At any rate, what I never want is for the engagement photography experience of my clients to be marred by the weather. Especially not for one of the absolute sweetest pairs around. Christen and Luke truly are the epitome of sweet and kind, and just in the few hours that we spent together for their session, it’s easy to see how these two just work together. Throw in a mutual love of engineering, trains and ballroom dance (they’ve got some serious skills!), and everything about these two will leave you smiling.

So, where is the perfect engagement session location for a train-loving couple in central Pennsylvania? Bellefonte’s Talleyrand Park and historical train station, of course. Enjoy a few of my favorites from Christen and Luke!

Really, you two!!

Gorgeous, Christen!!

<3

A sneak peek at their ballroom dance skills! Can’t wait to capture more of this at their reception :)

Hands down favorite.

Leave Christen and Luke some love below and like Stephanie Dee Photography on Facebook!

Thankfully, my older sister Sarah graduated a semester early from college and moved her boxes back in from New York only a few short months after I’d hauled mine out to Pennsylvania. The Empty Nesters were safe—for now—and I didn’t have to worry about what they’d do with their time without three teenaged daughters to raise. Sarah couldn’t stay forever, but as luck would have it, she moved out just a few short months before I had graduated and, with diploma in hand, took back my Parental Babysitting Responsibilities. A close call, indeed.

What I never really allowed to cross my mind was this simple idea: maybe, JUST maybe, my parents were really excited to start this next phase in their life. Not because they were happy to finally be rid of their daughters, but because they were happy to finally be able to pursue their own hobbies and interests instead of mine. Since I moved out in January, I’ve been monitoring their ENS risk levels and I’m happy to report that there is no threat to be found.

Still, when I did move out, their house became empty. My mom, used to coming home to a house full of kids and pets, hated that the next phase of life for her daughters had lined up too well with the sad goodbyes to the family pets that became a part of our family a long time ago. It was time to add a little more life into the family. And when I say “a little more,” I mean it. Last week, Coaly became the newest Dougher family daughter when my mom held her teeny tiny body of fur for the first time and immediately fell in love. I’ll admit, I felt a little threatened for approximately one second at the thought of a new youngest taking my place, but then I looked at that stupidly cute face and forgot about all of it.

She’s tiny, hilarious and pretty goofy, but she’s also the cutest kitten around, so I’m sure this won’t be the last time she makes an appearance on the blog! Hope you all are having a great Wednesday, and just in case you need a little pick-me-up, here’s a mini-photoshoot with Coaly!

Seriously weird. Seriously adorable.
She’s even grown a lot in the past two weeks and she still fits in one hand!

Yea, it’s love.

I know, I know. I’m a little late on the hilarious JT meme bandwagon but it’s May 6th and that face STILL cracks me up every time I see it, so I figured it was worth a re-hashing. On to this month’s goals!

April DONE’s:

- Turn 23 Done! Definitely the craziest thing to check off this list. The first month of 23 has been pretty wild, and I’m excited to see what the next 11 months hold.

- Rework my blogging calendar. Woof. If you’ve checked the blog in the past week or so, you know that this task hasn’t gone too well. It’s time to really get a handle on this to-do and make my blogging more consistent!

- First steps of an online update! So excited to share that this step is completed! I’ll have more updates later in the year, but I couldn’t be more thrilled about what will be happening with my blog, branding, and website!

 - April engagement sessions! Checked off even though the weather forced one session into May :(

- State College visits! It is crazy that exactly a year ago I walked across the stage and graduated, but it was so good to visit and reconnect with friends.

- Actively reach out to local photographers. Not as accomplished as I wish it would have been. Which is to say, not at all. As wedding season pumps up into full swing, this won’t get any easier, but that’s no reason why it can’t still be a priority of mine!

May DO‘s:

- Rework my blogging calendar. 

- Actively reach out to local photographers.

- Prepare for full-on wedding season! Even though it’s just the beginning of May, June is lurking right around the corner and with it comes a whole lotta weddings! May will be the time for making sure that all of my clerical and office responsibilities are in line and organized before shooting and editing becomes the daily norm!

- May engagement sessions! I am so thrilled for my May engagement sessions and can’t wait for you to meet these awesome couples.

- Album Design. Another big thing to check off the list before June rolls around—album design! This not only includes recent weddings, but also more sample albums. Wahoo!

And because it’s a fact of life that posts are boring with photos, meet my new sister, Coaly! She’s my parent’s new kitten, but you can be sure that you’ll be seeing plenty of her adorable little face around the blog in the future.

Yet, that’s how it works. You go to college, decide your major, and spend the next four years learning everything you need to know to be an engineer, or a finance wiz, or a music teacher. And often over those four years, you’re stuck in classes with the same people—semester after semester—guaranteeing that by the time graduation rolls around, you’ll either be best friends or you’ll have a running list of every bothersome thing that person has ever done near you that spans the entire length of a college-ruled marbled composition notebook.

Luckily, sometimes the best friend side of things really works. And then some!

Emily and Chris both knew what they wanted to do at 18 years old: play and teach music. And as music majors and members of Penn State’s phenomenal marching band, the Blue Band, Emily found herself spending a lot of time with Chris. But soon even the long hours of rehearsals, practices, and classes didn’t contain their time together, and suddenly one of the most musically-talented pairs of friends because one of the kindest, sweetest and cutest couples on campus. From there, it didn’t take long for them to realize that they hadn’t just found the job they wanted to do for the rest of their life, they’d found the person who they wanted to spend the rest of their life with.

I was so excited when Emily contacted me last fall to meet together in State College for a beautiful fall engagement session, but unfortunately mother nature disagreed with our timing. So we rescheduled for spring, and this time, the weather didn’t disappoint! We spend a gorgeous (though slightly chilly) morning wandering downtown State College and all around the ever beautiful Penn State campus where these two first fell in love. Enjoy some of my favorites from an early morning sunrise session with these two amazing sweet people!

We started off downtown were Chris and Emily had their first date. SO perfect!

I love me some glowy morning light in State College. 

Emily, you are beautiful, lady!!

So much love!Wouldn’t be a complete trip to campus without a stop by the Lion Shrine.

Looking GOOD you two!Love, love, love Emily and Chris’ style.

Congratulations, Emily and Chris!! Leave em some love below and keep up with Stephanie Dee Photography on Facebook!

I’ve rocked the exact same haircut my entire life.

When I was young, I showed goats. Competitively.

Think you know which one is the lie? How about some hints? First of all, I’m an east coast girl. A Virginia girl, born and raised, to be exact. I’ve spent many a summer vacation playing in the Atlantic Ocean, but I’ve never dipped my toes in the warm waters of the Pacific. Also, I’m convinced that from birth to age 16, I looked exactly the same. Yes, I know that sounds ridiculous, but it’s true. For 16 years of my life, I rocked the middle part with no bangs because an obnoxious cowlick in the middle of my hairline wouldn’t allow it. It wasn’t until I was a sophomore in high school that I realized I wasn’t legally required to evenly divide my hair to each side of my head, and the side part became my new staple.

Figured it out yet? I’ll spell it out for you: my most western boarders were set during a Penn State-Michigan football game in Ann Arbor in 2009. I have, in fact, ever changed my hair style. (Y’all should be thankful. I once had crazy long amish hair that I eventually donated to Locks of Love. A great cause that also saves a lot of girls like myself from looking like a ridiculous hippie.) And yes, yes I did show goats when I was in elementary and middle school. Competitively.

It makes a great truth in my Two Truths and a Lie strategy, but I always feel like the goat thing needs a little bit of back story, so here goes: most girls in elementary school are a part of Girl Scouts, but when I got to kindergarten, my wonderful family friends, the Kritters, decided to start a 4-H club instead. Something about less rules and more fun. I was all for it! 4-H meant that we got to go on field trips to the back of grocery stores and funeral homes (yes, you read that right). It meant summer camps and backpacking trips through the Blue Ridge Mountains when I was 10 years old. 4-H also meant having a project as a club, and our club leader, Lynne decided that their project would be Nigerian dwarf goats.

Nigerian dwarf WHAT? They’re kind of like pygmy goats, which you might be more familiar with. At any rate, all you really need to know is that they are ADORABLE. Especially when they’re kids (the technical term for a baby goat, FYI). And as an elementary school obsessed with adorable animals (who am I kidding? I’m a grown adult and I’m still obsessed with adorable animals), I was all about showing goats. The Kritters bred their herd and kept them as beloved pets, but also found themselves with goats that were some serious winners in the show ring. Go to a goat show, get to see adorable baby goats all weekend, AND win giant ribbons while doing it? You better believe I signed up REAL quick.

Fast forward 15 years and the Kritter family are still some of my favorite people. Though they moved 45 minutes away after elementary school, we always kept in touch and scheduled regular visits out to their gorgeous Culpeper, Virginia farm, a farm that for me will always be full of fun, love, and PLENTY of animals. Their last name isn’t Kritter for nothing, they certainly earn it. I absolutely cherish my friendships with their entire family, and though four years of school in Pennsylvania made my visits out to their farm a little less frequent, I am so happy to be back in the area and able to visit more often. The farm and time spent with the Kritters is rejuvenating, refreshing and ALWAYS hilarious. And in spring, you better believe it is full of baby goats! This past weekend I got the chance to visit for a few hours and catch up, and when the farm light turned golden and the brand new baby goats were looking just too cute, I couldn’t help but grab my camera for a mini afternoon pet photo shoot! Be warned: once you see these adorable babies, you will want one for yourself. I do know a guy though, so I just might be able to hook you up. Enjoy the adorability!

Goat nose! The cutest!

Seriously, you guys…Magic farm light + wobbly goat legs… yes please. 

Want one yet?

Goats aren’t the only new babies on the farm. Andy, the doberman, is also precious!

And maybe a little sleepy…

And some baby kittens, who you may be seeing more of in the future :)
And in with the goats, horses, chickens, dogs, and cats, the Kritters still find room in their hearts for a whole lot of chihuahua love.<3

Happies:

— Spontaneous running. Not the way some people do when they’re just walking down the sidewalk and then sprint for a bit and then walk again for no apparent reason. That’s just plain crazy! I’m talking about spontaneously deciding to run distances/races that I have never done before, because why not!? Last week I completely my first half marathon run, and just a few hours ago I signed up to join a 10k race bright and early tomorrow morning… on an airport runway! My excuse for all of this crazy running? Endorphins. Because exercise gives you endorphins. Endorphins make you happy. Happy people just don’t kill their husbands. They just don’t!

—June weather in April. Even though it scares me a little bit to think ahead to how hot my outdoor June weddings could be, I’m choosing to just enjoy it now! The trees are blooming, I’ve driven with my windows down all week, and I can wear shorts without feeling ridiculous!

—This kid. Let’s all be a little more like him. Deal? Deal.

—What else makes me happy? Giving gifts and winning contests! So let’s roll them up into one and announce the winner of $50 to Anthropologie, shall we? Thanks to all who left a comment sharing their favorite birthday, and a big CONGRATS to the winner, Emily Weaver!! Your gift is on it’s way :)

I may be a day late, but quite frankly I had no clue that national sibling day even existed until it took over Twitter, Facebook and Instagram yesterday. I figure that having a holiday is nice, but I don’t need an excuse to appreciate my two best friends.

Christine and Sarah, thanks for always loving and supporting me to let me know that I can do anything. Thanks for sometimes beating me up to let me know that I can take a little hardship. And thanks for never being too normal. It lets me know that there’s room for our particular Dougher sister brand of crazy in the world. :)

Love,
your baby sister

This morning around 8 o’clock plus a few minutes marked the end of my twenty-third trip around the sun. I took today off from work, editing, email (sorry friends!) and other general day-to-day duties (except I did fold some laundry this morning. Oops.) to just enjoy life. Sometimes I feel like my “OFF” button is never pressed and there is always something to do or accomplish after the current task is done. That won’t go away, but every once in awhile we’ve got to take the time to slow down and just ENJOY the moment that we’re in, rather than looking ahead to the next thing looming over us.

So today, after a weekend of celebrating with my family, I’m enjoying the little nothings of my day: a long run, a hot cup of coffee on the back porch of my parent’s house, the sun soaking inside my car as I drive with the windows down… and maybe catching up on my favorite shows and watching last night’s episode of Mad Men!

Last week, in the spirit of living life right now and doing things that you love, I wrote down five things I wanted to do before I had to stop belting out T. Swift’s “22″ like I meant it. 

And I did them all! I ran HALF of a MARATHON, ate alligator (it really does taste like chicken!), had an amazing massage this morning, and was not thwarted by the ridiculously large number of candles on my cake: blowing them out still take just one breath!

But there is still one thing to check off…and that’s where YOU come in! Because it’s my birthday and I can do what I want, I’m giving away a $50 gift card to one of my very favorite stores… Anthropologie!! If you want to participate in the birthday fun, just leave a comment below with the age of your FAVORITE birthday sometime during Birthday Week. A randomly selected winner will be announced on Friday!

So get out. Make your own bucket list. Celebrate the little nothings. Eat something new. Go live your life right now because we only get one of these bad boys, and when it’s done it’s done. Happy April 8th, y’all!

For every wonderful thing that I loved about my D90, it also had it’s limitations, and I knew from the start that it would one day become my backup when I upgraded to my dream camera: the Nikon D800. I’m still looking around for someone to pinch me, because last month that dream came true! I tore into my Adorama box and just looked at it for a few minutes expecting it to pouf into thin air. Thankfully, no such thing happened as I squealed and ran around the house testing it out by shooting any and everything! My dad, who has a little bit of photo nerd in him too, just smiled and watched because he understood the excitement. There are SO many things about this camera that I have been yearning for. From finally being able to shoot with a full-frame sensor to the 51 wonderfully wonderful auto-focus points available, I just wanted to be able to get out and see what this puppy could do! After acclimating myself with it’s dials, buttons, and settings, I got to do just that at Maggie and Dan’s wedding. And now, after a few weeks of shooting with him, I am SO excited to share my three favorite things about this guy!

Upgrade #1: Full-Frame Sensor!

In the world of DSLR’s, there are two main categories: cropped sensors and full-frame sensors. Generally, this is the biggest difference between entry-level DSLR’s and true professional camera bodies. The sensor is the neat-o piece of technology that captures the light from your lens and translates it into a digital image. The digital version of film, if you will. The sensor frame in cropped cameras is 1.5 times more “zoomed in” than it’s full-framed brother, because the sensor is that much smaller. Ultimately, what it means is that the edges of the images that would have been captured on a full-frame sensor are lopped off, leaving you with images that are much more closely cropped. The biggest downside to this is that it severely limits wide lenses from capturing the width that they’re supposed to. For instance, this shot from Maggie and Dan’s first dance wouldn’t have captured as much of the details of the ballroom, the reactions of their guests looking on, OR the full length of Maggie’s dress on a cropped sensor.

In short, full frame is like photography magic. This great gif from the #WhatShouldWeCallWeddingPhoto Tumblr really says it best. :)

Upgrade #2: High-Performing ISO!

The ISO capabilities on the D800 outshine the D90 like a full moon does the stars on a clear night—literally. ISO determines how sensitive your camera is to light, and the better a camera can handle high ISO’s, the better it is at handling low-light conditions like a dark church or a dimly-lit reception venue. With my D90, any ISO above 1000 produced some seriously noticeable noise. The D800, however, can be set up to 25,600 ISO, and while I would rarely—if ever—shoot with it that high, it also means that its lower ISO ranges produce MUCH less noise, so I can shoot up to around 4000 ISO without even breaking a sweat about noise in my images! The image above was shot without off-camera lighting at 2000, and no noise! Higher ISO ratings also make ceremony shots in churches with dim lighting or lighting restrictions MUCH more feasible. Instead of having to slow down my shutter speed and compromise sharpness, I can bump up my ISO worry free and capture the ceremony images that I’ve been working towards. The image below of Maggie and her dad was shot at 1000 ISO.

Upgrade #3: 51 FOCUS POINTS!!!

To round out this post, here’s my absolute favorite aspect of my D800 upgrade: 51 beautiful auto focus points!! While I shoot completely manually in all other aspects of photography (aperture, shutter speed, ISO, white balance, etc.), I use auto focusing because it is faster, smarter and more precise than I could ever be. On the D90 I had 9 focus points to chose from, which meant I was often focusing first on what needed to be in focus and then recomposing the shot in-camera to get the image I wanted. Think about it: if you only have 9 place in a photo that can be in focus, that’s not a lot to work with! On the D800, Nikon has 51 focus points, which means that I can compose my shot FIRST and then lock in my focus. It may sound lame but it’s kind of revolutionary! The focusing system on the D800 is amazing, too. When I focus on the eyes of my subjects, I don’t have to worry that it is missing the mark and accidentally locking on a piece of hair, I know we’re good to go! I love this image of Lindsay below because it shows exactly what I’m talking about. Even shooting at f 1.4 with a super shallow depth-of-field, her eyes are crystal clear! I love it!

I’ve been like a kid in a candy store shooting with my new baby for the past couple of weeks and I am so excited to shoot with the D800 throughout the rest of the 2013 wedding season! Still, as much as these upgrades are wonderful and are helping me to hurdle over some barriers to growing my craft, I want to be clear: good cameras do not take good photographs, good photographers do. If you’re just starting out using an entry-level DSLR, GOOD! Learn everything you can about that camera and with it improve your craft to create photos that you proud of. There will be hurdles, yes, but we can’t let our equipment make excuses for our images. Because that little box of plastic and mirrors is never going to create beautiful photos on it’s own—it needs someone’s hands to pick it up.