Greg and Mary's Engagement Shoot

Mary and Greg.  What can I say?  Love just oozes from these two.  I had so much fun with these guys.  They were amazing and needless to say, I had no problems encouraging them to be affectionate with each other in front of the camera. :)  Mary's folks live outside of the city, so we headed out into the fields behind their house.  We had a most perfect day and sunset to shoot outdoors. 

We laughed.  ALOT.   They smooched. ALOT.  I love them. ALOT.    It was a priviledge getting to shoot for two amazing people SO in love and  preparing to start their lives together.   I also had the opportunity to be their wedding photographer...those images are coming soon!

Thanks, Mary and Greg!  You guys made the day so easy and fun!  Ya'll are awesome!  Congratulations!

Rebecca's Session

Rebecca is an oh, so precious friend of mine.  I've known her for years and have watched her blossom into a beautiful, young woman.  Last year she married a gentleman who is currently serving in Afghanistan in the army.  They have been married for over a year, but have only seen each other just a couple of months worth of time since their wedding as he was deployed just a few weeks after their nuptials.   We decided to send some pictures of Rebecca to her husband for his birthday, and I was thrilled to be able to help!  Rebecca brought her new (and completely squishable!) little chihuahua, Fiona, to join in the fun.

Our shoot started out beautifully, but soon was interrupted by a torrential downpour of rain.  The term typhoon comes to mind.   Rebecca loves the rain and even though she was soaked to the bone, we decided to continue our shoot armed with a couple of umbrella's and bare feet.  Rebecca is a trooper!  Fortunately, I happened to have a cute, little polka-dotted umbrella that I keep in the car. It worked perfectly in contrast with the grayish skies and perked the photographs right up!  We had a great time just playing around, and I loved being able to capture the rain in the images.  Thanks, Rebecca for the great day, and a BIG thanks to Tom and all other troops who sacrificially gave up time with their families to serve our country.

         Just an FYI, Rebecca's husband, Tom will be returning home next month from his deployment.  :)

T-n-T

Literally.  When you put these two beautiful boys in room there is an explosion of energy and laughter.   These two guys belong to one of my dear friends.  Aren't they absolutely gorgeous?!?!?  Beautiful curls and amazing complexions!  It was easy-peasy snapping up photos of these sweet boys!   Little T was a  complete ham in front of the camera, and Big T warmed up fast and gave me a awesome smiles.  Thanks, Breanne, for giving me the opportunity to take your amazing boys pictures!! 

Barbie's Shoot

I have had several shoots in preparation of opening my business and my friend Barbie was one of my very first (outside of my family.)  She asked me to take some pictures for her husband for his birthday and I was totally up for that!  We laughed so much that day and had an absolute blast!  She is not only lovely inside and out, but she is hilarious.  Thanks, Barbie, for letting me use your images!  Here are a few from our shoot.

Where it begins...

September 29th, 1999 - The day photography became more to me than just a quick snapshot.  It was my first son's birthday.  From that day on,  I began to care about how my photos turned out.  I noticed my pictures lacked so much and I began a journey to improve and change that.  Did they truly reflect the reality of a moment?  How could I best document their lives so that generations to come would be able to enjoy and treasure images that were not just snapshots of a moment passed, but were thoughtfully taken so that the light, the composition, and the emotion of each situation was taken into consideration.  I wanted all of my photographs to tell a story.. 

Now, 11 years and 2 more children later,  I have thousands upon thousand of pictures that I have taken that together chronicle the journey of our family.  I plan to continue to photo-journal our lives as long as I possibly can.  In this process, I have completely in love with the art of photography.  After much prayer and the support of my amazing family and friends, I have decided to open a photography business and offer my services to others.   I am so excited about this new path and look forward to all that God has in store.

I would love to be of service to you if you are in need of a photographer for a wedding, family, birthday or any occasion.  I primarily shoot in and around the Memphis, TN area, but am available to travel on certain occasions.  Please contact me at sonya@sonyabalentinephotography  if you would like to set up an appointment or if you have any questions.