Sneak Peek - Father and Sons

You may recognize little A from earlier in the fall, when I was honored to shoot his 1-year session. He brought the rest of his family to meet me this past weekend. I love to see fathers having fun with their kids. Isn't that just the best?

This last one really makes me smile. I was instructing them to go cheek-to-cheek, but A kept kissing his dad anytime his face got too close. Totally adorable!

Almost 8 months old!

Look at this little cutie who I met yesterday. He was so easy-going and cooperative. I swear those are his real eyelashes. No photoshop enhancement performed. Jealous? I am!

Thing 1 Turns 7

Happy Birthday today to my firstborn, the child who is at the same time the light of my life and the reason for my gray hair. She wants to be Beethoven when she grows up, not really realizing that Beethoven was his last name. She thinks being Beethoven is a career choice.

Thing 2 Turns 4

Happy fourth birthday today to my sweet baby boy! He wants to go to dinner tonight at Sweet Tomatoes in honor of his birthday. That's his idea of fancy. :)

More Kids As Art

I got to visit some of my favorite clients today to check out how they have incorporated the “Kids As Art” idea into their home. When I got there I saw that this was an easy idea for them as they have photographic art throughout the house, including a gorgeous wall portrait over mantel from their wedding day.

Here is a 16x20 linen print in the TV room over the mantel.

And two 16x16 canvas collages in the dining room.

Thanks to the B family for letting me create these art pieces of their adorable daughter and for letting me stop by this morning with my camera.

Twins!

I had the wonderful opportunity to photograph some preemie newborn twins today. They don’t look like preemie newborn twins, you say? Well that’s because they were born at 36 weeks and weighed 7 lbs 3 oz and 7 lbs 10 oz! I am in pain just thinking about that. Their mom is totally a super hero, as I got to witness today. With these two little guys plus a 2-year-old big sis, this family truly has their hands full.

This was the first set of twins babies I have worked with in about 5 years, plus I was on location at the family’s home, so this was a fun and challenging day for me. These babies are both so big and strong that they would have nothing to with any type of traditional newborn posing techniques. One of them can already even hold his head up! It seemed that we could not get both of them in the same mood at the same time (one was awake while the other was sleepy, one was crying to be fed while the other was content). As their mom said “Welcome to my life!”

T, I hope you enjoy your sneak peek. More to come later this week!

Rapunzel, my new photography assistant

Remember this 3 year old's session? Well now big sis is 5! Over the summer I was suggesting that their mom get in the photos, and this time she did! What a gorgeous family, huh? I am especially thankful for this family because they have been clients of mine since their oldest was a newborn, and they drive over 45 miles to come see me twice a year for the girls' birthday sessions. Thank you for all of your support, for sticking by me as my business grows and matures, and for bringing these gorgeous girls to see me. It's always a blast! Next time maybe we need to get Dad in the pictures too. :)

For this session, Rapunzel was my photography assistant. Rapunzel Barbie, that is. You can see her in one of the photos below.

I tried a little dreamier-looking processing on these last two.

Sneak Peek - Three Little Elves

This might simply be my favorite holiday photo ever. I love these hats, plus the expressions on all three kids is just priceless. I would print this one on a billboard if I could. LOL!

Here are a few more, minus the hats.

Sibling Sneak Peek

I do indeed love all the adorable babies who come to visit me, but it's also fun to work with older kids because they have a lot more patience. Here's a sneak peek from a weekend session. These two should really be rewarded for their patience because they stopped eating breakfast mid-meal to make it to their session on time. B&L, I hope you guys got some extra cinnamon rolls out of that deal!

Kids As Art

This 14x20 is a beautiful canvas art piece in the master bedroom!

Sneak Peek

I can't believe it's been a year since I have seen this little cutie. She's grown so much since last year, and now she's a big sister too!

Christmas Cutie in September

Why, yes I am shooting holiday portraits in September. Don't roll your eyes! Other photographers out there know that we need to start shooting holiday sessions in September and October in order to meet client demand for sessions and also to meet the holiday order deadlines for some of our specialty product vendors (custom holiday cards, photo jewelry, plaque and float mounts, canvas wraps, etc).

This little cutie was born around Thanksgiving last year, and her birth announcement had a photo of her wearing a little knit santa hat. How cute for this year's family card to replicate that idea, but now she's a much bigger kid!

And she was having such a great time with her Dad, I just had to combine these images together.

Hair Envy Strikes Again!

If you read my blog regularly, you will know that in the past I have had hair envy over a baby. Well, it’s happened again. Look at the full head of hair on this little guy! He came in for a baby parts session so I knew I had to get a close up of that gorgeous hair with the lighting set to really showcase its spikiness. He brought along his sister, whom I had the honor of creating a baby parts collage for just over a year ago. I can’t believe how much she’s grown. She’s certainly not a baby anymore!

Look who's 18 months old now!

You may recognize her because she is all over my blog and site, on studio samples, and in magazines. I have been photographing her since before she was even born (I did mom's maternity session), and I can't believe how quickly she has grown!

Her tall piggy tail is so cute. I was joking that I had to zoom out to fit it all in.

After we finished up in the studio, we stepped outdoors to experiment at bit. I stepped outside of the box and tried something a little more artsy-fartsy (LOL). For my photographer friends, this is an infrared action from Gavin Phillips. I had to tone it down a bit, but still think it's kinda fun!

Happy 1st Birthday!

I got to meet A on Monday, and Monday was also his actual birthday. What a cutie! Those big brown eyes and those little curls at the nape of his neck are simply adorable. His mom and I were cracking up at his method for eating his birthday cake - face first! Once his mom showed him how to grab a chunk off with his hand, then he really got into it. Happy Birthday, A!

Background for Mini Session Day

For those who have signed up for the October 11th mini session day for holiday cards, I just wanted to show you the backdrop that will be used that day. It's a nice chestnut paper and as you can see it looks lovely in color, black-and-white, or chocolate (sepia) tone.

If you have not yet signed up for the October 11th event, call now. There are still appointment times available! Details here.

Don't you want to do this in your own living room?

I love to see kids as art. What a great way to decorate!

If you didn't catch my last blog post on this topic, I am offering a 15% discount on 16x20 or larger signature wall art (framed prints, canvas gallery wraps, or gallery mounts) purchased thru Dec 31st. To receive this discount, you have to let me photograph your child with their art piece on display as shown here.

Call now. We can still print art pieces from sessions done earlier this year!