Chad and Erika | Mikaela Joy: Savannah Lifestyle Photographer

Last week, some good friends of mine Chad and Erika invited me into their home to do a lifestyle photoshoot of them.  Erika is expecting, but not showing yet, so this will be some of their last photos as just the two of them (plus dogs).  We really focused on the two of them in their natural surroundings, and I love the way this shoot turned out.

These two were a blast to work with, but I already knew that.  Chad and Erika are always great to hang out with. But watching the interactions between these two was even better.

Chad is straight up goofy and constantly making faces or striking a Captain Morgan pose for the camera, despite Erika trying her hardest to get him to be serious.  We were starting to think he may not be capable.

We weren't sure what the photos would look like in the end, but as I look at the results all I can see is love between this little family.  Look at Chad's face in that ultrasound shot. He is absolutely beaming! And he has good reason. What a gorgeous family!

I'm so excited to come back and do this shoot again, but next time the family will be just a bit bigger.

We rounded out the shoot by letting Chad play with their gorgeous husky, Cyan.  She was very playful and wouldn't sit still, but I like the action shots anyway.  Look at those eyes!

I loved this photo shoot, and am excited to try more of these indoor lifestyle shoots. This just a little peak into the shoot, but you can find the rest on my website, here.

The Longer the Waiting (The Sweeter the Kiss) | Mikaela Joy: Savannah Lifestyle Photographer

Jen and Matt were the couple of the hour when I took their photos at Bethesda a little while back.  Jen is a friend of mine and while I know her pretty well, I'd only met Matt once before these photos.  You see, Matt works overseas and these two chose to spend a precious hour of Matt's month at home with me, taking some photos.

Because of their limited time together, I really wanted to make something special of this session.  After all, a picture can be a huge comfort while in a long distance marriage.  As an army wife, I've thought a lot about what I would do when my husband gets deployed, and I know that I would want to get some good photos taken before he left.

This was also a special shoot because of the fresh emotions that come from a happy reunion.  It was important to me to get shots that really captured what these two feel for each other.  In a way this session was kind of like shooting a wedding.  We were just missing all the chaos of an actual wedding.

All of this combined made this session feel pretty important, and one that I truly wanted to get right. We were all nervous at first, but as usual we took a few shots and everybody started to loosen up.  We wandered haphazardly around Wormsloe for a while (I'd never been past the main area with the trees and therefore didn't know what was what) and then finished out the shoot at Bethesda.  We explored, talked, and tried out whatever poses we could think of (some that worked, some not so much) and most of all, had a really good time doing it.  I quite enjoyed working with Matt and Jen and am excited by how the photos turned out.  Most importantly, I hope they are too!

If you like what you see here, please check out my website http://www.mikaelajoy.smugmug.com where you can see this full album and more of my work, as well as contact me to book a session of your own.

One Year Together for Kyle and Cailey | Mikaela Joy: Savannah Lifestyle Photographer

A while back I took some photos with Kyle and Cailey, a lovely couple that had just reached their one year anniversary.  It was a last minute session (although we had been trying to plan it for weeks), that came about when our schedules finally just fell into place.

Kyle and Cailey had just reached their one year anniversary and wanted to celebrate with some pictures.  They came prepared with props, different clothes, and lots of ideas.  That, combined with Cailey's previous experience in front of the camera made this session a breeze.  We didn't have to worry about posing much, which kept this session relaxed and fun. In the car on the way there they were issued a challenge- I said they'd end up on my blog, only if they proved to be interesting enough.  Well they most certainly did. Kyle started out the session by talking to some chickens (as in cluck, cluck) and I could tell right away that we'd get along just fine.

Although the session flew by, it did take me a little while to get these photos edited.  That's because the photos were turning out so great that by the time I was done I ended up with fifty edited keepers.  Fifty!

But enough with the chit-chat.  Let's get to the photos!

Don't these two look so incredibly happy together?  Congratulations on your anniversary, you two, and here's to many more!