A few months ago, some friends, my sisters & I decided to come together to do a creative portrait shoot. We wouldn't be getting paid for it or anything. It was simply for fun. But sometimes, those are the best types of shoots. We had a vision for what we wanted this shoot to be & got to work trying to make it come to life. I asked my friend Chelsea if she could model, my girl Lexi volunteered to do flowers, and my sweet sister Margaret Ann did hair and makeup. Oh..and my other sweet sister Genevieve came as moral support, and to be our bag carrier & coat rack ;)

We all met in Columbia on a windy, 46 degree afternoon. It was COLD, and poor Chelsea was shivering terribly! We would shoot for about 5 minutes or less, then bundle her up in all of our coats until she was warm enough to brace the cold & wind again. She was SO tough and hung in there the entire time, not complaining once. It was so worth it though, because LOOK AT HER! She couldn't be more gorgeous if she tried!!!!

I've always loved doing portrait sessions, especially creative portraits. Most people are a bit hesitant to do something fun & dramatic like this, but we wanted to show that it is possible and can turn out beautifully! Many brides are also hesitant to do large, dramatic bouquets, hair pieces & makeup, which is totally understandable. But again, we wanted to show that it can be done in a very tasteful & lovely way. Especially for photos, the bigger the better. If I were a bride again, I would do something different and dramatic like this. And if you're a bride out there & want to do something like this, but aren't 100% sold on the idea, Lexi & I were talking about the fact that you could do a big bouquet or floral headpiece for your bridals, instead of your wedding day. Because, who really wants to carry around a 15lb bouquet on their wedding day?! Yet, we thought this would give brides the idea and option of doing something like this for their bridals instead.

Coming together & collaborating with other creatives is SERIOUSLY such a joy. It's so refreshing and gets you out of the rut of doing and shooting the same type of stuff day in and day out. It's also a great way to meet new people in the area who are in your field. One of my goals for 2018 is to collaborate more, which is a huge step for me because I am such an introvert. But regardless, it's necessary, in any career, to get out of your comfort zone, do different things, meet new people, and create new work. It truly refuels you and helps you continue for the long haul. So, here a few (or not so few) images from our shoot. I took over 500 images, so narrowing it down for this post was a bit difficult! But, hopefully you enjoy the work & the excessive amount of photos isn't too much ;)

I want to give ALL my love and gratitude for these incredible ladies. They seriously made this shoot come to L I F E and I couldn't have done this at all without them. The result of this photo shoot is due to their talent and work.

Chelsea, I can't thank you enough for putting up with our crazy ideas and for letting us drag you out into the freezing cold weather to do these. You were absolutely perfect, graceful, and beautiful. You are such a wonderful girl & I so appreciate you sharing your beauty with us.

Lexi, every time I work with you, I am amazed at what you can create with flowers & leaves. Not only does it take talent to rig THAT many flowers together without having them fall out, but it takes more talent to envision what you want your work to look like, and then know the steps to bring your idea to life. You're crazy talented. But beyond that, you have a beautiful soul and fun personality. Your love for Jesus is contagious, and so is your laugh! I feel blessed to have you in my life. (PS- Lexi is giving away a *10*% discount on florals to anyone who books a wedding with me! So pass the word along-the deal is good until the end of February!)

Margaret Ann, I was just on the phone the other day with someone and told them how you literally are good at everything you do. And you could choose basically any career or hobby & be fantastic at it. It's slightly annoying and I'm kinda jealous, but I'll get over it one day ;) But for real, thank you for always sharing your talent and for always helping me with all my photo shoots for all these years. You're encouraging, full of joy, and always so selfless. I love you more than you know.

Geneveive, we joked with you the entire photo shoot about how you wouldn't stop suggesting that Chelsea wear the white dress for some of the photos. But I am SO glad we listened to you because those are seriously some of my favorite images from this shoot. You always say that Mog & I stole all the talent in the family, but that is NOT true at all. You have such an eye for beauty, placement, and design. You give a fresh perspective on everything. Thank you for coming along and helping us out, it meant so much to me. I love you forever.

Chelsea//Portrait