I was in my office a couple months ago when my phone rang. Im typically a text or messenger person, but thought it would be prudent for me to answer. On the other end was a frantically calm (if you can imagine the two together) young lady. She was excited and I was the fist person she called. One would think it would be her husband or her parents or even her best friend. Nope! Alisha called her photographer (I’m also her good friend of many years). She had gone to her doctor and gotten verification that she was pregnant and called me from the doctors office! I was so excited for her! Her husband, Quenton, had no clue and the planning session started on how to reveal it to him. Well, after talking through some ideas, we had one set. However, due to scheduling and some other factors, we were not able to photographer her announcement to him. Thats ok! Although, I would have loved to seen his face. Quenton and I have become become buddies and have a special relationship. He is crazy and its his craziness, bluntness and adventurous nature that not only won over his bride, but also make our photo session so much fun!
So, once Q knew that he was going to be a daddy to a new lil nugget, we got together for he and Alicia’s announcement shoot. It was the week after Christmas and we met at Market Square in Knoxville, TN. We didn’t want a Christmas theme, but rather, a New Years theme as they planned on announcing on New Year’s Eve. True to Tennessee winters, it was like 55 degrees so it was a wonderful day for photos! We started in the Charles Krutch Park. I loved the lights around the trees, the sound of the waterfall and creek, and the general feel of the area. At one point, Q heard me talking to myself (I tend to do that) about possibly having he and Alicia sit on a rock. However, there were two police officers parked right next to where we were shooting and we were their entertainment. He said “I don’t care, I’ll go ask them!” And, he did just that. That is why I love Q. He is bold and really doesn’t care what people think. The cops said it was ok, but yes, they watched us like hawks. Part of the reason they watched us so intently may be have been the sign Alicia was holding. We wanted to come up with something witty and funny for her to put on her sign. Im not a mom and have never carried and birthed a child. Im sure its crazy hard and it takes a very talented woman to do so. However, while talking, she said she burns everything. It doesn’t matter what it is that she is trying to cook, she burns it. So it only seemed fitting that we announce that Alicia is talented enough to grow a human, but not quite skilled enough to cook and not burn the sausage and bacon.
Next we moved to the nice ally next to the Square Room. I love that area. It is so nice and clean! I had Q “model” for me as I got my settings changed and Alicia got the props ready. We played with glitter (if you know me, you know I HATE glitter. The stuff gets everywhere and I don’t care where I am, it finds me, attaches itself to me and wont leave me!), noise makers and hats. But back to the glitter thing. It looks great in pictures and Im not afraid of it, but I am still finding gold glitter! lol! After we beautified the area even more with gold flecks, we moved to a nice brick wall for a few couple shots. As a photographer and a parent, I know it’s very hard to find time to get photos done of you and your significant other that are related to kids or have kids in them. I always try to create time (even if its a few moments) for the adults to get shots together with out the kids.
We ended the day at Tommy Trent’s Sports Saloon. That might sound like a crazy place for a pregnancy announcement, but there is a back story. Ya see, when Alicia and Q were pregnant with their last child, we did an announcement poster. Here’s a lil fun fact about Jeff – Im a graphic designer too! Anyway, they wanted to do a sequel to their previous announcement movie poster. I found out that these two lovebirds were going on a cruise together in January. Sucky thing for Alicia is that she wouldn’t be able to drink on the curse. Q thought it was hilarious and said he would drink all of her drinks plus his. This gave me the idea of shooting in the saloon and putting a fun twist on it. In the photo, you see Q very happy holing his beer. Alicia has water and is very upset. She is not sad that she is pregnant, rather that she is unable to have a beer with her man. Huge props to Tommy Trent’s for allowing us to shoot there!
When Alicia called me last month and told me the news, I asked her why she called me? Without skipping a beat she said “You’re my photographer which makes you family.” That’s the goal. I love capturing life’s special and exciting moments, but most of all, I enjoy building relationships. Congratulations Alicia and Quenton! I cant wait til July to meet baby Woody!
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