Rich Smith Photography

Savannah and Jeffrey » Engaged!

Rich — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 21:47:55 +0000

I always, always, always try my best to emphasize, encourage, and capture beautiful and authentic connections between couples. That’s what I’m more passionate about than anything else. It’s (hopefully) what I’m known for at Rich Smith Photography. To me, this approach is more interesting and tells a much more accurate picture of a couple than with them actually looking at my camera and smiling. Anyone can do that, ya know? But having a couple that’s willing to tear down the “stranger” wall and give my camera a glimpse of who they really are, that’s so special! Each of my clients have a story to tell. A story that I’m anxious to capture and “write” — with photos being the medium.

Thankfully, Savannah and Jeffrey are definitely on the same page as I am. They have such a wonderful connection with each other and I was inspired photographing them!

If a a picture is worth a thousand words then here’s a 27,000 word essay of their love. Enjoy and take a second to tell me what you think in the comments!

Jeffrey and Savannah, I had a blast photographing you and cannot wait for your wedding!

Felicia and Rob » Chattanooga Engagement Photographer

Rich — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 23:41:00 +0000

Loved going to Ringgold to photograph Rob and Felicia at a cabin which Rob and his dad built! It was such a beautiful place and we had beautiful weather! Really loved hanging out with these two. Together we bribed a horse, avoided a REALLY mean goat and tried not to have our heels bitten by some very small dogs (thank you invisible fence). We really did have a blast! Check out some of my favorites below!

Welcome to the world, Camden!

Rich — Fri, 15 Feb 2013 16:28:08 +0000

I love my clients! Especially the ones that I have an ongoing relationship with. Who trust me to continue to photograph their life, even after the wedding!

Kris and Emily are two such clients. They got married in 2010 and now they’ve had an awfully cute baby boy named Camden. Don’t you just love that name!? With a name like that, he has no choice but to grow up as cool as his parents!

It was so amazing seeing and reconnecting with Kris and Emily. They live in a beautiful home in Knoxville now and really enjoying life!

Check out just a few of my favorite photos from the session below!

Parenting is the hardest job in the world. It takes patience and lots of love… especially when your baby is screaming their head off in the middle of the night and the only thing you want to do is get a few minutes of sleep. Emily and Kris: you two are already making wonderful parents. Seeing how tender and loving you are to Camden is a beautiful thing to watch. And I love how you two didn’t get flustered if Camden started crying during out session…. knowing that my documenting even the less than peaceful times is documenting life and is beautiful. I can’t wait to see Camden grow up. He’s going to be one very cool kid!

Jensen and Alan » Post Proposal photos!

Rich — Mon, 28 Jan 2013 22:58:19 +0000

On Saturday, I had the privilege to photograph a post-proposal! And after an awful few days of “wintery mix”, I was so thankful that Saturday gave us beautiful blue skies.

This was an unusual shoot since neither the groom-to-be (Alan) or bride-to-be (Jensen) knew I would be there! That’s because Jensen’s mom was the one who contacted me. Alan knew both his and Jensens parents were going to be there to surprise Jensen but that was it.

So Jensen had no idea what was about to happen. We knew that Alan was going to propose on a hiking trail on Raccoon Mountain and they would then enjoy the walking bridge afterwards. In anticipation, the parents of stood ready to jump behind the columns when they saw them approaching.

After we had waited around for a while, the happy couple came and were very much surprised. Love Jensens reaction!

I think this encapsulates how they were feeling…

Thanks again for letting me be a part of this very joyous occasion!

Emily and Jack » Chattanooga Engagement Photography

Rich — Tue, 22 Jan 2013 22:05:31 +0000

Meet Emily and Jack!

I had met Emily at a coffee shop to talk about her wedding before she hired me but Jack didn’t get to come. So this was the first time seeing BOTH of them and see how they interacted with each other. They filled out a questionnaire which included adjectives of how they were together.

“Comfortable, peaceful, and adventurous.”

And they totally were just that during our session. I would have added “hilarious, outgoing and awesome” to the set of adjectives to describe them. We had such a fun time together!

Later, Jack described their engagement session with me as “going on a date with Emily and you were just along taking photos of it.” Perfect description.

Check out their photos below!

Love this photo of them. The way Emily is looking at Jack right now… I feel that’s a look she reserves only for Jack. :)

Ducks and deuces. We’re such gangstas. Or something!

Loved hanging out and having a blast with you two! It really was a ton of fun and I’m so thankful that we’ll get to do it again on your wedding day!

The Love of the Engels Family

Rich — Wed, 12 Dec 2012 01:36:49 +0000

If you’ve following my work for a while, then you know the Engels family and their story. Christi has been battling cancer for several years now. Since Kenny is one of the pastors at our church, their battle has been very public. Every Sunday, thousands of people pray for the Engels and several other families who are also battling cancer. As of right now, there is no good news. But daily…continually, we get to watch this incredible, courageous family endure everything with peace, joy, hope, laughter and love.

Along with hundreds and hundreds of other people, my family has been impacted greatly and blessed just being in close proximity to the Engels. I’m so proud of them and thankful to call them “friends”.

Please watch this slideshow to see the photos from our session!

Engels family, thank you for the honor of photographing your family. We love you and continue to stand with you in prayer!

The Bergthold Family!

Rich — Thu, 06 Dec 2012 02:12:45 +0000

My very first clients. That’s the Bergtholds. They were brave enough to hire me to photograph their family before anyone else…which gave me the courage to keep pursuing my photography career. Levi (the boy below) was 4 months old at the time! Now they’re more than just clients, but also good friends. I still love to get together and photograph this wonderful family! They’re SO much fun… as you’ll see with the photos below! Check them out!

Love Levi in this photo!

These two are definitely not lacking in personality!

Levi doing his thang…

Now here’s a record… 3 self portraits in ONE post! Here’s beautiful little Lily. She’s 10 days older than my daughter Alana. She’s been hanging out with Alana lately and we just love this little girl. So much fun!

Love how ridiculous we all look in this photo! Awesome!

Looking fabulous with Alyssa and Alaina…

Thank you AGAIN for letting me photograph your AMAZING family! Had a beautiful time and can’t wait till next time!

Jennifer and Kyle » Chattanooga Engagement Photography

Rich — Mon, 03 Dec 2012 17:41:38 +0000

Kyle and Jennifer traveled from Atlanta for their engagement session. They had hired me a few weeks prior and I was excited to meet them in person! We had a ton of fun while wandering around Renaissance Park…lots of laughs as the photos below will attest to. Check our a few of my favorites! Beautiful couple and great interaction!

Jennifer and Kyle, I had a blast with you both and can’t wait to photograph your wedding in 2013! It’s going to be amazing!

Laura and David’s Anytime Session

Rich — Sat, 01 Dec 2012 20:13:32 +0000

Laura first contacted me thinking that I only photographed weddings but just told me that if I ever decided to photograph married couples to let her know. I immediately emailed back letting her know that I do photograph married couples. They’re called “anytime” sessions, and I love doing these type of sessions!

So Laura used to work with one of my other clients… Jenny, who’s wedding was a couple of months ago.

David and Laura were just fantastic to work with. It was an honor to photograph them, and there was a depth and comfortability with each other that I loved capturing. Check out a few of my favorites below!

Christen and David » Chattanooga Engagement Photography

Rich — Thu, 29 Nov 2012 02:11:09 +0000

It’s always fun but a bit nerve racking when you don’t ever meet a client before their first shoot with you. Normally I have a meeting with them at a Panera or Starbucks… just to get to know each other. So if I’ve never met them, there’s always that question on whether we’ll hit it off or not. If we don’t hit it off, then it makes my job a whole lot harder since they’ve GOT to be comfortable in front of me and my camera to get the type of emotion I love to capture.

Well, I didn’t need to be nervous. Christen and David were naturals in front of the camera and we shared a LOT of laughter together. David had a secret word he would whisper to Christen to make her laugh but she wouldn’t let him tell me what that word was! I’m still curious but I’m okay with it as long as that word still works on their wedding day!

We met up at Walnut Hill Farm, the site where they’re going to get married in June of next year. I had never been there before. It’s a BEAUTIFUL place where they used to raise prized show llamas. Who knew? They recently decided to change course and turn Walnut Hill Farm into a wedding venue. And what a venue it is! It’s huge. We literally had to drive around to get to each place we wanted to photograph.

Check out some of my favorites from their session below!

Probably my favorite photo from the session!

Got a chance to break out the ol’ external lights for a couple shots at sunset. I HATE how long it takes to set up but LOVE how beautiful the result is on David and Christen!

Spiked hair. Gotee. Yep, David and I could be brothers. I believe this is my first ever self-portrait with my external light!

Loved meeting, hanging out, getting to know and photographing you two! Hope you’ve enjoyed these photos. Lots more coming!