Ellie's Dance Portraits

Hey everybody!

How could I forget? I took some portraits of sweet Ellie in her 2013 dance costumes! I played around in Photoshop and gave Ellie a oil painting look in a couple of the images. :) I hope you like!
Have a lovely day!














Talk to you soon,
Dale

Ellie's Ballet Recital ~ Moon River

Hey everybody!

I've had many snap-to-reality moments with Ellie getting older. Frankly, it's difficult for me to process how grown she has become, when in my mind she's still just a baby. The latest of these moments happened in the 34th second of the video below. When did she get so graceful? When did she become so mature?

And with every one of these moments, I love this little girl more.



Talk to you soon,
Dale

Sarah and Matt's Anniversary Portrait Session

Hey everybody!

Sarah and Matt are celebrating 5 years of marriage! Yay! They contacted me to do an engagement style anniversary session! They are such a sweet couple, and Matt is a shooter himself! Oh, and Pigmint whipped up the cool little number Sarah wore in her hair! Awesomeness.













Talk to you soon,
Dale

Julianna's Trick Session and Proposal

Hey everybody!

Matt called me with some exciting news: he was in the middle of planning a proposal to his girlfriend (and lifelong friend), Julianna, and wanted our help to capture it! We've known Julianna for a couple years and were so honored to be a part of this happy time, and Mere put on her creativity cap and helped devise a foolproof plan!

Here's how it went down...
Matt gave Julianna a Riffraff giftcard (she lives in Tulsa and never gets to come to Fayetteville to see one of her favorite stores) for Mother's Day, as well as a "mom/daughter portrait session with the Benfields"

Sneaky, right? It gets better.

Matt claimed to be spending Mother's Day with his own mother in Oklahoma, so the girls were to make it a girls day in Fayetteville.

See where we're going with this?
I started shooting images of Julianna with her sweet 8-year-old daughter, Taya. Aren't they major presh?


As I had them walking down toward me, Matt revealed himself from our super secret hiding place.  Julianna was surprised! (which apparently is hard to do!)



Special little family time... #heartmelt



I gave Taya my other camera (don't worry, it's insured!) and had her help me shoot a few pics of Matt and Julianna...

As this happened...



I could hear her answer. Instead of "yes" she said, "of course."  So cute.






What an amazing couple.



We shot a few family portraits! First official!



Here's my cute 2nd shooter in action... I didn't even have to tell her what to do! #naturaltalent



I'm SO looking forward to more shooting with this wonderful family!  Wedding planning in the works!

Talk to you soon,
Dale

Loss of a Sweet Riffraff Family Member

Hi sweet friends,

It's no secret that Benfield Photography takes great care in building relationships with each and every one of our clients. Never has the case been more true than with our wonderful partners at Riffraff, Fayetteville's lifestyle boutique. We cherish and cultivate that relationship so much that Mere and I call them our family. Kirsten (Riffraff owner) is Aunt Kiki to our little Cece. We truly love her and cherish our relationship with them.

We were absolutely heartbroken to hear that a member of the Riffraff family, Rachel Swetnam, passed away Tuesday. She was such a sweetheart, and we were honored to know her.

As a father of daughters myself, my heart aches for her family... there could be nothing worse to endure as a parent, and I lift them up in prayer in hopes that the Lord give them peace and healing in a way only the God of the universe can.

rrweblaunchbb from Dale Benfield on Vimeo.

Talk to you soon,
Dale

Horton Farms Wedding Portraits of Erin and Kevin

Hey everybody!

We don't let the weather stop us! We were still able to get some really beautiful portraits... of course, the couple is the key here! How can you go wrong with these two? And Horton Farms? It's almost like we were cheating! :)













Talk to you soon,
Dale

Horton Farms Wedding and Reception of Erin and Kevin

Hey everybody!

I'm a dog lover, like my couple today... Oliver even got to dress up a bit for the wedding! His wedding attire was just a small portion of the fun details Erin and Kevin incorporated into their wedding day at Horton Farms. Have a look!


Erin looked stunning!








They had the coolest chairs at the reception!  Don't you just love???



I'm all about finding those perfect moments with my camera, and during Erin and Kevin's first dance there were plenty of them!  I love how happy they look here!



And this is just total sweetness, with some great light!






I'm in love love love with this getaway shot! How fun and lovely!


I'll have some pretty portraits coming your way tomorrow! Stay tuned!

Talk to you soon,
Dale

Happy Mother's Day!

Hey everybody!

Mere has been a mother for years, but this year is a little bit different. After such a troubling pregnancy and childbirth, Mere got a pretty sour introduction to official motherhood, but she embraced the challenge and is one of the strongest, best mother's the world has ever seen.

I've loved Mere with all my heart for so many years, so it's difficult to explain to you that I now actually love her more than I did before. Is there no limit to this? Seeing her as a mom, as such a great mom, fills my heart up past the brim. Who knew she'd be amazing at this, too? {it's almost unfair... she's good at everything!}

Anyway, I wanted to wish her Happy Mother's Day!












Talk to you soon,
Dale

5 Minute Fix: What Others Are Saying!

Hey everybody!

Check out what other photographers and business owners are saying about 5 Minute Fix:

Dale this is awesome!! I can't believe I haven't {can't give away the secret... haha!}. it's going to save me a sh*t load of time, THANKS!!!!
Jewel

I have transitioned to complete manual mode (rather than av) and I am loving it! Wish I had done it sooner. Thanks for inspiring me to take that step!
Courtney

I am seriously loving your tips. I don't typically enjoy this kind of stuff, but they are such a breath of fresh air.
Joel

I love your tips! My "business" is teaching Zumba, but I have to do my own marketing, etc. for one of my classes. I also help out at a dance studio. I love how your tips can be applied across the board! Thanks for sharing your brain with all of us.
Ashley

Just wanted to say THANK YOU for these! Although most of them are completely over my novice head, I still love looking at cool stuff and hearing your perspective on lots of things from tips and tricks to customer service and retention! Just wanted to let you know it was appreciated even from the not so serious hobbyists out there.
Lewel




The 486 page e-book is in pdf format (so it'll work on any computer or device!), and is on sale through Sunday for $20 (after Sunday it's at its regular price of $39).

Get the book here:



Talk to you soon,
Dale