I love to share my photography adventures with all of you, check back often!
Give back with Amy Lima Photos
All of my life I have been passionate about giving back to the world and helping others. I grew up learning about helping people from my parents and grandparents. Throughout the years I participated in various things with my family and school. I would walk for different causes, participate in community activities in our town, donate money, assemble and deliver meals to families in need in our town, and on and on. I have learned that helping someone doesn't need to be a huge gesture. It can be something as small as giving someone a hug or making them a card. Or it can be as big as buying a family Christmas presents or running a race or donating money.
As a 4th grade teacher I strived to instill this value in my students. I would read them books about helping others and giving back. I taught them that a small act can go a long way and really make someone's day and make a difference in their life. My close friend and colleague was also very passionate about charity and helping others. Together we taught an after school class that combined doing art projects and activities with giving back to our community. We also planned lessons together to teach to our classes. We would teach kindness lessons with our students throughout the year. They would do things like make gifts for younger students and deliver them to their classroom, read with a younger class, collect items to donate to a local charity, and the list just goes on. Each year during the holiday season we would do a huge drive for items to put together gift bags for Meals on Wheels recipients. This activity in particular touched my heart. It amazed me to see the students come in the classroom each morning during the collection time with armloads of items. They were so proud to help out. We worked hard to make sure everything was student-led. We were there to guide them, they were in charge. Another big event we held was an annual book drive. Our 4th graders would collect gently used books from the entire school and hold a book sale during reading week. They would donate all the proceeds to a local charity. Again, they did it all on their own. They had to ask the principal for permission, decide on a charity to sponsor, make and hang up posters, send home flyers, organize the books, run the sale each day, clean up, count the money. Those are just a couple of examples. I truly hope I was able to inspire those young little minds and hearts.
I have since left the classroom but still enjoy working with kids and remain passionate about helping out. I am part of a women's group and volunteer in the community. I take part in races and other charity events around the community. I decided it was time to combine my joy of helping others with my love for photography.
During the month of December I ran a special promotion. For every photo session booked, I donated $10 to the client's favorite charity. I got such a positive response that after giving it some thought I decided to do it year round. Beginning in January, 2017 $10 of each photo session or event will be donated to a local charity. Since working with children is something dear to me, I chose local organizations that help children and their families. When you book a session or event, choose which organization you would like me to make a donation. Or you can choose a cause that is important to you. Let's give back together!
Happy New Year! 2017
Happy New Year! I was lucky enough to spend my New Year holiday and birthday on Hilton Head Island, SC with my husband. I love it there so much and absolutely enjoyed every minute of our vacation. I have a photography "bucket list" and one of the items on the list was to photograph a beach at sunrise. We were staying in a condo on the beach so it was the most perfect opportunity for me to finally experiment with sunrise photos. On New Year's Eve about 15 minutes before the actual sunrise, I headed down to the beach, just me and my Canon. It was pretty quiet, but there were some people down there setting up blankets to enjoy their coffees at sunrise, some dog walkers, and some runners. It was peaceful and it was neat to see everyone welcoming the day in their own way. As I listened to the waves lapping the shore, I took in the different colors of the sky and water. The colors changed, it seemed, every few seconds. It was really cool to snap away and no two photos looked the same, the coloring changed that fast. I particularly enjoyed seeing the different reflections on the water, both out in the distance and along the shoreline. I am so grateful for the photo opportunity and really think it was the best place for it. I loved all the pictures, here are a few of my favorites.
I checked some things off my "list" in 2016, so I need to add some new ones. Looking forward to 2017, stay tuned for more of my photo adventures! Cheers to 2017!
Top 5 Reasons Fall is the Perfect Time to Book a Photo Session
Why is Fall the best time to book a photo session?
* You will need gifts for grandparents for the holidays. Ask any grandparent. A calendar, magnet, or framed print of your baby, children, or family make the BEST gifts!
* Your family portraits need updating. When was the last time you took family photos? Most photographers run specials at this time of year, so it's the perfect time to book a session and get those updated photos you've been meaning to have done.
* Holiday Cards! We all know how much everyone loves receiving a photo card of your family, children, and/or pets in the mail during the holidays. Personally, I look forward to seeing everyone's pictures and love getting those photo cards in the mail.
* Photo ornaments make a great keepsake for you or to give as a gift. They are an inexpensive home decor item that everyone will enjoy looking at on the tree year after year.
* The weather and lighting are amazing. The autumn days are beautiful for taking photos. The cool crisp air is comfortable for everyone and the lighting is gorgeous. Even if you decide to have your photos taken inside, the natural light coming in at this time of year will give you great results.
Uptown
My husband and I moved from Massachusetts to North Carolina a year ago this week. We miss our family and friends a lot, but we are loving life down here. Aside from exploring lots of new restaurants, local sights, beaches, destination spots, and making new friends...moving to a new state also gave me the opportunity to go on lots of new photography adventures. One of those adventures was practically in our backyard. Uptown Greenville, NC has lots of great restaurants, bars, events, shopping, and is home to our local college ECU. We visit Uptown often and I had been wanting to go there with my camera to capture some of the local scenery. I finally had a chance to do so and I enjoyed an afternoon of walking around and taking various pictures. I also came upon some spots that will be perfect for portrait sessions. Hope you enjoy a little peek at where we now call home.
Greenville, NC
After almost a year here, Winterville, NC is feeling like home. One of my challenges has been trying to get to know some great spots to take portraits. When I was in MA/RI I had my "go to" list of places that I gave to people when they booked a session and wanted ideas. I am slowly but surely building that list down here. I found one great spot in Greenville, Green Springs Park. I did 2 sessions there this week and it worked out great. Looking forward to many more sessions and mini session events there. Take a look!
