sister session [virginia portrait photographer]

i've been going to church with these gals for ages - we've grown up together. through christmas-play-line-memorization to singing church specials and dancing around as "Darrell the Barrel" we've done it all.

danielle, truly my go-to-partner-in-crime during sunday school/choir practice/VBS/youth group completely understands how spastic and off the wall i am (and for that, i cannot thank her enough)

becca just tends to look at me like i have four heads, but is a well-rounded beauty with a heart big enough for her HUGE family (there's lots of them ya'll).

but for now, i give you: those Lambert girls ;) just to give you a little background knowledge: it was COLD, dreary, and drizzling during this shoot, but these ladies are troopers and handled it like champs

i had to keep myself from making every single one of these black and white, there's something about these that makes my heart happy!

oh becca :) laughing at my antics (i'm ok with it)

purdy thang you

classic:

this is my 'i'm a cute cheerleader' laugh

WIN. thanks for thinking of this location danielle!

i. love. this.

becca wasn't too keen on being in the middle of the road, she was worried about cars coming up from behind them... no cars in sight darlin ;)

lord help the mister who comes between me and my sister <3 

ya'll come back now, ya hear?!

kristen | hampton roads backyard portrait photographer | caitlin elizabeth photography

pop-pop lets kristen and me go through the revolving doors of the bank first, each of us holding scarves tied around $5 worth of pennies.  we are eager to cash in our earnings, and when we hear his loafers squeak onto the marble tiles we each hurridly take a hand and walk to the teller window.  she has our suckers ready - kristen gets yellow and i green, but before she lets kristen slip hers from the counter she asks from behind the golden bars:

'darlin, where'd you get that set of curls?'

my sister quickly quips: 'JC Penny's' and slides her sugary confection from the counter-top.

no, she didn't really get her beautiful hair from Penny's (she had gotten a hair cut that day at the salon though), but she did have quite a head of hair.  thankfully she can brush it on her own now and MAN what a STUNNER she has become.

ya'll are in for a REAL treat - not only do you get to feast your eyes on some gorgeousness (seriously, this chica is breathtaking) but you get to check out my madd styling skillz (that's right, styling, hair and make-up by yours truly <--which i feel like is quite an accomplishment, since if it were up to me i would inhabit sweatpants for approximately 100% of my existence).

BUT, before you meander through the following images - know one thing about miss kristen (and this may be the reason i love her the most): 

she has absolutely no idea how beautiful she is.

  

and with that, i give you kristen :) *she is currently taken fellas, but i have an application you can fill out for a chance to be put on the waiting list to be her beau ;)

these were some of the very first images we took - i knew my job was going to be easy!

the top right expression = really caitlin? you're going to have to try MUCH harder if you're going to get me to smile.

challenge. accepted.

all of this super cool old stuff courtesy of grandmama

 told you i could make you laugh :)

i'm in love with these:

ok seriously?! when did you become a model?

aaaannndddd THIS is why i love you. also - go hug mama and daddy right now for those perfectly straight teeth #bitterthatididntgetbraces

so. much. gorgeousness.

i am really feeling like i got the short end of the stick here mama and daddy.  this girl is WORKIN IT

cutie ;)

i was IN LOVE with the light - i took wayyyy too many pictures of her sitting on this quilt

 again - right image = why i am in love with you

 and we'll end with these detail shots - because i LOVE me some details ;) 

i want better [personal]

everyone has these posts.

you know, the ones where i promise to be better about blogging more consistently and spend more time editing personal photos and telling you more about myself.

a year ago (well, slightly over a year ago) i wrote a post exactly like that.  i listed out things that i wanted to accomplish in the year 2011. [it's a joke, but here it is if you want to read it - i've accomplished exactly 2 things from that list... i'll let you try and figure out which two ;) haha] 

but i also wrote another new-years-y blogpost.  i wrote a "letter to me." in it, i told myself that i wanted to read it just before 2012 set in.  [you can check it out here]

boy was that trip down memory lane a somewhat-disheartening-albeit-enlightening experience.

just like my 'list' of things that i wanted to accomplish in 2011, many of the things in my 'letter to me' didn't happen.  i have the same camera.  i don't have a "little black dress that makes me feel invincible."  i didn't move out of virginia.  i still can't walk in heels. and i probably don't really qualify as being cool.

so i failed, right?

nope :)

part of my personal theme (people can have themes, right?) of 2012 is that 'i want better.'  when mama asks me what to expect out of a 9-5 job when i complain about not getting holidays off and not being appreciated for the hard work and effort i put into accomplishing what is expected of me - i tell her 'i expect better.'  when i get feedback from clients letting me know how much they love my images and can't wait to order prints, all i seem to think is 'how can i make it better.'  when someone tells me that it's normal to be struggling with a job search in this economy, i still 'want better.'  when i get down on myself and throw little pity parties for myself and my situation, i want to remember to slap myself in the face and shout 'i am better.'

don't take this the wrong way.  it isn't that i'm not content with what i have.  i am incredibly thankful for what God has given me and am beyond happy with where my life is right now, but it's going to get better.

a lot better.

mostly because through the grace of God an my own tenacity, i'm going to make it that way.

big things are comin folks - i can feel it in my bones. 

happy 2012 ya'll

  

[the goods] albums

i know it's already the 3rd and i haven't even blogged a 'new-years-y' post (you know, the one where i say i'm going to blog 12 days a week and loose 50 lbs...) but i've been DYING to share my first venture into album design.

almost everyone i stalk religiously orders from leather craftsmen (i mean, if it's good enough for katelyn james, jasmine star and abby grace, it's probably way too good for me - but hey, a girl can dream).  so when a father-of-the-bride inquired about an album as a christmas gift i was elated!

and then i realized i was going to have to design an album.

i am by NO MEANS a graphic designer.  and the whole process of designing/ordering those beautiful leather bound albums that i've seen so many of my favorite photographers blog about seemed overwhelming and intimidating.  to the point where i almost broke down into tears. several times. at just the THOUGHT of starting...

but then i put my big girl panties on and figured it out.

thankfully my MORE THAN FABULOUS friends at photojunction and leather craftsmen were SUPER understanding and incredibly helpful (thank you dawn from the LC east coast headquarters, i know my southern accent was somewhat of a language barrier, but you conceded that my pronunciation of '5' - while confusing - is endearing).  photogs: one thing you absolutely cannot skimp on when it comes to finding vendors/products that you like is customer service, and these folks have it ya'll!!

so. this is me. sharing my leather craftsmen obsession with the world.  and let me tell you, they didn't disappoint.  brides and grooms: these albums are an investment, a beautiful way to showcase a day that will forever be remembered as the day that 'you' and 'he' became 'we' - it's worth it, trust me.

first up: what i saw when i unwrapped this gorgeousness from 4 layers of bubble wrap - they don't mess around ;)

and here it is :) in all its glory!!  

the pages are thick, which is AWESOME because it ensures their durability.

quality craftsmanship

and then i packaged it up with some caitlin elizabeth photography flair (handwritten notes are essential - more on that later)