John Black Photography bio picture

Welcome to our Blog!

In saying 'our' I mean myself, Amanda - my coordinator (and yours!) and Kat our second shooter. This blog is Amanda's baby. It is her voice you will be reading. And I am sure Kat will have her two cents to add as well. Feel free to browse through all of our categories up there. From Weddings, Engagement Sessions, to Lifestyles and the Wee Ones! I'll also keep you in touch with my personal projects as well as commercial photography. Swing by often and find out what we are up to! ~ JB

Amanda here! Know that this blog will be filled with not only local but international ideas. We have been photographing weddings since 2000, thats a TON of venues, bands, videographers and CAKE! I'm not shy about telling you who will give you the best service. Feel free to check out our 'Friends' category. I come to all of the weddings and help you by getting your families and friends together for pictures, I'll help you create your timeline as well. My goal is to keep things running smoothly so John & Kat never have to stop photographing. I'll also design your wedding album. And in my spare time I design websites as well! Cheers, Amanda

I enjoy working full-time as a photography & art teacher for West High School. I have been with John & Amanda from the beginning and love working in such a fun atmosphere. My roll for John is to capture candid moments though out your wedding. Its not hard to photograph laughter and smiles! ~ Kat

Merry Christmas!

December 25, 2008 – 8:18 pm

John took this picture this morning and I wanted to share it with you! Cheers, Amanda & John

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Save the Date! AND Merry Christmas!

December 13, 2008 – 11:53 am

So many of our clients are excited when they hear that we will design their Save the Date cards for them when they use an image from their engagement session at no charge. Don’t let Amanda and Kris’s fool you - on the back they wish their family and friends a Wonderful Christmas and to look forward to another celebration in May - when they are tying the knot! Amanda wanted simple and elegant for her Save the Date cards. I think she was smart to combine both into one card at this time of year!

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Christmas Cards!!!

December 1, 2008 – 8:42 am

We all send them, we add delay in sending them, we all scratch our heads trying to figure what to send! As all of our clients know - wedding, families, babies. If we took the picture, you get your choice from many designs for Christmas, Holiday, Hanukkah, Happy New Year cards to send to your family and friends. Paige and Chip were married last year and we did a couple’s session around downtown with them a few weeks ago. You can’t really see, but Paige has a bump! They shared the news with us about their baby that is on the way! Congratulations!!! We are so happy for both of you guys! I know you are waaay curious… here they are!

and here is the back…

Aren’t they cute?! I mean Paige and Chip, but I think the card rocks too! Email me if you want more information about Holiday cards. Cheers, Amanda

PS. For all of you that think you have run out of time. I can get these to you in 5 days! :)

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What the heck is RSS?

November 20, 2008 – 12:06 pm

Okay, stay with me here. This is my inner geek coming out. But you need to know this! Your getting married. Your looking for a photographer (I happen to know one! lol!), church, venue, cake ideas, favor ideas…etc. And you want the most current ideas. The quickest way is to check out some-one’s blog. (By the way thanks for being here!) We may not update our website weekly but we blog all the time… When you find a blog you love you may bookmark it to look at it later. You may copy an idea and skip on to your email. But what if said blog has a fab idea in two weeks and they post it? How will you know? I found the secret!

Did you know that there are MORE than 50 MILLION blogs? Holy crap right? But know they break it down into categories. Nice of them. Still millions? Your on a blog you like. You see one of the icons above. Click on that sucker and it asks if you want to subscribe. Hmmm…

I got ahead of myself. We all need purses. Right? Cute ones. That hold stuff. LOTS of stuff. You’ve got to go get a purse - so to speak, to put all your subscriptions in. Ah! A huge tote! Get this. FREE! Click here and get a Gmail email account from Google. Then head over to the purse place - Google/Reader. (free, free, free!) Subscribe to the staff picks. You have to pick something and these are great. Plus you can delete them as you add your own. Then start surfing the net. Find a blog? Hit that RSS icon. Hit yes to subscribe and hit the google/reader and it shoots into your purse! The best part? When a blog gets updated? It automatically stars that blog in your purse. So you will always know what is new and current! Feel free to email me if you need help! And don’t forget to subscribe to John Black Photography’s Blog! Cheers, Amanda

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University of Tennessee Girls!

November 18, 2008 – 8:57 pm

…are the prettiest in the world! Some of our favorite sororities have joined us to make a fabulous magazine for White Lace and Promises. Magpies gave us some delicious cupcakes. Have you been to their new store? It ROCKS! We also shot down that wonderful lane at Maple Grove Inn. If you haven’t checked them out for your wedding - you should! They have updated like crazy and are putting in a cafe! And Dewhirst Properties provided us a great garage space to shoot in. Thanks guys!! We have quite a few more groups to shoot - we will keep you posted and girls - you are all models!! Thx! - John & Amanda   Click below to see some of the pictures!

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Wedding Favors

November 18, 2008 – 4:24 pm

Its all in the details! This Beau-Coup breaks it down into favors by the season, then by color! It’s also a great site for bridal, baby and birthday favors.

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Teresa & David

October 11, 2008 – 4:51 pm

Teresa and David built the most amazing plantation style home! It was such a warm wedding with all of their family and closest friends. The ceremony took place on the front porch. The reception was under the sparkling tent in the field by the house. The view was unbelievable of the Smokey Mountains. Teresa and David were such troopers going down the long drive, across the road and down the hill to some amazing old barns. She was in heels but you know, when its your wedding day… your floating.

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Erica & Philip

September 23, 2008 – 4:22 pm

Erica and Philip's Wedding Pictures

Savannah, Georgia.  It was like a reunion for us. We photographed Erica’s older sister Stacey’s wedding so it was great to see everyone again. And the setting! We had a blast going around town for Erica’s bridal session a few days before the wedding. All the parks and the waterfront… it was a dreamy setting with all of the Spanish moss hanging from the great oaks. St. Paul’s Greek Orthodox Church was tiny! And decked out! As you can see it was a wow-zer one! If you are ever in Savannah I think you are missing out if you don’t peak in the door. And the reception was in this old train station called Savannah Station. The all brick interior with huge old doors and loft ceiling had a great feel. It was sad to see Erica and Philip drive off to their honeymoon because that meant we had to go home too!

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Wedding Mapper

September 20, 2008 – 12:44 pm

I LOVE THIS SITE! Seriously, I have talked with so many brides-to-be about how hard it is to be on top of the out of town guests thing. Which in so many cases is 50% if not more of most of the weddings we photograph. This site lets you map out all of your locations for the rehearsal dinner, salon, church, and reception locations. Also you can plug in hotels and restaurants to help your guests plan their weekends in town. You can add to it with suggestions - like the Art Museum or the Tennessee Theater and what is playing. Just think, his family will think you are soo organized! One evening on this site and you are good to go. Also know that John will give you 10 web-size image for your blog, this wedding mapper site, etc. I have placed an oh-la-la sample of a map from San Francisco below.                                                   Did mention that John Black Photography Travels?

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L & J’s Wedding Album

September 18, 2008 – 6:44 pm

I finished this album a while ago… but I really do love the feel of the colors and wanted toshow you guys how beautiful Gettysvue Country Club is! Go ahead… click the arrow!

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Amanda & Kris

August 29, 2008 – 9:54 pm

Everyone should have an Engagement Session. Seriously. There are several reasons. One is to get to know John and vice versa. Secondly, these are the pictures that you will keep on your walls for ages. Also this is the time to have pictures made. You are both pre-wedding, pre-baby and lets face it - a hot couple!

Lately I have had several girls calling to book engagement sessions only. John has everything À la carte, so its easy to do. Some couples are heading out of the U.S.  (We travel! Take us!) others just want really great casual pictures of themselves.

OK, I’m getting side tracked…so you see that picture up there on the lower left? Amanda (is going to kill me!) she just got finished slapping Kris on the butt. We laughed our heads off. John? What did he do? Click > Click > Click! You have got to love candids! Amanda and Kris, we can’t wait for your wedding in May!!

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Whitney & Grant

August 29, 2008 – 8:23 am

Whitney and Grant's Wedding Pictures

Whitney and Grant had tons of energy! We had a ball with them. It was a great day at Crescent Bend. If you haven’t been, you should go! It right on Kingston Pike in Knoxville. It backs up to the Tennessee River. With so many tiers of fountains and flowers the options for photographs are limitless! Lisa Foster spread her magic inside and out - from the cake to the fountains with flowers. Don’t they make the cutest couple?! And Whitney’s dress was gorgeous! It got a little hot after the wedding and Whitney and Grant both dipped their toes in the fountain. Sun set and the party started! Everyone enjoyed dancing the night away…

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Ferns

August 14, 2008 – 4:26 pm

Ferns? Where is she going with this?! Pat from Clay Pots gave me a great piece of information. Did you know that Stanley’s Greenhouse rents ferns? Think about it, you could use then in quite a few places that really give the space a finished look. Pat tells me that 40 of them will fill the half wall outside on the deck of the L&N. They will deliver and pick up and the shocker? As of this past season they were only $5 a pop. Just thought you might like to know!

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For our Animal Lovers

August 13, 2008 – 1:01 am

Make a donation to the ASPCA in lieu of wedding favors.

In exchange for your thoughtfulness, they will provide you with place cards

to notify your guests of your gracious gesture.

Order place cards online here.

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Irene & Steve

July 5, 2008 – 4:16 pm

Wedding Pictures from Blackberry Farm

Irene and Steve had vision. A low key weekend filled with family, close friends and a ton of fun. And let me tell you, Blackberry Farm in Walland, Tennessee knows how to accommodate! We started photographing the day before the wedding, down at the pond. Everyone was enjoying the bluegrass music and the family reunion country style supper overlooking the water and the smokey mountains. The next day, bright & early everyone picked their activities for the day… you name it - swimming, hiking, fly fishing, spa (-ing?), horseback riding, carriage rides, tennis, cycling. And believe it or not, I know I am missing a few. Friends, parents, kids - everyone - was smiling and laughing. It was not a hard to to capture many a memorable moment throughout the day. Around dusk everyone dressed to the nine’s and enjoyed the touching wedding ceremony between two people that have found each other against all odds. It was not only a beautiful ceremony with the mountains in the background but emotional as well. Dinner was served and wine glasses clinked with many a toast. The kids stopped off to roast marsh-mallows on the way down to the tent in meadow. The band, as you guys know, it can make or break your reception. The Souler Coasters were lucky they got to go home! It was a brilliant way to end a sublime weekend.

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Mariel & Pat

June 15, 2008 – 2:20 am

Mariel and Pat's Wedding Pictures

Pat & Mariel’s wedding took place on a perfect day at the Maple Grove Inn. Vicki had everything running right on time (as always :) ) at Maple Grove. Here is a really odd fact. We have NEVER been rained out at Maple Grove. I think its one lucky spot on Saturday! Mariel was so excited - don’t you love that picture of her and her dad before she goes down the isle?  Her dad had a book of poetry that he placed a bookmark with an inscription of ‘daddy’ made by Mariel years ago. Go ahead, I’ll wait while you grab the tissues. This wedding was thoughtful. I love my future wife, husband, parents, children. We really felt fortunate that we were able to photograph such wonderful families in action, doing what they do best. Loving each other. Evening fell and the dancing started. It was a great evening. You missed the cake! Sorry I couldn’t fit in a wow picture of it but Magpies strikes again! It was stunning on the outside and yummy on the inside!

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Save the Date

February 1, 2008 – 3:52 pm

As many of you know I love to design save the date cards, book markers, postcards, magnets - you name it. And ideas are everywhere! Saying that I wanted you guys to check out minted’s style. I really love their punch, versatility and timeless designs. Here are few samples below!

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Miss now Mrs.

January 22, 2008 – 6:00 am

You have almost made it to your wedding date, or its a done deal and you are at work after your honeymoon spending all your time jumping firewalls at work to share your wedding pictures with all your friends. Your glowing, thrilled to be Mrs. - then reality hits you like cold water. I have to change my name on my driver’s license. Oh, and my passport, crap - at the bank too. Tell the postman. Augh, I need a new social security card too! No sweat. $30 buckaroos. Go check this great site out here!

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Organization!

January 2, 2008 – 6:27 pm

Where the heck do you start?!? Talking. To your girlfriends, hairdressers, potential vendors. Talk, talk, talk. And you will quickly hear the same names for photography, cakes, flowers. First serious conversation. Dad, or rather Mom then Mom & Dad ;) Get a budget. Now what? Get an organizer. Not a person. A brainy wedding notebook. It needs to be cute (of course!), big (think: cloth samples, menu samples, invitations samples, brochures, ads) and organized.

Go to russell+hazel. They get it. And this link will take you to their FREE templates for your budget worksheet, wedding timeline, bridal party contacts, etc. Don’t worry if you can’t fill out all the details, that is usually what you pay the professionals to help you with. Then when you have this Organizer. Give it to your maid of honor or mom. Yeah right, you know you will have it with you night & day for the next months ahead. My advice? To over to baghous and get a gorgeous bag to carry it about town with you!

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Heather & Art

December 30, 2007 – 4:30 pm

This was our first time at the General Morgan Inn. What can I say? WOW! It was the perfect place to be for the Christmas Holidays. The whole town of Greeneville was decked out. Heather had always wanted a wedding on a rooftop. Little did she know that Art knew of the perfect place in his hometown. With tons of sparkling lights they were married on December 29th. Par to Tennessee’s weird weather it was not that cold at all. We had so much fun walking around town and taking pictures of everyone. Heather, Art, their families & friends are so warm and fun! Did you see the angels? Aren’t they cute?! And Leah - from Whimsical Gatherings, out did herself on the flowers! It was pink and feathers all the way! It matched Heather’s girly personality to a T! And did you see that Art has on pink? He is a man in love. And he looks great in it!

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