My own little Clover Queen

So, this is the blog post where I get to tell you what a "Proud Papa" I am.

It's no secret that my little girl, Katlynn is growing up. She's eleven and getting ready to finish the 5th grade. She's always been a good kid - good grades, respectful, cute, funny - yeah, yeah - I know I'm biased. [laughing]

Last Tuesday night, my daughter participated in the county-wide 4H club talent show/competition. She sang "Colors of the Wind" from Disney's Pocohantas, and I have to tell you that I was absolutely floored by what I heard.

My daughter is a lot like me. I don't ask for a lot of help. When I want something, I prepare for it on my own. I work hard, but I don't usually do that in front of people. I had not heard her sing "Colors of the Wind" before she sang it on the stage Tuesday night. It almost made me tear up at how good it was.

Besides the singing, Katie also participated in the Clover King and Queen competition. The kids show off a sporty look and a dressy look, and then they're interviewed by a panel. Well, my little fashionista got runner-up in the Clover Queen competition. What a hoot.

Katlynn, I love you, and I frankly couldn't be more proud of you.

Here are some images from the event last Tuesday. Hope you enjoy them.

The "Sporty" portion of the Clover Queen Competition




The "Dressy" portion of the Clover Queen Competition




Here's a couple of Katlynn singing "Colors of the Wind" from Disney's Pocohantas. You can listen to a recording of this performance by clicking the link at the bottom of this blog entry.



Katlynn wins runner-up for 2009 Clover Queen!






And here's the link to the audio: Katie's Performance - Audio MP3

Video is here: Katie's Video Performance



Now, tell me about your proud parenting moments! I wanna hear 'em!

Jessi & Darren "Trash the Dress"

The day after Jessi and Darren's wedding in St. Croix, we all got up early and met first at the estate where they were staying and later moved to the beach. The goal was to shoot a "Trash the Dress" session.

Now, if you're not familiar, a "Trash the Dress" session is a photo shoot where the bride and sometimes the groom has portraits made doing things in her dress that she could never do on her wedding day (for fear of "trashing" it). Our TTD was a lot of fun, and I think we got some great images. I've got some video of us shooting that I will add later.

If you'd like to see the whole session, simply click this link: http://www.andyarmstrongphoto.com/jdttd/

St. Croix Wedding Day Images

On May 1, 2009, I was lucky enough to shoot Jessi and Darren's wedding in St. Croix, Virgin Islands. What a great place to get married, and what an incredible day and event. I'm so glad I was a part of it.

Here are a few images from the wedding day itself. I'm still working on the "Trash the Dress" session we shot the next day, but they'll be up soon. If you want to see all the wedding day photos, simply click the link at the end of this blog post.













































Link to slideshow: http://www.andyarmstrongphoto.com/jdwed2009/

Blake and Traci

Last week in St. Croix,
I shot a wedding and a trash the dress session,
but I also had the pleasure of shooting a portrait session for the groom's sister, Traci and her boyfriend, Blake.


We rolled out early in the morning the second day
of the trip and shot these portraits.


It was great to meet and work with both Traci and Blake,
and I wish them all the best.

I'm back from St. Croix...

...and I'm diligently working on the many sessions I shot while there, but first I wanted to share a beautiful sunset and a few little tidbits about my trip with you all. I'll post more and more photos as they become available.

First off, they drive on the wrong side of the road in St. Croix. That's right - er - left actually. The cars, however, are standard American cars with steering wheels on the left side. My Ford Focus was no exception. It really messes with your brain - left turns on red - right hand turns where you can't see anything - and no matter how many times it happens, you still get a little "butt pucker" when you see a Mack truck headed your direction on the right side of the road. I was lucky I survived.

There is an Armstrong's Homeade Ice Cream on the island, and it's incredible stuff. If you ever get a chance to go there, try the Pina Colada flavor. Of course, eat inside and pay attention to what the Cruzans are ordering. "BuhNAHNAH" was my favorite to listen to.

I also managed to dislocate my pinky toe while I was in St. Croix, and no, I wasn't even drinking at the time (maybe I should've been). Nope, I nailed my foot on a stone in flip flops, and when I looked down, my right pinky toe was pointing at a good 45-50 degree angle out from my foot.

If you've never looked down and seen one of your body parts doing something it ought not do, then you don't know what you're missing. I was shocked at first, and then I didn't know whether to laugh or cry... I chose to laugh.

I pulled it as best I could and taped it to the neighboring toe (as recommeded by the EMT groom). It's still a nice color of blue and purple, but it's feeling better.

And finally, I had to make several connection flights on the way home. My first flight from St. Croix to San Jaun was on a Cape Air, twin-engine Cessna. There were eight of us on board, including me and the pilot.

When we got out to the plane, the young man loaded our carry-ons to "balance us out" and then surveyed the group. He pointed to me and said, "You go sit by the pilot." I boarded the plan and immediately asked the pilot, "He said sit beside you. Does that mean here or there?" - He pointed to the co-pilot's seat.

Yeah. I rode for an hour with the optional controls right there for my use, and let me tell you it's an interesting experience to see a takeoff and a landing from the front seat.

More later - I've got to go keep on editing photos.

Heading to St. Croix

So, I'm sitting here in the Knoxville airport waiting to board a flight to Atlanta and then switch planes to St. Croix. I'm headed down to shoot Jessi Shivers' wedding on the island.

It's supposed to be between 76-90 degrees year round in St. Croix and always gorgeous. This should be no exception.

We're shooting both the wedding and a trash the dress session. I can't wait to share the results.

A few images from the Remington Poster Shoot this weekend

Over the weekend, I traveled up the road to the Cumberland Gap. More specifically, I drove to Martin's Station at Wilderness Road State Park in Virginia.
I was there to shoot images for this year's Remington Poster Series. We had 1770's period re-enactors, long rifles, Native Americans, and a whole bunch of fun.

If you get a chance, you should really go and visit Martin's Station.

The original Martin's Station played a relatively short but significant part in the history of southwestern Virginia and the early settlement of Kentucky. The station takes its name from Joseph Martin, who was born cir. 1740 in Albemarle County, Virginia.

You can learn more by visiting the web site: http://www.martinsstation.com/

I'd like to give a special thanks to Billy, Chris, Ryan, Ms. Baldwin, Ron, and the others who helped us to capture the life of the 1770's hunter accurately.

I've included several images here for you.

No Limits: Portland Workshop is a big success!

No Limits: Portland Wrap-up - Day One

Portland, Oregon - On March 23 and 24, Mike Long (of TimesTwo Studios and Portland Pin-ups) and Andy Armstrong (creator of design|house and owner of Andy Armstrong Photography) hosted No Limits: Portland - a two-day workshop focusing on Pin-up and Fashion/Glamour work.

Before things got started on day one, Andy Armstrong gave each attendee a little design|house "monkey love" (a four gigabyte USB storage key), and attendees got to know each other over coffee and donuts.

Day one featured Mike Long's complete overview of how he creates his stunning 40's and 50's style pin-up work from start to finish. Attendees learned what defines the "pin-up" label, the ideas behind the images, and how to light and pose for the work. Mike worked one-on-one with workshop attendess as they shot fabulous pin-up models in the studio.

In the second half of the day, Mike shared his pin-up post processing work, which included some amazing ways to use smart objects and masks to really get that great pin-up look. For most, there were many serious "light bulb" moments in this portion of the class.

Mike also offered his attendees a set of actions and files to create his pin-up look.

Here's some behind the scenes photos from Day One of No Limits: Portland 2009:

The Makeup Artist works on model, Mandy Apple before the shoot.

Julie Lowry snaps a shot of Mandy during the process.

Mike teaches about light and pose with Mandy Apple.

Mike gives Josh some personal instruction

Mike works with Photosensitve (Denise).

Day Two

On Day Two of No Limits, Andy Armstrong shifted the subject of the workshop from Pin-up work to Fashion/Glamour/Boudoir photography.

In the first half of the day, Andy discussed the dos and don'ts of working with models, pointing to specific examples of what to look for and what to avoid in working with models/clients. To let the ideas and concepts sink in, Andy moved the group over to the studio area and demonstrated his ideas and techniques as he shot with local model, Melissa. As he shot, Andy discussed "pose progression" and answered attendee questions.

After the demonstration, Armstrong split the group in two. He sent one half of the group to work one-on-one with a model and award-winning photographer, Julie Lowry (calgal), and he kept the other half to work in the studio space. After an hour of hands-on training, coaching and shooting, the groups switched models and locations.

In the second half of the day, Andy shared some of his post-processing technique and demonstrated how to "get creative" with images in Photoshop. He demonstrated general PS tool techniques and some specific ways to use design|house software and the new d|h destinations vegas add-on.

Andy also offered special workshop pricing on the design|house suite vol. 1, magazine templates, card templates, and design|house destinations vegas.

Here are some images from Day Two of No Limits:Portland:

Hollie works on model, Melissa's make-up

Andy demonstrates how to communicate direction with hand gestures and words.

Andy demonstrates the "up the nose" pose that is a norm from in-experienced models.

Danny (weshootya) asks a question during a Q&A session on Day Two.

Andy moves lighting while demonstrating a standard fashion/glamour session for the group.

Andy works with model, Melissa during the example shoot.

Demonstrating "Girl Scouts" vs. "Maxim"

Andy discusses results with Mike during a one-on-one session.

Group Shots

Back from the Grind 3: Detroit (More than Glamorous)

Well, I had an absolute blast in Detroit, Michigan leading The Grind3: Detroit workshop. Our class was amazing and our models were fantastic. We did two days of intensive photography and photoshop work, and folks got a lot out of it.

Special thanks to Julie Lowry of Chanterelle Photography in Montgomery, AL who once again came through as my assistant for this workshop and she co-lead some of the breakout shoots.

Next weekend we head out to Portland to conduct the No Limits: Portland two-day workshop with Mike Long. There are still seats available, so join us if you can.

Here are a few images from Day 2 of the event. When I get the Day 1 (engagement couples) done, I'll post some of those as well.

My daughter,Katlynn wins Visual Arts Award

Last night I attended the Knox County PTA's Student Awards Banquet. My daughter, Katlynn received an award in Division 3 of the Visual Arts category. There were close to 100 awards given in many categories and divisions, including dance, visual arts, photography, film, saftey, citizenship, etc.

As luck would have it, Visual Arts was the very last category awarded, and as Katlynn and I sat through award after award, we began joking about what she could do as she went on stage to accept her award.

We decided that Punching Bill Williams in the gut and snatching the medal probably wasn't the best idea, so we settled on a "triple dog dare" invented by me. I dared her to "curtsy" to Bill before she let him put the medal and ribbon over her head - the way one might do as the queen gave you an award. We negotiated for a bit, and finally, with a promise of monetary reward, she agreed to do it.

When she crossed the stage, she curtsied for Bill Williams (local celebrity), and he thought it was so cute, he made her do it again. I, of course, captured the entire sequence on my Lumix. LOL - for your viewing pleasure. Here's the video.



If you can't see the video, here's the youtube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7J5KmMcyLtc

Morgan and Jamie Trinker wedding Photo receives "Accolade of Excellence" in Print Competition!

My print from Morgan and Jamie Trinker's wedding received and "Accolade of Excellence" and hung at the WPPI Tradeshow and Convention. Thanks for being such a great couple and helping me win, Morgan and Jaime.

It snowed!

Working with Leighann in Some New Space

I had the opportunity Saturday to shoot in some new Studio Space down in the Old City in Knoxville. Leighann Nitzband was gracious enough to be my guineau pig. Here are some of the results.

In it to win it

I've spent the past couple of weeks preparing some images for the 20009 WPPI 16x20 print competition. Last year I managed to capture Third Overall in the Premiere Division of this same competition (the biggest print competition for Portrait Photographers).

I can finally show you...

...the work I did for the 2008 Christmas card of fellow photographer, and incredible friend, Julie Lowry. If you recall, last year we did a GAP Ad theme for her Christmas Card, and this year we went whole hog: Breakfast at Tiffany's.

The concept and costume was all Julie, I just decorated the set, set up the lights and shot the images. I can't wait to see what we come up with next year.

The Many Faces of Katie

My daughter, Katlynn gleefully agreed to be my model for this fun session of pop-art style photographs. These turned into some great presents for the grandparents.

Post Processing Fun

Sometimes it's fun to composite a whole bunch of you into one image.

Joy appears eleven times in the pano image above. That's right - ELEVEN times. Creative composite images can be a lot of fun, especially for seniors and children.

Classic Beauty/Modern Flavor

Sometimes I like to try to mix and match classic lighting, posing, and sets with a modern style of presentation. This photograph of model, Amelia Steele is an example of that.

The soft faux window light, the reclined pose, and the chaise lounge smack of classic feminine portraiture. However, the modern textured post-processing and presentation created with designhouse give the overall image a very unique feel and flavor.

Make a book for Christmas

Did you know that you can make a beautiful hardback book of your images as Christmas gifts? I did. And that's just what I did last year. The image below is a "spread" from the picture book I delivered to my parents for Christmas last year.

The book was 10x10 and 20 pages long. When you open a spread like the one below, you have a gorgeous 20x10 photograph to share with your friends and family.

Ask me about creating a book of our images for you. You won't regret it.

Take the time to look around...

A few years ago, I was driving home when I spotted a rainbow on the horizon. It caught my attention, because it has literally been years since I'd seen a rainbow. As I stared at the natural prism of colors that sat in the sky, I wondered why I hadn't seen a rainbow in a long time.

Were there less rainbows these days? I remember seeing them all the time when I was a kid. Why weren't there the same amount of rainbows in the sky as an adult as there was when I was a child?

Rainbows hadn't changed. I changed. There weren't less rainbows. I had just begun to trudge through my life with my head down, dealing with my daily duties, and worrying about this and that - I had stopped looking for rainbows. I had changed, and it wasn't for the better.

From that afternoon on, I made a promise to myself to take the time necessary to see the rainbows - to remember that life is more than a daily struggle. Try it. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised at the "rainbows" that become visible to your life.

Going on the Road!

Well, it's official. We announced two workshop dates this morning. I'll be doing "The GRIND3: DETROIT" and "No Limits: Portland" in March of 2009.

The GRIND3 will be a solo workshop in Detroit, and "No Limits" will be a joint workshop with Mike Long of Portland Pin-Ups and TimesTwo Studios.

Happy Turkey Day, Everybody

I just wanted to wish you and yours a very happy Thanksgiving. I know that I'm going to eat until I can't hardly walk today, and I hope you will too.

So, instead of writing a nice, long blog, I thought I'd just give you a little Adam Sandler love today. Without further ado, here's the "Thanksgiving Song"

Find more videos like this on www.truveo.com.

Putting the effort into every image

As many of you know, I believe that every image deserves time and attention to detail. It's important to make folks look fabulous in their images. In that vein, here's a little standard workflow I put together for the design|house learning center

Yep, I shoot weddings.

Look, I'm not going to sugarcoat it. Weddings are probably the hardest events that I shoot. I'm usually dehydrated and completely exhausted the day after I shoot a wedding. It's hard work to properly capture a couple's special day, and any photographer who tells you differently probably isn't doing it right or does't really care.

Weddings are difficult, but the reward for doing it right - oh my, it just amazes me sometimes that the images I create for a couple are going to spurn a lifetime of enjoyment that their children and children's children will share.

For more information on my wedding photography philosophy and my pricing, please visit: my weddings page.

My daughter at Halloween

Yep, that's my little evil cheerleader. She's 10 now. She'll be 11 at the end of Decemeber.

More from my latest session...

Heather Levitt (the model in these pics) has been one of my best friends for ten years or so now. We always have fun when we shoot a session.

Getting a Little Funkified...

The crazy wig was Heather's idea. The crazy post work was my idea. We shot these with a ringlight and just a plain old hotel wall. What fun.

A few fashion glamour videos...

Your wedding day is a special day...

...why not remember it with incredible images?

I find myself drawn back to the images I shot of Morgan and Jamie at their wedding this summer. It was such a beautiful day and such a beautiful wedding. And though I'm not a member of their family and I didn't know them at all before their wedding, I feel like somehow I am a part of their life in a way that will last forever.

Ah, the things I'll do...

...to make people laugh. These images are care of Tina Poppa who participated in my Grind workshop in Nashville, TN. In the first photo, I was sneaking into the back of the frame and trying to make Tina relax and laugh...and yes, I admit it freely. I look a little freakish. LOL

Chisa, me and Julie - posing with the Krispy Kreme, and then they shoved it in my nose.

Because your family doesn't live life in front of a blue mottled background.

Few things are as precious as the family portrait. In fact, most people say that if they had only a few minutes to gather belongings from their homes before an imenent disaster, they would grab their family photos. Why? These are precious moments of our lives saved forever on a piece of photo paper - a glimpse of who we were and how we became who we are.

Let me be blunt for a moment. I am not a fan of the department store portrait. You know the kind. The ones where we put on our Sunday best and our fake smiles, and someone with the same training as the person who might sell you a tie in another department snaps a photo in front of a mottled blue background.

While they are an accurate account of what we looked like in that year, these photos tell us nothing about the people in them. They show no interaction, and they never show the real us.


You don't live your life in front of a blue mottled background.
Why remember it that way?

What makes a family is the interaction between family members in a setting that is comfortable to them. How a toddler takes his mother's hand. How a daughter snuggles into her Daddy's neck when she's feeling shy. That's who we are, and that's exactly what I want to capture when I shoot family portraits: Your family the way it really is.

If you're looking for a standard family portrait that you might get at one of those photo factories in the yellow pages, then I'm probably not the photographer for you. If you're looking for someone to tell the story of your family's life through photographs - if you're looking for more than a standard family portrait - if you're looking for a timeless piece that hangs in your home and is the starter of conversation, a source of joy, and brings a twinge of longing to go back to that time in your family's history - then I'm here to capture that for you.

Glamour & Boudoir images are becoming popular gifts

It's no secret that men love photographs of beautiful women, but what you may not know is that more and more women are creating a special gift for their significant others.

Glamour/Boudoir photography is the gift for your man that just keeps on giving, and it's easier than you think. Beauty comes in all shapes, sizes and ages. I've photographed women in their 20's and their late 40's. I've photographed women who were size 0 and women who were size 15. All of them were beautiful, and their husbands absolutely loved the special gifts they received.

The key to getting great glamour/boudoir photos is finding flattering light and apparel for your figure, and then working with me to find the best pose for your body. I recently shot a session with a woman who describes herself as a "heavier person." She was uncomfortable with how her legs looked, so we hid them and not only did SHE love her photos, she knows her husband will fall over when he gets his Christmas gift this year.

There are lots of options with glamour/boudoir photos. You can find more information about my glamour/boudoir sessions here: http://www.andyarmstrongphoto.com/pricing-glamour.htm

When good models go bad!

Of course I'm kidding. Sometimes you just have to let off a little steam during a shoot! This is Miss Leighann hamming it up for my camera at The Grind: Remix in Nashville.

I like to have a lot of fun at my fashion/glamour shoots. I find that laughter helps put people at ease, and it causes models to loosen up and have a great time. The more comfortable you are in front of the camera, the better my images will be.

Thanks for being a ham, Leighann.

The Power of Krispy Kreme

Ah yes, that hot, round, melt in your mouth, OMG I could eat half a dozen without even thinking about it that we call Krispy Kreme. It's one of those things that if you haven't tried it and don't live near a Krispy Kreme store - you shouldn't try it. You'll crave it forever.

At my workshops in Nashville we had many participants who hadn't had the glory of tasting a Krispy Kreme, so we bought three dozen each morning. Mmmmm. As always, they were a huge hit. Even the models loved 'em.

More fun with Leighann Nitzband "Okay!!!!!!!!" (with apologies to Jeff Dunham's Peanut)

Crazy, sexy, beautiful...and funny as hell. That's the only way I can describe the real Leighann. That and the fact that Mr. Nitzband (Leighann's husband) is a lucky, lucky man.

Leighann and I shot again last Monday, and she brought her cousin, Brittany on location to help us out (thanks for holding the reflector, Brittany). I don't mind telling you that I've developed an "old man" crush on this model. It's beyond me how anyone can be that fun, that tiny, and that sexy all at the same time.

From goofing off with "Peanut" sayings from Jeff Dunham to jumping on the bed and geese in the esophagus, wow - this session was just too fun. Thank you again, Leighann. I'm so glad you're coming to Nashville to help with the fashion/glamour workshops I'm leading the first week of November. We're going to have a blast... and if you thought the hotel room we shot in was nice - wait til you see the Hotel Preston.

Here's some of the pics from our session and here's the link to the full slideshow: http://www.andyarmstrongphoto.com/leighann1020/index.html

Oh, Miss Ashleigh!

What can I say? It's Miss Ashleigh - one of my favorite models, and it's been way, way too long since we had a shoot together (over a year).

Last monday, we got together at in a hotel room setting and shot a wonderful, quirky, crazy, fun session. Here are some of the results. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did.

Short and Sweet

Well, last Friday was fun, and I don't mean just fun - I mean F-U-N, fun!

I had the pleasure of shooting in the studio with the absolutely tiny (4'11 to be exact) but incredibly lovely, Leighann. Not only is she gorgeous, Leighann has a sense of humor that just killed me. From singing "Scotty doesn't know to making goofy faces" - we just had fun.

Thanks so much for coming out to shoot with me, Leighann. I really do look forward to the next time we work together - and especially at my workshops in Nashville in November.

And, oh, we got some killer images too. Have a look. I think you'll agree.