The Prothro Family

Last week I had the pleasure of doing a New Year's photo shoot for the Prothro family. They flew in from Beijing, China for the holidays and will be returning next week. With all the hustle of a whirlwind trip, I am so glad they had the time to squeeze in a photo shoot! Interestingly enough, Melissa Prothro happens to be Kim Gamble's sister, another person featured in this blog. 

We scheduled our session in the late afternoon, when the sun, low in the sky, was bathing the room in a warm glow. Ellie, their oldest was full of energy and life! We had so much fun pretending that she was a tiger, her favorite animal, that I don't think she even noticed  that she was in a photo shoot! When we added her baby sister, Gwen, into the mix, I captured some really sweet moments between the two of them. When their mom, Melissa, joined in too, it was beautiful to see them respond to and interact with her. John, their dad, arrived near the end of the shoot, and I was happy that we were able to get a photo of all of them together. What a beautiful family, inside and out! I am so happy I had the opportunity to photograph them!

 

 

Kim Gamble

I recently had the opportunity to photograph Kim Gamble, an Emmy-nominated, Peabody Award-winning television producer and writer whose credits include Peter Jennings Reporting, Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn and most recently, The Colbert Report.  She has consulted on projects with NBC, MTV, HBO, Nickelodeon, the Natural Resources Defense Council and Good Magazine.  She has contributed to NPR’s Wait, Wait...Don’t Tell Me, and her writing has appeared in The New York Times, The New Yorker and many other websites and publications. Beneath this grand list of qualifications, however, she is a down-to-earth girl, with a love for travel, good books, and her faithful pup, Sam. 

While she calls Brooklyn, NY home, she was in town over the holidays visiting family. We met in Roswell, at her dad's house, for the shoot. She is a natural and was so easy to photograph! We spent over 2 hours together, experimenting with different locations, outfits and lighting. I had such a fun time with her and I'm so glad I was able to capture a little bit of her bold, exciting personality in the photographs. She plans to use some of the photos in her future publications, and I am completely thrilled!

UPDATE!
I am so honored to report that one of the photographs I took of Kim is in the July 2012 issue of Marie Claire! SO exciting for me! Thank you, Kim!

The Grentz Family

Even though we both attended Southern Adventist University, and had many friends in common, I had never met Jonnice. It was at our church, here in Atlanta, where our paths finally crossed. She was pregnant with her son at the time, and I remember being impressed at how stylish she looked. She was wearing a lovely gray dress that accentuated her perfectly round belly and a pair of heels, and I thought, I hope I still have the energy to look that good when I get pregnant someday.

We made plans to have lunch together, but life happened and we never made good on those plans. I ran into her, by chance, when meeting a friend for coffee at Starbucks, and discovered that we both live in the same area. She was days away from having her first child, Carter, if I remember correctly. We stayed in touch on Facebook through the birth of her 2 children, and 1 of my own.

When I started Porter Photography, she contacted me to set up a Christmas shoot for her children, Carter and Lauren. After rescheduling due to illness, we finally were able to get together for our session. It was such a nice coincidence that she lives in the same neighborhood as my best friend, Kristine Greene, also featured on this blog. We met at their next door neighbors' house for the shoot, as the sun was just dipping below the horizon. Carter and Lauren looked so adorable in their Christmas outfits, and I was impressed with their sweet demeanor and cooperation, especially because our session was so close to dinner time. We spent a fun hour together and I believe the results speak for themselves.
 

The Greene Family

In 2006, we bought our townhouse, and unknowingly moved in two doors down from what would become some of our best friends. Kristine and Chad were the perfect neighbors, always willing to step in and lend a hand or offer support. Kristine and I hit it off right away, and although they moved, and we are no longer neighbors, we still remain close to this day. 

We had always talked about how wonderful it would be to get pregnant at the same time, and I truly believe that God heard our prayers. While I was just 4 months pregnant, she told me that she was pregnant too! I was so overwhelmed with emotion when she told me the news, that I actually caused a scene at Panera Bread, squealing for joy and bursting into tears. Little did we know that we were both pregnant with boys, another parallel between our lives. Their precious bundle of joy, Jackson Walker Greene was born August 15, 2010, a beautiful and healthy baby boy. 

So as you can imagine, I felt completely honored when Kristine asked if I would photograph her family for their Christmas card. I met them at the Alpharetta Athletic Club, where they are members. The beautiful woodwork of the stairs was the perfect background for their portraits. Baby Jack looked so handsome in his argyle vest...he couldn't help but be cute, with parent as good looking as Kristine and Chad. How wonderful to photograph parents so full of new love for their baby boy!

Here is their Holiday card. Kristine did a great job!

The Ducey Family

When Max and I were at his monthly portrait appointment at JCPenny, a tradition that was started when I was a child, we ran into Melissa, a mom of three adorable little girls. You probably would imagine that a mother with three girls, ages 3, 2 and not yet 1, might be a little frazzled, but not Melissa. She was calm and collected--a true source of inspiration, and possibly a bit of jealousy, for all parents who have taken their kids to the mall. While waiting, we struck up a conversation, and found we had some commonalities. We traded information, and became friends on Facebook. 

When Melissa heard I was starting Porter Photography, she asked me to photograph them for their Christmas card. I met them at their beautiful home, and was welcomed by three pretty little girls all in matching red dresses! I loved interacting with them and getting to know them better. I could easily see that Brian and Melissa are great parents and that their daughters are their priority. I especially loved that they set one wall aside for an art wall. The girls are allowed to draw and color on that one wall, and what a beautiful work of art it is! They are such sweet girls and it's easy to see why their parents are so proud. What a great family!

 

 

 

The Wyatts

In July of this past year, I, along with several other ladies, threw a shower for our dear friend Kristine Greene, who is also featured in this blog. Rachel Wyatt offered to host the shower in her lovely home. I designated myself the official photographer, wanting to give Kristine a photo book, documenting her shower, as a gift. The shower was a success, and in the process, I made a few new friends. 

At the end of October, Rachel contacted me to ask if I'd take photos for their Christmas card. She said she liked the photos I had taken of Kristine's baby shower, and was wondering if I had ever taken pictures professionally. I told her that, while it was just a hobby for me at the time, I had been considering a career as a photographer, for quite some time. Despite my lack of professional experience, she said that she'd love for me to take their Christmas card photo.

With mixed emotions of apprehension and excitement, I agreed to do their photo shoot, and so began my new adventure as a photographer.  

On a overcast afternoon, I met Rachel, her husband Jonathan and their two dogs, Molly and Piper at Roswell Mill. A former cotton mill, Roswell Mill has loads of history and charm. With so many beautiful spots along Vickery Creek, it was easy to see why Mr. Roswell King, the man that founded Roswell, GA, was drawn to the area.

Rachel and Jonathan are such an easy going, loving couple and you can really see that shine through in their photographs. We spent around an hour walking the trail, stopping in several beautiful spots to take pictures. In between our stops, I enjoyed getting to know them and their pups a little bit better. We got several great photos of them and had fun exploring a little bit of Georgia's lovely natural surroundings in the process. What a wonderful afternoon and memorable first photo shoot!

I love how their Holiday card turned out!

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Welcome to the new Porter Photography Blog!

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