You can tell just by speaking with Becki on the phone that she is really sweet. I was excited to meet her & Brandon, who will be getting married next August. I loved hearing their proposal story, so my only regret is that we did not incorporate a fortune cookie into their engagement pictures. Maybe the wedding…?

    When I do photo shoots, I start by doing very formal, posed shots. I feel like the sooner we get them out of the way, the more my subjects can relax & we can dive into more natural {& fun} ideas. Another advantage, is that the hair & make up are fresh for that close up. After we went through this part, Brandon & Becki were game for anything. It was great to know that they trusted me & were willing to work with me. They also had some great ideas {see the truck picture at the end}. Thanks you two, looking forward to the beautiful wedding this summer!

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    • Amy Hahn - December 10, 2009 - 10:39 am

      Beautiful, Andrea! I love the processing and what a gorgeous couple!

    • Becki - December 10, 2009 - 1:28 pm

      You did a GREAT job!! Pictures are beautiful… thank you!

    • Rebecca - December 14, 2009 - 5:28 pm

      That last shot is awesome!

    I like Jimmy & Ashley. They are hilarious & really laid back. Those are two really great qualities to find, but to top it off, look how gorgeous they are! Kind of makes me feel like I hit a jackpot by being their photographer :]

    So you will notice that these took place in Tipp City with lots of fall colors. Just browsing through these to select photos for this post made me really miss that time of year {sigh}. I always encourage a change of clothes {even if it’s just a different top or change of shoes}, because I love how the tone can change based on the outfit. It’s always nice to have a little variety to choose from when you get your proofs. Plus, when we are shooting in diverse locations, different backdrops will really correlate to certain outfits better than others. I love the color palette in the first couple pictures with the blues, creams, and mahogany.

    These are some of my favorites from that beautiful {warm} fall day. Enjoy!

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    {I’m going to update some engagement, family, & wedding posts. Then I will dedicate this blog to Christmas as I attempt to do Twelve Days of Christmas: A Blog Carnival, we will see how that goes!}.

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    • Lauren - December 9, 2009 - 2:00 pm

      Andrea, you are so talented! Love the ones with the red building in the background!

    You will have to excuse my absence from my blogs. It’s not that I’m not alive & working. It’s more that, because I am… there are a few things that need to be prioritized in order to be my most productive. Keeping in touch with my readers is important, but so is taking care of my clients.
    {I can see them all nodding in agreement with me!}

    Every business strives to be unique. I’ve been really searching as to what that means for me. I started to think about “what I do” and “why I started doing it.” I can’t say that I’ve always visualized myself as a photographer. I know it might be strange to admit that on my professional site. You know, I’m supposed to claim that I came out of my mother with a camera in hand, right? I’m supposed to say that I always knew what I wanted and this is it. Well, it’s really not the way it happened for me. Instead, it’s a passion that has been born out of other passions.

    I fell in love with an expert in photography, and it’s been fun to learn from him.
    I fell in love with my baby son, and used photography to help me remember how beautiful he is.
    I fell in love with graphic design and used photography as a tool to make my designs stronger.

    Then… finally… I fell head over heels in love with photography & it’s become my obsession.

    Something clicked when I started to think about everything that has led up to where I am now. I’ve always offered to do design for my clients as an endnote, but I am professionally trained as a designer. Now I want to incorporate it more into all of my clients’ experiences with me. It dawned on me that it’s like an architect designing a home, then handing everything over to a builder for them to finish. What if the architect was also a builder? Someone with complete control over both aspects of the job would bring a cohesive vision to reality.

    This winter will be the perfect opportunity to explore my options and debut them for you to see. I’ve been slowly making investments that will help me transition into a photographer who will bring my specialized design to the printing process. I do feel very excited about this next chapter in my story… stay tuned :]

    Kevin tagged along to an engagement shoot last week. I have now started to consider Tipp City as my personal studio {been there many times in summer/fall}Â & knew just where I wanted him to stand… I say, “stand,” because we all know that three year olds are almost incapable of being posed! I look forward to the day when he will cooperate a little more, but I guess on the other hand, I never know what I’ll get when it comes to him ;]

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    Lucky for me, he was obsessed with really big trucks on the road. And a really big truck was going by…

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    I don’t normally bother to ask Kevin to smile, I have to find other ways to make him laugh. If I do, I normally get something like this next picture. Oh boy…

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    I tend to take the definition of “photojournalistic” & “candid” to the max when it comes to children {like my son}. It’s why when I get to work with adults, I tend to exclaim, “Oh wow, you listen so well…” Now you kind of understand why I say that!

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    When Kevin could just barely walk, I became obsessed with pictures of his reflections. They are near & dear to this mama’s heart…

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    His coat was getting red from rubbing on all the brick buildings :]

    There will be more sessions to post, stories to tell. I don’t think I’ll be updating my blogger site. If I ever do decide to do more baking, I’ll just post images on here. Again, I’ve had to prioritize and there hasn’t been a lot of room for that hobby.

    So very excited it’s December… we love Chrstmas around here :]

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    • Mary Dozier - December 2, 2009 - 10:39 pm

      Andrea,
      You take very beautiful pictures. You have an eye for some of the most unusual shots. You have grown into a very talented person and I say this sincerely.
      You take everything you do to the next level.
      You have become an established photographer, a talented cake decorator, but most of all, you are an extremely good journalist.
      I think you have a calling in any of these fields but don’t let the writing pass by. You do it so well!!

    My cousin, April, has two very sweet baby girls. It’s so cool to see how her family has grown & to be able to document it with my camera. She is from Northern Ohio, but was gracious enough to meet me at a park in Sydney (about half way for both of us). I usually like to scope out locations before we shoot, but only Googled this one. Turned out, {to my relief}, we had plenty to work with!

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    Miriah is a year old, and I love how at that age, everything is new & their curiosity is so obvious. She made me smile all over again working with these pictures.

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    And because her shoes were insanely adorable, had to show them in color :]

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    Recap of October II still in the works as well as three weddings & three engagements. I am gonna be a blogging machine for the next couple weeks ;]

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    • April - November 5, 2009 - 3:18 pm

      Thank you so much Andrea. I’ve looked at them like 5 time already… They are so cute. I love the one with Kaitlyn and all her little uneven fly aways. lol. You were able to capture some of the different faces of Miriah. I’m speechless. Thanks again.

    When you live in Ohio, you feel a certain adoration for Fall- its beautiful colors & comfortable chill. On the other hand, you carry on with trepidation, knowing that at any moment, the weather may turn & Winter may take over. Before that happens, we strive to do all we can to savor all the beauty around us. In between a week long “honeymoon,” three weddings & four engagement shoots, various family sessions, & two huge cakes… we did what we could to enjoy the season together. Especially because Rock wasn’t with us last year & is most likely not going to be here this time next year.

    It’s hard for me to believe that a few months have gone by since I re-launched my blog & yet this will be my three year old son, Kevin’s, debut! He made some appearances on the old one, but it’s definitely time to post some pictures of the two “mans” I love {and photograph} the most.

    2009 Barn Bash at the Duncan’s Farm

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    Fulton Farms October 20th

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    Taken by my assistant of course…

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    I always tell people that having a growing boy running around while I learn about photography has helped me grow. I always have to be ready for anything, I have to remain inconspicuous or he will stop doing whatever he is doing, & I test the limits of slower speeds used on toddlers…

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    He’s getting so big. I love his independence, imagination, & loyalty.

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    I gobble him up daily… for good reason. I know I’m biased, but he’s my favorite.

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    The lovely sunset {& I always love a nice interesting tree}.

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    Quick snapshots from a funny day. Kevin had to sneeze then he ran & got something & came back to the kitchen. He told me he needed his glasses when he sneezes, because that’s what Imagination Movers do…

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    This was a cake I made in early October for a friend’s mom’s surprise birthday party. The budget allowed for me to use homemade ingredients for everything {except fondant…I prefer the workability of packaged fondant vs. the unreliable homemade versions}. The pumpkins were hand made w/ marshmallow fondant. I’m in love with Swiss Meringue Vanilla Bean Buttercream… a little time consuming, but worth every minute! We definitely drew inspiration from an Amy Atlas creation, and a family member made the wood cake pedestal.

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    *** No more wedding cakes for me. I don’t mind cakes {like this one} for 60 servings & under, birthday cakes, cupcakes, etc. But never a wedding cake again. Unless you are my little sister, Abby Bell, and you are getting married someday {like ten years}. I would probably make her cake…
    Just not into doing it on a larger scale… for a thousand reasons, no thank you!

    This post started getting longer & longer… so part two coming up next: Mexico pictures & trick or treat. Then back to the families & engagements you haven’t had a chance to see. Oh yeah, and a few weddings :]

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