Mt. Juliet portrait photography

Golden Sun Mini Sessions

September 10, 2013

Fall mini sessions are here! These sessions are limited to 45 minutes Monday through Friday only between now and December 6, 2013. The cost of $165 includes tax and 5 digital images loaded onto a CD or USB drive. You can choose morning or evening to catch the sun lower in the sky during it’s most golden hours. This will give your photos that beautiful warm glow that cannot be reproduced by any photoshop magic. Fall mini sessions are perfect for holiday cards, and time slots will fill up fast. Email me soon to reserve your spot! melaniegphoto@gmail.com.

FallMini2013WEB

by MelanieG

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Finally! Photos Of Their Own

February 20, 2013

My aunt and uncle have not had professional pictures made of themselves since they were married. WHAT? I could not believe it when they told me. Along with my mother, these two used to be the ones taking all the family pictures. I guess it’s true that the photographers rarely get pictures of themselves. I remember old black and white film in a Nikon and a lens in my face. Uncle Marc is especially good at getting a candid shot when you don’t expect it. Some find that annoying, but now I am right beside him grabbing those slices of life. They have also been an example of servanthood for me. Marc and Trudy have entertained me since I was small, and they have continued to love and support me throughout my life. I cannot count how many times I have called my aunt for medical advice and support. (It’s nice to have a medical doctor for an aunt). She is my mother when my mother is not available, and sometimes, my mother just tells me to call Trudy. I am so glad to finally be able to do something for them. A photo session of their own? My pleasure!

by MelanieG

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Picture Perfect Love

February 14, 2013

These are the Holkers, a strong Army man and his beautiful family. Picture perfect, right? When this family stepped out of the car, my heart leapt with excitement and I let out a cheer. They were gorgeous! I knew that if I could just trick these little ones into pausing briefly in front of the camera, we would get some great images. Laura was genius when she suggested an urban shoot in the heart of Nashville. There are so many different colors and textures downtown and she dressed the family in fun, bright tones. We ran around and snapped pictures while peeking in all the honkey-tonks. The kids were so excited to get a close-up look at the Nashville Star train. We ended the session with a stop at the candy store. It was a beautiful afternoon, and we had a great time together.

When their proofing gallery was completed, Laura sent me an emotional message. “I have to tell you, too. These pictures mean so much more to us than you’ll ever know.” She went on to say that her husband had just returned from his 3rd deployment (two to Iraq, one to Afghanistan), and this one had been especially rough. War, distance, and time apart can take a toll on a family and relationships. Love binds us together, but life’s circumstances sometimes fray the cord.

We all dream of picture-perfect love. But if we are honest, the real picture of love is a little worn around the edges, stained with a few tears, and wrinkled from our unyielding grip when life tries to pull it away. That is what love really looks like and it is beautiful picture.

1 Peter 4:8
Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.

by MelanieG

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Fun With your Christmas Lights

December 24, 2012

Soon, very soon, the party will be over. All the presents will be opened, and you will sit in the peace that is Christmas Day evening. What to do? You spent a lot of time on those decorations, so have a little fun with the lights before you rip them down. If you own a DSLR camera or any camera that will allow manual focusing or adjustments to shutter speed, you can create some really cool photos. The trick to getting that nice bokeh (out of focus balls of light) in the background is for the Christmas lights to be completely out of focus.

This is my Christmas tree completely out of focus.

Notice that as the tree gets more and more out of focus, the bokeh becomes larger.

“That’s great”, you say, “but why do I care about a blurry Christmas tree photo?” Stick with me here. Now place a loved one in front of the Christmas tree. Bring them forward farther than you normally would so that there is a greater distance between the subject and the lights of the tree.

Place the subject farther away from the tree and closer to the camera so that the lights become beautiful bokeh instead of a perfectly focused light strand.

This is a simple snapshot of my daughter and a friend at Opryland Hotel. They are not right next to the trees but out in front of them.

This photo shows how the lights right next to the subject are perfectly visible as a strand of lights while the wrapped tree in the background is more magical.

NOW! On to fun with a slow shutter speed! If you are less familiar with manual settings on your DSLR camera, place it in “s” for shutter priority. Bring the shutter speed down to 1 second. This is VERY slow. The shutter will be open for one full second. Most of the time if you are shooting outside, the camera may be working at 1/2000 of a second or faster. Point the camera in the direction of some lights. It doesn’t matter now whether they are in focus or not. Press the shutter button and move the camera. The results are so much fun!

In this photo, my tree is out of focus, the shutter is set at 1 second, and I moved the camera in a circle.

The tree was in focus this time, but the shutter speed remained at 1 second. I love this one!

Same settings here, but I moved the camera in a more zig-zag motion. Super fun!

I hope this inspires you as you take a last look at your holiday lights. Grab your kids. Get the camera. Take some soothing bokeh photos to remember your 2012 Christmas and some fun disco light photos in honor of 2013.

Happy Holidays!

by MelanieG

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Christmas Traditions

December 22, 2012

My family rocks. “I know”, you say. No, really. My family is amazing. Everyone should be blessed with crazy lovely people such as these. Yes, we fight and disagree. No, we don’t all attend the same church (or even all go to church) or vote for the same party. It’s not always pretty. We’re not perfect. We know we’re ALL a little nut-so. (except me, of course) But when it’s Christmas time, we put all our differences and disagreements aside and party. Plain old fun and lots of food. This happens on both my mother’s side and my father’s side. How cool is that? We get together and eat until we cannot eat anymore, then we smash together for a photo, play Dirty Santa (sometimes called White Elephant), and let the kids open real presents. Before we say goodnight we eat lots of desserts featuring my mother’s scratch red and green velvet cake with scratch whipped icing. The Dirty Santa game is a new tradition, and it has just added another layer of laughter and fun to our parties. I highly recommend this game. We let the kids play too, and yes, we will steal from the kids. They have to learn it’s war for the best junk. Christmas can be so very stressful, and family time can be difficult. Start a new tradition of love and tolerance for one another. Show your family and friends that you will support them through the good and the bad. My family is crazy and I am too, but I know that they are there for me. We are never alone when we give love to each other. Isn’t that what He came to show us? Isn’t that the point of life?

1 Corinthians 13:4-8

New International Version (NIV)

⁴Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.⁸Love never fails.