Our lives are a series of important milestones (childhood, graduation, marriage, raising a family) and we value our photographs so much because they capture memories of such happy times. But, it goes much deeper than that – we’re not only holding on to memories, but also what it felt like at the time, the emotions and love that go with those memories.

I believe being a photographer isn’t only about creating photographs – it requires empathy to truly capture those “images inspired by you”. Later, as you admire your portraits, you’ll recall the feelings of love and joy from those precious moments.

It’s tempting to put off having portraits created “until the time is right”, but our daily lives conspire to keep us distracted from the most important things. Our children will only be this age RIGHT NOW; there’s only going to be ONE wedding day; senior year is GONE before you know it; our families are ALWAYS worth celebrating…

Take time to connect with the things that inspire you – call NOW for a friendly chat about how professional portraits can enhance your life and the lives of those you love.

We’ve been so busy lately, it’s hard to keep up with everything, but I just had to post some of the adorable photographs we created of Margaret during her 1yr old portrait session this week!

This is one of the first sessions we’ve done in the new studio, and with our new backdrop, and the results are amazing. It’s great to finally have the space to be able to hold indoor sessions, especially at this time of year when the weather outside is a little on the chilly side!

Margaret was the perfect model during her portrait session, and we couldn’t have asked for anyone better or cuter for these photographs! She was a bundle of joy to work with and, as you can see, she made some wonderful images.

There’s only a short window of opportunity to capture children at this time of their lives – it’s truly incredible how quickly they change. I photographed Margaret only 3 months ago, and was amazed at how much she’s grown and changed in just that short amount of time.

Portrait sessions like this are now available by appointment Monday through Wednesday each week, and also on Fridays.

Here is a portrait of Wendy, taken yesterday afternoon in Rossville, TN.

We scouted around and found some nice locations there, but I really liked this red-sided building near the railway tracks.

The natural light was bright but soft, due to the broken cloud cover, which limited the amount of shadows, but I also added  a little extra light from an off-camera flash to the left.

Other images from this set can be found in one of my Facebook Albums.

I am always on the lookout for new models – children, teens, seniors etc. – so if you or someone you know would be interested in modeling for Merrick Photography, just let us know. Not only is it a fun experience, but you also receive great discounts on my exclusive finished canvas wall portraits.

On Memorial Day, 2009, we took a late afternoon trip to Big Hill Pond State Park, near Pocahontas, TN. Although the weather called for intermittent thunderstorms and showers, we were very lucky and managed to avoid most of the rain.

This was our first visit to the park and we loved it there, so definitely a place for us to go back to again. The visitor center was closed when we arrived so we decided to take one of the trails to see where it went. After meandering through the wooded hillsides for a while, the trail came to a long boardwak through the oddly-named Dismal Swamp. There were a lot of bugs out at this time of day, so I would advise bringing plenty of bug spray, and to especially watch out for ticks, which seemed to be in abundance!

After returning to the car, we took a short drive down to the lake side and we spent some time creating some fun photographs of Wendy and Amy, who seemed to be having a good time:

All in all, we had a great time and I can certainly recommend Big Hill Pond State Park for a family day out, camping, fishing, hiking and a host of other activities.

The recent heavy snowfall in Memphis and the Mid-South provided a lovely opportunity for some impromptu portraits in the snow!

We decided to brave the freezing cold temperatures and the wind to venture outside for a while to create some portraits with a snowy background.

This was one of my personal favorites, with Amy photographed against one of the stone pillars near the Oakland golf course.

To create this portrait, we made use of the natural shade of a tree to cut out the glare of the afternoon sun, and then supplemented the light with a gold reflector to even out the shadows.

The portrait was photographed with a Nik0n 60mm lens at f/5 for 1/125s on a Nikon D200.

Seven grandchildren pose for a portrait to be given as a Christmas gift to their grandparents. This was taken on a cool but very sunny day in early November 2008 at the side of the swimming pool. Despite the bright sun we were able to find a nice shady spot on the steps to arrange the group for their photograph.

Photographing children of any age is always a fun challenge and this was no exception – however, everyone behaved themselves beautifully and enjoyed posing for their portrait.

The final image was retouched and artworked and then reproduced as a gallery-wrapped canvas wall portrait that looks absolutely stunning. I’m sure it was very much appreciated by the grandparents on Christmas Day.