Michelle's Pumpkin Patch Family Portraits

November 12, 2012, 9:03 pm

≫ Next: Paige's Little Rock Engagement Portraits

≪ Previous: Sunday Superthoughts: Best Days...

Hey everybody!

I first met Michelle when she and Nathan booked Lauren and me for her wedding waaaaay back... and now, she has the most adorable family! I love when our wedding clients trust us with their family portraits as well, and wanted to do something really fun for the family session. Michelle and I worked up a plan to shoot at the pumpkin patch... kind of like a family day with Mere and me tagging along... haha! Here are a few of my favorites from the session...

That hat!

Perfection. Seriously.

BTW, we are all booked up for the year with weddings and don't have any more family slots. If you want family sessions, you can set something up for March when we have our next family openenings: dale@benfieldphotography.com

Talk to you soon,
Dale

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Paige's Little Rock Engagement Portraits

November 13, 2012, 12:00 pm

≫ Next: Rhodes Annual Stylish Kiddo Portrait Session

≪ Previous: Michelle's Pumpkin Patch Family Portraits

Hey everybody!

I've got a great Little Rock engagement session for y'all today. This couple is super sweet (he's a little manly, but I sweetened him up a little bit...haha!). Paige told her mom right after she got engaged that her mom could do most of the planning, but her only must was that she had to have us as the photographers! Awwww... that's SO sweet! I totally adore her too! We went ALL around the Little Rock area for her engagements, and got a good variety of shots. Here are my favorites:

Maybe my favorite from the session - I'd love to have a picture of Mere and me like this! SUCH a sweet moment!!

Talk to you soon,
Dale

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Rhodes Annual Stylish Kiddo Portrait Session

November 14, 2012, 4:39 pm

≫ Next: Ashley and Matt's Fabulous Fayetteville Engagement Portraits

≪ Previous: Paige's Little Rock Engagement Portraits

Hey everybody!

I've watched these kids grow up in front of my eyes! I love Jack and Caroline, and always look forward to photographing them... not only because they're precious, but because they are great in front of the camera and have super style! Plus, they love each other! I've talked before about how Caroline is the absolute best big sister, but Jack has become quite the sweet brother, and I just love that!

Talk to you soon,
Dale

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Ashley and Matt's Fabulous Fayetteville Engagement Portraits

November 15, 2012, 10:00 am

≫ Next: Fabulous Fayetteville Engagement Portraits of Kady and Tyler

≪ Previous: Rhodes Annual Stylish Kiddo Portrait Session

Hey everybody!

What a fun, fabulous, and fashionable couple I get to share with you on the blog today! Ashley is the owner of Impressions Boutique & Gifts so I knew this was going to be a stylish and fashionable shoot! I was right! She brought the best clothes, and she loves Matt so much that my job of getting amazing images was easy. Really easy. :)

Um... check out the shoes. I thought the red leaves would bring out the red soles. ;)

They are really presh!

Oh.My.

Talk to you soon,
Dale

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Fabulous Fayetteville Engagement Portraits of Kady and Tyler

November 16, 2012, 1:19 am

≫ Next: More Fab Engagement Portraits of Kady and Tyler

≪ Previous: Ashley and Matt's Fabulous Fayetteville Engagement Portraits

Hey everybody!

OH.EM.GEEEE! I have the most amazing couples! Kady and Tyler are as cool and stylish as they come, and I swear if they lived in Fayetteville we'd be bffs! Kady brought a couple of ideas with her to the session, and y'all know how I love that, so we spent the session doing a little bit of my ideas, then a little bit of Kady's ideas. In both cases, she and Tyler totally rocked it out!

Kady's idea... we rocked out a few studio shots (yeah, I never do these anymore... but THIS is fabulous!)

Um... yeah. She's stunning.

I love the look and feel of this shot!

Hotties!

Yummy light! I could just eat it up! And could this moment between Kady and Tyler be more spesh?

So, you're going to have to come back tomorrow because I have even more from this session!

Talk to you soon,
Dale

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More Fab Engagement Portraits of Kady and Tyler

November 17, 2012, 12:30 pm

≫ Next: Sunday Superthoughts: Depth, Not Length - And... THE MEANING OF LIFE.

≪ Previous: Fabulous Fayetteville Engagement Portraits of Kady and Tyler

Hey everybody!

I have more from Kady and Tyler's gorgeous engagement portraits today!

Super hotness.

Oh, wait... THIS is hotness.

More of that yummy light. Yeah... even indoors!

Aren't those trees amazing?! I love shooting engagements in the fall in Fayetteville!

I LOOOOVE this... it's kinda like a behind-the-scenes type of shot.

Kady and Tyler... I could not be MORE excited to shoot y'all's wedding!

Talk to you soon,
Dale

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Sunday Superthoughts: Depth, Not Length - And... THE MEANING OF LIFE.

November 18, 2012, 9:00 pm

≫ Next: Dream Arkansas Wedding of Alex and Lauren Blass

≪ Previous: More Fab Engagement Portraits of Kady and Tyler

Hey everybody,

Ellie: Daddy, want to hear a joke about a buffalo?
Me: Of course I do.

Ellie: What do you call a buffalo that is out of breath?
Me: (pause)... Hmm... I don't know.

Ellie: A Huffalo.
Me: Haha!

Ellie: I just made that up!
Me: That was REALLY good!

This happened at dinner tonight (there was a buffalo) on the wall of the restaurant.

We then spent the next 20 minutes making up more buffalo jokes (I've included some of the better ones at the bottom of this post).

I've written about this topic before, but for today's superthought I want to talk about relationships. To me, relationships are the meaning of life. You can live to be a hundred and ten years old, but if you don't have meaningful relationships, what's the point? Relationships with God, relationships with family, relationships with friends... these are what make life liveable, enjoyable, purposeful.

I know that telling jokes isn't "going deep" necessarily, but sitting with another person, not staring at an iPhone, and just being silly and enjoying each other's company... that's what it's all about.

Ellie might not remember tonight forever, but it's just another building block in our relationship-tower that I'm trying to turn into a skyscraper.

Talk to you soon,
Dale

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
More jokes:
What do you call a buffalo that needs to shave?
Scruffalo

What do you call a buffalo that is hard to hear?
Muffalo

What do you call a buffalo that is no pansy?
Tuffalo (yeah, I know it should be spelled Toughalo... it's called poetic license.)

What do you call a buffalo that has met its quota?
Enuffalo

What do you call a buffalo that is shaped like a cloud?
Fluffalo

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Dream Arkansas Wedding of Alex and Lauren Blass

November 19, 2012, 8:28 am

≫ Next: Dreamy Wedding Ceremony of Alex and Lauren

≪ Previous: Sunday Superthoughts: Depth, Not Length - And... THE MEANING OF LIFE.

Hey everybody!

I have a doozie of a wedding to share with you this week! I'm calling it a dream wedding because if I could dream up a perfect wedding, this is about as close as it gets: gorgeous bride, perfect weather, amazing details, fun party, etc. You're going to want to check back each day for the new post (yep, even on Thanksgiving, when I give a Thanksgiving-related post from this wedding - random, but cool!).

Today I'm kicking it off with some gorgeous portraits in lovely Fayetteville light.

Talk to you soon,
Dale

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Dreamy Wedding Ceremony of Alex and Lauren

November 20, 2012, 10:11 am

≫ Next: Dream Fayetteville Town Center Wedding Reception of Lauren and Alex Blass

≪ Previous: Dream Arkansas Wedding of Alex and Lauren Blass

Hey everybody!

This wedding was kind of breathtaking, and there were so many great details that I'm splitting this up (wedding today, reception tomorrow) so you can take it all in at a comfortable pace - yeah... I'm sweet like that. :)

Lauren is super gorgeous, and has fabulous taste. Check out the beautiful classic Jimmy Choos (#choogasm!) These really are a lovely pair of wedding shoes!

And here's our stunning bride in her stunning dress... I'm crazy for the details in this bodice!

Kind of a magic looking moment! Love the light pouring in!

I never do this, but these formal portraits of the bride with her bridesmaids are too perfect not to share. The colors are exactly what fall weddings in Northwest Arkansas are all about! (and the bridal party is BEAUTIFUL!!)

Next up, here's the first moment between the bride and groom. This is the perfect moment, shot by Lauren, because it shows the JOY on Alex' face as he sees Lauren for the first time (he carried on and on about how beautiful she was - it was spesh!)

And of course there was a wedding. A wonderful, traditional, beautiful wedding.

Vows... Sealed with a kiss.

Okay, my favorite part of the day: the reception - coming up tomorrow! You HAVE to see this!

Talk to you soon,
Dale

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Dream Fayetteville Town Center Wedding Reception of Lauren and Alex Blass

November 21, 2012, 7:00 am

≫ Next: Dream Northwest Arkansas Wedding Vendors: Also, What I'm Thankful For!

≪ Previous: Dreamy Wedding Ceremony of Alex and Lauren

Hey everybody!

I can't begin to explain my giddiness about this amazing wedding reception at the Fayetteville Town Center. I've never seen it look this amazing on such a grand scale (as in... the entire FTC was used!). Long gorgeous tables with amazing displays of florals and candelabras, and a million other perfect wedding reception details. Have a peek...

Jennifer at Shelby Lynn's Cake Shoppe has once again outdone herself. Jaw dropping wedding cake that was not only classy and exquisite, but was delicious as always!

The team at Goddard Design Group and Bates Marketing and Events teamed up for a perfect day!

We love photographing these perfect little details before the guests arrive. Mere is the queen of wedding details!

You'll notice that the lighting was kind of amazing at the reception. It is a bad photographer's worst nightmare, but a good photographer's dream come true. I'm not too shy to say that I'm the latter. :)

I had a blast using the amazing reception lighting to get dreamy first dance shots!

I'm quick on my feet... er... finger... and can set my camera in milliseconds to capture moments with perfect light - not to be braggy (you know that's not me at all).

I shot this one the same way I shoot Benny Backlight shots. Pretty clever, eh? Haha! I do love the feel of this first dance shot - super romantic!

Then Boom Kinetic kicked off an AMAZING party! Seriously, they're amazing! ALWAYS a great time!

Get it, Alex! This shot makes me laught - such a fun moment when he decided to take the garter off with his teeth!

I decided to show off crazy dance shots from the reception the same way I do the details - so many fun moments!

Wiley pulled Alex up to help - it was so fun! The groom was obviously enjoying himself!

The dancing lasted past midnight! My feet were quite tired, but I couldn't quit taking fun dancing shots!

Talk to you soon,
Dale

P.S. If you come back to the blog tomorrow, you'll see what I'm thankful for!

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Dream Northwest Arkansas Wedding Vendors: Also, What I'm Thankful For!

November 22, 2012, 12:02 pm

≫ Next: More Wedding Portraits of Lauren and Alex

≪ Previous: Dream Fayetteville Town Center Wedding Reception of Lauren and Alex Blass

Hey everybody!

Happy Thanksgiving! I appreciate you stopping by the blog today, especially if you're showing it off to some relatives (and even more if said-relative is engaged!). :)

I'm thankful for my job. I get to work with the coolest clients on the best days of their lives, and with a group of vendors that I have been lucky enough to call my friends! At Alex and Lauren's Fayetteville Town Center reception, I got to work with not only some of the best wedding vendors in the area, but also some of the greatest people I know! I have a good life!

First up, I have to show this RAD shot I got of the band, Boom Kinetic. We've been shooting a lot of their weddings lately and I've become buds with them (as you'll see even farther down)...

We've also been working with Bates Events a lot lately. They're such a great team of girls and you can always count on them to do their job flawlessly!

Yeah... see... we're close. I'm not sure who's hand that is coming in from the side, but this was moment for me was pretty spesh. Haha!!

When he doesn't cancel plans on my last minute (oh, burn!), Nic is one of my very best friends. If he lived in Fayetteville, we'd likely be inseparable. His love for baseball and for Seinfeld is matched only by my own.

So, I never get to see Jennifer from Shelby Lynn's Cake Shoppe at the actual weddings, but I always know a SLCS cake when I see one... and taste one. She's the best at what she does (just ask Food Network!), and is one of the most genuine people Mere and I can call a friend.

Okay, so I know this is part of my business, but the Benny Booth counts as a wedding vendor, right? Here's Lauren rocking out some fun shots with the groom and his groomsmen on our non-traditional take on the photo booth.

The Bates girls keeping it classy. And Fun. And Awesome.

Let's finish this how we started. Boom Kinetic rocking the party and giving the guests an unbelievable experience is what it's all about!

We totally recommend any of these vendors for YOUR wedding day... especially Benfield Photography. Haha!

Happy Turkey Day! Go get stuffed!

Talk to you soon,
Dale

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More Wedding Portraits of Lauren and Alex

November 23, 2012, 12:08 pm

≫ Next: Megan and Christian's Joplin Engagement Portraits

≪ Previous: Dream Northwest Arkansas Wedding Vendors: Also, What I'm Thankful For!

Hey everybody!

I'm wrapping up a great week on the blog with a few more portraits of Lauren and Alex. A very sweet and genuine couple, not to mention talented and stylish (some people have it all don't they?). Enjoy a few more of my faves:

Talk to you soon,
Dale

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Megan and Christian's Joplin Engagement Portraits

November 24, 2012, 9:49 am

≫ Next: Sunday Superthought: Hitting the Mark, and a Surprise Proposal!

≪ Previous: More Wedding Portraits of Lauren and Alex

Hey everybody,

Megan and Christian are a super cool Northwest Arkansas couple, but Megan was born and raised in Joplin (and so was Mere and myself!), so I thought that would be a cool place for their engagement portraits. I obviously know Joplin like the back of my hand, so finding cool spots there is easy! Megan and Christian are super chill (probably my favorite quality in a couple), and the shoot was so fun! Take a peek at some of my faves:

Talk to you soon,
Dale

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Sunday Superthought: Hitting the Mark, and a Surprise Proposal!

November 25, 2012, 11:40 am

≫ Next: Lindsay and Scott's Joplin Wedding

≪ Previous: Megan and Christian's Joplin Engagement Portraits

Hey everybody,

Such a great superthought today... it has to do with planning. I'm a super planner. When planning, it's so important to consider every little detail, which is what Kody's new fiance did when planning his proposal to Kody. He and Kody's sister asked Benfield Photography to photograph the big event, and we were so thrilled! They considered everything (from having family on Facetime!) to all the little details that made the moment so special for Kody! Way to aim above the mark and hit the bullseye!!

Surprise proposals are the best! Surprise proposals at Razorback Stadium are the double best!

Lauren shot a couple portraits of the couple after she said yes!!

Talk to you soon,
Dale

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Lindsay and Scott's Joplin Wedding

November 27, 2012, 10:33 am

≫ Next: Lindsay and Scott's Joplin Wedding Portraits

≪ Previous: Sunday Superthought: Hitting the Mark, and a Surprise Proposal!

Hey everybody,

Today I get to share one of the most beautiful Joplin weddings I've ever photographed. I was expecting great things, because I know the bride and she has S-T-Y-L-E! And she went above and beyond and made Lauren and my job simple.

I love her details! The Christman building in downtown Joplin was a beautiful venue for a wedding reception.

Jaw-dropper.

How cute are these two?

The girls had a fun way to enter the reception.

And then Lindsay changed into a KNOCKOUT reception dress! Ooo La La!!
BTW... to save myself a MILLION emails about where she got it, here's the store's link:
http://www.tjformal.com/

Haha... here's me setting up the bridesmaid dresses shot...

More from this lovely couple coming up!

Talk to you soon,
Dale

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Lindsay and Scott's Joplin Wedding Portraits

November 27, 2012, 4:24 pm

≫ Next: Lindsay and Scott's Day After Wedding Portrait Session

≪ Previous: Lindsay and Scott's Joplin Wedding

Hey everybody!

Only a couple times a year do we do this: NOT schedule portraits with the couple on the day of the wedding... but when Lindsay put on her second dress, we couldn't resist bringing them outside for a few portraits. Yeah, sure... it was night time, but that didn't stop us! I love these images from their mini-portrait session!

And y'all HAVE to come back to the blog tomorrow. Lauren shot a day after session with the couple and KILLED IT! Here's a sneak peek!

Talk to you soon,
Dale

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Lindsay and Scott's Day After Wedding Portrait Session

November 28, 2012, 8:00 am

≫ Next: One Minute to Change the World

≪ Previous: Lindsay and Scott's Joplin Wedding Portraits

Hey everybody!

Lauren did an absolutely amazing job when she photographed Scott and Lindsay's day after portraits session (we shoot these a day after, or a week after... or sometimes a month after the wedding). Day after sessions are great because 1) you get more time shooting portraits, 2) you get to wear your hair differently (if you want), different accessories (if you want), and 3) you don't have to worry as much about getting the dress dirty, which means we can do a LOT more with posing!

Talk to you soon,
Dale

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One Minute to Change the World

November 29, 2012, 6:58 am

≫ Next: Mallory and Jake's Fayetteville Engagement Portraits!

≪ Previous: Lindsay and Scott's Day After Wedding Portrait Session

Hey everybody!

This morning, Ellie woke up 10 minutes before the alarm, and apparently she took those minutes and put them to good use: she motivated herself (and me) to get as many votes for Art Feeds as possible. She spent the rest of her morning campaigning to every single teacher at Irving Elementary, asking them to log on and vote.

Yeah... so... Art Feeds is nominated for a $1 million award! Million! This is the big leagues, friends, and I'm ready to play! You can only vote once, and the voting period only lasts until December 4th (that's less than a week!), so there's very little time to spare. Vote, then share.

Spend one minute to do a little good, then enjoy the rest of your day!

Talk to you soon,
Dale

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Mallory and Jake's Fayetteville Engagement Portraits!

November 30, 2012, 7:24 pm

≫ Next: Keely's Northwest Arkansas Senior Session

≪ Previous: One Minute to Change the World

Hey everybody!

What an amazing couple I get to share with you today! Mallory and Jake made the long trek from Louisiana to Fayetteville (I'll be heading to Louisiana for the wedding, and I'm tres excited!) and we shot early in the morning with much success. Of course, it wasn't hard... they're both ridiculously-good-looking, super sweet, and supremely stylish. Mallory also has gorgeous vintage clothing, jewelry, accessories (and her wedding will too)... so this session was double fun to shoot! Have a peek at my faves!

The wind adds to this already perfect moment...

I couldn't decide which I liked better, so I'm showing both! Mallory is wearing one of her mother's vintage dresses, which she had altered for the shoot - so spesh!

I wanted a shot that said "Fayetteville" that showed off the gorgeous fall leaves - done and done!

Another shot where the wind added some awesomeness - that's Old Main blurred in the background!

Um... HELLO!

I think this shot for so many reasons... she had a gorgeous cameo ring, and Jake worked with a jeweler to design Mallory's engagement ring (so sweet!)... it's so unique!! Also, Mallory has "a thing" for Jake's ears, which is so adorable!

Talk to you soon,
Dale

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Keely's Northwest Arkansas Senior Session

December 1, 2012, 9:12 am

≫ Next: Sunday Superthoughts: Little Equals Big

≪ Previous: Mallory and Jake's Fayetteville Engagement Portraits!

Hi friends! Lauren here!

A few weeks ago I had a senior session with my good friend Keely! She's not our typical senior since she is a soon-to-be college graduate! She told me she never had any senior photos taken in high school and that this time she didn't want to miss out. Graduating college is a much bigger accomplishment and definitely deserves some fancy photos! She of course rocked the shoot and made it a ton of fun.

While taking pics, and chatting it up with Keely of course, I tripped... and full fledged fell on my back. Arms and legs were flailing the whole way to the ground. Despite my embarrassment, it helped make for some great pics! All I had to do was mention it and we both were cracking up!

Check out her fab photos...

~ Lauren

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