Wedding and Portrait Photography by Arin

Wedding and Portrait Photography by Arin

Wedding and portrait photography wasn’t my goal when I started this business almost 7 years ago.   But I did have a young daughter that was always with me that I did dream of making this a mother/daughter team with.  At the time, Arin was only 11 when I put her first DSLR camera in her hand.  I myself had just learned how to shoot manually so this was like the “blind leading the blind” into the photography world.  Well, little did I know that it was so much easier for a kid to learn manual mode than it was for an adult that had shot automatic for 30 years.

Even though Arin wasn’t physically shooting at my portrait sessions, she was always with me so she got to see how sessions happened.  Then one day, someone contacted me about doing a wedding.  I was terrified but even more so at the thought of doing it alone.  So I hired my trusty sidekick to be my support and I can honestly say, I have never seen a 12 year old act that professional.  Wedding photography can be very stressful and with her easy going attitude, she never missed a beat!

Fast forward 6 years, I have only done a handful of weddings without Arin only because my earlier wedding photography packages didn’t include second shooters (but now they are included).  She has become an intricate part of this business.  She is constantly looking at it with fresh eyes trying to come up with a fresh approach.  Well, she is 18 so keeping up with what is the trend is easier for her that me.

Arin has even done a couple of weddings all by herself and has a handful of wedding booked for this year.  She handles all of our small, intimate weddings and mini sessions.  She has some Valentine mini sessions available on January 30, February 6, and February 13 if you are still looking for a Valentine present and cards.

Next year Arin will be moving to Starkville, MS to attend the Mississippi State University.  She is going to pursue a degree in broadcast meteorology.  At one point in school, she had to job shadow and since she is a mini me, meteorology is our second choice.  Thank you Melinda Mayo for giving her that opportunity on Good Morning Arkansas!  Yes, you are the reason that Mississippi State is her school choice.  Yes I am not sure how I feel about it because being the last of 4 children, she has been by my side for everything!  THANK GOODNESS, Starkville is just 4 hours away!  So yes, she will be coming home for all of her second shooter jobs this year.  YAY for me!  She will also be second shooting for a couple of other photographers in Mississippi this year so she is branching out.