Lauren Cowart Photography

I can’t even express how excited I am for my friend Charity and her man, Maurice!! Charity has always told me when the time came around, she would be calling me for wedding photos. My friends and I were introduced to Maurice at Homecoming last year, and we all saw a little sparkle in Charity’s eye… by the next year, they were engaged!! I’m so excited about their wedding later this year, and am delighted to share their engagement pics! Congrats you guys!!

I am happy to share with you one of my favorite shoots I’ve ever done – A fun shoot with Nyne Lyves, lifestyle blogger and jewelery designer with makeup by the fabulous and amazing Anna Miya! If you don’t know who Nyne is, get to know her through her blog, where she posts daily inspirations through her own creative designs, spoken word & poetry pieces, and daily images of style and NY/DC nightlife. She is an official Vogue Influencer, and was name one of the stylish New Yorkers by TimeOut magazine! Get to know Nyne today at NyneLyves.com!

When I traveled to NYC in early August for a wedding, I knew that a shoot with the talented make-up artist, Anna Miya, had to happen. This is the first of four looks we worked on in just one day! Millie was breathtakingly gorgeous – I’ve never had to do such little editing on skin. I just love her classic and effortless beauty. For a behind the scenes look at how Anna created this look, visit her site, C-Thru My Eyes, linked below.

When Margaret sent me an e-mail — “I have a surprise! I’m pregnant!” — all the way back in February, I was looking forward to our shoot for months! We went to Duke Gardens to capture Maggie in all her maternal glory (I swear this girl looks better pregnant than most women do on a day-to-day basis!) I had her bring her favorite pregnancy craving – cherries!! And to our delight, Caison Oakley was born a week and half early on July 29th, a healthy and beautiful baby boy! Congrats to Margaret, Johnny, and your little man! Can’t wait to get him in front of this camera… even though Margaret is quite the photographer herself. I predict Caison to be the most photographed baby around!

I’ve known Hannah for years, starting when she and I worked side by side in the journalism room at Manteo High School! Hannah worked on the yearbook and I was the head of the school newspaper. I was lucky enough to meet her fiancé Phil last summer for a fun lifeguard shoot for the Nags Head Guide, and I knew when I met them that I may be getting a call soon after These two are SO IN LOVE! Like that inspirational kind of love that makes you want to find your soul mate? Them! We went out to the Nags Head Pier with their sweet dog Katy for the engagement shoot and got perfect weather with a gorgeous sunset! Can’t wait for Hannah & Phil’s quintessential Manteo wedding next year!

I’ve known Mallory since high school, when her mom would substitute teach my journalism class and Mallory would give me rides home! Seems like so long ago as we are now preparing for her and fiancé Matt’s 2012 April wedding reception at the new Jeanette’s Pier! For their engagement photos, Mallory knew exactly what she wanted! Matt is in the Coast Guard so we headed down to where he works everyday – the Oregon Inlet Fishing Center – to take photos by the docked boats! We then headed across the Bonner Bridge and did some killer sunset stuff! Molly, Mallory and Matt’s sweet adorable Golden Retriever, had to make an appearance as well (of COURSE!)

I cannot express in text how excited am to shoot Jennifer & Shawn’s wedding this upcoming Saturday! In honor of their upcoming nuptials, I just had to post their gorgeous engagement session from this fall. Shawn proposed to Jennifer at the Old Well – the symbol of UNC-Chapel Hill, where the two met (and where I met them both!) On the day of the proposal, two came for a picnic and painting session (Jennifer is quite the artist and loves to draw). Shawn was so sneaky that he even videotaped the whole thing by pretending to set up a timer for a self portrait! Can’t wait for the wedding-these two are just SO in love (as you can see)!

When Angel asked me to take photos of her adorable baby girl Nailah, I knew they were going to turn out great just from seeing all the cute photos she had been uploading onto Facebook. But honestly, I could never have imagined they’d turn out THIS cute! We took Nailah to Duke Gardens in Durham for a springtime shoot to mark six months old and incorporated a seasonal Easter theme with lots of bright colors. Angel even said my style of photography reminded her of Lisa Frank… one of my childhood favorites!

Between the Easter eggs, stuffed bunny and tnhe grass, Nailah had plenty of objects to play with (and stick in her mouth), but she was such a little baby model – so good tempered and just downright ADORABLE!!

See more images of this beautiful little girl for yourself!

Katie & Shane have been together for almost seven years, so when it came to their engagement photos, we know we had to do something special and symbolic! We went around St. Mary’s School in Raleigh (where Katie went) and then to the beautiful WRAL Azalea Gardens (they were in FULL bloom). But when I found out that Shane and Katie actually met at a gas station, I knew we had to find one! Lucky for us, there was a PERFECT little antique-looking gas station just around the corner – the perfect spot for photos

In February, I traveled to Las Vegas, NV to attend my first ever WPPI – a national conference held for professional photographers from all over the world. The convention included classes, nightly networking events, and a huge tradeshow to help photographers with equipment, workflow, style, albums and design, etc..

While there, I was able to attend a fashion show hosted by Nigel Barker (I even met him after, I die!) along with lectures by photographers I admire – Sarah Rhodes, Jose Villa, and Elizabeth Messina to name a few. I went along with two of my good photography friends from UNC-CH, Jenny Tenney and Melissa Williamson – Jenny is based out of Salisbury, NC, and Melissa out of Athens, GA – I highly recommend them both!

Simply put… I cannot express into words how valuable this trip was for me! Messina’s work in particular reminded me why I do this – the pure beauty and power of an image simply cannot be matched! While I am still new to my business and learning what to do (and what not to do) everyday, I am most excited to see where this journey will lead me!

I have a newfound inspiration and re-awoken passion inside me, and I feel more ready than ever for a spring full of portrait sessions and summer full of weddings. I still have availabilities and openings, and I will be posting my graduation specials as they become available. As always, you can reach me at laurencowartphoto@gmail.com for bookings!