It’s that time of year again, and The Nashville Photography Class with Whitney Carlson is now enrolling!  We have three different classes available with more to be announced very soon. We currently have space available for our Camera Basics Class, the course in Lighting & Posing, and a new class taught by Peter called Business Essentials…but remember, seating in our classes are kept at a minimum for the best experience possible so sign up today!

CAMERA BASICS
This first course will include an interactive lesson on the basics of digital photography. You will learn the principles behind adjusting your camera’s ISO, shutter, and aperture and how to apply them.  By the end of the day, you will have the ability to confidently use your camera’s manual settings.

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP & LEARN MORE

LIGHTING & POSING
The 2′nd course spans 1.5 days and is designed to help you better understand working with natural light and composition. The second day will involve a photo shoot with both a model as well as a couple. Learn to instruct and pose while keeping your subjects comfortable and looking natural. Photo critiques will follow the session.

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP & LEARN MORE

BUSINESS ESSENTIALS
Why spend years researching, experimenting, and making mistakes at your new business? Turn your dream into a reality as quickly as possible! Peter Carlson will give you the tools you need to launch your photography business.

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP & LEARN MORE

To learn more about The Nashville Photography Class:

http://nashvillephotographyclass.com/
http://nashvillephotographyclass.com/blog
http://facebook.com/NashvillePhotographyClass

Wow! is the only word that comes to mind when I look back at 2011. Last year was filled with so many life changing experiences. Peter and I traveled to New York City, Paris, and Provence for a family vacation.  Peter was finally able to see U2 live in concert here in Nashville, and of course we had the greatest surprise of our lives when we found out The Carlson family was getting larger! The craziest part was that all of this happened within two fast and furious months. What about the rest of the year? It was pretty amazing, filled with traveling, visiting family, working on business ideas, and of course shooting weddings. Of course it wasn’t all about us, I can’t help but think about the great changes that took place in our clients lives as well. My favorite part of photographing weddings is being able observe and document all the beautiful things that go on at a wedding. Every moment, no matter how small has the potential to become a memory that they will cherish for the rest of their lives. In honor of these moments I want to share with you some of my favorite moments from our weddings in 2011. They are more than photographs, they are moments in
time, captured on a day that will never be forgotten by each of these lovely people, moments that were part of a life changing event that we were so honored to witness.

Who can resist this image of Margaret stopping on her way down the aisle to give a kiss to her grandfather. It is easy to forget that weddings are not just about a bride and groom, but about families joining together.

Prayer is such an intimate thing, we love this sweet moment with Liz and her bridesmaids captured just before she walked down the isle.

This image of Rachel and her dad is so fun… they both got the giggles just before going down the aisle and they could hardly contain themselves!

I love it! A future wedding photographer at Kelly & Rick’s wedding, she is so adorable! I may have some competition…

Nothing makes me cry more than seeing a ceremony bring more than a husband and a wife together, but a whole family. After giving Brooke’s little girl a necklace, Jamie read vows to Madison promising to not only care for her mother but for her as well. I don’t think there was a dry eye at the ceremony.

Sometimes things don’t go as planned. While Holly & Will were coming back from taking photos by the lake at Cedarwood, their golf cart ran out of gas. With Peter at the wheel, they got a push start and made it down the hill, with everyone still laughing and having a good time!

This is Julie waiting to go down the aisle at Scarritt Bennett here in Nashville, hidden just by the door of the bathroom- I love the interaction and anticipation as Julie and her dad wait!

Often I am far away when I’m photographing certain moments. Like a fly on the wall, I don’t always know what is going on between the subjects I’m shooting. It makes me smile when I try to imagine what these two little flower girls at Lindsay’s wedding were talking about.

Kathryn & John’s Athens, Georgia wedding takes the cake for making an amazing moment from something that could have been a disaster. Not only did it rain, but it hailed and completely soaked the tent and the DJ’s equipment! With the entertainment wiped out, their
friends took over the position making ropes out of napkins and jump roping on the flooded dance floor. No one in attendance will ever forget this wedding!

I may witness it a lot, but there is nothing I delight in more at a reception than the father/daughter dance. I love the look on Sara’s dad’s face as he thinks about his little girl getting married.

There were so many amazing moments that we were thrilled to capture in 2011 and we know that this year is going to be filled with even more. A big “Thank You!” to all of our clients for allowing us to be a part of your lives and for sharing this very important day!

Every year I make a video with my youth group for the annual Christmas program at our church, The Village Chapel. This year’s video is a continuation of sorts from last year’s video. If you have not watched last year’s, you may want to take a look at that first to catch a few “inside jokes” in this year’s.

I hope you enjoy and have a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

I hope everyone is having a great holiday season so far!  I recently had the opportunity to write an article on team building for the Pictage powered photographer’s blog The Photo Life.  As a photographer business can sometimes become overwhelming and it’s easy to feel alone, and if this is the case you most definitely need to consider different ways to grow your team.  If your team grows so will your business, and you’ll alleviate some stress in the process.  If you want to learn more about expanding your team and where to look for help this article will help.

CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE

It’s that time of year again people…the Nashville Photography Class is now enrolling! 2012 is going to be an amazing year for the The Nashville Photography Class, and they’re offering more unique and focused classes than ever before. They will be offering a class in Camera Basics, Lighting & Posing, as well as a class in Lightroom. These photography classes are headed by our own Whitney Carlson, who not only is an accomplished wedding photographer but also a skilled educator.

The Nashville Photography Class will also offer a class in Business Essentials, perfect for those photographers that want to make their hobby a lucrative and fulfilling career! Owner of Dove Wedding Photography, Peter Carlson will lead the class and cover topics ranging from branding and marketing to pricing and budgeting.

If you’re looking to learn how to use your digital camera, work with natural light and posing subjects, or you’re ready to take the next step and make your passion a career The Nashville Photography Class has a seat for you! They also make an excellent gift for that friend or loved one with a an interest in photography.

Current Class Schedule:

CAMERA BASICS – JAN 14
LIGHTING & POSING – JAN 21/22
LIGHTROOM – JAN 31
BUSINESS ESSENTIALS – FEB 4

To get more information on the Nashville Photography Class, or to sign up and reserve your seat today please visit The Nashville Photography Class website or contact directly. Seats are limited so sign up immediately!

www.NashvillePhotographyClass.com
info@thenashvillephotographyclass.com
615-730-7716

Julie & Nick’s Cannery Ballroom Wedding Reception from Peter Carlson on Vimeo.

Whenever we photograph a wedding with Nashville wedding planner Angela Proffitt, we know we are in for an amazing evening of wedding details crated by Nashville’s finest vendors. Julie & Nick had an amazing looking wedding reception at Cannery Ballroom. I started my day out early by setting up a time-lapse camera to capture the intense set up. If you look carefully you will see the many spectators who came in throughout the day to see the room getting transformed.

Elegant Weddings by Angela
The Cannery Ballroom
Music City Tents and Events
Nashville Event Lighting
Chefs Market
Village of Flowers
FABU
Front Porch Props

Our little guy had his first photo taken today! It was not taken by Whitney or myself, but there will be plenty time for that. Although we are not ready to announce a name at this time, you can rest calmly to know his name will not be Luke, Anakin, or Obi Wan. (Jenn & Marcus dePaula suggested Obadiah Juan).

It was pretty exciting to watch the little guy lift up his arm and rub his face. Parenthood feels far more real now and we are super excited. We can’t wait for the many adventures this little one will take us on!

From the moment we met Adrienne & Erik we knew we would be friends. For one thing, Adrienne was wearing a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle sweatshirt, and for another they were planning on having light sabers as part of their wedding. We couldn’t resist them! Their wedding was the day before Halloween last year, and I wanted to wait to share them for this Halloween!

What I love about this wedding is that they made it exactly what they wanted… each part of it reflected who they are without trying to make it fit something that wasn’t them. There were aspects of Halloween throughout the wedding, but it also had an elegant, retro feel to it that was fun and beautiful.

Adrienne had always wanted to married in a church, but when she found out about Cedarwood‘s outdoor Cathedral, she knew it was just what she was looking for.

When we arrived at Cedarwood, we saw Erik’s amazing grooms cake… the Ectomobile from the Ghostbusters! Right away I knew we had to bring something for them while we were photographing them. We sent our assistant (thanks Joel!) home to pick up props that we had made from our costumes the year before… Proton Packs! Yep, Peter and I have handmade Proton Packs. Adrienne and Erik were stellar modeling them for the camera. And who can resist their entrance with Lightsaber’s?

The ladies makeup was done by the fabulous girls at Harlow Salon.

Here are some of my favorite details from the day made by the wonderful Cedarwood team. I love how they customize everything for their clients and make truly unique weddings for them!

Adrienne & Erik have an amazing story that is written about so well on Cedarwood’s blog. There are also more fun photos from their day on here. Be sure to read about them in Part 1 and Part 2 of Cedarwood’s blog.

If you have never been out to Arrington Vineyards, then you are definitely missing out! This local Nashville area vineyard, as well as the drive to it, is fabulous! It’s Tennessee at it’s best. I was asked to create some creative photographs for a new magazine called Cork it! and had the best time. You can view the entire magazine online HERE.  It was great just to visit the vineyard and have a chance to be creative. The following are a few of my favorites photographs.

We recently had the privilege of photographing Sam’s Bar Mitzvah! Several years ago we were able to photograph Sarah’s Bat Mitzvah and you can see a slideshow of her Bat Mitzvah album here.  A Bar or Bat Mitzvah is Jewish celebration of a child’s turning 13 which is when they become responsible for their actions. You can find out more information about the ceremony and celebration here on the Wikipedia page.

We arrived at Sam’s celebration after the ceremony and were there to capture his party! Sam’s family and friends were there to help them celebrate, and boy did they have fun.


Angela Proffitt was the coordinator for the Bar Mitzvah, and the Noah Liff Opera Center was the perfect backdrop. Nashville Event Lighting made it perfect! Part of the center was sectioned off for the adults to have a laid-back, quite, evening, while the main area was decked out for the kids to celebrate.


Contagious Entertainment came from Atlanta to help the kids get on the dance floor and have a blast. Since Sam plays basketball, the theme was suited just for him. It’s surprising to find that Middle school dances haven’t changed that much since I was his age


I love the image of all the shoes lined up…. it about sums up the night!