The only thing that rivals my love for photography is my love for graphic design. Combining the two in designing custom invitations tailored to each bride’s colors, style, and photos is the type of project that I always look forward too. Custom wedding invitations are 5×7 light cardstock and come with free white envelopes. They can be ordered in quantities as small as 24 and come in three paper styles: standard cardstock, linen, and pearl finish (adds a slight sheen and makes colors pop). Response cards are available in matching quantities and paper styles and are 3.5 x 5 in and can be mailed as a postcard. Email or call today to receive a sample and a pricelist!

Erin and Michael are a delightful couple and I am so looking forward to being a part of their special day next month! A few months ago we did engagement photos and designed a ‘Save the Date’ magnet for them. The background of both the magnet and matching invitations and response cards was a photo of the lace on Erin’s wedding dress. (Sorry Michael, that is all you get to see of that beautiful dress for a few more weeks yet!) One of my favorite parts about designing custom wedding invitations is the stories and styles behind each individual couple, their journey to finding each other, and even the reasons for certain colors used on their special day.

(The return address on the response card has been blurred out for privacy.)

Filed under: Engagement Photos, Print products, Save-The-Date Magnets, Weddings on April 6th, 2009 | No Comments »

If you’re like me you may still be pulling together receipts and final numbers for your CPA or TurboTax in anticipation of the 15th! While I can’t offer you a rebate check on your taxes, I can offer you a great studio promotion to celebrate tax month! Call or email soon to book your date as remaining 2009 dates are filling quickly!

Filed under: Studio Promotions on April 4th, 2009 | 1 Comment »

There are countless spots in the Franklin, TN area for wonderful pictures from wedding and engagement photos, family photos, high school senior photos, and maternity photos. Below are my top five favorite spots in the Franklin area which I must warn you may change at any moment as I discover more and more great spots!

Factory at Franklin – www.factoryatfranklin.com
230 Franklin Rd, Franklin, TN‎ – (615) 791-1777‎

The Factory at Franklin is an incredible spot for photos of any kind. It is a national historic factory with 15 buildings with dozens of shops for shopping, dining and entertainment along with special event facilities – and of course beautiful photo spots! While some locations are dependent on weather and time of year The Factory is a special place no matter if it’s bright and sunny or the dead of winter. There are always wonderful places for photos with everything from fun stairs, broken down walls, courtyards, trendy hallways, and retro buildings for limitless possibilities for your photos.

Winstead Hill – www.franklin-gov.com
Columbia Ave Franklin, TN 37064 – (615) 794-2103

Winstead Hill Park is located south of downtown Franklin on Columbia Highway and consists of 61 acres with a walking trail, parking area, and restrooms facilities. I love taking photos here. Winstead Hill seems to be an undiscovered gem of a park where sometimes we can do an entire shoot and never see another person. It’s especially beautiful in the fall with the gorgeous color leaves that we can play in while we shoot. In the spring and summer the green grass is lush and walking along the paved trails we can find wonderful photo opportunities. Alongside the park is a beautiful road with interlacing branches that form almost a tunnel with the light shining through the leaves.

Pinkerton Park – http://www.franklin-gov.com/parks/pinkerton_park.html
405 Murfreesboro Road, Franklin, Tennessee (615) 794-2103‎

Pinkerton Park is located on Murfreesboro Road and is the most popular park in Franklin. The Harpeth River is along the west side of the park while Fort Granger lies to the north. There is also a playground with perfect places for family photos and children’s photos. There is a one-mile paved pedestrian track that goes around the entire park. There are great places for photos along the river, bridge, and the fort. If you’re up for a short walk there is a pedestrian bridge that connects Pinkerton Park with downtown Franklin and some great railroad tracks for more photos!

Historic Downtown Franklin – http://www.downtownfranklintn.com/

Downtown Franklin should count for about 20 favorite photo spots! There are fifteen blocks that are listed in the National Register Historic District with more than 70 unique shops, restaurants and antiques. Franklin has been cited as one of the most beautiful downtowns in the South. There are old churches, the downtown square, sidestreets with historic buildings and homes, railroad tracks, old trees, the historic movie theater, benches, and of course Starbucks for a little coffee break if needed! There are so many places for photos downtown that many of my clients will take a walk around the area prior to our session to pick some of their favorite spots.

Filed under: Children, Commercial, Engagement Photos, Family Photos, Headshots, Maternity Photos, Studio News, Uncategorized, Wedding Proposals, Wedding Tips, Weddings on March 4th, 2009 | 1 Comment »

This was such a fun shoot with baby Caroline and family. I had the privilege of taking Caroline’s newborn photos last fall and what a little lady she’s growing into already! We did four generation photos with Caroline, mom, grandma, and great-grandma – and great-grandpa and her other grandma where there too! We had a delightful afternoon interspersed with snack and break times for a happy baby!

A few tips for baby photos:
Make sure that your bundle of joy is well rested and fed before the shoot so they are not hungry or tired.

Depending on the child’s age bring snacks and toys or a bottle, we’ll take frequent breaks as needed to keep everyone happy!

Bring several outfits, and any toys, blankets, or other props that you’d like to use. Different outfits will photograph differently depending on the set-up and spit up and other accidents can necessitate changing outfits!

Plan for plenty of time to shoot, I’m not rushed as I want you and your child to be as relaxed and comfortable as possible.

Most of all have fun!

Filed under: Children, Family Photos, Uncategorized on March 2nd, 2009 | 1 Comment »

Thanks to our Twitter friends Astrid and Rene Photography for the below blog post on 2009 Wedding Cake Trends!

I did some research as well and found some of the trends that are a buzz right now for cakes for 2009. There seems to be a varied consensus as to what trends are hot for this year. I am going to list the links I found further down below, which should help any brides out there who are still making cake decisions. The ones that stood out the most to me where:

• Mixing shapes like hexagonal and square cakes
• Parisian chic cakes using black, white or monochrome colors, and taking lace designs right off your gown or the runway
• Cupcakes! Yeah, but not round this year! Any other shape is in now. Think square, or diamond or hexagonal!
• Acid and bright colors such as green, hot pink and tangerine
• 3D cakes! Jessica Claire had an awesome Rubik’s cube cake made for Chenin Boutwell’s baby shower!
• Dummy cakes! Have a beautiful small top tier made and then use dummy sheets for guests. Save that money and spend it on GREAT photography or a down payment on a house!

Check out these resources for more information on hot wedding cake trends for 2009:

• Unique Wedding Cake Trends for Spring 2009
• Top Wedding Cake Trends for Summer 2009
• Wedding Cake Trends 2009 from Lifestyle Lounge
• Wedding Cake Trends for Spring ‘09 – Bridal Fashion Collections Provide Inspiration
• Unique Cake Trends for 2009 – From Cakella
• 2009 WEDDING CAKE TRENDS – Calligraphy; not just for invitations at Wedding Cafe Online
• Video: Watch Brides magazine editor in chief Millie Martini Bratten give tips on how to choose the perfect wedding cake.

Here’s a fab video featuring the hottest trends in wedding cakes with new thinking on shape, size, decoration, and flavor. Carley Roney of The Knot magazine shares the latest with Harry Smith of the Early Show.

Filed under: Uncategorized, Wedding Tips, Weddings on February 24th, 2009 | 2 Comments »

Attention Nashville, Franklin, and other Middle Tennessee Brides!!!

We’ve kicked off this year to a great start with lots of photography sessions and an exciting wedding season coming up! Last month we launched a new website and new packages for the new year, this month to celebrate such a great start to the year I’m offering my own version of the stimulus package especially tailored to brides! As I’m talking with couples about their wedding plans, I know that for some the economy and their wedding budget are bigger factors than normal in planning their wedding right now. I don’t want concerns about budget and finances to be something that gets in the way of any couple getting the photography coverage that they’ve dreamed of.

From now until March 31st, book photo coverage for three hours or more and receive an additional one hour of coverage for free! This is a $250 value and applies to any new booking for 2009 weddings that mention this promotion at the time of booking their coverage.

For more wedding photos go to our main site and click the numbered boxes on the lower left hand side of the photos!

Filed under: Engagement Photos, Studio News, Studio Promotions, Wedding Tips, Weddings on February 23rd, 2009 | No Comments »

Headshots don’t have to be the traditional stuffy realtor type that looks like you’ve just had major cosmetic surgery, are 20 years younger, or are in extreme discomfort! Good headshots capture YOU! There are lots of options when planning your headshots, traditional studio shots, on location at your office or place of work, close-up facial shots, head and shoulder shots, ¾ headshots, and full length body shots. Not sure what type of headshot you need? Email Allison Hendrickson Design & Photography for a free consultation! Headshots costs range from $50 to $250 depending on the type, number of photos, and location of the shots. All packages include basic editing to make your skin look it’s best!

Here are a few pointers get the most out of your headshot session:

Makeup – sometimes less is more. Don’t put on layers of makeup with excessive eye shadow, lipstick, or foundation. You want you headshots to look natural and not like 80′s glamour photos! For both women and men, when you come to your shoot bring powder that matches your skin tone to touch up shine.

Keep your clothing simple. Choose solid colors and avoid patterns and prints. You want to people to notice you and not your clothing.

And most importantly relax and have fun as your photo is taken! I always make sure I’ve had lunch ahead of time so I promise I won’t bite! Instead of thinking of the camera or your client looking at you, imagine yourself looking at your potential client, customer, agent, or casting director.

I’m here to take as much time as we need to get the right shot, I want you to feel relaxed and comfortable so that your personality shines through.

Below is examples of several different styles of headshots from left to right, full length body shot on location, 3/4 shot studio shot, and a traditional head and shoulders headshot.

Filed under: Commercial, Headshots on February 21st, 2009 | No Comments »

Finding the time to post all of my recent photoshoots is often challenging and will only get more so as I gear up for my busiest wedding season to date but I wanted to give you a quick peek at a wonderfully fun engagement session with Ryan and Kelly. One of the most important aspects of getting great engagement photos is making the couple feel comfortable so they are relaxed and having a wonderful time. This allows their personalities and their love for each other shine through their photos and gives me the fun of capturing those special moments between them.

We used this photo to design a beautiful Save-the-Date Magnet that they sent to family and friends and I’m sure their beautiful smiles are gracing many refrigerators of family and friends!

Filed under: Engagement Photos, Print products, Save-The-Date Magnets on February 19th, 2009 | No Comments »

I’m a sucker for romance. Maybe that’s why I spend so much of my time photographing engagements and weddings! Our friends over at Kiss the Groom have a fun app called ‘The Kissing Tree’ of which I received my own today! Simply fill in the blanks and you can have one two! Perfect to include on your wedding website!

Filed under: Engagement Photos, Weddings on February 18th, 2009 | 1 Comment »

I love details. I’m fascinated by the way light is reflected off an engagement ring, detailing on a wedding dress, the quick squeeze of hands, or a glace between two people in love when they don’t realize I’m looking. Often I hear from my clients from engaged couples to brides, expectant moms-to-be to seniors that their favorite photos from their shoot aren’t the major shots that everyone expects but the little moments and special details that capture the life in a moment, and it’s those moments that a photographer knows to anticipate by intuition and experience, something that a book or class can never teach you.

[caption id="attachment_99" align="aligncenter" width="450" caption="Wedding Flowers"][/caption][caption id="attachment_97" align="aligncenter" width="450" caption="Groomsman "][/caption][caption id="attachment_95" align="aligncenter" width="450" caption="Wedding Cupcakes"][/caption]

Filed under: Children, Engagement Photos, Family Photos, Maternity Photos, Senior Photos, Wedding Proposals, Weddings on February 13th, 2009 | No Comments »