The Art of Sophistication

Greetings Readers!



This blog post is all about The Art of Sophistication or should I say, the LOST art. Over the past almost 20 years, social media and the growing desire to outshine and impress followers has, led to the diminishing of class and maturity. In the grand scheme of things, self-respect seems to have lost it's value, modesty is out of trend and many that fall into the now 40-plus year old crowd is in constant competition for likes and attention with the 20-year olds. You can't tell the difference between the two age groups anymore. I can recall a time when 40-year olds thought it was important to teach life lessons to 20-year olds. They were a resource for sound advice, because they had "been there and done that". Now instead, the elder is taking tips from their younger counterparts and making every effort to do what they see the youngsters do. What happened to transcending the behaviors and actions of youth and becoming solid examples of real goals? Anyhow, I digress.

So what does it really mean to be "sophisticated"? 

Sophistication embodies an uncompromising level of elegance, grace and style, drizzled in endless cool confidence. Sophistication encompasses a relaxed state of mind. It is refinement. It is fulfillment. It is simplicity. It is intuition and perception. It is compassion. It is polite and charming. It is effortless, it is an entire mood. Sophistication at it's core is just a beautifully human experience.

Sophistication is mastered when you become keenly aware of your speech and conversation, your presentation, your perception and your interests. The sophisticated find it necessary to be elusive, always minding their business and their manners. They naturally shift the vibe of every room they walk into... they are intelligent, intimidating and inspiring. They come of age on schedule and they are accepting of a more tastefully sexy approach to life. 

This blog post features one of our FAVS, Asia! She is beautiful, super classy and enjoys the arts and all things glam. She has a crazy-sexy-cool vibe and she is just sophistication personified. Please enjoy these images from our concept shoot with her entitled, "The Art of Sophistication."

   
MUA: 
Tynita Lee
Booking Info:

MakeUpbyTynita@gmail.com
Makeup by Tynita on Schedulicity.com
Instagram: @makeup_by_tynita


Concept Creator & Stylist: 
Angela Ponder


As always, thank you SO much for visiting our blog. Keep up with the Team at Photography by Sean Ponder by visiting our website at PhotographybySeanPonder.com or on FaceBook at Facebook.com/PhotographybySeanPonder (Like our page!). You can also follow us on InstaGram at Instagram.com/PhotographybySeanPonder.


Until next time, Peace, Love and Light!

Angela
The Creative Director

Domesticated

Greetings Readers!


Ok so if you know me you know I LOVE TO COOK! I can do it all, fried chicken, pot roast and gravy, mashed potatoes, greens, meatloaf, mac and cheese, cornbread, baked salmon, you name it I can cook it. I am from the old school and I have always believed (and still do actually), that my family needed a well-balanced home cooked meal. It is what my mom provided for our family and it is all I know. I like to consider myself fairly domesticated in the fact that I am mostly a homebody and am always cooking, cleaning, washing, folding and straightening SOMETHING. I am also a career woman, a business owner and a creative. I wear many hats, and much like the lyrics to the legendary songstress Chaka Khan's song, "I’m Every Woman”, I feel like I encompass every bit of that notion. 

Sometimes when you refer to yourself as a "homebody," what comes to mind for many is the word BORING. However, to the contrary, that is not necessarily the case. You can be both a homemaker and a working woman and still be alluring. Yes, it is hard to juggle both ESPECIALLY when you are also a mom (I know all about it); but when you can manage it all and still keep it sexy, then honey you are not only powerful, you are magical! This particular concept was developed to show the world that we can be all of these things!

Introducing Vivian, owner of Viv's Jazzy Cakes in Murfreesboro, TN. Vivian and I had a conversation earlier in the year, and immediately afterward, the vision for this concept began to come to life almost out of nowhere! I knew she would be perfect for the feature and I was right! One day I will write about the source of my creative inspiration, but in the meantime, enjoy these images from our concept shoot entitled, "Domesticated".

  
MUA: 
Tynita Lee
Booking Info:

MakeUpbyTynita@gmail.com
Makeup by Tynita on Schedulicity.com
Instagram: @makeup_by_tynita


Concept Creator & Stylist: 
Angela Ponder


As always, thank you SO much for visiting our blog. Keep up with the Team at Photography by Sean Ponder by visiting our website at PhotographybySeanPonder.com or on FaceBook at Facebook.com/PhotographybySeanPonder (Like our page!). You can also follow us on InstaGram at Instagram.com/PhotographybySeanPonder.


Until next time, Peace, Love and Light!

Angela
The Creative Director

Primal Instincts

Greetings Readers!

I must say creative concepts is at the heart of what we do! We enjoy that aspect of photography, because it takes us outside of the realm of what is usually expected with traditional photography styles, and allows us to present a fresh perspective using our imagination. We love taking a thought and developing it into a full blown concept, and then casting our model to help us breathe life into our ideas. For this project entitled, "Primal Instincts", we had the opportunity to work with the lovely, De'Jah once again (check her out in her debut in our "Southern Girl" blog post!).

Now the main theme behind the creation of this concept was SURVIVAL, and it is actually a slight play on the television series, "Survivor". We were looking to mimic that exact vibe with this shoot. Survival is the most basic primal instinct of any living being, and everything we do in our day to day lives is purposed to sustain and protect us. This is the idea we wanted to embody. We looked for a location that was secluded and kind of "nestled away in the wilderness", to use as our initial backdrop, then we transitioned from the dark hideaway to the outside world. It was a fun shoot and definitely outside the norm. Shout out to De'Jah for being so brave! Here are a few sample images that we hope you enjoy... 

As always, thank you SO much for visiting our blog. Keep up with the Team at Photography by Sean Ponder by visiting our website at PhotographybySeanPonder.com or on FaceBook at Facebook.com/PhotographybySeanPonder (Like our page!). You can also follow us on InstaGram at Instagram.com/PhotographybySeanPonder.

Until next time, Peace, Love and Light!
Angela
The Creative Director

A Beautiful Oasis...

The beauty of nature is an awesome wonder with its lush gardens, watery landscapes and breathtaking views. So there is probably no wonder why the TEAM has an affinity for photographing subjects in or around water, and especially in a natural environment. Well, last summer we stumbled upon a hideaway that we knew we would one day like to use as a location for a concept shoot. We made a mental note of the location that day, and here we are one year later, FINALLY getting the opportunity to shoot there. It was an amazing backdrop to compliment our vision for an oasis-themed concept shoot!

As we began pulling together ideas at the start of 2017, I reached out to Shay, because I knew I could count on her adventurous spirit to help breathe life into what initially began as a glamorous session by the pool. I was super excited when she accepted! However, mid-stream (no pun) and in our true creative fashion, we changed it up and decided to move the session to the spot we found and favored last summer. She was totally ok with the last minute adjustment and it turned out to be absolutely perfect!

Here is just a glimpse of that beautiful day. Enjoy!

MUA: Tynita Lee
Booking Info:
MakeUpbyTynita@gmail.com
Makeup by Tynita on Schedulicity.com
Instagram: @makeupbytynita


Thank you SO much for visiting our blog. Keep up with the Team at Photography by Sean Ponder by visiting our website at PhotographybySeanPonder.com or on FaceBook at Facebook.com/PhotographybySeanPonder (Like our page!). You can also follow us on InstaGram at Instagram.com/PhotographybySeanPonder.

Until next time, Peace, Love and Light!
Angela
The Creative Director

Day Shoot (Part I) - The Laundromat

So recently we had the pleasure of doing a couple of concept shoots with models, Michael and Mariah. Talk about a fun shoot! Michael and Mariah were definitely in their element during our day shoot, and I doubt this will be the last you see of either of them. They have some really big goals in mind and we are excited to play just a small role in helping them realize them! 

So, the first location was a little unorthodox to say the least, but we figured, we don't live inside a box, so why think inside one? We chose a laundromat for Part I of the Day Shoot. I remember wondering what Michael and Mariah would think of shooting in a laundromat... A laundromat? Really? The idea for this concept was born out of our sincere desire to be different. Every photographer becomes known for their unique style or niche and OUR style happens to be concepts. We both liked the idea enough to try it. It was something new. Here are a few images from Part I of that Day Shoot. What do you think?

Needless to say, Mariah TOTALLY loves the camera and it was evident throughout this shoot! We look forward to watching them pursue their dreams, knowing those dreams are truly possible! Stay tuned for Part II of the Day Shoot...

Thank you so much for visiting our blog! Keep up with the Team at Photography by Sean Ponder by visiting our website at www.PhotographybySeanPonder.com or on FaceBook at Facebook.com/PhotographybySeanPonder. You can also follow us on InstaGram at Photography by Sean Ponder!

Until next time, Peace, Love and Light!

Angela

The Creative Director

Visit us on the web!

www.PhotographybySeanPonder.com

www.behance.net/PhotosbySeanPonder

And the WINNER is...

Each year my husband, along with other members of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., participate in an annual "Bowl for Kids' Sake" event, sponsored by Big Brothers, Big Sisters of Middle Tennessee. It is just one way they give back by supporting our community. For the second year in a row, Photography by Sean Ponder hosted a contest drawing for an on-location photo shoot to support efforts in raising money for Big Brothers, Big Sisters. The way it worked was, for every $10 donated, each donor would have their name placed into the pool to be drawn at the end of the contest period. Promotions for this initiative continued for the entire month of April, then on Friday, May 3rd, we FINALLY drew the name of our contest winner... Asia! She was truly ecstatic about winning the contest and we were excited for her!

So on the day of her session, Asia arrived full of enthusiasm and was ready to shoot! The weather was perfect, and because of the locations selected, we were able to incorporate several different kinds of creative elements. All of the concepts came together quite well and we ended up with some absolutely fabulous shots! Here are just a few:

A special THANKS to everyone who donated to the "Bowl for Kids' Sake" event. Your contributions helped Sean to exceed his fundraising goal. All proceeds went to benefit Big Brothers, Big Sisters of Middle Tennessee. We encourage each of you to get involved in sowing a seed wherever and whenever possible. Our community needs it! Be sure to "LIKE" our page on FaceBook to stay up-to-date on future opportunities and feel free to share our page!

Thank You so much for checking out our blog. You can also find us on FaceBook, Instagram and Pinterest at Photography by Sean Ponder, and on Twitter at @Sean_Ponder. Stay tuned for more to come!

Blessings!

Angela

The Creative Director

Visit us on the web!

www.PhotographybySeanPonder.com

www.behance.net/PhotosbySeanPonder