Beauty and Talent | Atlanta Portrait Photographer

I must say, I have a lot of beautiful and talented women in my family. It’s not bragging if it’s true. Gayle is one of those many beautiful and talented women. She is my cousin and I love her to pieces! Fun fact: her mother is the person who gave me my first camera as a Christmas gift all those years ago. She didn’t know what she would spark in me and neither did I. I am so grateful for that and I wish I could tell her so, but she passed away several years ago. Way before I turned my hobby into a profession. All I can say is that I hope she’s looking down on me and is pleased with me and what I do, especially knowing she was the spark that started it all.

Even though Gayle lived in California and I did not, except for a one year stint, we still were able to spend time together. I used to spend some of the summers at their home with her, her sister and brother and of course my aunt and uncle. I was exposed to so much. In fact, her father is the person who introduced me to classical music and took me to see my first opera, Evita. Not sure what grade I was in. All I really know is that I wasn’t in high school yet and still found an appreciation for it. Her sister was about the same age as me but I still enjoyed playing with Gayle more because she was just so carefree. I so love that about her.

Today, she is a multimedia producer for a company in Florida, plus she has her own award-winning web series called 30-Second Star. It’s a wonderful series that introduces the audience to the commercial actors we see all the time but may not know their names. For instance, she has highlighted the actors who play Captain Obvious, the Sparkle Fairy and the Lysol Lady to name a few. If you’re interested in learning more about 30-Second Star, please click here. The webisodes are really entertaining. I certainly enjoy learning more about those actors.

Well, as you may have guessed, Gayle was my latest portrait session. It wasn’t anything that was planned. She flew here to Georgia to create a beautiful video for me and to attend our monthly sister/cousin brunch. I may have mentioned that in a previous blog. If you’re not familiar, I will indulge your possible curiosity. My sisters and cousin, Monica, realized that the only time we are ever able to get together is at family funerals. We didn’t want that to be the case so we set aside the fourth Sunday of every month to meet from brunch at a new restaurant each time. Now, back to the regularly scheduled blog…After the interview, I felt inspired to photograph her. I already think she’s beautiful but it was something about her headwrap that made me want to capture her that day. If you follow me on Instagram, either as @phoartgraphy or @brand_you_portraits, you’ve probably already seen the video. If not, I’ll be posting it on my website in the next few weeks or so. Sorry, currently trying to prepare for my art show that will begin next week. Anyway, Gayle wanted to make this video for me and I was all for it. I was able to get my friend and her son to model for me. The session turned out really nicely with a few challenges. You can read about that session and see the images here. 

So, Gayle was able to capture some great content. From looking at the images and her video you’d never know that it got a little challenging during the session. Let me just say that working with children can be rather unpredictable. That’s why many parents are surprised when I get the images that I do because sometimes their kids aren’t always the cooperative angels we would like. Just know that when you have a session with me, your children’s behavior may not be stellar but the images will be and they will even have fun.