abby & ben {the clan}

December is my all-time favorite month! Everything amazing happens in December..or right before. Thanksgiving, mine & Rob's dating anniversary, Diesel's birthday, Rob's birthday, my birthday (we're a December family), Christmas...I think you get where I am going with this. So with that said, I have yet to have a session in December that I haven't been magically in love with. This session is absolutely no different! 

I was thrilled when Abby reached out to me and asked me to take pictures of her and her hubs! Abby is the crazy talented photographer behind Abby Elizabeth Photography and I was absolutely tickled when she told me she was wanting some winter/Christmas pictures!!! Yay! We headed out to where she and Ben got hitched even though it had been raining all day and didn't look promising to let up. Let me just say, I love the rain. Just LOVE the rain. Its such a calming factor and it always feels like it centers me. I'm not scared of it and I was SO excited when I got a text from Abby that said, "I just got an umbrella. Lets go for it!" She knows the way to my heart! 

Snuggle up with a blanket and maybe some hot cocoa...these are worth it!

Abby & Ben came with the perfect look for winter or Christmas pictures! RED, plaid, accessories...one super happy photographer right here!!!

 Might I add that this was definitely my first time ever taking pictures of cats! :D

jessica & justin {the clan}

This couple. I honestly just LOVE when I get an email from Jessica! They are SO flipping sweet, go along with anything I ask or ideas I have and are genuinely just so much fun to be around!!! Jessica & Justin want to put together a book for their coffee table that has their Christmas cards from every year in it...I am in love with this idea! I've been sooo honored to be the first and second card in that book and hope I am able to continue our little tradition! :D 

And just to add a little tid bit about this session. I drive past this industrial park almost every day in Karns (Westbrook Business Park). In the fall there was this one field/lot that the sun would hit while it was setting and it was just magical. Jessica and Justin were such champs and totally trusted me!! LOVE this session!

Smiles,

Kayla F

the question | erica & jared {knoxville, tn}

I am crazy thrilled to share this session with you all! Erica and I go WAY back...well, not really WAY (lets not age ourselves or anything) but we tended to hang out and "work together" during our Information Management courses at good ole University of Tennessee! I swear...I don't think I would have made it through those classes without Erica! Lol!! So when she got in contact with me about having her session here in Knoxville and wanting ME to shoot it, I just about died!!! I might have secretly been FB stalking Erica and when I saw she was engaged I might have done a fun little dance to celebrate for her! :) She's all the way out in Cordova, TN so I never in a 100 years would have thought I would get an email from her...but I most certainly did! Yay!!!!

Fast forward to Erica telling me that she and Jared would like to have their pictures at...dun dun dun...Neyland Stadium!!! SCORE!!! :huh, no pun intended on that one: I was elated, but nervous. You just never know with the stadium! Sometimes you can get in, sometimes, theres just no such luck. I won't give my source away (bc I don't want him to get in trouble), but my dad would be so proud of me by just walking up to someone and asking him to let us in. My heart raced, especially when he told me I only had 3-5 minutes...Whoa! Here is the magic that happened!! :D

Ok, so I'm happy I'm not the only one that was CRAZY excited!!!

 My FAV!!!!

Our 5 min was up FAST! But, we still had the rest of campus to tromp around on! I love this session so much! Erica and Jared were so awesome...and their puppers were pretty stinking cute too! 

Yes, that is a Rottweiler and a Dotson. Too funny, I know!

Ahhhh Erica & Jared! I know your wedding will be absolutely STUNNING and tons of fun!!!! I can't wait to see pictures! 

Smiles,

Kayla F

Rebekah & Logan | the couple

I am in LOVE with this session. 

This session holds a very special place in my heart. No one reached out to me for this. No one had this idea, but me. I was in a rut. I didn't want to take another session because I was becoming frustrated with myself. I felt like my images were starting to look like something that I just didn't want. Now don't get me wrong, I am unbelievably proud of every single session I do, and if I'm not, I make it up to my clients and ask them if they would like ANOTHER session. Luckily, that has only happened once, with a not so happy 2 yr old! :) But there is something about having a creative outlet that is incredibly personal. Even though clients contact me and ask me to photograph them, every single session is like a little mission for me. I want to better my craft, better my imagination and better how I see people...the real people. Not them standing in front of a camera. 

I did a small casting, haha, not really. I posted on FB if a young couple wanted to have their pictures taken. And guess what! Rebekah and Logan fell in my lap!!! :D 

Rebekah was actually in Keely and Scott's wedding last year so I was happy it was a familiar face! However, I was not ready for how awesome Logan and Rebekah were, not only with me, but together! They are stinking adorable. Not in a gushing, omgsh, I'm going to be sick to my stomach adorable, but in a quiet, sincere, and completely genuine way. 

I already knew the location. An abandoned house. Now which abandoned house was another story. I wasn't in the mood to break any laws, have a house fall down on our heads, or get eaten alive by guard dogs, so I was ecstatic to find this little gem off of a not so quiet street. 

Here is how my amazing self-reviving session took place. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did! 

This left picture just gets me. I can't help it.

Cushions and chair are brought to you by people leaving awesome pieces behind. :) Thank you previous owners! 

Isn't Rebekah insanely gorgeous!? Ahhhh, her smile is contagious! 

This one might be my fav! 

After night started to fall, I knew I wanted to do some late fire pictures. I have been wanting to do a session like this for a while, but knew that after winter, it probably wouldn't happen for a while. I wanted to play with some off camera flash which turned out ok...practice makes perfect right? 

One thing I did take away from our little escapade, make sure your firewood is DRY. I was in a rush and grabbed from the wrong pile. Whoops. :)

Rebekah and Logan, thank you so much for being my guinea pigs! You two were perfect and I couldn't be happier you sought ME out! :D

Smiles,

Kayla F