Daisy 6 Month Preview

Yesterday I did another session with little Daisy.  This was our 2nd attempt at 6 month pictures.  Let's just say the first attempt was an epic fail as little Miss was quite tired (I would be too if I had only napped 40 minutes the entire day!).  Yesterday morning, Daisy was in a much better mood although I could not coax many smiles out of her.  She was very interested in everything that was going on around her (and it didn't help that my own little Lucy was there and thought she could help with the photos...silly girl).   Rhianna and I were trying to figure out her eye color and as I was going through the pictures I thought "oh!  they're khaki colored!" but then I got to the pictures of her in the tutu and in those they look aqua/green, so who knows?  Whatever color they are, they are gorgeous!

Brooke and Ben: Engagement Session Preview

Last week I was contacted by Blaire's soon-to-be aunt, Brooke.  She and her fiancee, Ben, wanted to do some rustic engagement pictures.  So once again I headed out to Meadowbrook (my goodness what would I do if that park didn't exist??).  I hadn't done pictures of just adults in about 2 years so I had forgotten how easy it is to get your clients to do exactly what you want!  I jokingly told Brooke and Ben during the session that I might accidentally start making googly sounds at them to get their attention after getting so used to doing sessions with babies and young toddlers.  Anyway, it was so much fun to spend time with Brooke and Ben who are so clearly in love and full of excitement and joy over the upcoming nuptials.  I can tell that their wedding photographer is going to have a lot of fun with them on the big day!

Ezra 6 Month Preview

Yesterday I did another session with Ezra, who is not so little anymore!  We had a lot of fun and naturally since we're only a few weeks away from Christmas, it was a very themed session.

 I had a little fun in Photoshop with the last one...

Stafford Family Preview

I think this is now the fourth session I've done for Rhianna and family; I am not complaining!  Bianca and Daisy are so sweet and it's always fun doing sessions for your friends (I definitely don't get as nervous!).  Today we bundled up (well Bianca, Daisy, and I were bundled; Rhianna and Stan braved the cold in just sweaters!) and headed to Meadowbrook for a family session.  I was really bummed it turned overcast.  I know, I know...cloudy days are great, right?  Well not really at sunset.  I really wanted to get some sun-kissed photos...oh well.  I haven't gone through the whole session yet but so far, I think the photos turned out pretty well. 

On a separate note....I'm getting really tired of using Blogger for my photography...limited picture space and for whatever reason, the photos are not as crisp when they upload.  I am exploring my options and hopefully I can get something started after the new year.

You Could be Pinned

I've seen a lot of people start pinning their own creations on Pinterest (mostly things they are selling on their Etsy store).  I figured I would join the bandwagon by pinning some of my favorite pictures from my blog.  Fact is, my photography board on Pinterest is my most popular board (200 followers!).  Why not get my name out there a little bit more, right? (Still not quitting my day job though...I think I'm still a better teacher than photographer ;) )  So fair warning, if your picture is on any of my pages, I might pin it and (hopefully) you'll see yourself on Pinterest.

Taylor's Three Year Pictures

Taylor turns 3 in a week and a half (I know, crazy, right?) and since today was somewhat warm, I decided it would be good to try and get some pictures done.  We went over to the arboretum because I didn't want to go to a place that had a park and therefore make it less likely Taylor would cooperate.  Somehow I don't think it would have mattered where we were; she wasn't going to cooperate regardless.  By the way, I only speak ill of my subjects when they are my own children ;).  Now I could have gotten a lot more pictures- in fact I did.  But I made a total rookie mistake.  I forgot to check my camera settings when I turned it on.  Well, that's not entirely true.  I did check my shutter speed and my focus, I just completely ignored my ISO.  I think it's because I rarely change it.  But apparently last time I used my camera I did change it (oh yes, we were at an indoor party) to 500.  So high ISO, flash with diffuser= totally blown out pictures.  I'm seriously kicking myself (over and over and over) because I really did get some adorable shots of Taylor running towards me with this big grin and I don't think there's anything I can do to save them.  Boo.  But lesson learned.  Always check ISO first (and you know this isn't the first time I've done this; you'd think I'd remember by now!).  Actually I just turned on my camera to make sure it was set back at 200 ISO just in case I don't remember to check next time.
Anyway, we tried taking a few more pictures at home once we realized Taylor wasn't interested in napping.  Those weren't so great either.  Nothing wrong technically; just Taylor didn't want to cooperate of course!  I'm very curious what other photographers do to get a strong-willed child to sit down for a nanosecond.  Putting cute little critters around my lens doesn't work.  Obviously making silly sounds doesn't work as she's not a baby.  Even bribing her with fruit snacks didn't work.  I guess we did manage to get a few and a few is better than nothing.  Maybe we'll get blessed with another warm (hopefully not so windy!!) day and I can try again.

I don't know why she kept putting her hand in her mouth

I am three- hear me ROAR!

Gallery Pages

I've been wanting to set up gallery pages since day one of this blog.  4 months later I finally have them done started!  You can find the links to them on the right side of the home page.  I only have three and while they are categorized, the actual layout of the photos isn't the best.  Blogger really limits you on this so even though the width of my blog pages is quite large, I can only do 2 pictures side by side at a decent size. Someday when I have more money and I want to shell out money for a nicer website-building um, site I will have a much better layout but for now I'm stuck with what Blogger gives me.  Oh well, it's better than nothing, right?

What's In a Name?

Well I'm not sure but you can see that the name has changed.  I realized that, while hubby is very talented with his video-making, he has his own blog for that so really this blog is just about me and my photos.  And all the cool photographers have "Photography" in their name, which makes sense; you need to let people know what you do, right?  So yeah, there ya go.  New name, same blog (but how psyched was I to change the website address w/o setting up a new page??  Thank you Blogger!!!)

Quinn and Family

Yesterday I had the pleasure of doing a session for my first ever referred client.  Well I'm not sure if that's the right phrase but what I mean is Blaire's mom referred someone to me for pictures of her 6-month old.  A session for someone I'd never met before?  Yep, I was just a little nervous going in.  I should have known not to worry; baby Quinn was a complete pro!  I could swear she's done this before, haha!  We got some great family shots too.  Despite the cold (poor Quinn was shaking by the end) we all had a great time!

 

Ezra and Family

Last weekend, I did a mini-session with Ezra and his family.  His grandparents were hosting a cookout and so we did some shots of Ezra by himself, as well as Ezra with parents, Kim and Kyle, and both sets of grandparents.  Kim thought ahead and set up an adorable scene complete with hay bale and pumpkins: perfect for fall!

Blaire's One Year Session Preview

Yesterday I returned to the U of I Arboretum to do a session with little Blaire who is turning one in 2 weeks.  I'm sure mom Lauryl can hardly believe her little one is almost a year old!  Most of the time I try and supply the props but Lauryl came with a trunk full- it was so much fun trying different ideas!  And Blaire was a very good sport through it all; full of smiles and curiosity.  Here's a sneak peek of the session:

Preview of Bianca's 3 Year Pictures

Remember little Miss Daisy?  Today I had the pleasure of doing a session with her older sister, Bianca.  Rhianna had warned me (several times, haha) that this might not be easy.  I'm not going to lie; I was a little nervous we wouldn't get any "good" pictures.  However, I needn't have worried.  Bianca did a great job!  It's amazing what a little bribery (pez and fruit snacks) will do.  (Disclaimer: I did not bring those treats; Rhianna was smart and thought ahead).
For these pictures we went to Hardy's Reindeer Ranch.  It is quickly becoming one of my favorite places to do photos.  The owners do a great job of keeping up the grounds; there are many great locations!  However, just know that the owners are fully aware of all the people who go there just to do pictures.  So please if you do pictures there, be sure to actually give them some patronage and buy a pumpkin or something.  So here is a sneak peek....I have a lot more pictures to go through!