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Official Launch of Tiny Heart Studios

It is official!  After many months of soul searching, designing, perfecting, revising, and working way too many long nights, Tiny Heart Studios is finally live!  Pinch me – is it real??  In addition the the new Website (which is actually my blog and my website combined into one), I have added my Newborn and Baby Studio in Marietta.  I have created my new brand with a vision of spectacular customer service and an amazing photography experience for all of my clients.  There are lots of great things to come….and I will keep you posted (you should definitely sign up for my newsletter!)

So much of my heart (no pun intended) has gone into the making of my new brand.  I’m excited to share it with all of you – my family, friends, clients and colleagues.  Since this is the inaugural post, I want to take the time thank a couple people that were an integral part of bringing Tiny Heart Studios to life.

First, I’d like to thank my incredible husband (wait, am I at the Emmy’s or something?? Hee-hee!)  In all seriousness, he has spent countless hours listening to my dreams and supporting me every step of the way.   This is in addition to the many, many, many late nights and weekends he has invested into learning the world of WordPress, ProSelect, Zenfolio, and basically everything “techy” that I’ve needed for this new chapter.  Did I mention he has a real job too?  He truly is my hero — and I can’t wait to spend some time with him again!

Second, thank you to the fabulous Ashley Jankowski of Luxecetera.  She was able to put my ideas and thoughts into a complete concept, and I am truly in love with the “new me!”   For those of you that might not know, I’m kind of a detail-freak.  Ashley graciously put up with countless revisions of our secondary concept,  only to have me scratch everything and return to her very first initial concept that she created based on EXACTLY what I told her I wanted.  She is very talented, and very smart, and I am so appreciative of all her hard work.  Thank you, thank you!

I hope you’ll give some love by leaving a comment to let me know you stopped by.  And I hope you’ll link over to facebook and LIKE me (or love me!).  AND, I hope you’ll use the button below to share the love with all your friends!

THANK YOU!

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by Crystal

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The Pryor Family

Sometimes it’s just so easy!  I had a wonderful session with Jennifer and her family.  The light was beautiful, the kids were happy and everything just fell into place. :)  Olivia and Zach just started a new school together this year so mom wanted to capture this milestone in their lives.  As a parent I can understand what a turning point this must be, both kids in school for full days, all grown up (or at least it seems that way).  And yet, we still see them as our innocent, sweet, little babies – looking at us like we are heroes.  And we are – right?

I absolutely love these first two images – the sun dancing around and glowing on the whole family.

Just look at those freckles on Zach – I could just squeeze him!  And sweet Olivia – more interested in the animals, fish and bugs than me. ;)

*gasp* this picture gets me all emotional.  So cute!

I should tell you that Jennifer is REALLY good about taking pictures and documenting all of their family adventures on her blog - you should check it out!

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Baby Sloan

This was such a fun session.  Mom is a good friend of mine and I photographed Lindy when she was an itty bitty baby – and now she’s a BIG SISTER!  Oh how the time does fly!!  Baby Sloan slept the whole time, and barely made a peep – she was AWESOME!   The only downer about this post is that they will soon be moving to Dallas…. BOO! :(   I’m very sad.

Without further ado, meet the precious miss Sloan.

And, the adorable miss Lindy!  Check out how much she’s grown since our last session!!

Love this one on the cool sofa in my studio! ;)

I’m always a softy for the mommy-baby pictures.  I know how quickly they grow and there’s nothing quite as sweet as kissing the soft, peach-fuzz-covered, newborn head.  Yes, I’m jealous…. but just a little!

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Monday Love

Another edition of Monday Love….

Another song this time: “The Future’s So Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades” – by Timbuk3 (I know, I haven’t heard of them either – but I’ve heard the song…. hence the picture of my Jakester below)

Something personal:  Having two children under 5 is hard.  I know, it’s such a profound statement right?  Nobody has ever said THAT before – HA!  Kylie is in LOVE with her new niece Ally and she begged to go stay the night at Aunt Laurie’s (with Nana too) and help take care of the baby.  Aunt Laurie obliged and Kylie left for the evening on Friday.  Jeff and I were left alone with Jake for about 24 hours – for the first time since he was born (I think?).  The house was semi-peaceful and we were relaxed — and nobody came in our room to announce (joyfully) that it was “seven-zero-zero” on Saturday morning.  It’s really too bad that you can’t relax and enjoy how “easy” one kid is until you have TWO!  Of course, I missed my Kylie-Bear.  I even went in her room and looked at her empty bed, and said a little “goodnight” in my head.  Jeff teased “are you going to be alright?”   Then, reality set in when Kylie returned and the screaming, taunting, whining, yelling (and I don’t just mean the kids), throwing and crying began again.  Don’t get me wrong, Kylie and Jake adore each other, but they sure know how to make some chaos together too!  It made me realize that Jake will never have that “peaceful” babyhood that Kylie enjoyed – but I suppose that’s what makes him the little man he is today!

And quite a little man he is…….

I have to give him credit because, shame on me but, I have never purchased a pair of “boy” shades for Jake.  So what is he supposed to do when it’s really bright outside?  He wore Kylie’s shades for about an hour and was quite pleased with himself.  On another note, I made Kylie stand on the front porch and let me snap this pic of her because I thought is was a cute idea for “what to wear” for your next photography session!  The entire ensemble was purchased today at, believe it or not, TARGET!

Something I love:  My girlfriends!  These ladies below (Allyson, Vicki and Cynthia) plus LIZ and AMY came to my rescue when I needed help this week with a HUGE project involving teeny-tiny holes, ribbon, envelopes and stamps.  Of course, there was a little wine & chocolate involved as well.  THANK YOU for your help and your friendship! :)

Something cool / Before & After: As I was editing this maternity session, it occurred to me that some people might have some interest in my “vision” when I take a picture.  Now, more than ever, it seems that everyone has a “nice” camera and people often think that if they spend a ton of money on a “nice” camera, they will have really awesome pictures – maybe even professional-style pictures.   A good camera will definitely help improve the quality of a picture, however, I believe that artistry comes from a vision, or forethought.  Yes, you can get some good pictures by accident (especially if you take 300 pictures of the same subject) but when you take the time to learn, practice and master your craft, you will have a vision of what you want to achieve BEFORE you snap the shutter.

So, here is a sample of what I am describing.

The image on the left is straight out of the camera (SOOC) and the image on the right is the final edited version.  I posed my subject here because I loved the blow-out of the back light (so I had to meter properly to adjust for the brightness behind her and not lose the detail in her body).  I loved the texture of the brick and the lines of the wall (matching the lines of her body).  My vision for the image was to highlight the flowing dress and beautiful shoes, as well as the wonderful shape of her belly.  I knew the final image would not include her entire body (and face) but I wanted to leave room for a creative crop.  Another detail, I had her bend her left knee slightly to create the small shadow under her shoe – which gives the image a little more life – and keeps her from looking like she only has one leg (from the side-view).  And so my image came to life exactly as I imagined it, but just like photographers used to use the darkroom to create his or her final look, I used Photoshop to do my final tweaks and cropping (and to clone away her thumb sticking out from her other hand!) ;)

A peek:  You can get a little peek from my good friend Alice Park’s blog!

HAPPY MONDAY!!!

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perfect | baby photography atlanta

I had a wonderful newborn session with sweet Beckett and his parents.  It’s been a string of really wonderful newborns, so cooperative and sleepy!  Mom told me in advance that Beckett would have a cleft lip and palate when he’s born.  I’m so happy that these parents embrace the beauty and wonder that is their son and did not wait to do pictures after his surgeries.  His condition is very mild and, as Daddy said, it’s only cosmetic.  He is truly perfect in every way, and I got teary-eyed when holding him, just remembering when my Jake was so little.  It’s a time that slips away so quickly and the only thing you can do is enjoy it, treasure it, and capture it with a picture.

Without further ado, meet Mr. Beckett!

Proud Papa and Mama!  Dad is very into baseball and I love that he brought his glove to use in some pictures.

Can you see the little smile on Beckett’s face?  I swear he was grinning almost the whole time!  And beautiful mommy – she doesn’t look tired at all right??

After Beckett ate, he was WIDE awake.  Mom said he usually stays awake for a while so we just went ahead and did some more pictures.  Usually I do this pose when the babies are sleeping, but we gave it a try “awake” and I think it’s adorable!

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