Memories Portraits {blogged} » Peeks into Memories | Knoxville Photographer, Nancy Belden

These brothers were so cute together. Big brother is a pistol and baby brother was so sweet for his first session of his Baby’s First Year Program. Mom was worried that we didn’t get any smiles, but the little man pulled it off! Good fellas!

This little fella did so great for his first session of his Baby’s First Year Program. He is only three months, but so expressive with those big blue eyes. You can tell Mom and Dad simply adore him, too cute!

I’ve finally got my Wall Collection hanging, and I’m ready to show it off.  We’ve lived here for six years, and up until now a very big wall in my kitchen has been completely empty.   It’s the biggest empty space in my house (no furniture covering it up or anything), and it really kind of intimidated me.  I was afraid that whatever I did would not be enough and it would end up looking dinky, and to further complicate my brain, the ceiling is sloped and I could not figure out how to deal with that. But then we took Lexi downtown for her Matilda Jane session, and I knew I was going to have to figure this one out.  We didn’t intentionally shoot this to match my kitchen… but it does.  Perfectly.  So, I sat on my countertops for an hour one night staring at this huge barren wall and formulated a plan.  Once I had the diagram in my head, I went to the garage and grabbed a role of wrapping paper (if you’re anything like me, you have tons upon tons of Christmas paper) and began measuring and cutting.  I knew I wanted to print these canvases as gallery wraps, so I did not have to add any extra space in for framing.  Once all of my pieces were cut, I taped them on the wall like this:

then I went to the computer and looked for the right images to go together.   I knew I wanted the 24×36 to be a full length shot and I really wanted the red brick wall since it would go so well with the room, then I worked the others in the series around that one.  And I layed it out on the computer like this:

Then, all I had to do was size them correctly and place my order.

And wait.

And wait.

And wait some more.

I am so impatient…

then they finally arrived.

And the angels sang.
ok, maybe they didn’t sing, but I did. I put my husband to work measuring and hammering. And when he finished I cried. I am such a sap. I love how the colors match, I love her expressions and her poses, and I love how it is sloped to match the line of my ceiling.  It all goes together fabulously!  For real — they look amazing! Pretty much, I’ve shown it off to anyone that I can drag into my house this week.  And I had to keep my mother-in-law from stealing the 16×24. Now she is demanding copies. Tons of copies for anyone that ever cared to look at my daughter’s pictures. hehe, I love that about her. I digress… so, without further ado, here is my new wall in all it’s glory. I love it, and no matter how many kids we have… these are important and will stay in whatever home we happen to be in. They show her ‘two-ness’ so very well. Here is Miss Sassy Pants herself:

I realize the canvases look a little distorted, they really aren’t.  But I had to use a very wide angled lens to be able to fit the wall into the shot.  And the color is a bit off due to the kitchen light… but the red brick wall is exactly the color of the red paint on the wall.  I love happy accidents like that

Anyhow, I hope you’ve enjoyed reading about my process, and maybe this will help you get brave with your walls too.  It is an investment, but a worthy one in my opinion.  This is art that you never get tired of looking at.

And, don’t forget, our next Matilda Jane Trunk Show is this weekend.  Come and bring a friend, these clothes are made for amazing photographs!

They’re here! We are ready to rock-n-roll for Christmas this year… and we’re offering a special. From now through October 31, if you buy two sets of cards you receive a free 5×7 or 5×5 print from your session. These cards come 24 per set and are printed double sided on a high quality linen textured cardstock. They make a great impression when sending to friends, family and clients, and we look forward to designing yours this year!
Click here to view our entire 2009 Christmas Card Collection

Whoops! This has been a crazy couple of weeks at the studio, and we totally let this one slip right by us. I promised to share info on the blog about our upcoming Matilda Jane Trunk Show, and nearly forgot until right now. So, here are the details… it’s a two day party next weekend. Friday, the 18th from 2:00-6:00 and Saturday, the 19th from 10:00-2:00. And before you object — yes, that is the day of the Florida game but the game is away and it doesn’t start until 3:30 so don’t let that stop you from joining in on the fun! There will be gift bags for the first 30 visitors and another round of awesome door prizes, not to mention more of that yummy food that makes all of Nancy’s parties famous. And, we’ll have some supercute new crochet hats that match MJ perfectly! So, even if you can only come for a quick visit after work on Friday… please stop by and check out this funky cute clothing for your sweet girl. We look forward to seeing you there!

I had so much fun photographing these two funloving, silly girls. Abbey and Emily are only a year apart, but they could easily pass for twins. Even though they were getting eaten up by mosquitoes, lol, I love the easy, carefree feel of this session. Fabulous!!

Matthew was such a little trooper for his second session of his Baby’s First Year Program.  We put this little guy through the ringer with all of the images we had to match of his big sisters, and he came through like a rock star.   Such a sweet fella  and I could stare into his deep blue eyes forever.  Beautiful boy!

So, this weeks What to Wear looks a bit messy with all of the various backgrounds, but the kids clothes at JCrew are awesome and it’s worth a little mess. I love the mix of color and texture in both of these outfits, perfect for any fall session!

Sister: Top, Sweater, Cords, Shoes
Brother: Shirt, Pullover, Jeans, Shoes

Blake and Caroline never seem to let us down with their animated expressions! Mom gave me full reign on creativity for this outdoor session, and boy, did we get some great stuff. And anytime I get to pull out the pettiskirts, I’m one happy photographer! We’re due for some updated images on our website… and I think some of these will definitely be making their way over there soon. Looove this session!

Love this family, gramma has been coming in for years. Little Kyle, their newest addition, will be traveling all the way from North Carolina to take part in our Baby’s First Year Program. Looks like he’s totally photogenic, just like his beautiful Mommy. Such a sweet session!