Nate + Joanna + Baby

I had such a great time photographing Nate and Joanna, and their bump. They were up for anything, despite the chilly, early hour (yes, anything before 9 AM is early to me.) Doesn't Joanna look radiant? And Nate is just silly with love and excitement. In the last two, he was being really silly--teasing Joanna for forgetting her wedding rings, and knocking on her belly to wake up the baby...Joanna, don't let him do that once she's born!

Thanks guys, for a great morning!

Cute Kids!

Just wanted to share these adorable kids with you all!

School Picture Time!

It's fall. The kids are back in school, and anyone who has been to school or had a child in school knows that fall is school picture time! It's a tradition that's been held for generations. And historically, school pictures are NOT good. The school photographers have about 30 seconds to photograph each child, and they don't care if the kid is smiling, or his hair is sticking straight up, or she has food on her chin. As a mom, I usually bought the smallest package of school pictures available, and only because the grandparents insisted. But let's face it--those photos are not flattering, and I cringe every time I see them--as a former student, as a mom, and as a photographer.

Several years ago, my good friend and colleague and I decided there had to be a better alternative. Rebekah and I decided we could offer quality portraits in a school setting. We created a new company, Pope & Schwartz--Contemporary School Portraiture. Now wouldn't you love for your child's school pictures to look like this? (These are from one of our pre-school clients. I will be sharing from some of our elementary, middle, and high schools in the coming weeks.)

Zach + Suzanne

Congratulations to our friends Zach & Suzanne! I was a guest at this wedding, not the photographer, but I haven't attended a wedding without a camera in years. Here's just a snap of them coming back down the isle--look how happy they are! Kelly and I wish you many blessings as you start your journey as husband and wife.

I had so much fun this morning photographing Hillary with my friend and colleague, Rebekah Pope. Hillary came with lots of outfits, shoes, and jewelry, and I brought all my hats, scarves, and sunglasses. It got pretty hot pretty fast (almost 90 degrees today) but Hillary was a real trouper, even standing in the sun in Rebekah' s vintage mink. The historic district in downtown Franklin is one of my favorite locations, and we covered several blocks this morning. So here are some of my favorites. Hope you enjoy them!

Some rare shots...

A breather...I have been extremely busy, but wanted to pop in and let you know I'm still here!

I rarely shoot landscapes or stills...I'm almost exclusively people. But last weekend Kelly talked me into dropping by Art in the Park, a small art festival here in my town. The park is adjacent to the Harpeth River, so I popped down the bank and took a couple of shots I thought I would share...

I'm not a Catholic, but I just had to share this very moving video on CatholicVote.com. It doesn't really matter if you are a Catholic or not--the message is still the same.