Congratulations to Beverly Ellington of Paulding county Georgia for winning a portrait session with Vada Michelle Photography !!
Beverly won the session through an auction given by her employer, COMCAST. Giving back is an extremely integral part of my business and I constantly look for ways to share my gift of photography. I'm extremely proud to partner with COMCAST for the second year in their annual United Way fundraising campaign!
I was blessed to be selected to photograph "Word of Faith Family Worship Cathedral's 19th Anniversary - Celebration 2010", where the illiustrious Bishop Dale Bronner is founder/senior pastor. Let me just say, that this is NOT your average "chicken dinner in the basement" church anniversary! This was an amazing event given by a beautiful family of worshipers who were obviously very happy to celebrate such a milestone in their ministry.
The event was planned by the incredibly talented Sabrina Stewart whose vision exceeds expections with every event she designs and plans. Her decor leaves me breathless whenever I photograph her events. I wouldn't even ask her what ideas she had this year because I wanted to be suprised when I walked in....I was not disappointed. There was truly something for everyone! We laughed, praised and danced the night away while giving Glory and Honor to our Lord Jesus Christ!
The theme for the evening was "Arabian Nights"....simply fabulous...
I'm constantly awed by his humility, but Bishop Bronner is also pretty hilarious...
The biggest suprise for me of the evening, was the truly incredible talent of the Bronner children! I would definitely rock this CD....Dr. Nina Bronner was so proud....
Comedian David A. Arnold, a writer for Tyler Perry's Meet the Brown's and House of Payne, kept us in stitches. Parents, be good to your children...that's all I'm sayin'....LOL!!!
To top off a truly fabulous evening, we were blessed by the ministry of the anointed Kim Burrell! this woman is phenomenal!
After all that celebrating, you would think we would have been tired, but we couldn't leave without getting our dance on!! Who says Christians don't know how to have fun?!
Had an Urban Adventure today with Whitewater Senior, Brandon Collins...4 wardrobe changes, 3 locations, 2 gurdian angels, 1 HUGE prop and 1 nervous mom! When I have an opportunity to flex my creative juices, I get REALLY excited. When I get REALLY excited and focused on a shoot, I tend to do things like shoot downtown Atlanta in the middle of traffic...
Here's a tiny sneak peek of why you should become one of "Vada's Seniors"....much more to come!
The boys are having their first annual Black Friday Sleepover (which has nothing to do with Black Friday and everything to do with me having free labor to trim my Christmas tree). I usually retreat to my office and only show my face to put out more food and to make sure no one is bleeding. On one such mission, I happened upon a show-n-tell/history lesson in progress.
There were four iPods laid out on the counter and my younger son was explaining to the crowd gathered around him..."This is my iPod and my brother's iTouch and these two big white things are the iPods they used in the olden days." The crowd was appropiately awed (I could tell by their collective ooh's and ah's). Smh....
I exacted my revenge by tricking them into thinking that putting up Christmas decor was WAY more fun than playing Xbox. I know you're thinking that's SO wrong, but I have to get my digs in where I can. TTYL...working on a plan to convince them that organizing the garage is fun!
I'm always talking about how blessed I am and that's because I'm constantly amazed by His goodness! When I decided to try my hand at this photography thing, I was of course frightened out of my mind. Once I started studying, I realized exactly how much I did NOT know and that was even more frightening...I almost quit because I was so overwhelmed.
That's when God's grace stepped in and showed me that His grace really is sufficient. He sent some angels to help me along my way to make sure I didn't become too discouraged. I met them all in circumstances that can only be attributed to God and his perfect timing. First, I met a lady who has become one of my best friends, Laura Parente. We met by chance at a local print shop when she asked to see some of the photos I'd taken. From that encounter, I ended up shooting my first wedding with her before I officially went into business. We've been shooting together ever since and she has been invaluable in helping me grow as a photographer. She suggested I check out a website for inspiration, which led me to my next blessing.
When I saw Audrey Woulard's website, I knew I had found my photographer soulmate. She has such a passion for capturing children that she has built an amazing business by doing only that. Her photography workshops were booked for a couple of years, but I contacted her anyway. A few weeks later, she called me because she had a last minute opening and so I was on the next flight to Chicago! When I got there, I was so lost, that all I could do was take notes! I still laugh about that, but to this day, I take that little notebook along to every shoot. What looked like gibberish to me 3 years ago is sometimes even now, my saving grace!
Soon after that, someone emailed me a heartwarming engagement slideshow that literally left me in tears. I sent the photographer a quick note and asked him a few questions about getting started in the business. To my surprise, international wedding photographer Ross Knight, agreed to meet with me to give some pointers and even took time out of his busy schedule to come to one of my shoots. He's also allowed me to second shoot with him at a wedding which was an incredible experience. He has provided me with so much valuable advice and no matter when I call him, he always has an encouraging word.
So after a few years of shooting weddings and because of God's grace and what others have invested in me, I have the experience and confidence to move into a much larger arena. I am SO excited! Even though I just joined this website, things are looking promising and I'm so excited about this new venture! I hope I make my angels proud!
Check out....Vada Michelle Photography on THE KNOT!!!
I am so blessed to always have brides with such sweet spirits and Sheneetah was no exception. Her genuine joy and delight with life shines from her like she's lit from within. She and Matthew make such a cute couple, so I was delighted to shoot theiir engagement party and wedding.
When I told my friends that I was shooting a wedding on my 40th birthday, they felt sorry for me and said I shouldn't do it. When I thought about that, I started my own pity party. Poor little Vada (big sigh)....she has to take pictures on her birthday....such cruel and unusual punishment (bigger sigh). I mean shouldn't my birthday be ALL about me???
Than, I remembered whose wedding it was. Matthew is the brother of one of my BEST friends, Sabrina Stewart (Event Planner and Designer Extraordinaire). When I say best friends, I don't mean the girl I just shop and chat on the phone with. I mean the woman who left her children at home, to come sit in ICU with me and my son on multiple occassions. The woman who I felt comfortable telling that I didn't know how to pray and who got her father on the phone to help talk me through it. We've laughed and cried through our triumphs and trajedies and I can ALWAYS count on her to tell me the truth (maybe a lttle too much).
So, when I thought about it, I was honored to be there for such a momentous occassion in her family's life, as she had been through so many of mine. So I found myself doing one of my favorite things in the world on my birthday and sharing it with someone I love tremendously. Not too shabby....what was I sad about again?
Video coming soon....
Sometimes I'm so amazed at the opportunities and experiences that come from me pursuing my dreams. Having the faith and confidence to do what I love is a blessing I can hardly comprehend at times. So whenever I'm feeling like complaining about life, I'm thankful that God sends me reminders of exactly how blessed I am.
One such reminder happened this summer when I was doing an engagement shoot for a lovely couple , Angela Thompson and Jameel Ables. Angela is as beautiful and warm on the inside as she is on the outside and James kept me cracking up during the entire shoot. Despite the fact that he's a very snazzy dresser (I love a well-dressed man), he forgot to bring socks! He was nervous until I assured him that I would photoshop him some socks on in his pics! (I didn't tell him I was gonna make them purple with pink polka dots!)
We were in the midst of our shoot at the historic Biltmore Hotel in downtown Atlanta and I decided to go down to the street level to get some balcony shots. I'd been to the Biltmore several times, but had never ventured to the lower level. To my surprise, there was a barbershop down there and on my way out the door I waved at the proprietor who was there alone.
As I was shooting, he came to the door and motioned for me to come to him. Annoyed and figuring he was about to tell me that I couldn't shoot from where I was, I hurriedly squeezed in a few more shots and went over to him ready to explain that I had permission to be there. To my surprise, he asked if I minded getting some shots of his shop when I was done. Delighted, I agreed while quickly figuring how I could incorporate the backdrop of the shop into my engagement shoot. Angela and Jameel were happy to join in the fun, but I knew they wanted to get on with their session, so my intention was to get a few shots and be on our way.
As we set up the shots, Eli (the owner) started telling us stories of the famous people he had cut over the 25+ years he had been in that spot. That's when we noticed the photos covering the walls of Eli posing with everyone from Martin Luther King to Andrew Young to Hosea Williams. Fascinated, we all started asking questions about his life and found out that he had been active in the Civil Rights struggle because he was a survivor of the Auschwitz concentration camp in Germany. Tears came to my eyes as I realized I was talking to a Holocaust survivor. Wow. I looked around and we were all teary-eyed. Angela and Jameel were so honored that he shared his experiences with us, that they invited him to their upcoming wedding. We talked for a while longer and when we left, we were a bit subdued but definitely enriched by the experience.
Eli reminded me of how blessed I am....just to be free.
If you're in the Midtown Atlanta area and you need a trim, call Eli at The Trim Shop, 404-872-6003.
My favorite thing to do while editing is to listen to audio books. Previously, I checked them out from the library by the boatload, but then I found AUDIBLE! Now I can download books at my own convenience and even stream them from my phone! BOOK HEAVEN!!!!
Of course, nothing can replace snuggling on the sofa in my favorite blanket with a good novel and a cup of tea, but AUDIBLE comes in a close second!
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