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.