Merry Christmas....

I have gotten to work with this wonderful template by www.thesleepingwillow.com It is a beautiful snow globe that I cannot get enough of! I have used it with one my most favorite photos of the year, a homecoming of one of our Fort Campbell Soldiers with his son. It was so moving! I hope you have a wonderful rest of the year and make every moment count.

- 

Cindy

www.photosmithsphotography.com

The love of her life and the Army...

Ever so often I get to photograph a families, and sometimes they include their fur babies. This family had 1 child, and yes it was a fur baby. Kari and Rocko were so much fun, they were in love and it showed. I hope you stop and take a moment to pray for them as he is deployed. 

Prayer...and the Army

As a member of an awesome church, who has a high military concentration. We see a lot men and women going away during deployments. As each one nears their departure time, we take time to pray for each soldier that leaves, praying for a hedge of protection from God to be around him and his unit. Last night, we prayed for the ~A~ family. And it was a Spirit filled service. It was amazing to see the men of God gathered around ~J~, praying for his safety, but in the same turn, it was so sweet, so emotional, to see the women of God comfort his wife. 

Please pray for each of our soldiers, that they come home, that the ones they leave behind are strong and any outside troubles be kept to a minimum.

Any day now...

Last year I got to photography Mrs. ~R~ and her 

beloved when they got married, and now we are a

 year later and they are expecting their first bundle of joy!  

I've known ~R~ since she was 14 and she has grown into

 a wonderful friend, beloved by her family 

and church, teacher, homemaker,

wife and soon to be mother.  

It has been a great joy to see how she has 

grown in her walk with God, and 

I look forward to seeing her new daughter soon.

 We had a ton of fun on this photo shoot, and the pond you see

 in the background holds a special place in her and her husband's heart. 

It is where they would walk and talk while they were courting :)

1 Samuel 1:27

For this child I prayed; and the LORD hath given me my petition which I asked of him:

This little girl will be a fashionista thanks to her stylish mother :)

Love and the Army

We live just outside of Fort Campbell Kentucky, one of the largest army bases in the US. We have been blessed to get to know a few of the many soldiers and their spouses. Recently I got to photography a family before their loved one gets shipped over to Afghanistan for a couple of months. It is heart wrenching to see families torn apart for months at a time, but it is also joyful to see them reunited when they come together again. Sometimes I think it is better than a wedding, but don't tell my brides ;)

 I ask that you pray for all the family torn apart by war. Pray for those that go, and for those that stay.

Prayer

As a homeschooling photo taking mom I do a 

lot of things with my boys 
and prayer is one of the first things we do to start our days. 

We made this awesome prayer board 

with an older cookie sheet and chalkboard paint :) 

Ultra quick and easy!

Proverbs 15:29 

The LORD is far from the wicked: 

but he heareth the prayer of the righteous. 

We call upon the Lord for everything we do in our lives.  We prayed before we joined our current church, had our boys, choose our jobs. We want to be in the Lord's will in everything we do.

 When was the last time you took time to pray? When was the last time you sought out God's will for your life? There is so much wickedness in today's world that we as Christians over look it, condone it, approve it. 

We are praying for God's will in our children's lives, that they have a love life like God wants it to be, not just jump into a relationship because they have to have one, or move in with somebody who is not their spouse. We also pray for them to have a job that allows them to be able to go to church on Sundays and Wednesday nights and be part of the bus ministry on Saturday mornings. 

1 Thessalonians 5:17

Pray without ceasing.

I often find myself praying throughout the day to God. When somebody comes to mind, or I see something come across Facebook, or hear a prayer request from my favorite radio station here in Hopkinsville, I stop and pray and then go on about my day.

When was the last time you prayed? Make time today!

Home Grown Goodnes..

Home grown goodness!

As many of you know we home school our kids and a while back we planted our garden for this growing season.  My dear mother-in-law was out here for a visit and she helped dh mark off the rows where we would be planting lots and lots of corn, peppers, cucumbers and watermelons. 
My dear husband loves peppers, we planted about 20 pepper plants!  I'm the only one in the house who loves tomatoes. 
So we planted our garden full of pepper plants and we have a small raised bed for our tomato plants. After much needed rain this past week, I went down to our large garden and found a few little pepper plants growing, wohoo for the garden!! 

And then I thought well I should go up and look in my little raised bed, just to see if there were any tomatoes, and there were!!! I'm so excited, just think of those wonderful not rock hard tomatoes on a turkey sandwich with mayonnaise, homemade bread of course!

My dear husband LOVES green peppers, and Lord willing this year we will have a freezer full come winter time for yummy stir fry and tacos. I hope you get out there and garden with your children, and teach them that not all things come from a can.

Genesis 1:29 KJV

And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.

Beautiful Flowers

Have you ever just stopped and noticed all the little beautiful flowers on the side of the road during spring time? I have noticed that there are tons!!! Yellows, blues, purples and whites..and a few pinks...Just to beautiful to pass up!

Today I took a moment and stopped, had a quick photo session with my three sons and noticed a huge field full of little yellow buttercups :)

I think that we all should stop and take time and smell the flowers.. even if they are not roses :)

May your day be as wonderful as you want it to be, and may you take time for your children, for your parents and for your beloved.

Take time before you run out of it because we all don't have a tomorrow.

What to look for when you are looking for a good photographer?

What to look for when you are looking for a good photographer?

I have thought about this question for the past couple of weeks, and I thought that you, as a valued customer should know the answers. Recently in the past couple of weeks, I have seen a whole lot of new photographers crop up here in the Hopkinsville-Fort Campbell-Oak Grove area, and as a professional I want to insure you are getting a professional photographer, not a fauxtographer who just got a new camera with their tax money or got one for Christmas.

1. Are you looking for somebody to take special photos for you?

One of the first things you should do is start looking at various photographers websites. Usually well established photographers will have a good solid website or blog spot with various samples of their work. Many new photographers, have websites set up that are free (they look for the quickest thing to get a business up and running, and usually rely on free websites to help them along).

2. Are you unsure how much a good photographer will cost you?

A reputable photographer will cost a little more, but isn't your family/wedding/newborn photos worth the investment?

3. How long have you worked as a professional photographer?

If you find somebody who has been in business for less than six months, then you really want to look into his or her portfolio. Usually fauxtographers do not have a good portfolio, or they have a lot of poorly lit, blurry, bad poses. Do not be fooled! Find somebody who's work shows the quality of photos you want to hang on your walls, or to give to family for gifts.

4.Can you provide several references I can contact if needed?

Many professional photographers will have references on their website. Check their Goggle and Facebook pages as well. It shows how much people really enjoy their work. Remember, you are getting what you are paying for.

5. Do you have your business license and are you insured?

Many fauxtographers will set up shop without filling the proper forms and getting proper business licenses. Make sure your photographer has these, or you might be helping somebody rip off the IRS, and then you would be just an accomplice and maybe face fines.

6. What backup equipment do you carry?

 I usually will carry 2 backup cameras, and flashes, and batteries and...well you get the picture. A fauxtographer who just got into the professional photography game will not. Be wary of anybody who has only one camera, and is carrying around your special photos.

7. Do you have an assistant?

Yes I do. I want to capture many moments, and it helps when I have an assistant to help me out to insure I do.

8.What happens if you have a family emergency? Do you have a backup photographer?

Yes I do. And my backup photographer will deliver my style of photography.

9.How will you deliver your work?

I usually deliver my work via DVD, unless you are ordering prints, then I have them drop shipped to you or I hand deliver them.

10.How long do you save the photos? What happens if my disk gets scratched? Can you replace it with no trouble?

Many fauxtographers do no realize that you should save photos for at least a year after the shoot date. I have photos I have taken from five years ago, and today I can still go and have them printed with no problem. Also, many fauxtographers will say once you have your disk, it's not my fault if you scratch it, too bad so sad. Will you be able to go back to your photographer a year from now and be able to still get prints? Many fauxtograhers will be out of business within six months just because they loose interest in photography and move on to the next thing that catches their eye. As a professional photographer, I would be so sad if your disk of wedding photos got trashed. If you were to come to me, I would replace it with no problem. 

11. What are the rights to the photos? Will I be able to use them anywhere?

If you buy the print release, you can print them anywhere you want, and usually I provide a smaller version so you can show them off on Facebook. Many fauxtographers will say sure I'll give you all the rights, not realizing that you might have special sizing needs. Be warned, not everbody will deliver what they say they will.

Well, I hope this has helped you with your search for a professional photographer. Once last thing, be on the watch for fauxtographers who steal other people's work. Here in this area there have been three who have stolen from local photographers. I have been a victim of theft and am shocked that people still use those dishonest photographers. I wish you all well and hope that you get what you want with your photographer! Happy clicking and I would love to hear from you and help you capture your memories, one photo at a time.

Storm, Storm go away!

Today in beautiful Southwest Kentucky, we got a dozen or more tornado warnings, thunderstorm warnings and rain and hail... it was a very busy weather morning! I hope all of you fared well out there in Kentucky and hopefully the storms will pass over and not do any damage to you and yours!

Sticker Shock over Prices

Do you have a digital camera? Do you take photos of things..family, fun, friends on a regular basis? Most people in the US now have the means to have a good digital camera, most starting at only $60, and be able to print photos from Wal-Mart or Walgreens or ShutterFly for very little a print. We are talking as little as $0.10 a print, and they get sticker shock when they look at a professional photographer's website and see the cost of a 4x6.

Would you go to a salon and ask the hairdresser what brand of scissors rocks her world, go purchase them and then assume the world thinks you are a professional hairdresser just because you have the same as her? Then why would you assume everybody with a black DSLR with a flash is a professional?

I have a very specific skill set. As a professional wedding photographer, I know when to expect things at weddings, looks that parents give their daughters when she is about to become a Mrs., looks brides give their handsome grooms. Over the years I've learned that what is most important is maintaining a professional appearance, without anyone remembering I was there.

Why are your photos so expensive? I have based my pricing on my area, we are not a large metropolitan area like Nashville. We are a wonderful community in beautiful Southern Kentucky.  I want families to offer families a chance to make an investment in their photos. Would you go and have barber drill your teeth?

Don't you get your photos printed at Walgreens? As a professional, I do not go to Wal-Mart, Walgreens, or Shutterfly to print those oh so important photos. I go to a company that offers higher quality control, beautiful papers and custom framing with any order I place.

Why can't I preview my photos like they do at large chain store's photo studio right after I get them taken?  As a professional, most of the photos I take are outside, and my camera is not plugged into a tower with preset sizes and layouts to offer 1 photo per sheet.  What I do offer is quality control, time invested in your family, and a chance to have your photos taken with a lot of artistic freedom. Have you ever noticed that every large chain stork studio print looks cramped and every family from certain years always have the same backgrounds? Don't you want your family photos to be as original as you are?

Helping you create memories one photo at a time.

xoxo

Cindy
www.photosmithsphotography.com

Is it in focus?

As a photographer, I've seen good photos and bad photos posted by "professional" photographers on Facebook, and even their own websites and all the while people are oohing and aahing over bad photos. When I first started out, my most important critic was my husband and he would never let me get away with putting fuzzy out of focus photos on my website for my clients to review. I was reviewing a friends photos she had professionally taken, and well I was disapointed for her that the "professional" had hidden a lot of her flaws with black and white and even posted out of focus photos.  As a photographer myself, if my photos are not tack sharp, they don't get the time of day I could be putting towards other more deserving photos. Don't you deserve a photographer who takes the time to make sure your photos are wonderfully in focus, and can be blown up to a 20x24 gallery print size if you want it to, without it looking fuzzy?

I hope you take the time to invest in a photographer who knows how to properly operate her/his equipment and software, as well as takes the time to not to post bad photos of you to Facebook or their portfolio.
xoxo,

Cindy
www.photosmithsphotography.com
Proud member of OPLOVE

I've joined OpLove!!!!

.

I've been thinking and thinking about how I can give back to my military community, we have lived near Fort Campbell, KY for the past 11 years and have seen many many deployments. I have see our army come and our army go, and each time it is heart wrenching to see children tell their dads bye, and wives kiss their husbands that are meant to last a minimum of a year. So with the help of OpLove, I hope to bring some of the financial burden off of our great army community, and help them with photos of their loved ones. How wonderful is is going to be to help a deserving military family capture photos of their love for one another. I hope you will take advantage of this great offer, and not let the fear of cost keep you from creating memories, one photo at a time.

xoxo,

Cindy Smith
PhotoSmiths Photography
Hopkinsville, KY

Project 365

How many of us take photos on a daily basis? I normally take photos at least once a week, and they are always of different things. This year I have committed to take photos on a daily basis, you know get to really know my community and my camera. So, my first photos of this year long project are of my crochet hooks and current project for a family friend who is expecting a little boy any day now.

Why do it?

Taking a photo a day is a big undertaking with big payoffs. Here are just a few reasons why you should consider doing it:

• Imagine being able to look back at any day of your year and recall what you did, who you met, what you learned… (Often we find it hard to remember what we did just yesterday or even last night, let alone a whole year ago! I know that I'm so in this boat.)
  
• Your year-long photo album will be an amazing way to document your travels and accomplishments, your haircuts, your children's haircuts and relationships. Time moves surprisingly fast.
  
• Taking a photo a day will make you a better photographer. Using your camera every day will help you learn its limits. You will get better at composing your shots, you’ll start to care about lighting, and you’ll become more creative with your photography when you’re forced to come up with something new every single day. Even if you have a simple camera on your cell phone, use it daily, that way you can document lost teeth, first days of school and those yearly birthdays :)

Also don't be afraid to photograph those who are not your family, friends are awesome and if a cool looking person on the street catches your eye, go for it. You may never know who you might meet if you do.