Just had to share a little sneak peak before I post their wedding…very, very soon!

I just love this image :)

Um, can you say adorable.  I was thrilled when Amy…and Amy…ask me to photograph their kids.  Ray & Charlie are just about the cutest and well behaved boys I’ve met, and their little cousin Hannah is absolutely perfect.  These too cute kids go to my church, so I’m lucky enough to see them every week!

We’ve been planning on doing a shoot for a while, so we centered it around Charlie’s birthday and Hannah’s 6 months!  We took the photos at their grandparents farm, and it was perfect…I loved the fields!  Here are a few of my favorites…

I love this shot :)

Gorgeous Hannah:

Hannah & Charlie have a special relationship…she just lights up when she see him!

So many more, but I had to draw the line somewhere!  Have a wonderful Wednesday!!!

My good friends of The Marty Ford Experience are at it again!  Creating amazing music and going out there and telling people about the Lord!  They have the chance to open for Big Daddy Weave (one of my favs), but they need you!  Please go to http://paramountartscenter.wordpress.com/, watch the bands play…then simply email your vote for the MFE to the address listed in the post.

Thank you so much!!!  I’ll let you know the results when I know!

As we sat in a little coffee shop, Jamie’s face would light up every time she talked about the details of her wedding.  She booked me through email  thanks to a referral from the fabulous Cyndi Newman of She Said Yes.  After that meeting in early April,  I was so full of excitement the entire drive home.  She was the most excited bride I had met yet…so in love and so ready to marry the love of her life.

The day was exactly as she described it, and I’d even say a little more.  It couldn’t have been a more perfect wedding.  I am honored and so thankful that they choose me to spend the day with them.  I am still smile looking through the images…Jamie & Adam, thank you so much for allowing me to be a part of your day.

In typical fashion I would ask you to excuse my inability to narrow photos down…but let’s face it, you have got to catch on by now. It’s just my nature, so sit back and enjoy :)

You know how I love the first glance! I was so excited when Jamie told me that they wanted to see each other before :)

This was the first wedding that Justin shot before the ceremony, he shot during our early portraits and I love this image on the left.  He took it while I was shooting the other (don’t tell him…but I like his better!)  He’ll be shooting earlier from now on!

I adore this sequence of Jamie….she’s so gorgeous!

We took a few portraits at the fairgrounds before being introduced.  The light was perfect and tons of different locations…I was loving it!

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Hands down best dancing at a reception ever.  It’s going to be tough to beat…my mouth hit the floor several times, these guys were a-m-a-z-i-n-g!

First reception using off-camera lighting.  Yes, I fell in love.

Photography: Cassidy Dawn Photography ;)

Flowers: Charley’s – 740.773.2686

Dresses & Tuxes: She Said Yes – 740.772.7433

Church: Trinity United Methodist Church – Chillicothe, Ohio

DJ: Music Masters – 740.779.9541

Reception Site: Ross County Fairgrounds

**I’ve added a second video…be sure to watch!

I thought I’d share a few photos of the puppies!  Yesterday they started to walk around better and a few have opened their eyes.  I had to include a video so you could hear their little attempts at barking…so funny!  They can’t hear yet (next week), so I imagine that will become a bit louder when they know what they are doing.  Probably wont be too funny when there are 11, barking and roaming all over…but we’ll cross that bridge when we get there.

*photo notes:

2nd down left: Notice the size difference! We still have 2 that need to catch up with the others in size…we’ve been trying to help them fight at eating time, those bigger ones just knock them out of the way.  The 2 smallest ones were the ones that opened their eyes first…interesting!

4th down left: Makes me laugh…I told you they had to fight!

5th down left: They don’t look this tiny…that’s the smallest one.  The rest barely fit in our hands anymore.

I had to take a quick minute today and say Happy Birthday to my amazing husband!  I love you so much :)

Justin got his present yesterday…you could say he’s excited…

I’ve decided to take the day off to celebrate and relax with him, so all emails and calls will be returned tomorrow!  Have a wonderful “Justin’s birthday”.  :)

I’ve been wanting to do a few posts relating to a few aspects of photography education.  There are a few tips that I think everyone can benefit from, so we will be doing a “photo 101″ every now and then…first subject: Cropping!

When you are ordering a print, you may not always realize that it could result in the loss of some of your image.  Usually this doesn’t matter, but depending on the image…it could make a big difference.  A plus to ordering through us is that we always size the photo ourselves so that way we have complete control over the cropping.  This isn’t always the case when you have them printed at your local convenience store.

For example, the image on the left is cropped to an 8×10 & the other is the entire image (as it would look as a 4×6 or 8×12)… Although the image on the left is still beautiful, we have lost the top where the trees come together…I just love those white trees against the blue sky, so I hate to see them cropped off.The following illustration gives you an idea of how much of the image is cropped off to achieve your desired size.  With this particular image, I would crop more off the bottom than the top…so there is a little more room above his head, but I thought this made more of a point :)  You may see now why I am not always a big fan of the 8×10 & 11×14…I don’t know why frame companies don’t just start enforcing an 8×12 or 10×15.

If you want a print that will show the entire image, the following sizes will result in a print without any of your image being trimmed off:  4×6, 6×9, 8×12, 10×15, 12×18, 16×24, 20×30

I hope you enjoyed this little “photo 101″, be on the lookout for more…next up, copyrights!

I am so excited for this weekend! Justin & I are packing up for a weekend away with friends! We are going camping with Lindsay, Kara & Seth…you may remember them from our King’s Island trip last year…

Anyway, it’s going to be a weekend of hiking, kayaking, s’mores & a campfire or two!  However, before I leave I wanted to be sure to give you a look at this beautiful couple, Jamie & Adam.  I can’t wait to show you the day, but for now here is a little sneak peak!

Have a wonderful weekend, and cross those fingers that the rain stays away for us :)

Now, I gotta go dig out our tent!

Justin has always been essential an part of the business…that’s why I never say ‘my business”, it’s ours.  He’s been a sounding board, a creative consultant, a constant support, and most recently he has become the official second shooter for our business.  I don’t know where Cassidy Dawn Photography would be without him…certainly not where we are.  We are adding one more role to his list of jobs…guest blogger!  I knew this would be the best post for him to start with…he was a very big part in the birth of the puppies!

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We have puppies–lots & lots of puppies!!!  Okay, so that’s a little hyperbolic, but 12 dogs is a lot more that I expected to have, especially since we’ve only had a dog here for 7 weeks.  After we realized she was pregnant we prepared a nice spot for her on the front porch with blankets and towels. And then we waited…and waited…and waited. Since she’s not really our dog, we figured that she might go back to the place she delivered her other litters.

As we thought, she decided to have them here, just not where we had hoped.  She was under some tall plants on the side of the hill, and when we found her there were a total of 7 puppies, and they were rolling down the hill.  Honey was stressed, so I decided to stay with her to help keep the pups in one place.  Cassidy couldn’t handle the actual birthing part, so she was cutting brush on the side of the hill.  Yep, that’s my wife.  So fast forward 2 hours, and we had a total birth count of 15 (4 were still born) and a nice clear path back up the hill. (Thanks babe.)  Since then they have been moved to a much safer location than the side of the hill.

Well, you’ve read my babel for long enough.  Now, take a look at our pictures.  The first four are from days 1 & 2, and the rest are from day 5, when the paws and noses started to turn from pink to black on all the yellow pups.  In all we have 8 yellow (5 female & 3 male) and 3 black (all male).

**Please keep in mind that these are not our puppies.  They all do belong to the neighbors, and we are keeping them posted…however, we have been contacted by several people wanting some pups, so if it’s okay with them, we think all puppies will have wonderful safe homes.

***Justin also took all the photos (well, except the couple that he is in ;)

Emmalee planned one exquisite wedding. From the beautiful ceremony location on the hill to the chic open air reception, the day was planned so perfectly. Nothing was going to ruin her day…no matter what. I love those types of brides, and you know what?  She was tested that day…and her response?  Nothing was going to ruin her day.  One thing can never be predicted on a wedding day…the weather.  We dodged sprinkles while photographing the girls before the ceremony…no biggie.  A few may have worried about the wedding since it was up on a hill a little far from cover.  Well, the warm sun came out and shined over the wedding for the entire ceremony.

The sun kept shining all the way through portraits (which I was extremely thankful for) around the golf course.  Just a few minutes after being introduced on the lawn, the clouds rolled in.  Emma’s response…oh well. Everyone picked up their too cute individual wedding cakes and made their way inside.  Emma & Aaron get the award for best guests ever.  Everyone was so helpful about moving everything indoors…from flowers, to food, to even moving the dj in…everything was inside & covered before the rain hit.

The reception may not have looked just like she had planned, but it was filled with love and support from everyone…and what better reception is there than that.  The dancing went on for hours, and everything was beautiful.  I smile every time I think about May 16th.  I just tried and tried to narrow them down…but you know how I am with that…so enjoy!

Oh, did I mention the bouquet was stunning!

I love when my brides incorporate my business color into their day, it makes designing promos so easy ;)

Love this group shot!

I promise I didn’t set this up, and normally I am not into this type of thing…but when I saw these next to photos in the batch, I knew I had to blog them!

This shot is quickly becoming one of my very favorites ever. I love it.

Love these!!!

Each table at the reception was named after a different type of flower.  Here’s a look at a few.

This is the point when we decided to head in…

Cakes were by the oh, so fabulous Erin from the Cake Kitchen!

I normally wouldn’t blog these however, this is officially my favorite bouquet tossing series ever.

Emmalee & Aaron, thank you so much for allowing me to document your wedding day.  It was absolutely perfect and I hope these photographs will forever remind you of your amazing wedding day.

Photography: Cassidy Dawn Photography

Flowers: Elliott Mathis  (740) 775-1220

Cake: The Cake Kitchen

Venue: Chillicothe Country Club

DJs: Absolute DJs