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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Erica’s family seems to be the subject a lot! j. But, amongst our brainstorming, we thought it would be neat to have a ‘Twin’ Photo session. And with that idea, came her and her sister, Jessica. Now, you might have heard us talking a lot about Jessica in our blog / facebook page / etc. . .  because she has been the ‘subject’ more than once as well! Her recent ones from the summer of 2011 were our fun Fashion Photo session and then the most recent, Halloween’s ‘Come Play with us’ Session. Weren’t those fun! Sigh. I wish we had more people to do sessions like these!

Photo Sessions don’t have to be just for couples / weddings / maternity / babies / families — they can be for so much more than that! And in our CELEBRATE Series, we hope you see that Photo Sessions can be for Anything! So far, our two CELEBRATE Series have been on Friendship + Sisterhood. We have a new session CELEBRATE Series coming up . . . stay tuned!  Because there is so much to CELEBREAT in life. Smile.

Tomme Hilton Gallery introduces the Billingsley Family to our Gallery.  Meet Erica’s husband, Matt, and her kiddo, Houston.

Erica and I always brainstorm ideas . . . about what to do on our next shoot. OR something new to add to our ‘props’. OR how to ‘spice’ up a session . . . etc. This time, we decided to use one of our ideas on HER and her family  — the TENT.  One Saturday morning a couple weeks ago, I got up early and spent SIX — yes, 6 — Hours building this tent. And afterwards, I must say . . . it was AWESOME! Did you see the pictures? Tell me it wasn’t a pretty darn good tent! I would like one of those made out of ‘sticks’ and stuff . . . so, if you know anyone who makes them / sells them cheap / would donate one, Please let me know! I am always wanting to find new things and explore ideas!

Enough on my props . . . because, afterall . . . the props weren’t the only ‘cool’ thing about this photo session. It was the subjects. The Billingsley’s. Erica is, of course, not only my assistant, but my first ‘complete’ family to my / our Gallery. I am sure you have followed ‘her’ life and watched her family grow . . . but for those of you who haven’t . . . let me recap. I have photographed Erica and Matt for their Engagement, her Bridals, their Wedding day, their Maternity, their first child, her Boudoirs, her ENTIRE family and now . . . her immediate Family:  The Billingsley’s.

Tell me that isn’t awesome? To see a couple like that grow? And build? And develop into a family of their own? WOW. It excites me when I have brides who let us capture their lives each step of the way.  I have a couple more brides who aren’t too far behind Erica . . . and I can’t wait to keep capturing their lives as well!

*If you would like to join our Gallery ‘family’, contact us at gallery.tommehilton@gmail.com

Lilly is one of THE cutest and I mean, CUTEST little girls I have photographed. Sigh. During her shoot, I had to show her off to my ENTIRE family. First to my mom, then to my Grandma and then to my sister, Jess, and then to a friend . . . and lastly, my husband, Matt. Snicker. Yea . . . I showed her off BECAUSE she is 19 months and can speak in full sentences! — Okay, my child is our ‘mute midget’ as I call him. He never speaks. So for me to hear a child speaking at this volume . . . I was just in ‘awe’. — Not only did she speak well, she listened! Do you know how many kids we get that listen? Maybe a handful!! And for Lilly to be — yes again, 19 Months — and using her manners, saying “Yes, ma’am.” and “Please” and “Cheese” . . . I was in Heaven!

Not to mention, her outfits were just to die for. Maybe I am having ‘little girl withdrawal’ because we don’t normally have many little girls . . . and here lately, we’ve had a few — but I just loved her shirts / dresses / jeans / boots / hats / jammies / bows . . . okay, all of it. Ha.

Anyways, take a look at her photos from her Christmas Session . . . Christmas Cards will be posted after the holiday season!

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Take a look at their session! db_brown db_browns2 db_doggie db_dogwalk db_gaspump db_grass db_kayla db_kayla2 db_pets db_pets3 db_pets4 db_sisterblue db_sisters db_sisters2 db_sisters3 db_sisterswing db_sisterwall db_sun db_sunglasses db_wall

Madelyn’s mom and I tried several times to get a good date together . . . but, it kept changing. Then finally, we had a day! However . . . Madelyn didn’t like that day! She didn’t want to participate in our photoshoot. So, another reschedule! Luckily, Madelyn’s mom passed my name to her in-laws and we were able to schedule everyone and everything on ONE day! Whew. It was a long morning. But a fun morning!

And I must say, Madelyn’s grandma (Lulu) has the best house! All these props were at her home! Can you believe that!! This is the kind of home I need!! FULL of props. My sister and I had the time of our lives setting up each set! Grabbing things from here, grabbing from there. I wanted to walk out of her home with it all. Just killer!

Check out baby Madelyn’s 7 Month photos and let us know what you think of all the props.

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Friday morning, I skipped black Friday (like I needed to shop and spend money) to spend my morning with the Pinner Family photographing all their joys. And joys they are! Full of energy / fun / excitement / happiness / laughter . . . mixed in with a few complaints / tears. Ha. Couldn’t resist it. Let’s be honest, there are always a few complaints / tears shared when kids are involved. It’s very rare that not a single one will have a ‘meltdown’.  Overall tho, the Pinner Grandkids were a blast.

They were sent to me by a sweet family, the Lindlers. Do you remember Dawson? His mama and Melissa (mom of 3 of the 5 Grands) are really good friends. Needless to say, Melissa recommended me to her mother-in-law for family photos. Whew, did you follow that connection? laugh. Melissa had photos of her youngest, Madelyn, taken the same day. Those are to be posted later! Till then, take a look at the Pinner Grandkids!

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Remember Braylon? He’s grown up a lot in the last 6 months! His mom, Lindsay of Steel Magnolia’s in Lexington, SC does my (Erica) hair. I just love her! Lindsay and I always have a hard time battling out dates for sessions. I’ll be good one day, that she wont be good for, then she will be good one day, then the date will change . . . and so on. So, we finally decided on a date and sure enough, it ended up changing . . . again! j. But it worked out PERFECT because we had the most beautiful weather! It was a little chilly, which made it fun to snuggle . . . and easy for Braylon to run to keep him warm.

Take a look at their session below . . . and I hope you see how great this family is . . . and sweet!  Every time I get done photographing Braylon, I have to call my family and let them know what a sweet sweet child he is . . . and smart . . . and a talker! Sigh. Again, he is just Precious. For taking photos for 2 hours, he listened surprisingly well. He would gently place his toy down when told to quickly snap a few shots! And he loved pushing the wheelbarrow around and hauling off the rocks / leaves / sticks / etc. Great prop! Whew, an entertaining one at that!

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Erica held her mini sessions in Columbia while I held mine here in Charleston.

Mini’s were designed to be quickie sessions to get in some great photos rather than being a full fledged session including full session pricing.  What a great idea especially right before Christmas, as a wonderful little “Mini gift” for gramma and grampa.

Fortunately, these folks drove quite a ways to spend a little bit of time with me, but each of their sessions were really great and the best part of

all, for me other than delivering great products is meeting new friends along my way.

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If you are interested in what types of things we offer, please look at some of our Design work below. All Cards are 5 x 7 and printed on Flat Pearl Paper. They are front and back designs and include Envelopes for mailing / addressing. If you would like different sizes, we can do that too! Just email us at gallery.tommehilton@gmail.com — We will be happy to price out anything you need / want. We don’t even have to be your main photographer, just send us the image and / or idea and we can get started from there!