Fancy This Photography

Asheville & Coffee

2014-11-10T16:24:00.000-05:00

After a long weekend of photographing events, my good friend and former roommate invited me to Asheville, NC for the day. Normally I would take a Sunday to rest, but I had heard so many good things about this town! Yes, I am 25 and haved lived in NC for the same amount of time and never ventured out to this part of the state. This day was definitely one for the books! Impromptu and involved only my camera and friend. It felt really nice to go out and just photograph what I saw, you know, just for the hell of it. It was a good mind reliever. I also had good company. We started the day at like 4 in the morning and came back around 8 that night. We had coffee to amp us up for the day at this cute little coffee shop, then went all around downtown seeing all kinds of crazy things, like a parakeet who drove a motorcycle. We had lunch at this AH-MAZING vegan restaurant; left us completely full. We also did a bit of shopping…up until the point where we tried to sneak our way in to the Biltmore. It didn’t happen, but we had fun doing it. Next time we will get tickets in advance. Enjoy some of the photographs from this day.

Het Landhuis

2014-11-10T13:02:00.000-05:00

Sometimes I get really lucky with my job. On this particular weekend my work buddy Gene and I had the privilege of setting up a Het Landuis wedding! This was a first time for me, as I have never been to this venue prior. Working in the wedding industry I visit a fair share of venues, but it’s ones like this that really take me back. It’s a cute venue and totally screams southern charm. There is a barn/house that the bridesmaids can stay in (with a cute little pool in front of it!) that is right beside where the ceremony will take place. There is a pond with a bridge. There are tiny white benches facing the pond awaiting the arrival of the bride to be. This place made my heart soft. It was one of the sweetest venues I have ever been to. Here are a few photographs from our trip there (and some beautiful florals arranged by The English Garden gals). The theme for this wedding was one of the most precious ideas I have ever seen; flowers arranged in pumpkins. I love fall!

Enjoy!

Cat & Erwin | Garden On Millbrook

2014-11-05T20:38:00.000-05:00

I can not say enough good things about this couple. It has really been such an honor to be able to work with this couple throughout the entirety of their wedding planning process. You may notice these beautiful faces from a previous engagement session; they wore purple and completely rocked the world with their beauty. Seriously. I use those photographs all of the time. The day had finally come for the two to say "I do" and with family from *literally* all across the nation flying and driving in for this big celebration. It was a blast and was amazing to be a part of such happiness. The venue, the food, and the music were all just that extra push of love to make this event extraordinary.

Some of these details include the veil and cord. It's Filipino tradition when someone is to marry to do a set of customs to assure a prosperous marriage. After the candle ritual, a pair of secondary sponsors known as the Veil Sponsors will pin the veil on the couple. The veiling ritual signifies the clothing of the two individuals as one. After the veiling, the last pair of secondary sponsors will then drape the yugal over the shoulders of the couple. The cord is customarily shaped or looped to form an infinity sign; also symbolizing a long lasting fidelity. I love how Cat and Erwin's wedding had these small but very delicate details for their wedding day. It is definitely something special to see.

Something else that is very special to see is the "money dance." Yes. I said that right. Men and women line up in front of the bride and groom with money in hand. Money is pinned or taped onto the new married couple's garments, representing the wish that good fortune is "rained" upon them, while also helping the couple financially as they begin their life together. I. love. this. tradition!

To get the party started at the reception, Frankie had all of the guests hold hands around the bride and groom and played "That's amore!" by Dean Martin. Whenever the song said "amore" the guests were to run up to the bride and groom who were dancing in the middle. This was just precious! I have never seen this done before, and my, it was just sweet!

All of these things... they don't even explain how beautiful this day was.

Congratulations Cat and Erwin! I am leaving a part of myself with you as I give you these photographs. I loved every second of this, and am so thankful that I could document this day for you!

Vendors who made this possible:
MakeUpForYourDay -- Jen B. & Kristin C.
Garden on Millbrook -- Marc D. and Adelaide S.
Island Sound and Video --Frankie H.
Olga's Bridal and Formal Couture --Olga

Chelsea | Head Shots

2014-10-23T18:17:00.000-04:00

Chelsea is such a gorgeous lady! It feels extra special to show you these photographs not only because of my beautiful subject, but because she is a fellow photographer, as well. I love how her hair is blowing in these first two photographs, but the last one is definitely my favorite! There is just something about that dramatic light that draws my eye straight to her.

Vintage Bridal | Rebekah

2014-10-15T15:25:00.000-04:00

Have you caught on to how much I love vintage? I love the old school classy looks that are always understated. Rebekah is such a beauty, and I love every inch of this dress on her. We went to Lake Lucas in Asheboro, NC for this bridal session. My favorite has to be Rebekah walking down the hill (her toesies in the photograph simply make it that much better!). I am so thankful to have met this wonderful lady, she was such a doll and pleasure to work with!

Kathryn + Stephanie

2014-10-13T16:53:00.000-04:00

Before you dive deeper in to this post, I would like to tell you a little about my stance on this topic. For years I have been an active participant in the LGBT community. As an ally of this community, I have a deep passion for human rights and have always stood by my beliefs even before this became a heated topic. This past week North Carolina declared it was a marriage equality state. I did not find this out until about 9:30pm that night. When I saw this, I burst in to tears; I have never been this shocked and ecstatic in a very long time. To be honest, I did not think it would even happen any time soon. This is such a big accomplishment, albeit it took a long time and went through many hurdles in the process. I am proud.

I met Kathryn sophomore year at North Carolina State. We shared the same circle of friends and quickly became friends ourselves. She contacted me about photographing her and her girlfriend Stephanie. I was elated! I had not seen Kathryn in about two years so I was stoked to catch up! On top of this, I had the chance to meet the wonderful and beautiful Stephanie (the lucky lady who swooned my very good friend). Since they met in Raleigh, it was only right to do this session at some very Raleigh-ite places; Pullen Park and Boylan Bridge (also, a few photos at the belltower for Kathryn). I love these photographs, but I love these ladies more. Meika makes a guest appearance, too (that cute fluffy husky).

Please enjoy these photographs and see how much love can conquer.

Harvest Fairy

2014-10-06T19:01:00.001-04:00

For Erin’s assignment we were to photograph a bride in studio. When you think of bridal’s one does not normally think about confining a bride in a 4 walled room; there does not seem to be much creativity in that. However, I felt at home with this assignment. I wanted to do something a little more creative and in-depth with this. I made a flower halo for Ms. Sarah composed of pumpkins and assorted fall-ish flowers. Instead of a bouquet I thought it would be really unique to use apples. I think I succeeded! What do you think? I am so proud with how these turned out!

Mary Poppins

2014-10-03T18:00:00.000-04:00

For my final assignment for my digital imaging class i was to photograph at least 6 separate photographs and make one final photograph. If you know me, then you know I love “whimsical.” Also, I am a sucker for all things umbrella related (first year portfolio). We are so close to halloween, but instead of doing something scary I wanted to do something that would make me smile. I knew from the beginning that I wanted Ms. Sophie as my pippin Poppin’s. She, of course, had the entire wardrobe already and only had to show up as herself.

I. Love. This. Girl!

Enjoy!

Also, a special shout out for Sarah Gillie for jumping as one of my chimney sweepers! (The other 2 sweepers are Sophie).

High Point Wedding

2014-09-25T19:09:00.000-04:00

Below are a set of photographs taken at the Lofts in High Point, NC. It is a very rare occasion that our Raleigh based company (The English Garden) is hired to accommodate florals for an event anywhere other than the triangle area. On this weekend our bride and groom were tieing the knot in High Point. This was my first time in the area (yes, in High Point) and I was not disappointed. The venue has huge windows that spare phenomenal light! The old pillars and brick layed outline give this venue such a warm and vintage feeling. If you are ever in the area you should check this place out!

Panoramic

2014-09-18T19:11:00.000-04:00

For Adam’s class we were asked to photograph a panorama of our choice. This past weekend Jason was my guinea pig as I tried to shoot a panorama for the third time (3rd time for this assignment). We found a beautiful little country scene on our way to Maple View Farms (a local ice cream joint in Carrboro, NC). We stopped on the road and he brought out his bike. Mario, Donkey Kong, and Peach quickly came out of the woods for this special photo opportunity. I can’t thank them enough.

Sarah | Studio

2014-09-15T17:17:00.000-04:00

Sarah is a first year student at RCC. I am so happy that I had the chance to meet and get to know this young lady, she really is a breath of fresh air. I know with the photographs shown below you won't be able to tell how much she laughed, but she laughed alot! I think that is what drew me to photographing her in the first place. I am glad I captured the serious side of her, too. In LOVE with that cute little hat she is wearing! My favorite photograph of her is the last one shown. She's a doll and I am so glad to show you this portrait session from the studio!

Please make her feel welcome!

Engagement | Miranda + Clair | Rocky Mount, NC

2014-09-10T20:18:00.001-04:00

You know, I meet some pretty amazing people every now and again. I met Miranda about 6 years ago (eek) during our adventurous time at NC State! It's kind of great knowing that she and I stayed friends after all of these years. Some of my best memories have her in them, like the time she came down to Florida to help me move back to NC. I love this lady, and even more so her family. They have always been good to me.

Not too long ago Miranda told me she was seeing someone. When looking at photographs of him I quickly realized that this guy was right up her alley; they are both gorgeous! Clair and Miranda met through work in Wilmington and hit it off from the start. This year Clair popped the question. I can't even begin to tell you how excited I was for Miranda. This woman deserves so much and definitely found a good man to complete her.

Miranda and Clair, I am so excited for your upcoming nuptials! Congratulations, you two are stunning!

Enjoy!

Slumber Bummer | Asheboro, NC

2014-09-04T19:42:00.001-04:00

I never really noticed how creative I was until these past few months. I have been writing and drawing out ideas that I have been wanting to stage along with helping fellow classmates come up with ideas that they can call their own. I am sure that I have always been this way, but lately I have been [actually] staging them and basically "doing my own thing." It feels good, mostly because I know HOW to get the photograph that I want. I may not have all of the equipment in the world, but I do understand how to work my own and troubleshoot any other equipment I may come in contact with.

The photograph shown below was taken for a very special person in my life, Sarah Gillie. I met this little lady my first week in photography school. After several tries of trying to "find" her via social media, I finally asked her "hey, am I spelling your name wrong? I can't find you on facebook."

To my surprise, Sarah does not own a facebook, nor twitter, or even instagram. Yeah.

I have always been so jealous of her for that. "How do you do it?," "why aren't you online?," "omg, you didn't see this {oh so funny meme} because you're not on facebook." I am so embarrassed to admit that I bombarded her with these questions.

The truth of the matter is, I want that freedom. I want to be completely free of all social media, but I can't seem to get away from it. I keep saying "Nikki, you're business will be just fine without your facebook page." In actuality? I don't think it would be, at least not right now. I am a young and inspiring artist. I need people to view my work so that I can have meet and greets, business relationships, and come in contact with some wonderful human beings that which I may share my thoughts and outlook with. I need these things because, whether you believe so or not, I have to eat.

With this photograph, I wanted to show how it may feel if someone was in your "circle" of friends that did not join you online. I wanted to portray how crazy our society is over technology. Who do we leave out? Are we really friends with everyone? Is this how I dictate my hierarchy of friends? I want to be more aware of my surroundings, not my phone.

This was a three light setup. On camera right I have a my flash mounted to an umbrella at 1/8 pointing downward towards my main subject, Sarah Gillie. Camera left I have another flash mounted to an umbrella set at 1/16 to give the rest of the girls a slight touch of brightness. Directly in front of Sarah Gillie behind the shoe (yes, behind the perfectly placed shoe) is another flash pointing up at Sarah Gillie at the smallest power of 1/128. This one, obviously, is not set up on an umbrella and is used by it's self. This gives her that extra pop of light more so than any of the other girls in the scene.

Featured left to right are as follows:
Nikki Whitt (me)
Sophie Martin
Sarah Gillie
Sarah Whelan
Joy Washington

Thank you ladies for coming together for this "45 minute" photo shoot! I am so happy with the way it came out along with the great giggles that came up with the faux slumber party. A special thanks to Sarah Whelan for allowing me to crash her house and set up this scene! And a very special thank you to Sarah Gillie for inspiring me in coming up with this; you completely rocked this!

Enjoy!

Day 1 | Photo A Day

2014-09-01T23:36:00.000-04:00

Turf. [taken in Greensboro, NC]

It's surprising what you can find when you just look up.

f/4 | ISO160 | 75mm | 1/320

Chase | Soundslide

2014-08-26T19:52:00.002-04:00

I am more than honored and thrilled to show you my portfolio piece that I made of Chase! Although this clip is only a minute long, I hope in the near future to dig deeper into this beautiful soul. Chase, thank you for allowing me into such a wonderful part of your life. Til next time.

xoxo, Nikki

Maternity | Cary, NC

2014-08-21T12:30:00.000-04:00

I met Irma about two years ago when I started working at the same florist as she. She was one of the first people that helped me ease into the transition of a new job, and helped me learn quite a few things very early on. I found out this year that she was expecting a baby girl! Us girls at the shop surprised her with a baby shower. It almost brought tears to my eyes when I saw her surprised. She told me that this was the first baby shower that was ever thrown for her; this child will be her third. I wanted to do something special for her. I did not have to do much, this lady is glowing already! I think it is highly appropriate that she wore a flower halo (that she made herself); she is a talented lady! I can't wait to meet Ms. Camilla!

Maternity | Winston Salem, NC

2014-08-10T18:18:00.000-04:00

I met Ms. Abbi at RCC. She became an instant friend of mine from the beginning of the school year. I was one of the first people who found out she was expecting! This session was taken about a month before baby Liam made his debut (last week!). We decided to go to the wonderful historic area of Old Winston-Salem! Ahh, it was my first time! I think I fell in love with this place. I used my handy dandy umbrella and strobe for this session. It was my first time with it on site; I think they came out gorgeous! The light on her is so soft and elegant; her eyes seem to twinkle in every photograph. I am loving these portraits!

I can not wait to meet that cute little ham and (hopefully) take some sweet portraits of him and his mother. Congratulations, Abbi! Liam has a beauty of a mother!

Family Photography | Southern

2014-08-06T18:00:00.000-04:00

I have to admit, it has been a long time since I went home just to "hang out." I could give you a ton of excuses as to why I have only stayed for a day or less, but instead I will tell you the truth. I forgot how it felt to be loved and to love something that most people could never fathom; nature. By the grace of God, if you have ever been to northeastern North Carolina then you know that there are people far and few between the corn and soy bean fields. It's simple. It's small. And it's so damn beautiful. The one thing you will notice here is the stars. Lay down in the grass and count the stars, you'd be amazed at how many you could see in this part of the state.

I came home to visit a childhood friend, Mr. Ralph. He is the husband of my childhood caretaker, Mrs. Deborah. When I say "childhood friend," I mean that he befriended me while I was a child. He was goofy with me and treated me like I was his own daughter. I always looked up to him; he made me feel like I was worth something. I can't thank him enough for that. This past month he has been put through the ringer with health scares. I needed to see him; it had been years. My oldest friend needed an extra smiling face. He makes a cameo in a few of these photos; you can't miss him with his Vietnam Veteran hat.

The real beauties in these photographs are his two beautiful granddaughters; Cassey and Riley (13 and 10). They have spent their summer on this farm raising chickens and cows. While here they showed me around the farm and taught me a little bit of how they do things. It was a real treat. I missed this life. These girls made me smile real big when I saw how happy they were to be on the farm. They really bring in so much light in to their grandparents eyes.

Meet the Barnes'.

Baby A | Morrisville, NC | Family Photography

2014-08-05T21:18:00.000-04:00

If it's one thing that I love, it's babies. This cute little girl just so happens to be my favorite little lady in the world. Meet my niece, Audrey. She is only 6 months old and I swear she has already won over the hearts of many.

This photo session was actually impromptu. I am home for my somewhat "summer break"; it's about 2 weeks long. I was up playing with this little princess and something just told me to get my camera. I ran downstairs, put on my 50mm lens, and ran back up to where my sister and Audrey were. Trying to crawl, Audrey was directly in front of a north facing window. The light, oh that light hit her like she was some sort of angel. She definitely is.

Downtown Zoo City

2014-07-03T17:00:00.000-04:00

To be honest with you, I have never been a fan of the whole “HDR” craze that seems to be happening more often than none. This may be due to the fact of the overused Instagram filters or the amount of “photographers” that seem to pop up with great editing software like “picasa.” (I hope you know that I am joking when I said that it was a great editing software). However, after learning how to actually make an HDR photograph, I have actually grown to like it. Maybe it is because I know now how to do it without using an instant filter. The photograph below is three photographs stitched together using Photomatix. You find a scene that you like and place your camera on your tripod for all three shots. The first shot you normally expose your scene. The second shot you under expose your scene. The third shot you want to over expose your scene. When you place your photographs in Photomatix it automatically merges all three photographs and “ta-daaa” you have brialliant colors in a brilliant scene. Below is my first attempt at this assignment. This photograph was taken in downtown Asheboro, NC (Zoo City).

Old Lady Veil Pretty Lady

2014-07-02T17:00:00.000-04:00

If it’s one person that I could choose to be my “studio soul sister” it would definitely be Ms. Sophie. It’s rather funny, many people have said we look alike. At first I did not see it, but after hanging out I knew that we were on the same wave length. I had this idea for Jay’s next assignment “bokeh” that involved beautiful blue eyes and a veil that I have been stashing in a secret spot for just the right time. I used it on Sophie. I love how she pops against her dress and background. Her eyes draw you in while the veil softly fades in to the background; a soothing eye catcher is how I describe this. She is a classy lady, I am glad I had the chance to show just how beautiful this lady is!

Enjoy!

The Strobist

2014-06-26T17:00:00.000-04:00

Our last assignment for Jay’s class involved looking at a photographers web page and choosing a photograph that we would mimic in regards to lighting setup. David Hobby has a wonderful website in which he describes step by step what he did to make the photo that is presented on the screen. For this assignment I chose http://strobist.blogspot.com/2007/12/on-assignment-eke-in-paris.html . Below is a photo that David Hobby did, and below that is the set up in which I did to mimic this photograph. All in all, this has probably been one of my favorite assignments. This is due to the fact that I actually learned how to use the lights that I own. I never realized what I could actually do to make such a stunning portrait with only using flash (and gels). Special thanks to Sarah Whelan for being my model both of the times that I went out to shoot this!

A Bloody Mess

2014-06-24T17:00:00.000-04:00

It was a rather nice surprise knowing that the photo shown below was picked as the favorite from this weeks critique. It seems as though every Thursday I tend to cry after Jay’s critique. Yep. I am a crier. However, ladies like me do not cry in front of others (especially classmates), instead we sit in a bath tub with lots of bubbles and cry in there. Thankfully, there was no crying this week!

I knew for Jay’s assignment on “Painting with Light” that I wanted to do something “creepy.” With the help of my dear friend and boss lady, Cydney, I was able to make fake blood that actually looked semi real. She was such a doll to allow Jason and I in to her house to use all of her Halloween creatures! I did this photo by setting my camera to a long shutter speed while I “popped” my flash on each creature that I wanted to be seen in the photo. Jason is shown twice because I popped my flash once while he was standing in the back, and then once when he moved closer to the camera.

I hope you all enjoy!

Available Light

2014-06-23T17:00:00.000-04:00

It is really amazing how much I can “see” light now. This time last year I could not tell you one thing about how to altar light, where to find it, or how to diffuse it. For this past weeks assignment I had to photograph a product using only natural light. This means that I should only use one light source, which the biggest one is the sun. I tried a few different objects, but I finally chose to use granola; an every day meal that I adore. I placed the plate and bowl on top of white matte board and also held a white reflector so that I could bounce the side lit back on to the edge of the plates. I wanted to show the slight detail not only in the granola, but in the photograph as a whole.

I hope you all enjoy!

Water Color

2014-06-19T17:00:00.001-04:00

I was so excited to finally have the chance to work with the gels in studio! I have always wondered how people make the background all of these different colors. I am lucky enough to work with a wonderful florist company on the weekends in Raleigh. The vases pictured below are a few of their “funky” items that can and have been used for weddings. I really like how these came out! I had a lot of fun figuring out light! Normally, this would scare me, but I feel comfortable in the studio as of lately. Kudos to myself! I hope you all like these! They portray “cold,” “hot,” “plain,” and “rich.”

Enjoy!