When the Clamp/Knoke family contacted me for their family portraits in Greenville, they were on a bit more of a time crunch than most families are: their son and brother Will is only in town for two weeks….on leave from serving in Afghanistan. Will won’t be stateside again for 6 months, so it was super important to have portraits while he’s here and while their family is complete again. It was a pleasure and an honor to photograph them yesterday….

Jennifer and Josh got engaged on this very swing! They’ve been married for about 2 1/2 years now, and wanted some new “couple pictures” of them. Yay!

One of my favorites of them!

Mom and Dad are a pretty cute little couple, too!

Brother and Sister…

LOVE this portrait of Will and Mom….she’s so proud!

Ha–Mom finally got Will to crack a smile. 🙂

And lastly, some portraits of Will. There are so many opinions about this war, our country, and politics. Bottom line, however, is that there are thousands of men and women risking their lives by simply “doing their jobs.” They are someone’s son or daughter, their brother or sister, their husband or wife. Many thanks and many prayers for a safe return go out to Will and all the others like him.

The face of this soldier…who returns overseas tomorrow.

A favorite from the day:

Clamps/Knokes, it was great meeting you all yesterday. My hope is that these portraits will make the distance and time a little easier over the next 6 months. Will, stay safe, and thank you for “doing your job.”

The entire PROOF GALLERY can be found if you CLICK HERE. Password hint: the state where Will is stationed when he’s not in Afghanistan.

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One of my favorite things about living in a small-ish town is knowing people for virtually my entire life. There’s something to be said for growing up together and staying in touch during all the phases of your life. I have known Stacy and Chuck since middle school, and we all graduated from high school together. They are truly “high school sweethearts,” and it’s crazy to see their boys getting so grown up now! (I have a snapshot in my house of a big group of us on my parents’ deck, and Justin was just a baby; he’s 13 now. How does that happen??) It was a lot of fun to get together recently in Greenville for portraits of their family.

Together since they were juniors (or sophomores???) in high school…

Justin’s stoic “I refuse to smile” look.

LOVE these. Sorry Justin, we DID make you smile. 😉

Austin was really excited about our session, and he even made some great suggestions for locations to shoot! He did awesome!

Right now, I’m really loving images that show a family just laughing and hanging out together…these are the moments that really define our relationships with others.

Stacy, Chuck, Justin, and Austin: I say it all the time, but it really does mean a lot to me when friends ask me to photograph their lives. I hope you love your photos!

To view the Reids entire proof gallery, CLICK HERE. Password is Stacy’s maiden name.

As always, leave a comment to show us some love!

Three sweet sisters, two fun and loving parents, and a beautiful fall morning in the mountains. I met the Smiths at Sky Top Orchards in Flat Rock NC for portraits of this adorable and good-as-gold family. I loved photographing this family, and I love their portraits, but I do NOT love that I always go to SkyTop when the apples are already off the trees. Boo! Their apple cider donuts, however, make me feel much, much better. 😉

Mmmmm, apple cider donuts.

Where were we? Oh yes, The Smiths at Sky Top…

She is seriously the best big sister ever!!

Me: “When was the last time you had photos of just the two of you?” Them: “Probably our wedding day.” 🙂 Love these shots!

Beautiful!

Big sis….caring, beautiful, and patient with the little girls.

Middle sis….a thinker, cute-as-a-button, and sweet.

And little sis….sassy, funny, and eat-her-with-a-spoon adorable.

Think she gets away with everything?? 😉

One last shot of all the girls!

Smiths: I’m SO glad that we were able to meet up on the mountaintop for your family portraits! You have such a wonderful family, and I look forward to seeing you all again sometime. Go Catamounts!

To view the Smiths entire proof gallery, CLICK HERE. Password is oldest daughter’s first name.

As always, please leave a comment to “show me (and the Smiths) some love!”