Onnalee Joy – Senior Project

Onnalee is a Senior at Calvary Christian High School – but she is not my project! Ethan Cottle, who I have known for a long time, is also a Senior at Calvary and is doing his Senior Project on photography. I, proudly, am his mentor and in discussing the camera and it’s different actions/parts – we decided to get some practice. During one of our meetings, Onnalee was kind enough to let us take a few pics of her and I thought I would post a few of them. She was extremely natural in front of the camera and, as you can tell – is very photogenic (especially after a long day of HS!)…

Kayla and Abbott Turner – Wedding

This past October – I had the privilege of shooting the wedding of Kayla and Abott, a young couple from Columbus, and from the moment we met them for coffee – I knew that it was going to be fun! And it was. Their wedding was at Sweet Home Plantation and it was the perfect afternoon. The weather was great, the music was awesome, and everyone was having a blast! Here are some of my favorites from their wedding:

Congratulations Kayla and Abbott! You guys are awesome and I hope you have an awesome first year of marriage!

Maggie Pyles

A few weeks ago, Chelsey and I went over to Jack and Sarah Pyles‘ house to do a little shoot of their daughter, Maggie. Sometimes, babies can be very un-cooperative to work with when you are trying to take their pictures – but Maggie… was great! Not only is she completely adorable, but she was awesome at looking at the camera! [I can't wait to shoot her over the next couple of years!] Jack and Sarah are good friends of ours and it was a pleasure capturing their family in pictures. Here are some pics from the Maggie Pyles shoot:

Congratulations Jack and Sarah on your first-born = Maggie!

Pipers Down – Band.Shoot

Two weekends ago I did a quick band shoot with Pipers Down, an awesome band out of Columbus, GA. We only had a short time to get some good shots and we were battling the rain! Thankfully, the rain added a great texture to some of the pics and they turned out well. The members of Pipers Down have great personalities and they made the shoot a lot of fun. When you get a chance, check them out here: www.pipersdown.com – I got their contact through James Patton who is an incredible up and coming band manager – so if you are a local band and need someone to keep you organized and help you progress in the music industry – contact James at jpatton@me.com Here is a short summary from the shoot:

The Ross family.

I was very excited when Allison called me and wanted me to take some family pictures for them! I have grown up with her oldest son (Will) and she has been like a second mother to me – so I was pumped to take some family pics for them. We did the shoot at their house – and it was fun sharing stories we remembered (since Middle School) as we walked around the property. We had fun taking pictures and it was a task getting all the guys to stop cracking jokes and making their Mom laugh – but they finally settled down and we got some good ones! You can tell this family has a lot of fun and personality! Here is the Ross family:

Jacob Zachary – house show, Columbus, GA

This past Wednesday night, a good friend of mine and my brothers – Jacob Zachary – came down to Columbus, GA, to play his music for us during his “house show” tour. He is an incredible musician whose music is just beginning to make ripples. His friend Luke Ash came and opened for him as well as my brother, Luke Smith, who played as well. Here are some moments from the night:

It started out with Luke Smith, lead singer of the late POANNA. He has an awesome style and great voice:  [www.poanna.com]

The next artist that actually travels with Jacob Zachary as he is on his “house-show” tour is Luke Ash. He has a great voice and you can check him out here: http://www.myspace.com/123lukeash

Then the final act was Jacob Zachary. All of these guys are really good and you should check them all out! Go to www.JacobZachary.com to check out this last artist. You won’t regret it.

check them all out.

Matt and Rachel – Wedding – [sneak peek!]

Matt and Rachel Palmas got married this past Sunday night in St. Lucie, Florida, and we were there to capture it! Rachel is the sister of my brother’s wife (my sister-in-law) and so having family there made it all the more fun and exciting! The ceremony was scheduled to be on the beach but due to inclement weather (i.e. 40 degree weather and 20-30mph wind!) they had the ceremony at the location of their reception… and everything turned out great! Even though it was cold and windy – they still braved the cold and went outside for the bridal party shots! The bridal party was a blast (as you can tell) and made it seem as if the weather was perfect for pictures… here are some that I had to show you: –> more to come in the future!

Thanks so much for letting me be a part of your special day! You guys (and all of your friends) are great!

Bob and Teresa [sneak peek!]

This weekend was a crazy weekend for us at Z Michael Studios! On Saturday we shot the wedding of Bob and Teresa Dunning in Ft. Benning and had a blast! They were such a fun wedding party and were incredibly good sports. I’m talking about taking pictures outside in 20 degree weather!! Minus the freezing temperatures and icy sidewalks – the day was perfect and we got some awesome pictures to show! [see below]

After their wedding in Ft. Benning, we traveled to South Florida (try St. Lucie!) for a wedding the next afternoon. Though they had to move the ceremony inside due to cold weather and 30 mph wind, they braved the cold for a little while to take some shots outside! [see next post]

I’ll post more later from Bob and Teresa’s wedding, but here are some of my faves:

This next picture is one of my favorites! Teresa – you looked amazing! I hope you guys are having a blast on your honeymoon!

Morgan and Ryan – E.session!

I didn’t know what to think whenever I met up with Morgan and Ryan to shoot some Engagement pictures and it was about an 85% chance of rain! However, what we came away with = was incredible. Morgan and Ryan were so much fun to walk with around downtown and take pictures. She has one of the best smiles that I have seen in a while and Ryan compliments her well! –> You guys rock – thanks for being willing to chance it in the rain… I can’t wait to shoot your wedding!

This next picture was to much fun NOT to include it – this is what it was really like outside!

I have known Morgan for quite a long time (try Middle School, I think) and it was awesome to shoot her engagement pictures! Congratulations Morgan and Ryan on your engagement! You guys make a great couple.

Bob and Teresa = E-session!

This holiday season has been crazy busy for this Smith household! We moved, had all of the family in town for Thanksgiving (total=18!), and visited more family and friends! Things are slowing down a little bit and I just realized how many posts I need to catch up on. So be looking for quite a few posts in the following weeks.

This E-session was done a two months ago in Flat Rock Park here in Columbus, GA. Bob and Teresa got engaged a while back and was planning their wedding in the early Summer – that was, until Bob got orders that he was being re-located to a different city and state! Their wedding was moved up to this coming Saturday! I can’t wait to shoot their wedding and hope the weather will warm up a bit…. Here are some of my favorites from their engagement session: