This coming May, I will have been in business for 30 years.  I have been reflecting on my photography and the changes I have made over the years.  Not only have I made changes in my photography, I have made changes in my facility as well.  My style has always been fun and colorful and that aspect has not changed.

Back in college, everything I shot was in B&W.  We took the photographs and then went in the darkroom and developed the film by hand and printed our prints by hand.  My favorite part was watching the image suddenly appear on the paper when it was submerged in the chemicals.  I even still have my old dodge and burn tool to lighten or darken areas of the photograph.  In one class, we had to choose a theme and take pictures of that theme, mount the prints and present them to the class.  My theme was feet.  I went around photographing friends and family members' feet in different places doing different things.  Of course everyone thought I was crazy, but they had fun trying to help me think of unique things to do with feet.  I guess this was the beginning for me to break out of the "norm".

After college, I pursued my love of photography by working with the North Carolina department of travel and tourism.  I helped the state photographer process his film and catch up on printing.  Next I worked for a one hour processing lab.  This gave me a chance to learn how color film was developed and printed.  My love for color really came through during this time.  I moved back to the eastern part of the state and opened up my own lab.  

As much as I enjoyed working in the lab, my real love was behind the camera.  When I started photographing customers I didn't want my portraits to be the boring sit and smile for the camera variety.  I came up with the idea of "Let's Pretend".  You could bring in your children and they could dress up in different outfits with fun props and just play.  As they were playing, I would capture the images of them just being kids.  The children loved it and the parents loved having something different.  Everything I shot was on a white background, but the clothes and props were full of color.

In 2008, I took the "Let's Pretend" a step further.  I created The Storybook Collection.  The Storybook Collection was a different scene that I would offer for a few days once a month.  After the end of the year, the client could purchase a "storybook" with images from their sessions if they had participated in at least 5 of the 11 sessions.  I provided everything the child needed for the session.  Every year the scenes would be different.

Over the years, I have scaled down the Storybook scenes from 11 scenes a year to 5.  I have also added a Santa experience unlike any other in eastern North Carolina.  We have two different sets to choose from in your visit with Santa.  After two years, the first scene is put in the vault and a new scene is introduced.  Each child gets a full hour to spend with Santa and experience the North Pole.

Of course I love photographing children, newborns and families, but I also offer a great senior experience for high school seniors.  I have a variety of backgrounds and locations that I use to make it a once in a lifetime experience.

In 30 years, I have gone from a small storefront in Kinston to a 5,000 sq. ft. boutique studio in La Grange complete with outdoor garden.  My photography has gone from all B&W to mostly color.  You may still see some feet though!