My 365 Project - 15-21 January 2015

Another week has flown by and I am still capturing images from our life. HOORAY! While I am using my phone more I am not loving how the photos are turning out. The phone does not handle low light well. Anyone have suggestions?

15/365 My Ipsy bag has arrived! I am always excited to see what neat makeup items I get each month.

16/365 The reflection in the fountain made me stop and look. I love taking ordinary objects most people would just pass by and make something interesting.

17/365 Tim will do anything to not be in a picture. Gotta work on my quick draw skills so I can get his face next time! ;)

18/365 Made a trip to Earth Fare to get some ingredients for spring rolls. Trying to eat a bit healthier. I will post pictures of the spring rolls once I make them.

19/365 Tim and I spent the holiday cleaning out the closet. Yep nothing but fun over here!

20/365 I did not have time for a photo today so posting one I took last weekend. I love playing with sun flare.

21/365 Went to a great sushi place for lunch today.

My 365 Project - 8-14 January 2015

Here is week two of my 365 project. My biggest problem so far is staying on top of editing and adding them to my folder.  This week I used my Nikon DSLR as well as my Android phone.  Gotta use what is handy sometimes!  Can you guess which camera I used for each photo?

8/365 - Since it is so cold I am staying indoors editing photos with a nice hot cup of tea.

9/365 - On the road this evening to pick up my youngest son.

10/365 - Hard to believe my youngest has had his driver's license for 4 months now!

11/365 - Apparently Molly is getting sick of me taking her picture.

12/365 - One of Luna's favorite sleeping spots.

13/365 - Sadie loves to hang out with us on the couch.

14/365 - What a gorgeous day!

My 365 Project - 1-7 January 2015

HAPPY NEW YEAR! To kick start 2015 I thought I would take up a 365 project. If you are not familiar with this project it is where you take one photo a day for an entire year. Some people follow a specific project that gives them word cues for every day,others a theme in mind for the entire year, and some just take a snapshot of their day. I am taking this month by month. January I am focusing on matte and black and white. After each week I will be posting my photos up on the blog. Enjoy!

1/365 - Happy New Year! I thought I would kickoff 2015 with a picture of our foster dog Eden and my youngest son.

2/365 A lazy day hanging out with the dog.

3/365 We have had a very grey and gloomy start to our New Year.

4/365 Out on location taking photos of a friend's dogs and her son.

5/365 It was actually bright and sunny out today so I went downtown to take some photos.

6/365 My oldest son and Eden out playing in the yard today. Hoping more photos of our sweet foster will get her adopted soon.

7/365 Today was so busy I didn't have time to take a photo. Or so I thought until my son offered to make dinner for me. What a nice surprise! Hope you had a great end to your day as well.

Documenting How You Live

Birth certificates show that you were born.

Death certificates show that you died.

Photographs showed that you really lived.

-Author Unknown

I saw this quote today on Instagram and it really spoke to me. The best way to capture memories and show that we really lived is through our photographs.  As a photographer, you would think I would be documenting every aspect of my family's life.  Unfortunately, this has not been the case. This year however I have worked to capture more of our every day life.

I took these of my son and parents while we were visiting them this summer.

This has encouraged me to think more about the way I capture your images.  Most people are use to seeing the portraits that are posed and predictable.  And while these are great and have their place, do they show how we have really lived?  These posed portraits are fine for showing family members at different stages of their lives, but recent trends are moving more towards candid shots that show your family as they really live.  These could be pictures of you reading bedtime stories to your children, family movie or game night, or even just playing with the kids in their rooms or at the park.  These to me are memories that are worth capturing.  

Recently I had the pleasure of going to a friend's home and capturing how her family lived.  I had a great time documenting her boy playing in his room and reading to his new sister, changing and feeding time with the baby, and the family just hanging out being themselves.  I was so happy to be able to provide these tangible memories of their lives. 

I have shared these experiences with family and friends, and would love the opportunity to give you and your family this experience as well.  See our Facebook later this week for more details.

  

Camera or Photographer?

Over this year I will be writing a few blogs on photography in general. Some blogs will contain tips and tricks while others will contain general information. I thought long and hard about what to choose as my first topic. I get asked on occasion what camera should I buy? Or every now and then hear the good old, "gee your camera takes great photos." And let's not forget the "I need a camera just like yours so I can take good photos too."

The first thing to remember in photography is that while your equipment is an important part of the process, it is the photographer who takes the photos. If you know the basics about photography and how your camera works, you can use any camera and get great photos. I have a photographer friend who started a blog using just her iPhone. It is called The World in My Pocket. Her photos are gorgeous! Be sure to look at the whole series and leave her some love. You can see the blog here:

http://www.chloelodge.com/2014/the-world-in-my-pocket-i-vietnam-january-14/

I took the following photos with with my Android phone and my Nikon D5100. Can you guess which photo was taken with which camera? Take a guess in the comments below. I will post the answers in a blog on Friday afternoon.

Photo 1

Photo 2

Photo 3

Photo 4

Photo 5

Photo 6

LLP's Senior Rep Program

LLP Senior Rep Program

We are currently looking for 2015 high school seniors to be a spokesmodel for our new Senior Rep program!

So what is a Senior Rep?

As a Senior Rep you will be representing Leigh's Lotus Photography: Seniors.

What are we looking for in a Senior Rep?

You must have the permission of your parent
Actively involved in school and extra curricular activities
You must conduct your Senior session in May/June 2014
Must have a Facebook account
Actively pass out rep cards
Can only be a rep for Leigh's Lotus Photography: Seniors

What do I get for each referral?

First let me say that for each referral to count they must have a booked, paid, and completed session. Once you have five qualifying referrals you will get a $350 package credit. Each additional referral gets you an extra $25 credit.

What is included in your Senior Rep Package?

Senior session (with hair and make up for girls)

Senior Session Photo App to post on Facebook

Custom Facebook Cover Photo

50 referral cards to pass out to other Seniors

15% off Prom session

What other cool stuff can I earn while being a Senior Rep? 

Each month we will give out a gift card to our top rep. These gift cards can be from a variety of places. Some might be from Starbucks, AMC Cinema, a gas card, or Brewsters. At the end of the year our top Senior Rep will win a super cool prize. The prize each year will change and we will announce that years prize in January.

So how do I become a spokesmodel for LLP Seniors?

E-mail me at lmahnesmith@gmail.com to get your application. I will review each application and make the announcement of who got the positions on 1 May.

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.