We got 5″ of snow today. North Carolina may never recover….
Jokes aside, it was a great opportunity to commemorate 7 years with this guy.
Happy anniversary, my love.
Photographed on my studio property in Cameron, North Carolina.
Crunchy Glamour serves, Sanford, Southern Pines, Pinehurst, Fayetteville, Raleigh & all surrounding areas ! Yes, I travel !
Self portraits were a big segue into professional photography for me. Working as a model, I began to tire of frequently needing to find reputable sources to update images in my model portfolio & began to take my own photos
Self portraits were a big segue into professional photography for me. Working as a model, I began to tire of frequently needing to find reputable sources to update images in my model portfolio & began to take my own photos. I learned a lot & am happy to say that I’ve gotten it down to a science now.
I believe that if you can take your own photo – a tedious & often rushed process – you can take anyone’s photo, and 10x better. Photographing someone other than yourself allows you the luxury of taking your time, constantly tweaking & revising your composition, reviewing your shots, etc.; something you can’t really do during self portraiture. A lot of times, however, it is the only option, as it was during my trip to Easter Island, which was a journey worthy of an entire blog in itself…but I will try to keep focus here.
My husband has his own set of extraordinary talents, but unfortunately for me, photography is NOT one of them. So, when we travel, our holiday photos are either in the hands of (mostly camera illiterate) strangers or, well, me.
The photo above is one of my favorite examples of self portraiture on the fly that happened to turn out exactly as I wanted it to, without the use of any studio lighting or assistance ! As we were traveling to & on the most isolated populated island in the world, I knew I had to travel light; no reflectors, tripods or additional baggage that would have slowed us down or been a hinderance to carry. For this shot, I balanced my camera between a pile of jagged rocks & ran back and forth between my spot – marked by a smaller rock I used for my focus point – and a spot close enough to my teetering camera for the remote to send a signal, every 10 shots. Did I mention there was a sleeping baby on my back ? Shhhh….
Cellphone photo of my madness, snapped by my husbandMany ended up crooked due to the camera falling a bit & there were a lot of awkward shots, since I was in constant movement trying to flare my skirt to give the illusion of wind – the waves below were dramatic due to the rocky coastline & I wanted to mirror that in my stance – but my efforts were not in vain & I ended up with one of my favorite shots, ever.
There are about 40 other photo outtakes from this shoot
I guess I just wanted to make a post to show that it doesn’t matter where you are or what gear you (don’t) have; never pass up an opportunity to execute your vision !
I was recently made aware of the tradition of Santa sacks: A child puts the toys they no longer play with into a sack on Christmas Eve for Santa to
I was recently made aware of the tradition of Santa sacks:
A child puts the toys they no longer play with into a sack on Christmas Eve for Santa to bring to other children who might not get many toys & returns to fill it with new toys. Sounds like a great way to give back & add a little extra magic to the holidays !
I found these gorgeous personalized sacks that I just know my boys will love.
You can find them HERE.
Adorable ready-to-go set in a festive, holiday themed room that captures the excitement of Christmas morning.
Limited availability. Email info@HardyShoots.com to reserve your appointment.
1 hour shoot & 3 fully retouched photos, only $100 !
At least it’s not a podcast.
I’ve had curious minds urge me to start a blog for a while now. I always thought the internet was inundated with too much content from all sides; after all, you know what they say
At least it’s not a podcast.
I’ve had curious minds urge me to start a blog for a while now. I always thought the internet was inundated with too much content from all sides; after all, you know what they say: The best thing about the internet is that it gives everyone a voice.. and that’s also the worst thing. I was afraid of being just another blog, posting to the void of an imaginary audience or to people who didn’t really care – and that may still be the case – but I do often get questions about the contents of my social media posts & figured it would be easier to hit the posts’ FAQ here. This will also be a space to showcase my favorite images from recent & past photo shoots.
For now, let me know that I’m not posting to the void:
blogcrunchyglamour.wordpress.com 