Author Archives: Amanda Raney

Baby Photography: Ezra Edition

November 14, 2010 2:17 am ⋅ Leave a Comment ⋅

Today’s edition of Babyyyyyy Photography: Baby Ezra! A 4 month old little man.

Location: University of Memphis area

Things I loved about shooting little Ezra:

1. Ezra’s nursery.

The nursery was totally fab! I felt like it could have been in a magazine.

2. Ezra’s shoe collection.

So. Fly. Baby Air Jordans!

3. The rug.

There is this awesome rug in Ezra’s room, and it made a wonderful backdrop for photos we did in  his nursery.

4. All of the neat personalized items!

Like with other baby portrait sessions I’ve done, Ezra’s mom and dad had special things they wanted to have included in the photos of him. There was a wooden Curious George toy that Ezra’s grandmother bought for him, and then there were all these things with Ezra’s name and initials on them. Everything in the nursery was personalized for Mr. E!

Once we’d finished taking photos in Ezra’s nursery, we decided to pack up and head to a nearby park to do the rest of the photos.

And, as I was hoping would happen, I was able to get some casual shots of Ezra’s parents with him. What an awesome little family they are!

https://shootwithpersonality.com/gallery/zp-core/i.php?a=blogphotos%2Fezra_9_10&i=IMGP2311.JPG&s=595
Posted in: Uncategorized

Baby Photography: Silas Edition

November 12, 2010 12:28 pm ⋅ Leave a Comment ⋅

Now’s the time, boys and girls, that I write about photo shoots I’ve had with babies recently.

First up: Baby Silas! A cheerful 9 month old.

Location: Downtown Memphis

Baby Silas’ mom and grandma were kind enough to meet with me downtown to get some photos of this sweet little fella. He was an absolute DOLL the entire shoot!

One of my favorite aspects of doing baby photo shoots is when the parents bring along special, meaningful items to include in some of the shots. On this shoot with Silas, his mother brought the toy guitar his soldier father bought for Silas.

They were also kind enough to bring along this BEAUTIFUL blanket that a lady from the family’s church made for Silas. I was really pleased to incorporate the special blanket into Silas’ photos.

The photo shoot with Baby Silas was especially meaningful for me to do, because his father is in the military and has been deployed since Silas was a few months old. I love the fact that I have the ability to capture this baby boy, and, thanks to the internet, the images can make it across the ocean for his daddy to see.

Posted in: baby photography, portrait sessions

And without further ado…

July 6, 2010 9:39 am ⋅ Leave a Comment ⋅

Shoot With Personality will now resume it’s normally scheduled programming.

That is to say, I got to do a bit of live band photography recently when  I saw David Bazan and mewithoutYou play a gig together at the Hi-Tone on June 21.

I’d like to remind you of something.

I saw mewithoutYou in August of last year and thought “Oh, I can die happy now.”

Then I saw Dave Bazan in October and thought, “But REALLY I can die happy now.”

And, having said that, I’m not the type that gets all hot and bothered about musicians and thinks “OMG I gotta get near this person!” It just  happens that there are a couple of folks out there making music right now that means something to me. The aforementioned musicians are highest on that list. When I found out that mewithoutYou was playing in Memphis again and – wait for it – David Bazan would also be back because they’re touring together…let’s just say I became a very happy girl!

Seeing bands play during the summer in Memphis is not always the most pleasant experience – all those people, all that lack of air conditioning in most venues. The night of June 21 at the Hi-Tone was no exception. I’d like to sit here and say “oh, that didn’t matter. It was just all part of the experience.” But, yeah, it mattered that we were all dripping with sweat! It just didn’t matter enough that I don’t consider that night to be one of the top three of 2010 so far.

And here is the album where the rest of the photos from that show reside!

Posted in: band photography ⋅ Tagged: , , ,

Spring Portraits with a Seasoned Veteran

April 7, 2010 3:16 pm ⋅ 1 Comment ⋅

When my niece was a little younger, we did portraits of her twice a year, to send to her out of town family members. We’d do these at her birthday in October and around Easter in the spring. Because I’d been living “in the city” and working at churches the past couple of years, it had been difficult for me to get together with my niece on Easter itself to do her spring portraits. I really wanted to revive our spring photo tradition this year, and was so thankful for the beautiful weather this Easter Sunday.

I like to think of AM (my niece) as being a seasoned model. The first picture I took of her in the hospital, she was making eye contact with the camera. There are times when I can tell that AM knows the “look” she wants to portray to the camera. Quite savvy of her, I think.

But, mostly, as with any other portrait subject, I don’t want AM to worry too much about posing. I just want her to be herself. And what a wonderful “self” she is. Even if the kid DID pull her out tooth out a few minutes before we were set to go out and do these photos, she’s still alright by me.

Posted in: family