River Ridge | Bridal Photos | Raleigh NC

Faith's bridal photos were photographed at River Ridge Golf in Raleigh,NC.  Who would have thought we would have gotten 83 degree weather in the middle of March. I hope we get the same kind of weather for the wedding. Guess I need to start working on my tan.

I love how the bridal pictures turned out because they are somewhat on the classy side. I normally stay away from sitting bride's on the stairs, unless requested b/c its somewhat too traditional for me, but with Faith's wedding dress flaring at the bottom, the hair piece she made her herself, the hot yellow shoes, and a bouquet of yellow flowers, the stairs made for a great background, and really showcased her accessories well. I will definitely use this pose again.

You can view the enagement pictures here  Raleigh Wedding Photographer

Family Portraits | Raleigh NC

A portrait of a family. This isnt just any family, these are wedding photography clients who over the past two years I have come to know as my friends. Mike and Lindsay Morse were my winners last year in my facebook contest and before the wedding season started we decided on a family portait session at the beautiful Duke Gardens in Durham, NC. I was worried that March was too early to get pretty photos, but not at Duke Gardens, endless creativity can be had. Big thanks to Mike who took the main role of getting Rhyton to laugh. I was sooo happy that she gave me a smile during the family portrait on the bridge.

Mike and Lindsay are also in the wedding industry please ckeck out their websites

Raleigh wedding DJ

Raleigh bridal make-up

Children baby photographer | Garner NC

Baby Julie had her first photography session just 5 days into this world. Her brother only 2 years old wasn't feeling quite himself that day but still managed to get some really good smiles in the photos. I traveled to Garner, NC for the in home portrait session. Immediately after walking in I knew I would be using a sunflower picture hanging on the wall in the dining room as a background prop.

I love being a children's baby photographer. Thank you to my neighbor, Terri Stevens who made the cocoon the baby's in, and thank you to Lindsay Morse for the referral.

Raleigh | Durham | newborn baby photography

A few days ago I traveled to Durham, NC to photograph a newborn baby girl. As a photographer it really excites me to have a newborn baby smile for the camera a few times during the baby session. I absolutely loved the white tutu and matching hat that Torri had. Newborn photography sessions can be done in my portrait studio, or I can travel to your home for the session.

Pregnancy Photography | Raleigh NC | Maternity

Oooh la la more pregnancy photography. I had the pleasure of photographing my good friend's maternity pictures and for some reason I had balloon's on the mind. I got some inspiration off line and knew exactly what I wanted to do. I went to Harris Teeter to get 20 red balloons, half long strings, half short strings. Got them tucked into the car, only to have one pop and scare my daughter and myself half to death, it was sooo loud! Cassie and Mike arrived and we started on our venture in the park. Hmmmm, it sure was windy out, and hmmm the balloons were really tangled when we got them out of the car. Mike and I tried to separate them to no avail, plan was out the window. So we made do and made the best of what we had.
I was looking forward to this Pregnancy session because I normally do maternity photos in my studio. I knew before hand that I wanted to do do something like a silhouette, but I wanted to take a different approach and make the photos more creative. I hope you find them interesting. I also knew before arrival that the tress leaves had not bloomed, so the normal beauty I get at the park would be different. Man do I love how the picture of the 2 of them with the big tress in the background turned out, look at that beautiful blue sky.
As a photographer I love couple's like Cassie and Mike b/c at the end of the maternity session they got out some silly string and started playing around. I hope you love the images as much as I do. :-)

Wedding Angus Barn Pavilions | Raleigh, NC

The Angus Barns pavilion in Raleigh, NC is a beautiful wedding venue as well as a great place to eat. I love their food. I had the pleasure of photographing Stacey and Stew's very small intimate wedding at The Angus Barn. We started the day at Stacey's house. It was so funny to watch her doing dishes right before leaving in the white stretched limo. It was Halloween weekend so they had brought a couple of masks to get some fun photos. If you are looking for a wedding venue with a rustic feel, the Angus Barn Pavilions is the perfect venue.

2 of my preferred vendors shared in this day

The wedding planner for the wedding was Sally Oakley. If you are looking for a wedding planner I strongly suggest Sally Oakley. I love working with her.

The wedding flowers were done by Gregg with Brides and Bouquets. I work with Gregg a lot, you cant go wrong with them. Love his work!

Bridal Portraits downtown Raleigh NC

Wow I cant believe I forgot to blog about these bridal portraits done in downtown Raleigh one summer night. I was excited Tara Parker with Tara Parker photography assisted me in holding lights, afterwards we had dinner and talked about wedding photography.

I just love how these bridal photos turned out. We decided doing the session at the Capital building in downtown Raleigh. I loved the architecture and the lighting of the building. For the most part I used available light. Tara held the lights for me when we did some in moore square by the brick walls.

Its good to bring someone with you for your bridal portrait session, they can help with your dress when walking.

Child portraits | Raleigh NC | Photography

Child portraits with a photojournalistic approach. Recently I was able to get out of Raleigh, NC for a little R&R. The photography subject this time, one of my children, Madison. When Madison was a child she did good sitting and doing the normal portraits but as she has gotten older those natural smiles and looks don't come by making her sit still. The best photos come from her being a kid and doing what she wants. I would prefer an outdoor photography session any day over a studio portrait session. The exception would be newborns and children under 1yrs old, but if the child is walking lets take them to a park :-)

I'm particularly loving the new chocolate processing I'm using. Jan -March are my down times in the wedding industry so during this down time I have made my own preset for turning pictures to a chocolate black and white. Sure you have probably seen this tenting before somewhere but this is one is a Michelle Gunton Photography original. I plan to make more of my own through out the year.

I hope you enjoy the creative photos on the beach. I know 2 of the pictures are really different and its ok if its not your style, but I LOVE THEM. I didn't want it to be like a regular picture, more like a piece of art.  Clouds have been photo shopped in one of the pictures. I love the trees that were on the beach. This was at Folly Beach,SC. It was about a 1/4 mile walk to view the lighthouse.