Harley kids

Posted on November 9, 2013 by karielphotography

After having to reschedule for a few weeks due to weather (I swear it’s worse than New England!) I met with the Harley family, minus the hubby, on Fort Fisher, NC. I love being able to explore all new areas of this place! Just a short ferry ride over the Intracoastal Waterway, four miles from Southport is a beautiful little spot that boasts a beautiful ocean and some REALLY awesome “twisty trees”. At least, that’s what we’re calling them because the mom and I have no idea what type of tree they are. I’m sure my husband could tell me as he knows pretty much everything.

The goal for this shoot was to get some cute pictures for Christmas cards so I brought along some candy canes- fresh from Santa in the North Pole, of course. These were the “if you’re good!” enticement to get some cooperation with the kiddos but like most young children and goofy siblings, this was a hard task. Is Karma coming back to me? When I was younger and my mom tried taking pictures of us kids or as a family it took for.ev.er. to get us to simmer down and pose nicely. Now I know what she went through! But I also know what the kids are going through. And I’ve found that it’s best to just let them be and try to capture them the best I can! Besides, looking back on my family pictures, I can honestly say that they fully represent us and the same will be for any family!

Brynn

Posted on November 9, 2013 by karielphotography

I met back up with the Austermiller family to capture their daughter’s four-year old pictures. We met at a place called Westgate Nature Park in Leland, NC and I fell in love with the location. It has been newly built and has a pretty cool playground and then a neat walking trail through the woods. There are other dirt roads and wide open fields as you walk and at the end, an awesome wooden bridge that opens to a big platform with benches.

To add to this awesome scenery is the CUTEST little girl. She was a typical little girl who just wanted to play and run around. In between picking up rocks, climbing and pulling flowers she managed to throw in some adorable little smiles and poses. Brynn is a little mini southern belle and I loved photographing her!

The MacKenzie Wedding

Posted on November 9, 2013 by karielphotography

I first met Amy, the bride, during one of my first weekends as a freshman at Westfield State College (now University). Our mutual friends forced us to meet at a party because they all said I looked more like her than her twin sister did and I should use her ID as a fake. (Don’t worry mom, this never happened!) Through these mutual friends, I became close to her and her sister even though they were two years ahead of me. After they graduated we kept in touch, even tailgating together at a Patriots game and Toby Keith concert. All three of us also have labs for ~~pets~~ children and we kept trying to set up play dates with them!

About a month after I moved down here to Southport, NC, Amy contacted me and inquired about photography for their destination wedding ceremony south of Myrtle Beach, SC. Her groom’s and her family rented an oceanfront house for the week to relax and have a wedding ceremony! With the location being just under two hours away I jumped at the opportunity to be there on her special day and give her fabulous pictures to remember their time with their closest family members. They had already celebrated with a big bash before coming down, so this was just a very small and casual beachfront ceremony.

Let me tell you folks, this is the way to go! No stress, no frills, no countless vendors to contact or thousands of dollars gone just for one day. You still get the same outcome at the end of the day minus all the anxiety of perfection. The weather was perfect, their families were awesome and bonus for them, my baby Bear accompanied me because they needed at least one lab in attendance! 🙂