Kicking off the wedding season!! {Kelly & Richie} Coshocton, Ohio

This past weekend marked the first of wedding season for us!  I can't tell you how much I am honored that Kelly & Richie chose me to document their special day.  I had the pleasure of working with them last fall for their engagement photos and they are just so natural in front of the camera.  

It's amazing how their love is portrayed with such youth and elegance all at once.   

Here's a few of the shots we captured....

 

This is one of my favorite shots to get of the bride and Kelly just nailed it!

{The groom} I was in love with the balcony of this church

{the girls} 

{the guys}

{the wedding party}  this photo just makes me laugh ~ such a great group

{GORGEOUS!!}

Congratulations Kelly & Richie!

Thank you so much once again for allowing me to be a part of your big day! 

Final day of Easter mini Portraits (Part three)

We finished this past Sunday with the final day of Easter mini portraits.  It was a short day and once again we had some of the cutest little ones in the studio.  

Here's a peek at what we got to play with......

look at the grin =)

her momma brought this cute baby chick costume in ~ I just love this ♥

I had this little bunny hat and diaper cover made specially for these sessions and was so pleased I was able to use it!  I just ♥ this!

this lil man was just hilarious!  He just wasn't having me in his face wanting him to smile...haha

seriously..... how funny is this?   'enter your own caption for this photo' lol

oh wow...this is truely just a little beauty.  I loved how easy she was to photograph!

That's it!!  The last of the samples from all the Easter mini Portraits!!  Thank you again everyone who made it out to the studio!!  I have the best clients!! 

I must say that Cotton & Caramel {and their 3 little buddies} did a fabulous job!   This kids really enjoyed them, and I didn't have to worry about the children's safety as well as the animals! 

Once again...visit my facebook page for more updates and photos ♥ www.facebook.com/chatmanphotography

more Easter mini's..... (Part two)

more Easter minis ........

I just can't get enough of this little man.  He is so so cute and just a delight to have in the studio

This is the second time little miss Zoey has been in the studio.  Don't you just love all her chunk!

 Oh, little buddy Lucas.  He wasn't into Santa pics this year but he sure did have his smiles ready for Easter portraits!  

It's funny how I just love going through all of these photos while editing and just smile and laugh.  Thank you all!! 

To see more, please visit my facebook page at: www.facebook.com/chatmanphotography

Easter 'mini' Portrait Sessions (Part one)

The past two weekends we had our Easter mini sessions.  I can't tell you how much I've enjoyed having the little ones in the studio!  There's so many that I just love it's hard to choose what to put on here for you to see. 

 The little one is such a sweetheart! 

 The life of the morning!!  I had so much fun capturing her personality =)

♥ Sisters ♥

 this little guy is just so happy and such a joy

Thank you again!

Mini Session Winner!

Well it doesn't look like we had many entries for the FREE mini session so I guess it just raises the chances for the ones who did enter..lol  

1st place:

~ 1 FREE 30 minute mini photo session ($50 value)

~ up to 4 people

~ 1-8x10, 2-5x7s, 8-wallets

~ CD with 10 edited photos and rights to print

* must take place in our studio in Canton, Ohio

* no photo limits

* multiple props and backdrops available!

or $50 credit for any session, event or product! {not redeemable for cash}

WINNER ~ Dansgirl4eva  (I don't have your contact info so please email me at joni@chatmanphotography.com to setup your session!)

 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

2nd place:

~ 1/2 off  30 minute mini photo session {you pay only $25}

~ up to 4 people

~ 1-8x10, 2-5x7s, 8-wallets

~ CD with 10 edited photos and rights to print

* must take place in our studio in Canton, Ohio

* no photo limits

* multiple props and backdrops available!

or $25 credit for any session, event or product! {not redeemable for cash}

WINNER ~ Rachael Jones

Why we won't use live bunnies or baby chicks at our studio....

As Easter and Spring are quickly approaching many photographers are getting ready for their annual Easter photo sessions.  At our studio we have what we call 'Easter Mini Sessions' {as do most other photographers}.  These sessions are called 'mini' because they are quick sessions usually ranging from 15-30 minutes instead of a normal session that is normally up to 2 hours long and they are offered at a discounted rate.  

Along with this time of year comes the time that many photos are taken with live bunnies and live chicks.  Some stores have gone so far as to offer baby chicks dyed in pastel colors for the season.  I'm not going to argue that these photos are cute and children look absolutely adorable holding a baby chick or bunny.

Do you think this is really a good idea?  Let me put this more in perspective.  On a typical day I will book anywhere from 10-20 mini sessions.  Now let's multiply that by at least 2 because some of the sessions will have 2 or more children.  {Not all, but on average there would be 2}  That makes roughly 30-40 children in the studio on a typical mini session day.  Now let's imagine you are a bunny or a baby chick???  

Some will argue that they use 'trained' bunnies or pets.  Have you ever had your pet around 30-40 toddlers in 1 day?  My dog is very loving and actually loves children, but he would not appreciate being tossed from child to child just to take a photo.  This would terrify him.  Children don't always know how to treat an animal.  It's not their fault, they are simply too young to understand they may hurt an animal by grabbing, hugging or even picking them up, etc.

Sure, there are pros and cons for using live animals as props.  And really if they are in a photo studio, they are indeed used as props.  I believe there are far too many cons to justify me bringing live bunnies or live chicks into my studio.  

Here's a few for you to consider:

         1 - live animals can and often bite children 

         2 - they often have 'accidents' in the studio as well as on children

         3 - baby chicks can carry Salmonella {In fact, in 2007 there was an outbreak because of this}

         4 - bunnies/rabbits have been reported to have died from fear when passed around to so many unfamiliar people.

There are alternatives to bringing live bunnies and chicks into a studio and still achieving the same result ~ a cute photo!

Meet Cotton and Caramel and their 3 baby friends.  As with many other props and backdrops, we will be using these adorable little guys for Easter minis this year.  

If you are not scheduled to have your Easter minis at our studio, please encourage other photographer's to use alternative props for their Easter photo sessions.  It is ALWAYS the animals that suffer.