Shell Bailey Photography

Portraits | Ashley

Shell — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 22:34:42 +0000

Ashley is a local realtor and wanted to update her headshots for her website and business cards. She and Wes will be getting married next month and I will be shooting their wedding, but I love it when I get a chance to get to know my clients a little better before their wedding dates. So we snuck out to the park one hot afternoon after work and got some great shots… and I think we spent almost as long hanging out at the park bench and just talking about photography and how cool their wedding is going to be. :)

But that’s still a month away! In the meantime, here are some of my favorite shots!

Doesn’t she have the prettiest eyes?

Preview: Ashley

Shell — Wed, 26 May 2010 02:55:01 +0000

Alright, I couldn’t resist, one preview from my shoot last week. I don’t do headshots too often, but Ashley needed some updated pictures for her website & business cards and I was happy to oblige. And seriously, I couldn’t have asked for a better day for it. The lighting was beautiful! We got so many good shots, I can’t wait to show you the rest.

More to come!

Eyecandy

Shell — Tue, 11 May 2010 02:21:45 +0000

Operation: Love Reunited Photography

Shell — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 02:23:54 +0000

This is an announcement that I have been waiting to make for a while now… I’m pleased to finally be able to tell you! I am happy to announce that I am now a photographer for Operation: Love Reunited!

OpLove is a nonprofit organization that provides photography for military families who are facing deployment. It’s such an important, emotional time for these families and I am just thrilled that I am able to provide a service, however small, for those who do so much.

OpLove is still a growing organization and relies very much on word of mouth. If you know military families who would be interested in this service, please spread the word. If you are a photographer who would like to give back a little of your time and find out how you can become involved, go here. And if you or your family member are facing deployment and are interested in an OpLove session, please read below for more information and contact me today to schedule. :)

OpLove FAQs

What is Operation: Love Reunited?

Operation: Love Reunited is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing photography services to military families that are experiencing deployment. OpLove seek to support families and help to boost service member’s morale during deploment by documenting memories during this emotional time. Photographers volunteer their services, as available, to military personnel and their families who have been recently deployed or are facing deployment.

How do I qualify for a session?

If you are:

-a current member of the United States Military who has received recent deployment orders, or

-a spouse, significant other, or family to a member of the United States Military who is currently deployed,

you qualify for a free Operation: Love Reunited session.

What are the portrait sessions like? What does an OpLove client receive?

Portrait sessions can be taken with a service member before they deploy, or taken of the family of the military member who is already deployed. Each portrait session is typically around two hours in length at a location of your choice. Sessions can involve spouses, significant others, parents, children, or close family as requested. The majority of the session must be patriotic in nature, whether in uniform, with flags, or other military gear- although there will be time to get casual shots as well.

Clients receive:

Portrait session free of charge
a free 4×6 printed album sent to the service member while deployed
20% any product orders, such as additional albums, prints, or purchase of high resolution images.

OpLove photographers may provide different products and services depending on their availability and business. For questions on other photographer’s offers, please see the website for details on what each photographer is required to provide.

Do you cover depatures and homecomings?

At this time, my schedule sadly does not allow the flexibility to cover these events. We understand that this an emotional time and capturing these moments is priceless, so I recommend locating another photographer for these services.

Do you travel for OpLove sessions? Where can I find a photographer near me?

I am able to travel for OpLove sessions, however, know that availability is limited and travel fees will apply. It is probably more convenient to find a photographer in your location by searching here.

How can I become an OpLove photographer?

See here for details.

*The photos and other content of this publication do not constitute or imply any endorsement or recommendation by the Department of Defense. *

Selena + Kirk: Day After

Shell — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 23:34:03 +0000

I love shooting day after sessions. It’s so great to be able to have a luxurious, laid-back portrait time with the bride and groom. No one is rushing to get back to the reception in time, no one is stressed and exhausted. You get a chance to dress up in your beautiful wedding clothes a second time, and spend another day focused just on how much you love each other. Seriously, day after sessions are hard to beat.

As I mentioned in another post, Selena & Kirk were married in a small ceremony in Tennesee in January. With a large portion of the family all from out of state, they decided to have a reception in Washington, PA, and we took some time it to have a short day-after type session for them. More like months-after, but no one’s counting, right?

The reception was held at the Century Inn in Scenery Hill, PA. Such a great location- it’s a bed and breakfast that also has formal dining rooms, a fantastically quaint bar, and beautiful grounds. It’s in the middle of farms and a lovely little historic town. With such a great location and such a lovely, stylish couple, it’s really hard for me to narrow down my favorites. I want to show you all of them. Instead, I’ll put some of the best ones below, and feel free to see more here.

Steampunk Portraits

Shell — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 00:17:54 +0000

I seem to attract themed (read: costumed) weddings & receptions. I’m really not sure why- maybe people just intuitively guess that I’m easily persuaded to dress up myself? Anyway, I think it’s awesome! It’s all of those things that are wonderful about the childhood dress-up box or trick-or-treating. Minus the candy. Maybe it’s revealing my inner geekdom, but I think that everyone deserves a break from being a parent/full-time employee/tax-paying grownup and get to be someone else for awhile. If that means dressing up and eating creampuffs, then who am I to complain? :)

All of that to say: remember that masquerade ball I mentioned? There were a pretty good contingent of steampunk costumes present. Combine that with the Century Inn’s amazing old-time decor and bar, and I could have taken pictures all day. It made me so happy I thought I’d share a few of my favorite portraits.

And good times were had by all. :)

Preview: Selena + Kirk

Shell — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 16:28:47 +0000

Selena and Kirk married earlier this year in a small, private ceremony in Tennessee. With family spread across several different states, they decided to host a seperate reception for the family to celebrate their marriage- with a masquerade ball! How cool is that? Anyway, we took a little bit of time before the reception to do a day-after type session with the traditional wedding dress.

They’re such a handsome & stylish couple, the venue was intricate and beautiful, does it get any better?

So lovely. I can’t wait to show you the rest.

Sunset Glimpse

Shell — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 00:42:34 +0000

The days are getting longer and I am appreciating every little bit of sun that I can get. I’m looking foward to having the blue skies last a little longer after I get home from work– but I also can’t complain about getting home in time to walk around in the golden hour. I love how even the most mundane of things- even dried seed pods on faded stalks that barely held on through the winter- become enchanting during those last few moments of sunset.

Pittsburgh Lifestyle Photography | A Small Confession…

Shell — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 03:12:25 +0000

I have a small confession to make…

I am ready for spring, so ready for spring, I can’t even tell you. I am ready to take my shoes off in the grass and mud, I am ready for the birds to come back, and for the dandelions to terrorize all of the nice staid landscapers, and being able to roll down the car windows.

But! We are supposed to have sunlight this weekend! And in celebration of that, I am sharing some things that make me happy. May we have more of them soon.

Happy weekend, ducks!

Pittsburgh Maternity Photography- Emily

Shell — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 19:57:40 +0000

Emily & Joel are friends of ours from Colorado. They are expecting their first baby in May (so exciting!!) We had talked for a while about setting up a maternity session whenever they would be in town a few weeks ago. We tenatively scheduled it for the weekend. And everyone from the east coast knows what came next… twenty+ inches of snow! What fun!

I don’t know if we’re brave or just plain crazy, but we decided to do it anyway. I let my husband drive- he’s the crazy one. :P We made it, though, and were able to have a fantastic, cozy portrait session, and even stole Joel before the start of the Super Bowl for a few minutes so that we could get some great sunset shots.

There are so many fantastic shots from this session that I had a really hard time picking which ones to feature. Emily is so beautiful and glowy and serene. Here are some of my favorites:

So gorgeous. Many thanks to Chelsea for assisting me (especially with the scarves, I couldn’t have done it without you!) And many thanks & the best of love to Emily & Joel. I can’t wait to meet your little one!