Category Archives: Business Spotlight

Meet Emily

Emily is interning with me this summer.  There is no doubt we would have gone out eventually this summer to photograph her.  We had a little incentive, however, since there was still a blank space on the family wall for her high school senior portrait to hang.  The photographer her school required she go to did not produce work they were interesting in hanging their walls.  Some time passed and they were about to order a, what I thought, was a great image her dad, camera buff, had captured of her.  She just wasn’t a fan of the shot or any others they had of her.   We set out one day with our cameras, some props, and Blake.


During her fall semester last year she decided to change her major from textiles to photography.  She enrolled for the spring semester at Appalachian State completing her first black and white film photography class along with other general prerequisites.  She has also been learning digital photography and editing on her own.


She ended up interning with me this summer after he dad and I struck up a conversation on photography.  He let me know his daughter was looking to intern this summer.  I gave him my card, and she emailed me.  After looking at her work on Facebook, I thought she would be a great match for Lifelong Impressions photography.  She has a natural eye for composition and light which is an awesome foundation.


This image is my favorite of all from this session.  To me it really represents the Emily we’ve gotten to know.


Everyone in my family has enjoyed getting to know Emily this summer.  My kids get almost as excited to see her pull up into the driveway as they do their daddy.


We are about half way done with working on a client website with all the lovely information and forms available not on password protected pages as they are now.  


I’m very excited to get the client website done and sent out to all my clients!

Emily is a learns new information quickly and adds value with her design sense and techie shortcuts I love to learn.  Anything to get things done more efficiently is a bonus!


By the time we are done this summer I think she’ll be ready to network and build a business of engagement & wedding photography with all the other young adults she’ll be networking with in college.


With each of the sessions I see her work done on her own and with me there are more great captures.  

Like me at her age she is a little shy, but I think she’ll break right out over time especially when holding the camera.  The camera is like a free pass to be so different.  I can’t explain it.  For me when the camera is in my hand there is no such thing as personal space like showing someone how to pose with their spouse essentially snuggling up to them or picking lint and other debris off shirts and pants.  There is no way I’d be doing that without a camera in my hand, nor would there be any reason to come to think of it.  :-)


My son, Blake, is not a boy who likes to get dirty.  In fact, his hands are not allowed to get dirt on them at all and must be cleaned off right away if they get anything on them.  The morning we went out was both hot and humid so he wasn’t digging the field with the dirt and tall weeds. 


Thankfully, I also brought a tricycle for him to play with while Emily was in front of the camera.  He got into posing with Emily very quickly.  After I was done with her she took a crack at photographing Blake since she has been nervous to photograph kids.  Starting with one she has a relationship with was great.  I can’t wait to share some of the images she took of Blake as soon as I have some time to edit personal images.

Love this shot of her!

Followed closely by this one! 


The images towards the end of any session tend to be my favorites.  I love the edit on this one as much as the image itself.


She and her parents also agreed on a senior image to hang on the wall {a little late} from this session.  It was one of the 6 like this horizontal laying down image.  It was well worth laying down in the weeds and old leaves to get her favorites!

~ Shannon

Bella Mia Shoot

I just realized that I never put the images from Bella Mia’s session on here.  Bella Mia provides adorable custom bows, flowers, tutus, flip flops and other accessories.   Daniella is one of the sweetest women I have met and worked with.  She definitely puts the love into her products.

FACEBOOK / ETSY / LOCAL

Locally Bella Mia items are available at Buttons and Bows Children’s Consignment in Garner, NC off Aversboro Road.  Christine and Marty are the fabulous shop owners who have recently redesigned and launched the store.  The non tutu clothing items in the shots around the barn are from Christine’s clothing line Alyssa Caroline also available at Buttons and Bows.

























Us girls {me, Daniella & Christine} were goofing off at the end while cleaning up.  I look like a giant next to the normal size ladies!  I think I was bending my knees too!

~ Shannon

Business Feature – Our favorite realtors!

I’ve been thinking of doing a regular spotlight post for businesses we love.  As a business owner I know how hard it can be to get the word out.  Once people know about you the business flows in naturally.  Even if a business is well established getting the word out about how awesome you are is still great and helps the business grow more.  And who doesn’t love to know about fabulous businesses?!?!  I know I do, and I take recommendations from friends over any advertisement.  So, since you all are my friends, it is time to start a new feature to the photography blog.  Welcome.
Our realtor in Phoenix, Leif Swanson {a great realtor as well, in the Phx area!}, referred us to the very best realtors we have worked when we moved to Raleigh.  Use Leif if you are in the Phoenix area.  You will be very happy.  He also has a great blog called, Ugly Home Photos.  I enjoy the humorous images and comments.
Side note:  Once you find a great realtor and have to move out of state definitely have them find you your next realtor.  It is in their best interest to find you the perfect and most awesome realtor in your new area as they get a small referral commission from the purchase of your new home.  They tend to do their research well.  In this case Leif definitely found us the best.
I would like to introduce you to David and Beth.
The weekend after we decided to move here we flew into Raleigh.  They met us at their office when to look at houses.   In the car ride to the first home we started to get to know each other where they put us instantly at ease.  Then the laughter started.  We found a great humor match in these guys.  What we found out later was even better!
Upon going through the first property that originally drew us to the area we found out that David is very knowledgeable about construction.  He made sure to cast a critical eye for us.  Boy we sure found out fast that house was out!  After spending the day going through houses we narrowed it down to 3 then put an offer in on the one we fell in love with.  One of the three on the list was one we originally didn’t like much.  David & Beth encouraged us to keep that one on the short list.
Unfortunately, when we were back in Phoenix, the house purchase fell through when the offer on our Phoenix home fell through.  It went to someone who put in a backup offer {who does that?}.  We decided to put in an offer on the home we originally didn’t like much, because David and Beth had gotten to know us enough to know what we would be very happy with.  We got it!  We LOVED that house.  It was perfect for us.
Then after many years and lots of $$ we finally got pregnant.  With twins!!!  We decided I would stay at home with the kids, while doing a little photography on the side, so we needed to sell the home to buy a smaller one.  David and Beth helped us once again just over a year later.  With their expert advice we were able to sell the home in 21 days even in this current economy.  They were honest with us letting us know all the market details, home conditions and everything else to meet our goal of selling for the best price we could get quickly.  We definitely did all they said before putting it on the market and kept the house showing ready.
Then came the daunting task of dragging my sorry hugely pregnant behind out to look at homes in our new price range.  It felt like an impossible task to find something we would love in the new price range.  I was also very slow, had to sit in every home and don’t forget the food to keep the twins happy!  They were so patient and looked high and low to find us something perfect.  Even though we had to go looking quite a few weekends they treated us like the most valued of customers.  Most realtors in our new budget of only 130-150k would not have been so patient.  They help people buy and sell homes regularly at much higher values where the sales commission compensates them a lot better for the time spent.  We did not feel like we got any less attention.
image001
Beth is also a master at contracts.  She knows them inside and out.  I loved working with her expertise as it proved invaluable in making a tough financial transition from selling a home after only owning it a short time to another one.   We came out just fine with no losses {I know that doesn’t happen all the time even with the best realtors!}.
Both in this home and our last one we asked them before making any changes to the home.  This way we spend our improvement money wisely making resale easier should we move again.
IMG_0021-5x7

{Edited to add} Ha ha.  I talked so much already this post is soooo long.  I forgot to put in some tidbits about David and Beth for you.

They have been working in the area since 1987!  I asked them if they knew every road since it seemed no matter how far off the beaten path we were they always knew everything.  They said, “Although we do not know EVERY road…..we know a lot of them!”, but I still think they know almost all of the roads in the whole metro area.  Speaking of roads, their average mileage is 24,000 a year.  Think about that.  WOW!

In their time off they take road trips to the beach, mountains, antique stores and any other spot that catches their fancy to site see.

Industry Designations include:

CRS – Certified Residential Specialists
            CLHMS – Certified Luxury Home Marketing Specialists
            GRI – Graduates of the Realtor Institute
            ABR – Accredited Buyer Representatives
            SRES – Seniors Real Estate Specialists
            MIRM – Member of the Institute of Residential Marketing
            CMP – Certified Marketing Professionals
            CSA – Certified New Home Site Professionals

Career Achievements include:


Re/Max Hall of Fame
             Institute for Luxury Home Marketing
             Regional Sales and Marketing Council
             Triangle Top Producers Council
             Re/Max Platinum and 100% Club Awards
             Members of the Council of Residential Specialists
             Dozens of Sales and Customer Service Awards since 1987

Personal commitment:
Our business is not just buying and selling homes!  It is about people – the families, the hopes and the dreams.  People are the power of our business. We take pride focusing on each client and their goals.  Our relationships are based on Trust, Knowledge, Credibility and Integrity.  We are excited by the changes and technological advances.  Shaping the future of real estate and look forward to continued success one client at a time.

Call or email David and Beth for your home buying and selling needs in the Raleigh, NC metro area.  Guy & I love them!

David Poore - NC Real Estate Broker – ReMax United
CRS, CLHMS, GRI, ABR, BSMKT, MIRM, CMP, CSP
919.610.7370 Direct
Beth Porritt – NC Real Estate Broker Assistant
CRS, CLHMS, GRI, ABR, BSMKT, CMP, CSP
919.610.7371 Direct
“IF IT’S ABOUT REAL ESTATE – ASK US!”
~ Shannon
Related Posts with Thumbnails
R S S   F e e d
F a c e b o o k