Candi Leonard Photography

2015 on my mind....

Happy Tuesday Friends!  Can you believe we are almost half way through the first month of 2015?!?!  CRAZY!

This new year started off different from the last few for me!  It started on a POSITIVE note.  For the first time in a long time I feel like I have the ability to make positive changes in my life.  That I can take risks and make the most of life without the worry that comes along with it.  And this year, I intend to do just that!  

I am filled with excitement when I think about the changes I have in store for this year.  If I had to describe my goal for the year in one word, it would be INTENTIONAL.  I have so many areas that I want to live more intentionally.  Give the right focus to.  I have made mistakes and learned a lot the last few years.  I have changed and grown and finally found a solid ground that I feel like I belong on.  

 

What to expect this year:

BLOGGING!  

This blog has been a key part of my business for so long.  And it is back now...full on.  I plan to blog quicker and atleast 3-4 days a week...so make sure you tune in and leave comments!  I love hearing from you guys!

 

REVAMPED BRAND!

I have had my current logo and website branding for a while and I am still loving it.  It still fits my brand, but I am going to refresh it a bit!  I already started on my wedding site revamp!  Check it out!  :) At some point, I will be re-doing this blog too.  It hasn't changed in YEARS and it needs something fresh and new!

 

EDUCATION!

I am starting out my new year investing back into my business.  I have booked seats on some fun workshops, purchased some learning tools to help me improve areas that I feel weak in.  I have also picked up a few books to dive into.  

 

BRIDAL GUIDE!

  I have a full bridal guide with so much information for my wedding clients.  It is aimed to give you the BEST experience and help us be on the same page for your big day!  I am super excited to share it with every new bride!

 

 

 

TRAVEL SESSIONS!

I will be traveling some this year!  If you would like to schedule a session at one of my stops contact me ASAP!

BEAUFORT, SC- would love to shoot a bridal or maternity session there or even a wedding couple!

ASHEVILLE, NC- would love to do a bridal portrait, maternity session or engagement session at the spot I have picked out!

FLORIDA! I will be in the Orlando or Tampa Florida area possibly two times this year!  I would love to sneek in an engagement session while we are visiting there!  

BOONE, NC- I travel there several times a year!  I would LOVE to shoot an outdoor mountain wedding this year!  Got one planned, send me a message and we can chat! 

NEW YORK CITY!  I am heading to the big apple in the spring and in December for a wedding!  I could possibly take on another session in the spring if you are interested! 

 

There you have it.  Some fresh fun things to look for this year!  

A little REVAMP!!

Hello Friends!  I can't believe it is January 2015!  I have dreamed about January for a while.  Around October, I start thinking about the slow season.  Many projects that I want to take on have to wait until the weather is so cold that my shooting schedule slows for a bit.  And that time is NOW!  However, I am still pulling lots of long work days (or nights).  I have had a list of things to do and I am knocking it out!!  I have gotten a lot done in the past 8 days!

The first of many was revamping my webpage.  I am not 100% done, but my wedding site got a little facelift today.  I cleaned up some galleries with fresh images and sadly said goodbye to some older ones.  That part of the process is SO HARD for me.  I feel an emotional attachment to so much of my work that it is hard to not keep it in my portfolio.  But after some soul searching I came up with a way to weed it down.  I simply looked at each image and said "If I shot this image TODAY would it be a favorites RIGHT NOW."  And some of them were still a yes but a lot weren't.  And if they were I followed up with "Is this still true to my current style-posing, editing, etc" and if it wasn't I either re-edited to make the edit more current or I let it go for good.  

 

Please be sure to stop by and check out the page.  You will see that my logo got a little refresher too!  I still LOVE my logo and it still fits me very well, but I decided that for weddings I wanted things to be a little more glam!  

 

I will be back next week sharing some more changes that are coming in 2015 as well as some travel plans that I would LOVE to photograph at!  :)  Happy Weekend!

 

The Pinterest complex.

Today's post is really more of my rambling, but it is something that has been weighing on my heart for a while...so here you go! 

 

Pinterest.  we have a love/hate relationship.  I am sure you can relate.  Brides...love pinterest right?  bouquets, decorations, photo ideas, color schemes, cakes, dresses, all at your fingerips to pin, pin, pin!  So you start looking and pinning and falling in LOVE with these beautiful wedding photos pinned before you.  And then you start trying to put it into your wedding.  That bouquet has flowers that are out of season during your wedding or costs $500 over your budget.  That beautiful dress is only in boutique stores and the starting price is your entire wedding budget.  Or you try to DIY that cute chalkboard sign for your wedding and it looks like a kindergardner wrote it for you.  And then it happens...you feel defeated.  I am sure you have been there.  You see this beautiful stuff before you and you want it and then it falls short.  THE PINTEREST COMPLEX!  

 

I am here to tell you the other side of that.  As your wedding photographer.  We too browse pinterest looking at beautiful weddings.  Wanting to capture images like you see.  We want to photograph a wedding at that AMAZING location.  We love those detailed dresses that aren't traditional (blush pink, yes yes!).  We want to capture those moments that just put tears in your eyes or a smile on your face...those amazing groom reactions, the sweet moments of a wedding day, etc.  And sometimes those things JUST DON'T HAPPEN!  Not every moment of every wedding is going to be perfect.  Most of the weddings I photograph have what I call a sweet spot.  Either their details were just so stunning that you couldn't get enough.  Or their wedding party was so much fun that you snapped a TON of bridal party photos.  Or the bride and groom oozed love and your gallery was overloaded with couples portraits. Maybe the ceremony was so touching and full of tears that you have sweet reactions to remember forever.  But the reality is, that every wedding isn't full of ALL those things.  Sometimes I leave a wedding feeling defeated because I didn't make the entire thing look like it came straight off of pinterest.  IT IS HARD for us too.  

 

The reality of it all is...a TON of what you see on pinterest isn't real.  Wedding professionals often stage weddings for workshops, editorial magazines, etc. and that is a LOT of what gets pinned.  And truth be told if you looked at a wedding in WHOLE you wouldn't find perfection from start to finish. It rarely happens.  

 

We have had the opportunity to document beautiful weddings and tell the story of some amazing clients.  But within those moments of that day...there is always SOMETHING that doesn't go perfectly...for us or them.  Maybe it rained on your outdoor wedding.  Maybe you had a fight with a family member and there was a lot of tension during family photos.  Maybe your cake was starting to melt or fall apart.  Maybe your flowers got too hot and died.  Heels break, hair falls, groomsmen get sick.  IT HAPPENS.  And it happens at every single wedding.  Every one of those scenarios I mentioned happened to couples I photographed THIS PAST YEAR.  

 

For me, I have learned to embrace it.  It is part of what makes weddings fun.  I thrive on the chaos.  The bride may take an hour longer getting ready than on the timeline.  The room the bride dresses in may be filled with kids artwork or bags and water bottles.  The groom may not want to smile during photos.  The bridal party may hate photos and not cooperate.  The bride may look like she wants to puke while walking down the isle.  The light may be harsh at the "alter".  The rain may change our plans.  But you know what...it is still a wedding and I still do my best to capture it.  

 

So, I tell you this today because I want you to know that it doesn't matter.  I promise you that SOMETHING will be off on your wedding day.  Something will go wrong.  Something may not be a pinterest worthy  moment, and that is OK.  The moments that go right will shine for years to come.  I promise.  So allow yourself some breathing room.  Don't let pinterest get you down.  Use it as a jumping board, but realize that a lot of it is just out of reach.  It will still be beautiful.  It will still be YOUR WEDDING! And that is far more special than anything you can find on pinterest.  

Thankful.

My heart is full of grattitude, not only because of the thanksgiving holiday, but also because I have the best clients ever.  I am wrapping up the year with a few straggling sessions, and as I reflect on this past year, my heart is FULL.   

 

Many of you know that my husband and I had quite a huge life change in the past two years with him losing most of his hearing, having to leave his job, and just challenging our family with huge financial changes from leaving his work and balancing medical bills.  When it all happened, I always felt at peace that things would work out.  And month after month of trying to survive off of HALF our usual income with a new addition to the family as well, I was always amazed as it all came together.  I don't usually talk about personal stuff, let alone personal financial stuff, but today I just had to say it.  Every client this past year has been an answered prayer.  My work was steady and strong all year long.  And because of that, my family survived what should have been a really awful year.  But everytime we hit a low, magically an order would come in to cover a bill or buy us groceries.  It was always perfect timing.  God has looked over us and provided for us and we have had to learn to trust that it will all work out.  So THANK YOU to everyone who helped our family this year.  

 

I am so excited to have seen the growth of my business this year too.  Seeing new faces and so many very dear old clients too.  It was nice to have a full year of shooting with no maternity leave!  I enjoyed taking on more weddings this year than the past two thanks to not having a baby too!  I have loved opening up my home to all the precious newborns that visited the studio.  The entire process has left me feeling WHOLE.  This business fills a part of me that nothing else in my life can.  I love being a wife and mom, but I have this desire to create beautiful photographs that I couldn't do without YOU!  

 

So thank you, thank you, thank you.  For a beautiful year.  For the trust you have put in me to capture your wedding day or pose and capture your baby.  To continue to use me for your family photos or senior portraits.  And most of all, for the kindness you each have shown me.  I am forever grateful!  

The big 1-0!

Yesterday we hit a pretty big milestone!  It was the 10 year anniversary of the first ever wedding I shot!  Back then, I was so in love with photography.  I was shooting my first kid's pictures everyday.  I was still film and I went through a roll of film almost daily.  My husband is glad I switched to digital!  ha!  My passion for capturing life was running wild through me.  My dear friend was getting married and she asked me to photograph her wedding.  I am pretty sure I fought the idea somewhat because I was intimidated and clueless.  But, I did it.  Several rolls of film later, my first wedding was under my belt and I was in love.  It was still another year or so before I officially began my business, but I remember that first wedding with such a grateful heart for that beginning.  You would totally laugh if you saw those photos.  They are not at all like my current work, way more traditional in style, but that was before I found my "voice" in photography.  

I had hoped to spend the day yesterday gathering a bunch of wedding favorites from the past ten years, but the lightning storms cut my work time completely.  SO instead, I give you a small tribute but a HUGE THANK YOU to every single person that has trusted me to capture their wedding the last 10 years.  I loved learning and growing my way through each and every one of them.  We all start somewhere and you guys truly gave me the building blocks to make this business what it is today and I can't thank you enough!  

 

 

And in Honor of my little 10 anniversary, we are offering 10% off ANY wedding package booked this month.  SO if you are looking at booking for next year, just email me and we will get you set up!  

 

Hope you have a great weekend!  We will be capturing a beautiful wedding this weekend and I couldn't be more excited! 

 

A fun project!

This past week in addition to editing a lot of sessions and weddings, I had a little side project!  Many of you know that there is a beautiful wedding venue practically in my back yard.  The Harvest House is minutes from us and it is a stunning backdrop for your wedding day!  The Owner Teresa and I have chatted for over a year about putting together a website that would show off her property!  We finally got it done this week!  Go take a peek!  If you are a past Harvest House Bride of mine, you might just see a photo or two from your wedding too!  :)  

 

www.harvesthouseandcatering.com

 

 

I am excited to see the Harvest House continue to grow!  As usual, we do offer a discount on OUR photography services for brides that book us for that venue!  Inquire for details!  

Time changes everything...

A few years ago, I decided that I wanted to focus my work on newborns and weddings.  Before then, I did a LOT of kiddos and family sessions and while I loved it, my heart was with my newborns.  It wasn't that I thought I was best at newborns compared to the other sessions I shot, but instead, it challenged me and inspired me.  It made me generally happy to shoot them.  So I took a chance, pulled most my other work from my portfolio and launched a newborn focused webpage in 2013.  It was a risk for me really.  But I jumped straight in.  And I began to book more and more babies.  And my heart has soared!  I have improved so much over the years and I want to keep refining and improving my newborns!  I feel the same way about my weddings!  The first one I shot I was clueless!  But I feel like I have came so incredibly far from there! 

 

Looking at these, I can tell that I have improved in posing, exposure, photoshop, skin tones and lighting.  All thanks to A LOT of experience.  :) 

SO here is a little THANK YOU to all the people who trusted me over the years to capture their little newborn or their wedding day.  Without you, I wouldn't have grown so much and came so far!  I look forward to all the tiny little babes and weddings I have lined up the rest of the year too!  :)  

 

 

Top 13 of 2013...

Every year I do this and every year it gets HARDER to pick!  I guess that is a good sign.  Again, a reminder, this is MY PERSONAL top 10 favorites.  While I love every session, there are some shots that I nail that I just get so giddy about.  These are this year's top picks!  

THANK YOU  to all my clients, fans, family and friends for another wonderful year!  I can't wait to see what my favorite photos of 2014 will be!  If you want to help me reach a few photographer's goals for the new year, be sure to check out the previous post.  

BLACK FRIDAY ON THE BLOG!

Everyone stuffed with turkey and ready to shop?  If you are like me, I am shopping from the comfort of my home instead of tackling the crowds at the store!  So, if you are in need of some photo gifts or just want a good deal, check out the black friday specials we have running!  :)  Happy Shopping!

 

 

 

and our always popular disk sale continues this year!  :)

 

ALL DIGITAL FILES are going to be on sale from now until December 10, 2013.

ONE SESSION = $200

TWO SESSIONS= $300

THREE SESSIONS= $400

FOUR OR MORE SESSIONS=$500

 

No credits or discount codes will be accepted towards this offer.  Tax and shipping are included.  The price listed above is the full amount you need to pay.   Please email me to let me know which session(s) you want and how you would like to pay (paypal or mail a check).   Disc will be mailed to you within 2 weeks of purchase.    This includes ANY session(regular session, weddings, baby year plans, etc).  If you would like prints from a previous session or you want to but your digital files at the reduced price, Jump on it!  :)  

 

 

As always, email me if you have questions!  

Fall booking dates!

I can't believe it is August.  I shake my head thinking about it.  This year has flown by, which is a blessing somedays.  Speaking of blessings, I never formally announced, but we will be welcoming our fifth little boy into this world in October as well.  Therefore, we have very limited fall dates left on the calendar.  To fit in as many people as possible, I am opening up two dates for mini sessions.   If you want a date, grab it ASAP.  Details are below.  If you are wanting to book a regular session, I have a few dates open still.  They will not be there long!  Grab yours now!  

 

FALL MINI SESSIONS:

 

Also, I will be taking Newborns only during the month of October.  :)  If you are expecting in the fall and want a newborn session, please email me as soon as possible! Newborn sessions are best if held during the first 10 days of life.