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.

Arguably the most romantic day of the year is fast approaching – Valentine’s Day! This is the exciting time of year when we celebrate our love and our everlasting relationships, although I would advocate celebrating such things every day!

What will you do for Valentine’s Day this year? Send a card? Go out for a romantic meal? Give a beautiful gift? Send flowers?

But how much of that will actually last more than a few days?

How about a gift that will last a lifetime? If you could have something that would capture the beauty of your love for each other and preserve it forever, so that you could reflect on it and enjoy it for the rest of your lives, wouldn’t that be the most amazing gift you could possibly give?

That’s precisely what a beautifully crafted portrait of the two of you can do…

For a limited time only, you can have a “romance” portrait session that will truly capture your wonderful relationship and the love you share with each other.

No other gift will say, “I love you” so clearly and for so long…

For more information, simply call me TODAY at (901) 606-9105 and I’ll be happy to chat with you.

What’s more, the first 9 couples to make their booking before 2/13/2010 will receive 50% off their session fee and 15% off portrait packages. The actual session can be held at any time, at a location of your choice, but you must book before 2/13/2010.

These romantic sessions can be held anywhere that’s meaningful to you, or in the comfort of your own home, but you must hurry to qualify for the special promotional discount.

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.

While on our recent vacation in Florida, we were able to meet up with our good friends for a few days to catch up since the last time we saw them. Never one to pass up an opportunity to take a photograph, I created a series of portraits of the four of them on the beach. This was one of my favorites, showing them relaxed and enjoying each other’s company after a fun day playing in the pool and in the ocean. We waited until just after the sun had set to catch the best light, and then used a combination of the soft early evening light and flash to produce some lovely photographs.

Of course, our vacation is over and it will be at least another year before we get to see them again, but I’m pleased that we were able to take some time out to create this precious memory for them.

Family portraits, such as this one, can be created almost anywhere – in fact, I produce all of my portraiture on location, away from the studio. This lends a much more natural feel to the images and the subjects are more relaxed because they are in a less intimidating or closed-in environment.

One of the many things I love about being a portrait photographer is the ability and flexibility to create portraits on location, just about anywhere; in this case at the beach. Our recent vaction in New Smyrna Beach, FL, meant that we were close to family relatives who live in Orlando, and it’s always wonderful to see them when we’re down there. This year we took the opportunity to have some fun and create some great portraits on the beach.

To produce this portrait of Mercedez, we waited until just after sunset for the light to be just perfect and then used a delicate combination of natural light and flash to create a really lovely environmental portrait.

Creating portraits on location is a lot more interesting and more fun than working in the confines of a studio – everyone involved is more a lot more relaxed outside the studio,  and the location itself adds a personal and unique dimesnion to the finished portraits.

What this means to you is that you and your family will look relaxed, natural and happy in the portraits.

The location doesn’t have to be as exotic as the beach, it can be almost anywhere that’s special to you, or a location you particularly enjoy visiting, such as the Botanic Gardens, a local park, near a lake, or even your own garden. Environmental portraits like this are so much fun and create timeless pieces that you will treasure for a lifetime.

We had a really fun time at the Memphis Botanic Gardens with Wendy, Katie & Abby, creating a wonderful series of portraits of these three friends.

The weather was perfect, although hot at times, so we concentrated on areas where we could find some good shade for the portraits.

This particular photograph was taken near the prehistoric trail in one of the wooded areas of the botanic gardens – some nice shade, but the bugs obviously liked the cooler area too!

Thank you to the three girls for making the session so much fun and I know you will be thrilled when you get to see the rest of the images in their final finished forms.

You can see more of the images from this portrait session in my Facebook Album - Portraits – Katie, Abby & Wendy.

If you would like a similar session in the Memphis Botanic Gardens, or another favorite location, please feel free to email for information or call me directly at (901) 606-9105.

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.

Summer is finally here and many kids are off to camp for a fun time with friends and all kinds of exciting activities. This year is Amy’s fourth visit to Camp Marymount and, as usual, is having a great time swimming, shooting, making crafts and creating some new friendships.

This is a quick portrait I made of her yesterday on our weekend visit, as she relaxes on the porch outside the door to her cabin. I’m sure the next week will go way too quickly for her!

A portrait of Wendy, taken on the banks of the Mississippi River in Harbortown, Memphis, TN. The photograph was taken just a couple of minutes before sunset at the end of a beautiful day. Harbortown and the greenbelt river park are great locations for almost any kind of portrait session – from children to seniors, or families.

For this particular photograph, we balanced the setting sun and the bright reflections in the Mississippi river with am off-camera flash, to create this dramatic portrait.

I am often asked what are the best products to display portraits, and my answer is always the same – canvas wall portraits. Without a doubt, these are the single most amazing way to display your cherished family portraits, children portraits or senior portraits, and they come in a huge variety of shapes and sizes.

Canvas wall portraits are so much more visible and have a lot more impact than the standard 8 x 10 that has been around for so long now, and which almost invariably end up in a drawer somewhere.

Because the canvas portraits I use are all in the gallery-wrap style, they come ready to hang – either unframed, or in one of the new incredible floating frames. Every time you look at your portraits, you will clearly see the love, warmth and devotion of your family.

As with everything I do, all portraits are 100% guaranteed and will give you and your family pleasure for a lifetime.