Grace. Beauty. Natural surroundings….you just can not go wrong with this engagement session.

Happy Friday everyone! Hope it is filled with memorable moments with your loved ones.

This engagement session may have started off windy and dark clouds in the sky and ended with some sprinkles…but, I will have to say it turned out quite romantic. Here is to another lovely engagement and soon to be wedding this coming fall!

It truly is amazing how much can happen in one month of your life. As most of you know I am not posting these daily pics on facebook anymore, as I needed to cut something out of my life that can take little time, but those little moments add up. So, I decided at the end of each month sharing my favorites, as I know my family appreciates it. We had the flu hit us hard the first of the month, and this is a first for our family. Abigail has only thrown up maybe twice her whole life, so, she thought she was dying when she began vomiting every hour the first night. But, I did get some free snuggles out of it.

We completed our garden and have many sprouts of corn and other veggies coming up. Every morning the kids and I water. The plan is to have it all organic, but, we will see how that goes. As that means I have to pick bugs off, but as you will see in pictures below my kids have no problem with worms. They beg to find worms!

And I will let you read the rest for yourself. Hope you enjoy a few snapshots of our life this month.

I LOVE SENIOR PHOTOGRAPHY! Okay, I said it…now you know and when you see this girl, you will know why I love my job so much! She is the definition of southern charm. I could go back to this quaint nursery and shoot here all day long. We had such a fun time dodging crazy ferns, (a few good laughs from a few falls in some awesome heels) , and who ever tires of playing on a tire swing…. enjoy!!

And if you PIN any of these images please be sure to give my name credit.

This was her grandmas camera! So fun!

Be prepared to drool….a lot…. This is one my dearest friends and her precious family. It all began with an innocent Instagram picture of my kids playing in the beautiful blooms of the south. The rest was history, and we made this shoot happen within 2 days after that post as we knew the blooms would be gone. We definitely hit the peak, and well, this family is pretty dang beautiful as well. But, the thing I love most about Hannah is her love for pushing you to love Jesus more. She is very dear to my heart, as her sweet girl is to my daughter.

I of course had to take advantage of a beautiful friend and add in some creative flair…. take a look.

Happy Friday to you! I was sitting here thinking about all those mothers out there that never take time for themselves, out of goodwill, because they are so wrapped up in loving on their family first. And with mothers day around the corner I wanted to give YOU the opportunity to nominate a mother that you admire. But, here is the secret, you can not tell them they were nominated. If you could give me a few sentences on why you look up to her as a role model or maybe she is your mother, and maybe even a picture, that be great. I will choose one fabulous momma to do a session of her alone or with her children, whichever she chooses. I will take nominations until this coming sunday evening, the 21st. I am really looking forward to hearing stories! Please email me at info@annapociaskphotography.com

I will announce the winner Sunday evening after contacting her.

Pin this image if you want to spread the news of my giveaway!

When April showers may come your way
They bring the flowers that bloom in May
So when it’s raining have no regrets
Because it isn’t raining rain you know
It’s raining violets
And when you see clouds up on a hill
You know they’ll bring crowds of daffodils
So just keep looking for a bluebird
And listening for his song
Whenever April showers come along
And when you see clouds up on the hill
You know there’ll be crowds of daffodils
So just keep looking for a bluebird
And listening for his song
Whenever April showers come a-long…

I had a dear friend ask me one night over dinner; “if God asked you to give up your business, could you do it?” It threw me for a loop for a split second for 2 reasons. 1st-what would push one to ask that question, and 2nd–did I need to evaluate how I am portraying who I am as a person to others?

The conversation went much deeper with some powerful truths–Anna Pociask Photography does not identify who I am. Before we moved churches and met some amazing people, they did not know me as a photographer. When they first met me, my friend told me, she knew me as a child of God, a wonderful wife, a loving mother, warm, and beautiful…. these words stuck with me and only sparked something inside me that had already been stirring. (And before you start fast forwarding, no I am not quitting my business) But, I can say, I am “quitting” a lot of the race it seems most photographers are running to get to the top and make a name for themselves…. (butterflies in my stomach after writing that……. yep)

Then they said, “Come, let’s build a great city for ourselves with a tower that reaches into the sky. This will make us famous and keep us from being scattered all over the world.” (Genesis 11:4 NLV) I want to focus on the bold and italics from this scripture, and how God has been working in my heart the past so many months. And these past couple of months I have had to really search my own heart on the intentions of why I should share my heart with the world, or anyone that comes across my blog. Because I will be honest–I have struggled with writing on my blog in hopes of reaching many people and hoping to encourage many that I may never meet; but there was always that extra tug where I wanted to build a big following of readers for my own “feel good reasons.” Sucks, but its the truth.

I think it is easy for us photographers or other businesses that can showcase our work on Facebook and our blogs to get wrapped up in how many “likes”, how many comments, how many followers we attain each day when we post something new. I am speaking to photographers, since this is where my business is, but you are welcome to fill in your occupation with these words I am about to unravel on.

I completely understand the saturation that has abounded with photographers, but, does it give us that much more a reason to believe we have to reach the levels some of the starting photographers have accomplished? Maybe I am way off on what I see and read in my newsfeeds, Instagram accounts, and blogs; but, the vibe I get is more photographers offering workshops, newsfeeds being flooded with their work all day long, and how to become like “that” photographer. Am I guilty of this; yes, why else would I start writing on such a topic if I couldn’t put myself in these same shoes?..

My biggest concern is that I see from the outside in a handful of true artists that really dig deep in their own soul and create images that strike you and put chills up your spine. A few that come to mind are; Elizabeth Messina, Jessica Drossin, Joy Prouty, and Skye Hardwick… Do we all want to be who God created us to be as an artist, or try and attain someone else’s vision and passion that came within them? Or lastly, are we all fighting to get to the top and make a name for ourselves?

What will it accomplish once we get enough pats on our back, a huge round of applause, and the biggest number of followers any photographer has ever attained? Well anywhere in history where one had “everything” there was only  that much more of a tug to have a little bit more. Many days I have to remind myself of the truth from 2 Peter 1:3…  ”His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.”

I am still very much passionate about putting my all into creating beautiful pictures for my clients, but, through trials in the past year of my life I can say I am learning a hard lesson on how to be content with the circumstances all around me. And I am striving to not put confidence in my flesh. ( Philippians 3:3)  I can truly say with confidence in Christ if God or my husband asked me to stop my business, in faith, I would. Just as anything we come to love more than God is an idol. And I  have been down that road before, and it is a very dark place I do not want to see ever again.

Just because top photographers and marketing books tell us what to do to get the best recognition with social media does not mean we have to be posting pics all day, asking questions to get interaction with clients/fans, keep up with all the hype of all the business of media that only sucks precious minutes of our life away…. The only thing we as Christians are called to is a life that is set apart from the world. We are called to “not conform any longer to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” Romans 12:2

I know it is so easy to get caught up in wanting to be somewhat famous with our business name, as our world pushes publicity and being famous on all the reality shows and well Hollywood… why put this unnecessary pressure on ourselves when we could be investing that energy into our families, our church, or the people God has placed in our life to love? Maybe I am only preaching to myself and need to remind myself of these things I mentioned, but I just wanted to encourage anyone that reads this there is no pressure to be consumed by social media everyday……every.minute.of.the.day. ….no pressure to have to be number one…..no pressure to feel the need to be the next top photographer everyone wants to see on Creative Live or WPPI….

Since taking this lie away of believing I needed to become “famous” with my business name, it has only freed me that much more, and I have had that much more time tickling, giggling, and wressling with my kids…… that much more couch time with my hubby in the evening, reading books that are filled with meat and not fluff…..and growing daily with my Lord and Savior. When we are called to do something that may seem really hard or not quite make sense, take ahold of the Lords hands and step out on faith….and feel the freedom your body and mind craves so bad…. you know what it is…that stirring inside that convicts you and grabs you at the throat, and makes you sick at the stomach….. be free today by walking in whatever obedience the lord is calling you to.

Be blessed today…..

xoxo,

Here are a few of our favorites from March. Baby boy turned 2, I got daddy a new bike, and Abigail got the flu……

North Alabama peeps if you have not heard or been to 1818 Farms yet, you are missing out. I love that my paths crossed with the owners, as they are the sweetest and passionate about getting back to the way life use to be. They live in the lovely town of Mooresville and now have the sweetest little farm that is open to the community to have birthday parties, sewing classes, and tea parties. But, at the birthday parties you get to pet all the furry lovable animals. The sheep are my favorite!

But, there is a hidden treasure that is about to go live to the community, it can be used for brides, maybe sweet little tea parties and in todays case some senior portraits. And what is funny, the last time I talked with Natasha (the owner) this was going to be for chickens, quite the makeover. I want to take home every piece of furniture in here, and look forward to shooting here more in the future.  And here is the link to their website: 1818 Farms

Thanks to my lovely model Karlie for making this room even more stellar!