AMY FREE photography

Four years ago Ginny started a bible study through her church's youth group and four years ago, this small group of girls started to share their lives with each other. Now they are all going to be graduating from high school in a matter of weeks. Wow. Ginny has really seen these girls grow up... she has seem their laughter, tears, joy and frustration... and she has been their "fearless leader" through it all. Just watching them all interact throughout the shoot it was clear to me that there is an easy friendship between them all... a genuine sense of being truly known. And it brought me back to thinking about my closest friends and what I treasure most about them is that sense of being "known" and just loved for who I am, there is such delicious comfort in that. I love that with friends who know me and my story, they can just get it when I'm laughing hysterically at some odd event in my day... I don't have to give the whole story behind the story as to why. I love that with friends who know me I can just come and lay bare my heart aches and struggles. So all that being said, I'm particularly fond of these images, because I feel like they capture the sweetness of friendship. And that's most certainly worth celebrating (and photographing!).

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haley lamb says:

how awesome!! you did such a great job at capturing the life in these girls! I would love to have this done with my small group!

(05.11.09 @ 10:04 AM)

Kim Shaw says:

Those pictures really do capture what you so eloquently said about friendship and laying bare our hearts to those that truly know us. I love this blog and watching you capture the world in splendid ways. Keep it up!

(05.11.09 @ 09:06 PM)

bobbie brown says:

Love it!

(05.15.09 @ 12:00 PM)

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Lifestyle portraiture :: 04.21.09

just because.

Meet Meghan. She is fabulous.

Meet Patrick. He is fabulous.

Together the create a whole level of fabulousness.

Seriously though, these are the folks that you see and think, they are much too good looking to have a nice bone in their body, but alas these two are HOT and downright cool too. Dang it. Some people just have it all.

KA-POW. Hello hotness. What a great note to end on.....

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smitten says:

complete and serious hotness. whoa.

(04.22.09 @ 08:39 AM)

andredaburtt says:

pictures = perfect
introduction = perfect
patrick & meghan = perfect

(04.22.09 @ 10:33 AM)

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Kids and family , Lifestyle portraiture :: 04.19.09

i'm smitten with the clark family

I woke up before 6am on Friday morning to get ready for my shoot and I have to admit that I was downright nervous. I had spent a good bit of time the day before planning and purchasing some fun goodies for the shoot, but now I was just praying that I could somehow rise to the occasion of shooting Sharon Clark (Smitten Photography) and her family. Um, I mean this is the girl whose images have inspired me since the day she started her photography business and whose images have continued to inspire me and SO many others ever since then. On top of that, knowing that they haven't ever really had "family photos", made me desperate to capture the depth and intensity of love that is shared between this amazing family.
It's funny because I've technically "known" Sharon for years via our mutual best friend, Lauren Kiser (aka one of my most favorite people to photograph!!), but its been a total blessing to get to know her myself and working behind/alongside her... see her heart and her passion for God, photography, and life in general. Sharon is just one of those people whose joy is purely infectious, so being around her is such a delight, and that joy is what I think that makes her work have such an emotional impact on others. Her photography is based on the beauty of real life.
So.... Sharon, Ryan, Elle and Bosten.... I hope that you fall in love with these images of your delightful family. I hope that you can take them and cover your walls and smile every time you see them because these are images that celebrate the love you all share.

*** Oh and by the way, Sharon and I just survived a very interesting weekend shooting a wedding in Knoxville. More to come on this, but let me just tell you that she is a hard core photographer and will shoot no matter what!!

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sharon clark says:

ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!! i couldn't have dreamed up anything more amazing than this way of capturing my family. amy you are the best. love them more than you could ever know!!!!!!

(04.19.09 @ 10:17 PM)

bobbie brown says:

Oh I do believe you 'rose to the occasion'! This is by far my FAVORITE shoot I have ever seen of yours! Everyone of these pictures are AMAZING! I really can't pick a favorite, but I just have to say the two of the little girl are just adorable!

(04.19.09 @ 11:01 PM)

jen hunt says:

Oh my, Amy!! These are amazing!!

(04.19.09 @ 11:39 PM)

andreaburtt says:

let me just say....ridiculously PERFECT!
my absolute FAVE---sharon pulling ryan's tie---simple.sexy.gorg!
FABULOUS!
everyone was captured soooo beautifully!

(04.20.09 @ 07:34 AM)

Meredith says:

These are everyone fabulous, I can't pick a favorite! Excellent job :]

(04.20.09 @ 09:11 AM)

KK says:

If Anthropologie had a family photoshoot, they would hire you and they would hire this family. Absolutely, positively, AMAZING in every sense.

(04.20.09 @ 10:23 AM)

ashley wheatley says:

oh my gosh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!THESE ARE AMAZING!!!!! i LOVE the one of sharon pulling ryan's tie too, and the one of bosten playing with the tie!
so so amazing!!! can't wait to see these on your wall sharon!
amazing job amy!!

(04.20.09 @ 02:06 PM)

Lauren Verlander says:

Ryan must have been wearing a very tasty tie...everybody wanted a piece. And, Sharon is rocking those white cowboy boots! Great family shoot. You rock amy free!!

(04.20.09 @ 04:11 PM)

Naomi says:

You rocked it, Amy. :) They are a pretty amazing family - and you captured it SO well!!!!

(04.20.09 @ 04:17 PM)

Holly says:

LOVE the first picture of the entire family on the pier..... gorgeous!

(04.20.09 @ 04:30 PM)

Paige says:

Amy...these are absolutely AMAZING!!!!!

(04.21.09 @ 11:10 AM)

Kelly says:

AMY!!!! wow, these are amazing pictures!!! what an incredible job! and so fun seeing Sharon in pictures with a similar style to those that she shoots. seriously, beautiful photos.

(04.22.09 @ 01:05 AM)

Kathryn Ivey says:

Okay...all these photos are fabulous, but the pictures on the dock....CAN WE SAY NEXT JCREW COVER!!!!! Holy moly they are fabulous!

(04.27.09 @ 01:50 PM)

Bethany Boone says:

What do ya know...my new favorite photographer (you) photographing another favorite photographer!! She shot my boyfriend's cousin's wedding...Erin McClain in June.
You have amazing talent! I am seriously in awe and so inspired. I am taking a class at school right now and I really would love to get into it. Please come shoot my wedding one day!
PS: I'm John Boone's daughter :-)

(07.17.09 @ 12:08 AM)

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Lifestyle portraiture :: 04.08.09

the perfect recipe

Last Friday I met Anna (and her whole awesome family) uptown for a shoot and we were served up the perfect recipe of light, wind, and warmth. Anna's laughter was a theme throughout the session and I loved that she embraced being in front of the camera and certainly didn't seem to be bothered by any random passerby's that were probably thinking, "Um hotness!".... well that is what I was thinking! Also, since I don't typically shoot uptown I felt like a kid on a treasure hunt since there were so many great nooks and crannies to explore throughout this shoot, and Anna worked it in every location. Enjoy just a handful of favorites.... ridicuous gorgeousness.

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Rachel Garrison says:

Amy-These are too gorgeous!! L Anna definitely brought the hot factor and you captured her perfectly. Thinking I should definitely book a session next time you're in town.. :) Great work!

(04.08.09 @ 06:00 PM)

Kris Edwards (Anna's Aunt) says:

Wow! What professional and personable pictures! I don't remember my senior photos looking anything like this~ Are you sure this isn't a NYC model photo shoot? Enjoy this time, Anna! Be footloose and fancy free~God bless you!
Love, Kris

(04.09.09 @ 01:40 AM)

Donna Rumple says:

Amy really did a great job! These pictures are great! Anna is a photogenic person! She has a great personality and is a beautiful girl. I think she should be a model. I am so proud of you graduating from high school! You have worked hard! I wish you the very best! Congratulations! Love, Donna

(04.12.09 @ 08:11 PM)

Donna Rumple says:

Amy did a great job! These pictures are beautiful! I think Anna should be a model. You are a photogenic person. I am so proud of you! You have worked hard! As you pursue your career, I wish you the best! Congratulations! Love, Donna

(04.12.09 @ 08:20 PM)

Lynn Helderman says:

These pictures of Anna are awesome, but of course you had a beautiful model for the photo shoot. It appears that you have captured the true heart and soul of this fun loving young lady. I enjoyed your entire website, thanks for sharing!

(04.14.09 @ 09:19 AM)

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Lifestyle portraiture :: 04.07.09

4 friends, a lifetime of friendship

Four girls who were best friends in high school and are now scattered across the US - New York, Texas, and North Carolina - but are still committed as ever to growing their friendship and sharing in life together. Weddings and babies have brought them all together recently, but this was a trip was just for them.... no agenda, just quality time. KK, who is the NC representative and you may recognize from her Believe shoot, charged me with capturing she and her friends doing what they do best...hanging out, chatting, laughing, and drinking coffee (or wine... or mimosas!). This shoot was a treat for me because I happen to think that these girls are out of control fun and I'm in love with the vibrancy of the colors and the expressions that are a part of all the images.

We started at one of the coolest bakeries/coffee shops in the NoDa area - Amelie's....

Then we headed back to that killer barn that I'm so in love with and set up a little picnic and played around a bit....

And because Missy doesn't seem to ever like photos of herself I wanted to feature these 2 shots since she looks so impossibly fresh, fun and gorgeous.

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KK says:

I am so happy and so in love these photos. You made us all feel so comfortable, allowing us to be ourselves so you could capture it on film. You are such an amazing photographer.

(04.07.09 @ 12:39 PM)

Kari Hernandez says:

I second that - you are amazing, Amy! You really captured our personalities and you were right, it might feel silly but it looks great!

(04.07.09 @ 12:58 PM)

Missy says:

We had so much fun with you on Friday! These sneak peeks are great and I can't wait to see the rest. Thank you for making the "photo shoot" much less painful than I expected ;) You are great at what you do!

(04.08.09 @ 09:39 AM)

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