Monthly Archives: January 2012

Hudson and Roman | Twin Newborn | Family Photographer Columbia, SC

Hi there readers! It’s Erica here! I wanted to share with yall the privilege I had to photography my sweet twin boy cousins!  They were born January 16, 2012 — The same Monday that I was ‘induced’ w. my son (1.18.10) — So, it’s pretty cool that two years later, two sweet boys were born on that very same day.

 

Yesterday I spent 4 hours holding / cuddling / loving / smiling . . . oh yea, and PHOTOGRAPHING these lil’ sun shines! I must say . . . twins are MUCH harder than I thought. I learned that when I photographed my twin girl cousins born in December 2011 . . . and I remembered when we got into our session yesterday! When one wanted to participate, the other didn’t . . . when one wanted to be awake, the other wanted to sleep . . . and vice versa. Oh boys . . .

But overall, I think they turned out great because you can truly see their personalities in these photos! They may be Newborns, but they have lil’ manly personalities!

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If you are interested in a Newborn Session with Tomme Hilton or Erica Billingsley, please contact us at gallery.tommehilton@gmail.com! We look forward to the cuddle!

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Loft Noire | Valentine’s Day Contest | Boudoir Photography Charleston and Columbia, SC

As most of you know, our Gallery has a sister company, Loft Noire.  Loft Noire is our Boudoir Photography.  But, before you turn your head, please read and understand why our Gallery has chosen to support Boudoir Photography.

 

Why Boudoir?  You deserve to be beautiful. Eternally.

We chose to celebrate the human body in it’s most beautiful form, it’s natural form. Many women have issues feeling beautiful . . . and this isn’t an issue many women have after babies or as they get older. This is an issue that we have noticed in young women as well . . . even in some of our brides! How is this we ask? How is it that we don’t feel comfortable and beautiful in our own skin? I mean, let’s face it . . . no one is perfect. No one has that body that has been airbrushed on the front of magazines . . . and those that do . . . God has blessed you. But that doesn’t mean we all are not beautiful and that we all can’t feel as beautiful as the lady on the magazine. We should all feel beautiful in our own skins . . . and know that how we were made, is beautiful.

I get such a ‘high’ photographing Boudoirs by the reaction I get from my clients. Hearing the, ‘Oooh, Tomme.’ and the, ‘I can’t believe you made me look so pretty.’ and the, ‘I can’t wait to show these off, I look so good!’ — these make me smile soooo big! Knowing I showed a woman how beautiful she REALLY is. I helped her. I helped her in a way that she will never forget. In a way that will make her smile more . . . OR not be scared to wear the bikini on the beach . . . OR show off her shoulders at 50 . . . OR not be scared to ‘drop the towel when he’s looking’.

And to those of you who think Boudoir is similar to ‘soft porn’ . . . think again. I have many clients who don’t get naked for me. Wearing a cute nighty and some heels is enough to make a woman feel like she is the hottest thing that crossed his mind! There are MANY ways to photograph Boudoirs without getting naked! If you need help brainstorming ideas for your session, let us know! We will be happy to help give suggestions that will suit you!

Also, Boudoir photography is not just for the upcoming bride or the perfect anniversary present or for the long lasting married couples . . . Boudoir Photography is for Y O U.  You chose who you want the session to be for! Sometimes, it’s best to do a session just for Y O U.

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Thank you for reading and understanding our our vision of Boudoir Photography . . . Now, we want you to do the same for us! However, yours doesn’t need to be so l-o-n-g . . . just a lil’ blurb on why YOU want a Boudoir Session.

 

Submit a photo of YOU and a blurb on ‘Why you chose Boudoir Photography’ to our email.  We love to understand why YOU chose to do Boudoir Photography. We will post your lil’ blurb to our Blog and Facebook along with your image and then YOU VOTE! Most votes will win a
FREE flirt Album (a $250 value)  with purchase of promotional session!
Our normal Sessions run about $500. We are giving this lucky winner the chance to have her Boudoir Session for a slight discount. Our Promotional Session values at $400. The Session includes a two hour boudoir session + two outfit changes.

Please enter and get the word out about Loft Noire! Remember, the Contest ends January 31, 2012 at midnight!!

 

Don’t forget to email you image and blurb to us at –  gallery . tomme hilton @ gmail . com — don’t forget the . between gallery and tomme!

gallery.tommehilton@gmail.com

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Money’s Tight | Charleston and Columbia, SC Wedding Photographer

We often get inquiries about session / wedding and will get the response of ‘Money is Tight’ or ‘We just can’t afford it right now’ or ‘I found something cheaper’. And that is fine. We understand. Trust us . . . We know what budgeting is ALL about. We don’t, by any means, live an extravagant lifestyle where ‘budget’ doesn’t appear at least twice a day! j. Maybe not that often, but you know what I mean. We completely understand.

 

We are aware of our price point. We are aware of our quality of work. We are aware of those other photographers out there in our line of business. We are aware of the competition. We know that not everyone can afford us. However, we also know that there are a number of people out there who just don’t know how to think about the ‘importantance’ of things.

 

We recently were sent a blog post by email this week . . . that discusses a woman who booked a $500 session with a photographer. She at the last minute cancelled because she knew she couldn’t ‘afford’ the session at the time. — I’m not going to explain the entire post because we want you to read it first hand — But, after a few life altering things happen to her and her family, she calculated $200+ of non-necessity items that she could have ‘lived without’ and put towards a session all within a matter of two weeks (correct me if I’m wrong on some calculations).

 

Please go and read this post. It just amazes me how things can change. And how often we don’t think about how to ‘preserve’ the time we have with our loved ones.

 

 

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Elmore | Family Portraits | Columbia Family Photographer

We introduce a wild bunch of crazies to our Gallery . . . The Elmore Kids.  Well, to be honest, only one is an ‘Elmore’ and that is the oldest (Lee-Deane). She has been contacting us for a while wanting images and trying to get a few things scheduled. FINALLY, she came up with this great idea for her sister . . . to photograph her her sister’s kids for her Christmas Present. How awesome right? So we set a date and time . . . not realizing what I was getting myself into with all these kids. Count the one adult, Lee-Deane, who was supervising these crazies . . . we had an 11 year-old, an 8 year-old, a 6 year-old and an almost 4 year-old. Whew. Let’s just say, there wasn’t a dull moment and there was ALWAYS something to photograph. Laugh. Even looking back thru all the images while editing, I was laughing . . . just seeing their faces and thinking back on the things that they said during the shoot . . . makes me smile BIG.

 

Now, these moments, are the reason I love my job . . . thinking about the fun / excitement / smiles / laughs / priceless moments that are captured . . . and to think one day, those smiles and laughs will change and alter thru the years . . . at least they were captured once. Okay, sappy moment there. Sorry. I will have a blog post next about ‘sappy moments’ and the reason we love our job and the reason our job is important. Stay tuned . . . till then . . . take a look at a few precious kiddos . . . or crazies! j.

 

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Happy New Year from us.

We hope you had a wonderful first day to twenty twelve and brought it in with style and class! We are excited for our twenty twelve clients and cannot wait to continue to grow as a small business!

 

Today, we announced the winner to our Creative Wrapping Contest! Shannon Hughes is our special bride who wins an awesome wedding package for her 2012 wedding! We are excited to work with her and her groom!! More details about their wedding and their prize to come!

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