Addison

I had the opportunity to photograph Addison and her newborn baby sister, Sophia, a few months back. I wasn't satisfied with the quality of the light and the amount of photos we got of Addison, so I offered them a mini re-shoot. This morning, I met the lovely Addison and her gorgeous mom, Mia, at Rock Mill Park to do just that. It took her a few minutes to warm up to me, but soon she was exploring and climbing the stone steps...having fun. Here are a few of my favorite shots from today's shoot.

 

 

The Boltons

This past Friday, I had the opportunity to photograph our good friends, the Boltons. They are, honestly, one of the nicest families I've ever known, and we always have such a great time when we get together. The photo shoot was no exception.

They met me at Rock Mill Park, a beautiful little spot in, here in Alpharetta. Despite the hot weather and a few bug bites, they were wonderful subjects and we were able to capture some beautiful family portraits, although I can't take much credit. I don't think any of them could take a bad photo! Hope you enjoy looking through a few of my favorites!

Madeline Combs

It seems like just yesterday that our niece, Madeline, came into the world. We followed their newly expanded family from the hospital, on that chilly January morning, recording her first trip home. As their car meandered around the wintry Tennessee hills, I thought about just how precious their new bundle was. Madeline was such a beautiful baby...so new and tiny. Her fair skin and perfect pink lips made her look just like a baby doll. It wasn't difficult to see the love in her parents eyes. She was everything they had hoped and prayed for. 

Fast forward 6 years. Madeline is every bit as beautiful as she was then, although now, she has transformed into a lovely young lady. She is full of spunk with a love of all things girl, but with an equal appreciation for playing in the dirt. Her free spirit is infectious and her smile can light up any room.

Our photo shoot began at Heritage Park, in Chattanooga. Madeline was dressed in a red wool coat that stood out beautifully against the enormous white pillars of the Heritage House and the drab winter landscape. Although the weather was cold, she put on a smile, and had fun exploring the park, while effortlessly following my directions.

We headed to Coolidge Park for the second half of our shoot, starting in the Delta Queen, the last fully operational, overnight passenger steamboat in the country. The lighting was beautiful and Madeline was a star! We finished up on the carousel, which was as much a reward as it was part of the photo shoot. Madeline did such a fantastic job and I was able to capture a little of what makes her such a joy to be around. Here are some of my favorites from our day together...

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!