Stacey Bode Photography

Dear Mother Nature,

Please feel free to extend the autumn season as much as possible.  Thank you for your consideration.

Yours truly,

Stacey

We have seriously had the most incredible fall season this year, and I’ll be sad to see it go.  However, I’m pleased as punch that I got to snap some engagement photos for Hastings and Lee while the loveliness was still all around.  We headed to Grant Park, which seems to get bigger every time I visit.  It’s full of unexpected pockets of awesome.  These two fabulous people were super to hang out with, and I love how willing they were to participate in my goofy ideas.  Note:  See every previous post on this blog about how I have the BEST clients in the world.  So, here are some pics from our leaf-filled extravaganza!

Pets are always welcomed at my shoots.  We just had to get a few shots of Tate.  He is a little love muffin.

Most couples would rather wait until the end of their shoot to lay in the leaves.  They were into it at the very beginning.  See how cool they are??

We saw the most freakishly ginormous leaves ever.  I was glad to find one with a little hole in it.  By “glad”, what I mean is “I was utterly obsessed with this leaf!”.

Hastings had this cute idea shown below.  We talked about how it might end up being a “butt shot”.  I think it turned out showing more romance than butt.  Yay!

I kept thinking that Hastings had a face that reminded me of something in a movie.  It was this next image that made me realize it’s Princess Buttercup from “The Princess Bride”.  One of my all-time favs.  Hastings, you are a beauty.

I thought this one looked like an old-timey postcard.  Diggin’ it.

Leaves simply must be thrown.

I can’t wait to shoot the wedding of this uber-gorgeous couple in January.  Great way to start a new year!

This stunning lady is Whittney, who has converted me from wishing I had blue eyes, to wishing I had hazel ones instead.  She tried to convince me that her eyes looked this awesome because of her magical mascara, but I think it’s something else.  Anne (from my previous post) used a phrase that I love….”designer genes”.  Whittney, I think you must have some of those designer genes!  Lady, you are the bomb-diggity.  Thanks so much for such a fun, laid-back shoot.  I feel like I blinked, and we were done!  Thanks goodness I remembered to hit the shutter button a few times!

One paramount benefit experienced by photographers is that we are invited to witness and even participate in the most special moments of people’s lives.  Pregnancies, weddings, new babies, milestones.  If I ever lose sight of what a complete gift that is, someone on Craig’s List will be the lucky recipient of some fantastic, gently used camera equipment.

Sometimes I worry that I get too repetitive on this blog, or that maybe I just need to use a thesaurus once in a blue moon.  I find myself always coming back to the phrase, “I had the privilege of photographing…”, followed by a description of who was in front of my lens that day.  It may not be the most original way to express myself, but it’s certainly the most honest.

So, at the risk of once again sounding like a broken record, I had the privilege of photographing Doris.  She is beyond lovely, quick to smile, and full of stories.  She may have even managed to convert me from pancakes to waffles!  It’s hard to believe that next month, this sassy lady will be celebrating birthday number 100!  If that’s not a reason to celebrate, nothing is.  I know she’s having at least 2 big parties.  Personally, I think she should have 100 parties, but I suppose that idea is just fueled by my thoughts of 100 cakes.

I’m so thrilled that Anne brought me on board to take these photos of her, her grandmother, and her mom Annelle.  Anne and I discussed how this would be a very different photo experience than what her mom and grandma were used to.  It speaks volumes about these women that they were this friendly and trusting during the time we shared.  A privilege, indeed.

Here’s the beautiful birthday girl.

Anne and I were a bit stumped when considering the location for our shoot.  We ended up using the incredible home of my good friends Dave and DeAnn.  Their place worked out so well, and it turns out that Dave and Anne had worked together on a project years ago.  Fate is a sneaky and wonderful thing, isn’t it?

I have to admit that this next photo makes me a little sad that I never got to capture a moment like this with my grandma.  However, that makes me even happier to have taken it for Anne and Doris.

Parts of our shoot were very emotional.  It was a blatant demonstration of the strength and love these women share.

Have you ever seen a more fabulously sly grin?

Doris, next year when you turn 101….the waffles are on me!

I could have talked to Melissa for hours.  If you think I’m kidding, just look at her first headshot photo.  Notice that you can’t see her left ear?  It’s because I talked it off!  Not only is she great conversation-wise, but she’s also marvelous to photograph.  Her eyes are both icy and warm simultaneously.  How does she DO that??  Pretty awesome.  Also, if I had a smile as cute as hers, it would never leave my face.  Melissa, thanks so much for a fun and lovely shoot!

Elizabeth is such a super-sweetie!  I had to crack up during our shoot when she told me she was worried she wouldn’t look good in her headshot photos.  I’m not sure how she could ever look bad in a photo!  Seriously, Liz, you are more adorable than a unicorn hugging a teddy bear.  Thank you for being such a joy, and for a shoot full of so many smiles, giggles, and belly laughs!

When I first met Sara and Scott to discuss photography for their big day, they mentioned that their special date was October 31st.  There’s a look of anticipation on my face when I hear this date from couples.  It’s an expression that means I’m secretly hoping they’re about to say…..”and it’s not just a wedding on Halloween….it’s a HALLOWEEN wedding!”.  They proceeded to confirm my hopes, and then Sara showed me some clips and images from her inspiration book.  My memory isn’t the greatest, but I’m sure I did a little dance in my chair.  There’s just no greater gift as a photographer than when you’re anxiously excited about snapping pics.  I think my brain was already taking photos before our meeting even finished.

Sara and Scott are such good-hearted, truly enjoyable human beings.  They were so gracious to me throughout the whole day.  The r-a-i-n tried to make things a bit soggy, but nobody was cooler about it than these two.  Everything moved along as scheduled, and we were all thrilled that we didn’t have to fall back on “plan B”.  The ceremony was outside with the rolling autumn mountains as a backdrop.  The grounds of the Southern Tree Plantation provided an absolutely stunning view.

Here are just a few images from this super-Halloween-awesome wedding day!  If you want to see more images (including some of the fantastic costumes worn by their guests), there’s a slideshow at the end of this post.  Yay!

Sara’s deep red gown was out of this world!

I’m glad we got some use out of my fancy umbrella.  Isn’t Sara breathtaking?

Sara and Scot, thank you, Thank You, THANK YOU for having a first-glance meeting!  Love it!

Scott looked so daggum cool in some of the best groom’s attire I’ve ever seen.

At the end of the ceremony…the new Mr and Mrs!

You guys knew this one was coming!  After we took this, Sara said she’d bet it makes it to the blog.  You are correct madame.

I really can’t properly explain the joy of photographing people who understand the beauty of non-traditional photos like these.  You guys completely rock my face off.

The only thing better than yummy autumn details are yummy, autumn, Halloween details!  I went a little insane over the Nightmare Before Christmas cake toppers.

Scott and Sara, I am beyond happy for you both!

To view a slideshow of more images from this delicious Halloween wedding, please click HERE

Recently, I got to shoot some headshots for the lovely and effervescent Sims.  Our first attempt was thwarted thanks to Mother Nature, but our second try more than made up for it.  What a gorgeous day!  I guess it’s true that good things come to those who wait.  Thanks to Sims, I also had the pleasure of meeting a new makeup artist named Kat Flynt.  We had some pre-shoot fun laughing and listening to music while Kat worked her magic.  She did a fabulous job making Sims’ pretty face picture-perfect.

I had such a great time chatting with Sims and snapping some pics.  Is it fair that my “work” seems more like socializing?  Probably not, but I’m in no hurry to change that.  I can’t help it if my clients are super easy to talk to!

Here are a few of the photos of this beautiful lady…

Sims is also a dancer, so we HAD to snap a few images of her graceful elegance……translation:  mad skillz!

What time is it?  It’s Sylvester family photo time!  I look forward to this day every year, and I’ve lost track of how many years we’ve taken pics.  I think this might be year 5!  It’s all a blur, because I can’t get over the shock that when I first met Karen, she was still pregnant with Ryan.  Am I that old?  Yes, yes I am.  So I’ve known this super-fabulous family for ages, and they are fun on wheels.  Sadly, every year when we meet for photos, it’s raining.  However, I know they will always be game for any crazy indoor ideas we come up with.  This year, we went old school photo booth style.  Yay!  I have some new props for my photo booths, and I had a feeling that the Sylvesters could handle mustaches like nobody’s business.

See why I love this family???

Nothing says Christmas like mustaches on a stick, but we tried to work in a few holiday themed shots anyway.

Bob has been traveling to Mexico on business, so he came up with this idea.  Yes, Bob…you are correct.

These next photos totally define the brother-sister relationship.

We called this next one “the prom picture”.  They have my vote for king and queen.

I definitely like pics when kids are smiling, but I also think this next shot shows just how gorgeous Ryan and Kirsten are.

You guys are the best!  Thanks for allowing our annual photo playtime tradition to continue!

It’s hard to believe that it has been about a year since I first met an absolutely exuberant Holli to take her maternity photos.  She was cute as a button and sweet as can be.  That hasn’t changed one bit, and now she has passed those traits on to her lovely little daughter Smith.  Oh my goodness, this tiny gal sure lights up a room.  Just like her momma.  I was so excited to spend some photo time with this incredible family, and to finally meet the amazing Miss Smith.

Here are a few photos we captured.  It was great to have Ian join us this time.  He was out of the country during maternity pics, but this time we had the whole, wonderful family.  Hooray!

I love these moments.  You know, the moments when it’s as if there’s no photographer.  As a photographer, you might think those would be my least favorite shots, but it’s quite the opposite.  In these instances, nothing makes me happier than being ignored!

It’s such a gorgeous time of the year, and we couldn’t pass up an opportunity to embrace it!

It’s such a thrill to see the unabashed enjoyment Holli gets from being a mommy to Smith.

Oh, that sweet face!  She is all about the climbing and crawling, so we just let her do her thing.  She’s so fast!

I fell in love with Mr. Sampson during our last shoot.  There is NO way we could do photos without including him.  He is Holli’s first baby.  Isn’t he adorable??

This nursery totally makes me wish I was a baby!  I am all about happy living spaces, and this one takes the cake.

Here’s our little superstar, looking on while mommy sings the A-B-Cs.

I am so thankful to have met a family as fabulous as the Eastons, and I couldn’t be more excited for them in their new adventures in parenting!

A couple weeks ago, I got one of those awesome phone calls.  A friend with a spontaneous plan for fun and general mayhem!  My pal Stacy had been wanting to visit the carnival while it was here.  So, we got in the car, and were on our way.  Oh boy…..OH BOY!!

I’m not exaggerating when I say the FIRST thing we did was get corndogs.

In the next pic, I challenge you to spot which is the corndog.  Hint, it’s wearing a scarf.

This was the most gigantic ferris wheel I’ve ever seen.  I think my fingertips are still piercing the seat.  Stacy is definitely more the daredevil between the two of us, and even SHE was freaking out!

The only thing creepier than a carny clown is an angry, insult-spewing redneck carny clown.

I played with a tilt shift process for some of these pics, and now I’m obsessed with it.

It makes everything look like it’s part of a small, 3-D model!

Stacy sneaks and Stacey sneaks.

We were laughing and screaming more than any adult should on this ride.  Ridiculously awesome!

Yeah, we totally got some.  I got a chunk of pumpkin fudge….holy delicious!

…and what’s wrong with being a jpeg???

Here’s Stacy being all adorable on a ride I was too chicken to participate in.  Hey…SOMEONE has to take the photos!!

At this point, the carnival was closing down, nearly empty, and I’m convinced….haunted!!!

Stacy, thanks so much for last-minute, crazy-incredible plans!  Woo hoo!