All Posts By

Amanda Wilson

Jul 09
0

Mary & Chris | engagement photos in the rain

By | Engagements | No Comments

We are having one of the rainiest summers on record here in Pennsylvania (sorry California, we’d send the storm clouds your way if we could).  Mary and Chris proved that nothing was going to rain on their parade when their engagement session date rolled around after a solid week of rain and more showers in the forecast for that evening.  Mary came armed with the cutest pair of turquoise rain boots.  Clearly we had to find a puddle to jump in.  They were up for anything!         It was so wet out that water was bubbling straight up out of the ground at the base of a tree, it was a great spot for a shot of Mary’s engagement ring.           After the storm, we were rewarded with awesome colors as the sun set behind the hill.  A little off camera lighting from…

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Jun 29
0

24 Hour Print Sale!

By | Products | No Comments

How do we make monday better around here?  (Besides blueberry coffee K-cups?)  We have a print sale!  My print lab is having a flash sale and I’m passing the savings on to you 😀 All prints are 25% off until noon on 6/30/15.  If you need your gallery reactivated – let us know and we’ll get it up right away!  Print those beautiful memories! Offer code:  24HOURPRINTSALE  

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Jun 21
0

Behind the scenes | it’s never boring

By | Behind the Scenes, Personal, Uncategorized | No Comments

I know I’ve said this a hundred times, but I love my job.  When people ask me what it’s like to be a photographer, I always say the same thing.  “It’s never boring.”  In the past ten years we’ve shot all across the country in every kind of environment and weather imaginable.  Time constraints, obstacles, crisis – photographers have to learn to eat that stuff for breakfast, because Murphy’s law of photography – you’re going to throw the plan out the window.  Anything that can fall apart, be late, or go wrong – will do just that – and it’s our job to capture the day no matter what.  You have to keep your energy up, keep smiling, be resourceful and get the job done.  If Martha Stewart and MacGyver had a love child – that’s a wedding photographer. In the field, you’re only as good as your team.  Photo…

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Jun 15
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Kara & Mark |optometrist themed wedding at westmoreland country club

By | weddings | No Comments

Kara and Mark’s celebrated their first wedding anniversary yesterday!  Getting the opportunity to shoot their wedding was very special to me since Kara and I went to elementary school together and many of her bridesmaids were high school classmates as well!  Ashley and I had a blast shooting their engagement photos since Mark and Kara are both optometrists and wanted to incorporate some fun optometrist themed eye-catching details into their day.       Growing up, Kara was always athletic.  Her family lived just a few miles down the road from mine.  I remember passing her jogging along the roadside accompanied by her best running partner, her Dad.  For her wedding day, she cut a blue heart out of one of this race t-shirts and sewed it inside the hem of her wedding dress.  He was at the house all morning helping out while the girls were getting ready.  One…

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Jun 12
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What to do with your images: Accordion Mini Books

By | Engagements, Milestones, Products, weddings, What to do with your images | No Comments

I got a great reader question in my email today!  Someone asked how to go about ordering one of our accordion books – and I thought what a great opportunity to share some info on what they are and how to order!  Accordion books are a GREAT way to display and share your photos!  They hold 8 photos each and come with a plain or photo cover.  There are four photos on each side and it folds up like a book with a hard cover and magnet closure.  You can also display it open on a shelf or table top by standing it up.  We have two sizes – the regular accordion size which is 5×7 inches and these smaller mini books which are pictured below.  (I like to say that the regular sized accordions are “purse-sized” and the mini ones are “pocket-sized”. Accordion mini books are great for seniors,…

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Jun 08
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Jessica & Steve | colorful rainy day wedding at Lingrow Farm

By | Lingrow Farm, weddings | 2 Comments

Every wedding couple hopes for sunny skies on their wedding day, but mother nature doesn’t always get the message.  Jessica and Steve were married one year ago today at beautiful Lingrow Farm in Leechburg, PA.  Having rain on your wedding day worries a lot of brides – especially if you’re hosting your ceremony and reception at a venue with great outdoor spaces like Lingrow that you want to take advantage of!  The key is to be prepared work with the weather and plan to have a good time no matter what.  (It also helps to have a photographer that is comfortable in the great outdoors!)  I firmly believe that BAD weather makes for GOOD photos – scroll down to see why ! The rain was already falling softly when we arrived.  Jessica was getting ready in the restored farmhouse at Lingrow Farm.  She was mid hair and make up and…

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Jun 06
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Susan & Chris | Laurel Highlands Wedding at Penn Scenic View

By | Penn Scenic View, weddings | No Comments

I thought today it would be cool today to dig back in the archives a little and wish Susan and Chris a happy anniversary!  Two years ago this weekend, they tied the knot in an outdoor ceremony in the Laurel Highlands at Penn Scenic View in Rockwood, PA.  It was a cool cloudy morning just like today.  When we arrived, the girls were getting ready in the chalet.   The property at Penn Scenic View is really gorgeous.  There’s a lake full of fish with a little island, lots of fields of tiny pine trees, a wood sided main lodge for receptions and on top of the hill you can see for miles! Susan’s dress was a simple spaghetti strap sheath gown with lots of details and a little sparkle.     Susan brought along a teddy bear that has been with her since childhood.  We laughed when the phone…

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Jun 02
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Kayla & Adam | spring maternity session

By | Maternity, Milestones, Succop Conservancy | One Comment

Probably my favorite thing about my job is when I get the chance to stay with clients who become friends through many years and important milestones in their lives.  Telling their story is what drives me, both a responsibility and an honor to getting it right and not missing a moment.  I first met Kayla and Adam in 2011.  They were newly engaged, and planning their wedding.  We talked about the future across the table at panera.  Now here we are four years later and I’ve had the privilege to know them and call them friends through their engagement photos, documenting their wedding day, lots of excited talks as they built and launched their own photography business, and this spring they are starting the next big chapter in their lives.  In just a few weeks, they will be welcoming their first baby.  We went back to where it all began,…

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Jun 01
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Stephanie & Jason | fall engagement session

By | Engagements | No Comments

Stephanie and Jason are getting married in just five days!!  Let’s flashback to last fall when we met up at Northmoreland park for their engagement photos under the fall leaves.  They brought along their dog, Molly  –  AND Stephanie’s sister, Sarah, who is an expert labrador wrangler!  There was an awful lot of laughing as I flopped around in the bushes squawking like a dying turkey to get Molly to look up at just the right moment.  (It’s my signature dog photography move.)    I know I look like a nut, but it always works!  We explored the fields, found a turkey feather ironically, Molly got a lot of treats and we ended the night down by the dock with lines of geese flying south for the winter. It’s already been an exciting year for these two.  They’ve changed jobs, bought their first house and now after a year of…

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May 30
0

Amanda & Scott | Armstrong Farms Westminster Preserve

By | Armstrong Farms, National Parks, weddings | No Comments

Tomorrow, Scott and Amanda will celebrate their very first wedding anniversary!  Their story began in 2007.  Amanda was a Pennsylvania native who met Scott during senior year of college through mutual friends and they hit it off right away.  Six years later, they were living together in Colorado working and enjoying all of the scenery that the Rocky Mountains had to offer.  They loved exploring the National Parks and spending time with their two dogs, Mabel and Dixie 🙂  On a weekend trip to Telluride, Scott suggested a gondola ride to the top of the mountain before it got dark.  The skiers had all gone home for the day and after a few photos over looking the town, Scott got down on one knee and proposed.  Amanda said “yes!” and the ski patrol even took their picture on top of the mountain! The following summer, they were married in a…

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