personal | summer dress hunting

This post is about a certain weakness of mine. What might this weakness be?! Wonder no longer!

It's clothes and the search for the perfect item. More specifically, the perfect dress.

It may not always seem like it, but I love fashion & clothes. That has not always been the case (my old albums could tell you many stories....) but this is not about the past. ;) And although I went through a phase where I told my mother, I hate dresses they make me look like a baby I don't want to ever wear another one, that is sooooo not 2012. Mmmmmm—mmm, nope. Pretty much opposite, actually.

Now, I love dresses. My mom comments on how many dresses I have...and I actually just got rid of a few that I never wear. Only so I can buy more, of course. ;)

I'm on the search for some fun spring/summer dresses, and thought I'd share some of my fun finds below!

left: francesca's. you can never go wrong with floral!right: modcloth. mustard yellow is fast becoming a favorite shade of mine.


left: target. (I love this dress so much. I may end up buying it, it's perfect for summer and picnics and bikes!)right: delia's. I have a thing for stripes, what can I say?

so! what are some of your favorite places to shop at for dresses? I'd love to hear them! Or, you can even post a favorite dress find url in the comments below!
love always,amelia renee:)

Emily Jane | Portraits | Cedar Falls, IA portrait photographer

This post is so extremely long overdue, but I'm thrilled to be sharing it with you now!
Miss Emily Jane is a dear friend of mine, a "kindred spirit" if you will. ;) We met a while back through work, and I knew from the get-go that this girl is one to keep an eye one! She's super smart, hilarious, and her style? Oh, it's crazy and loud and fun! When I had an excuse to photograph someone for a school assignment, I immediately knew I had to ask Emily, and I'm so thankful she was willing to meet me for coffee & photos. Enjoy! :)










love always,amelia renee:)

mihas kidlets | children | Cedar Falls, IA lifestyle photographer

I absolutely LOVE children. I'm not sure if my infatuation started when my sister was born or even before that, but I've known since I was young that children are one of my passions. and babies? Oh sweet goodness, babies are the best. (yes, they stink & cry— but they're the most precious things God created, I think!)
However, playing & babysitting kids is totally different than photographing them. It's a whole new ballpark...more than that, really, it's a whole new sport! It's not my strongest point and I have the utmost respect & admiration for professional children's photographers! However, I'll say 'yes' to the occasional session, and I'm sure glad I did this one! Dimitri and Sophia are two very adorable little ones, and although we had our share of tears during the session, we definitely had some fun, too! Check it out:)






























and for all of you wanting to hear about haiti, that's coming!
love always,amelia renee:)

home is one of the sweetest words I know. | personal

hello hello hello! you may have noticed (or not!) that there have been no blog posts for about 2 weeks. the reason, of course, would be that I was not at home. nor was I in country, actually! I spent just a little over a week in the destitute but gorgeous place called Haiti, and I knew from day 2 that I didn't want to leave. I'll hopefully be sharing more about my trip soon, as well as getting back into the swing of regular business & such, but for now I'll leave you with this little teaser of my new favorite adventurous, precocious, south carolinian speakin', 6-year-old girl. midterms are next week, but once those are done you shall surely see more of me around here!

love always,

amelia renee:)

leaving! | personal

once again, i must apologize for my absence. buuuut i do have a decent reason for it. ;) i'm leaving on a plane tomorrow to go to haiti for 9 days! and once i come back, i promise i'll be posting regularly again because i have some funfunfun things to show you all. :)

i threw a little video together this afternoon...it's not that great, but it gets the point across. :) sorry about the not-so-stellar quality--i'm still trying to figure out the video feature on my camera...and how to edit/export. i guess it needed to be exported at a higher resolution, but i don't have time to do that now, 'cause i'm off for dinner, night class, Bible study, and then to finish up packing!

see you all in a few weeks! :)

love always,

amelia renee:)

hoping for a chance to learn... | my story | personal

i'd have to say, that if anyone in the photography world decided to mentor me, i think one of my very top picks would be the amazing, wonderful, fabulous Katelyn James! when i realized that she is giving away a seat for FREE to learn at her workshop next month...oh my heart! did i get excited!

my "story" is quite short....nowhere near a published book, it's more like a poem or novella. ;) my fascination with photos started when my parents gifted me the most basic of film cameras (think a disposable camera that you can reuse. the quality was terrible!). nevertheless, i took rolls and rolls of film! when i turned 13, our family bought our first digital camera, and i was always stealing it to take photos of my sister, the kids at church, flowers, anything! fast forward to high school, sophomore year. 2nd semester rolled around, the one where our honors english class had to link something we wanted to spend the semester learning more about with english. naturally, i chose photography.;)

i didn't know much then, and in the grand scheme of things, i still don't! but after that semester i'd decided to continue experimenting and halfway through junior year i bought my first DSLR, a canon rebel. my trusty rebel and i spent hours together, and with it, i began to fall in love with photography. the joy of spending time with people, laughing and smiling with them, showing them how beautiful every.single.one of them are...i was hooked.

senior year i took the only class offered at my high school that was remotely close to a photography class...yearbook. i was introduced to the world of lenses (a very wonderful place!) and invested in a 50mm 1.4 at the encouragement of my teacher. i started shooting seniors (i think i had 2 that year?) and did lots of "fun" shoots with my friends & sister.

last year, i decided it was time to teach myself to shoot manually (actually, at the prompting of one of Katelyn's blog posts!). i was in my first year of community college, spending a year before starting the photography program, and sick of sitting around! a good thing, too...because i shot my first weddings last summer! i have a few more booked for this year, but have never second shot or learned in-person from a professional about a wedding (Jessica taught me as much as she could, but we never did get to shoot a couple during the internship...darn!) i've also built up my business to the point of having 8 seniors this last year--which was huge for me!--due to my crazy schedule between school, working a "real" part-time job, and being a ministry student leader.

although at this point my business is primarily senior and family sessions, i'd really love to gain more experience with wedding photography. otherwise, i have to wait until next year (photography program year 2) to take an actual "wedding class"...blech. i've learned quite a bit thus far, thanks to photographers' blogs, J.Shae, and my professors. but, i'm not content yet! i'm eager and ready to keep learning more!

i think that attending "The Workshop Experience" would be not only a wonderful learning experience where i'd be able to ask questions from many experienced photographers, build my portfolio, network with photographers from Virginia & beyond, but also to have the chance to participate in a STYLED SHOOT! eeeeeks!:) it would be such a growing experience for me! this workshop would push me to take not only my photography and my business to the next level (and give me an edge here in Iowa!,) but would also propel me personally to go outside my comfort zone. oh! and it's during my spring break so it fits perfectly with my schedule. ;)

on a deeper level, photography is one of the passions God has given me. i am able to bless others & use it to share my love and joy in HIM, whether on my blog, in conversations, supporting missions and causes such as sex trafficking prevention, or by blessing people with a session. as i learn & grow in my photography & business, i pray that i grow more in my relationship with Christ. i'm extremely thankful to Him for the chance to use this passion to connect with people that i otherwise wouldn't have ever met, and to be able to share & glorify Him through the process!

love always,

amelia renee:)

a little apology.

i realize i've been a horrible blogger as of late. shame & poxes on me, i know. but, i promise that more will be coming soon! february will be a crazy month but i promise to update as often as my school schedule (and trip to haiti!) allows. :)

love always,

amelia renee:)