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 . . .

dsl_guard hs_bluedot hs_sleephead rm_bluedot rm_crib boys_shoes btwn_boots btwn_heads btwn_look btwn_look2

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!

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

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.

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.

ld_brosis ld_crazies ld_fam ld_kids ld_kids2 ld_runforit ld_sass

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!

The Holiday Season is quick to come and go . . . But we want to remind you all to be safe in your travels and stay warm!

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

We love to get those creative juices flowing in our fans / blog readers / followers.  To enter, email us an image of a gift wrapped in the most creative way you can imagine. We will in return, post your image onto our Facebook page where you will Blog, Tweet, maybe even Pinterest your idea to receive as many votes / likes on our Facebook page as possible. The Most Creative Gift Wrapping starts today, Sunday, December 4 and runs until Sunday, December 31st at Midnight! The winner will be announced Jan. 1 to a wonderful new year Wedding package deal they can’t resist!

PACKAGE  ::  Monroe Soha
2150
Get to know you Session + Bridal + 6 hour Wedding Day coverage with two photographers

Get those ideas flowing!!

*Remember, you can ONLY vote on our Facebook page, so make sure to link all your Tweets, Blogs & Pinterest back to us on Facebook   /   Details on ‘Monroe Soha’ will be posted soon   /   Only one gift wrap idea per couple  /  Wedding must be within 60 miles of Charleston or travel fee may apply  /  Wedding must be in 2012*

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!

lw_blanket lw_cheese lw_elf lw_fur lw_hi lw_laugh lw_lights lw_ornament lw_running lw_santa lw_sassychair lw_smiles lw_stare lw_xmascard