Things Will Change: An Update for Alisha McKellar Portrait Design!

About ten months ago, I ventured out and went full time into my own photography company. It was quite scary, but the excitement of it all far outweighed any hesitation I had. Music photography was the niche that got me started out in this field years ago (and I will always love it), but things always change and grow, right?

After experiencing all of the amazing stages that came along with my nieces and nephew growing up, I had thought about gearing more toward children and family photography-and to fill the music side of me-Senior portraits. It must have been fate because it seemed like all of my friends, and former wedding clients, were expecting their first child at practically the same time. That is how it all took off. It's absolute proof that you should always do at least one thing that scares you. I can't imagine not having met all the wonderful families I've been lucky enough to work with lately. I mean, who wouldn't want to hang out with little kids who will absolutely say what is on their mind, and 99% of the time, it makes you laugh.

Newborns are just completely precious, and you just want to stare at them, so that's a given. Toddlers are amazing because they are curious--and that makes for great photos. The older ones and family portraits allow you to let personalities come out so they have memories to hold onto, long after their children are grown.

Senior portraits are another thing I LOVE because it reminds me so much of doing band photography. You get to plan out these fun, amazing sessions with so many different teens who each have their own unique personalities and dreams. The goal is to give them confidence to move on to the next chapter in their lives.

And, with all of these, the parents just amaze me! I have never experienced people so truly grateful and excited about their portraits, and just the whole experience. I love that parents want different things, and they all want a great portrait that shows their child's true personality. Those are fun sessions.

I have now decided that it's exactly the road I want to stay on. So, I have restructured my company, and I have updated my website to feature more of this.  I'm sure it will continue to grow and change along the way, and I hope you are able to become a part of the journey!

For now, the next big thing coming up will hopefully be pumpkin patch + Holiday card mini sessions! I will be sure to keep you posted on that!

~Alisha

Christina Perri + Pure Happiness

What do you do when you've cried off all your makeup? If you're at a Christina Perri concert...you sing on! :)

I'd been counting down the days to Christina's Atlanta show, and finally, with my serious butterflies, we made our way through the completely awful weather, stood outside waiting on the slowest line in the world...only to get inside and realize that The Loft is not Center Stage...oops. That meant that, since I'm not 6'2", I was never going to see Christina. HAHA! The good part of that??? I got to dance, sing, cry, and smile my way through her whole set without ever bothering a soul. I live for nights like these.

I was all smiling and singing through "Black + Blue" and "Bang Bang Bang" (thinking of all the reasons I have to smile to those songs), but when she sang "The Lonely"...I lost it. I have not cried like that in public since I watched "City of Angels" at the movie theater. I felt the tears coming, and it was one of those times where you hope no one notices, and you REALLY hope that wasn't the last song. That way they don't turn on the lights. haha! I have never heard anything more beautiful than all of those notes dancing around her incredible voice. There just are no words.

For the record, I did catch glimpses of her (even though she was practically right in front of us, there were A LOT of tall people in front of me...sad). I honestly think that girl smiled her way through that entire show. She seemed so grateful to be up there, and talked about how thankful she was to be living her dream. Just amazing.

Another amazing part of the night...the opening band: Honey Honey. Okay, we've all had to sit through three HORRIBLE bands to finally get to the one we went to see, right? Well, when this girl opened her mouth, I was floored! Amazing music, amazing voice, she played the banjo (and I mean TRULY played it-not just holding it to look cute), she played the violin...and to top it all off, she was NICE! I absolutely had to go meet her after their set. She probably thinks I'm crazy, but seriously, she was awesome!

I didn't stick around to meet Christina because I know at that point, I would have just cried and made an idiot out of myself. haha!

So, there's another indescribably wonderful concert to place in my memories. :)

Here are a few of my super less than mediocre photos, taken with my old, trusty Rebel...above my head. Enjoy.

Please, don't judge Suzanne Santo by my awful photo. She's gorgeous.

A Little Piece of Italy

On a whim today, we decided to go to a consignment shop that I've been hearing about for quite some time now. Oh. Wow! Awesome! I love those kinds of stores because everything isn't already laid out for you the way it "should" go. It's more fun to use your imagination to put things together. :)

As we walked around looking at all of the treasures, I spotted THE cutest little...wait for it...STARBUCKS espresso cup from Italy. I felt like I was on American Pickers and had struck gold. HAHA! I didn't care how much money it was worth, I just knew that its home was in my Starbucks mug collection and it was only 99 cents. SWOON.

Our other treasure find-an amazing, metal poker table! We're going to paint it, and put the green felt on it. It needs some tlc. I'll be sure to post before/after photos of that little project. Prepare to be amazed. HAHA!

For now, enjoy the espresso cup. :)
Happy Saturday!!!

Emily's Shoot: Part 2

The second part of Emily's shoot was awesome! The weather was perfect for us, she had THE cutest clothes! I have to admit, I was pretty jealous of her cocoa bean bracelet from Columbia. :)

Emily's Shoot: Part 1

Being 14 is an adventure in itself. Spending a week of your summer break with me...also probably an adventure-hopefully more fun, though. LOL!

Emily has been awesome! We took a little time out today to do some studio shots of her. Be sure to keep an eye out for some outdoor shots from Part 2-coming soon! :)

Some Sad + Some Exciting

What a week! I had just gotten on my little "healthier eating" kick, which was actually working out for me...until my poor blender died. Instead of reaching for chips or whatever may be laying around, I would make a smoothie with fresh fruit, and it made me happy. I was making one, when I heard a crazy loud noise. At first, I thought it was just some ice...no, it was the pieces on the base that actually turn the blade. Sad day. So, I've been in smoothie withdrawal. LOL! Must get a new blender.

I also have some exciting news to share: we are finally in the very beginning stages of buying our first home! We are both so picky when it comes to such a permanent purchase that this may take a little while. However, we started our search, where else, online. I spent hours searching through and making my ridiculous lists-that I feel I'm quite famous for. I mean, I have to put my love for cute office supplies to work somehow, right? :)

We are now on day three of our search after spending two evenings driving around the neighborhoods of the homes we found online. I definitely have my three favorites, but we'll have to wait and see.

What hit me yesterday was that I'm pretty much a nomad. I could probably move once a year, and it wouldn't bother me. I grew up moving around a lot as a kid, and I think that just stuck with me. There's something exciting about packing everything into boxes and setting sail for your next adventure. And you can't leave out the decorating of the new place! Although, it never turns out quite like I saw it in my head. LOL!

As we drove around yesterday, I realized that the everyday things I'm used to now, simply won't be there when we move. I will have to find a new grocery store, Starbucks, and Target. However, the butterflies definitely started as soon as I thought about the fact that instead of being a nomad, I will have a home. I also started thinking of all the new people I will meet, and how I can't wait to become a part of our new community and allow my business to grow wherever we plant our roots. :)

Sorry there are no photos to share with this update (I seriously thought about taking photos of said blender, though), but hopefully we get to go take a look inside the houses that we have narrowed down so far soon!

Have a great Friday-and weekend!!

Three Years Ago Today, We Said, "I Do."

When we have huge dreams, it's often difficult to reach them on your own. And, even those times when you are able to reach them alone, you're still just that-alone.

After accomplishing things I went after alone, and celebrating them alone, I finally met my wonderful husband. :)

I think our story is sweet. We had several mutual friends, but we'd never actually met. I had shot the album cover for a local band, and he and I both ended up at their CD Release Party back in 2006. I was lucky enough to share the stage with them to sing. My favorite thing about that night was that my friends were taking photos, and you can actually see both of us in them. Not many people have photos from the night they met their future husband. Here are a couple from that fateful night:

He's in the white hat. :)

He's in the white hat. :)

Having him in my life finally gave me a sense of courage that I had never had before.  He has stood by me through all of my crazy dreaming, and because of his love, support, and patience, I was able to finally accomplish that one elusive dream-graduating from The Art Institute of Atlanta for photography. Sometimes, I still can't believe that I get to do photography for a living. I always dreamed about it, but certainly had my doubts that it could ever happen. Well, it did, and now I get to celebrate it with him every day.

Our wedding day was absolutely perfect. We said, "I do." while on the beautiful beach of St. Lucia in 2008. We danced to Jack Johnson's "Better Together", and our wedding video still makes me tear up. When we got back home, his family threw a reception for us that made me feel like Cinderella.
Here are a few of our wedding photos.

Where we had our reception.

our Reception + his suit while in St. Lucia.

Out to dinner in St. Lucia.

Our home for 8 days. :)

What our butler had waiting for us when we arrived in St. Lucia.

Love.

Out to lunch in St. Lucia.

My dress + our First Dance in St. Lucia (I'm way too expressive for photos).

My favorite from our wedding photos.

So, happy 3rd wedding anniversary, to my amazing husband. I'm looking forward to many many more.

Let's Not Title the Book Just Yet

 One of my favorite lines in a song is "I'd like to think the best of me is hiding up my sleeve..." This is because I hope to never stop dreaming, trying, doing, learning, thinking and creating. I believe underdogs rule the world...we just don't brag about it. :) If you're in the spot light all the time, you're blinded and can't see everyone else, or where you are needed. I do think the spot light can be fun sometimes, though.

Anyway, now that I got all of that out, on to some SUPER fun stuff. After loving Showit for over a year now, I finally decided to climb out of my little shell and attend the PASS Premier Tour here in Atlanta last night. I first got there and the wallflower in me came out. However, in no time at all, I was meeting all of these wonderful photographers, and even some I'd met at the Sandy Puc'/Jerry Ghionis seminar not too long ago. So, once I got comfy, it was ON! The speakers were unbelievable!

First up was Promise Tangeman-one of the main reasons I wanted to go. Her work is so inspiring, and every time I even go to her website I just start dreaming. Listening to her go over how she approaches branding was so refreshing. So many people were telling me I needed to do this and do that-Promise simply said you need to take a step back and figure out who you are. YOU are your brand. :) Genius, right? It's not supposed to happen in two days-it will always be a work in progress, and it should grow with you. I feel awful for talking her ears off, but she was so gracious about it all. My goal for next week is to start on her branding e-course. So, watch out folks, I'm going to go wild. haha! And, I can't wait! Hopefully I will finally figure myself out?

Next up, Zach & Jody Gray. I already loved them from watching them on my PhotoVision DVD, but to hear them just talk freely about how they treat their clients was certainly inspirational. Even though I don't specialize in weddings, they had so many wonderful ideas that could be used for any type of client. I love their attitudes, and well, the fact that they seem to be as in love with Starbucks as I am. I get picked on for collecting the Starbucks mugs everywhere I go. Well, guess what-they do it, too. :)

The rest of the night was packed with album info and...drum roll please...PASS. I cannot wait to use that to the max! It's all about giving clients what they want-and fast! So fantastic!

So, between Promise's wonderful e-course, Zach & Jody's amazing way of thinking about business (it's about people-not just delivering photos), and David Jay giving us the freedom to put all of this into our websites and have an amazing way to meet so many wonderful photographers-this year is going to ROCK! I feel like I have a whole new family!

Promise Tangeman!!

Jody (Zach & Jody Gray)

Jody & Zach (Zach & Jody Gray)

To top it all off, I shot a graduation ceremony for a local technical college this morning. As I was setting up the lights in the ballroom for formals after the ceremony, I was going through all the things I needed to remember to do throughout the day as all the graduates were getting lined up to make their walk across the stage. I noticed a guy sitting close by with his head down and he was crying-not sobbing, just some tears. I asked him if he was okay. His response, a huge smile while wiping those tears and saying, "This degree was so hard to get." I was speechless. It was then that I realized I was not hired simply to document students in caps and gowns crossing a stage, I was there to help them celebrate all of their hard work to get them there. Reason number five million and one of why I have the best job in the world.

Mumford & Sons...and Crazy Great New Friends

Have you ever heard live music that sounded so great you just wanted to close your eyes, but you also didn't want to miss a second of watching? That pretty much sums up tonight's Mumford & Sons show at the Fox. Unreal.

The night started out seriously funny-parking was $25, I was two dollars short-FAIL. Little did we know, that would actually create an adventure.
The poor parking attendant was nice enough to let us go eat dinner and come back to pay. Too bad the restaurant does not give change. This caused us to go into Publik...fantastic idea, right? Well, I had to buy a $6.50 drink, tip $2.00 to get $2.00 to give the parking guy. However, everyone in that place was super nice! Whew. Okay, parking attendant paid.
Then, we had quite awhile to stand outside before the doors open, and that's when we met the first two of our new friends-Nicole & Ryan. AWESOME people! We all go back to Publik and figure out that we all have way too much in common.
Eventually Brittany and I make our way to our seats, and that's when we meet our other new friend, Cathy. Huge music-lover, which makes her absolutely okay in my book. :)

The opening band, Matthew and the Atlas, left me pretty speechless. I have sat through some terrible opening bands, so this was beyond a nice surprise.

Seeing Mumford & Sons--from the 12th row--no words. There are just no words. And that is why I attempted to take photos (in between my crazy clapping under the string lights and the "starlit" sky of the Fox--which felt like we were all at some barn raising...sorry, I have no other way to describe that) with my poor little Rebel that has been with me since I started out on this photography journey.
They played a few new songs, and trust me, their next album is going to be amazing. :)

View from Publik--with said drink. At least it was good. :)

My first show at the Fox. I would say that's a great way to start.

Matthew and the Atlas

And...Mumford & Sons.

Nicole & Ryan!

Brittany & Me

One of THE best shows I've seen. I've never clapped so much throughout a show in my life. It was definitely fun.