Carden Photography – Portrait and Wedding Photographer in Tullahoma, Tennessee

About a year ago I did a very fun shoot with Michael Maupins at the South Jackson Civic Center in Tullahoma. I shared this image at the time … but failed to share the best images of the shoot. Click on it to see all of our “shadow play.”

Definition of a Veteran:
A veteran – whether active duty, reserve, national guard or retired – is someone who, at one point in their life, wrote a blank check made payable to “The United States of America”, for an amount of “up to and including my life.” – That is Honor, and there are way too many people in this country who no longer understand it.

I believe this image was taken by SFC Nate Crawford, TN ARNG. I’m the one carrying the regimental colors.

Here’s a blooper from today’s senior portrait shoot near Estill Springs, Tennessee. The horse kept nibbling on Taylor’s hand… maybe looking for a treat?

The new football stadium at Tullahoma High School is undergoing last minute preparations for tomorrow’s opening. I was out there shooting a senior tonight and took this one before heading home.

One tiny hint for anyone planning to attend the game tomorrow night … or even anytime before the road is finished… wear your old shoes!

One of the really fun things about creating images on location is finding all sorts of really cool and different spots to shoot. Sometimes it’s obvious how to place and pose a subject in a certain spot. Sometimes it’s not. It’s not uncommon for me to jump in and demonstrate.

Recently I was shooting on a farm and wanted to use a great looking hay barn. So to demonstrate just how I was envisioning the image, I climbed up and took the pose. Amanda, my assistant for the day, took a shot.

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Then Rosalyn made it look good.

Today was the official ribbon cutting for The Celtic Cup at 106 North Anderson Street in Tullahoma. They’re almost open for business. One of the features will be an art wall… and Carden Photography will be the first featured artist! I’ll also have a permanent piece or two in there somewhere. 

Look whose article made the home page rotation at the Professional Photographer magazine web site.

“You look like you fell in love during your engagement session,” the bridesmaid told the bride. While it is certainly a statement about the photography, it is just as much an endorsement of my custom guestbook and an example of how this product helps set me apart as a wedding photographer.

Building a custom guestbook from the engagement session is apparently provided by very few photographers in this area.  Every bride I met last month at the Southern Middle Tennessee Bridal Fair was excited by them.

How big is this? My guestbooks and the process by which I create them is featured this month by Professional Photographer Magazine in the article, Custom Guestbooks Make an Indelible Impression. Thousands of photographers around the world will be reading about this part of my wedding coverage.

The brides who select me to capture their wedding will get the real thing. The brides who book me this month will receive a $250 discount on their custom guestbook.

Keeping with the snow theme… and being thankful that we are no longer suffering the winters of Wisconsin… here’s a shot in our back yard from three years ago.

A couple of years ago a friend told me the story of his brother gathering their whole family for a portrait, including his two brothers, grandparents and all of the grandkids. Everyone was excited as they gathered at this brother’s home… that is until it was announced they were heading to one of those big department stores in the mall. They knew they were in trouble when the kid running the place had to open up a three-ring binder to read how to pose that many people. Well they all got shoved together in the tiny room and everyone could see the camera… but the camera couldn’t really see everyone.

Welcome to the land of snapshot chain photography.

Because of copyright laws, I can’t show that image, but this friend tells me no one in his family ever displayed the photo in their homes.

What I can show you is an image I had the priviledge of taking for a family gathered to celebrate a 50th anniversary.

I invite you to show the world that you won’t settle for mediocre photography any longer!!! SAY NO TO CHAIN STUDIOS! SAY NO TO LIFELESS PHOTOGRAPHY! SAY YES TO TRUSTING YOUR MEMORIES ONLY TO REAL LIFE PHOTOGRAPHERS!