Ashley Brawner Photography

Hey guys!

Sooo… I know I said that I was going to be WAY better about blogging this year, and soo far.. I have not been!

BUT!! ((and yes, thats a big but)) It is because I have been busy with shooting you guys

and… launching a new line of photography, as well as putting in more time on my commercial work

my website is now live, www.ashleybrawner.com

its not 100% completed (and yes, its really a lot more work to do a website than you would think) but its there.

all that being said, I am going to be catching up my shoots from Jan 1 and maybe even a few of my favorites from 2010 (we shall see)

thank you & goodnight… stay classy my internet friends and blog stalkers

Happy New Year!!!

And… Just a little update for you all…

2011 has some BIG things coming up!! I already have almost 20 weddings on the books from this month up until November and several months that I am not taking anymore weddings (dont want to get soo busy that you dont get all the attention you deserve for one of the biggest days of your life!) Soo… without further delay, here are some updates for you guys broken out by category

Personal: I will be maintaining what you call a 365 photo project… I will be taking a picture a day, sometimes it may be whats going on in my life, a highlight from that day, something that speaks to me or has personal meaning… or maybe just something that I think is kinda cool. I will post these images on my personal blog, that you are more than welcome to check out… Havent decided yet if I wanted to post them here as well though… Thoughts?

Professional: New website. New blog updates. New pricing. New exciting opportunities for me AND you to get in on the action and some fun give aways and events! You guys have probably seen where I have asked for models for shoots… And there will be more of that in the new year for ABP. I cant wait to share with you all the exciting things coming up! I am also going to attempt to maintain regular postings on my blog of all my recent shoots and favorites. Also! Many of you have asked for mentoring sessions, tagging along, etc… So I will be working in opportunities for you guys to do so as often as possible. Many of you have already tagged along with me on a shoot or a wedding and I have really enjoyed it, a lot! So stay tuned for that!

Personal & Professional: One of the biggest reasons that I work from home, is so that I can be there for my kids and my family. I am soo very privileged and blessed that God has allowed me to have a passion for something that I can do because I enjoy it and to be able to make it my profession. I will be taking my time home more seriously this year though. It is great to be busy and to have work, but everyone needs some R&R … Especially with 3 kids . Because of my need to be completely confident in the work that I give to you as my friends, customers, family and clients, I will be revamping my schedule to allow for specific off days. The off days may change, some times as often as weekly, but for the most part will stay the same and be consistant. I want to be sure that I am well rested and have enjoyed time with my family so that I can give my family my best and give you guys my best. After all, you dont want a half awake person with coffee stained shirts working on your pictures .

With all that being said… My new site and new pricing (see note below on pricing) will be live effective January 15th…Anything booked before January 15th will be grandfathered in at the 2010 rates.

I hope everyone has had a safe and happy holiday season! And heres to making 2011 better and bigger than 2010! (and a sneak peek from the first shoot of 2011)

*Pricing: You may ask yourselves why photographers charge what we do… And I saw an EXCELLENT explanation for this on a fellow photographers blog, so in a nutshell, here it is: When I charge you for your sitting, your prints, your dvd of your images… You may say/ask yourselves why you should pay me for a disc or a print when you could do that yourself for so much less… Or why I charge what I do for the sitting when Im only with you for maybe an hour or so. It is soo much more than that though. On average, for every hour that I spend shooting with you, I will spend 2 to 3 hours culling and editing those images(sometimes more, sometimes less depending on the specific needs of your shoot, event, wedding). The editing time doesnt include all the time that goes in to planning for your photography needs… It may include setting up the location, scouting the location, loading and reloading equipment and/or props, among many other things. You are also paying for quality, artistic interpretation/design and my experience… I pride myself in the amount of time that goes in to each image because I want to make sure that you are not showing people images that do not capture who you are and are not of high quality. Yes, you can go pay $15 for a sitting fee, and you will probably get 1 or 2 pretty good images, but I can assure you that you wont have to worry about only getting 1 or 2 good images with me. I produce quality work from an experienced artist/photographer and I take utmost pride in it… And you should too! You shouldnt look back at your photos years from now and wonder what you were thinking .

Okay guys!! I know you have been awaiting the launch (relaunch) of my website and it’s almost here! I’m very excited with the direction we have chosen to go with it and really feel like it will go along with all the different things that we encompass with Ashley Brawner Photography! Keep checking here and I’ll update you on when the site is ready to go live! I’ll also be catching up all my missed blogs that I haven’t had time to post .

Get excited!

We have SIXTEEN (16) weddings booked for 2011 already and I have several months completely booked… Sooo…. Make sure you contact me ASAP to make sure your date is still available. ALSO – Prices will be going up effective January 1st on all packages (weddings, lifestyle photography, commercial photography, etc). I will still honor any 2011 weddings and shoots booked before the end of the year at the 2010 rates.

AND…

To close out the year with a bang and to celebrate all the new and exciting things coming to Ashley Brawner Photography… I am offering gift certificates at 50% off! WHOA!! And yes, you read it right!! If you purchase a gift certificate for someone, it’s 50% off! Sooo… a $50 gift card is actually worth $100!! You can NOT beat that!!

Lots of things are happening and we are very very excited about all the exciting new adventures and new people that we are going to be working with on projects, etc. Stay up on my blog and facebook page and I’ll keep you posted about opportunities for you to get involved AND to let you know the cool things that we are launching!

And just so this isn’t a completely wordy post…. Here are two teasers from a wedding I’m editing now

Hanna & Ryan had such a fun fun FUN wedding at the Farley Plantation in Milner, GA. I love shooting at Farley Plantation, not only because it’s soo pretty but because the owners are AWESOME and some of the sweetest people you could hope to work with.  I was so excited when Hanna booked me and told me that’s where they were getting married.  I’m not sure that I have ever seen a group dance as much and as long as this bunch did, it wore me out just watching them, but it was a great time had by all. Ryan serves our country in the Navy, so they pretty much came back to Georgia to get married and then shortly after headed right back out to the west coast (I’m jealous!). Here are a few of my faves from their wedding day! OH! And a big shout out to Wes Brawner and Brandi Shirley for shooting this one with me, I have some awesomely great 2nd shooters/assistants! Check it out… AND ENJOY!

Hanna & Ryan made a last minute decision to see each other before the ceremony, which allowed us to get some really great photos of the two of them, but it also was a really sweet “private” moment for the two of them that we were privileged to be a part of.

and now… on with the show – Check out their colors! (And no it’s not indicative of their football team of choice, I asked )

I had to post this next one… I almost deleted it because everyone is just all over the place, but now I kinda love it! It’s very fitting

And here are just a few of the fun and bright details of their wedding day!

So I know it’s been a few days since my last blog post… BUT I figured that I wouldn’t keep you guys waiting and I would give you a sneak peek on the weddings and shoots I’m editing so you know what you have to look forward to . Enjoy! And make sure to check back and see the whole shoots/weddings!

I met Deborah and Patrick from a referral from another friend and client, you may remember them if you follow my blog, Caden’s parents.  I knew when I first spoke with Deb that I was going to enjoy working with them, and I was way wrong… I LOVED working with them! Deborah and Patrick are one of the sweetest couples that you will ever meet and they love each other so much and it shows. I could go on all day about how they looked at each other, and hopefully my photographs of their special day do their love justice. Deborah and Patrick chose a venue that I had never been to, and now I can’t wait to go back! They got married at the GORGEOUS Barnsley Gardens in Adairsville, GA and boy does that place do it right! I was soo impressed with everything from start to finish! Anyways… enough about the gorgeous venue and couple… I’ll let you see them for yourself… ENJOY!!!

Deb & Pat did their “reveal” in the lovely Bamboo Garden… It was such a beautiful place for their first look and it was such a sweet moment… Here are a few photos from that precious moment

this place is absolutely amazing!! I can’t wait to go back someday and shoot some more!!

anxiously awaiting to go say “I do”

the beautiful flowers and the beautiful ceremony…

And I just realized that I have now posted well over 30pictures from their wedding… But I’m not going to close this out before showing you their pretty pretty cake… and here it is!

Sheena and Simon are getting married on October 2nd and I can not WAIT for their wedding! (They are soo fun and soo in love, it definitely made my job shooting their engagement session easy) It’s going to be amazing… I know some of the details and it’s something I’m very much looking forward to. Simon lives over seas, IN LONDON, so we had to work with his schedule for their engagement photos and the day we did them, couldn’t have been prettier! Check out some of my favorites from their session… I have a LOT of favorites but I won’t take up your whole day looking at their photos… Even though this couple is so beautiful (no they aren’t paid models, they really are real people) you wouldn’t mind spending all day looking at pictures of them. Feel free to comment and let us know what you think… Check’em out & enjoy! 

Tiffany and Matthew are such a sweet couple, that I had the privilege of photographing their wedding day and being a part of it. They were married at Merle Manders in Stockbridge, Ga. Thank you Merle Manders for allowing me free use of your facility for the day and to Maggie Lewis of Knotting Hill Events for coordinating and planning this lovely wedding!!

And here are a few of the details… Enjoy!

I had the privilege of doing a little shoot for an up and coming event and design company that operates locally and on the west coast. Here is a table setting that they did for the shoot… And I’m pretty sure you’ll agree with me… It’s pretty amazing and I’m glad that they asked me to do the shoot for them, it was a lot of fun! Good things are going to come from Simply Chic Events and Designs and I can’t wait to see them all and hopefully be a part of some of it. Enjoy!!

Hey guys!!

Sorry for the delay in posting new blogs! We have had a VERY exciting last few days/weeks…which is a good thing. Thank you to everyone who keeps coming and looking/reading my posts…I promise you won’t be disappointed! I have several shoots and weddings to post for you so bare with me. Friday we got to meet…Are you ready?? JORDIN SPARKS!! Yay! My girls were soo excited, and she was soo sweet! We also got to photograph her concert, we were going to grab a few pictures of her before the show but the timing didn’t end up working out with the storms and her schedule, etc.  Saturday we went and photographed a beautiful wedding at Ocean Isle Beach, NC…and a first for me…had two associate photographers shooting a wedding in Gainesville, GA. All in all it’s been a great time and we have some great and exciting things coming to show you! But right now I’m going to go climb up in my very own bed and get some shut eye!

Ya’ll be looking out for a new blog post tomorrow! I’m pretty excited about it!!

Ash

ps- here’s a sneak peek from a recent shoot