 Hi, friends! Happy Friday. I wanted to jump back into sharing portrait sessions I’ve done lately. This poor old blog has been feeling a bit neglected. Every morning when I get to my office, I jot down a little to-do list because it helps me accomplish so much more each day. So, probably about a couple (or a few) weeks ago, I started gently prompting myself with a suggestion to blog. And by yesterday, my to-do list had like two things and then in giant letters it just said: BLOG BLOG BLOG!!!!!!! Dang it, Abi, BLOG!!!!!!
I actually enjoy blogging and sharing photo shoots I’ve done and tidbits of my life. However, it is a time commitment, and I have to be honest and admit that time is the hardest thing for me to give. That’s a whole other lesson God has been teaching me. But I started thinking about why I blog, or feel like I should blog. Sure, it’s fun to share pretty pics and feel like I have an outlet in this world wide web. But probably the main reason I want to share my photo shoots right now is because recently I’ve had more than one person contact me about doing a shoot and they led off the request with, “Are you still doing photography?” or something along those lines. And that made me feel bad, and like I am not being a good steward of this talent and business God has given me. Because, YES, I am still doing photography and I love it. I have scaled back some (in particular, I am not currently booking any weddings), and I do have other things on my plate that I am pouring into, so maybe I haven’t been recently focusing on my photography like I have in the past. Doing photo shoots has become such a normal part of my life over the past sixteen years that I guess I just assume people know I am always doing them. But if I’m not sharing my work, how will people know? And I prefer to share it here on my own site, with the occasional image shared on Instagram. But this is really where I have chosen to mainly post my work. So, I need to do that and show everyone that yes, I am still doing photography. :)
Now here’s some family photos of one of the largest family sessions I’ve ever done. I went to high school with these great people, and I cannot tell you how it warmed my heart to see each of them with their own families and to photograph them all together! I wish more people would do sessions like this, with the parents and kids and grandkids, the whole family. It is so special! It’s rare to be able to get everyone together like this, let alone get good photos of the gathering! :) What’s awesome is, I did another big family session a few weeks ago for some other people I went to high school with, and I’ll be sharing that soon, too. I’m hoping it’s going to become more of a thing to photograph whole families like this. I love it!How beautiful is Mrs. Alcon? So classy. :)This next photo is of my friend Jay and his awesome wife Carrie. I’m asking for prayers for them and their kiddos as Jay is deploying overseas again with the Army this month. Let’s ask God for protection and comfort for them as they’re away from each other.This is what happens when you do an early morning photo shoot… :)Four generations! This is so funny to me, because the (grown adult) brothers at another family photo shoot I did recently did this exact same thing (without any prompting from me) when I asked to take a pic of them together! Guys are so weird. Haha! The original six! Beauties!!Alcon Family~
Thank you for allowing me to photograph your beautiful family! I loved seeing you guys again and catching up. You make my heart happy! :)
~abi~
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Hi. So, I wanted to do a little blog post to document a special night for me and my family. If we’re friends on social media, you probably saw some of the highlights, such as the photo to end all photos, above. :) But I wanted to share some more details and just express my gratefulness for the kindness we were shown by the Thunder organization and TAPS.
Let’s start by chatting about TAPS (Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors) for a second. I have mentioned this great organization on the blog before, but if you’d like to have a more in-depth look at what they do, you can check out there website here. In short, TAPS provides families who have lost a loved one in the military with resources and opportunities for dealing with grief. They not only have seminars and retreats, but they also do cool things like working with a wide variety of teams, organizations, etc, to bring families to fun and cool events. This Thunder game was one of those amazing opportunities. My mom and dad and sister Amber and I had a really wonderful evening!
We started off the night being greeted at the entrance with our tickets for the game. We were taken to the Budweiser Brew House, where we were treated to a delicious dinner. Our waitress was awesome and gave us some great recommendations.I went with the PBLT (Pork Belly Lettuce & Tomato)…yum!! (Btw, did you know: “The Chesapeake Energy Arena is proud to serve all-natural, locally-sourced and locally-grown products from Oklahoma companies that are dedicated to the offering the finest products available anywhere.”??)
This is Debbie. She escorted us to our seats and took the pic of us above. She was incredibly kind and enthusiastic. She knew why we were there and talked to us about my brother Jack. She mentioned that her brother had also been a Green Beret. Pretty cool!Debbie also gave us each a sweet swag bag full of Thunder goodies! I couldn’t resist spreading mine out for a little #flatlay pic the next morning. I mean, look at this loot! :)
Then the team came out to warm up.Russ did a little pregame dancing.Here’s Joe Sharpe, the head trainer for the Thunder, stretching out Russ. Just a few minutes before this, Joe was up at our seats introducing himself to us. See, Joe is the one who got the Thunder organization involved with TAPS. As he told us, he met some people with TAPS when he was a trainer with the USA Men’s Basketball team for the 2016 Rio Olympics. He said he was touched and impressed by the joy he saw it brought to the survivors he met, and he wanted to help bring that to OKC. Joe was so kind and genuine! In fact, he was the one who introduced us to Russ after the game and took our pic with him.Team introductions are always fun! My personal opinion is that Russ does this with Jerami Grant because Grant is the only one on the team who has hops like Russ. ;)I figured Russ was going to tie the triple double record that night, so I tried to get plenty of cool shots of him. #hist0ry :)These ladies had the most clever signs and they got lots of big screen time for it. Good stuff!Once Russ had made history and the game had turned into a blowout, I had to get some pix of fellow-Iowan Nick Collison, aka Mr. Thunder, aka Hair Jordan. Here’s Nick checking out Doug McDermott’s hair form.And Nick doing what he does.After the game, a good amount of people in the stands lingered to cheer as Russ left the court after doing his post-game interview. Chants of “MVP” rang out, and it was a very neat moment! We LOVE Russ!We were allowed to wait in the stands to see the players who came back out. We got this pic with Joe out on the court, and then we met Russ.The moment of meeting Russ with my parents is one I will never forget. My dad, who has never been phased by anyone he’s ever met, tapped his own heart with his fist and then reached over and tapped Russell’s heart! Russ was cheesing and said thank you and shook his hand. It was awesome and funny and amazing! We congratulated Russ on the incredible triple double feat, and on his baby on the way. His wife Nina was right out there, too, looking all glowy and gorgeous. It was just a very cool moment. And so nice of Joe to bring us out there and let us meet Russ and everything! We were so very touched!
And as if all of this wasn’t cool enough on its own, this happened to be April 4th, and Jack’s birthday was April 5th!! So we got to celebrate and remember Jack in such an incredible way! My cup runneth over. :)
HUGE thanks to Joe and the Thunder organization and TAPS!!!!!
<3
~abi~
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I’m back with more pix of my pretty sister Mandi, from our fun style shoot we did recently. In my post the other day, I mentioned how I am becoming more and more appreciative of wardrobe staple pieces. The basics. These black jogger sweatpants are exactly those. I don’t even know if they’re really joggers, because the ankle isn’t tight on them. But calling them sweatpants seems rude, because they’re really nice. These are Lauren Ralph Lauren black sweats that are oh-so-soft and oh-so-thrifted for like two dollars! And they looked brand new! So, I wanted to do a couple of outfits for Mandi that were just quick and easy and very comfy, but look pulled together.
We started by pairing the pants with this darling icy mint green tee featuring a silver paillate sequin lip print graphic. Amazing. Also from the thrift store. :) This tee has an oversized fit, so I did a quick, messy front side tuck to define the waist a little. The pants are a bit of a loose fit, too, so the half tuck helps it look more styled and not sloppy. Mandi had her super cute thrifted coat on for warmth when we jumped out to take these photos, and I thought it looked great together so I told her to leave it on. I think it works for a couple reasons. One, the colors are fresh and nice together — the green is a cool tone and the yellow warms it up, and the soft colors up top are grounded by the black pants. Two, the lines of the coat work well here. It’s structured and the outfit is not, so there’s a good juxtaposition happening. Plus, the open front of a longer coat like this in a contrasting color provides some nice lengthening lines and kind of frames the cool graphic on the shirt without letting it steal the show. The sweet black loafers we borrowed from my Grams (true story!) help tie everything together, since they are shiny (like the lips on the shirt), have gold accents (echoes the yellow of the coat), and they’re black (like the pants, duh).
Now, I’ll be very honest and tell you I did not at all think all these things through when throwing this outfit together. But sitting here and looking at it, I can analyze and put into words what makes an outfit work, in my opinion. And the beauty of this world is: we all have different ideas and opinions! So if you don’t love this outfit, go forth and create your own! :)Next up, we paired the pants with a lightweight, gray v-neck sweater. In case you haven’t heard or seen yet, belts are back in a big way! I love this one I found at a thrift store recently. I’m pretty sure the buckle was handmade! So cool. And like every outfit ever that I put together, I do the opposite of the old adage that says “take one thing off”, and instead I add something! ;) (Sorry, Coco. I’ve got a long ways to go before I’m even close to your level.) So I added this scarf of Mandi’s and I feel like now you have this cozy, easy outfit that’s cute and far from basic even though it’s made up of mostly basic pieces. I love the textures happening here!So there you have it. Isn’t my sis the prettiest?? I still have a few more looks to share from my styled session with here. Hope you’re enjoying these. :)
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So, I know I usually share images from portrait sessions or my infamous thrifted style shoots ;), but I also do several shoots a year for corporations, non-profits, and awesome individuals who are ruling the world, like Anna Wickham (pictured above). Anna has used my photography services in the past for some of her speaking engagements and such, but I realized I haven’t ever blogged any of those shoots. One of the coolest things Anna does is this monthly lunch and learn. (Do yourself a favor and click that link to find out more about these fun, informative, free events!) Anna had me come take some photos for her at the March lunch a week and a half ago. Here are some of my favorite shots from it.After everyone mingles (aka networking!) and eats some lunch, Anna gives a topical talk full of super useful information for small business owners.
If you’re a professional in need of event photos similar to these I’ve done for Anna, please contact me! I really enjoy doing collabs like these.
Anna~
Thanks for having me out to shoot for you again! I have so enjoyed each time I’ve gotten to hear you speak and freely share your knowledge. I look forward to continuing to work together!
~abi~
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This stunning beauty is my cousin Mindi’s daughter, Molly. Molly graduates high school this month, and I realized I had never shared her beautiful senior photos we did last fall. So I’m throwing it back this Thursday and sharing some of my favorites from our shoot in pretty Iowa.
The light was amaaazing that evening!
by Abi Ruth