Hello Ladies!! It’s time to start planning that one-of-a-kind Valentine’s Day gift for that man of yours… or if you’re getting married this year what better way to surprise him with a gift that will KNOCK HIS SOCKS OFF!! Email me for details!! lori@lorihensley.com

So I’m coming to an interesting conclusion lately [after lots of LightRoom-ing over the last few months].. that NOTHING.. absolutely NOTHING tops great light. Great light has trumped a great background any day of the week. Take these two images for example.. very different lighting.. in the first shot the sun is behind a barn. I turned the couple with their backs to the barn to get the awesome aesthetic there with the old run-down building + beautiful bride contrast.. which I just love love and will walk 1/2 a mile to get it. The area was pretty dark [photographically speaking] with the shade of the trees and the barn blocking most of the sun… so I shot wide open and a little under exposed to avoid higher ISO than I wanted.. in LR later I bumped up the exposure and played with the contrast a bit until I liked it.

The second shot.. blows me away and its all because of the lighting. I faced the couple towards the sun [shaded by brush] and the light was amazing.. there were probably 100 cars behind them + my second shooter [which I had to edit out using the ol' trusty dust-spot remover in LR].

Allll that to say.. I am just in love with the lighting and color of the second shot.. even though it took a bit more work getting the cars out of there.. the color was perfect and my hunch was set in stone… LIGHTING wins over GREAT BACKGROUND any.. day.. of .. the .. week!

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i am ONE picky girl when it comes to the products i want to provide my Lori Hensley brides… before i finally decided on an album company i had to touch them, feel them, pick them up, throw them around a bit [okay, maybe no throwing occurred].. but they definitely were put through the test. i had heard great things about the company i love today, Renaissance Albums, but i had to see for myself before the GO button was pushed. needless to say.. once i got a hold of them.. they blew me away and 2 years later they are still my album provider of choice. there is an audible squeal coming from my front porch when i see one has been delivered and this happened just last week. i thought i’d take you through the process to see what the finished product and all the excitement is all about! take a peek!

this particular delivery brought 2 albums.. one for a bride and one for my office.. the difference is the cover material 1] silk + 2] leather. i adore both!

A big ol’ hug and thank you to my sweet friend Ashley for letting take some practice newborn pictures of her new bundle.. little Emily. Oh, she’s so precious. It’s so fun to see someone who you’ve basically grown up with.. become a mother. I love hearing about all the ins and outs of new motherhood and look forward to the day, in the coming years, when David and I become parents ourselves. We dream about it often and talk about what kind of parents we want to be [and don't want to be.. hehe].. but mostly about what our children will be like… will they fall in love with music and dream about nothing more than the piano.. or will they be oober creative artists who want nothing more than to move to a big city [oh how we hope they do, so we can come visit fun places]! We can’t wait to find out.

On the note of newborn sessions.. I’m trying to develop the kind of style I want to go for with these.. my favorite aspects of people to photograph are the relationships.. so I want to focus on the love between parents and baby.. it’s fun playing around and one day when I know what direction I want to go with this I’ll announce the offering of a newborn session.. for now there is a really awesome newborn photographer I recommend to everyone! If you are in need of one.. send me an email and I’ll send you on your way!! Until then… enjoy sweet little Emily!

This day was THE PERFECT day to get married.. perfect skies.. warm sun, slight breeze and gorgeous sunset. Add Dawn + Jonathan, their seriously amazing friends and a beautifully planned wedding.. this day was a day I wont soon forget… this goes for everyone who was lucky enough to be a part of this celebration. These two are such a great couple.. and have surrounded themselves with some pretty awesome people as well. Thanks to Dawn and her bridesmaids for filling the day with knee-slapping laughter and fun.

A few highlights of the day:
My very favorite moment was the “First Look” shared between the bride and groom. This is always the most emotional moment and on of my favorite things to capture. When Dawn and Jonathan saw one another for the first time.. they lost it.. both of them.. and it so beautiful. Dawn had been cool as a cucumber all morning .. until that moment. They literally were lost in one another for a while until Becca [my second shooter] and I had to reel them back in. I added one of these images in this set of the first moment Jonathan turns around and Dawn sees her groom. Sqeal!

Another highlight? When the eyelashes were a little too long and needed a quick clip there was no scissors to be found.. oh but wait! One of Dawn’s uber prepared bridesmaids pulls out utility scissors!! This is one of my favorite images.. see for yourself!!

I’m beyond thrilled with the direction weddings are going in these days! Brides are not settling for the cookie-cuter, run-of-the-mill, everyday 1990 – 2005 wedding details.. they are bravely thinking outside the box and making their wedding their own! With the help of awesome inspiration sites like: www.stylemepretty.com and www.greylikesweddings.com and ETSY.. these girls are making my photography dreams come true! As it normally goes in the world of E. TN. weddings, including my own, we are usually late in the game when it comes to trends in the wedding industry. Not anymore! So, thank you ladies.. for stepping out and doing your own thing. I’m so excited for what this year holds and for the brides I’ve collaborated with! Lets go 2011!!

Looking for yet another way to stand out from the wedding tradition pack and show off your own style?? One of my very favorite products to offer is the 8×8 Custom Guest Sign-In Book! This book is awesome for 2 reasons.. it replaces the increasingly outdated options of guests signing the matted frame or the Halmark/lined pages/gold embroidered guest book and is FULL of your very favorite images from your engagement session! I get so many compliments from the guests attending the weddings in which I’ve designed one of these babies. They LOVE them!! Here’s a peak of the latest design!!

this post makes me feel old. one of my dear friends from high school is about to be a mommy. it was fun to watch most of my girlfriends i graduated with say “i do” over the last few years and i think it’s going to be even more fun as we all become moms together. i have a feeling i may be one of the last of the group [if all goes to plan] .. but look forward to it so very much! so.. bring on the bibs, bottles + baby showers! i’m ready to get this party started! and so are Ashley + Patrick.. check out the sweetness!

this post makes me feel old. one of my dear friends from high school is about to be a mommy. it was fun to watch most of my girlfriends i graduated with say “i do” over the last few years and i think it’s going to be even more fun as we all become moms together. i have a feeling i may be one of the last of the group [if all goes to plan] .. but look forward to it so very much! so.. bring on the bibs, bottles + baby showers! i’m ready to get this party started! and so are Ashley + Patrick.. check out the sweetness!

This is Kelci. Full of life, full of fun! If you follow this blog you’ve seen her face before. I shot her first round of seniors last fall and after an incident with her dog and my memory card.. I agreed to come shoot the images that were lost. I love how they turned out. 4G Sandisk Exreme III #8 R.I.P.

Happy Tuesday everyone! Productivity is at an all time high this week. I’m so ready to get all of my sessions edited so that I can really start digging deep into what I learned last week at WPPI 2011. It was so enriching. I’m so thankful I had the opportunity. More to come on that note soon…

… while on the thankful note… I’m also very thankful to know the family on the blog today. I met Rodney + Harrison when David and I attended their church last year.. OneLife Church. Great, great place! If you are in the Powell area.. please do your self a favor and attend this Sunday [at 10:00 I believe]. Give God the chance to change you’re entire life.. He is certainly doing just that in this church and is doing great great things through it. It’s so encouraging to watch! Beyond being great church leaders.. these two are some of the most genuine folks you will run across and all those that know them are thankful.

Last week I had the chance to shoot their little bundle’s 4 month pictures. What a joy and WHAT a joy going through them! David and I are getting closer to the point where we’re thinking about kids [not quite there].. but getting there… and these sweet pictures make it that much more exciting to imagine! Parenthood is going to be so much fun…. poor kids are going to be drug all over the country.. up and down ski slopes.. all over the national parks.. and hopefully all over the world [maybe even before they're 3, ha!]. Soooo exciting! The web should start preparing now for ALL the pictures that will be posted.

********* I will not be shooting any family sessions this year due the number of weddings I’m taking on. I hope to pick them back up in 2012! thanks! email me if you’d like recommendations of great family photographers in our area. *************