Happy Thanksgiving Friends and Family!

Wishing all of you a lovely Thanksgiving filled with all the love, family, and turkey, and non-traditional eats and treats that can have! Happy Thanksgiving!

Oh So Candid Family Shoot with the Hardmans: A Sneak

Candid moments are great.

They are the things that let us know the human condition still remains.

They are not hallow social media selfies.  They are real. They are beautiful. They never go out of style.

They are my specialty.

The great thing about  shooting close family friends is that they trust your ability to accurately use creative license: in other words, you can be yourself. You can use your specialty.

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It was weird to see someone you had known since they were a teenager be so grown up. My first thought was "he has kids and EVERYTHING." My next thought was "gosh, you're such an old bird now."

  Although we aren't really that far apart in age, I have always thought of Randy as my little brother (he kinda is since he is the younger brother of my very best friend). But, to see him grow into such a mature, responsible father of two in awe inspiring.  I now look at his family and think "wow, they were always there, just not there yet." It's surreal.

This weekend, he and his kids ventured a few hundred miles back in to NC territory for Easter Weekend and I made good on my promise to retake their pictures.  I'm so happy it worked out because I got to capture so many great moments in this beautiful little family.  These kids could not ask for a better father and he couldn't ask for better more joyous kids. They all got to be themselves. They let me be myself.  Couldn't have asked for a better photo session.

NEW Custom Packaging for Blue!!

The devil is in the details.  I say again, THE DEVIL IS IN THE DETAILS. 

I have always been one for the details.  Symmetry is best friend.  In recent months, I have worked on a design I felt would fit the new image of my business.  When Blue Arden was Ollie Wills Photography, though my business had a name, it didn't have brand.  It did not showcase the things I love which are: antique, vintage, rustic, modern, and simple.  I like bold colors.  I like aged things.  I like new things made to look old and old things made to look new.  That's my SCHTICK.  My brand, instead, was all over the place with constantly changing watermarks, editing styles, and imprints, as I tried to find myself. 

Finally, this year, the name Blue Arden found me and with it came a brand.  What came with it was specificity and direction. What came with it was a THANK YOU NOTE.  I believe my clients should always know how thankful I am for them choosing me.  It is a huge honor to be the number one choice! With that being said, I am proud to introduce what will now come standard with all large packages and weddings. It's so cute, I think I'll make one for myself.