Rich Smith Photography

The Jenkins Family Session!

Rich Smith — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 21:35:37 +0000

There are times when I really, really love being a family photographer. This was DEFINITELY one of those times. I absolutely loved being with the Jenkins family. Talk about photographing on a beautiful day and photographing such a beautiful family! So full of life and energy!

Take a look at just a few of my favorites. It was so hard to narrow them down!

Hunter turned 1 year old. What better way to celebrate than with a Gigi’s cupcake!

Love the little foot kicked up on the rocking chair. Chill baby!

Loved the curls and knew I had to get a photo of them.

Emily and David, thank you so much for having me photograph your wonderful family! It was too fun! Hope you enjoy all of your photos!

Tim and Stephanie’s vow renewal

Rich Smith — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 02:10:45 +0000

I have never photographed a vow renewal before. I guess there are a ton of reasons to have a vow renewal. I’ve heard of couples who have gone through a particularly hard time in their marriage and decide to renew their commitment to each other. Tim and Stephanie decided to have a vow renewal for another reason…for their kids.

They just recently celebrated their 10th year anniversary and now have 5 kids! None of their kids existed for their wedding 10 years ago so they wanted to replicate their wedding vows to solidfy to their kids that they are safe. Safe from ever being separated and that mommy and daddy will ALWAYS be with each other. It was important to Tim and Stephanie for their kids to witness this vow in a ceremony similar to their wedding many years before.

It was beautiful to witness. Seeing the commitment. Seeing where they’ve been and the obstacles they have gone overcome together. The forgiveness and the tears. To hear Tim as he looked into the eyes of his wife of ten years and sternly, almost with fire in his eyes, tell her that he will NEVER divorce her. Not physically, mentally, emotionally or spiritually. The whole ceremony was powerful and emotional.

Check out some of my favorites of the evening below…

Loved the fact that the area where they were going to be renew their vows was holy ground since God was in that place. Holy ground = no shoes. Wish I saw this at more weddings!

I love how Tim and Steph look at their kids…

Tim surprised Steph with a new wedding ring!

Tim and Steph, thank you so much for allowing me to be a part of your amazingly beautiful night! It was an inspiration to everyone in the room to never be satisfied where they stand in their marriage. There’s always room to grow and allow God to transform two into one! Can’t wait to photograph your 20th year renewal!

The Keach Family!

Rich Smith — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 01:27:08 +0000

Ken and Rebekah are really good friends of ours and I was thrilled when Ken wanted to surprise his wife for their 7th year anniversary with a photoshoot from me to document their little family! So on Sunday, we headed off to Renaissance Park downtown to do a mini-session. It was just me, Ken and Rebekah at first and then their little girl came to join us in the fun!

Check out a few of my favorite below!

Thanks again for letting me document your family and Happy 7th Anniversary you two!

Ashley & Casey’s Engagement Session

Rich Smith — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 18:48:45 +0000

So excited to share these with you! Ashley and her mom found me through Soiree’s. Having photographed Ashley’s friend’s wedding already and getting a glowing review from her didn’t hurt either! I was so excited to have them as clients but am now MORE excited after spending some time with them, getting to know them a bit better and photographing their wonderful connection with each other!

Check out some of my favorites below!

Love your session and can’t wait for your wedding coming this next year! It’s going to be so much fun!

The Super Hamaker Family!

Rich Smith — Sun, 04 Dec 2011 00:27:11 +0000

If you’ve never been a little boy or raised a little boy, this post won’t make you feel nostalgic. I’ll be commenting between photos because this session brought back so many memories for me! Playing baseball with no bases, thinking you can fly, feeling you really could run faster with a cape on. You’ll see all of this in the following pics.

But let me introduce you to the Hamaker family just in case you didn’t know them! Steve is the extremely talented graphic designer of Stevaker Designs and Shannon has become quite the Pure Romance consultant! I have photographed the Hamaker family before but it has been a long time! So long that I don’t think I have their previous session on the blog. Sad!

Foy has grown up so much since last time I photographed him. He is 110% boy… loving baseball and superheroes. Check out a few of my favorites below!

At my favorite abandoned backlot!

Feel the speed!

A little congrats for the homerun!

After we finished baseball, Foy showed us SuperFoy!

My word, do I love this photo. What kid doesn’t remember flying through the air thanks to their dad?

…or flying off the swings!

This is SO Shannon:

Love this photo too. Looks like he’s flying into the sky…

Yeah… we got lots of flying photos. Steve really got the workout with his arms.

Thanks for the awesome time! Or should I say “super”? Either way, it was a blast! Thanks for letting me document your family!

Final crazy face photo!

Daisha and Nathan’s Engagement Photos

Rich Smith — Sun, 27 Nov 2011 03:35:39 +0000

Daisha and Nathan were great to hang out with. Nathan had not slept for about 30 hours because of his work but even without a Red Bull, he did an amazing job of loving on Daisha while we worked our way to three different locations!

I always love the challenge of shooting the same location but finding a new angle or perspective I hadn’t noticed before!

Love the following photos! Check these out!

Thanks guys for hanging out with me for a couple of hours and keeping me thoroughly entertained. Can’t wait to photograph your wedding next year!

Lee and Steph’s “Anytime” Session

Rich Smith — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 14:19:35 +0000

Lee and Steph are good friends with our good friends Brandon and Rachel from Knoxville. That’s how they found me! And since they’re about to move to Turkey for a couple of years, they thought it would a great idea to get some photos before they left!

So what’s an “anytime” session? There are a few different ways to refer to these sessions. I’ve called them “reconnection” sessions as well. Quite simply, it’s an engagement-like session but with a married couple! And Steph and Lee have been married for 3 beautiful years!

We had to reschedule our first session because of the weather but thankfully the day we rescheduled for was BEAUTIFUL. And the connection these two had with each other was even more beautiful! Loved spending time with them, getting to know them better, learning how to say “where’s the bathroom” in Turkish and exploring Chattanooga’s incredible urban settings!

So check out a few of my favorites! And before you ask me… no, they are not professional models.

Brittany and her son Weston!

Rich Smith — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 17:29:05 +0000

I met Brittany as she was a bridesmaid in a wedding I shot a couple of years ago. And I’m so glad we kept in touch since then! We were going to do a session together with her and her son almost a year ago but the time wasn’t right. But it couldn’t have been more right a few days ago when I got to hang out with Brittany and Weston at the Riverpark near Chattanooga State!

One thing you learn very early on is that Weston is 100% boy. I’m going to go ahead and say 110%. He’s full of smiles and energy and everything is an adventure with him. Jumping off stuff and wanting to see what new dangerous thing he can get himself into. All with a smile on his face the entire time!

Most of the time kids have to warm up to me before they start having fun in front of the camera. And they have to get used to NOT looking at the camera and smiling. Weston could care less that I was taking photos… all he wanted to do was have a great time with his awesome mom!

I dare you to look at these following photos and not fall in love with Weston!

Love the look of wonder in his eyes!

Playing football with mom!

Look at that mischievous smile!

Thanks Brittany and Weston for letting me have a LOT of fun with you two! Hopefully I’ll get to see you both really soon!

Mary-Margaret and Jason’s Blue Ridge Wedding!

Rich Smith — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 21:42:47 +0000

Talk about a whirlwind engagement! They’ll definitely have a story to tell their kids and grandkids one day. Planning a wedding in 6 months is hard enough. Planning a wedding in less than a month is CRAZY! Planning a destination wedding in less than a month is CRAZY INSANE. But with a lot of help from friends and family, Mary-Margaret and Jason pulled it off… and beautifully.

When I got the inquiry, I was so glad I was still available. The setting was on Mary-Margaret’s grandmother’s farm in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains. We missed the beautiful fall leaves by about a week but the specialness of the day was what shone through.

I arrived about 30 minutes before Mary-Margaret and Jason were first going to see each other. And right when this moment happened, I knew I was in for a special day. EVERY photo I took during this time was a keeper and a shining example of why I’m such a big advocate for first looks. This scene would NOT have had an opportunity to play out during a ceremony!

The way Mary-Margaret looked at Jason during this moment was just amazing. It almost felt I was intruding on a very intimate moment. For them to let me share this moment with them RIGHT after I met them is priceless to me.

Sisters!

Brothers!

Nieces!

1st cousins once removed!

I just love how EVERYONE is looking at the bride. Gorgeous.

After a beautiful intimate ceremony, they were officially married!

The roses symbolized the family members who had passed on…

Mary-Margaret’s mom! Had such a blast meeting her and the rest of the families who were there!

Cake Pops for everyone! Okay, just the kids. But I was seriously considering stealing one for myself while no one was looking!

Mom/daughter moment…

Can’t wait to release the rest of the images! Love this wedding and love this couple! Mary-Margaret and Jason, on the one day that was dedicated to making you two feel special, you spent all of your time making everyone else around you feel special… including me. For that, I treasure the very brief time we had together and hope we’ll see each other again some day! Thank you both!

The Incredible Moncrief Family

Rich Smith — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 22:20:23 +0000

What can you say about the Moncrief family except… incredible? The kids are beyond adorable and Jimmy and Brittany are beyond stylish. And they LOVE to laugh and have fun. This is a recipe for a good shoot, my friends! Love this family. Love this shoot. Check out some of my favorites!

PS: Love shooting fellow photographers. I can get a little extra artistic on them and I know they’ll appreciate it.

Everest really, really, really wanted to eat that leave.