Family Time

With summer getting on, I'm starting to see more family photo shoots on my calendar. Now is a great time to have family photos done. The weather is nice in the morning or evening, and kids are off of school. This sweet family met me at a small trail and pond area for candids and a few posed family shots. Thanks to tips from a Mom Photographers group, I had success getting the kids to look at the camera and smile at the same time. Thanks, ladies!

This mom, like other fellow bloggers, will recieve low resolution color images from our shoot to post on her blog. That's something other photographers don't always offer. If you'd like to see an example of what bloggers do with the photos when they get them, check out this family's blog posts about their oldest, second oldest, second youngest, and youngest child . . . oh, and one more about the brothers. Whew! That mom's been busy.

Are you interested in booking your family portraits with us? Please contact us for more information. Summer Saturdays are already filling up.

Popsicles

"Summer isn't summer without Popsicles," mom remarked after our photo shoot ended with 4 kids enjoying their treat. I took a different approach with this shoot since I've wanted more practice shooting groups, so I really focused on getting some nice shots of all 4 of them together. Of course, I had to post some individual shots too. Don't you love the one of the boy jamming on his guitar? He really let loose on that thing.

I'm very encouraged by the amount of traffic we're receiving on the website. We're not only getting hits from people interested in our photography services, but also from people looking up information on spot color photography, mom and baby models, candids, and clothing choices. In fact, I did a Google search the other day for "what to wear to a family photo shoot," and we appeared 5th on the list! Check out our page on What to Wear to Your Photo Shoot.

I just looked at my calendar of upcoming shoots, and I am out of models for my Kids and Teens Project! This project runs through July and I'd really like to get some more shoots in before I have to take a hiatus for a small surgery. So, if you have school-age kids who would like to model for my project at no cost(!), please contact us.

Anniversary Portraits

This couple will be celebrating their first anniversary shortly. What better way to commemorate one year of marriage than anniversary portraits? This handsome pair enjoyed posing and playing in front of the camera, and they were more than willing to try out the ideas I had for photos. My favorite shot? The two on the swings. That shot is so characteristic of their fun-loving personalities. I'm also really fond of the individual shots of them with the gorgeous evening light highlighting the hair. These pictures were taken around 6:00 p.m. I'm remembering that for the future so I can catch light like that again on camera.

Little Scientists

My Kids and Teens Project continues. These two brothers were so excited to show off their research skills. The oldest was all business: "I'm gathering specimens," he remarked while peeling off a bit of tree bark. His sampling gear? A magnifying glass, a bug container, a plastic bag, and a wrench. I was amused by the wrench, but he demonstrated that it was the perfect equipment for holding a piece of grass in place while ripping off a sample. The youngest (at the microscope) examined leaves, bugs, and yes, the plastic lid of the container they were using to collect specimens. Future prize-winning biologists? Maybe. They've certainly got a good start on the science of discovery.

Senior Portraits

I love the spark and energy of teens! This gorgeous senior was no exception. She was open to all my ideas, and we had fun with props and locations to create these great images. Because I was working with just one person, I had a lot more flexibility to be creative with poses and locations.

My favorites from this shoot are the ones in the flower field. I love the bright vibrant colors and the highlight on the model's hair. The color is stunning and so is she.

Like what you see here? I've created a Senior Session & CD package just for such shoots. This package includes an additional location for your session as well as basic retouching on 2 images of your choice. See our Pricing Page for more details.

Practice, Practice, Practice

There's an old saying I often think about: "Repetition is the mother of all knowledge." That definitely holds true for sports photography. These shots (especially the action ones) took some repetition before I got it right. Thanks go to my 12-year-old model for letting me take a second set of jump-shot, lay-up, and dribbling shots. (It was hot out too!) By the way, I love the 5th image, his "game face." He looks like a model for a sports drink ad.

While I'm giving out praise, I should also tell you what an amazing job Jacob did with the spot color on the first image. (Make sure you click on the image to see a larger version of the photo. ) In general, I am an "in-camera" photographer. I do very little retouching to photos and really try to get it right at the shoot so no editing is necessary. However, some images can't be created in camera, and it takes a real artist to transform a nice photo into something spectacular like this. Jacob did another spot color photo I love. Check it out: Special Edit: Spot Color.

Do you have school-age kids who would like to model for me? You will get awesome photos of your kids doing what they do best, and your kids will get some fun experience modeling for me like this young man and his sister. I'm especially looking to practice more action and sports photography. So, if your kid does soccer, T-ball, baseball, dance, gymnastics, or other action-packed activity, please contact us to sign up for my Kids and Teens Photo Project.

Climber

Sometimes the world looks better upside down or from the limb of a tree branch. And sometimes our kids look better that way too! Last week, I photographed this great model and her older brother for my Kids and Teens Project . (Don't worry big brother; I'll post about you next!)

My model was full of enthusiasm and energy (nice when I wanted help with my photo gear), and followed directions very well. I've noticed that these shoots take a little longer than usual. That's because I take time before we start shooting to explain some of the nuts and bolts of photography to the kids. But it's worth it. Kids are much more cooperative when they know the reason behind what you ask them to do. That's a trick I learned as a school teacher, and I've found it's pretty applicable across the board.

I could use more models for my Kids and Teens project. I have openings on June 26th and 27th. Contact us for more information.