I love all things Asian, and so love a chance to photograph that mysterious beauty and exotic flair!

Choose your portrait session and purchase some beautiful art portraits for your loved ones.

Lauren & Tyler has a wonderfully mild January night for their intimate wedding evening in uptown Charlotte.  Congratulations and thanks so much for having me (I’ll let the pictures do the talking).

Wedding Team members:

• Kymm Stylist – Who’s the Fairest
• Wedding ceremony Saint Mary’s Chapel – Uptown Charlotte
• Wedding Reception VanLandingham Estate

Stacey blushes and ducks as I shoot a few headshot portraits for her in her new studio space at the Hope Artiste Village in Providence RI.

AAAAAHHHHH! I’m being photographed!

Stacey’s a high energy grinner.

Now that you know what she looks like, hire Stacey to do your actor and professional headshots at www.StaceyDoylePhotography.com

Hire Neil for local candid portraits of your children and family – Candid portraits on sale for $100

Innocent and normal enough

But it set off a smile

And turned into a kiss

a grin, following a cuddle

and a snuggle

and a pose for the camera

but who can keep from kissing this poor girl!

and falling for her blue eyes

Big sister gets in on the photo taking action (mini camera with flash-toy in her hand)

And then we take a couple ‘real’ pictures – so Abel puts his model face on

So Cyrus contemplates grace – while Liesl sleeps

Papa cherishes the blessing

A cameo appearance by the photographer!

And a grande finale!

Purchase a complete portrait session with Neil in our shopping cart for $300

Hire Neil for local candid portraits of your children and family – Candid portraits on sale for $100

Here a SimpleViewer Flash gallery should be displayed. Click here to open the post in your browser to see the gallery.

Here are a couple of my favorite spreads:

If you’ll give me a moment to talk about the elements of design we use in our albums – in this horizontal spread, I cropped the images in a tight panoramic 1:5 format to show the tight moments of the bride and groom placing the rings on each other’s fingers. The tight spacing and blurred edges allow for a quick ‘read’ of the eye across the page. That emphasis is heightened by the horizontal bars of color running through the background of the image at the grooms eye height and the bride’s ring height. The lines tie together the separate pictures with implied continuation of line that I ‘felt’ between the photos while laying them out. This extra amount of care and attention brings your album to life telling the visual stories of your wedding.

In this spread we use the design element of a light vignette to tie together and soften the overall page design, can you see the subtle darkening at the coreners?

And if you’re looking for a creative photographer, look at how we tie the action of the day into the album design! We’re wiling to see the whole day for what it is, without presuppositions about what wedding photography ’should be’ – so we notice the littlest things that make your wedding yours! (did you notice the bee on the clover in the above spread? – I know it’s hard on the web, but we noticed it and shot it!)

Enjoy your album Kelly and Tom.

• Save the date for Heather and Dave
• Skaneateles NY engagement portraits : wedding guestbook signature journal
• Waxhaw Weddington family and couples portrait photographer NC
• Lake Norman cove engagement shoot Sherrill’s Ford North Carolina
• Fall leaves and the Genesee Country Museum
• Custom designed Engagement holiday card – Lake Norman NC Photographer
• Personalized guesbook photoshoot and design service
• Your photographer can teach you wheelies
• Manhattan Engagement photo session photographer
• Where art lives – by Neil Cowley
• Organic trail running engagement guestbook

My sweet goof pop Tia. Who’s eyes are unforgettable to me!

Even when they’re crossed!!

Heather had a lot of great help putting together her wedding:

• Samantha did Heather’s makeup – www.PotionBeauty.com
• Wedding Ceremony music by the Carolina Chamber Players
• Lake Norman waterfront wedding site at Jetton Park
• Wedding reception in the wine cellar room of Del Frisco’s Double Eagle Steakhouse Charlotte
• bridal bouquet and decorations by Huntersville Floral Design
• Desert from Cake Expressions by Lisa
• Wedding hairstyling by Bella Lago Salon & Spa, Mooresville, NC
• Wedding dress shopping and fitting by The Lily Rose, Cornelius, NC
• Wedding Planning and ceremony by Patrick and Dottie Maloy – Calm Blue Water

Leave your comments below!

Click to purchase your Professional Headshot Package with 100 Business Cards

Professional Model Comp Card Package

Sneak peak for Christina and Nick who were married again today in front of the Eiffel Tower in Paris!

Congratulations guys!

The best of man is like water,
Which benefits all things, and does not contend with them,
Which flows in places that others disdain,
Where it is in harmony with the Way.

So the sage:
Lives within nature,
Thinks within the deep,
Gives within impartiality,
Speaks within trust,
Governs within order,
Crafts within ability,
Acts within opportunity.

He does not contend, and none contend against him.

Tao Te Ching 8

Click to purchase your Professional Headshot Package with 100 Business Cards

Professional Model Comp Card Package

Glamour portraits – for you, or to impress!

Purchase your portrait session with Neil now:

• Studio session at Neil’s Studio in South Charlotte
• Location portrait session: Charlotte, Gastonia, Lake Norman, Rock Hill, Fort Mill etc!

Bring a Pillow, get a portrait:
Bring a pillow for my ultra boho portrait couch and you’ll get a web res digital portrait like the ones in the event gallery! drop by or stay awhile and mingle.

Starving artist print sale! Help Neil clean out his boxes of prints and frames, walk away with fine art 8×10″ print for $20 and framed works for $40

Movie showing at 9pm!
“BLOW UP” a 1966 British-Italian film directed by Michelangelo Antonioni, that director’s first English language film. It tells the story of a photographer’s accidental and incidental involvement with a murder. One of my favorite art flicks!

Please RSVP by Facebook, or in the comments here:

• Pillow Party 1 Tuesday September 22nd
• Pillow Party 2 Sunday Sept 27th 5-9pm

This will just be a mellow mixer, unless you bring me a bottle of Tequila and get dancing started, feel free to come and stay or just drop by!

Pillow Pickup map if you need help finding a pillow for the party!

It’s ok to be a little silly in your portraits – show some expression and fun!

Click to purchase your Professional Headshot Package with 100 Business Cards

I spent the day shooting for the E Agency models on the Black + White theme.

Click to purchase your Professional Headshot Package with 100 Business Cards

How lovely, and how funny they were!

We had a fun time with their casually arranged moments

Click to purchase your Professional Headshot Package with 100 Business Cards

Real Estate doesn’t have to be stale!  Gun show by @BeeRealty – .

So the question is – how many bales can these guns pop?

Personality Portraits for Real Estate Agents by Neil Cowley – Charlotte Real Estate Bar Camp

Find your personality portrait shot today at www.MakeLoveReal.com – should be ready Sunday May 17th.

Click to purchase your Professional Headshot session with Neil Cowley in Charlotte NC

I had the kids play with the phones to tell me which their grandma would like best, and after a little waiting the show definitely impressed my 10 year old son, who wasn’t thinking he really wanted to be there till he saw guys flying upside down…

Yea that’s a meter of air on top of an adult male with his arms outstretched, so probably a solid 12ft off the ramp, 20ft off the ground.

Quite the classy young lady when I could get her calmed down enough to stop smiling:

Which were you Voted Molly, “best attitude” in your class? the convo is hazy…but these pictures should show it:

Login to Molly’s gallery here<<<<

If you’re looking for a senior portrait session with style, grace, and humor in Matthews, Mint Hill, West or South Charlotte give me a call at 704.557.0208

Purchase your senior portrait session online now and you can schedule your shoot!

Charlotte NC – Senior Portrait Photographer Package <–book session now

Click here to hire Neil for your Charlotte NC infant or newborn portrait session.

We can design birth announcements using your pictures to put your new little one on your families fridges!

Piedmont Hunter Jumper Association Horse Shows

A lovely spring day for riding and it was amazing to see this little girls launching the horses over the jumps.  Quite a lot of bravery and skill.

Waxhaw Weddington family and couples portrait photographer North Carolina

Classic styling

Feminine mystique

Soft vintage feel

Arresting vintage movie poster styling

and the dreamy overview

Make Love Real – (Neil & Liesl Cowley)

I met Neil this weekend at the Charlotte Twestival event. He seems like a great guy, and he is, without question, a talented photographer.

In my estimation, there are a lot of people that want to be wedding photographers. Like any other profession in the arts, the competition is probably pretty intense, the playing field crowded. So what did Neil, and his wife Liesl do to separate themselves from other photographers, and start building that relationship with you before you ever inquire about their services?

Check out this great video they made for their website, MakeLoveReal.net

The video does a great job explaining the name of the company and giving you a really good feel for what Neil and Liesl’s values are and what they’re capable of. You feel like you know them before you ever need photos. I know I would rather do business with people I know.

Maybe we excel because our business is documenting relationships!

Thanks for the kind words Ryan, it was great to meet you too - 

With all of us:

What was this all for?  It was a charity party for charity:Water fundraising to put clean water where there isn’t any!

charity: water promo featuring “Time Bomb” by Beck from charity: water on Vimeo.

The whole event was put on by twitter users and I will attempt to list them here:

 

• @CLTNightlife
• @crystaldempsey
• @davidkyle
• @jakrose
• @jarodhillerman
• @jruckman
• @kateymarie
• @kateymarie
• @mtyndall
• @nathanrichie
• @richtucker
• @whitneyferrall

 #CLTwestival thanks to: Terribennett.com – our Guest Speaker check her out on twitter 

#CLTwestival thanks: Cruisedeals.com, Carolina Nightlife.com, CltBlog (who has some webcam video), NR Creative Group, Hippo Internet Marketing Consulting & Traininig,

- if you’re not listed here drop your URL in the comments -

I’m @neilcowley

• Alan L Davidson (704.543.6592) invited me through their website as he does web design and hosting with RP Design Services
• Bruce Lentz (704.927.9553) met me with a crisp white shirt and a handsome bow tie, see him in sales at Steve Moore Chevrolet
• Janet Jannelli (704.596.4744) and I talked art because she does custom promotional and advertising items
• Jay Charles (704.821.4500) admired my business card because he is a printer with Paper and Ink Printing in Matthews
• Robert Adler sells insurance, (704.522.1985)  but what we talked about is his blossoming barbecue business for which he competes
• Maria Marshal (704.321.3234) was very insightful and helpful with my transfer of auto policies to North Carolina
• Michael Baker (704.907.0595) might help me with some business insurance, or he might have me do new head shots for the modeling he does on the side
• JD Pearce (704.578.8222) took the cake though with his beautiful southern drawl as he sang a presentation for us! he also delivers packages across the South East

Watch out in the twitter stream tonight as I will be photographing the Charlotte Twestival gathering at the Cans Bar Charlotte - 500 W 5th St from 6pm on – stop in if you want a free Headshot for your online profile, avatar or a new professional business card showcasing your own personality!  Just in case you need to reach me out and about tonight my mobile number is 585.721.0632

This time Charlie contacted me about somehow merging the message of he and Courtney’s wedding song into a print for her office desk.  So the constraint was an 8×10″ image – and the challenge was to personalize it.  To emphasize the personal touch, I suggested Charlie write out the lyrics in his own handwriting – and I only used a little font in the design of the overall image.  The song lyrics are very fitting for ‘making love real’ and how art can participate in marking a relationship:

[Verse 1:]
There’s no combination of words
I could put on the back of a postcard,
No song that I could sing
But I can try for your heart,
Our dreams, and they are made out of real things,
Like a shoebox of photographs,
With sepiatone loving,
Love is the answer
At least for most of the questions in my heart ,
Like why are we here? And where do we go?
And how come it’s so hard?
It’s not always easy,
And sometimes life can be deceiving,
I’ll tell you one thing, its always better when we’re together

[Chorus:]
MMM, it’s always better when we’re together
Yeah, we’ll look at the stars when we’re together
Well, it’s always better when we’re together
Yeah, it’s always better when we’re together

[Verse 2:]
And all of these moments
Just might find their way into my dreams tonight
But I know that they’ll be gone,
When the morning light sings
And brings new things,
But tomorrow night you see
That they’ll be gone too,
Too many things I have to do,
But if all of these dreams might find their way
Into my day to day scene
I’ll be under the impression,
I was somewhere in-between
With only two,
Just me and you
Not so many things we got to do,
Or places we got to be
We’ll sit beneath the mango tree now

Yeah, it’s always better when we’re together
MMM, We’re somewhere in-between together
Well, it’s always better when we’re together
Yeah, it’s always better when we’re together

Mmmmm Mmmmm Mmmmm
I believe in memories
They look so, so pretty when I sleep
Hey now, and when, and when I wake up,
You look so pretty sleeping next to me
But there is not enough time,
And there is no, no song I could sing
And there is no combination of words I could say
But I will still tell you one thing,
We’re better together

Contact us to have us design a multimedia art piece to help mark the love in your life!

The boys all got to try the various aparatus – but Eben got a big candle to light for his birthday.

Eben held the candle to a nice balloon filled with Hydrogen from the Einstein’s corner demonstration.

The boys thought it so cool that I could capture the explosion with my camera that I thought I’d offer them this:

The last bang had Magnesium in it for an extra sparkle!

Boy oh – we have a 10 year old now.  All my clients that have been thinking about buying an album now’s the time so we can start that college savings program!

I was privileged to sit down with her for a head shot portrait session an these are the results.

Elizabeth wasn’t sure what she needed from her head shot portrait session but we convinced her that the business card was a great choice.

Why are personalized professional business cards important?

Here is what happens when you receive 50 business cards in a single night of networking:

• You can’t match any names with faces, so you forget everyone.
• You are so overwhelmed that you don’t know who to follow-up with first and end up not touching base with any of your new contacts.
• You have spent so much time connecting with many different people that you’ve neglected to build a stronger relationship with a select few.
• You toss them in your card holder, under your bed, within your sofa or ontop of your TV.

How to create a business card that SCREAMS “BRAND ME”!

When you hand out your business card with a classy, personality revealing photograph – people will recognize you and remember you. Your business card is not only how you can make a statement but leave a lasting memory.  The Personal Branding Blog has 9 more ideas for you to make a card that’s effect so read on there:

Purchase your package with sitting fee and 100 full color double sided business cards!

Purchase portrait package and 250 full color double sided business cards!

She’s got a great sense of style and its fun watching her put it all together.  The kids were so excited to give her the Geode from one of their trips over Christmas break and she knew right were it would fit.

Liesl just scheduled a time with a busy mom to help her decide which portraits and what type of frames would be best to build their family portrait wall.  So if you get stuck in presenting your photographs, look at some of these ideas – or call Liesl at 585.354.2642 to go over your style and decoration needs.  Liesl is available for appointments all across the Mecklenburg area including Charlotte, Lake Wylie, Lake Norman, and Fort Mill.

I love your style Liesl ~

Above is the CD cover. Below are the enlargements of the band members:

CD Poster Insert Design – Click to enlarge

 

Full page poster with lyrics – Click to enlarge

Contact me to have your illustrative art or design project done.

Tom and Tracy, searched me out for unique style that would help define their relationship.

Tom was headed to Iraq

Tracy was headed back to Washington state and her Jazz music career.

They ask me to make them some unique portraits that helped represent the contrast in their relationship – Tom the Navy Seal – Tracy the Jazz singer….and I added some antique sauce to the images for a warm and old-fashioned feel.

Let your heart and life experiences guide you to find a photographer that will express them.
Trust your photographer to plan and execute an unforgettable shoot.
And let us be your photographer!

Purchase your portrait Session with Neil in our online shopping cart!

Here’s a quick laundry list…

Did you know Charlotte has a Charicature artist? yep – Joel Kweskin

• The gals from BLUSH – were styling it in black, making me feel at home (like NY)
• Debbie Dos Santos and I traded funky travel stories, she does custom travel I hope she’ll tell her story for ya’ll
• People were raving about Elizabeth’s cakes and what a cute brand Elizabethan Delights - and she calls herself a food artist – what a bonus!
• Diana Collins – Celebrant and Interfaith Minister sat next to me at lunch
• On my left was Samantha Neal a culinary school graduate managing the Rolling Hills Country Club – (that means she been taught how to plate a dining room when the food is hot, train the servers to serve, and is a stickler for detail=you’ll be treated great)
• Lauren S Ansley got a packet of my postcards for her unique reception venues like the Anne Springs Close Greenway Dairy Barn
• Natasha Watson-Bellamy was the second smiling face to say hi to me, she coordinates events
• and Melvin Wilkes was the first to say hi to me, probably cause he was the only other guy there – I look forward to one of his mixed drinks as he’s a freelance bartender for your backyard event.
• Patricia Minter a Realator for Keller Williams couldn’t believe my photos were real, so here’s the rest of the story Patricia<–click
• Finally we come to our planner Laura Massie who’s slogan is “I Do Done Right” welcoming and introducing the host…

• And for the grand finale, Aliya Constant – Event Manger for the Hilton Garden in by the Carolina Place Mall in Pineville.

 

 

 

Jessie’s mom wanted her and her brother in the pictures and so her shoot became a sibling session!

Our Senior Portrait packages include a set of double sided business cards, instead of wallet prints, for people to share their photos.  Mom loved the idea so much she ordered two sets:

Front ^ above, and Back below>

Front ^ above where Jessie included one of her favorite quotes; and Back below>

Charlotte North Carolina Senior portrait photographer portfolio

Make Love Real serves these High School students:

• Charlotte Latin School‎ » 9502 Providence Rd » Charlotte, NC 28277
• Ardrey Kell High School‎ » 10220 Ardrey Kell Rd » Charlotte, NC 28277
• Corban Christian Academy‎ » 15008 Lancaster Highway » Pineville, NC 28134
• Charlotte Catholic High School‎ » 7702 Pineville-Matthews Rd » Charlotte, NC 28226
• Providence High School‎ » 1800 Pineville Matthews Rd » Charlotte, NC 28270
• South Mecklenburg High School‎ » 8900 Park Rd » Charlotte, NC 28210

Purchase your senior portrait session now and book your date before you run out of time!

South Charlotte NC – Senior Portrait Photographer Package <–book session now

A portrait of Liesl and Tia shot by me!

A portrait of Me, Tia and Eben shot by Liesl

We would like to extend a special portrait package to your family in the nearby neighborhoods so that you can enjoy some casual portraits of your loved ones and get to know us.

Click to purchase The Neighborhood Portrait Package – photographed by Neil or Liesl and you will receive 1 8×10 and 3 4×6 prints of the same image selected from a viewing session.    We encourage you to think ahead to the holidays if you are considering a custom holiday postcard, or greeting card.  

Say hi when you see us around the neighborhood! or add us to your social network on Facebook

The kids were filled with dread.

Eben had such a foul attitude leaving his friends playing on the street that I had to discipline him for what he was saying.

“Art show, music – WHY do we HAVE to go” they whined, feeding on each other’s negativity.

We got them dressed and out of the house, and went for a look through the Gallery Crawl in the North Davidson (NoDa) area of Charlotte which is loosely the ‘arts district’.  We made it to the corner of 36th and Davidson to start our crawl at the Boulevard at NODA where Liesl and Tia enjoyed browsing all the jewelry and gifts.  Eben and I wandered and waited for the Lark & Key to open their doors for the evening.  We really enjoyed the quality of work shown at the Lark & Key, here’s their info so you can stop by:

453-B East 36th Street | 704.379.1826 | Sandy Snead
www.larkandkey.com | www.larkandkey.wordpress.com

There seemed to be two loosly organized shows on the walls at the Lark, Eben & Tia gave their consideration to the emotional work by Duy Huynh:

The contrast on that reproduction is a little higher than my memory, but the work is very contemplative even if it’s a little lonely or isolated.  The generously activated surfaces speak well of their studied application of color and development of form.  I enjoyed the unstated narrative of the pieces that quietly spoke of a sly, thoughtful wit.  You can see more of his work on his own website.  Eben & Tia appreciated the snacks which lifted their mood at the Lark (big thanks from the parents to the gallery!).

We then sauntered next door to visit the Green Rice Gallery opening of ”NOSTALGIA” Featuring New Works by Kate Vasseur.  I was looking forward to looking through as I was considering renting gallery space from them.  The opening was quiet, but we didn’t get a greeting which we felt was odd.  I enjoyed her treatments of a couple landscapes, but didn’t find a theme or strong vein to hold onto. 

Time’s up so we scooted back downtown to park in the Hearst Tower, and the kids began to get excited.

Upon walking out into the downtown streets among the skyscrapers, Eben’s face lit up with a giant grin.

Eben and Tia were captured by the excitement of being in the big city and entering the glass doors of the Bloomenthal Performing Arts Center.  We picked up our tickets from the will call booth and made our way down to our front row seats.  The North Carolina Blumenthal Performing Arts Center’s simple directions to the theater were easy to follow even on my second time to downtown Charlotte.  Eben and Tia were caught up in the late night exploration of the glass atrium and didn’t mind being early while Liesl and I people watched and joked with one eye on the kids snapping some pictures….

SCHUMANN PIANO CONCERTO was the headline for the Friday October 3rd performance.  If you’ve never liked classical music because all you’ve ever heard of it is recordings – let me encourage you to spend $10 and go see a show IN PERSON!

Symphonies were written before recording equipment – they’re a complete 3D sound experience better than anything you’ll hear in your home theater!  Take a listen to the pieces we enjoyed:

Here are some details from the program notes

The Charlotte Symphony performance was a breath of fresh air on a Friday night.  In college I used to sit in the balcony during music student recitals and veg out to the experience.  Eben and Tia were just learning to listen to classical music and the two hour performance stretched their attention span – but was good for them non the less.  After the show we still had some silliness left in us.

Here’s a look at her senior portrait cards which she helped style and express herself to her friends as she handed them out.

Make Love Real serves these High School students:

• Charlotte Latin School‎ » 9502 Providence Rd » Charlotte, NC 28277
• Ardrey Kell High School‎ » 10220 Ardrey Kell Rd » Charlotte, NC 28277
• Corban Christian Academy‎ » 15008 Lancaster Highway » Pineville, NC 28134
• Charlotte Catholic High School‎ » 7702 Pineville-Matthews Rd » Charlotte, NC 28226
• Providence High School‎ » 1800 Pineville Matthews Rd » Charlotte, NC 28270
• South Mecklenburg High School‎ » 8900 Park Rd » Charlotte, NC 28210

Purchase your senior portrait session now and book your date before you run out of time!

South Charlotte NC – Senior Portrait Photographer Package <–book session now

This image was her favorite from our shoot together and really does sum up her personality very well.

Despite her pension for total adorable cuteness, we were able to work her into a bit of a sultry pose and sly expression!

Suzy wears all the facets of bridal grace with charm and poise.

Neil is available for Fashion Bridal sessions throughout North Carolina including Asheville, Charlotte, Raleigh, and Wilmington.

Little Ryan Anthony was born November 17th 2007 and I was there to help Shannon make her birth announcements.

But sadly that’s another blog post you’ll have to look forward to another day – this one is is about “Where Art Lives” – we hope the different answers you see us helping our clients making, gives you creative ideas about how to use the art we make for you.

So here’s a look at Shannon’s classy cute bedroom arrangement, decorated with her wedding photos.

Shannon paired small prints with the added the cutesy touch of brown ribbon bows and hanging from a pewter pin over her bed.  The prints are a romantic selection from her reception with the signature pink lighting that pops off the walls like little pink polka-dots.

The room doesn’t end there however, on no – we took a few more than three good pictures!

The light touch of the summer sky blue, is starkly broken by the chocolate frames and ribbon on the opposite wall above the bed.  White shelves hold a light arrangement which is the focus of this wall. 

Shannon’s two shelf arrangement with white frames keeps the tones light, and the focus on the photos.

If you’re super-proud of what you’ve done with your wedding photos (and we don’t yet know about it) send us in a couple snapshots, or let me know when I can stop by and promo your interior design skills!

I shot this band promo a little while ago so if you and your band are looking for a promo shoot in Charlotte, Raleigh, or Asheville let’s schedule a time to shoot.  I can include multimedia slideshow presentations showcasing your music and your personality in the most professional and appealing way possible to your fans, club owners and reps.

The kids and I were in Illinois for Joel and Rebecca’s stateside reception and we were able to hang some large versions of their pictures for them in the hall. I believe Tia took this one, but it could have been Eben – they were both out shooting me as I was talking to all my family.