Monday, October 14, 2013

10 on 10 circle, this photogs life in 30 days, Nashville TN lifestyle photography

Its that time of the month again! I just LOVE being a part of this fabulous group of photogs, documenting OUR lives! 
Lucky for me, the group opened up to not only shooting on the 10th of the month this time, but to showcase our life over the last month...not going to lie, with Christmas season in full swing insanity and just life in general, I needed the room to post from the entire month! 
This month, London was chosen by Ally the Alligator to have a VERY treasured sleepover! Which means a lot.  It means my miss priss exemplified exceptional behavior in class...if you know my girl, this is a HUGE deal! 
I also had the honor of being the maid (or matron, rather, bc im married, but that just sounds too old for me! lol!) in my best friends wedding! We did her bridal session at the location of the wedding 4 days before and she truly left me speechless...it was an amazing experience...there is something SO wonderful about feeling utter happiness for someone you love so much...it will be a treasured experience for me!
Being the token family photog, I also got to shoot my aunt-in-laws (is that a thing?!?) wedding.  The 2nd for both, it was truly an eye opening experience getting to witness that we as humans beings will always seek love and happiness.  We strive for it and it was amazing getting to watch their union and their 2nd chance at true love!
Grab a cup of joe and follow the circle around to experience your own glimpse at some remarkable women starting with the uber fabulous work of Eva Creel Photography CLICK HERE!

Wednesday, September 4, 2013

when i pray...capturing ashleys battle...franklin tn lifestyle photography

every night when i lay my head on my pillow i pray.  i thank God for allowing me another day to live in his presence.  then i thank him for giving me the blessing of my photography talent.  then i ask him to keep leading me so i may use his gift to me to do his work...3 months ago, i was called upon to show him i was listening and to use my talent...so here it goes...my most challenging project to date.  it has nothing to do with my business, nothing to do with $.  it ONLY has to do with God, and his call to do HIS work, to push my insecurities and fears aside and to capture what scares me the most...

ashley is my best friends best friend.  she is to christi what april is to me.  but me and ashley, we get along...and not just a little bit.  i loved her within minutes the same way my christi does and i have treasured her friendship since.  this summer she found out she has stage 2 Hodgkins Lymphoma.  she is 2 years younger than me.  she is a single mother.  she has 2 girls well old enough to understand the worst word in the dictionary...CANCER.  at christis 34th birthday party, she pulled my husband aside and told him what was going on...he never breathed a word of it to me.  we texted that week and that sunday on my way home from a senior session i was on cloud 9 about i called her.  her 1st words were i have something to tell you...i knew what she was going to say...(i know its weird, but i have a really, i mean kinda scary 6th sense) i blurted out, don't say it, please don't say it...what is it? how sick are you? for the next 10 minutes she went on and on about Hodgkins Lymphoma while I had to pull over 3 times bc the tears were pouring so fast i couldnt see.  we got off the phone and i was numb.  i cried and cried for the next 2 days.  i was beside myself with sadness for her 2 girls and for her.  cancer has plagued my life.  i watched God take my nana after she battled breast cancer and while her closest family surrounded her holding hands singing amazing grace, i witnessed Jesus come get her so she could be my most fierce fighting angel.  this year my father in law was diagnosed with liver and lung cancer.  his liver was so poisoned with the disease, he looked like a pregnant man. i watched him suffer as the chemo stripped him to 90 lbs.  now ashley, a strong, amazing woman...

3 days later she called me.  she said for 2 days in a row God had woken her at 3a and i was the reason.  he was telling her to ask me to capture her journey.  she said he told her no one but me could do it and no one could be the one except for me.  she was actually afraid to burden me with the request! can you imagine? her burden me? i immediately accepted even though it scared me to death.

the 1st session was at the wig shop.  i got in my car and drove to my moms.  i left my kids got back in my car and cried the entire 15 minute drive to the shop.  when i got there she was surrounded by 7 women laughing and carrying on trying on the craziest of wigs in the shop.  the owner was a miracle in herself.  ill never know how she has the strength to continuously show women how gorgeous they truly are when they are losing what they consider a part of being "a woman." you never realize how much your hair means to your self esteem.  its something we take for granted as natural and being stripped of it causes severe internal devastation...

my hands were shaking so much i couldnt obtain focus in my camera, i tried 6 times to set my white balance before ashley came over to me, hugged me and said, i know you will show me, me.  i know God put you here.  then she turned around, put her hand on her hip, pointed her other sassy finger at me and said..."gggguuuurrrrllll you know you like me in this wig, you think i'll land a new man looking this hot!???" instantly, i remembered this is what this was about...i was there for her and damn it, i was going to give her all i had.  the 1st image is the ashley i know and cherish.  her eyes are mesmerizing, her sexy smile reveals a voice of strength and wisdom, and her wit..oh that smart ass wit...

the next challenge sent me to the alter of my church.  no lie i skidded tires in the parking lot, the keys were left in the ignition and i ran in the sanctuary only to lay on my hands and knees on the steps to the choir stage crying, hands clasp, begging for strength, begging for her, begging for God to lead me. 

the loss of ashleys hair left me floored.  it left her oldest daughter on the floor crying picking up the shaved locks on the floor...then it left naked beauty i have never witnessed before.  seeing my nana get her angel wings was the single most beautiful event i had witnessed in my young 21 years, holding my daughter and seeing my nanas nose on her face as though my nana had herself helped create her brought so much love in my heart it baffled me, but seeing ashley with no hair made me SEE true beauty.  i LOVE her shaved head.  I didn't want her to wear her wig, she is more beautiful without it bc this way all i can see is her.  every single God given shred of beautiful.  i felt like i did when i realized what love was.  i saw what God sees.  I saw perfection. 

HIS PERFECTION...and he chose ME to capture it.  she knew it and she knew i was the only one he wanted to be there.  that is powerful.  that is faith...that is something i hope i can show my children one day.  blind faith, blind believing, blind love.

no these images are not my perfectionist perfection.  its too hard when your hands are shaking, knees are weak and eyes are full of tears, but these images are perfect, bc they are exactly what HE gave me this talent for and i can only hope HE is proud...

You can help my Ashley.  Please share this with all of your friends and help tell her story.  You can read her blog HERE and you can help HERE.  Please remember, none of us are accidents.  We all have a path.  We all have a story.  We are all here for a reason...mankind believes in hope and love conquers all.

Ashley, I love you.  Thank you for being my witness...
love to you all,
steph

Wednesday, August 14, 2013

10 on 10 circle, The last day of Summer 2013, Stephanie Marie Photographie Nashville TN lifestyle photography

Im not going to lie.  I had completely different images for this project this month. But...today was GORGEOUS.  Perfect weather and we went out to enjoy it and I realized...
It is officially our LAST day of summer 2013...tomorrow my baby girl starts Kindergarten.  My baby boy starts preschool...we won't have toddler toys in our back yard next year and we won't be the same size or age or innocence or anything we are now.  We will have grown and tomorrow we leave all the joys of summer behind.  we flex our wings and we grow...this momma is longing for the dog days of summer and sad over the reality that life goes on no matter how hard you try to hold on to every second...

To follow all the lovely ladies of the Moms Who Click 10 on 10 project, click HERE to experience the ever amazing Eva Creel Photography!!!

summer 2013 lifestyle photography

Tuesday, August 13, 2013

The Lifestyle Newborn Sessions, Nashville TN newborn photography

Born to Bob Marley's Redemption song, this boy is an energy all his own.  His mother a rockstar, his father a peace loving hippy man, he will stroll on this earth with a gentle soul and a soundtrack all his own...

Tuesday, August 6, 2013

Franklin TN High School Senior 2014 photography, miss n...

I am beyond honored to introduce the stunning miss n.  a high school senior with the world at her fingertips and the inner beauty to shine with every step! her senior pictures are to DIE for!

Wednesday, July 31, 2013

deck the walls 2013, Nashville TN holiday mini session photography

I cannot believe it is Christmas season again!  My favorite time of year!  The lights, the tree, the carols, the love of being surrounded by family both near and far...and of course!  My favorite mini of the ENTIRE year! 

This year the Deck the Walls minis are back, better than ever, brand new locations and conceptual set ups!  EEEKKEKEKKKKK!  I can barely contain myself!! They are so exciting! 

I never shared them last year, so here is a little sneak of the fabulous of 2012 and 2013 is going to knock its socks off!!!

It was SO hard to just pick a few for the blog! These sessions TRULY sparkle & shine!!!

FOR BOOKING & INFO SHEET: 615.810.9048 or stephaniemariephotographie@gmail.com

Tuesday, July 9, 2013

magic before my eyes...franklin tn baby photography

sometimes, life is so beautiful, magic happens right before your very eyes...don't blink...

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

10 on 10 circle, shes my best friend...Franklin TN engagement photographer

"A true friend is one that knows you as you are, understands where you have been, accepts what you have and still allows you to grow..."

We met in 1st grade.  We didn't like each other.  Competition..ya know, its fierce in 1st grade...our paths didn't cross again until we were in 6th grade.  We went to church together and on that warm fresh spring Sunday, I didn't feel like going to Sunday school.  She was standing outside of our classroom and I said hey, wanna skip and go to McDonald's? You can walk from our church.  She looked me up & down, then replied thank goodness! Yes!

The rest is history.  She has been my strongest rock for 25 years.  25 years, can you imagine? I only lived on this earth for 9 years before my chosen sister was all mine for the rest of my life as I know it.  She knows everything, I mean everything, about me.  The good. The bad. The UGLY.  She has been my champion in my absence, my hero during my darkest hour.  She arrived at the hospital 3 minutes after I walked in to have my 1st child.  She rubbed my back as I went through a terrifying labor with my son.  She never questions my actions and always, always listens as I painstakingly try to figure out my mistakes.  She loves my clothes. She will meet me for coffee when we only have 10 minutes to meet before we rush off to our busy lives just to see me.  She is the godmother to both of my children and she braved a snowstorm to stand beside me when I got married.  I cried like a baby when I saw her in the 1st wedding dress she tried on.

She has taught me to love unconditionally.  She traveled across the country to sleep on my couch when I lived in LA.  She let my pug, the infamous Baby Tattles and I live in her 1 bedroom apartment when I fled to her house from LA, with broken dreams and a broken heart for 3 months...never complaining, only asking me to make her dinner.  In doing so, I set her oven on fire trying to make sweet potatoes...to which she laughed and called her dad (my 2nd father) and told him, he needed to get us a new oven so I could keep cooking for her. 

She loves my bacon and fried eggs.  She loves my jeans.  She allows me to be me and has never once asked me to be anything other than her best friend.

Now, he is her sunshine.  He makes her world spin.  He is making all of her dreams come true.  He embraces me and our relationship...and the craziest part about him and I?  We are both professional photographers.  He is AMAZING.  The winner of multiple Addy awards for his remarkable work with the National Guard.  He stands next to us and holds her hand, never stepping in between us.  He has embraced my family and him & I, we understand each other.  We understand her and our love for her. 

Now he will share all I have loved and I am beyond honored to stand next to them as they take their vows to walk hand in hand for life...

My April.  His future wife.  Their love...and I lucky enough to get to capture it...and know I will capture the rest for them, excitedly waiting for all that is to come.

April, thank you for being you.  For loving me and for being my hero.  I love you from the bottom of my heart.
Follow the circle round and round and prepare to be amazed by THE AMAZING MICHELLE...http://bit.ly/YLfLx9

Monday, April 15, 2013

10 on 10 circle Pop turns 57...Nashville TN lifestyle photographer

So this months 10 on 10 fell on my dear old Dads (aka POP) 57th birthday.  Of course we celebrated with steak dinner, complete with my fav, Chocolate martinis, twice baked potatoes, learning to yo-yo (POP is the bomb yo-yoer...Nana is quite the champ holahooper), playing the crazy Ethel chase and a lot of love all around...if I've learned anything participating in this project is to love the imperfect, capture the real and just let the rest fall into place...


Follow the photography REAL life awesomesauce with the uber fabulous Erica May Photography HERE!!! She WILL NOT disappoint! Plus, doesn't everyone LOVE a confession...

Friday, March 15, 2013

10 on 10 photography circle project, Nashville TN lifestyle photography

its the time of the month again for the fabulous project i am SO blessed to be a part of, the 10 on 10 photography circle!  follow the circle round and round and get ready to enter the lives of the fabulous photogs who spend so much time capturing others, capturing their own!

you can find last months circle HERE!

so a lil narrative, if you please...

we LOVE art.  obviously.  but really, london is obsessed.  like having an art party for her 5th birthday party at the end of the month obsessed.  painting is her fav, but anything glitter is a close 2nd, then markers of course. however, she doesn't love me shooting her (i think bc i literally abused her when i was learning to shoot!) so we shoot the details of her, her messy hands bc thats how art happens, her on the side of my house hand collage (can you see me?) and her paper plate "mural."

trace loves the camera.  he wants to show me everything, he wants to look at me with his oh so smouldering eyes and he wants to paint and pass out eating "fuit snakes." yes, that says snakes.  hes 2 although he looks 5 and ya know, i'll miss mispronunciation one day!

of course the infamous baby tattles always wants in on the action, she loves to paint and the evidence is on my carpet...inside.  ummm, crayola, washable, what? she of course loves to pose and let the world embrace her beauty!

yes, i know i could fit another toe in between my big toe and the one irregularly spaced next to it, but the angle and crazy amount of flower weeds intrigued me...so here is another month, in our chaotic life, just living the dream...

please keep clicking through our circle and visit the uber fab Kim by the Sea with the link:

 
 

Monday, March 4, 2013

Spring Minis 2013, Nashville TN lifestyle photography

Well, well, well....its that time of year again!  I don't know about y'all, but this chick is READY for warm weather!  SOOOOO, without further ado...

Stephanie Marie Photographie is NOW BOOKING THE SPRING MINIS 2013!!!

EMAIL stephaniemariephotographie@gmail.com or 615.810.9048 to book.

Friday, February 15, 2013

10 on 10 project, our life...Nashville TN lifestyle photography

To be quite honest, when I was invited to join this circle of amazing women I was slightly intimidated...is my work good enough to keep up? what will I shoot? what if its a nasty day? what if my kiddos keep up their normal routine and no matter how many tricks i bust out, they act like little monsters?

well true to form here in middle TN, it rained...and not just a little bit.  it poured ALL day long.  had it been a session with a client, I would have most definitely rescheduled.  then, i remembered an article i read in the child issue of Lemonade & Lenses.  It was written my a mother about shooting her children in their everyday routine.  not picking up and trying to stage anything...just letting them be themselves.  To learn to love grain and imperfection...

last week was one for the books.  we found out tuesday my father in law was diagnosed with lung and liver cancer.  small cell cancer.  the smartest of all cancers that literally "runs" from organ to organ trynig to escape chemo.  wednesday he was not having a good day at all.  we sat at the hospital staring at each other and him willing ourselves to find something to talk about.  thursday the aggressive chemo plan was set out.  friday he received his first treatment.  friday my sister in law and i headed out to tour Mississippi State University as our last tour before she declares who will get the honor of educating our smarty pants for the next 4 years...we almost didnt go.  but, i could tell she more than any of us NEEDED to get out of town...

so sunday rolled around and we were all exhausted.  mentally, physically and spiritually.  i woke up and dreaded the day.  it was nasty, i didn't feel like shooting.  but i figured, what the heck? embrace was the message right? so, i left my inhibitions behind and didn't ask the kids for anything.  it was going to be a stay at home day anyway, so i just put my camera on my desk and told myself i would grab it when i felt like it...and so i did. during breakfast and to witness the "gravy" train before naptime...grainy and dark, kinda like all of our moods, those little angels lifted my spirits with their inability to let anything other than joy lead them in their everyday journey...

Follow all the amazing in our circle HERE to witness the beauty that is Kristina Rust Photography!!!

Monday, February 4, 2013

HOPE is all you need...Nashville TN lifestyle photography

Hope Clinic for Women is probably one of the most amazing organizations I have had the pleasure of working with.  Their program sets families up for success and with a positive Christan base, helps them grow for their future.  Check out all they offer here. Sign up to donate or volunteer!  You won't regret it!

When I left just this past Friday, I was so full of joy.  To see the HOPE in all of the women waiting for their newbies to arrive, the new mothers and siblings just bursting with love, makes my heart sing in a way I cannot describe.  I feel so blessed to be a part of all this wonderful and I truly HOPE to do so for many. many more years to come!

Thursday, January 31, 2013

Charleston WV 2013, charleston wv lifestyle photographer

ooooooohhhhhhhhhh Charleston!  Stephanie Marie Photographie is BACK! 

We will be in town April 26-29, 2013!

I CANNOT wait to be back in my old stomping grounds and feeling that WVU blue & gold love!!!

Check out the fabulous from last year! 

Contact 615.810.9048 or stephaniemariephotographie@gmail.com to BOOK!  {LIMITED sessions will be offered this year.}

Monday, January 21, 2013

you are my sunshine...Leipers Fork TN lifestyle photographer stephanie marie photographie

you are my sunshine
my only sunshine
you make me happy
when skies are grey

you'll never know dear
how much i love you
so please don't take
my sunshine
away...

For more fabulous check out where images from this session were featured on evoking you and Moms Who Click!



Tuesday, January 15, 2013

Moms Who Click Behind the Lens Interview, Nashville TN lifestyle photographer

WOW WOW WOW!  Stephanie Marie Photographie is featured today on Moms Who Click!  It is truly a dream come true for me!  This Behind the Lens interview means so much in my aspiration to share the joy we capture over here!  Click the link below to witness all of the wonderful going on at Moms Who Click!

http://www.momswhoclick.com/2013/01/behind-lens-stephanie-marie.html

Comment on the blog and be entered to win a Playful Hearts Mini!  Share on your social media networking pages and be entered to win as many times as you share the love!!!

As always, be happy friends and never ever ever stop reaching for your dreams!

Monday, January 14, 2013

beauty has a face...nashville tn lifestyle photographer

beauty.

grace.

intelligence.

confidence.

be amazed...


ONLY 2 PLAYFUL HEARTS MINIS LEFT!!! CLICK HERE to book one of the last 2 and get a super special upgrade!!!