Amanda+David // Raleigh Portrait Photographer

Amanda and David will have been together for 10 years in December and decided to hang out with us in some parking lots and alleyways and get bit by a whole bunch of mosquitos to celebrate! During this celebration we mostly tortured Amanda with spinning and twirling and tickling but I’m sure she’s stronger for it now. These two met while they were both in high school forever ago and then they went to NC State where they graduated and both got jobs doing teacher-esque things helping kiddos and helping people help kiddos. They have two cats named Genevieve and Gillian because they believe that animals should have human names. David likes working on cars and educated me about how to feel safe while driving a Miata around tractor trailers. Amanda likes barre classes and pop music. Together, they enjoy grilling and a fine gin (is the term “fine gin” a thing?). They also like traveling and are planning a trip to Puerto Rico that we’re jealous of (Carolyn is easily portable inside a suitcase and no one ever has to know). We are so glad that they spent their anniversary with us so we could photograph these fineeee, fine people and their love.

Christie+Noel+Matlock // Anniversary Session

It’s been 2.5 years since Christie+Noel got married and they decided to do some anniversary photos! We think anniversary photos are great because they’re all about documenting you without the pressure of OMG A WEDDING or OMG MY MAKEUP or OMG SAVE THE DATES and generally everyone is significantly more chill. Pretty sure Christie and Noel would’ve been chill anyway, but no one is anywhere near as chill as Matlock. Matlock is their adopted lab-mix dog. He’s huge (possibly mixed with some Great Dane? Mastiff? Godzilla Dog?)His bark sounds like he’s the size of the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man. I’m pretty sure I could ride him around like a small horse and my feet would only have a 50/50 shot of touching the ground. When you actually meet him, though, he is the sweetest dog in the worrrrld and you can tell, if he had opposable thumbs and could also negotiate on your behalf, that he’d do anything for you. Matlock enjoys belly rubs, being incredibly clingy to his parents, and hiding his tennis ball underneath the house where you cannot take it from him, ever ever.

Christie and Noel enjoy Matlock and each other and good television and traveling. Together we ran around and talked to some ducks and got Christie repeatedly tangled in her plaid blanket/scarf that I proceeded to wear the entire time they weren’t using it because it was cold. All of the leaves in the Raleigh/Durham area should have been gone by this point in the year (this shoot was on November 20th), but due to the extreme drought we’ve been having, they hung on for this session, which is probably one of our most colorful leafy sessions to date. We had the best time getting to know these guys and their large furchild. Happy anniversary to two beautiful people!

Ashley+Kyle // Raleigh Engagement Session

We liked Ashley and Kyle as soon as we met them. First, Ashley is a bit littler than I am which always makes me happy because I think that’s happened exactly twice, and it enables me to have a lot easier time photographing them because no step stools are involved. Second, they love cats as much as we do and slightly more (Ashley could probably talk me into the pros of adopting twenty more cats if I gave her fifteen minutes and I would be thoroughly convinced). Third, they’re big fans of both zombies and the 1990s… and the song “Zombie” from the 1990s… which Kyle played while proposing to Ashley (if that doesn’t make a girl say yes, I’m not sure what does). So, basically, they’re us, only with a little more cats and slightly less height. We had an awesome time getting to know ourselves a bit better during their session. We did run into a slight hiccup when Ashley stepped into the territory of some unfriendly fire ants, but not before she and Kyle had already defaced the side of a building with their wedding date (don’t worry, it was chalk spray paint, which, amazingly, not only washes off in the rain, but is surprisingly just as bright as normal spray paint!). We’re looking forward to playing some Munchkin with these folks and hanging out with more cats. ;)