The "everything" session!

This shoot was a whirlwind for sure, but SO FUN! Yes, if you recognize the teal bike rack in the picture above, you're not imagining things. I had two shoots at the same beach location within three weeks of each other. It's such a great place for kids to play and it works as an awesome, diverse location ... but I didn't suggest the location for either client -- they each picked it and I so admire their choice.

This shoot was a bigger one, with five adults and two little energetic boys. The sisters, Karly and Tasya, wanted a family session with pictures of everyone. We did some toddler portraits, some romantic couple shots, some full group pictures ... this session had it all! I could not even begin to choose which ones to share with you on this blog, so here's a random smorgasbord of some of my favorites (only some ... I could share more pictures of those boys to take up a few more full posts)!

Some of my favorites are of the boys with just their parents, one at a time. I love daddy pictures and like I said in my previous post, I also adore mommy pictures. It's so fun to see how children interact differently with each of their parents.

Okay, you probably won't believe me when I say that the color in those eyes is natural. The lighting in this particular shot did WONDERS for those REMARKABLE blue eyes. I only enhanced them an itsy-bitsy, teensy-tiny bit (like less than +4 in saturation). I didn't whiten the whites or sharpen the irises. I really did very, very little editing in a several of the pictures of just the boys. They just had perfect, beautiful features!


This little guy wouldn't smile for me much, but he definitely had a gorgeous, intense stare that I loved to capture.


I LOVE this one.

This is Karly and her boyfriend Jason. She's the one who contacted me for pictures and was the main mastermind behind the location choice.


Awww, little boys and their dinosaurs. I love dinosaurs!





I have a ton of these Mommy/Son pictures ... those boys were so into their playtime (just as they should be, little explorers that they are) that sometimes it took all four remaining adults jumping around behind me to get them to look in the general direction of the camera. :)

Oh, how this one makes my heart sing! I love it when the guys are willing to be so sweet to their wives on camera!


Just how beautiful are these two?? Wow!


Sisters, sisters ...

One of many group shots ...

Love it!


Check out that stare! Totally mesmerizing.


Again, you know me. I'm a sucker for thick eyelashes and these boys definitely had beautiful lashes.




This couple was adorable -- I so love doing couples' sessions and at times, found myself wishing I had them all to myself to really focus on getting more fun, romantic pics of the two of them.


I love this one. I have another version where they're both looking out into the distance and in a lot of cases, I think the staring off into oblivion is sort of cheesy ... but Karly and Jason made it WORK. Work it. :)

I'm a sucker for giving kids ice cream at the end of sessions. This is probably the fourth time I've done this and it works SO WELL to get some truly adorable pictures. Ice cream is the solution for really anything, in my opinion. :)

Karly and Tasya, thank you for being so patient with me! Truly, there were so many gorgeous images from your session that I just couldn't bear not editing so many of them. These are only a small preview of what's on your CD and I can't wait for you to see them. It was great to meet all of you ... Tasya, your boys are honestly SO handsome. Their eyes are unbelievable -- their intensity is a photographer's dream! I loved so many of their pictures. Please do let me know which images you all choose for your Christmas cards and thanks again for spending this pretty afternoon with me at the beach! Tell the men thanks for their patience and support that day -- all three of them were so helpful. :)

"W" family

I'm slowly trying to catch up on my blogging and on all of my editing. I have so many wonderful sessions and beautiful families to share with you. I had a blast with this particular family, the "W" family. They met me on the beach and little Alexis was such a curious girl. It was glaringly obvious that she adored her parents and they admired her right back.

It was refreshing to see how much they interacted with her, whether they were pointing out all the different flowers growing in the brush or pointing at the barnacles growing out toward the water. They ran in the sand, took their shoes off and just had a fun family outing. I was privileged to capture some of their adventure together!



I love mommy/daughter pictures. :)



I also love when the parents are up for some sweet romantic pictures!







One of my favorite parts of this picture is the little dandelion in daddy's pocket. That came from his sweet Alexis and he kept it there the rest of the day.





Be still my heart...



Alexis loved the playground and definitely used up some good energy there. :)









We ended the session with what else? Ice cream! That tasty snack was the only thing that slowed Alexis down that day and I love the pensive looks on her face as she savored her sweet treat. Also, check out her glittery shoes and that AWESOME skirt Mom brought for her to wear!

LOVE THIS!



She was SUCH a fun girl to meet -- she cracked me up the whole session. She wasn't just all play though. I was continually impressed with her thirst for knowledge and all the grown-up questions she'd ask her parents about things she'd discover along the beach. Her daddy was like a "walking encylcopedia" (according to her mom) so Alexis had lots of tidbits and fun facts to share with me along our walk.

Her favorite? The swings! Her mom said every day after school her daddy takes her to play for a bit on the swings. She wanted pictures there for sure.

Thank you, "W" family, for letting me spend the morning with you! Thank you also for your patience in getting these pictures! It was a blast seeing you more at the Tust/Johnson wedding, too. :) You're such an adorable family ... clearly so full of love and happiness. I'm grateful to have gotten to take some pictures for you!

Birth photography -- Sneak peek #2

Here's a sneak peek of my second birth photography experience. This is the M. family. I met Mom Erin for the first time at a Gymboree class last year. Then, several months later I learned that she attends our church, too! She has a sweet 2-year-old son named Finnegan who you'll see when I share the other photos from this session. For now, here's a glimpse at the first part of the day Erin and her husband Ken welcomed their daughter into the world.


Getting prepped outside the OR.


Erin and Ken, soon-to-be parents of TWO adorable children!






They're ready to meet their daughter!

And here she is! Penelope Jean was born on September 23.

Daddy checking out his first daughter.




I am so honored to have been able to capture this momentous event for my friend Erin and her family. I'm grateful to have gotten the chance to know Erin better and I can truly say she amazed me with her calm and courageous attitude, her positive outlook and her upbeat personality the whole morning. Erin, I so look forward to getting to know you better this year! Stay tuned for more photos of this birth session with the M. family!