Welcome to the blog for Courtney Hathaway Photography!

I'm Courtney, a wedding & portrait photographer serving the Outer Banks of North Carolina and worldwide! I hope you take a little bit of time to check out some of our recent sessions and weddings, and read along with some of our "helpful hints" to make your session or event go smoothly. For for more information please website at: www.CourtneyHathaway.com.

Archive: February, 2011



OBX Snow Day Portraits : take two l Outer Banks Portrait Photographer

Friday, February 25th, 2011

So after doing my session with Mallory, I did a quick and fun session with my super adorable little sister and one of her friends. I love our sessions – it’s great “girl time” and she fills me in all the important things going on in her life. Let’s just say after an afternoon with her I know everything that’s going on in the 6th grade….it’s a blessing and curse. ;) We stayed at the Island Farm, and moved around a bit for some different looks. They even both wore their cute rubber boots. If you know me, you know that I’m a sucker for rubber boots…..LOVE LOVE LOVE my rubber boots. Seriously, I wear them even when it’s not raining…and I’m a dork and wear my jeans tucked IN them. I’m pretty sure the kids still think I’m cool, because the girls showed up with their pants tucked into their boots too. We finished up our session with lunch at Poor Richards, a local favorite for sandwiches, where I was got to hear all the code names for the cute boys in class.

OBX Snow Day Portraits l Outer Banks Photographer

Friday, February 25th, 2011

Who says we don’t get snow at the beach? Well, if you’d asked me a couple of years ago if we got snow at the beach I’d say “heck no”. The reality is we might see a some flurries every few years but never anything substantial. This year has been crazy in the weather department here at the beach. Throughout the off-season and winter, clients will send me emails just to say hello – and inevitably they ask how the weather is. This year it seemed like my answer was always, “it’s snowing….again”. Yes my friends, we had around 4 or 5 (I’ve really lost count at this point) snowfalls this winter. It all started with a light dusting in early December. What? December? We had several more after that. For all of them I stayed inside, nice and warm snuggled up with my doggie. We finally had what I think will be our last snowfall this winter a couple of weeks ago. As soon as it finished snowing I decided to jump at the chance to do an impromptu snow session.

Insert Mallory and her sweet dog Molly. I’ve known Mallory since preschool – that’s one of the perks of living in a small town. Now we’re all grown up, and Mallory is engaged. What’s a post about old friends without a trip down memory lane? Wanna good laugh? Here’s a VERY old dance photo, I’m going to guess we were around 3 or 4? You can see me (looking thrilled) on the far left kneeling in the front – Mallory is on the far right kneeling in the front. :) I’m pretty sure I had the same haircut as my mom! Really…Mallory only has herself to blame for this seeing as how she put the incriminating photo on Facebook to begin with! :D

So now on to the good stuff….

The Long Family l Hatteras Island/Outer Banks Family Beach Portrait Photographer

Tuesday, February 8th, 2011

This wonderful family was staying down on Hatteras Island alllll the way at the end near the ferry. I have to say, I absolutely LOVE shooting on Hatteras Island. It is by far one of the most beautiful areas of the Outer Banks. Untouched beaches with beautiful dunes and very few people.

As fate would have it, they were forced to leave early (for the second or third time!!!) due to an oncoming hurricane. Luckily we were able to fit their session in the night before evacuation. It was like the calm before the storm. I was blessed with great light and awesome kids. One of my favorites elements to a session is when people bring props – like chairs or other items that mean a lot to them. I think it really adds to the photos. These guys had planned on doing some fun kite flying as a family for their pictures – but as nature would have it there wasn’t enough wind. Go figure, evacuated for a hurricane and not enough wind to fly the kite…haha. We managed to get a couple kite shots in before we gave up on the flying. They also had their super cute puppy with them – I love photographing the family pets. As a huge dog lover myself, I always welcome bringing along animals. :)

I also want to take a moment to point out their great clothing choices. They kept it classic, but with some fun too. I love the punch of color with mom’s top, and that dad and the boys are both wearing blue – but different shades. It’s totally possible to stay classic with your beach portraits, while still add some fun and color as well. Great choices guys!

Gowie Family l Nags Head Family Beach Portraits

Monday, February 7th, 2011

This family was just flat out a blast to photograph! Sometimes you just work with people who keep you laughing, and they were awesome. As soon as Beth and I chatted on the phone to book her session I knew they were going to be a fun family – and they totally delivered. Not only were the kids adorable, but Beth is so nice and funny. Full of personality!! She kept me laughing long after our session, until we finally finished her holiday card design!

We met up in South Nags Head for their session on a beautiful day. We started out in one of my usual spots, but quickly moved into the shade of the dunes to help with kids with squinting. From one fair kid to another – I know exactly how they felt!! The kids did great!

If you’ve ever had siblings, you can relate to this…