My Totally Rad New Blog

Well it's a little sad because this is my first blog site - with this site I was officially - a Blogger! But, at the same time I am so excited about my new blog and being able to really showcase my images at a larger size and have a new look to showcase my new logo and my new images. OK, so you get the idea - I'm re-energized and ready to take my photography to the next level. All you have to do to stay in touch with my blog is to change your bookmarks and visit my new blog at Mary's New Blog

Once you get there just go ahead and subscribe to my blog and you'll never miss a thing. In fact - once you check out the new digs you will see a promotion for the first 10 subscribers who are clients or may want to be future clients. I hope all of my regular photography friends will go ahead and subscribe as well - that's how we keep in touch and stay motivated!

I am working on getting a link posted on my new blog back to my old blog but I'm still learning my way around and it might take me a few days.

Thanks to everyone who has kept up with me!

Mary

The Emerson Girls

Yesterday I had the pleasure of working with Jennifer again and now that Anne Mitchell is two years old we welcomed her new baby sister - Elizabeth. Note to Mary - little boys think pushing the button on my light meter is a real magic treat - little girls - well they like pink candy! Time for me to stock the candy box again. Here are a few of my favorites.

Hippity - Hoppity

What fun! Expect the unexpected when working with animals and children - as the saying goes. We had so much fun last Saturday though with our Bunny Promo and I don't think I've ever laughed so much or sneezed so much in one day. Note to Mary - take allergy pills before working with live animals. Bun Bun and Jennifer were just awesome to work with though. And how adorable were all the little outfits the kids wore. There is nothing like bringing out the child in a child as when you put them in the presence of such a cute, adorable little furry animal like Bun Bun. We adapted our bunny treats - little bribes for staying on the set - throughout the day and totally got lucky when I brought in the head of lettuce to our set. Just have to say many thanks to everyone who supported my first live bunny promo. And special thanks to those who are already signed up for next Saturday's Blessings promo. These are some of my favorites and funnies from Saturday.

Fundraiser for COMEC

Hey All,

I will be out at the fabulous new childrens boutique, Lily and Frog, tonight from 4 to 8 helping raise some money for COMEC - the Commission on Missing and Exploited Children. Stop by for some great shopping for spring outfits for your next photo session and receive 10% off. Lily and Frog is donating 10% of all sales to COMEC and I am holding a drawing for one free photo session - $125 value. I will donate the $125 to COMEC on behalf of the winner and Candid Creations Photography.

Lily and Frog is located at 4615 Poplar Ave at Perkins Extended in the Laurelwood Collection.

So come shop for a good cause and enjoy appetizers, wine, beer, soft drinks and the great Children's Play Area.

See you there!

Amberlee is Ready for Spring!

I knew my session with Miss Amberlee was going to be fun when she came into the studio all smiles and talking up a storm. I didn't have a clue what she was saying but she came ready to play. There were so many great images but here are just a few of my favs. Enjoy!

Hippity - Hoppity Easter is on it's Way!

I am so excited to finally be able to share some images from my first ever Easter Promotion. Blog readers are getting advance notice so call 901-850-1757 now to reserve your session. March 13th and 14th Bun Bun the Bunny will be visiting the studio to join me in our photo sessions. March 21 and 22nd I will be offering my Blessings photo sessions for a special reduced rate. Here is the card many of you will be receiving in the mail. I'll be sharing more images and out-takes from the session in the next few days.

Lorelei

I had so much fun working with little Miss Lorelei last week. She stayed shy for only a few minutes and then really put on a show for the camera. Who knew that my only request for some great rock n' roll music during the session would come from a 2 year old but she loves it. Here are some of my favs from our little rocker - Lorelei.

Easter Bunny Promotion

I am really excited about my little bunnies coming into the studio and will be sharing more details later but I have lined up two of the most adorable little bunnies for the Candid Creations Easter Bunny Promo on March 5th, 6th, and 7th and can't wait to do my promo shoot this Saturday. I am also excited to be working with the new children's boutique store here in Memphis in the Laurelwood Collections - Lily and Frog to be bringing my clients some exclusive offers and discounts on their awesome clothing selections.

Subscribe to my blog now to be kept in the loop on all of my latest discount offerings and promotions!

Watch for details on the Easter Bunny promo coming early next week!

TTFN

Young Guns at the New Daisy

Ok, these are my guys! Brandon, Tommy, Michael and Brandon of the Young Guns. I had a great time Saturday night out at the New Daisy watching them rock the house and of course I had to try out this new Animoto slideshow website I've been playing with lately. I don't normally get to do a lot of concert photography but these guys are neighbors and friends and I've listened to their music for the past 6 years and watched them go from a garage band to a performance band and I couldn't be happier for them!

Laughing at myself

Today was a slow day because of the snow so I thought it was a great day to tackle some of the more mundane organizational projects I've been wanting to do for a long time. What I didn't realize was how long it had been since I had attempted to do these projects. When I first started over 5 years ago I was diligent about collecting and compiling anything that would help me learn more about photography. So it started with subscribing to every photo magazine out there, then I would rip out articles that taught me something new, they would stay in a big pile until I had time to sort, later I would put those articles into color coded folders by topic ..... that would end up sitting on a shelf. When I got more advanced they moved from folders into a 3 ring binder with tabs preciously placed in sheet protectors. That's why I have to laugh at myself today as I'm going through all these folders and notebooks and looking at the articles. The rapid pace of digital photography and it's associated technology alone has made them outdated - not to mention the fact that some are 3 and 4 years old. I will admit I got a little sentimental remembering those early days and how I had to come up with some system for digesting and organizing all of the new information.

The good news is that as I'm looking through all these articles on color space, resolution, sharpening, pixels, retouching, black and white conversions, tonality and color correction, lighting ratios and I no longer feel overwhelmed - in fact, it makes me realize how very much I focused on the technical aspects of digital photography in those early years. Lately, my focus has shifted more to the artistic side and instead of notebooks on photoshop tutorials - I'm compiling a notebook of images .... images that appeal to me for whatever reason - maybe it's the expression, the camera angle, the colors, the dramatic lighting, the candid nature, and I hope I can learn as much from this notebook as the early ones.

As I move into the next phase of my photography - I have to laugh a little at myself - this is my office and my thoughts in the very messy process of organization ;)

52 Weeks - 52 Images

The people I get to work with.


Cancun, Mexico


I love my new gallery!


The simple things


Hilton Head, SC

This is normally the time of year when I put together my personalized calendar together. Yes, I know January is a little late - but the end of the year usually ends up being so busy for me that I don't seem to be able to find the time. So yesterday I worked on my calendar and decided to go with a great 8x6 calendar from Miller's that allows one image per week - hence, 52 images. In looking back over the past year of images I was able to reflect on some of the changes in my photography, my business, and my personal life. This was the first year that I photographed images for a band, my first year to really get the opportunity to work with models and do more glamour photography, and also my first year to really do a full-fledged senior girl photo session.

2008 was also a great year of travel for me - I was able to travel to San Francisco and Napa Valley, Hilton Head, Jamaica, and Cancun. Some of my favorite images selected for my calendar remind me of the wonderful adventures I was able to share with my family in the past year. I redid my studio and my hallway gallery with images that I love - and really enjoy hearing the comments from my clients as they stop and look at my images. I added a natural light area to my studio, new furniture, and a new sales projection area. I was able to get back into photographing weddings with my sister in Texas and realize that I truly enjoy wedding photography and all that entails.

I have been influenced by the new styles in photography from my good friend Devon Jones, local and well known photographer Allison Rodgers, and the works of Chicago Photographer Audrey Woulard. I started blogging for the first time! I went live with a new website :) And I had the chance to work with more new clients than ever before.

I am so appreciative of all the good things that Candid Creations by Mary Photography has brought into my life. I hope as I work my way through all 52 weeks of this coming year that the images on my calendar remind me of the wonderful people I have been able to meet, the wonderful places I've been, and inspire me to have an even better next 52 weeks.

A Texas Style Wedding

A Beautiful sparkler exit.


I just finished up working with my sister again in College Station, TX for a typical Aggie Wedding. One thing you can expect if photographing a young couple who have recently graduated from Texas A&M is a ton of spirit. And that's exactly what Kimbra and Luke's wedding had so much of - spirit and family love. What can you expect from a typical Aggie wedding? Well ....... cowboy boots, country music at the reception, everyone singing the Aggie War Hymn, a circle of everyone showing off their Aggie rings, a groom's cake with an A&M theme, a welcome Howdy from everyone we met and worked with, and just a great sense of tradition, family, and love. These are some of my favorites - enjoy!

Melissa and Michael

It's been quite a while since I've posted anything on my blog but I'm back from my holiday break and feeling re-energized and ready to have the best year yet in photography. Melissa and Michael's maternity session was my first official session of the year. They were the perfect couple to work with and I loved that they brought new ideas and were so willing to just play. I knew when I saw what I was getting on the camera that I was going to love working with this very photogenic and fun couple. Here is just a sneak peek of some of the awesome images from our session.