Our Year in Review

Farewell to 2013...

I am looking forward to 2014 and all it has to offer. During this new year we will be making a few changes. While we love and families and are still taking family sessions we will be scaling back to focus on seniors. We will also be offering V-logs with lots of helpful tips on a wide range of topics as well as some behind the scenes videos.

So keep reading the blog to find out what the new year holds. I truly appreciate all the support and wouldn't be where I am today with out you. Happy New Year from Leigh's Lotus Photography!

Project 10 Blog Circle - Post 4 {Prattville AL}

Here is the fourth in the Project 10 Blog Circle series. We were quite busy this month with Halloween activities, family events, and holiday mini sessions. Enjoy my look back at this past month, and don't forget to click on the link at the end to view all of my friends awesome blogs.

We have quite a few family birthday's in the month of October. The one that hit me the most was my oldest son Tyler's 20th birthday. I swear just yesterday he was a toddler. Where did all that time go? I love you very much Tyler!

We have been very involved in helping put together a Halloween fashion show with another local business. We had a great time and everyone looked fabulous in their costumes. Before everyone went out on the catwalk I took portraits of them all dressed up and ready to go. Aren't these kids just awesome?

Our family went for a hike a few weeks ago. While we were out and about we almost ran in to this spider hanging in mid air. It appears that she died and fell off her web suspended by a single thread. Very fitting for Halloween. She is very beautiful even in death.

This family wanted to included their horse Sonny in our session. He is very beautiful. And how cute is the little boy with his pouty bottom lip? He thought it was funny. :) You can view more photos from their session in my blog The S Family. 
http://leighslotusphotography.blogspot.com/2013/10/the-s-family-prattville-al.html

And last but not least we attended a Veterans Day Parade this past Saturday in Biloxi, MS. There were lots of soldiers, ROTC cadets, Vets, marching bands, kids, Patriot Guard riders, and yes even Captain America managed to make an appearance.

Now please go check out my friends blogs and leave them some love!

http://leahingersoll.blogspot.com/.../10-on-10-november.html

The S Family {Prattville AL}

The S family recently moved to the area and a friend referred them to me for a family photo session. Thanks Mrs. R! They were a great family and I really enjoyed working with them. As you can see they even had a request that I have not had before so how could I turn that down? 

Mom and son walking the horse down to where we were shooting. How cute is his little pouty bottom lip? He thought it was funny.

The S Family wanted to include their Bashkir Curly horse Sonny. What a cool idea! 

Sonny was so beautiful I thought I should devote a few photos just to him. I had never seen a horse quite like this before. He really was a sweet boy.

Add a five year old boy and a horse and you get some pretty hilarious out takes!

Rely Local Fest/Haunted Halloween Fashion Show {Prattville AL}

The day for the Haunted Halloween Fashion Show finally arrived. This past Saturday all of our hard work finally paid off. At the Rely Local Fest, a business expo in Prattville AL, we had our Haunted Halloween Fashion Show. Enjoy the photos from our event! I will have all the photos I took of each of the participants up on my website at the end of next week for purchase. Click here to head over to my website: Leigh's Lotus Photography

We had booths set up before the show. The Vault Variety Shop set up a booth showing what they offered at the shop. We displayed our family photography and talked to lots of nice families about our Christmas mini sessions.  

Definitely a great group of makeup artists hard at work. Thanks ladies!

Even with a few glitches in the sound system everyone enjoyed the show. We had vampires, steam punk, a gangster, witches, wolves, Red Riding Hood, a zombie, dolls, the Mad Hatter, Alice in Wonderland and all kinds of other creatures.

After the show the models danced to Micheal Jackson's Thriller. It was so much fun!

At the end of the Rely Local Fest each business participated in the prize drawings. We gave away two family photo sessions and Sharon pitched in two free costume fittings as well. I can't wait to meet this great families. 

Why Family Photographs are Important {Prattville AL}

Whether it is a casual photo taken at a backyard cookout or a formal portrait taken in a studio, your pictures are an important part of your family historical record. Even though you enjoy them today, it is critical to capture these moments for future generations. How many times have you wished you had photographs of relatives or loved one's who have passed on? Taking and preserving these family photographs for your children, grandchildren, and future generations will help preserve your memory and special times you have shared. So pick up that camera or call a photographer and start preserving those memories!

Halloween Fashion Show {Prattville AL}

The Rely Local Fest is on October 26th from 11 to 5 pm at the YMCA in Prattville. Local vendors from Wetumpka, Millbrook and Prattville will be showcasing their businesses for this event. There will be up to $25,000 in prizes, a costume show put on by The Vault Variety Shop, and a costume contest for adults and children. We have teamed up with The Vault Variety Shop to host a booth. At our booth you can bring your child or pet for a Halloween photo session between 11 am - 1 pm. Don't have a costume? The Vault Variety shop will have costumes for you there to use in your shoot. The costume show starts at 2 pm and the costume contest will follow. 

We are also teaming up with Sharon from The Vault Variety Shop, helping out and participating in the costume show. Our show will be so over the top that you won't want to miss it! We have recruited kids and adults to participate in our show. Every Wednesday we have been getting together to work on our costume selection and practicing our routines for the show.

Here is a little insight behind the scenes of the Halloween Fashion Show. We hope to see you at our big event!

Getting fitted in costumes for the show.

I am not sure if we did more practicing or laughing. Looks like the show is finally coming together though. Can't wait to get out there on October 26 and have some fun!

Don't forget to go to The Vault Variety Shop in Wetumpka for all your clothing needs. They not only have great clothes, but lots of accessories, shoes, gowns, and costumes. Don't have a Halloween costume yet? Let Sharon help you out.

Project 10 Blog Circle - Post 3 {Prattville AL}

Here is the third in the Project 10 Blog Circle series. We were involved in a bunch of events around town this month. I have already blogged about the Coosa River Dog Fest and the Montgomery Zombie Walk and Prom. I included a few more from those events as well as a photo from my son's high school football game. Enjoy!

Don't forget to check out the rest of the ladies in the circle! They have some amazing photos this month.

http://www.kristinb.ca/project-10-october

2013 Montgomery Zombie Walk and Prom {Prattville AL}

I love Fall and all that it brings. A change in seasons and weather, Halloween, apple cider, football, and lots of family birthdays. Over the weekend my husband and I participated in the 2013 Montgomery Zombie Walk and Prom. Why haven't we done this before? We had so much fun! So, I thought I would share pictures from the event. If you are wanting to capture your little ones in their Halloween costumes just give me a call. I would love to set up a Fall family photography mini session for you. 

We got together at a friend's house to get zombified!

Our before and after photos

This guy was super creepy, and everywhere. I am not sure he was down with the rappers in this last photo.

The walk started at the Irish Bred Pub. There were lots of zombies in attendance.

The zombies started to get restless before the walk and were turning on each other.

The walk went through the streets of downtown Montgomery and ended at the Riverfront.

After the walk OTI performed for all the zombies. The best part of the show for me was when they played Billy Idol's White Wedding and the zombie brides were invited on stage to hang out. AWESOME!

Coosa River Dog Fest {Prattville AL}

On September 29, 2013 the Alabama Siberian Husky Rescue held their 2nd annual Coosa River Dog Fest in Wetumpka at the Coosa Outdoor Center. Mother Nature even allowed us to have a gorgeous day of sunshine and a nice breeze so it didn't get quite so hot. I met some great people out at the event and hope to meet up with them soon to help them with their family photography or pet photography needs. Check out the photos below to see photos from the event.

I went on the air with Ziggy at KOOL 95.5 FM twice to talk about huskies and the Coosa River Dog Fest. It was alot of fun. Hope I have the chance to go on again one day.

Ziggy even came out to the event and made friends with the dogs out there. As you can see Lilly just wanted to be petted.

The huskies had a great time hanging out in the sunshine and playing in the river.

We had some great vendors out at the event. 

Our dogs chewing on their healthy bully sticks from for healthy pets. They loved them!

Helping Shepherds of Every Color was out at the event as well as the Prattville/Autauga Humane Society and the Humane Society of Elmore County.

Everyone had a great time that day. If you missed it we hope to see you out there next year!

Project 10 Blog Circle - Post 2

Here is the second in the Project 10 Blog Circle series. I have been so busy working on some new business stuff I was completely sidetracked and missed the deadline. Sorry ladies! So without further ado, here are my pictures for the month. Enjoy!

Don't forget to check out the rest of the ladies in the circle! The have some amazing photos this month.

http://www.gumdropsphotography.com/2013/09/09/project-10-september/

Here is just a brief snapshot into my month. At top right I had a fun session with a Junior. She is going to be one of my Senior Reps. Hooray! The football and sunset photos are from my youngest son's football game. The girl and her horse are my daughter and Penny. The girl in the mask and veil are two models for another project I am working on. Aren't they just gorgeous? The motorcycle girl is my son's girlfriend. She rocked that shoot! Then the bottom right is some friends on their jet ski. Yes even when I am out having fun I still carry my camera. :)

Project 10 Blog Circle - Post 1

I am part of a group of fabulous female photographers on Facebook. We are all in various stages of learning about our craft. Everyone is so helpful and supportive and I am glad to be a part of this special group. We have been trying to find a project to help spark our creativity. We have decided to create our own Project 10 Blog Circle. So how does this work you might ask. On the 9th of every month we will post our 10 favorite photographs from that month on our blog. We will then link to the next person in our list. This way we can easily share what we have been working on over the last 30 days. Enjoy the photos and please check out all of my friends blogs and leave them some love. Have a great weekend!

Next in the circle: http://www.gumdropsphotography.com/

This month's photos are from the Fourth of July, my trip to Atlanta, a swim meet, a picture of my son and his girlfriend, and our annual Alabama Siberian Husky Rescue Volunteer Pool Party.

Birthday Triplets at the Beach

The day following the triplets first birthday party we met at the beach for their one year portraits. I noticed the weather forecast called for sporadic thunder showers. Looking out the window it was just partly cloudy so we headed to the beach. The cloud cover helped keep it cooler and was just perfect.

The cutest triplets ever!

Halfway into the photo shoot it started to sprinkle. So we loaded the kids up and headed to one of the pavilions. Just as we reached cover the sky opened up and it started to pour rain.

Cheer up kids. A little bit of rain can't stop our photo shoot!

So what do you do when your plans drastically change? Make the best of the situation and just keep shooting.

And the kids had a blast playing under the safety of the pavilion.

How cute are these two playing peak-a-boo?

The kids were such troopers to not only leave the house early but to adjust to our changing plans. I hope to get back to Florida soon so I can hang out with these great kids again.

 These photographs are copyrighted. Please do not copy them. Thank you!

Birthday Triplets

Today I had the honor of photographing these triplets first birthday party. We were afraid they were going to sleep through their party but they finally woke up. WHEW! I can't wait to do their first birthday portrait shoot at the beach tomorrow.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AIDEN, EMMA, and KHLOE!

The birthday crew.

Having fun in the sun!

Cake Smash!!!!!!

SMSgt Christopher King's Retirement Ceremony

   On July 20, 1987 Chris King joined the Air Force. His assignments took him to Panama, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Italy, South Carolina, Texas, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Florida. Chris also received numerous awards throughout his career to included Training Manager of the Year twice, NCO and SNCO of the Year, as well as First Sergeant of the Year twice. He has helped countless Airmen and made many friends along his Air Force journey.

   Chris and I have been stationed together twice. It was during my first duty assignment to Offutt AFB at the 544th Target Material Squadron that we first met. We wound up working the swing shift together and he helped show me the ropes. Although it seems like only yesterday it was 24 years ago. I could never fully thank him for his friendship and support over the years. Good luck on your new civilian adventure. I know that whatever lies ahead you will tackle it with the same perseverance and enthusiasm as you did while you were in the Air Force. I miei migliori auguri. Ciao!

These photos are copyrighted, please do not copy them. Thank you.

Summer time in the garden

Today we did a beauty shoot with this lovely lady. I had been looking for someone to do a summer time theme with dresses, sandals, and hats and she was perfect. Despite the threat of rain, heat, and humidity she hung in there, kept on smiling, and seriously rocked this shoot. I am looking forward to working with her again.