Gilliana's Sparta Tennessee Senior Session -- Scottsboro, AL Senior Photographer

When I was 17 years old and looking forward to my own high school graduation day, I wanted to grow up and be Gilliana;  I just didn't know it yet.  Tall and graceful, with an elegance that far surpasses her years, Gilliana is The Real Deal.  She's principled -- a vegan, passionate about the environment and animals -- clever, delightfully goofy, a connoisseur of food (with an eight-year plan to achieve her dreams of culinary mastery),  and she's kind.  She loves her family, loves her cats, and loves a good plate of fettuccine Alfredo.  If Gilliana is what the future can look forward to, we are in for a real treat.

Oh yes, and she's gorgeous.

I couldn't be more thrilled to have met and photographed this young woman, endowed with poise, intelligence, strength, and talent.  I present to you The Class of 2016: put on your shades y'all -- 'cause it's bright in here.

All of my photography sessions include one Signature Art Edit.  Gilliana needed to be a fairy -- so I made her a fairy, just for fun.

Honeybees & Blooms -- Family & Lifestyle Photographer, Scottsboro, Alabama

It's a privilege, this "being a professional photographer" thing, being asked to enter into the intimate space of family and loving affection, a welcome stranger to the subtle vulnerabilities and delicate strengths between mothers and daughters, fathers and sons.  It's always such a beautiful thing to witness, the nuanced relationships.  The smiles.  The teasing.  The overwhelming, unconditional love.

The Massey family opened their hearts to me in such a special way, inviting me into their home on a warm Sunday afternoon, openly showing me their life's work of flowers and honeybees, raising children -- an adoring daughter and genial son -- a handsome grandson, favorite pets, and marriage.  Fifty beautiful years of marriage.  Such genuine goodness emanating from this family, three generations of men and women bonded by blood and love.

To be completely honest, I didn't want their photography session to end.  As the light waned, Mr. Massey introduced me to his favorite cat, telling me the story of his adoption into their mountaintop home.  Mrs. Massey walked with me through her modern-day garden of Eden, talking about her plants, naming their attributes and growing patterns, eyes sparkling with life and light.  Their honeybees buzzed lazily in the shadow of woods nearest the pond.

Family like this a precious thing -- the only thing, really.

Patriotic Perfection -- Scottsboro Alabama photographer

I love working with women.  I have a heart for beauty -- in all its many forms -- and nothing is more beautiful than a woman who knows she's beautiful, inside and out.  Pair that with some sass and a dash of demure pin-up goddess -- times TWO -- and you've got a photography session for the ages!  Anna and Susan are fabulous to work with, exuding as they are with joy-suffused confidence.  We found an abandoned area of Scottsboro, Alabama, and rocked it out.  Adding in their beloved red, white, and blue, it was an Independence-themed photo shoot worthy of fireworks!

Looking to book your next photography session?  Wanna feel gorgeous?

I'd love to work with you!

call me:  (256)605-6722

or e-mail: lauren@laurenbee.com

Personal Projects -- Scottsboro Alabama lifestyle photographer

If you didn't know already, I'm a homeschooling mama -- on top of being a pro photographer -- and lemme tell ya, this last semester of school was a real doozie!  My girls have kept me on my toes, with giving and grading history quizzes and science tests, carting them here and there for dance classes and library volunteering, even the random and assorted sick day.  Phew, I'm pooped!

But tucked amid all of that, I've made time to express myself, and it's been just glorious!  The artist in me has made herself known more than a time or two.  Check out some of my personal (non client commissioned) work!  And let me know which one is your favorite -- I'd love to hear from you.  

"Beneath the armor of skin and bone and mind, most of our colors are amazingly the same."     ~ Aberjhani

Special thanks for this image goes out to Toya Poplar, of Tree of Life Photography, and her lovely daughter Trinity (model).

O, what a noble mind is here o'erthrown!
The courtier's, soldier's, scholar's, eye, tongue, sword;
The expectancy and rose of the fair state,
The glass of fashion and the mould of form,
The observed of all observers, quite, quite down!
And I, of ladies most deject and wretched,
That suck'd the honey of his music vows,
Now see that noble and most sovereign reason,
Like sweet bells jangled out of tune, and harsh;
That unmatch'd form and feature of blown youth
Blasted with ecstasy: O, woe is me,
To have seen what I have seen, see what I see!

~ Ophelia, Shakespeare's "Hamlet" (Act 3 Scene 1)

Rumney Family -- Monte Sano Huntsville AL Lifestyle Family Photographer

The Rumney family chose Monte Sano Mountain, in Huntsville Alabama, for their Spring photo session -- they couldn't have selected a better spot.  The trees were laid wild and bare, with vivid greens just beginning to unfurl in the warmth of the afternoon sun.  It's a beautiful spot for family photographs (and Prom photos too -- there were several beautiful couples there celebrating their end of school year happiness), and I'm so thankful to have shared the place for the duration of our time together.

Photographing this lovely family has officially become one of my favorite things because these children are so precious to me.  The Rumney daughters -- who I affectionately call "George" and "Fred" (much to their delighted protests) -- are the most beautiful little darlings, with their mother's gold-flecked eyes and sweet, sweet smiles.  And Little Brother is the perfect amount of glorious boy and delightful all-out character -- just like his daddy.  They're a great bunch: smart and witty, and just downright beautiful in front of my lens.