March 7-9, 2025 | Demopolis, AL | A weekend loaded with sessions


Wow what a fun weekend I had a couple weeks ago! My typical goal is to blog each session individually, but this was such a whirlwind of a weekend I am putting them all in one post. I did write about two of my sessions already (Double H Farms & Prom), but plan to rope in the remaining now. I completed a total of eight sessions over the whole weekend.


So Friday, March 7th, I had two sessions. One was the session with Double H farms, which was such a unique experience, I blogged about it already here. The other Friday session was with Kelsey Bozeman and her absolutely precious family. She booked this session a couple weeks prior after seeing some of my Facebook posts. I hadn't held any sessions in the downtown Demopolis square so honestly she was taking a gamble on what our images would look like since all she had to go off of was my style in my portfolio on my website.


Quick side note:
My style is what I like to call "bright & light filled but with contrast" & "composition focused". The light and airy look is very popular right now, but I cannot stand when a photo is so washed out you cannot see the finer details in the whites of the image and the greens are blueish bright. I compose images with light-filled backgrounds & edit bright, but then I bring back in some warm & gentle contrast in post. I do tweak my greens because yellowish green grass is distracting. Anyways, I digress.


Anyways, Kelsey wanted to work with me based of my past work and I am honored she did. I knew from the first email that they were going to be great clients and that they had worked with family photographers before. She knew exactly what she wanted to wear, photo style, and where she wanted to take photos.


We had originally set the date for March 8th, but decided to reschedule when we realized prom was the same evening. I bumped her up to Friday. I already had the session with Double H farms on the books for Friday so I had to put Kelsey's crew earlier than that and I was unsure of the lighting in the square at that time. The weekend before our session (on March 2nd) I coerced a friend, Abbey Grace, into taking some quick demo photos around that same time in the afternoon. Some of those photos are below:

Person crouching in empty courtyard surrounded by trees on sunny day.
Person in teal shirt walking on tree-lined street with fanny pack.
Person sitting on white church steps with columns and railings.
Person standing by ornate fountain in sunny park setting.
Person sitting on stone steps wearing teal shirt and black pants with a fanny pack.
Person in teal shirt and black pants poses against weathered brick wall with fanny pack.
Person sitting on white-columned entrance steps with ornate wooden door and black railings.
Person in teal shirt sits on park bench with trees and buildings in background.

AG is truly a great friend because I invited her out for a WALK and even showed up with my walking attire and baby/stroller, seemingly innocent. Then, I whipped out my camera from the bottom of the stroller and said "you mind if I use you as a model for test shots? :D Pretty please???" She didn't complain a bit about me hijacking our workout. Anyways, I felt much more confident that the light in the square was very manageable at that time.


So, the day of the session rolls around and the sun was bright, the sky was clear and it was about 70 degrees outside - perfect weather. I arrive at the square about 5 minutes early and they are sitting by the fountain waiting on me.  Their outfit selection was ON POINT (like seriously, neutrals & light blues photograph so well). I told you, dream clients, y'all! We completed the session and these kids took instruction so well and were so calm and polite. The session ended a little early because their youngest was hungry for a snack, but I was really pleased with what I had captured.

Family of five posed outdoors under large oak trees wearing coordinated light-colored outfits.
Family group poses on path under oak trees wearing coordinated spring outfits.
Family group sitting together on ground under large oak trees in coordinated outfits.
Family posed on white entrance steps with arched doorway wearing coordinated spring outfits.
Family portrait showing adults and children in coordinated white and navy outfits standing on a brick walkway.
Young girl in white dress smiling and laughing in outdoor sunlit setting.
Candid family moments under a large tree with children playing and adults in casual formalwear.
Family group poses together on sidewalk under bare winter trees in coordinated neutral outfits.
Family group standing along outdoor walkway near fountain in coordinated casual outfits.

Friday's sessions concluded, I uploaded the files to the computer (just in case - you cannot be too careful with memory cards), browsed through everything quickly, selected some favorites and threw a quick edit at it so I could send a preview. I always aim to send a preview within 24-48 hours of your session.


Saturday morning I had 3 sessions. I had intended to do eight outdoor 20-min mini sessions, but the closer I got to the weekend, I knew I wanted a more relaxed morning so I just didn't advertise for the sessions. I posted them on my booking site but did not share about them on Facebook. However, loyal friends and past clients found my sessions on my website (to which you have no idea how much that warmed my heart that I already have some loyal clients).


So, Saturday started with what I call a personality or portrait session with Raegen. She wanted some images that showed her hobby (softball) but were more relaxed than formal sports photos. Some teenagers need the first 20 minutes just to get comfortable with me but Raegen did great. Maybe the first 3 minutes we had to get some jitters out but then she was very willing to follow my cues and easy to instruct.

Person in purple striped baseball jersey and denim poses against grey building exterior.
Purple and gold varsity letterman jacket with embroidered details shown in detail.
Casual outdoor photo session featuring purple and gold varsity jacket with light denim.
Outdoor portrait session against decorative iron gates and greenery.
Walking shots on tree-lined path showing purple sports jersey and casual style.
Portrait session under white columned architecture with vintage sports attire.
Architectural photo showing white columns and steps with casual athletic styling.
Lifestyle portraits along colonnade featuring vintage sports uniform and casual wear.
Athletic-inspired fashion shoot with purple and gold varsity jacket.
Casual poses against white columns in vintage-style baseball uniform and denim.

After Raegen was miss Stella. I have shot photos of Stella before and she is absolutely the most adorable subject. She smiles easily, she's happy, and she just enjoys being outside. So we worked with her natural desire to investigate and shot images around the square. Kaitlyn was looking to refresh her photos of Stella on her wall and had only one request "keep the green grass shots to a minimum" because it does not go with the aesthetics of their home & make sure the pink dress actually looks pink in the images. Mowed green grass is one of my least favorite things to photograph on, and I like to keep color in my images, so I was agreeable to the terms.


Short grass reflects up onto your skin, casting a green hue. It is also not very compositionally interesting if there is nothing else in the background. If I shoot in grass, the taller the grass is, the better, as it allows for light to diffuse and not reflect back up as much. However, it's very hard to completely avoid grass. So usually I take my greens and soften their color in editing so they are not so jarring. Again, I digress.



So we shot some in the grass, some around the fountain, and some on the porches of the beautiful buildings downtown. These images were a little tough to edit because the light kept switching between direct sun and overcast (and I change my approach to shooting in these lighting scenarios). But I am pleased with the way the soft morning light complimented Stella.

Small child wearing pink dress with bow smiles while holding onto railing with adult in red in background.
Child in pink dress smiles while standing on tree-lined walkway.
Child in light pink dress with ruffles and bow accessory poses while holding onto metal fence.
Small child in pink dress stands on brick steps in front of wooden door.
Joyful child in pink dress raises arms while standing on brick steps.
Child in pink ruffled dress crouches playfully on brick steps near wooden door.
Close-up of child in pink dress smiling while holding railing on brick steps.
Family sitting together on brick steps in front of wooden door.
A toddler wearing a pink dress walks down a covered walkway with hanging lanterns.
A child runs happily down a covered walkway in a pink dress.
A little one stands between white columns wearing a pink dress and sandals.

Last up for the morning was Tyler and Taylor's engagement session. I typically prefer engagement sessions to be an hour to really have time to showcase the love between a couple, but we got some great images in about 30 minutes. This session was at 11am, which is a little later than I like to shoot as the sun is starting to get overhead, but it was overcast, luckily. The sun did peek out in the middle of the session so I quickly navigated us to the front of the civic center and rooster hall so we could avoid the bright sun. Clouds came back out for the end of the session.


Like how most sessions start, we were all a little anxious at first. I started with some of my walking prompts to get them loose and laughing. I also asked if Tyler would remove his hat. Taylor said he likes to keep it on at all times - I definitely understand that. We did eventually convince him to take it off, which made me ecstatic because that shadow the hat was casting was going to make editing with contrast more difficult (I need to brighten the shadows on his face, but I also need good shadows for good contrast).


As we got further into the session, the love that these two have for one another flowed out. Tyler adores his bride-to-be. I would just catch him staring at her with so much affection in his eyes. Taylor's love was equally profound, it's evident she draws strength and confidence from her sweet groom-to-be. Writing this post now brings tears to my eyes thinking on this session and their love. I was grateful they became comfortable enough with me to relax and show it.

A couple walking together on a garden pathway during winter.
A couple poses casually on a garden path wearing coordinating blue and white outfits.
A couple shares an intimate moment while standing on a garden pathway.
Couple in coordinating blue and white outfits share candid moments while sitting on brick steps.
Romantic couple poses playfully on a white porch with wooden doors.
Couple holds hands and laughs while walking together outside in casual blue and white outfits.
Playful couple embraces and spins around outdoors in coordinated casual attire.
Couple shares intimate moments under white colonnade with hanging lanterns.
Romantic dip pose between white columns on architectural portico steps.
Couple shares intimate moments while sitting together on columned porch steps.
A couple walks together outside showing their coordinated casual outfits.
A couple shares a playful moment together on an empty street.

I had a break between the morning sessions and the evening prom sessions and it was about this time I realized I was SORE. Weddings are harder on the body, with the standing ALL day, but I had done a lot of squatting and stooping to get certain angles. Did I mention I am 8 months post-partum, which some women bounce back like its nothing, but I have really struggled with pelvic floor weakness and hip stability & tightness. Those muscles get used, along with all the finite little upper body/back muscles. More than you probably need or care to know...


Anyway, I uploaded the morning sessions onto my hard drive and starting picking out favorites, then ate a quick lunch. Then it was time to load up for my anti-climactic prom mini session. Read about that session if you want - there were definitely some redeeming moments but it did not go as I had hoped. I did two more great sessions there.


Saturday night was spent in the editing chair. I'd promised same night gallery delivery to the Prom sessions, so they jumped ahead of everyone else. I also managed to get previews out to everyone else. I went to bed around midnight, thoroughly exhausted. (Major props to Kris who took care of the baby all day!)


Sunday was mostly spent editing, hanging out with Kris, and recuperating. I did have a friend, Caitlin, ask me to take some photos of a rescue she was fostering so we had a fun afternoon doing that. I count that as my eighth session for the weekend. Meet Scout everyone:

A black dog sits attentively on a white couch.
A person in casual wear plays with their black dog on a white couch.
A black fluffy dog relaxes on a colorful patterned quilt.
A black dog lounges comfortably on a pastel patchwork quilt.
A black dog with a teal collar sits on a colorful patchwork quilt.
A black dog poses with a yellow smiley face balloon on a patterned quilt.
A black dog wears a mint green bandana while sitting on a colorful quilt.
Large black dog gives high five to someone sitting cross-legged on hardwood floor while wearing mint green shirt.
Black curly-haired dog wearing mint bandana stands on hardwood floor beside person in blue shirt.
Large black dog with mint bandana stands in yellow vintage truck bed on rainy day.
Person photographing large black dog wearing mint bandana in outdoor setting.
Black curly-haired dog wearing mint bandana sits in yellow truck bed.

I was a little sore Sunday but a good night's rest helped and I felt almost no soreness into Monday. I got the remaining galleries out by the following Saturday. Everyone who has posted and tagged me - THANK YOU! Also, to those who gave me photo releases and have allowed me to use your images for advertisements - THANK YOU! You are helping to grow my business and I appreciate you so much!


It was a fulfilling weekend for sure and as I reflect back, I am thinking I am going to try to do a weekend like this every month. When possible, I will pack all sessions in one weekend so I can protect my time with my family on the other weekends. However, I already have another crazy weekend of shoots the next couple weekends....three senior sessions, an engagement session, a prom session, and a WEDDING. Whew I am going to have to slow down eventually but not yet!


Thanks again to whomever stuck around for this whole post! Love you guys so much - you are making this journey so enjoyable.


This post was originally published 3/19/25 and was reposted on 7/14/25 when I migrated my website