Family Fun

I had the pleasure of taking pictures of this sweet family this past weekend and had a wonderful time. I never know what to expect when working with kids, but I know that and I enjoy the challenge. Thank you K. and L. for giving me the opportunity to work with your family.

No posing was necessary for this precious shot. I love the look of sheer

glee as C.'s 13 year old brother swung her around on his back.

This shot wasn't planned. It just happened and I love that!

The innocence and pure joy of a four year old.

Homecoming

The "glow" application added just the right touch to this

already beautiful picture.

I love that I was able to capture them just being

boys.

The river was the perfect background!

I used my flash, but turned it to where it would

bounce of the ceiling. This created a fill effect and

brought just the right amount of light in the right

places.

This was a very fun and photogenic couple.

When D. crossed his arms, I didn't correct it, but

used it to my advantage and had L. put her hand on

his arm. A good pose for friends!

I had so much fun with this shoot. These teens were off to their schools' homecoming and I was able to be apart of their excitement. Each couple was different and I enjoyed finding those differences and using them to my, and their, advantage. Thanks, C., for asking me to do this for them!

The flash can be your friend

My husband's friend and his wife were expecting with their first child, so I wanted to treat them to a shoot to help them remember this precious time. She and I met up at a local park and took some pictures. We then went back to her house where I took some great shots of her and the dad-to-be. I hate to admit that I had trouble with the lighting. That's something I'm still working on. I've been anti-flash for a long time and this time I missed out on some great shots because of it. My husband found a flash on sale and bought it for me. It's adjustable and I really like it. Just wish I would have used it! Thanks J. and A. for allowing me to capture these memories for you.



I love this! The flash would have come in handy here.
Instead of pointing it at their faces, I could have pointed it
upward and let it bounce off the ceiling. My shutter speed
was too low for the lighting. The flash would have illiminated
the blur on her face.

This shot is one of my favorites!

I used an inexpensive black sheet as a background and placed

them beside a window.

A New Location

I recently found a new place to take pictures and have been itching to take some clients there to try it out. I took my kids once, but they weren't interested in taking pictures. I had a shoot today and was finally able to use it. I love the results! The only downfall was that we shot early in the morning when the grass was still wet. I'm so glad I thought to take a blanket along!

Let's Dance

Here's an excerpt from a book I read a while ago, but decided to glance through last night. This reiterates what my wonderful and very supportive husband keeps telling me, especially before I leave for a shoot, "Just shoot!"
"I compare relaxing your shutter finger to dancing. When you're really dancing-when you're really connected-you just do it. Neither partner wonders where they're going next. They just go there.
In photography, as in dancing, when you hesitate, you stumble. Spontaneous photographs require not just spontaneous events, but spontaneous photographers: photographers who don't think too much about when to push the shutter button. They just push it.
Thinking too much can get you into trouble. In the time it takes to think a thought, wonderful photographs com and go: the look of shock as a door slams; a baby's sneeze; the first blast of a sea breeze in a baby's face. Here and then gone. Don't think. Just push the button. Dance with your shutter finger (How to Photograph Your Baby by Nick Kelsh)."

These shots were very easy to achieve. With a little post-production...voila. My husband was out of town this evening, so to pass some time away I decided to dress my kids up in outfits they loved and took them outside. It was later in the evening so the lighting was great. Jonathan, the baby, was the most difficult. He just wanted to run around the yard naked:)

Creative, yet simple touches

I enjoying getting creative with the pictures I take. However, I enjoy simple additions most of the time instead of a complete overhall. The only changes I made to this picture were to make it black and white and to add the child's name. It needed a little color without all of it and for me, the name in red did it. It took me a while to find the right font. The cute and kiddish ones just didn't work, so I decided on one with a clean and mature look.

Aidan Flies

I love this picture! Aidan did not want to leave his mommy's side to take a few pictures by himself. Instead of getting stressed out and angry, mom laid down on the floor and began playing with him. I considered cropping her feet and legs out of the picture, but then thought they were a nice touch because you can see the cause of his happines. Adding the blur made Aidan the main focal point, but also allowed me to keep mom's feet and legs in the picture without the eye being drawn to them first.

Date with a darling

I was recently invited to take pictures of precious baby Emma. She's 3 months old and already is full of personality. I had no problem getting great shots. I enjoyed listening to her sweet coos and seeing her smiles as she interacted with her mommy. Thank you so much, Wendy, for this opportunity. I had a blast!


Snuggling with Prissy.

Getting ready for a nap. I love this shot!

Sleeping Angel

Love the tongue! This is the kind of shot that parents love!

The "lizard tongue" is something that she does often. I am

so happy that I could capture this memory for the family.

Precious! Mom Wendy and I waited quietly

as Emma drifted off to sleep. I probably could

have drifted of too, if given enough time.

Little Miss Haley J.

I'm so thankful that I can give the gift of photography. A friend recently had a baby girl and, because funds were tight and I couldn't afford to get her a gift at the time, I decided to give her a free shoot and CD as a gift. When Haley was three weeks old, her mom and I set up a shoot in her home. She was a little cranky, but we still got some adorable pictures. I didn't wait for her to stop crying, but snapped away, because she was acting herself. If I would have waited I don't think I ever would have gotten any pictures! Here's what resulted and I am so please with the results.

Angles and Props

Lately I've taken pictures of quite a few babies. It's so easy to do the same poses in each session, but I really try to mix it up and go for a different look each time. For the first picture, I placed baby J. in a deep wicker basket with a piece of white material hanging out. He looks so fragile against the heaviness of the basket. The white material breaks up the darkness and softens up the picture. In the second picture, the angle made all the difference. J's attention was on me and as I moved and spoke to him, he followed me. My aperture was on 2.8, so as I focused on his sweet face, his belly was blurred out.

Picture Perfect

This photo session is what I'm all about. I had the privilege of taking pictures of a dear friend and her family. Ingrid and I worked together teaching two year olds this year and my daughter and her son were in the same class. She painted the hallway in my house so I, inturn, took pictures of her family. We met up at the River Walk and quickly found a great spot for the shoot. The river made a beautiful backdrop and the overcast weather created the perfect lighting. A train passed on a nearby track, which caught sweet Christopher's attention and resulted in some precious pictures. What made the biggest difference is that everyone was so relaxed and I simply captured images as they enjoyed one another. Thanks Smith Family for a great experience!

Prom Pictures

A good lesson in life is to be flexible and take life as it comes. Luckily, I began learning this years ago because none of my shoots this weekend went as planned. I had 3 scheduled, but 2 rescheduled and the other didn't go quite as I thought it should. I took pictures of a high school couple for their prom today and feel they turned out well. However, in this case a better background would have made a world of difference, but it was one of those situations that I had to work with what I was given.

Daniella is a beautiful girl, inside and out, that I have had the pleasure of meeting. A couple of years ago my children fell in love with her when, as her highschool's maskot, she was dressed up in a Razorback costume . She also helped me once with my kids when I had the flu and was too sick to care for them. They get excited each time they see her and I love the look of delight on her face when she sees them. I enjoyed taking her prom pictures today. She was gorgeous in her beautiful orange dress and her date, Dominique was so handsome in his tux. They are a beautiful and photogenic couple.