We are in the process of creating a promotional video for Love Gives Way and we need your help!

Filming is taking place over the next two weeks but there is 1 main shot that we need to capture for the end of the video – I don’t want to give too much away, but we need 100 people or more to communicate a movement taking place and couples standing up to injustice so that their Love Gives Way to hope and restoration for girls exploited in Atlanta.

Here is what we need: 50 girls and 50 guys to come prepared with at least 1 look, but more if you are able to help us with styling the shoot.

For girls:
a white or ivory dress or look and flats. This could be an actual simple wedding dress but doesn’t have to be. We are basically just trying to communicate a bride and groom together and the shot will be from pretty far away. (if you or a friend happens to have a random stash of white/ivory dresses, please let us know!)
For guys:
a wedding suit or look. Same as for the girls, this can be an actual tux you bought for your wedding, a nice suit, or pants with a vest or suspenders along with a tie or bow-tie.

Don’t over think the look too much – just need something simple.

We are looking to shoot on Friday March 2 anywhere from 3pm-6pm.
We will need 10 couples to come prepared right at 3pm and the rest to come around 4pm.

Also, as a thank you, the following will be given out:
Drawing for a $25 Starbucks gift card for 1 girl
Drawing for a $25 Starbucks gift card for 1 guy
Everyone will be emailed after the shooting of the video with a coupon that will be good for $50 off any engagement shoot or wedding package – there is no expiration date!

If you are interested and need more detailed information, email us at: onenineimages@gmail.com

Please help us spread the word – we would love more than 100 people but need at least 100 to really make this a success. Thanks!

Chris and his family moved up to Lake Lanier a couple years back and there isn’t a week that goes by you won’t find Chris and his buddies out there wake boarding – except for the dead of winter maybe. We started off the first part of his shoot down the road at a park but we made sure to save plenty of time to head out on the water and capture what Chris does best. For most of the shoot I was in the back of his family’s boat and shooting straight at him as well as taking a few portraits, but for the last few shots of the night I got in his friends’ boat and we just ran along side of Chris’ runs while his brother held the strobe for me.

It’s so refreshing to try new things and capture images unlike anything I have before. Thanks Chris for a great time and letting me capture your senior pictures!

As he prepared to make the move back to England, I met up with him and his girlfriend Carolyn (who is also making the move to the other side of the pond) as a farewell to Chicago session.
We had crazy weather as the wind was gusting at about 30mph and waves were crashing in bigger than I’ve seen them in a long time. However, when you have a couple who is down for getting soaked even on a freezing, windy day in Chicago, it makes for some great images!

Thanks Mark and Carolyn for a great time hanging out and hope to see you both again soon! Preferably in England this time since I’ve never been.

Make sure to pick up some of your own As Our Own gear at their online store.

As a side note – if you are a runner, then you need to join the As Our Own 1/2 marathon team that is being led by my good friend Kurt Scobie!  Make sure to watch the incredible video about their I Will Run campaign and check out Kurt’s post here for more information.

I am honored and humbled to be serving in what I feel like will be a special and unique time in the history of this nation – my prayer is that my images will assist in the rebuilding and restoring of this beautiful and broken place

here are a few from the last couple days

Shocked? Surprised? Whether you choose to believe it or not, it’s true. As for me, I can’t hear this and then choose to do nothing.

I have had the privilege of shooting for organizations in India and Cambodia that are working to fight against sex trafficking, but knowing what was going on in my own city made me want to dream on how I could leverage my gifts, abilities, and platform to raise awareness and make an impact here at home. I am providing Metro Atlanta brides and grooms an opportunity to partner with me and choose that their Love Gives Way to the recovery and restoration of these girls.

The wedding day is set apart for the couple to celebrate their loving relationship and solidify their commitment towards each other. OneNine Images came up with the idea to use this day as a platform to shed light and impact the everyday lives of these girls who are trapped in a world so different from that picture: sex trafficking. The hope is that one day these girls may be restored and someday experience what true love looks like.

So here is the goal: I plan to shoot 30 weddings offering a special Love Gives Way package, and part of this package price includes a donation of $500 that will go directly to Wellspring Living for a combined impact of $15,000. All other package details can be found in the PDF at the bottom of this post.
For this campaign, I am partnering with Wellspring Living, a non-profit organization aiding in the rehabilitation and restoration of women and girls who have been sexually abused or exploited. Their vision states: Wellspring Living desires to be the worldwide leaders in sustainable life transformation of women and girls by offering personalized care that transcends the individual and impacts the community. There is no better organization to partner with in the fight against human trafficking in our city. The $15,000 that we raise together will be able to provide for the recovery process for 1 girl through their Wellspring For Girls Victory Program.

Also, Blake Canterbury with BeRemedy has chosen to partner with this campaign. The goal at BeRemedy is to connect those in need with those who can help using social media as a tool. With that in mind, we want your guests to come on board with you and make a difference as well, so we will provide you with a registry filled with items the girls who are currently in the Victory Program need.
And finally, as a thank you, each bride and groom will receive Love Gives Way t-shirts as well as a custom piece of jewelry specially designed and created for the Love Gives Way campaign by my incredibly gifted friends at Mickey Lynn Jewelry.

To learn more about what else is included and to inquire about how you can become a Love Gives Way couple, contact me through email: andy@onenineimages.com

Please help us spread the word as well through facebook, twitter, your blog/website, and of course sharing with your friends you know will be getting married! Download the Loves Gives Way PDF here.

I’m excited to see the impact this will have over the next year and half in the fight against human trafficking in our city. Thanks for your partnership!

Love Gives Way from Stuart Atkins on Vimeo.

With that being said, it’s always such an honor when I am invited to serve and play a part in something I know will impact the global Church. This past February, Passion City held their first worship leader collective called LIFT. It was an opportunity to encourage, teach, equip, and build up those leading their local churches. As part of the experience, Matt Redman recorded his new album; 10,000 Reasons. I’m grateful to be able to show some of the images now that the album released just this past week.

If you haven’t heard it or picked it up yet, you need to! It was such an incredible experience being in a room filled with worship leaders and knowing that these songs will touch generations to come. Hopefully these images provide a glimpse at the story that was 10,000 Reasons being recorded and all that took place during LIFT.

Since I was second shooting I don’t have a whole lot to show from the wedding, but it was so refreshing to come at a wedding from a little bit different of an angle as well as just to serve and help out Carrie – she did an incredible job and can’t wait to see her images!

Ryan and Melissa were also incredible to work with – they are the kind of people that leave an impact on everyone they meet, which was obvious in the fact that Ryan mentioned there were 17 states and 6 countries represented at their wedding from friends who came out to celebrate. Congrats to you Ryan and Melissa and thanks for allowing me to be part of your special day as well!

As we laid this opportunity in India out in front of family, friends, and even strangers, you all acted with an overwhelming response by providing the means for this to happen in less than 14 days. Once returning home, we had a sense that our work was still not finished, and that’s when the vision for the As Our Own: Where She Walks art gallery experience was birthed. Over the course of about two months, a small team of people worked diligently to take the images that we captured during our time in India, and create an experience that would move people’s hearts and cause them to act.

This came to life this past Friday night in downtown Atlanta at the Silhouette building. Your response again was nothing short of overwhelming as we watched people fill the space and walk the journey that many girls potentially face if we don’t decide to stand in the gap for them. As nearly a couple hundred of you came that night, eyes and hearts were opened to the work of As Our Own just as they were for Stuart and I six months ago, and you saw the real transformation in the lives of so many girls from darkness to light, helplessness to hope. However, not only were you moved, but you also decided to move yourself and act on behalf of these girls. Through the silent auction pieces and other donations, you gave an incredible amount of $4,800 in just 2 hours! We were absolutely floored at the end of the night when we were given that update. It’s incredible!

Stuart and I can’t thank you enough for everything and your willingness to partner with us, as we seek to capture and share stories of restoration.

Thanks so much to the incredible team who helped pull this together: Jennifer, Rachel, Aynsley, Jenica, Mary Caroline, Bob, Jarren, Chris, Kyle, David, Carrie, and Cameron. Also, thanks to Carrie Tabb for capturing images of the night, and Zach Benson for getting some extra footage for us.