It's wedding week!

It is so weird to think that at the end of this week, on Saturday, I will be getting married to the love of my life!  I've been dreaming about this day for so long, ever since I knew that Justin was the one.  It always seemed like the day would never get here and now, it's here!  I haven't had a chance to do much with my camera recently because of all of the wedding things that need my attention, so tonight I got my camera out and took some pictures of things I'm excited about! 

Sparkling Cider for the wedding..yum yum!

My cute new owl travel bag for my makeup that i'll be taking on our honeymoon

 The larger owl bag for makeup/hair stuff.

I just love my owls  <3



I'm dying to have my camera around my neck the day of the wedding but unfortunately I have to step out from being behind the camera and be center of attention for the day.  I absolutely love our wedding photographer and know that she'll do an amazing job but I still might sneak away for a few minutes to try to get some pictures of my own..we shall see  ;)

My vintage love..

I have a very large spot in my heart for antique shopping.  I adore vintage things and seem to get in trouble when I go antique shopping because I want one of everything!  lol.  Today I took my fiance and my brother to our local antique mall for two reasons.  For one, I wanted to get some vintage props for photoshoots.  For two, I'm getting married in 29 days and I wanted to see what they had in terms of decor for my wedding.  Can you guess the theme for my wedding?  Yup! Vintage!  =)
So we walked around and of course the boys were instantly attracted to all the war knives and helmets and things like that but I kept walking and came across the cameras.  There were about 6 in the glass case I was looking in but only one of them really stood out to me so I purchased that one.  I also spotted a beautiful vintage Remington typewriter that I had to have!  I'm guessing it's probably from the 30's or 40's but it's still in great condition for an antique and is still types!  So, I bought that too!
After doing some damage on my credit card in that store, we went into another store and I ended up finding a few more cameras.  There was one that I saw and instantly knew I had to purchase this one as well.  It was used in the 1940's and is one of those cameras with the pop top viewfinder.  I bought that one and after that, I told myself that I was done.  I was soo happy leaving there because I had found 2 amazing cameras and a beautiful typewriter!  I can't wait to use them for my photoshoots and my wedding!

The 3 new loves of my life:

I just LOVE random bursts of inspiration!

So I was in the middle of cooking dinner tonight and I happened to look out my window and notice the sunlight.  [When your a photographer, you begin to analyze light ALL the time!]  The lighting was perfect outside so what did I do?  I grabbed my camera and a few interior decorations in my house and ran outside.  It's such a neat feeling when you know that you have the most perfect lighting of the day because your mind just starts racing with ideas.  I love feeling that rush of creativity!  Anyways, I took some pictures outside and then went inside and took a few by a window before the sun went down completely.  After taking the pictures, I had to finish dinner because if I would have sat down and started editing them right then and there my poor fiance wouldn't have had any dinner, lol.  So I finished making dinner and cleaned up and then after that I sat down and had fun editing my pictures.  I love the way they came out!

I used to shoot JPEG and didn't understand why people shot in RAW format but back in May I decided to try it out and see what RAW was all about and now i'm hooked!  I'll never go back to shooting JPEG!  Sure, RAW takes up so much more memory on my card but when it comes to editing my pictures I have so much more freedom and I can make the picture what I want it to be rather than my camera's settings having a say in the outcome of my picture.

Here are a few of my favorite shots from today   =)

Are you ready for this?

So i've finally decided to jump on the blogging bandwagon!  Many photographers use blogs to keep people updated on recent projects, upcoming projects, contests, etc.  I thought this would be a great thing for my business and also a great thing for me as well.  It's kinda nice to have a space where I can show my prized posessions [my pictures] and connect with all of my fans and followers.  It's a nice outlet!

It's been a year since I started Brittney Potter Photography and what a year it's been!  I'm so blessed to have had such amazing clients and also amazing friends to help me build my portfolio.  For those of you curious on how Brittney Potter Photography began, here's the story for you..

I started my business after graduating from my schools Registered Dental Assisting program.  I had just graduated and for four months, I could not find a job anywhere.  I was getting so discouraged so I started to think of ways to make money.  I thought about making greeting cards and stationary, baby beanies and accessories, etc.  The ideas were there but I lost interest after a day of planning how it was all going to work.  Then all of the sudden I thought about photography.  At that time, I was actually looking for a wedding photographer for my October '11 wedding and was just so fascinated at the thought that people can really make a living by photographing others and things that they love.  I knew photographers existed in the world but I didn't seem to put two and two together.  I have ALWAYS had such a strong love and passion for photography and taking pictures so why didn't I think about this before?  People actually get paid to do what they love!?!  This was my "Ah-hah!" moment.  Every since then, i've been hooked.  In the beginning I studied my camera and photography books for hours and hours to learn about the technical aspects of photography and my camera.  Then i'd go out and practice what I learned.  Like I said before, I had such a strong love for photography but the more I practiced and the more I shot, I fell into a deeper love with my camera and with capturing pictures.  Photography takes me to a whole different place where the bad things in the world aren't present and nothing else matters.  It's a total escape and I just eat, sleep, breathe photography.  It runs through my veins and I couldn't imagine doing anything else in my life.  I've heard from many people that when you do something you love, you never work a day in your life.  And although I spend many many hours editing and uploading pictures, etc. I love every single second of it because it makes me who I am.
So like I said, it's been a year since Brittney Potter Photography first started and guess what?!  I'm once again unemployed.  I whole-heartedly believe that everything happens for a reason and all in God's timing and I think thats the case in my situation.  There is a reason that I don't have a job and I honestly think it's because this is what I'm meant to do.  If I can't photograph, if I don't have my camera strapped to my body every second of the day then I just can't live..I wouldn't be me anymore.  So with everything being said, this business [although still very much in the beginning stages] is such a blessed from God and I'm going to do whatever I can to make sure that I never give up on my dream of being a successful photographer.