivers ed together and that's enough. haha :D i love this girl from the bottom of my heart. we have so many jokes and memories. she is so humble. ALWAYS ready to share what is going on her life and ask for prayer.

we hopped over to jimmie cone and got some icecream. it was most fun ordering and then coming back for mine and then coming back for a spoon. :)

they are so beautiful.

i mean come on. they can make a green wall, air conditioning unit, and a red awning look good.

girls it was SO MUCH FUN to park at the horse riding farm, and traipse across muddy fields and creeks. thanks for the ice cream. :) [by the way, i take the pictures of the best people.]

yasmeen + elise [senior photography sneak peek]

2011-04-03T20:43:00.000-04:00

it involved ice cream.

this week's winner is...

2011-04-02T07:00:00.001-04:00

as selected by "random.org"

carrie!

our last winner of this contest. thanks to all who entered. i think i should do these more often. ;)

and yes, my 17th birthday is in four days. and yes, there will be a post. :D

this week's winner is...

2011-03-26T07:00:00.000-04:00

bekah!

yayyyy! your $5 amazon giftcard is onnn it's way. :D

sneak peek: justin and brittany

2011-03-19T22:41:00.000-04:00

my favorite shot. more coming.

this week's winner is...

2011-03-19T07:00:00.000-04:00

sarah elaine!

congrats! your $5 amazon gift card will be on its way shortly. :)

i have a sister...

2011-03-16T21:01:00.000-04:00

who is turning 14 in a day. and is amazing. and also has a blog.

so free publicity here: go check out her blog. like do it. because she is posting every week stuff she is learning about God. and she's pretty cool in general. and maybe leave her comment saying hi or happy birthday? because i'm sure she would appreciate it. :D

rejoicealwaysblog.blogspot.com

thanks everyone.

ellie