Rachel Leigh Photography

My trip to Sedalia! :D {sedalia, mo, engagement and portrait photographer}

noreply@blogger.com (Rachel Leigh Greene) — Mon, 04 Jun 2012 14:31:00 +0000

Sedalia has become of my favorite places (remember I went there last year?) because of the awesome people that live there :).

I arrived in Sedalia, MO seventeen days ago for James and Bethany's wedding weekend :D. My dear dear friend Amanda and I stayed at the fairy tale like home of Mrs. Betty Green. Amanda and I were freaking out at the beauty of her land and the enchanting old timeyness of her house. We kept looking at each other behind Mrs. Betty's back and Amanda would say "It's like a fairytale!!" Me: "I KNOW!"

Here's her sweet fluffy dog Bernie who followed me around as I explored her yard :).

Clematis is really popular up here :).

Soooo lovely.

This is called "The Princess Room"; we stayed in here :D.

And this is her 18 year old cat Crystal. Besides the fact that she needed a hair cut, I liked her :D. She has such intense eyes!

Here's Amanda and I at the wedding :D.

After the wedding, Deann (Amanda's aunt and life long friend of mine/practically family; she babysat us when we were little :) ) asked if I'd take a family picture of them since they were all dressed up :). I love these people :D.

After that, I looked around and saw some friends of mine off by a building taking pictures of each other So I walked over and joined in :).

Here are two of them: Angela Rages and Angela Leiter :D.

Angela Leiter's brother, Tony, jumped in. Haha :D. They're so cool ;).

And then there was Regan Noe :D. She was the one taking pictures when I walked up :). So pretty, y'all!

Angela and Tony have one of the sweetest brother-sister relationships; they're great :D.

Nice. Haha :D.

The three roommates wanted a picture together (Elizabeth Blum is the one on the right). Aren't they GORGEOUS?! Man...I love them :D.

Check out what flew over us?! It kinda blows my mind how something shaped like that can fly.

Angela wanted a picture with her dad. Bro. Clint (one of the elders in their church) is such a sweet man :).

After the wedding, I had to run by the girls's house to transfer my pictures from the wedding to Dan Sem's computer (the Sems stayed there). Elizabeth used to nanny for their kids when Dan was over seas, so she has a special bond with their kids :D.

Then! Amanda and I headed over to Chris and Angela Rages's house for a cook out!

The helpful ladies: Angela, Mrs. Kari McNew, Melissa Yakes, and Angela :D.

Some of the dudes: Stephen Gates (awesome musician man #1), Mr. Seth McNew, Scott Kapshandy (awesome musician man #2), and Chris Rages.

They have such a pretty backyard :D.

I love how Melissa (oh! She's an awesome musician too!) can rock the blue pants :D.

Hey there, Mrs. Skinner. Hehe :D. Love you, Jamie ;).

Amanda lookin' all dreamy :).

Cora McNew :).

The party ended up being bigger than any of us expected; it was great :D.

The lettuce we put on our burgers came from the Rages's garden!! So cool :D.

Canadian geese! :D.

Chris and Angela were babysitting her sister's two baby pheasants!!

Soooo cute!

And this is Alice McNew :). Yes, I know, her hair is wonderful :D.

Sisters :).

Cora was assigned to swat flies away from the burgers :).

The adorable hostess :D.

Sitting on a blanket on the grass is quite lovely :).

:D

Stephen providing music :).

My beautiful, delicious, and colorful meal :D.

My punch drink was pretty good too :).

The next day after church, we went and played volleyball in the park :). But BOY did the sand HURT! It was actually dirt like sand with little rocks in it. Our feet were very exfoliated and raw afterwards :P. But we had fun anyway :D. Let me introduce them :). Standing (left to right): Dan Hargrave, Tony, Elizabeth, Evan Jennings, and Jesse Ogalsbee. Sitting (left to right): Luke Hargrave, Regan, Angela, and Isaiah Lebron.

There I am in the brown shirt (my "Sedalia Fire Cracker Mile" shirt in fact :D. Thanks again, Abby! It's a favorite :D).

Then we all headed back to the girls's house for pizza and hanging out :). The guys were true gentlemen and graciously paid for the meal :).

Their neighbors let us sit on their patio furniture :).

The neighbors behind them planting tomatoes; sooo precious!

Tony surrounded by flowers. Haha :D.

Hehe :D.

Our food!

Oh! And the fun Rebekah Gates arrived shortly afterwards :D. This is her after somersaulting :D.

Here she is playing the guitar :D.

Then the spontaneous fun began. It was great!! :D.

Yeah, it was awesome :D.

Abby came over too :D.

I joined in on the fun too :D.

Abby and I won, by the way :D.

The trio :D.

It's on. Haha :D.

Whoosh!

Then after calming down and drinking some root beer floats, we settled down in the living room :).

Then we unsettled ourselves and played "Spoons." Haha :D.

Hey thar! Hehe :).

Then we played "Taboo" :D.

Elizabeth making the most of her time when she didn't have to guess ;).

Rebekah, your face is priceless :D.

The next morning, Regan and Elizabeth climbed on top of sleeping Rebekah. Haha, these girls are close :).

Rebekah had to go home to Kirksville and a little later Elizabeth did the same to go visit her family there. And Angela was at work, so Regan and I hung out :D. She made us a delicious dinner! We had fun :D.

The next day, I had lunch with the incredibly sweet Angela Schultz and her mom (who I had never met before!).

I love her :D.

Then I got to spend some time with the Leiters! (mainly Mrs. Jenny :D). We made a trip to Baskin Robbins :D. My churned peach cobbler ice cream was the bomb!

Then Mrs. Jenny and I went to the Highway gardens (where I took Abby's senior pictures!) to just talk. It was really good :).

Then we headed back to their house to get ready for dinner! :).

Angela came over too; we had a really nice time :).

The next day I went to the Hargraves's house. While I was there, Mrs Betty came by to bring something Amanda left at her house (Amanda went home after church Sunday). I'm so glad I got to get a picture with her :D. Our time with her the weekend before was so precious :).

Back in the house, we just had a nice time talking :). Regan came by to get her hair trimmed and ended up staying :).

I like this one :D.

Luke, you're so awesome :D.

Then I had lunch in the park with my dear sweet Evangeline Jennings! I'm so thankful for the time we had :D. I love you so much, friend!

We also ran to Dairy Queen and got blizzards :D.

Thank you, Lord for such sweet times :D.

There was one more day of my trip, but it's an extra special one with extra special pictures (portraits of Angela and Regan!!), so I'm saving that for Thursday :D. Get excited!

With a smile,
{ Rachel Leigh }

James and Bethany: wedding! :D {missouri state fairgrounds, sedalia, mo wedding photographer}

noreply@blogger.com (Rachel Leigh Greene) — Thu, 24 May 2012 14:05:00 +0000

Two more friends have gotten married: James and Bethany :D.

Bethany Jennings is now...Bethany Jennings! Haha. That doesn't happen very often :D. Dan Sem was the main photographer and he asked me to second shoot for him :). It was so fun being a part of the day :D.

The crazy-awesome Rebekah Gates did the hair :D. This is her doing Evangeline's (Bethany's younger sister and maid of honor :) ). Evangeline is so wonderful :D.

And here's Bethany! She is such a sweetheart and just so adorable :).

Bethany's mom, Mrs. Terri, chatting with Bethany's good friend Jamie whose last name is now Skinner!! (as of a few weeks ago :D ).

See how precious she is?! :D

Bethany was so calm and easy-going :).

And her dress was sooo beautiful!!

and MODEST!! We were all in awe. Haha :D.

I love these sisters so much :D.

Bethany has the cutest laugh :D.

Sooo happy!! :D

Lovely.

Siblings asking questions. Hehe :D. (Yeah, the guy on the right is one of Bethany's younger brothers, Zachary. He's great :D ).

This picture makes me happy :D.

Bethany's dad, Bro. Bob, came to see Bethany before the ceremony :).

Guests arriving :D.

Mrs. Terri and Bethany's older brother Jared :).

James's parents :).

Bethany's youngest brother, Evan (who's great too :D ), and Evangeline :).

And here's happy happy James!! Yay :D.

Bro. Charles Leiter officiated :).

I loved that James spoke as well! It was so good :).

Bro. Bob spoke too :).

Bro. Wes and Mrs. Jill Belling sang a really sweet song he wrote for Mrs. Jill a long time ago :).

Bro. Tim Conway was the main speaker.

:D

And this is James's best man: David Luciano :).

So thankful for the Lord allowing Bro. Bob to attend :'). (For those who don't know, Bro. Bob has had pancreatic cancer for almost 2 years now. I would encourage you to read his journal about life since then; his life is an incredible testimony to God's grace.)

Hehe :D.

Hooray! They're married!! :D.

That rooms was filled with some happy people :D (including myself :D).

People watching us outside as Dan took family pictures :D.

Bethany's family :D.

Bethany's nephew Ramond. Hehe :D.

James's family :D.

Wedding party :D.

Seestars :D.

They both looked so lovely.

Reception time! :D.

Decorating the car :).

They did what they could with the meager supplies they found. Lol :D.

Heading out!

They were so happy :D.

Praise the Lord for what He has done :).

With a smile,
{ Rachel Leigh }

Daniel and Emily: wedding!!! :D :D {ashelynn manor, magnolia, tx wedding photographer}

noreply@blogger.com (Rachel Leigh Greene) — Thu, 17 May 2012 12:12:00 +0000

Yaaaaaay!! :D

My brother is now married and I now have a sister in law :) :).

The happy happy, fun day was last Saturday, May 12.

Their wedding was held at the beautiful Ashelynn Manor in Magnolia, TX.

Their wedding was at 10:00, so we all had to get up early and get there for pictures. Here's Mom and Jay (brother and groomsman #2) :D.

Jeremy Gilliam of Jeremy Gilliam Photography was the photographer. We talked about photography at the rehearsal and he was so nice and encouraging! He also pretty much let me second shoot whenever I wanted. I'm very thankful :D.

Papa and Dad lookin' sharp :D. (Papa is Mom's dad).

Then of course Allix B. and I had to get a friend shot :D.

Yay for my two happy, beautiful best friends!! Amanda, Allix, I love y'all :).

My beautiful mother being ushered by our dear friend who's pretty much family, Brad Rychlik :D.

My handsome dad :).

Corbin Skinner (Emily's cousin) and Emily's mom Shana :).

Daniel was SOOO excited!! It's was wonderful :D.

Josiah Graves and Dani Havard.

Paul Connell and Karen Brown.

Adam Magstadt and Rachel Dearinger.

Jay Greene and Lauren Christian.

Jay making sure his hands are right. Hehe :D.

David Ruga and Hannah McConnell.

All of the groomsmen fist pounded Daniel as they walked by :D.

Cute little Emma :D.

Look how excited he is!! I'm tellin' ya, it was such a happy day :D.

Here she comes looking beautiful :) :).

I didn't take pictures during the ceremony (since I wasn't official or anything and didn't want to distract since I was right up front), so here they are MARRIED!! :D :D.

I loved how they did a color spectrum :D. (Look at Emily laughing, by the way. Hehe :D ).

Good looking wedding party :D.

And a happy one too :D.

Hey, Brad. Haha :D.

The reception was beautiful!!

Havin' fun in the food line :D.

Grand entrance! :D

I know I already said this, but I love these girls so much.

Love these two too. Haha :D.

Yaaaaay!! Man, they looked good :D.

Snapped this of Josiah in the food line. Lol :).

The other brother and I :D.

Singing to him. Hehe :).

Sooo sweet.

Their joy brings a smile to everyone's face :D.

Way to go, Daniel!! Haha :D.

Emily and her dad look so cute :D.

Then the dancing began :D. And so many of their friends and family are REALLY good dancers! Mainly in the swing dancing area. It was SOO fun to watch :D :D.

After we girls tried for the bouquet (which I didn't catch. lol), the guys tried for the garter (which was NEVER on Emily's leg!! I was so happy how Daniel did it. He kind of grabbed her ankle, retracted his hand, made a deep thinking face, then a light bulb came on, and he found the garter in her veil!! He made it look like a magic trick and I loved it :D. No awkwardness).

David Wiens thoroughly enjoyed his victory. Haha :D.

More dancing :D.

I LOVE this photo!! It has a magazine feel :D.

Papa and Mamie :D.

Then Daniel's old college floor (the 41rs) came out and went crazy!! It was so fun :D. Especially to this classic techno song.

Corbin joined in too. Lol.

Yaaay for this shot!

Time to go!

:D :D

My dear brother Daniel, I praise the Lord for what He has given you :) :). I love you!!!

With a smile...a really BIG one,
{ Rachel Leigh }

Daniel and Emily: wedding sneak peek!!! {ashelynn manor, magnolia, tx wedding photographer}

noreply@blogger.com (Rachel Leigh Greene) — Mon, 14 May 2012 11:54:00 +0000

Ok, I don't normally do sneak peeks, but being my brother's wedding, I just HAD to share ONE sweet shot I captured :D :D.

Can not WAIT to share them ALL with y'all!! :D

With a smile,

{ Rachel Leigh }

10 on 10 project. Accidents can be beautiful...{mt. pleasant, tx engagement and portrait photographer}

noreply@blogger.com (Rachel Leigh Greene) — Thu, 10 May 2012 14:00:00 +0000

...because they're not accidents in the first place :). (we'll get back to that at the very end ;) ).

Y'all are probably wondering "What is this 10 on 10 project?" Well, the wonderful Hannah Nicole asked some of her photographer friends and I if we'd be interested in starting one. What it is is we're going to document a day in 10 pictures and post them on the 10th of each month! A not-too-stressful picture project :). So, here we go! :)

Mine for this month ended up just being a documentation of my morning yesterday.

The invigorating morning sunlight pouring into the kitchen :).

All of of our wedding invitations on display above the sink :). That first colorful invitation reminds me...MY BROTHER IS GETTING MARRIED THIS SATURDAY! :D :D.

When I woke up that morning and checked my phone, I had a text from Dad...

"When you get up will you bring me my glasses I left them I think on my dresser."

So, I postponed breakfast to drive up to Dad's office and bring him his glasses :).

Had to capture what the light was doing before I jumped into the car :).

While I was driving, this beautiful song came on. I was very thankful it was still playing when I was at the stop sign so I could take a picture of it on the radio :D.

When I got there, Dad was hard at work :). (He's a dentist, by the way, in case y'all forgot ;) ).

I'm so thankful for Dad. He works so diligently to provide for us and rarely complains. He's so steady and wise :). Praise the Lord for the grace He's given him and for Him giving him to us :). I love you, Dad!

This is me in the parking lot. Haha. Just pretend I'm actually going 50 miles an hour on the road ;).

Our beautiful yard :). Mom keeps it up so well.

Ok, now the "accident" :). Did any of you photographers notice anything a little different about these pictures? While I was editing these pictures in Lightroom, I noticed something. It turns out I took ALL of these pictures with the ISO at 1,250!! So, THAT'S why I was having trouble with pictures being waaaay too bright! LOL! Because of that, I could not take a picture of the fire truck in the "Brookshire's" parking lot :( (I made a quick grocery stop on the way home). BUT! The Lord was good and actually let these pictures turn out okay :D. And like I said, it wasn't an accident in the first place; God planned that before the foundations of the world!! Wow. I am so thankful that He is in complete and righteous control. And...

"...we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose."-Romans 8:28

The good in this situation is this: God taught me that even though these pictures turned out okay, I need to pay more attention to what I'm doing. I won't always be blessed in spite of my doing things mindlessly and assuming everything will be fine (something I do far too often). Now, I didn't actually take these pictures mindlessly (I just assumed the ISO was at 200), but it reminded me of bigger situations where I am acting mindlessly. God works in mysterious ways :).

NOW for an exciting weekend of dear friends coming to town and MY BROTHER'S WEDDING!!

Here we go :D.

With a smile,

{ Rachel Leigh }

P.S. And hey! Check out Kiley's 10 on 10 project!

"Far, far better things..." {mt. pleasant, tx engagement and portrait photographer}

noreply@blogger.com (Rachel Leigh Greene) — Mon, 07 May 2012 12:14:00 +0000

Yes, folks, I have upgraded :D :D.

I am now the happy owner of a Nikon D700 AND a 50mm 1.4. Having a full frame camera+the beautiful softness of 1.4=an incredible combination :D.
After taking just one picture with my new camera, I was ecstatic. I kept explaining to any family member near by how incredible is was. Haha :D. So, here are the first pictures taken I've taken with it! :D.

This is my cat Tiger :). Dad and Mom let me adopt him from the pound when I was 8 years old :D.
(I actually wanted to name him "Henry", but my brothers, Jay and Daniel, wouldn't have that. lol).

He's become very relaxed and sweet in his old age ;).

The Hydrangeas are blooming!

And it's about time to start swimming :).

Buddy chillin' :).

I'm a happy girl :D.

Yes, this is kind of a random break in the pretty nature pictures, but I'm a very random person. Hehe :D.
AXE now has a scent for GIRLS! Yes, it smells fine, but I mainly got it in honor of it's fantastic smelling brothers. Haha. Now I can say I wear AXE! :D

Looking so noble on top of my laundry pile :).

I was hot and sweaty from all that runnin' around the yard and taking pictures :D.

But then the evening light called me out for more :).

Junior looking glorious.

Umbrella reflection :).

Precious child

(I call her that all the time. I also call Tiger "son". Haha).

Oh, these colors. Love this.

First day to wear my new jeans from "LOFT". Looove them :).

"There are far, far better things ahead than any we leave behind."-C.S. Lewis

Looking forward to the things God has prepared for me because I know His will is perfect and the best way that I never could've imagined. Praise the Lord :).

With a smile,
{ Rachel Leigh }

It's not too late! {mt. pleasant, tx senior portrait photographer}

noreply@blogger.com (Rachel Leigh Greene) — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 16:00:00 +0000

Still haven't gotten your senior pictures taken? It's not too late!

Just call

903-575-8195

or e-mail me at

rachelleighphoto@gmail.com

and we can get it done! :D

With a smile,

{ Rachel Leigh }

Ian Samuel: portraits {camp copass, denton, tx child photographer}

noreply@blogger.com (Rachel Leigh Greene) — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 14:29:00 +0000

While I was at the Fellowship Conference, Leah Turner sweetly asked if I could take some portraits of her little boy Ian. And so I did :D.

I had never interacted with him before, so mommy was there to make him smile :D.

I'm glad Leah is in most of the pictures; it makes them extra special :).

And I loved that he had his "Mickey" with him :D.

He didn't want to leave the water. Destined to be a sailor, I guess ;).

Oh! Ian's birthday is this Saturday! He'll be 2 :D.

Longing for the water again. See how he's pointing at it? Hehe :).

Playin' with mommy :D.

Happy :D.

Annnnnd my favorite!! Love :D.

I really enjoyed having a little bit of time with you, Leah! Hopefully I will be able to come visit y'all in Hannibal, MO someday and you can show me all of those pretty places you were telling me about :D.

With a smile,

{ Rachel Leigh }

Fellowship Conference 2012 :D {camp copass, denton, tx engagement and portrait photographer}

noreply@blogger.com (Rachel Leigh Greene) — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 13:57:00 +0000

Two weekends ago I attended the third annual Fellowship Conference :D :D. (remember last year's?)

What a BLESSING it was!!

The sermons were all excellent (here's one of them: one of the best sermons on the local church I've ever heard!) and the Lord blessed me with almost equal fellowship with old friends and new ones (something I had prayed for); it was wonderful :) :).

And the weather was beauuuutiful. God took away the tornadoes right before the conference! Praise the Lord!

I was able to stay in the girl's' dorm just like last year. And also like last year, I sat on the back porch to have my time with the Lord.

Every morning there were at least 3 ladybugs by my feet :).

The view is breathtaking...and that tent was Zack and Evan Jennings' little house for the weekend :).

Camp Copass is just the perfect place for a conference :).

Joy Lancaster had her devotion time on the back porch too :).

These are some of the coolest girls you'll ever meet (and super sweet!): Angela Leiter and Abby Hargrave (Y'all remember her, right? And y'all've seen Angela before when I went to Sedalia, MO)

Elizabeth Blum (another girl y'all should remember!) hiding her beautiful face. Lol. She's such a cutie :).

These lovely little flowers were scattered everywhere, so Abby tucked some into her hair :).

Soooo pretty, Angela!

And these are my friends Lara Summers, Abby of course ;), Charity Conway, and Savannah Moore (from my church!). We had a great time together :D.

Abby and I switched :D.

We laughed so much :D.

Hahaha

A merry group of friends :D. But we had some very profitable spiritual conversations too :). So thankful for these girls!

The guys having fun :D.

David Kelly and his littlest child Allison! :D. (They're pretty much family to us :) ).

David Leiter (the guy on the right) brought the board game "Pente: the classic game of skill" and Zack played with him :). I observed for a while and realized it was waaaay too strategic for me; I'm not that intelligent. Lol. But I enjoyed talking with them as they played :).

Then we played volleyball!!! Yay :D. That's me in the long navy blue shirt and khaki capris :)

The audience ;).

Lots of fellowship :).

More "Pente". Hehe :).

Here's Bro. Ray Hargrave, Bro. Jim Kelly, Bro. Russel Noe, Mrs. Rhonda Noe, Mrs. Kelly Hargrave, and Mom :D. I really like these people :). And when I call the men "Brother", I'm not saying they're preachers. In fact, none of these men are. I just call most adult Christian men "Brother [name here]" :).

Evangeline Jennings! :D

And her older sister Bethany :D WHO is about to be MARRIED on May 19!! :D. The funny thing is, her fiance is James Jennings (whose testimony is very encouraging!)...they have the same last name!!

Anyway, these sisters are some of the sweetest girls I know :) :).

Allix B. and her family were able to come for Friday evening!! Which meant that Allix and Abby FINALLY got to meet each other in person (they've been wanting to for a while :) ). Yeah, they hit it off :).

Here's Joseph Bridges, Dad :), and Bro. Mike Cleary.

After dinner, some of us girls walked down to the water to take some pictures :).

Here's those flowers!

The sun was bright. Haha :D.

I wanted a picture with each of them :).

They had hay bales by the water to sit on...and grass is growing out of them. Haha :D.

Buds :).

There were LOTS of children at the conference :D. This is Josiah Woodruff :).

Having a good time in the lunch line :D.

Zack, Jase Ely, and Tony Leiter: happy sons of God :D.

Here is Jase explaining to me why his camera is awesome. Hahaha :D.

When Abby saw this little girl, she told me "I've been wanting to her that little girl all day!" So she went over...

And got her. Hehe :D.

"Pente" once again. Lol. These guys get into it!

Now you can see Elizabeth's pretty face along with Abby's :). Someone asked if they were sisters :). No, but they're sisters in Christ :D.

I never had a biological sister, but God has abundantly blessed me with soooo many spiritual sisters!! (including these two especially :) ). I'm undeserving and overwhelmed. Praise the Lord for His grace :) :).

And here's Regan Noe looking so pretty and happy :D.

We walked down the the water again because Regan wanted some friend pictures with Abby :).

Loooove this one!! Beautiful :D.

Hooray for hair blowing, happy, laughing pictures :D.

Love these two :D.

Since they're both photographers, then needed a picture with their cameras :).

Nathan Leiter, Colin Skinner, Jase, Tony, Michael Ford (another very encouraging testimony!), Seth Lancaster, my little buddy Luke Hargrave, and David: these guys are great :D.

More volleyball!

I accidentally focused on the pole, but love how it turned out! Rather artsy ;D.

I found a polar bear on the cap to my tea :).

Angela found a baby to hold :D. She told me when she holds a baby, they usually start screaming. But this little girl ended up sleeping sweetly in her arms :).

Fellow breakfast eaters at my table Sunday morning :) :Luke, David, Trevor Ruby...

...Joy, Trine Rasmussen (from Denmark!! It was so neat meeting her :D ), and Hannah Lebron :).

Sunday was the only day we had rain. It was pretty exciting and fun. Haha :D. Everyone running from building to building trying to get their things together. This is the adorable Rachel Vann running her to kids, Charlie and Bethan, to their van. Hehe :D.

And her husband Mason ran to greet them :D (SUCH a sweet family; they really make you feel loved :) ).

(Sigh) The Lord is good :).

Have a lovely day, y'all!

With a smile,

{ Rachel Leigh }

Lush and lovely spring with the saints :) {elmendorf, tx engagement and portrait photographer}

noreply@blogger.com (Rachel Leigh Greene) — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 14:01:00 +0000

Hey, y'all :).

Two weekends ago, my parents and I traveled down to Elmendorf, Texas (it's just south of San Antonio :) ) because Dad was asked to preach in the Community Baptist Church Spring Conference. It was a blessed time :). It's so wonderful to fellowship with more of my spiritual family; I love them so much :).

The church housed us in their guest house a little bit behind the church building, so we had the opportunity to walk to the meetings and enjoy the beauty of their unusually lush and lovely spring! :D.

Some of the church members live back there too. This is Tigger: our dear old friends the Willettes' cat :).

And this is their pretty front porch :).

There's my parents! :).

Tractor in the distance :).

For some reason, I really like this picture; I guess it's the raw natural San Antonio beauty :)...I mean Elmendorf. Same area ;).

Here's Bro. Tom Henry, Dad, Bro. Dean Olive, and Bro. Tom's brother (Joe?). Happy men of God :D.

We're laughing in this picture because my friend who was taking the picture was laughing. We found out afterwards it was because Bro. Don Johnson was holding his prop from his sermon behind our heads: a jar of ashes. We will never forget his sermon now. Hehe :D.

There we go :D. These are my chicas: Joanna Ortega, Hannah Latham (who's actually Filipino. lol), and Pearl Ortega. I wish our time hadn't been so short!! But at least we got to see each other :). Love y'all!

I hope y'all have a beautiful day full of the realization of God's blessings :). I know I am blessed beyond comprehension; praise God :).

With a smile,

{ Rachel Leigh }

Allix B.: portraits :D {bogata, tx portrait photographer}

noreply@blogger.com (Rachel Leigh Greene) — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 14:03:00 +0000

Allix Ryan Brunson

Age: 16 (going on 17)

Occupation: daughter, student, photographer, and awesome friend :).

Y'all know her better as Allix B. :D.

And y'all should know her by now; she's made many appearances on this blog of mine :).

So, anyways, she's been wanting some new portraits done for her photography business (because she's changed a lot since last year!). We had a great time (because she's great ;) ).

And of course she looked beautiful :D.

Happy happy :D.

Yeah, she rocks. Haha.

"Hush, my flowers." Hehe :)

She's a cutie :D.

Instead of playing with her hair, she is playing her hair...like an instrument...hehe :D. But doesn't she look pretty? Yeah, so no problem :).

Ope, she's rockin' it out now! Haha :D.

Lovely :).

My favorite!!! :D.

Check out these fun spiral stairs! Little downtown Bogata can surprise you. Hehe :D.

She was very careful :).

So cool :D.

Lookin' purty walkin' down the stairs :).

Gorgeous! Love this one.

Yay :D.

Aaaah, so pretty.

I love this girl so much; so glad God brought her into my life :D. Allix, thank you for being such a fun and thoughtful friend :). And letting me capture your gorgeousness :D.

With a smile,

{ Rachel Leigh }

New design and the amazing designer :D {mt. pleasant, tx engagement and portrait photographer}

noreply@blogger.com (Rachel Leigh Greene) — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 15:07:00 +0000

TA-DAAAA!

Welcome to the new look :D.

And this was all made possible by the amazingly incredible designer: ladies and gentlemen, I'd like you to meet...

Hannah Nicole Martin!!

I found this Minnesota girl's blog, Aspire, a year or so ago and I have been continually inspired by her writing, design, and photography...and she's only 15!! The way she captures life, moments, thoughts, feelings, and all of the things in between...it's powerful. And She's not ashamed of her love for the Lord; God has blessed her abundantly :). So, if you're not one of the 1,343 follwers, become one NOW!

She's also the photography editor/ primary designer/ contributing writer for the new lovely online creation: Fernweh Magazine! You should go follow that too; it's awesome :) :).

And then of course she has her own her small graphic design business: Hannah Nicole Designs :). And she just designed my blog and I am thrilled :). Hannah, thank you again for being such a help to me!! I love you and I very much hope we can meet face to face soon :D :D.

By the way, isn't she STUNNING?!!

(Pictures via Aspire)

With a smile,

{ Rachel Leigh }

"...take a moment..." {mt. pleasant tx, engagement and portrait photographer}

noreply@blogger.com (Rachel Leigh Greene) — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 15:02:00 +0000

"I take a moment to just stop

and look around me.

And smile to myself."

~Alexandra Potter

With a smile,

{ Rachel Leigh }

Sarah Elizabeth: portraits :) - Part 2 {mt. pleasant, tx portrait photographer}

noreply@blogger.com (Rachel Leigh Greene) — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 15:02:00 +0000

Here's part 2 of Sarah's portraits :D. (If you missed part 1, you should go look at it and learn more about this pretty girl :) ).

Even though it wasn't as sunshiney as we would have liked, I think it gave the pictures a neat look :). We had a great time :D.

She's such a joyful girl :D.

Doesn't she look adorable?!

Loooove this one. The colors, her hair, everything :).

Gorgeous :).

Sarah, you just look awesome.

A favorite; her eyes look incredible.

Aaaah, Sarah!! You just can't stop being beautiful!

A lovely day indeed with a lovely friend :).

Oh! Happy March, everybody! :D

With a smile,

{ Rachel Leigh }

Sarah Elizabeth: portraits :) - Part 1 {mt. pleasant, tx portrait photographer}

noreply@blogger.com (Rachel Leigh Greene) — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 15:06:00 +0000

This is my friend Sarah :).

Sarah Elizabeth Jarvis :).

We've been friends for about 9 years :). She's 18 and she's a MIND BLOWING pianist!! I remember hearing her do a solo 4 years ago during her youth orchestra's concert and at the end I clapped so hard my hands hurt; I felt like a proud mother. Haha :D.

She also has some mad decorating and crafting skills; she throws the best parties :D. (You remember her parties, don't you? Party 1, party 2)

Oh, and when she asks you how you're doing, she REALLY wants to know how you're doing! She loves sharing her heart and hearing yours shared so she can better pray for you :).

Which brings me to the most important thing about her: her heart belongs to the Lord :). She loves her Savior :).

So, anyway, we've been trying to get together for about the past month and it finally worked out two weekends ago :).

After catching up and eating lunch, we drove to town so I could take some pictures of her pretty self :).

Did I say pretty? I meant stunning.

She's super cute too :D.

Modelllll....Isn't her outfit precious?!

She's a happy gal :D.

These with her awesome pocket watch necklace are two of my favorites!!

Neither she nor I like Dr. Pepper (I hardly ever drink sodas anymore actually; I craaaave water!), but the newly repainted wall was too cute to pass up :D.

And the colors made a super neat background!

Adorable :D.

Sarah, thanks for wandering around our little downtown with me and letting me take pictures of you :).

And, hey! There's a part 2 coming, people! So stay tuned :D.

With a smile,

{ Rachel Leigh }

Joshua and Jessica: couple portraits :D :D {arlington, tx couple photographer}

noreply@blogger.com (Rachel Leigh Greene) — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 15:15:00 +0000

Well, here's the post I promised y'all!

The last day of our visit, Jessica Shae drove Allix B. and I to Arlington so we could finally meet Josh after hearing so much about him since last May!!

We walked into his nice apartment bearing Sprite, chips, queso ("Cheese: me no likey!" Hahaha ;D), and pizza rolls. He welcomed us with a smile :D. After introductions and putting food in the oven, we sat down and played "Settlers of Catan" (my first time; I really liked it!) talking, laughing, and quoting the whole time; it was great :D.

THEN, the time came to drive a little ways down the road to do some shooting ;D. Now, the only bummer was it was around 30 degrees outside and WINDY! But they did awesome :). We kept laughing because the situation was so humorous! Our hands were about to fall off, but we pressed on and had a grand time taking pictures of these two adorable people :D.

Don't they look like they're doing a little dance? Hehe :D.

SO cute :D.

Hahaha :D.

The way they make each other grin is so precious :D.

See?! :D.

They've got somethin' special and it makes my heart happy :D.

He's there for her :).

Jessica: "I'm falling!! I'm falling!!"

Josh: "I've got ya."

They're such a good looking couple!

Their smiles... :D :D.

Josh: "Hey, let's show them how you fit perfectly under my chin!"

There you have it; it was meant to be. Hahaha :D.

Oh, love :).

Hahaha, awww; poor Jessica was freezing to death in her pretty little dress. But it made them laugh like this :D :D.

Aaaah! This is a favorite :D.

Josh, Jessica, Thank y'all AGAIN for asking Allix and I to take y'all's pictures!! We had a wonderful time :D. Love y'all!!

I hope y'all enjoyed these as much as I did :D.

And hey! Y'all MUST check out Allix's pictures of them!! She did a fabulous job!

With a smile,

{ Rachel Leigh }

Jessica Shae: portraits :D {mckinney, tx portrait photographer}

noreply@blogger.com (Rachel Leigh Greene) — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 14:59:00 +0000

While Allix B. and I were with Jessica last weekend, we had about a 15 minute window of opportunity to take portraits of her!

And here are mine :D.

She's such a sweetheart :).

And she luuuuvs her parents. Hehe ;D. (Her parents are pretty awesome! ).

Jessica, you're so pretty :).

We three laughed SO much together! It was fantastic :D. And the outcome was some genuine laughing pictures of this girl :D.

And she loves to laugh :D.

Watching her laugh is one of the cutest sights you'll ever see, actually :D.

Soooo beautiful :D.

Hehe :D.

She can be pretty hilarious herself ;D.

"She likes. big. RINGS. andshecannotlie!" Hahahaha, sorry :D.

Jessica, you are a sweet, fun lovin' soul and I'm so glad I know you :).

So, if for SOME CRAZY REASON you've never seen her blog, GO NOW! The end :D.

With a smile,

{ Rachel Leigh }

Favorite love songs :) {mt. pleasant, tx engagement and portrait photographer}

noreply@blogger.com (Rachel Leigh Greene) — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 15:05:00 +0000

Hey, people :D.

It's Valentine's Day and I wanted to share some of my favorite love songs with y'all! :D.

After going through my music and choosing favorites, I ended up with nineteen songs! But then I thought "Hey! That's how old I am!" So, I think it's kinda neat and I hope y'all do too :).

Put 'em together and what have you got? Me! Yep, this is pretty much my personality in music form :D.

And HEY! The first three people that comment with their name and address get a free cd of these songs!! :D

With a smile,

{ Rachel Leigh }

A weekend with Jessica Shae :D {frisco, tx engagement and portrait photographer}

noreply@blogger.com (Rachel Leigh Greene) — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 12:51:00 +0000

Allix B. and I have been wanting to go visit our sweet friend Jessica Shae for a while now and it finally came to fruition last weekend!! Hoorah :D.

The way Jessica has her room decorated is so lovely :D.

Here's Allix! :D

We spent lots of time in her room talking and listening to each other's music :D.

I got to lean up against her lovely pillows :).

I love her pretty books and this beautiful artwork of a German village!

Her inspiration board is very artsy too :).

The feet of Allix and I. Hehe :D.

Jessica said she's gotten so many more books recently, she's having to pile them up under her bed. I can totally relate!

Then we went to have lunch at "Chipotle"! Here's Jessica's cute nails and iPhone :D.

My purty companions :).

Seriously pretty!! Love this one of y'all :D.

Now, the reason we went to "Chipotle" was to have lunch with our friends/past fellow interns: Carissa and Hannah Koehn! (of Once Upon a Time Photography) It was extra special because it was the anniversary of our internship with Jessica!! (And hey, if you've never seen the video recap of our internship, do it NOW! Because it's pretty awesome :D)

They're such cute, happy, fun girls :D. We had a very enjoyable 2 hours together :D.

My half eaten burrito :). Doesn't it look pretty? Hehe :D.

We had lots of happy rides in Jessica's car :).

Doesn't Jessica's eyebrow look nice? Hehe :).

Then we headed to some lovely places to take pictures of each other!

I'm saving the portraits I took of Miss Jessica Shae for Thursday :D.

A new day :).

The night before, we had dinner at Jessica's grandparents house! We ate poppy seed chicken, watched the Mavericks game, and had fun/hilarious conversations :D. Well, Jessica's grandmother LOVES orchids and she has them ALL over her house! Anyway, while we were in their living room, this particular flower's time had come and fell off the plant; I asked if I could have it and they said yes :D.

For some reason, this photo reminds me of one of my very favorite photographers, Sarah Danaher of Ampersand Photography!! Her style is SO classicly lovely and so is SHE! Go check out her blog!!

And here is the Garner's (Jessica's family, in case you forgot her last name ;) ) adorable little dog Molly! She's such a cute, fluffy, scampering little thing :D.

And here is Emma!! (age 9) One of the sweetest little girls I know :D.

Just look at that face!! Precious girl.

While we were in Jessica's room, Emma walked in carrying two necklaces. She silently handed this one out to me and a flower one out to Allix. They were our Valentine gifts from her!! I melted. Isn't it cute?! (By the way, I'm wearing a sweater that was my mom's when she was my age and it's in great condition! :D).

And this is Lawson! (Age 11). Also one of the sweetest kids I know. He's so honest and open :). And he's very thoughtful; about what he says and what you say. It's so neat talking to him :).

And Sam!! Sam has a special place in my heart because he reminds me of my brother (Daniel) at his age (14); he's very witty and smart :). One cool guy :D.

And he didn't mind me taking these pictures of him washing the dishes :).

It was so fun having more interaction with their family this visit; they're favorites :D. And I want to give a shout out to the other awesome members of the Garner family that I didn't get to do head shots of; Bro. Don Garner, Mrs. Tracy Garner, Rachel Garner (18), and Luke Garner (16). Y'all rock!

And guess who we got to meet while we were there??

Jessica's boyfriend: Joshua Sherrill!! More on that meeting and pictures of them together (yaaay!) next Monday :D :D.

This is him starting up Jessica's car so it'd be warm for us when we got out of his into hers :).

What a great weekend :D.

With a smile,

{ Rachel Leigh }

A beautiful old book :) :) {mt. pleasant, tx engagement and portrait photographer}

noreply@blogger.com (Rachel Leigh Greene) — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 14:56:00 +0000

I've bloggged in the past about my love for hardcover books (if you've never read that post, please go read it because it's one of my favorites :D ). Well, this post is about one hardcover book that was recently given to me :D.

Monday morning our friends the Longs (who spent the weekend with us) headed back home. But before they left, they gave us some unexpected parting gifts: Mom a cute apron, Dad a few books, and me a necklace from Savannah and then, from Bro. Steve, this beautiful old copy of William Cowper's poems!!!

The only poems I've read of his are ones that we sing in our hymn book :). So, I'm really looking forward to reading the rest :D.

And it's also beautifully illustrated!! I loooove this kind of old artwork :D.

I also love the old typeface :). It's just awesome :).

And of course the cover is a work of art.

Hooray for beautiful things and for the people that were gifted by God with the creativity to make them so we might appreciate and enjoy them :D.

With a smile,

{ Rachel Leigh }

Savannah and Sophia: portraits :D {mt. pleasant, tx portrait photographer}

noreply@blogger.com (Rachel Leigh Greene) — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 14:50:00 +0000

This post is about two girls having fun on a warm January afternoon :D (that's Texas for ya ;) ).

Savannah Long (12) and Sophia Simpson (11) :D.

Savannah is from Springfield, Missouri. She and Sophia have been buds since she and her family first came to visit Texas 5 years ago :).

Well, the Longs came to visit for the weekend and Sophia spent it with us too so she could have time with Savannah :D.

They had so much fun together :D ; I love watching young friendships grow :).

When I told them to look up...

...they saw a bird's nest :D.

Watching them have fun like this took me back to my childhood...and it made me smile :).

May your week be filled with special fun memories that will always make you smile :D.

With a smile,

{ Rachel Leigh }

Reading :) {mt. pleasant, tx engagement and portrait photographer}

noreply@blogger.com (Rachel Leigh Greene) — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 14:55:00 +0000

That's what I've been doing a lot lately :).

And this is the view I have from where I've been reading; I love it :).

This is THE perfect spot in our house to sit and read in the winter. When the house is cold, the bright and shining sun warms me and lightens the pages :).

If you're wondering what book is in my lap, it's The Hunger Games. After seeing the trailer for the movie adaptation (which looks awesome!!), and hearing everyone talk about how much they love the books, I decided to buy the trilogy and read them myself before the movie comes out March 23! It's really interesting so far :D.

And that's a little snippet of my life right now :). Hope fully there will be more exciting things on the blog in the weeks to come :).

With a smile,

{ Rachel Leigh }

What my year was like :) {mt. pleasant, tx engagement and portrait photographer}

noreply@blogger.com (Rachel Leigh Greene) — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 23:02:00 +0000

Here's a glimpse into what my 2011 was like :).

This year has been one of my favorites yet :D.

With a smile,
{ Rachel Leigh }

Jon and Marlena: wedding :D {lake tyler petroleum club, tyler, tx wedding photographer}

noreply@blogger.com (Rachel Leigh Greene) — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 14:52:00 +0000

Last month, I got to second shoot a wedding for the first time!! The wedding of Jon and Marlena Barber :D.

And I got to shoot it with Jessica Shae and Allix B. which made it even better! :D

Loved the awesome steel blue accents :D.

Marlena looked lovely :D.

Jessica sweetly helped whenever she could :).

Second shooting is such a different experience because you don't get first dibs on angles; you have to be more creative than usual and rock what you've got. Haha :D. I really enjoyed it :).

It's soo pretty at the Lake Tyler Petroleum club.

I LOVE this shot; it reminds me of Jasmine Star (who is amazing in sooo many ways :) :) ).

Just look at those happy faces; so cute :D.

Love him helping her and Jessica looking adorable leading them :).

Aww :)

Another favorite :)

Check Allix B. out :D.

Oh, man. Looooove.

Hehe :)

Time to head back and get ready for the wedding! :D (oh, and this is another favorite :D )

Can you believe those flowers are made out of fondant?!

This wedding was very laid back; people came early and just enjoyed relaxing in the beautiful facilities until it was time for the ceremony :).

Light is just so amazing :).

We had some time to relax too :).

Jon's grandfather married them: he's such a kind man and it's obvious he really cares for his grandson and his new bride :).

They have such fun together :D.

Jon and his brothers have a band! They did a great job :D.

This wedding was perfect for my first second shooting experience; I look forward to shooting more weddings in the future :). And, hey! Y'all need to check out Jessica's pictures from the wedding!

With a smile,

{ Rachel Leigh }

"Thanks be unto God..." {mt. pleasant, tx engagement and portrait photographer}

noreply@blogger.com (Rachel Leigh Greene) — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 17:21:00 +0000

"thanksgiving"

εὐχαριστία

eucharistia

yoo-khar-is-tee'-ah

"...grateful language (to God, as an act of worship)..."

Let us thank God verbally!

We are so unworthy, yet God has given His people an unspeakably great Gift: salvation through Christ and everything pertaining to it.

Thank you, dear LORD :)

With a smile,

{ Rachel Leigh }

P.S. You can order prints of this scripture picture here :).

Rachel Leigh Photography

My trip to Sedalia! :D {sedalia, mo, engagement and portrait photographer}

James and Bethany: wedding! :D {missouri state fairgrounds, sedalia, mo wedding photographer}

Daniel and Emily: wedding!!! :D :D {ashelynn manor, magnolia, tx wedding photographer}

Daniel and Emily: wedding sneak peek!!! {ashelynn manor, magnolia, tx wedding photographer}

*10 on 10 project.* Accidents can be beautiful...{mt. pleasant, tx engagement and portrait photographer}

"Far, far better things..." {mt. pleasant, tx engagement and portrait photographer}

It's not too late! {mt. pleasant, tx senior portrait photographer}

Ian Samuel: portraits {camp copass, denton, tx child photographer}

Fellowship Conference 2012 :D {camp copass, denton, tx engagement and portrait photographer}

Lush and lovely spring with the saints :) {elmendorf, tx engagement and portrait photographer}

Allix B.: portraits :D {bogata, tx portrait photographer}

New design and the amazing designer :D {mt. pleasant, tx engagement and portrait photographer}

"...take a moment..." {mt. pleasant tx, engagement and portrait photographer}

Sarah Elizabeth: portraits :) - Part 2 {mt. pleasant, tx portrait photographer}

Sarah Elizabeth: portraits :) - Part 1 {mt. pleasant, tx portrait photographer}

Joshua and Jessica: couple portraits :D :D {arlington, tx couple photographer}

Jessica Shae: portraits :D {mckinney, tx portrait photographer}

Favorite love songs :) {mt. pleasant, tx engagement and portrait photographer}

A weekend with Jessica Shae :D {frisco, tx engagement and portrait photographer}

A beautiful old book :) :) {mt. pleasant, tx engagement and portrait photographer}

Savannah and Sophia: portraits :D {mt. pleasant, tx portrait photographer}

Reading :) {mt. pleasant, tx engagement and portrait photographer}

What my year was like :) {mt. pleasant, tx engagement and portrait photographer}

Jon and Marlena: wedding :D {lake tyler petroleum club, tyler, tx wedding photographer}

"Thanks be unto God..." {mt. pleasant, tx engagement and portrait photographer}

10 on 10 project. Accidents can be beautiful...{mt. pleasant, tx engagement and portrait photographer}