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  • Hello!

    The Photography Smiths consist of husband/wife photographers Mikey and Samantha Smith.

    We think moments shouldn’t just be captured, they should be handcrafted. And while we’re not great with words, we believe in the power of images to tell our story, and if you’d like, they can tell yours too.

    Thank you for taking the time to stop by our blog. Here you can find some of our favorite work and personal adventures along the way.

    Available for travel worldwide :).

Review {The Intro Workshop}

Whew, we dream a lot – this is what I love most about Mikey. He’s a big dreamer and always coming up with new ideas to help grow our business. Not only does he dream big but he is also a HUGE giver. He loves to help and serve other people in the photography community. When it comes to photography if anyone ever asks us a question he’s the first to answer it and if he doesn’t know  then he will search everywhere for the best answer! Can you see why I love him so much!

We’ve been talking for a while now about how to help others and if there was something we could offer. On a daily basis we receive between 5-10 messages about how to do this or that on about photography but most of the questions were about basic DSLR. So came the idea for The Intro Workshop.

The workshop was 2 1/2 hours long about an hour and 15 of lecture and hour and 15 of shooting. This was awesome because we explained all the details of your camera, showed you each setting, helped you customize your camera for you then go out and actually try it!!! Mikey did an AMAZING job of lecturing and helping everyone correct their camera settings. I showed then everyone some quick tips talked about my setting then had them practice on a model. We went over a few different light scenarios and talked what the best setting were. The best part about the class is we kept it right under 10 people so we were able to go around and make sure everyone was understanding!

We had such a great time helping everyone learn how to shoot in manual and using their DSLR to the fullest!!!

Since we had sooo many others interested in us having another workshop we will be holding another on Feb 9th at 9:00 am!!! Sign-ups start tomorrow!! We will be limiting the workshop to 10 seats! This will definitely be our last workshop for a while since wedding season is right around the corner!

Now check out our GORGEOUS models and a few behind the scene images!

I also offered all who attended new profile photos with their cameras:)Check out these gorgeous women!!!

So check back tomorrow to sign-up for our next workshop!! We hope to see you there:)

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The Adventures of Cohen {New Year/New Bed}

Most children have their cribs changed to toddler bed around 18-24 months because they will start to climb out and that can be very dangerous. Cohen has never had the desire to climb out – if he wants out he will literally shout “MMMMMOMMMMMM” or “DDDDDADDDDDDDDD” till we come to his rescue. After he turned three there were a few times we tried to encourage him to climb out or at least try it. He would yell for us for about 10 minutes, lay back down then 20 minutes later start up again.

I really had mixed feeling about whether I wanted him to learn how to climb out or not but secretly I was planning on keep the crib till  he was 10. It was amazing going to sleep peacefully knowing that he was ok. When he turned three though – Cohen began to really show himself and his opinion. He would not use a blanket or pillow. If you put it in there the first thing he would do before he laid down was throw them out. Then he would only sleep side-ways (I couldn’t move him since he’s the lightest sleeper in the world)!!! So between freezing at night and having a cramped neck Cohen started becoming a super light sleeper…..this was not ok.

So the next thing we knew Cohen was sleeping between us or should I say on Mikey head or across my face. A sleeping toddler is like a fish out of the water. I could not remember the last time Mikey or I got a solid night’s sleep. The hunt for a toddler bed or any bed this child wanted was on because we. were. so. tired.

This new bed is 4 months in the making! Yes, four …..you might wonder why it took us soo long to get him in another bed and why we suffered through the 4 am kicks in the face? Well because we loved him. Even though he’s three I want him to make him own choices and whenever we went to look at toddler beds he never liked any. Maybe because he knew he was going to bed the boot from ours.

After our trip to DC this past weekend – we decided to stop by IKEA. Cohen has looked at the beds before but usually ran past them to the toy sections. This time was completely different! He was rolling around in them and wanted to get under the covers. HA!! If you could of seen the way Mikey and I looked at each other!! Hallelujah! Cohen wanted a toddler bed and we were going to get a good night’s rest! After 45 minutes of Cohen going back and forth he finally wanted the dark wood bed with the fox down comforter. We didn’t need a mattress since we thought we could use his crib mattress but if your going to buy a bed from IKEA just note – their mattresses are about a foot longer…….

The one thing I LOVE about IKEA is their small packaging. We drove my little mustang that day  and at first we thought about waiting to buy the bed but we really wanted it now! I can not believe it fit – thankfully the bed came in two boxes!!!

Below you can follow the Instagram photos that show Cohen’s journey of finding his big boy bed!

One of the biggest things Mikey was worried about was that Cohen was going to roll off the bed. I’ve been told by other parents if Cohen does – the bed is so low to the ground it doesn’t hurt. Well second to last image above you can see Cohen sleeping on the floor 😉 I didn’t want to touch him because I knew he would wake up but when I went to check on him 20 mins later he had already put himself back in bed and covered up again!

Ahhh it breaks my heart a little to see him grow up but I love it that he’s finding his own way!! Other then the one roll off – Cohen LOVES his new bed. He’s not cried once or asked to sleep with us. When he’s tired during the day he will lay down by himself or get in it easily when I say it’s nap time. But the best thing is …..he still shouts “MMMMMOMMMM” or “DDDDADDDDD” when he’s ready to get up 😉

Now here’s a few of our favorites from a quick session we did of him and his new favorite spot in the house:)

xoxo

Samantha

                                                           Don’t you love the fake food hidden under his bed 😉

                                                        And thank goodness this thing doesn’t have a weigh limit 😉

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The Bridal Series {The Dark Bride}

Whew, I can not even begin to express how excited I am to finally share the first installment of our new blog series!!! These shoots have been months in the making – starting with really wanting to show my style and shoot things I LOVE!!! Each session seriously hold a piece of my heart! I can’t believe how perfect everyone single one looks! It was kinda on the scale of reliving my own wedding day with each shoot! We did not have enough bridal sessions last year – I would seriously LOVE to do one of these sessions for each and everyone of my brides so they too could relive the experience!

Each series will be VERY unique and completely different for any other bridal session you have ever seen. I am just soo in love with each one – I may have to release a few more sneak peeks of the other sessions because I don’t think I can wait!!!

for this session we originally we planned to have tons of details and accessories to come along but I just love using the elements we had around us and then the one simple but stunning accessory (you will have to wait till the end to see). On this day it was FREEZING – probably only in the 30s but with the high wind chill it felt about 20 with a chance of snow! Emily did such an amazing job toughing it out!! When she’s not being an awesome model she also a VERY talented make-up artist located not far from Fredericksburg.

Ah!! So no more waiting!! Enjoy the first installment of The Bridal Series with The Dark Bride!!!

xoxo

Samantha

 

 

 

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14 comments on “The Bridal Series {The Dark Bride}

  1. “these shots have been months in the making” – you sneaky little Smith’s, you!
    Exquisite, these are :-) Fave: image 5 and the close up. Gorgeously hand crafted!

  2. tricia on said:

    These are BEAUTIFUL!! I’m excited to see the rest of the series :)

  3. Samantha Lord on said:

    GORGEOUS!

  4. Chelsea Patricia on said:

    Beautiful!

  5. Brooke Stone on said:

    love the mask! how cool!

  6. Melissa Farmer on said:

    This is amazinggg!

  7. Crystal Myers Springer on said:

    GORGEOUS!

  8. Absolutely STUNNING!! Beautiful!! The contrast is so so gorgeous!! I am so proud to know you! :) :)

  9. Shawn Clift Burrell on said:

    WOW! These are like nothing I have ever seen before! Absolutely beautiful! I love the use of the mask as a prop.

  10. Ashley Hester on said:

    love this shoot! I love her too!

  11. Charlotte Fraser on said:

    OMG why haven’t I seen these before?!?! Emily looks amazing and this whole series is fabulous!!

  12. Marilyn Root Copans on said:

    Amazing!!

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FEATURED!!!! {Rock N’ Roll Bride}

I am still in a state of shock!!! We have our first HUGE blog feature!!! Rock N’ Roll Brides is one of the top blogs in the world!! We are soo excited to finally share all the amazing images from this day!

Amanda of Anthomanic did an AMAZING job of coming up with the concept of this style shoot – she was also the most gorgeous model!!! Orignially we were just planning a sexy outdoor boudior session to surprise her husband but it turned into something completely different. Once we started talking about it Amanda just had to do more! This girl is soo darn talented!!

The theme was a Burtonesque – a play on the creative world of Tim Burton. From the oreo cookies with milk to the gorgeous flower arrangements this shoot was sooo much fun! It may not look but it was soo humid and hot that day!! You would never know that we were shooting in a field that was infested with sooo many mosquitoes but Amanda and her handsome husband rocked it!

I don’t think we could of had a better team of businesses to work with!!!

Here’s a complete list of all the awesome vendors!

Photography Credit: The Photography Smiths
Styling & Flowers: Anthomanic
Rentals: Retrospect Vintage Rentals
Dress: Formal Envy
Hats: Two Back Flats
Cakes: Fat Girl Cakes 
Hair & Make Up: GoGo Gorgeous 
Stationery: Weswen Design
Linens: Memorable Moments

Well I won’t say much more since Kat from Rock N’ Roll Brides describes this shoot soooo well!!!

Please be sure to check it out and leave us some LOVE!!

xoxo Samantha

 

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Date Night Review {Les Miserables}

Running a business and having a toddler sometimes we forget that we are also married. Before life happened – Mikey and I were just two free spirits kids who went on daily date nights. But now we are lucky to get out by ourselves once a month. I think the longest we went was 6 months right after Cohen was born – first time parent anxiety I guess 😉

A resolution we made for ourselves this year was to really connect and focus on our marriage. This past Christmas was our 8th year together and July 5th will be our 5th wedding anniversary and I love it that even now Mikey still gives me butterflies:)Our goal this year we will be having a mandatory monthly date night …the kind you actually have to get dressed up and leave the house without Cohen:(  Once a month doesn’t seem like a lot but you have to start somewhere!

Mikey and I are two completely different people – some would say complete opposites. But we could not agree more on what we love love love to do! We are obsessed with movies and yummy food!! I personally LOVE chick flicks and anything that involves a love story where Mikey prefers action – he secretly loves chick flicks too 😉

Last night we went on our first official date of the year! I’ve been dying to see Les Miserables – there are sooo many amazing reviews out about it and I am a HUGE Anne Hathaway fan! I’m not going to lie I had to do some begging to see this one. Finally Mikey agreed when he realized it was playing at Muvico. If you’ve never been to Muvico/Paragon Village 12 in Fredericksburg you have to try it out! They have an amazing VIP 21 and up section that serves cocktails and food. I personally love its because of the seats! Its also like sitting on a big comfy couch!

Now let’s talk movie review – this movie had a lot of hype around it so I came in expecting a lot. As someone who never read the book or saw the musical I was not sure what to expect. The closest thing I have ever seen to a musical is Glee (which I think is amazing)! Well this movie was just that – freakin AMAZING! I loved how it had soo many different elements to the story line and how you could just feel their emotion when they sang. One thing I didn’t not realize though was that 99% of the movie was singing. Yes, I know its a musical but I didn’t know people could sing one word answers 😉 So if you’re on the fence about seeing this one – well let me help you – GO SEE IT!!!! Seriously, it scared me, made me laugh, cry and super happy….not many movies give me all these emotions but oh man this one did.

Have a wonderful weekend!!

xoxo Samantha

 

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