It is OFFICIAL...

That's right! Kelly Prior Photography is going to have a new home. I cannot even begin to tell everyone how excited I am. My studio has been in the works for some time now, and we broke ground two days ago. I have been working with a wonderful architect, Jeff Hulligan of Macon, who did a fantastic job creating the perfect cottage studio.

It took me a while to decide where to build. After much consideration, I finally settled on our family land off of Ivey Weaver Road since 1) we live next door and 2) it is in a central location for customers. We have almost 100 acres of land, which offers a perfect backdrop for portrait photography. From the image above, you really can't tell much, but I took the picture from what will be the back of the studio. As you can see, the land is beautiful. We have a pond and barn as well. In the future, I plan to build several structures that will be great for portraits of various types.

This has been a dream and it is finally a reality. I will keep everyone updated with the progress. I am hoping to have the doors open for the new studio in about 3-4 months. So, thanks to all of my wonderful clients, friends and family that have supported and believed in me. You are the reason my dream has come true!

Precious Little Graysen

I had the pleasure to photograph Graysen and his parents a couple of days ago. What a little cutie he is! Of course I am known for having a fetish for hats, so you can imagine how excited I was when I saw his mommy bring out this white one. She actually had several, so I think we are going to get along great! ;-)

Toni Michelle is a nurse in Labor and Delivery at ORMC, and I met her while giving birth to Rhen there. She was wonderful to me and especially to Rhen while he was sick in the nursery. I hope I was able to return the gift of her kindness through these images.

Graysen did such a great job during his session, although at the end, he was just plain tuckered out and feel asleep, but we still kept shooting. I love the last two - it was just after he had fallen asleep, and you can just see the love his parents have for this little guy.

It was a pleasure getting to meet Graysen and I am looking forward to our next session together. I hope you enjoy!

What a fun session

Sometimes I just have the best sessions, and this was one of those times. Meet Misty, Mark and Walker. They are expecting their 2nd little boy in a couple of weeks and Misty could not look better. She just glowed. I only wish I had looked as good as she does that late in my pregnancy. Walker was so cute and I could tell how excited he was about the upcoming arrival of his new little brother. It reminded me of my maternity session and how excited Keaton was. I hope Misty and her family will enjoy these images as much as I enjoyed working with the three of them. It was a true delight. I am looking forward to our upcoming newborn session as well...so stay tuned.

Foot Prints in the Sand

After many requests from clients, I would like to announce my 1st Annual "Foot Prints in the Sand" Photo Session. Every year I have gotten requests for family photo sessions at the beach, so I have decided it is time. This year I will be in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, the week of June 28th - July 5th. With gorgeous beaches as our backdrop, we will create incredible family portraits that you will cherish for years to come! There will be a limit to the number of sessions each morning/evening so that I will be able to focus on your family. These spaces will fill quickly, so book yours today! Above are some images from sessions on Hilton Head Island.

Clothing suggestions: Simple, classic attire works best. Coordinating each family member's attire (same color and style if possible) not only creates a unified look, but a "timeless" look as well. Some other suggestions: Khaki bottoms (shorts, pants, skirts) and white shirts;White line pants and shirts as well; White dresses for women & girls look great in beach portraits.

A Real Treat for Milledgeville, GA and Kelly Prior Photography

One day not too long ago, I was having lunch with a couple of friends in my assistant Tara's tea room (Tara's Tea Thyme). As we were eating, I heard two ladies talking about a new magazine coming to town. A couple of days before, I had received a phone call from a lady named Patti asking me if I would be interested in working with the magazine. As luck would have it, the two ladies sitting at the table across from us were Patti and another woman that worked with the magazine, Dottie. I approached them and told them who I was, and we had the best conversation. They were so nice and so excited about the upcoming magazine. Patti and her husband, Jay, are the publishers of Milledgeville Living. At Tara's that day, they asked me if I would be interested in working with them to photograph the businesses that advertised in the magazine. I did not have to think twice and told them I would love to. I also mentioned that my husband was an English Instructor and a writer as well. Patti was excited to learn of this as well. So we got to start right away. A couple of other local photographers and I went out into the community and worked with the businesses that had purchased ads. It was great exposure and great getting to know more of the people that own local businesses.

Little did I know what an awesome opportunity working with the Martin's would become. After I had submitted some of my work, Patti called me and asked if I would submit some recent images I had taken to be possible candidates for the cover of the magazine. My work, along with the other local photographers' work, would be looked over, and they would decide which image they thought would work best. I submitted several images not knowing what the outcome would be. The publishers and editors were very secretive about which image would be used; they wanted it to be a surprise for the community as well as the photographer. So, as I waited for the magazine to be released, I only hoped I would see my work on the cover. Jay was kind enough to drop me off some copies the first day of the magazine's release. You can imagine the excitement I felt when I saw that my work had been selected for the cover of the first edition of Milledgeville Living Magazine.

The magazine has been getting rave reviews and is being displayed in businesses and stores throughout the area. The plan is to also have a copy sent to every Milledgeville resident. I cannot even begin to tell how many people have come up to me and commented on how awesome the magazine is. People that declined to advertise with them because they were unsure how it would turn out are kicking themselves for not jumping on the opportunity. I already have a long list of new businesses that are dying to advertise with Jay and Patti for the next issue.

I am so thankful to have been a part of this first issue and to have established such a great relationship with the whole team that worked so hard to publish the Milledgeville Living Magazine. I feel like I have known Patti forever; she is such a kind and thoughtful lady and one I am honored to know and work with. I am already excited about working with them on the upcoming issue.

Above are a couple of images from the Spring issue. As you can also see, my husband Michael had his writings published in the magazine as well. I hope all of you that have seen or bought a copy have enjoyed as much as I have enjoyed helping to create a wonderful piece of work for our community. It really shows Milledgeville at its finest.

For my Mimi...

As many of you know, my family lost a very special lady on Thursday. Many knew her as Edith, but she was our Mimi, my grandmother. I cannot begin to describe how she touched my life. No words can express the impact she had and still has on me. She was more than a grandmother: she was a mentor, a teacher, and a best friend. I always knew she would be there for me whenever I needed her, no matter how many things were going on in her life. I told her things I have never told anyone else, and she kept those close to her heart. Even the last time I saw her, we told each other things I know no one else knows about.

I loved her with all my heart, and I am so thankful that she was in my life for 32 years. 32 years sounds like a long time to me, but when I think about the time we had together, it doesn't seem long enough. In the last 4 years, she has gone through what most people might not be able to go through in 50 years. She was such a fighter, and she NEVER complained. Mimi was one tough lady.

The above image was taken about 6 years ago when she was 76. Somehow, we talked her into going for a ride on Michael's motercycle. Oh, how she loved it! She was always willing to try new things and never let her age get in the way. I have also added the lovely program that my cousin Tina put together for her funeral yesterday. It will be something we will always treasure - to read it, click the image and it will enlarge.

Tina asked her sister, Ivey, and I to write down some thoughts on our time with Mimi. I could have gone on forever. We are all more like sisters than cousins, all because of Mimi. Tina and I have often talked about how she had a way of making each of us feel like we were the most special to her knowing all the while she made the other two feel the same way. That is a special talent only she had. I only pray that I will be half the mother, grandmother, friend and teacher that she was.

These past couple of days have been so difficult for us, but I take comfort knowing that she is finally dancing with Papa again. I miss my Mimi and my heart is heavy, but as Tina wrote in her poem to Mimi, even in our sadness, everything will be okay.

One last thing, I would like to thank all my wonderful friends who have been there for me during this difficult time. You have no idea how much your love and support have meant to me. I am so grateful to have such wonderful people in my life. And to my clients, thank you to all of those that have called, sent messages, and flowers. I truly appreciate all the kind words, thoughts and prayers. It is so comforting to know my family is being thought of and prayed for. Thank you again!

Snips and snails and puppy dog tails...

That is what little boys are made of. Meet Christian and Collin. I had the pleasure to photograph these two precious boys all decked out in their green Polo's. When I was a little girl, my grandmother owned a kindergarten called the Gingerbread House and one of my most favorite teachers there was Mrs. Margie. Oh how I loved her. To this day, I still remember all the fun things we did in her classroom....and now, I get to photograph her grandbabies. It was great getting to see her again, along with Christian and Collin's Mom, Mandy. It seems just like yesterday, Mandy and I were playing on the playground, and now we are all grown up with families of our own. These two little boys were so well behaved, but I should not have expected anything less with them being Ms. Margie's grandchildren. It was a true pleasure to photograph them and made me so excited to see the wonderful bond brothers have even at such a young age.

Miss Eva Rose

I had a session with Miss Eva Rose the other day. She was so tiny and sweet. It only makes me think about how fast babies loose that newborn look. She is a month old, but is still tiny. We had the best time, we thought she would sleep most of the session, however, she had other ideas. She wanted to be a part of the session and stayed awake most of the time. I love working with newborns and she was no exception. Just look at how precious she is and I could tell how in love her Mommy and Daddy are with her. I hope they will cherish these images for years to come and always be able to remember these first days of her life.

I could just eat him up...

Rhen is now 5 months old and it is so hard to believe! Where has the time gone and how is he already five months old? At times, I look at him and think he looks just like Keaton and at other times I think they look nothing alike. All I know for sure is that every time I look at him, my heat melts and I know how truly blessed I am to have two precious little boys.

Contest

Hello all. A big thanks to everyone who has entered my Sweetest Faces Contest. I have had a several of you call asking if it was too late to send in pictures, so I have decided to extend the contest til Sunday! So..this is your last chance to enter your precious photos. I will close the contest Sunday night at midnight. I had some colleagues that are willing to help decide the top 10 entry's and will post those toward the end of next week. At that time the voting will begin! Thanks again to everyone that has already sent in their pictures!

Two Precious Little Girls

So, I had the pleasure to photograph the two most adorable sisters-the O'Neil girls. How cute they were, all dressed in their pink Easter dresses. They were so much fun to work with. Their Mom was so prepared for the session...she brought everything to help keep them happy, we even sang and danced to one of their favorite Cd's. As you can see from the images above, they really put on a show for me...it was easy to get so many great photographs of them. I had a blast and I hope Mom, Dad and the rest of their family will enjoy the photographs as much as I enjoyed taking them.