Headbands of Hope Photoshoot

Hi!  Did you miss me?

I needed a few days off, and I think summer is a good time to do that.  Things at work have definitely picked up, especially since I’m working on finishing up the August schedule.  I’ve started to find a really good balance, and I’m not teaching as much as I was, just once or twice a week, and as needed.

A little over a year ago, when I got my job, I was a little skeptical when Matt, my boss, encouraged me to drop my Saturday class.  I didn’t understand why that would be necessary, or why it might be necessary for me to pare down, but he was right, and it sort of feels good to delegate some of my weekly classes.  And when I actually do teach, it feels more therapeutic than exhausting.

But anyhoo…

So yesterday, I had the pleasure of doing another photoshoot with Jess Ekstrom, the founder of Headbands of Hope.  Headbands of Hope is a really incredible organization that Jess started when she was in undergrad at NC State.  I’ve mentioned them on the blog before, but if you’re not familiar with the company, for every headband purchased, a headband is given to a child with cancer, and $1 is donated to cancer research.  Jess and I met while we were working at URec at State, and I guess she thinks I’m cool enough to do their shoots, so I’ve been involved with a few projects of hers.

So for the shoot, we had help from Carolyn Scott of Carolyn Scott photography, a really cool photographer here in Raleigh who has a real unique, dusky quality to all of her photos.  Here’s a little sneak peek of some of the photos.

10984254_10152809893881618_6405920082755475735_n 11061943_10152809894071618_8949467571049953388_n 11215132_10152809893866618_6433688604044872748_n 11750632_10152809894016618_1550647951309143588_nThe shoot followed a bridal theme, so Caroline, of Vestique, played our bride, and provided the rompers for us, which I absolutely loved.  They were so comfortable, and had that awesome flutter sleeve that added an element of drama to the look.  I almost thought for a second that a romper could have been fun for my girls, but they would have absolutely killed me, right?

It was a great, amazing way to kick off the rest of the week, and when I saw the pics, I was so happy they’re going to convey how bomb HoH is.

What are your plans for the weekend?

 

 

It’s a beautiful day for a photoshoot!

So I had an amazing Saturday.  The weather was amazingly beautiful, and I was amazingly busy.  But one thing in particular, totally rocked my world.  The founder and CEO of Headbands of Hope, Jessica Ekstrom, invited me and a few other wonderful girls to participate in a photoshoot for Headbands of Hope.

So a little bit on HOH.  Jessica started HOH when she was 19 years old.  Yes, you read that correctly, Jess was 19 when she started HOH, and the premise is incredible, yet simple at the same time.  For every headband purchased through HOH, which you can view here, $1 is donated to the St. Baldrick’s Foundation to fund research, and one headband is given to a girl with cancer.  The headbands are really, really, really cute, so it was a no-brainer when Jess reached out to invite us to participate in her photoshoot.

So, heads up, these photos are a sneak peek at the real deal, and the real post on our shoot will come in about a week-and-a-half or so, so I will totally fill you guys in on our awesome photographer and our awesome stylists who outfitted us for the shoot.  These are just a few shot from my vantage point!

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So we actually hiked out to the location – and if you thought I was exaggerating about how beautiful the weather was, I totally wasn’t.  It was like 75 degrees, and we did the shoot in Historic Yates Mill Park in Raleigh, a few minutes away from NC State.

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After we made it out to the location, we gathered around, finally all dressed and styled, while folks started arriving.

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A few gorgeous shots in a field…

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And even CEO Jess jumped in to take a few shots of her own with her camera.  I was able to sneak a peek at Jess’ camera to figure out what she shoots with because I’m really wanting to get a new camera for the blog soon.  Everyone is saying that this investment is definitely a good one for the blog, in order to get good, attractive shots.

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My turn in the field!

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The shoot wouldn’t be any fun without laughter!

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My mom loved this one when I showed it to her.  I’m excited to see how it came out in the shoot!

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And finally, the shoot ended up with us getting to try on a ton of Jess’ cool designs.  This one is one of my favorites because it’s super duper bridal!

It was such a fun day, and I can’t wait to show you guys the photos from the shoot, and introduce you to our photog and stylist, both incredibly talented ladies!

I hope your Saturday was as busy and awesome as mine was.

What is your feeling on a nicer camera?  Worth the investment to grow your blog?