Montgomery Bell State Park Engagment Session

Written by Mel McLellan

Marlena and Tim are a great couple! They have been together since high school and still have a wonderful playfulness to their relationship. When we mentioned that the best sessions involve activities you can do together and set the location as their hometown park, they planned an entire evening of things to do all over the grounds. We walked through creekbeds, played on the playground, hung out by the lake, had a picnic under a tree, and ended the evening with pumpkin carving. :) As you can see, they made our job easy -

It was very overcast for most of the evening but the sun broke through just a little for a brief moment...

Leaves on the ground is so overrated - water is in! ;)

I love the way her leg kicks up when she laughs!

and now for the carving of the great pumpkin...

Thanks guys! :)

- Mel

Tea Party at Pinkerton Park

Written by Mel McLellan

This morning we joined Jennifer and Olivia for a tea party in the park. They were so cute together and we had such a great time! Olivia has the most wonderful giggle! :) These are my favorite kind of family portraits! They say so much more about Olivia at 3 and how much Jennifer loves her than anything we could pose would ever say. We simply chose an activity that they like to do together and let it play out before us while we run around shooting. When you plan your portrait session in this way, the kids are so much more relaxed and so are the adults for that matter. Everyone has fun and actually enjoys having family pictures made - imagine that! ;) Here are my favorites from the session...

The setting could not have been more beautiful...

Don't you just love them??

That wonderful giggle! :)

Of course we take some looking at the camera too -

This one is my absolute favorite! I love it - I see beautiful imagery every day and this one is such a beautiful moment that it makes me want to cry!

Jen - thank you so much for letting us share in yours and Olivia's lives! She is such a little doll and we can't wait to have you both over to see the rest!

- Mel

Travellers Rest Engagement Session – Emily and Johnny

Written by Mel McLellan

Emily and Johnny are getting married in December and they are the cutest couple! We met up with them at Travellers Rest in Nashville yesterday for their engagement session. They are both so upbeat and after working with them yesterday, we're really looking forward to their wedding!

There were all of these little pumpkins laying around from a kids festival they had at the plantation earlier in the day. We thought we'd have them lay on them while I climbed a tree to get this. :)

Then they climbed a tree...

We've learned some new tricks over the past couple of days so of course they got completely overused during this session - it sure is pretty though!

It's been a pretty rainy dull week around here so we were so excited when the sun came out in just the most perfect way a couple of hours before the shoot. It complimented the autumn leaves so beautifully!

and then back to the cool new trick again. This is my favorite!

Thanks for joining us Emily and Johnny! Have a great weekend everyone!

- Mel