My Love for Photography

As a budding photography business, I do a lot of research. What is the newest style? How can I achieve successful lighting? What kind of props are best for this specific scene? How can I be more creative with my settings?  I am reading constantly. What I love most about it is that I am always learning something new. There are so many aspects to photography that I just keep piling on more and more fun things to do. When I first started doing photography I had no idea where it was going to take me.
I still don't know where I'm going. But what i do know is that I am loving the journey. I love meeting new families and preserving the memories: that sweet engagement, that new born baby, the innocence of childhood... my goal is to preserve the memory of life's most precious moments.
I believe that life is a journey. We are all hiking to our destination in life. Although the destination is the most important part, where we go on the way makes a huge impact on what that destination is going to be like when we get there.
How will you remember the way your precious and innocent baby was when he is a wild teenager? In 30 years when you've lost that connection with your husband and you just can't communicate, what can you go back to that will remind you of the love and fire you used to feel for him? To remind you that if you had it once, you can have it again. What about your youngest child's graduation? You have an empty nest now... wouldn't it be nice to flip through the photo album and reminisce about the different stages of life your family has gone through? I know I do!
When my twin nephews, Dalton and Braden, were about 2 years old (just starting to walk and talk), they had a fascination with tractors. There's a window on each side of my parents' front door. Each boy would stand at each side of the door looking out the window watching papaw on the tractor saying "tractor, tractor!" the best way a little baby can. Now they are 9 years old and almost as tall as I am. I look at them and wonder how on earth life has gone by so fast, how these little guys could be so big when not so long ago they were so little? I look at their pictures from when they were that age and how much they have changed over the years. How quickly the years go by!
That is why I love photography.
Until I came across a photo of those chubby little babies, I had forgotten how cute and innocent they were. Now they're cute and ornery little boys who know more about math than I do! I try to take a picture of something everyday. Whether its the dinner I cooked, my husband, a sunset or my dog. I desperately want to preserve the memory of this beautiful thing called life. When I'm 90 years old in my rocking chair, waiting to go home to see my Savior, I want to look through an album and see every stage of life; every small child, every beautiful sunset, every first time to try a new recipe, every family get together; and remember just how beautiful and wonderful this life is. So blessed.

A little catching up!

Hello my wonderful people!
I am so sorry I have been absent from here for awhile. I am obviously not the best at creating a consistent online presence with my blog. I am definitely working toward blocking out more time every week to keep everyone updated on whats going on. I have several exciting things to address...

1. Rewards Program

I have officially launched LSP Rewards... each referral you send my way will get you a tally mark. Every 3 referrals will result in 10% off your next session. These points can be built up and never expire. You can redeem them for any photo shoot at any time. 

2. Fall Minis

Fall mini sessions are just around the corner and are running out of time to sign up! This is the ONLY mini session ever that will not require a deposit to hold your spot and 10% of each session will go to Blackbox International. The first session will be held on October 3rd from 9AM-2PM.  I have several morning slots left and you have until Saturday, September 26th to book. The second one will be October 10th from 9AM-2 PM. I have several morning slots left for this to. You have until October 3rd to book these. 

Visit  http://www.blackboxinternational.org/ to find out more about this cause that you could be donating to!!

3. Family Fall Sessions

Now would be a great time for you to start earning those rewards points and get those family photos done! Darrell and his girls decided to get theirs done and they were absolutely precious!

4. Princess Sessions

Lets face it. ALL little girls want to be princesses. This little princess owned the camera, and yours can too! Fall would be the perfect time to get your little girls dressed up in pretty dresses and make them into princesses!

Looking Good!

Good Afternoon!

The most common questions I get from my clients are "What should I wear?" and "What can I do to make sure I look okay in the photos?" After much research and observation, I can finally say that I have come to some conclusions! See below the 5 most important (in my opinion) things you can do to make sure your photo shoot is a success!

1. Be real and be your best! If you don't want that double chin to be apparent in your pictures try to elongate your next a little bit, just enough to hide the double chin but not so much that it looks awkward. Also, don't fake your smile! Smile with your eyes. The worst pictures you will every take is when you are pretending to smile and be happy. If you need to, think of your happy place while you're taking the photos to ensure that you look real!

2.Stay groomed. Don't slouch. Hold your shoulders back and your chin slightly up. This also will help with the double chin and make you not look like a slob. Also, make sure your teeth are brushed to remove any of that yellow plaque that builds up. If you're a lady, use makeup to cover blemishes and dark circles the best you can. If your eyes are red from allergies, pop in a couple of eye drops before you do your eye makeup. Don't wear bright red blush! This makes your face look sunburned and is not typically very flattering in your photos.

3. Don't Be Crazy.  Try not to wear crazy colors and/or designs. Move toward a more solid colored outfit with a color that fits your complexion.

4. Props are a Must! You can use props to define your personality. They'll also give you something to do with your hands.

5. Be you! If you don't like to sit still, then move around and dance. If you stand in awkward positions every time you will look too posed and tense. The goal of your photo shoot is to highlight you and your personality. Being posed for every photo takes that personal element away from you! Just loosen up a little!

Do you have any other ideas on how to look good in photos? Comment below!

Thanks,
Lindsey Skelton

Modesty Is Beauty- Katelyn

What is modesty?

 The dictionary definition states: regard for decency of behavior, speech, dress, etc.

I am officially launching the "Modesty is Beauty" campaign. I believe the term "modesty" goes way beyond a dictionary definition. Its more than covering your body or watching the way you talk. It is in your very being. 

What is beauty?

The dictionary definition for beauty says: 

an individually pleasing or beautiful quality; grace; charm:

I believe that no matter what size, shape or color you are, you are beautiful. Our culture has taken beauty and made it into something its not. Many young girls and women believe that in order to be beautiful they have to wear booty shorts and tank tops that hang too low for a night out or string bikinis to go swimming.

I'm here to tell you that our culture is wrong. I believe beauty is so much more than that. It is more beautiful than that.

Paul says in 1 Timothy, 2:8-10, “I desire…that women should adorn themselves in respectable apparel, with modesty and self-control, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly attire, but with what is proper for women who profess godliness—with good works.“
                   
Brothers and sisters in Christ, please join me in raising up our young girls into believing that they can be beautiful in the bodies God gave them without being naked. 

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Here is what Katelyn believes about modesty... She says,

"When I think of the word 'modest' the old adage 'modest is hottest' does not come to mind because modesty is not about being hot or even how you look at all. Being modest allows one to highlight their inner beauty instead of their outer beauty. By being modest and covering up you are showing that there is so much more to you than how you look and that one's beauty is not defined solely by looks. By being modest you also show respect for God and other believers by not trying to tempt them with revealing clothing."

"Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate."- Mark 10:9

Marriage is such a beautiful thing! Its a covenant made between two people and God. Take a few minutes to research what a covenant actually is and how sacred and huge it is. I'm super excited for this journey my cousin Phillip and his bride Brittany are embarking on and my prayer is that God will use their marriage to help them live out the lives they are called to live.

Modesty is Beauty

Modesty is Beauty. This has been a phrase that has rung over and over again in my head for the past 6 months straight. The day my husband bought me my first professional camera, dreams for doing photography began rolling around in my head constantly. More and more ideas kept pouring into my mind everyday, but one that I kept coming back to me was this. What if I used my passion to display to young girls that they don't have to show off their bodies to be beautiful? God created them beautiful not only on the outside, but the inside as well. I want to use my Photography to lift young girls' self esteem and embed an idea into their minds that they are fearfully and wonderfully made by a Creator who's desire for them is to preserve their beauty and keep their bodies private. Modeling agencies today are all about getting women naked in front of the camera and leaving nothing to the imagination. This has created a 'norm' in our society where people think its okay for women's bodies to be displayed for the entire world to see.

This leaves me with so many questions. Are these women married? If so, what do their husbands think? What is this doing to their future husbands? The most important question: Do they not realize that this is not what God wants for them?

My heart aches for the women out there who feel they have to show off their bodies to be loved and feel beautiful. Why is nobody telling them that? And if there is somebody telling them that, why aren't they listening?

I'm ready to start standing up for the women in our society who are so lost and misguided and start showing them and that there is so much more to beauty than their bodies. Who's with me?

-Lindsey Skelton

Graduation

Just wanted to share a picture from Carly's graduation photo shoot. Congratulations on this new chapter in life!