Jesse + Chelsea Maternity/Lifestyle Maternity/Jacksonville NC Lifestyle Photographer

 Chelsea contacted me about doing her maternity shoot even though she wasn't as far as I usually book maternity shoots. I of course had to make an exception to the rule for this one. Her husband Jesse will not be home to see the birth of their son. You can just tell how much love Jesse has for his wife , the future mother of his child. He was such a good sport. I am also so glad that let me into their home to get in some lifestyle photos. I am very happy how they turned out. Congrats to Chelsea & Jesse, I know their little boy will truly be loved.

 

 

Colon Homecoming/Military Homecoming/New River, NC

This was a quick homecoming. I don't even think we were there for even an hour before the guys pulled up. Usually you are there at least a few hours before they arrive. I always tell all my clients that I recommend that they stay away from the crowd and not try to find their marine but instead let them come to them. Sometimes they listen and sometimes once those men get off that bus they just start running. Stephanie was determined to stay back and where the lighting was better. Once they started coming off the bus she raised that sign and just kept searching  until finally she saw his face I love that moment. The moment where their smiles meet after months of separation. I am so happy that Stephanie and Greg are together again. Welcome Home!!

 

 

 

Military Lifestyle/Military Lifestyle Photographer/Jacksonville,NC

It has been a while since I have blogged. I have to say that I am not the best of it but I am really going to start trying. I want to be able to share with you the amazing stories that I get to be a part of in which I get to call my "job". I seriously get to be a part of some amazing things. I have been struggling for a while for where I wanted to go with my photography business. I was going through some images and then it hit me. I came across these images and I started to cry. I cried because there is this story, this moment of time that I was able to capture for a family. I love that. I love the emotions that come with "true life". I adore military homecomings because of the real raw emotions that I am able to capture. That is what I want to do...capture those raw emotions. I have decided to specialize in the "Military Lifestyle". Why? Well because the military lifestyle brings a lot of stories that are not just everyday. Such as a dad coming home to meet his child for the first time after seven months, a pregnant wife saying goodbye to her husband knowing that she will be delivering her child without him by her side...There is a special place in my heart for these moments . So what does this mean for my business? Well...I will be specializing in the real moments such as homecomings, births, lifestyle sessions and goodbyes. I will continue to do other sessions but these are what I will be specializing in and where I feel the most passion for. Below are images of my dear friend Carie. Her husband was deployed during her maternity shoot and was suppose to not be able to come home for the birth. Well...he was able to make it home for a week or so, but then he had to go back and complete his deployment. He will be reuniting again with his family shortly and I can not wait to be a part of that.

Love Reunited/Tacderan Homecoming/Jacksonville NC/Homecoming Photographer

If you know me, you  know how much I love photographing homecomings. If I could seriously only photograph homecomings I would. There is just something so amazing about it. There are a million emotions that are captured. I love it!  I am so glad I was able to do Nikki's homecoming. This was her first deployment and they are newlyweds! I am so excited that James is now home and they can begin "being married". I am also so glad that Andy from Bronze Oak Films was there with me and captured it all on video. He is truly amazing. I seriously recommend him, especially for homecomings! Here are some images that were captured. Enjoy!

Pento Family/Family Photographer/Jacksonville NC

 I had a great time working with the Pento family...They were so sweet to work with & extra sweet when I lost my keys. Yes...I lost my keys to my car during our session. They were sweet enough to try to help me find the keys (no luck ) then waited with me at my car until my good friend good bring my other set to me. That was seriously probably the most embarrassing moment I've ever had in front of a client.
Here are some shots I got from their session...

Lifestyle/Welcome Adara/Jacksonville NC

I had the pleasure of taking some photos of our good friends Blake & Erin and their new daughter Adara. Blake was about to leave for a deployment , so Erin wanted to capture some photos of them before he left. Because of the weather, I thought it would be best to do some indoors. I am so glad we did. When doing these I fell in love with "lifestyle" sessions. I think they are more personal , they allow the family to relax because they are in the comfort of your home and you get a lot more "real" shots. I was so happy how these turned out.  I'm glad that they have these to look back on and I had the pleasure of doing them. I highly recommend lifestyle sessions, especially to you who have newborns. Here are some of my favorites from that day.

P.S. I give discounts do those who have a spouse who is deployed or about to deploy. I think it is very important to capture sweet moments before deployments.

Email for more details!
cortneymayphotography@yahoo.com

NEW

Hello everyone! I'm a little late on saying "Happy New Year" but I have been busy with my new love, my baby boy Camden. I'm also finishing my Bachelors Degree in Social Work this year. To say the least I am a little busy! Due to being a new mommy and doing school I will be limiting the amount of sessions I am doing this year. I am also changing a lot of ways I do things. Change is scary. I've been wanting to change a lot of things I do in my business for a while but I have been afraid to. I was afraid in loosing my clients or maybe not even booking sessions but I can't be afraid of that. I have to do what is best for my business. I had such a wonderful year last year. I met some amazing new people and enjoyed working with past clients. I enjoyed capturing all the sweet moments from first birthdays to a dad meeting his child for the first time after a deployment. I want to give all my clients the full attention they deserve. This is why I will be limiting my sessions. I also want to give my clients an experience. I don't want to just be a drive-thru photography business. This year ALL SESSIONS will require a pre-consultation. This will be done face to face or over the phone. This will give us a chance to get to know each other and PLAN your photo-shoot. We will discuss locations, what to wear etc. If you are going to invest in a photo session get the best out of it.  Speaking of investing...Yes my sessions have changed a little.  I am giving less images this year but even though the amount of images seem to be what everyone is worried about, I believe getting quality images should be most important. I hope to see all my past clients this year and meeting new ones!

-Cortney May