Labels: kids

Miss Lanie Ann is 6 months old. She is such a beautiful girl and I love her so much. She sat up so big for us and just smiled and batted her eyes at her Nana and I think Mommy will be so proud!



















And of course, big brother Landon got in on the action.


It was a fun and busy day but so worth it! Love you guys.

Labels: 6 months, babies, baby club, kids

I can't believe it's been a whole year since I took this photo of beautiful Hadley Jane.


We met out at the Sam Davis Home for Hadley's 18 Month session this past week. It was great weather and we actually found some Fall leaves there!






Love this


Hadley is a happy girl, but it usually takes her a little while to warm up to me since we don't see each other often. We played a little peek-a-boo and she was all smiles.




Love these in this sweater too.




How cute is this shirt?




Jodi & Josh - you are so sweet to have allowed me to spend this year with you guys and Hadley! Congratulations on the addition of baby Gus and on your new job! Hope to see you again soon!

Labels: babies, baby club, Fall, kids

Last post about Mini Sessions and it is hands down my favorite. I love it when someone allows me total creative freedom, and that is just what Christy did when she brought her girls Audrey & Davey to me for photos.





I cannot wait for you to see all of the images from this session. Click HERE to register and be notified when they are released!

Labels: babies, Fall, family, farm, kids, mini session, turner farms

Last Fall I donated a Portrait Session package to the Silent Auction at the Bethany Annual Dinner. I was so excited when my domestic adoption social worker Shelby was the winning bidder! Hard to believe with the events of the last year that it took us a full 11 months to actually complete the session! But 30 minutes at the entrance to Percy Warner Park in Belle Meade, and we created some awesome pictures of the Wheliss kids!

Here's Ryland, the oldest at age 11, with his real smile


John Hill, with a knowing almost 8 year-old smirk


Beautiful Nora, almost 4, in her red bow and shiny shoes


These kids did every single thing I asked them to do without one single "ew gross" or having to be fussed at by Mom. It was perfect.








Our favorite


Nora couldn't wait to get her hands on my Norah. After every group of photos, she would say "Now can I go and play with the baby?" and when we told her yes, she took off in a flash!


Here's Shelby with Norah. Thank you so much Shelby for everything you did to support us on our journey towards Norah. We appreciate you.


Big thanks to my friend Amanda for coming along to play with Norah while we were shooting this session. It was fun chatting with you today!

Labels: adoption, christmas, kids, nashville

I am so excited to tell you about a new organization with which I am affiliated. Celebrating Adoption is committed to providing new adoptive families with professional images of their children, to help them celebrate the expansion of their family. Being a new adoptive mom myself, and knowing how much it meant to me to have photographer friends offer to photograph Norah and our family, I felt that it was only right for me to "pay it forward" in this way.

So, my first Celebrating Adoption photo session was with Mr. Kiel today. He just turned one, and if you know what photographing a one year old is like, you know how much we moved around this morning to create these images!



I gave him a leaf...he immediately ate it.




I think he looks so cute in his little hat!


This is a favorite.




Love those eyelashes




I don't think Mom was too sure when I suggested that we let Kiel sit in his grandpa's truck, but I am tickled with these two images too!


Photo Session Favorite!


If you want more information on Celebrating Adoption sessions with me, shoot me an email. I am scheduling one per month, and I have already booked quite a few months, so the sooner you contact me the better your chance of getting a session. For more info about the concept or to locate a photographer in your area, click the logo below.

Labels: baby club, celebrating adoption, kids, one year

Ooh - you're in luck. Had a cancellation today for a slot on Sunday. Email me at alison.bynum@comcast.net if you want it before it's GONE.

The details again, in case you need a refresher...
(Christmas Card) Mini Session is a quick outdoor session for up to 5 people at Turner Farms (my family's farmhouse) in Antioch. You will receive 10 online proofs and you may choose one image to receive a digital file and a copyright release so that you can make your Christmas Cards this year. The dates are Oct 27 and 28.

I have one spot open on Sunday and possibly one on Saturday...again - contact me to reserve your date before it's gone. And to the 15 families who are already scheduled, your info packet will be sent by email on Monday and include your link to pay!

These are the only appointments I will be taking for the rest of 2007 - I have to wrap up all of my existing client sessions/weddings so everyone can have their photos by the holidays!

Now scheduling regular sessions for January and February 2008!

Labels: Fall, family, kids, mini session, turner farms

It's happening.

My wedding clients have started having babies. I feel like a proud Auntie as I watch these wonderful families grow.

Everyone knows Jeremy & Nickie from their first dance below, since it has been one of my signature images since it was shot last July.



Saturday morning, I got the honor of joining these two at their home in Memphis as they woke up their sweet 4 month old baby girl Sydney and got her day started.

We got in a little pajama time


Changing into her play clothes for the day. Sydney was born on my fifth wedding anniversary, which was 3 weeks before Norah was born. It will be so fun to see them grow together.


Hanging out as a family in the den




Sydney is a champ in her exersaucer


Rolling around on the floor with Daddy. This is one of my favorite shots. Sydney can almost roll from her back to her tummy but that arm gets in the way!




A snack break was in order. Jeremy & Nickie were telling me that Sydney always puts her hands up like this when she is taking her bottle.


Another favorite


A little more tummy time.


Since the weather is finally bearable once again, we had to run outside for a minute to play.


This is such a typical dad thing to do...I love it.



Jeremy & Nickie, what a pleasure it was to see you in your home with your daughter this weekend. And thank you so much for the embroidered burp cloths with Norah's name on them - that is too sweet of you to think of her! To register to see this complete gallery when it is available, click here.

Labels: babies, family, kids, memphis

I traveled to little Miss Adie's (said like "lady") house in Morrison yesterday for some 9 month portraits. I knew we were going to be a great fit for each other when her Mom Marian stepped outside to greet me, and we were both wearing our Chuck Taylor's and the same pair of jeans! Anyway, Jason and Adie were hanging out inside, so I headed in to see what they were doing.

Adie was playing around in the family room. She is such a beautiful girl. You can't even tell that she wasn't feeling that great.


Aren't they a sweet family?






We stepped outside for a few shots. The sky was so blue, the grass so green and the air was fresh and comfortable. It was almost surreal after the scorching summer we've had.








We went back inside to calm things down a bit. Adie loves to be read to.


My favorite photo from the whole session! Adie looks like she is telling us a secret!


OK another favorite


Adie's room is straight out of Pottery Barn Kids catalog, with several personal touches. The tree on the wall is beautiful, but from what I understand a labor of love to get it up there.




Steph got to work with Adie a few months back, so to see how much she has grown, click here.

Marian & Jason - thank you for welcoming me into your home for this session. It was so much fun! Hope to see y'all again soon.

Labels: babies, baby club, kids

I got to take some pictures of my nephew Hank at one week old on Wednesday. He is already wearing size one diapers, so he was hardly small, but he is still a new baby. He didn't much curl left in him though. Some of these pics look like a 2 month old laying there!



As soon as I saw these stars I instantly wanted to take this picture.


Sweet baby boy. He loves doing this with his lips.


My sister-in-law Shai is one of the most beautiful girls I know. She would never admit it or act like it, but she lights up a room with her smile and sparkly eyes, and her genuine care for others. I could cry now...but Shai I am so thankful that we are "sisters" and that we get to raise these little babies together. I love you! Done crying now.


love this


Jason couldn't wait to read to Hank from the Dangerous Book for Boys


a favorite. Jason loves to nibble Hank's ear...




another favorite




This is a sweet little monogrammed outfit




in his Optimus Prime onesie, inside Jason's guitar case

Labels: babies, family, kids

Just wanted to call attention to my week of productivity! I got SIX sessions edited and released and I want to thank everyone for your patience and show you that there is hope if you're waiting for your own gallery! :) Things are finally returning to normal around here.

I will be contacting everyone who has requested a Fall Session in the next couple of days to set up your appointment. I have limited appointment times for regular sessions, but I will be offering some "mini-session" days that are perfect for that Christmas card photo that you'd like to have.

Also, a reminder that this is a busy time of year for wedding consultations. If you are interested in Bynum Photography shooting your wedding, now is the time to give me a shout. I will be unveiling 2008 wedding catalogs in November and would love to send you one!

Labels: Fall, family, kids, wedding

Many of you who follow the my family blog know the story of my pastor and his wife and their family's journey to adopt a daughter/sister from China. This journey began officially in the Spring of 2005, but God was moving forward with His plans long before then. Jadyn was placed in the arms of her family on Mother's Day of this year.

It's been almost four months since Jadyn Grace came to town. We decided the time had come to try for some portraits of her.

Most of what we got were Jadyn's serious face. That is who she is at this point in her life...in new situations she studies and takes it all in. I love this shot.


Amy brought lots of fun things that she bought in China. Those are her chopsticks that she loves to play with, and of course her silk dress. You can see we were having a time getting her settled by all the fun stuff in the picture!


This is my favorite shot of the whole day. There's just something about it.




I love this dress and there are some color shots down below. This one would have been awesome except she was playing with a bright green/yellow toy and it just didn't quite fit in!


Jadyn has a little self-soothing technique. She rubs a blanket or fabric on her little face to calm herself - something she learned in the orphanage to cope. I guess Amy and I were stressing her out with the photo session...because she climbed up into her chair and rubbed the little ribbon from her dress on her face. Sweet baby girl. I promise you'll have much more fun next time. At least we were able to capture it forever.




This is what happened when I sang the theme song to Elmo's World. She was mesmerized.


This little pink parasol was also pretty entertaining. I think it was sweet with her green dress.


Another favorite shot.


Amy & Pat - thanks for sharing your baby with me!

Labels: adoption, kids

Well, last weekend Steph and I boarded a plane for Greensboro, North Carolina to attend the Secret Workshop. It was so hard to leave little Norah at home with her Daddy, Grammy & Granddaddy from Friday morning to Monday afternoon, but I had invested a lot of money into my plane tickets, the workshop fee and hotel room a long time before I knew Norah would be here, so I felt I really needed to go.

Once we got away from home, I was really excited to head out. I have not yet attended any educational workshops about children's photography. I love working with children and one of the things about this workshop that intrigued me the most was learning about shooting kids in more commercial environments - like child models, catalogs, magazines, etc. These are things I would love to do eventually with my work.

We got the opportunity on Saturday to work with some child models. They were SO fun to work with - some of them were still aspiring models, and they were a little more challenging than the ones with experience - but that was part of the learning process.

I came out the door for my shooting time and the first little guy I saw was Trenton! Oh my gosh - that hair, that smile - I want to keep him.


This is probably my favorite picture of the whole day. This kid stole my heart!


This is Cruise. He was a handful. But very cute.


We were a little surprised when Will popped out of the crowd in three very stylish and cool outfits. I had to ask him how old he was before I was willing to photograph his bare chest! He's 25. But he was a trooper in the name of looking cool - that was a wool trench coat in 100 degree heat.


Mmm mmm mmm


Y'all can also tell I am into sun flare these days.


I don't remember her name but her eyes are so sparkly.


Ethan in awesome camo shorts


I don't remember this handsome guy's name either...it was a long day!


Sweet Lacey



Twins Abby and Ali and their sister Lucy. These girls are Lacey's sisters, and they are all internationally adopted. Yay!


Here's Lucy again.


Did I mention I would like to keep this child? Don't you think he would be a good big brother for Norah?


He is a RIOT.


So, I am sure you already could tell that Trenton was our buddy by the end of the day. This was an attempt at a self portrait with Steph, Trenton and me, but Steph got cut out and the other shots were really bad...sorry Steph!


I have a few snapshots to add from my point & shoot camera later, but I wanted to share those photographs of the child models and throw it out there that I am interested in these types of sessions if you are looking for a photographer!

There will be some major changes to my childrens photography division in 2008 and all I can say is if you already know you want a session, you would be wise to book it for this Fall. :)

Labels: commercial, conferences, editorial, kids, models

Meet the Couey Family.


Jonathan was a very thoughtful husband and gave his sweet wife Cindy a gift certificate for a family portrait session for Mother's Day. I love it when husbands do things like this for their wives - Cindy says that this is something she has been wanting to do for a while!

We met out at Cannonsburgh in Murfreesboro at 7:30AM for the shoot. It was a great temperature outside - mid-sixties- so we weren't even breaking a sweat to do the photos!

Avery is going into the 5th Grade this Fall. When the Couey's arrived for their session, the first thing I heard about was how much Avery liked my tattoo and then he showed me his guitar "tattoo" on his arm. I am really sad that I forgot to take a picture of our tattoos together - that would have rocked, Avery. But we became friends quickly over our love for ink.

Little Miss Maddie is so pretty - but don't tell her that because immediately she will pull the hairbow out of her hair. It's like "you're so pretty" means " take out the bow." She has the whole family trained already at 16 months old. :) Oh, and before you ask, Cindy made this adorable dress.



Avery is a great big brother. He was so patient with Maddie during the whole photo session. It is challenging to photograph kids in the 12-30 months stage...but when you have great "baby wranglers" it works pretty well. I love this kissing picture right here.


These kids have great blue eyes. I thought these three shots would make a nice storyboard. Click the picture to see it larger. It frames out to a 10x20 and the text is customizable.


Headed over the bridge


One of the best things about photographing at Cannonsburgh is the creek. I love a quick refresher at the end of a toasty shoot. Most kids love playing in the creek at the END of our session, and it is usually a great reward for good behavior! Maddie was so cute splashing around.


Look how she wanted to play in the water, but she had a tight grip on big brother Avery for her security. He was so good with her - did I mention that already?




Jonathan, thank you so much for thinking about your wife and giving her the gift of family portraits. Cindy, thank you so much for sharing your story with me and being so encouraging as Brad and I journey to begin our family. Avery - when I see you at church I hope you won't be too embarrassed to say hi! See y'all soon.

Labels: family, kids, murfreesboro

Do you remember a day in the life of Rylie Grace? I hung out with this sweet family back in November when Rylie Grace was a year old. I was so excited when Kerrie emailed about doing some Spring pictures to capture her at 18 months.

We shot this session at this gorgeous farmhouse in Brentwood (it's for sale...the link is the MLS info in case you're interested!). I love how my clients take me to the most beautiful places for sessions. I loved hearing Rylie Grace talking up a storm...she even said "Alison" which is a challenge for most kids because it's 3 syllables. She's advanced!

Here's a few fun pictures.


These geese (or "ducks") were fascinating. We spent a lot of time following them.




Mmm this sweet dress was my favorite (though all of Rylie Grace's outfits are always adorable).


This is one of my favorite shots. I think it would make the best giclee print, something I am now offering for my portrait clients...


These expressions are priceless.






Here's a couple shots with Mom and Dad.




Look how long Rylie Grace's legs are. She has grown up so much since November. She was enjoying being in the magnolia tree.


I couldn't resist these little toes.


I will be adding the 18 Month photos to Rylie's Pictage Gallery so if you viewed images from the previous session, you're already registered to see these!

Labels: 18 Months, babies, baby club, kids

Little Miss Bella is 2 and a half, and such a smart and fun little princess. I met her, her Daddy (Dudney) and "M" (Mears to the rest of us) out at the Belle Meade Plantation for a photo session that was received as a gift from M's sister for Christmas. Here's a few of my favorites...

I really liked how Bella and Dudney were making the same face here.


Love those blue eyes. We were playing peekaboo for a few minutes to catch this sweet smile.




After running around in the grass with no shoes on for a bit, Bella slowed down long enough to let her Daddy put her shoes back on. Little moments like this occur every day...it was a very important conversation.


A few shots with the whole family. M's eyes were beautifully sparkly today too.




Possibly my favorite from the whole day. Peek-a-boo with Daddy.


We bonded over the squeaky toy. That's pretty typical for my clients around this age. :)


I think this is a sweet shot of M and Bella. Precious.




Thanks for hanging out with me today, Fox Family. It was fun!

Labels: family, kids

Hope this picture makes you smile today. I love it - it is so Addie!

Labels: kids

I got lots of great feedback on the beautiful photo of Addie Mei from the baby shower post a few days ago. She is a hilarious child and it has been fun to watch her grow and change and develop into her own little personality since she arrived home from China to her new family in September of 2006. I hung out with Addie Mei & her Mom Leslie on Friday and here are some of our beautiful results!









Addie is so loved and it shows all over her face. For a comparison, here are some pictures from the airport in September when she arrived in the US with her new family, the Overby's.

Labels: kids

I went out to McMinnville today to hang out/assist my friend Stephanie Edens in her new studio. It looks SO beautiful and I cannot wait to see the awesome images that are going to be created in that place. Today we shot 3 week old Cody and his 15 month old big brother Cooper. Here's a shot of Steph in action with Cody...



While Steph worked with Cody, Cooper and I were exploring and we ended up on this fun red footstool. I love this shot.



Here's a few of baby Cody that I took. He was a trooper...Steph got some precious shots of him curled up on a cowhide with a saddle.

Stephanie - I love you girl and I am so proud of you. YOU are a ROCK STAR!

Labels: kids

We threw a Baby Shower for the Hood's at church yesterday, and these are some of the beautiful little girls that were hanging around for the festivities.

Labels: fbc smyrna, kids

Christy needed some photos of Landon for his 4th birthday party invitation, so we ventured out to find a John Deere tractor suitable for climbing! Brad just happened to have the tractor hanging around at his company, so we loaded up Landon's bulldozer and off we went. These are a few of my favorite shots. Christy designed the invitation herself and it looks AWESOME - I got mine yesterday. I can't believe this kid is turning 4...seems like yesterday we were hanging out in the hall at the hospital.

Labels: kids

Bradley and his family came over today for a bit for a few photos of him at 9 Months. He has grown SO much since our first session this spring. His little legs are getting so long and lean.

When I first started photographing this family, Kelly shared that a portrait session of her two girls when they were babies was one of the most stressful times in her marriage. So far, Bradley has been such a good baby to photograph...but we aren't out of the woods yet since we still have 12 and 18 months ahead of us!

I had to post up the last picture for big sister Parker, who was a great helper today. She squeaked the squeaker to get Bradley's attention, and then gave our dog Katy lots of lovin' before heading home. Thanks Parker!

Labels: 9 months, kids

I have mentioned this before, but it was a privilege to work with the Wilson's to photograph my first ever birth last October. Here's a little visual of how Jonah has grown over the past year. And as I have watched little Jonah from pregnancy to age 1, Eli has sat still a few times just long enough for a 2 year (during Jonah's pregnancy) and 3 year (during Jonah's 1 Year) portrait. Thank you so much for encouraging me along and for allowing me to be a part of your family history guys!

To view the Wilson's gallery of the last year and a half, click HERE.

Labels: baby club, kids, panel

Here's Hadley Jane, such a pretty girl all dressed up for Christmas! I had a lot of fun seeing her house all decked out - mom Jodi and dad Josh have done such a nice job decorating their new home for the season.

Hadley has new teeth since I saw her for her 6 Month session.

Thanks so much for having me over! Hope you enjoy your first Christmas with your precious daughter and I look forward to seeing you around her 1st birthday.

Labels: 9 months, baby club, kids