Amanda Kay Photography

I've moved!

2009-12-05T10:43:00.001-08:00

Amanda Kay Photography has a new online home! Check out my new website at http://www.amandakayphotography.com. If you follow this blog, please know that I will no longer be posting here. The new site is serving as a blog and a website so I will be posting all new information and sneak peeks from recent photo shoots on http://www.amandakayphotography.com instead of this blogspot site. Blogger served me well at the beginning of this business, so thank you, Blogger! I still update our family blog at our blogspot address here. Happy holidays!

The "everything" session!

2009-10-20T15:26:00.000-07:00

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

2009-10-18T15:42:00.000-07:00

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

2009-10-09T15:14:00.000-07:00

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!

Birth photography -- sneak peek #1

2009-10-09T08:14:00.000-07:00

Unbelievable. That is the word that keeps coming to mind when I remember what it was like to shoot my first birth. It also is the same word that I use when I describe what it was like to shoot a second birth just a week and a day after the first one. I have a feeling every experience will be just as remarkable, just as beautiful, just as unforgettable.

I had the privilege of photographing the birth of my sweet neighbor's fifth child last month. And then, I had the honor of shooting my new friend from church's c-section birth shortly afterward. I am still going through all of the images from both experiences (thank you for being so patient, April & Erin!) and I LOVE editing these. I also LOVE that both of these amazing women welcomed me into the room with them to capture one of the biggest days of their lives. I love how brave and unbelievably strong both women are and I will never forget the opportunities they gave me to be included in their "birth days."

For first peeks, here are the pictures of the birth of Cole Z., the third son (fifth child!) of my awesome neighbors, April & Dan. The photo above of is April and her best friend Mandy, who has been present at all five of the Z kids' births! What a lucky gal! Below is April and Dan holding their own baby pictures. April has made it a tradition to bring in baby pictures at each of her births -- ones of her and her hubby but also of her other kiddos when they were newborns. She said she loved to compare what each sweet babe looked like when they were first born.

I cannot express how patient, how strong-willed and how beautifully transparent April was throughout the whole process. She was a week overdue and her labor was long and slow ... up unti the very last hour and a half, when things just went super fast!

Walking the halls with Mandy.

Baby Cole, born Sept. 16, 2009. April brought that child into the world naturally -- without any epidural at all. It was her first completely natural birth in all of her five.

Apparently all of the Z. kids had that same little quivering lip.

The proud daddy and his new son.

Thank you so much April, for EVERYTHING you are to so many people. To your family, your friends, your neighbors ... you are an inspiration to me in so many ways and I am blessed to be your friend.

Stay tuned for more pictures from Cole's birth as well as pictures from the c-section birth of little Penelope!

First wedding!

2009-10-05T16:08:00.000-07:00

This past weekend was one I'll never forget. I was so privileged to be chosen to shoot the wedding of a sweet and beautiful couple, Dawn & Adam. I am so honored to share some of their pictures here and will have lots more to share in the coming weeks, as well as details about how I got connected with this awesome couple and what their big day was like. For now, here is a small preview of what's to come.

It was an amazing experience in so many ways, but what made it even more memorable was that I had help from my amazing second shooter, my best friend Christy. She was so supportive, encouraging and energetic and I couldn't have done this first wedding without her. We made an awesome team and because we've been BFFs for going on 16 years, we were completely in tune with each other, which made communication between us throughout the day flow like clockwork. It was just a perfect afternoon. Exhausting, but truly remarkable. We learned so many lessons, were challenged in many ways and just blessed all-around to get to experience this together. Christy got some BEAUTIFUL pictures and I will share hers on this blog along with mine (the last two images in this preview are hers). Check out her other work on her photography blog: http://christinacolephotography.blogspot.com/. Thank you for flying out here from Nashville, Christy, and I can't wait to shoot more weddings with you!

Stay tuned for SEVERAL more posts in the coming weeks. Engagement shoots, family portraits, births, bridal/baby showers and the wedding!

Sweet, sweet Kailaya

2009-09-14T08:04:00.000-07:00

Well, let's just say I had a hard time picking pictures to post from this session because nearly EVERY picture of little Kailaya was perfectly adorable. She was such a JOY to photograph -- she had so much personality and she did such a great job of looking right at me at the perfect moments, with the perfect expressions on her face. We had a lot of fun on this shoot!

We started out at Kailaya's house, in her parents' bedroom. Her mom, Misty, said Kailaya loves to play on her parents' bed.

Right from the get-go, Kai warmed up to my camera and smiled for me.

Then we moved over to Kai's bedroom, where we pulled out some of her favorite books. These pictures have special meaning to me, as my own daughter spends so much of her day flipping through her books, too. Emma is actually one year younger than Kai and it was so fun for me to see what I might have in store for me next summer with a 2-and-a-half-year-old.

Then we walked a short jaunt to a small park near Kailaya's house. I love this picture. She seems like a celebrity, like she's waving to fans from the red carpet.

I will always take pictures like this. I love toddlers' eyelashes. They're always so thick and beautiful. And something about taking a picture where the child is looking down like this is just so peaceful.

Then, we swung on over to the ice cream shop for a little treat.

Seriously, is she just not a natural? We didn't even tell her to pose this way!

Sometime during this session, I was telling Kai about the "bug" in my camera (my shutter). Several times she looked so intently into my lens, searching for the little snap that meant the bug moved. I asked her what color the "bug" was and she said it was red. :)

Kai got "pink" ice cream (strawberry) with gummy bears. YUM!

She shared some of her mom's ice cream cone too.

After ice cream, we ventured out to a bigger park, where Kailaya really ran around played. I love this next picture.

Of course we pulled out the bubbles. Bubbles are a must with toddlers (if they like them) and make for some fun pictures!

Thank you, Misty and Kailaya, for sharing the afternoon with me and for being patient with me as I took forever to get these images up. As soon as things wind down from summer, I know Emma will LOVE to come play with Kai sometime!

I have three other posts I'm working on and hope to share by the end of the week (if not sooner). In the meantime, if you want to see what the McMahan family has been up to the past couple of weeks, don't forget you can visit http://mandymcmahan.blogspot.com!

Sweet preview

2009-08-23T21:14:00.000-07:00

This is Kailaya. And I can't wait for you to see more of her!

Baby Katelyn

2009-08-14T19:18:00.000-07:00

This beautiful family is the Raymond family. Little Katelyn was only 2.5 weeks old when I got to take pictures of her and her parents Christin and Dan.
Christin and Dan had great suggestions for things we could do for Katelyn's pictures. These with Dan, Katelyn and Dan's military helmet are some of my all-time favorite pictures. Also, this one below was their idea, too.

The Raymonds had this little picnic basket that we fit Katelyn into. I still need to collect some good baskets, bowls, soft pillows, hats and blankets to use on my newborn shoots. I also saw this adorable little doll cradle at Ikea that would be SO CUTE to pose sleeping newborns in.

Katelyn was awake for the majority of our session, which lasted three hours! She took teeny little cat naps but was such a trooper for so long. We were hoping she'd stay sleepy so we could pose her a bit more but this alert little one was much like my own sweet explorer -- she wanted to see everything we were doing. Look how alert and focused her eyes are at only 2.5 weeks old!

Oh, how I miss snuggling a newborn!

Oops, how'd this one sneak in here? :) I just adore these! We took these in Katelyn's room. The green on her walls was so pretty and worked wonderfully as a background in these.

Aww. Think she feels safe right there? :)

Pure bliss.

Christin and Dan had tattoos on their ring fingers under their wedding rings. There's a D on Christin's hand and a C on Dan's hand. Isn't that a fun idea? I love this one, of the two of them basically holding hands as they cradle their firstborn.

Staring up at her daddy...

In Katelyn's nursery.

Christin and Dan, thank you for welcoming me into your home and introducing me to your sweet daughter. I loved all the ideas you had for your pictures and it was truly an honor to take Katelyn's first pictures!

Baby Eva

2009-08-14T15:51:00.000-07:00

I had the privilege of meeting Baby Eva and her mom Jo and dad Vinod. I use the word "privilege" because it truly was. This family was so kind and thoughtful. Their interactions were so sweet to watch and Baby Eva was SUCH a happy baby!
I would estimate that Eva smiled approximately 94 percent of the time I was with them. She was so happy and her little grin was just contagious. You couldn't help but smile when she looked at you.
We started the session out at Jo & Vinod's home, which had several things in it that reflected their Indian heritage. The lighting in their home was a challenge for me and it made me realize how much I really do want an extra camera body -- one with a little more power to shoot at high ISO's for better results in low-lighting scenarios. Even so, Baby Eva was so cute that we were able to get some adorable shots.

Vinod and Eva loved playing together. He was especially fond of tossing her gently up into the air and I could see why. She giggled so well every time he did that. It was always a sure-fire way to get her to grin that beautiful baby grin.

Hi there, Eva! She was a very curious baby and I could tell immediately that she was very sharp. She was so observant and when she looked into your eyes, it was obvious this girl was studying everything about you. It almost felt like she could read my thoughts. Good thing all I was thinking was, "You're so cute, little one!" :)

Jo wanted to get a few pictures of her and Eva in traditional Indian attire, complete with the bindi (a symbol of beauty, associated with feminity and sometimes with marriage) between the eyes. When Jo first put the bindi on her daughter, she was so moved. She told me that the first time she'd worn a bindi was at her own wedding -- to see her daughter wear one at such an early age was touching and emotional for her.

Look at all of that hair little Eva has! My daughter at 18 months has probably a third of what Eva had at six months. :)

The whole family hanging out in their dining room at home.

Something about this picture is so striking to me. It's not a perfect photo and I usually go for the smiles, but something about how pensive father and daughter looked as they were waiting for Jo to join us outside just got me. Eva was so content just sitting in her Papa's arms.

She was also pretty comfy being held by Mom, too. :)

We walked to a nearby park to get some more family shots and Eva quickly showed signs she was ready for a nap and pretty much done with posing for the camera. So we tried to work quickly.

Vinod was ready to interest Eva with music and videos from his MP3 player. That bought us some more time to play. :)

Then, this is what happened on the walk back from the park:

Then, after we got home, this:

Jo and Vinod, thank you for letting me take pictures of your sweet girl. Thank you also for taking care of ME before I left your home and sending me off with lots of chocolate and snacks to munch on during the drive home. I so look forward to meeting up again with you soon and having some more fun out at the park!

Sister & brother

2009-08-14T15:00:00.000-07:00

These are some of my favorite pictures ever! Mainly because these two cute young adults are part of my history. I've known Elizabeth and Brendan as far back as I can remember. We lived one house away when we all grew up in a little cul-de-sac in Renton. When I got old enough, I started babysitting these two and that's when our history together really began.

Elizabeth and Brendan were the CUTEST kids. Always polite, always cheerful, always ready to run up and give me hugs. Both of them. They both had unique personalities and as brother and sister, got along together really well. They were so easy to babysit because they minded so well and we all had so much fun together.

The only sad thing? Yeah. See below.

Pretty much I have to say GO COUGS, GO COUGS, GO COUGS! When Elizabeth graduated high school in 2006 (after being an awesome yearbook editor, just like me!), she chose the University of Washington. Brendan just graduated this year and what college do you think he chose?

Yep. I love these kids but NO ONE looks good in purple. :) (Clearly, I am a Washington State University grad.)

I'm proud of both Ebie and Brendan. Elizabeth's gotten really involved in her sorority and has chosen Informatics (basically a study of the relationships between people, information and technology) as her major and loves it. Brendan has always been an AWESOME student as well and I know he'll go on to accomplish great things in college too.

Aren't they cute?

I cannot bring myself to understand how Brendan grew from a quiet little towhead to this handsome college student. Seriously! He's 10 years younger than me and Elizabeth is eight years younger, but I feel with them like parents must feel of their children when all of a sudden they seem to blink and be looking at their babies as adults. I'm always amazed at the mature things both Ebie and Brendan say and accomplish.

I can only hope my own children get along as great as Elizabeth and Brendan do. They laugh at each other, tease each other, trust each other with some appropriate secrets and encourage each other.

You might not be able to tell here, but these are two tall cats. Like, six feet tall. I come up to Ebie's chin or something like that. And for so long it was pretty cute because Brendan was always shorter than Ebie. Not anymore!

They both have been waterskiiers since they were wee little ones. I'll never forget seeing their teeny life jackets and skis in their family boat back when I used to babysit them. Now they both wakeboard and Ebie is on the UW Waterskiing Team. I'm sad to say that I've never actually gotten to see either of them on the water, though! I'm not so much a water sports girl. :)

I love you guys. Thanks for asking me to come up to campus and spend some time with you. I hope your mom enjoyed her pictures (the two wanted to take these for a birthday present for their mom). I also hope Uncle Rich (their uncle is a photographer!) approves of how I portrayed you two! :) Keep in touch -- don't ever stop calling me and keeping your big "sis" updated on what's going on in your sweet lives!

Payne Family

2009-08-14T14:33:00.001-07:00

Whew. I'm so many posts behind ... I've had lots of wonderful clients this summer. So many kind families, cute babies, toddlers with immense personality ... it's so fun to see how each family member reacts in front of the camera. This particular cutie is Cruz. I worked with the Payne family back in June and Cruz's mom Courtney has been a huge help in so many ways.

She's given me great feedback and I've learned several good lessons from my time with this family.

It was so warm this day in June and the sun was very bright outside. We tried to shoot a lot in the shade and Cruz definitely preferred that to squinting in the sun. :)

Here Courtney's letting Cruz get a closer look at some ducks at the water's edge. Courtney wanted to do their family pictures in her parents' back yard, which is a gorgeous property right on the edge of Lake Sammamish. It was just beautiful. Courtney's mom is an interior decorator and her home and yard were just stunning with all the colors she'd incorporated.

Courtney also picked out a great wardrobe for the family to wear. All coordinated but not too matchy-matchy. I loved the turquoise, orange and white!

While Cruz took a little snooze, we ventured out into some woodsy areas to get some mommy/daddy pictures. I made the two of them trek out into a really weedy area and both Courtney and I were totally scared we'd encounter some sort of snake (apparently they'd seen several in that area before). We made Courtney's husband Matt go out there and clear out the area of all potential snakes before we'd follow him out there.

I love these pictures in this little stairway alcove.

When Cruz woke up from his nap, we had a little fun near the hot tub. The water was pretty cold so we weren't able to let Cruz take a little dip but everyone got their feet wet for a few pictures.

This was one of the most fun parts of the session because Courtney's mom took a break from the gardening she'd been doing all morning to come out and help us get Cruz's attention toward the camera. She was dancing all around behind me, shaking toys and making funny noises. I laughed so hard -- it was hilarious, appreciated and so cute.

Courtney made this quilt Cruz is laying on here and in a few other pictures in this series. It is a BEAUTIFUL, intricate design and I was so impressed with it. It is a remarkable work of art.

Thank you once again, Payne family, for letting me spend that beautiful afternoon with you and also for your patience with all of the things you helped me work through in regards to our session. Thanks also to your mom, Courtney, for letting us invade her beautiful home and entertaining ALL of us!

Marilyn Monroe?

2009-07-02T12:25:00.000-07:00

I know it has been forever since I last posted. I have been so busy with shoots and editing pictures and setting up new shoots. I have lots of pictures I'm still working on and lots more blog posts to share. James and I are sitting in the San Diego International Airport right now, waiting for our flight back to Seattle. We just got finished with our first cruise, a 30th birthday present I set up for James to celebrate this milestone year.

I took these pictures here in early June. My former boss and dear friend Amy wanted to do some surprise pictures for her boyfriend, who LOVES Marilyn Monroe. We had so much fun doing these! My friend Rhea came to work on Amy's hair and did a FANTASTIC job! I had a big book full of Marilyn pictures so we could look at how Ms. Monroe posed for pictures, her expressions and obviously her clothing.

The verdict with Amy's boyfriend? He loved them! What do you think?

This classic Marilyn photo was was so hard to recreate. I took probably 50 different versions of this picture and this is the closest we came to the original shot. Obviously Marilyn was outside in her original picture instead of inside a house, but then again I'm sure it was more pleasant for Amy that a fan was creating that wind instead of the hot air coming from the smelly sewer grate Marilyn endured.

This one is one of my favorites!

Sinclair Family

2009-06-09T13:10:00.000-07:00

Little Addelyn is so sweet ... and she clearly gets her sweetness from her parents! I had a blast with these great people last week. They were troopers ... they climbed up on big tree stumps when I asked them to, walked through pathways that were just covered in yucky ants (that was by accident) and got drenched in bubble machine mixture just a few times when we carried Addy's favorite toy around the park with us.

Addy made me work a little harder for a smile this time than the last time I took her pictures. She's very contemplative and her pretty eyes just seem to have so much knowledge behind them already. She says, "Thank you," when she takes something from you and also did an awesome job pointing out the birds and saying, "Bird!" when we saw them.

Addy did SO WELL at listening to her parents. I am thrilled with how many of these pictures have all three members of the family looking at my camera. So often with toddlers, it's tricky to get them to look at me with enough time to capture the right moment. Her mom would just say, "Look at Mandy! Look at Mandy!" over and over again each time we were posing for pictures and Addy always listened to her and obeyed. Some of the time, it was, "Look at Mandy and you can get a treat!" and she for SURE listened to those requests and was rewarded with Cheerios. :) Even without the Cheerios though, Addy was a great listener. I was impressed.

Another few reasons I say this Sinclair family is sweet? Well, for one, they didn't laugh (long) when I slid and fell dramatically on my bum after jumping off of the huge tree stump I was standing on when I took this picture below. I still don't know how I didn't blow out my knee, given the way I landed. I guess that's what you get when you wear cheap Old Navy flip-flops and try to jump from a high distance down to slightly soggy grass. I'm sure I looked ever so graceful -- do you think the Sinclairs would believe me if I told them I was a ballet dancer for 15 years? :)

They also stayed with me for nearly 30 minutes and helped me look for my sunglasses when I realized I'd lost them somewhere along the way (we never found them, but I went to Target the next day and picked up the exact same pair I'd lost!). They SO didn't need to do that, but I'm grateful that there are such kind people still out there in the world these days. Little Addy needed to get home to bed but they didn't hesitate to unbuckle her from the car and come back out to the park to help me search. It was so kind.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE this bubble picture! Addy had the coolest bubble machine. She loved turning it on and off (and on and off and on and off) by pressing a big button on the top of the machine. I have to go find one of these for Emma!

Pictures like this one below always get to me. It's images like these that make you realize that sweet angels like this grow up way too fast. Addy, like my daughter Emma, was quite the independent explorer. She always looked back to see if her parents were following her, but was completely content going on a trek of her own choosing. I love watching children this age -- they're so inquisitive.

Sinclair family preview

2009-06-05T21:03:00.000-07:00

Get ready for more of this cutie! I got to spend the evening with the Sinclair family tonight, who are so super nice. More coming soon. I have another shoot early tomorrow morning ... lots of pictures to edit this weekend. And I can't wait!

I adore this picture. Such a sweet, sweet family.

Buttercups & overalls

2009-06-01T12:44:00.000-07:00

I took some more pictures of Patrick yesterday. I have lots to share but for now, what do you think of these? The two images are so similar but I can't decide which one I like more. Also, I can't decide if I like the brighter, more natural colors or the faded colors either. So take your pick. And let me know what you think.

Also, I'm still playing around with lots of things -- that logo you see at the bottom of the storyboard isn't final. I have a lot of versions I'm working with right now and hope to soon have decisions on the official logo for the business. I also need to change my header at the top of this blog (because I'm not "m photography" anymore). I'm working on plans for a brand new blog in the coming months and I'm most excited about that. I looking forward to featuring my images in a classier layout and also making sure I'm doing what I can to protect my own work (logo watermarks, blatant copyright notices, etc.). I'm taking things one step at a time while still setting up at least two shoots a week during the summer, so my progress in building the image for the business is slow but hopefully steady. Thanks for all your encouragement!

First trip to the beach

2009-05-30T22:35:00.000-07:00

Had an impromptu mini session with my own daughter today when we ventured off to the beach. Check out my other blog for more pictures and details about Emma's first experience with sand! I love taking pictures of anyone and anything, but my favorite subjects are my family.

Mother & son

2009-05-29T11:28:00.000-07:00

One of my best friends, Sara, recently moved to a beautiful 1930s house on nearly five acres of gorgeous property. I am so thrilled for her and her husband, who's had a dream of owning and living on a farm since he was a little boy. They have horses already and I can't wait to see what else they do. Their two boys, Patrick and Jaden, are going to have so much fun growing up in this house! I went to visit earlier this week and just snapped a few pics of Sara and Patrick. James and I are going back this weekend and I'm going to do lots more pics (Matt specifically wants one of Patrick in all the buttercups in the fields ... isn't that cute?).

Smorgasbord

2009-05-24T22:58:00.000-07:00

We've had a lot of family things going on recently and I've been shooting a ton. I haven't shared any personal pictures on this blog in awhile, so here are a few of my favorites from the past month.

One of my sweet neighbor children.

More of the sweet neighbor children (Emma's in the middle stroller). And they're all from one family! A great family we feel lucky to live by.

Here's T., a neighbor boy.

And T. again. He was photogenic this day.

Emma and Daddy!

She LOVES the swings!

About one week before she really started walking all over the place.

I love having a daughter.

And a dog. This is our first "daughter," Bailey.

Maybe my favorite picture EVER.

My teenage brother-in-law, Wyatt.

Isn't he a cutie?

I love this one, too.

Whoa, so serious.

I've got a bunch of sessions coming up and a bunch I need to schedule. Now that the last of our big family events has come and gone (for the time being), I have a few free weekend days that I fully plan to fill up with photo shoots. I have to sincerely apologize to everyone who's been waiting for me to schedule a session. I can't wait for all the pictures I'm going to be taking very soon!

Addelyn

2009-05-12T22:46:00.000-07:00

So after my dear friend reminded me that I promised more Addelyn "soon," I realized I'd better step up and deliver. :) It's been a busy couple of weeks with lots of family events and a quick overnight trip to somewhere really fun (see my other blog for pics and details about that) so I'm behind in editing. Anyway, Addelyn was so fun to shoot! She gave me some of the most serious expressions -- and then some of the most adorable grins. Emma and I headed over for a casual playdate with Addy and her mom Charlyn, whom we met several months ago through a playdate with Meredith and Joss. We just wanted to get some pictures of Addy playing at home and this is what we came up with so far. I'm excited because I get to do another session with Addy this week -- a family session! Stay tuned for those pics later this week!

Just look at those eyes.

How will her parents ever be able to tell her no?

I love shooting from this angle ... older babies have those eyelashes to die for. I have a picture similar to this of Emma, taken by my photog friend Jennifer, and it's one of James' and my favorite pictures of Emma.

Whoops! How'd she get in here? ;)
Emma and Addelyn had fun playing together. It's so cute to see two little girls so close in age try to figure each other out.

We also had a tongue issue that day. I love it.

Both girls had runaway tongues!

Addelyn preview

2009-05-06T11:10:00.000-07:00

More of this sweet angel coming soon...

Kevin & Erika, Part II

2009-04-08T11:07:00.000-07:00

So my goodness, I have loved editing these pictures. I love editing all of my pictures, but the gorgeous Seattle scenery in these, Erika's natural talent for looking beautiful on camera and the sunny weather (when we were in the shade) made these just such a treat to edit. Does Kevin look familiar to you? He's my friend Brian's younger brother ... I did pictures of Brian and Lindsey's twins a few months ago. I've known Brian and Kevin since high school and their parents still live in the same neighborhood my parents do.

See what I'm saying about the natural beauty? I love this calm, secretive look on Erika's face.

Kevin and Erika got engaged in Vegas and are planning their wedding for late July. Erika said she's got her dress picked out and the colors all figured out (black and white) and they still needed to figure out the cake and get their invitations out. They wanted to include a picture in their invitation so hence the engagement photo shoot.

So we had a little fun with an impromptu dance lesson here. I asked them Kevin how he felt about dipping Erika for a picture (some couples feel cheesy doing that, while others love it). They were both totally up for it, but we needed to work on their form just a tad. They were great sports at listening to this dancer-turned-photographer as she critiqued their performances.

Can you say CUTE CUTE CUTE? Just look at them! I love these!

Anyone want to have a session at Pike Place? I am up for ANY kind of session there. I could have shot there all through the night. So many corners and alleys and views and colors and textures to work with. I love it. And it's such a Seattle landmark. One of my favorite pictures from my own wedding was taken right in this very spot.

I have this one in black and white too and for a long while, I couldn't decide which I liked better. I decided to post the one in color because of the mossy green all over the steps.

Remember this one ... it's coming up again in a few.

It was SUCH a wonderful afternoon for a walk around Seattle. I love this city. I love this state.

Ahhh, romance. Engagements. Weddings. It's a glorious time of year. I want to have another wedding. I want to have engagement pictures taken with James again.

Congratulations, Kevin & Erika! You are such a great-looking couple and so sweet as well. I had a blast with you on Sunday. Thanks for sticking with me for all those hours. Enjoy every minute of this time in your life ... you'll never want to forget any of it!

Creativity?

2009-04-08T09:29:00.000-07:00

I really liked this post on a photography blog I visit. This is how I feel about my work a lot of the time ... I totally feel in a trance when I'm on a shoot and when I'm driving home I'm almost panicking because I can't really remember what kind of pictures I got. I worry that I didn't get anything good, that I made the clients uncomfortable, that I was overwhelming in my excitement. I always hope the clients have as much fun as I do and sometimes I know I can shoot for a long time (so far, everyone's been such troopers). Then usually, I get home, look at my pictures and am SO THANKFUL that I've been getting to do this. I have so much to learn and I have a looooooooonngg way to go in this journey, but for now ... I'm thrilled with what I've been doing. And proud. Thank you to everyone who has been supporting me in this adventure -- my clients, my friends and of course, my family.

We're ready to file the paperwork to make the business official. And we're not filing as "m. photography" like I thought we would. I'll share the new name and a new blog address in a few weeks. I'm working on logos, doing research for website development and planning out my rates/packages. My goal to have everything complete and to start shooting at my official rates is June. I have a lot to do between now and then ... and maybe I'll make that deadline, maybe I won't. I have several other commitments smack dab in the middle of that timeframe. While getting the business up and running is a big priority for me, it is lower in my lineup when it comes to tasks during the day. The kid, the hubby and the home life come first. Once both lovies are snug in bed, I regularly find myself staying up past midnight just so I can do some research and some editing.

Also, thank you to everyone who's still waiting for me to schedule their session ... I have at least six different people I still need to call back to work out schedules. I'm working on it, I promise!

Anyway, come back soon for more pictures from my awesome engagement session with Kevin & Erika. I am so excited to share more of these images.

K&E processing question

2009-04-06T11:24:00.000-07:00

As I'm working on editing more images from Kevn & Erika's engagement shoot, I am just THRILLED at the beauty of some of the locations we went to yesterday. I am SO EXCITED about these pictures! I'm truly having a blast and am just ecstatic at how some of them are turning out. I'm practically bursting at the seams and I so can't wait to share more. I'll have more to share later very soon and also more on what a sweet couple Kevin & Erika are, but for now ... which version of this photo do you all prefer and why? I love them both!

Kevin & Erika sneak peek

2009-04-05T21:01:00.000-07:00

I had so much fun with Kevin & Erika this afternoon. Here's a sneak peek. More coming soon...

Easter session -- Thompson

2009-04-04T21:53:00.000-07:00

I had the privilege of getting together with Paul, Marissa and Cooper again last weekend. I got to take their family pictures this winter -- two different times! They just might win the record for being having the most family pictures posted on this blog. They have been so supportive of me and my photography. When Marissa wanted Easter pictures, I was so excited to work with them again. We were all hoping for nice spring weather ... but it was REALLY cold and quite gray outside. We'd run outside, grab a few frames, then run back inside for a warm-up. Cooper was in a great mood the entire session and didn't even mind wearing bunny ears for a few pictures!

Marissa loves pictures in sepia -- nearly every photo on their wall in the family room is sepia. I had to convert a few for her here.

I love the smile on Marissa's face here ... even though you can only see a small part of her face (and those pretty eyelashes), there's no doubt she's smitten with her sweet son.

You think Cooper has fun with his daddy? ;-)

It's Cooper's first Easter and he's got to figure out what the deal is with these plastic eggs.

For all you photographers out there, I used a new action on this one. I downloaded a few new free actions from MCP Actions and used her action called Take Action on Cancer to turn this black and white with a blue tone. Normally I'm not a fan of pictures with duotone-like colors, but for some reason I really like how it worked on this picture.

So I think Cooper pretty much has the coolest nursery. I should have gotten more pictures of it. It's blue and brown, a classic color combination, but Marissa has also collected a ton of baby boy items with a theme of "Prince" and it's just adorable. He's got an awesome set of shelves that are filled with adorable stuffed animals, picture frames, baskets and signs. You can see one of the "Prince" frames in the lefthand side of this picture. Check out the huge diaper pin on the wall, the fun stars and the custom artwork (painted by Marissa's brother!) in another nursery picture a little further down in this post.

Can we take a moment to point out what a beautiful smile Marissa has?

Happy Easter, Thompson family!

Cooper Bunny preview

2009-04-01T08:26:00.000-07:00

More from this little guy and his parents, coming soon...

4th Avenue Media, Take II

2009-03-29T12:09:00.000-07:00

I met up with Lucas and his team from 4th Avenue Media again last week. They needed a few more headshots for their website and I also got some pictures of the team working together. I used my SB-800 flash for most of these pictures (not the one above). I'm so glad I have this flash -- I wouldn't be able to capture many of the moments that I have been able to capture recently if I didn't have this flash. My 50mm 1.8 lens is awesome and I couldn't shoot without it. But recently, the flash has also been a friend to me.

I have never seen Lucas not joyful. He always seems to be so happy. What makes that even cooler is that his wife Lauren, my friend from Sea Gals, is the same (check them out -- they're the adorable couple in my header photo at the top of this blog). They're such cheerful people and not at all in a fake way. They always appear genuinely happy with life. It's so energizing to be around them and it's pleasure to get to see them both more often. I have another shoot for one of Lucas' clients on Monday and I'm looking forward to it.

G family, part II

2009-03-15T13:24:00.000-07:00

Matt, Sara, Patrick & Jaden

2009-03-13T20:53:00.000-07:00

Our dear friends, Matt & Sara, and their two boys, Patrick & Jaden, are moving to a new home. James and I (and more recently, Emma) have countless fond memories of good times at Matt & Sara's house. Sara is an awesome hostess and is always willing to welcome anyone in for a meal, a laugh, a talk. Matt barbecues with the best of them and of course Patrick is one of our favorite little entertainers. We've camped in Matt & Sara's backyard (oh, what a night), we've fought over the rules of so many games of Cranium/Catchphrase (competitive? me?), we've savored a ton of delicious milkshakes and lattes made by Sara. We've celebrated St. Patrick's Day with a traditional Irish dinner for two years in that house. I've cried in that house, I've laughed in that house. James and I are grateful for these friends -- these people who are not just friends to us, but family. I can't even write enough about how much we love these guys. So ... congratulations on your new adventure, Matt & Sara. We will miss your first home ... but here are a few pics so you'll always remember the place where your family first began.

Twins, Part II

2009-03-10T12:11:00.000-07:00

I just LOVE this picture. Someday, I envision doing a similar one with the girls sitting in front of them, not in the car seats, but for now, I think this totally encapsulates what Brian and Lindsey's life is right now. They don't have to cart around one heavy car seat, but TWO of them. Everything they do, they have to do twice. Every night, they don't have one baby to soothe and snuggle to sleep, but two. I admire all they've sacrificed to make these girls the happy babies they are. I'm sure Brian and Lindsey would say that twice the work is exhausting, but it's also twice the love.

We got some of these pictures around their condo complex, to capture the memory of their first home together.

Super mom!

I was shooting pictures of Brooklyn, down on the floor, when I had to look up and get the expressions on the faces of her family members, all trying to make her laugh. So sweet.

Twins!

2009-03-09T22:58:00.000-07:00

I'm not done editing all of these pictures yet, but here's a peek at a few pictures from my first shoot with Brian, Lindsey and the twins! Brooklyn and Tess are six months old and they are sweet, sweet, sweet! Brian and I have been friends since high school. Lindsey is such a kind, fun girl and James and I have gotten to know her over the past couple of years. I can vouch for the fact that she is a great team member on game night! GO GIRLS TEAM! :) Okay, more pictures coming soon!

4th Avenue Media

2009-03-07T21:53:00.000-08:00

I was honored to be asked to take pictures for 4th Avenue Media, a new kind of advertising agency in the Bellevue/Seattle area made up of seasoned media professionals who have made it their passion to tell their clients' stories in unique ways. The team at 4th Avenue Media excel in media buying, advertising, story-telling and public relations. To learn more about this group, visit their website here or check our their blog here. Anyway, the business owners, Robin & Lucas, wanted headshots and group photos for their website and I was excited to be able to help them with this.

I faced quite a challenge with nature this day. The sun was really bright, the wind was so powerful and the air was bitter cold. That meant we had people squinting to keep their eyes open against the sun (even at times in the shade), hair flying in all directions, and freezing noses, fingers, toes ... brrr. I tried shooting in the shade and did get some good pictures there, but I really wanted to get the Bellevue skyline behind the 4th Avenue Media team and for our location, that meant we had to stand in direct sunlight. The wind never died down, but in a few of the images, I think the windblown hair actually gave a little more character to the pictures. Anyway ... I am hoping to get back together with 4th Avenue Media when the weather is a bit warmer to get some really neat shots at dusk with the Bellevue skyline (it is gorgeous right around 5:30 p.m.). Until then, here are just a few of the images we ended up with ...

Adam & Dawn, again

2009-02-08T20:01:00.000-08:00

Okay, there are a lot of pictures here. I just couldn't decide which ones to post, so here they all are. Dawn and Adam were such troopers on this shoot. I kept shooting and shooting and they helped me find really cool locations near Dawn's home on Alki. In fact, the shoot was super long ... and I am totally impressed with how patient Adam was the whole time. What a team player! :) Not that Dawn wasn't awesome ... it's just that usually the guy gets sick of taking pictures much earlier than the girl. Thanks for being so willing and patient, Adam (and for carrying my bag when we were hiking over huge driftwood pieces). :)

So, this was my first official engagement shoot. Wa-hoo! I love shooting couples! Dawn & Adam got engaged over Christmas and are planning an October wedding. Thank you so much for sharing your Saturday with me, Dawn & Adam. Thanks for reminding me how beautiful West Seattle is (James, Emma and I came back up for a walk and dinner the day after your session because I just had to come back!) and for giving me a frickin' awesome opportunity to learn. I had a blast and you are so sweet together.

So now, without further ado ... the rest of the Dawn & Adam pictures. Yay!

Adam & Dawn, skyline post

2009-02-08T12:40:00.000-08:00

So I have a TON of images I want to share from this shoot with Adam and Dawn yesterday. I posted a sneak peek last night. Here are a few from the first part of the shoot, where we wanted to get some pretty pictures of the Seattle skyline across the water. It was a beautiful day! It reminded me just once again how much I love the state in which I live! And can I just please note now for the record how frickin' BEAUTIFUL Dawn is? What a STUNNING bride she's going to be!

I adore these pics from the start of our shoot, but the ones that I'll post next are some of my favorites. I can't wait to share them. Stay tuned ... my editing fingers are working fast! :)

Adam & Dawn

2009-02-07T21:44:00.000-08:00

Just a quick preview of an engagement shoot I had today ... more coming soon!

New things

2009-02-05T17:01:00.000-08:00

So I'm trying out a few new looks ... not sure any of this is permanent, but I need a better face for my blog, even if it's just temporary. Still working out the logos, colors, layout, links, size of photos, etc. I haven't had a chance to do much research on how to change up the layouts in Blogger because I've had a very sick little munchkin to take care of, but I'm really anxious to switch all of my pictures to the larger sizes and get this show on the road. I have an engagement shoot this weekend that I'm really excited for and of course I still have more images to share from a few other shoots. And maybe a few from the munchkin's first birthday party this past weekend. Yippee! I can't believe I have a 1-year-old.

Larger pictures on Blogger

2009-01-29T12:24:00.000-08:00

I'm trying something out here. I want my pictures to be bigger than the predetermined "large" size Blogger offers. I want this blog to be about the pictures ... not about the background or the words I type. So ... I'm trying to figure out the best way to feature my photos and make them much larger. I'm even looking into switching blog sites (Wordpress or Typepad?), but for now I'm just researching. Do you have any suggestions? What do you think of blogging sites other than Blogger?

Please bear with me for a few days while I am trying out a few new layouts and new ideas. The blog may be down for awhile if I end up doing some serious construction to it. I am working on a header and some other features that will hopefully make it more MINE and less Blogspot. And I'm checking out some other sites too ... so I apologize for the cluttered, unorganized appearance of the blog right now. This wife/mom/photographer with a little OCD is frazzled, looking for the right layout and fixing the things that have been bothering her graphic design eye for a long time now. So ... stay tuned. Please.

Lucas & Lauren question

2009-01-26T13:34:00.000-08:00

Quick question ... do you like these two pictures better in black & white or color? I can't decide and I LOVE them both!

Okay, now it's time for more birthday fun for my little cupcake who turned ONE today! I still have more Lucas & Lauren pics to share for later so don't be a stranger! :)

Lucas & Lauren, Part II

2009-01-26T13:11:00.000-08:00

Okay, I'm not done editing these yet but I couldn't wait to share more. So here's another batch of Lucas and Lauren!

Couldn't decide if I liked this one better in black & white or color...

Not a fan of the sky so bright and blown-out in the one above but I LOVE Lucas & Lauren's laughter!

Keep coming back. More soon ...

Jackson again

2009-01-26T12:42:00.000-08:00

I realized that before I continued on with my Lucas and Lauren pictures that I still had a bunch of pictures from my shoot with Jackson and his three women! Here are more pictures from my shoot with Baby Jackson, Katia and her mother and grandmother. I'm still really learning how to use my flash (SB-800) and I have NOT mastered it yet. Really. I need to practice with this a LOT and maybe find some good resources to teach me. I am still much happier shooting in natural light.

Here are links to the other two posts of shoots I've done with the Long family:
November 2008
January 2009
I LOVE this one of Katia and Jackson! I love it in color, too.

Doesn't he just have the best eyes and the cutest little baby pout?

I think I should have lightened up Jackson's face in this one a little bit more. I don't care for how everything is all the same shade of gray. But I love his yawn.

This one of Jackson in his crib was cute in color too (the shade of pale green Katia picked for Jackson's walls is awesome) but I couldn't figure out the right white balance to use in the room ... the lighting was really tricky and the color version never quite looked right to me. But check out those sweet pictures above the crib of Katia when she was pregnant. Beautiful!

Here's one where the flash seemed to work out okay.

Love that little caterpillar rocker!

Lucas & Lauren

2009-01-25T21:00:00.000-08:00

My goodness. I got to hang out with one of my all-time favorite couples today. I danced with Lauren on Sea Gals five years ago and I can't even begin to describe what a sweet, kind person she is. She and Lucas are such a fun couple. This is just a quick preview of our day today. More coming soon...

Meredith & Joss

2009-01-15T10:13:00.000-08:00

So these pictures are back from December ... I'm so late in posting them. I posted a few from this shoot with Meredith and Joss from last month but I had a bunch more I wanted to share.

Meredith wanted to get some pictures in front of their Christmas tree.

I'm not usually one for the posed pictures ... but this one was pretty cute. I love how innocent Joss looks on Meredith's lap. She looks like she feels so safe right there.

I'm hoping to get a chance to shoot the whole family sometime in the near future. Joss is quite the cutie on camera, isn't she?

Jackson preview

2009-01-12T16:44:00.000-08:00

I had the chance to take pictures of baby Jackson again this past weekend! I first got to take his pictures outside in the pretty fall weather in mid-November. My friend Katia wanted to get some pictures of her boy with her grandmother, who was visiting from Switzerland. We got some 4-generation pictures, some cute shots of Jackson in his crib, some of Jackson playing with his great-grandma and some close-ups of the cute 6-month-old's sweet face (a specific mommy request). Stay tuned ... many more Jackson James pictures coming soon.

Thompsons, again!

2008-12-23T11:07:00.000-08:00

This one didn't quite turn out the way I pictured it (and maybe sometime we'll recreate it the way it is in my mind), but after cropping it and playing with the color a little bit, I really like the wintery-passionate look it has. I love how Marissa's hair is blowing in the wind and can you see the snowflakes? That was only the beginning of our snowstorms in Washington.

I couldn't decide if I liked this one better in color or in black & white. I still don't think my color photos are showing up as colorful on this blog as they look when I'm editing them in PhotoShop. Again, there's a Pioneer Woman post I need to re-read about color profiles for printing and for web...

Marissa and Paul said they have a few pictures of the two of them walking this very same pathway from their wedding to their honeymoon suite. I love the idea of their very same feet walking the very same path just two years later, this time with their baby in their arms instead of a bridal bouquet.

I love how cozy they look in this picture. And how Cooper is the only one looking at my camera.

This may have been right after Marissa told Paul that the face he was making made him look like a jack-o-lantern. And then Paul said it was just his hair that made her think of a pumpkin.

There's little Daisy again, this time in a warm pink vest. :)

This was also a recreation of an earlier picture. They have an ADORABLE engagement portrait in this same location on the Cedarbrook campus. That portrait is in color and is a vertical shot (I have one like that too, but I liked this one better ... and I know Marissa likes black & whites).

That blanket Cooper is snuggling with is special. It was handmade for him by his grandmother. Isn't it beautiful?

Another cozy family moment.

At the end of the shoot, Cooper was getting cold and tired. Actually, we all were. Here's Mommy soothing him.

And after the Mommy snuggles, he's happier!

2nd Thompson shoot

2008-12-22T13:25:00.000-08:00

So Marissa, Paul & Cooper and I met again for a second shoot last week. Our first session went rather long because we started at their house and then went to Cedarbrook, the place their wedding was held two years ago. Little Cooper had had enough by the time we started taking pictures outside in some pretty cold temperatures and I really wanted to give the family some better outdoor pictures. I did more research and actually jotted down some specific shots I wanted to get for them and here's what we came up with that second day. We went back to Cedarbrook and it was even colder than the first day but this family is made up of some pretty patient team-players! I'm much happier with these pictures ... I hope they like them, too!

I've got more pictures I'm still editing from this shoot. There will be one more Thompson post coming after this one, plus a few more of Meredith and baby Joss. Keep coming back. We're still snowed in here and the hubby and baby are giving me some good computer time so I'm hoping to knock out a few more posts before the day is over. Stay warm!

Snowed in

2008-12-22T09:36:00.000-08:00

We're totally snowed in here in the Pacific Northwest. James and I had a family weekend down in Olympia where there were 14 inches of snow (and more in some places). We drove the slippery drive home last night and I'm getting back to editing all my pictures from last week. Marissa, Paul and Cooper have been really patient with me, as the second day of their shoot was on Wednesday and I've only shown them one sneak peek. I'm still getting all of Meredith's pictures finished too. So stay tuned ... more are coming soon.

More Joss

2008-12-19T09:01:00.000-08:00

I love Joss' blue eyes! Meredith really likes the black and white pictures ... but I had to post some here in color to share her daughter's deep blue eyes. Joss has grown so much even in just the past couple of weeks. Meredith and I are part of a Mommy group that meets weekly and it's so fun to see how much the babies grow from week to week. I hadn't seen Joss in a few weeks and she's getting to be such a fun little girl!

I've got a bunch more pictures to edit, including a few of Meredith and Joss in front of the Christmas tree ... and then some from a second shoot I did with Marissa, Paul and Cooper on Wednesday. Things have been so busy around here with the snow and the holidays. All good, fun things though, so no complaints here! Thanks to everyone for being patient as you wait to see your pictures!

On a personal note, we went to see Santa yesterday. I have pictures from that too ...

Joss

2008-12-16T14:25:00.000-08:00

I only have a second and I haven't finished even going through all the pictures I took of Joss this morning, but I had to share this one. She's laying on a special drum that belongs to her dad. Aren't her blue eyes just so pretty? I'll post more from today when I get home later tonight...

Paul, Marissa & Cooper

2008-12-15T21:57:00.000-08:00

Look at this handsome boy! This is Cooper and he was a champ through a pretty long photo session this afternoon. Marissa and Paul wanted a family picture to send out with their Christmas cards and wanted to take their pictures at the place they were married. It was beautiful! They were married in January 2007 and on the day of their wedding, there was snow on the ground. There was definitely snow today, too! Brrrr. We didn't last too long outside and we're going to go back soon (maybe Wednesday) to do more pictures outside.

I really like the warm, sunset lighting in this one. And at first I was bummed that half of Cooper's face is hidden by his hood, but now that I look at it again, that is kind of a cute little detail!

I've seen pictures of Marissa walking down this same hallway in her gorgeous wedding gown. We had to stop here for a few shots.

Marissa and Paul signed their marriage license on this very same piano. Cooper just thinks the holiday wreath stuff is cool.

At Paul and Marissa's home, they have a bunch of framed black and white pictures on their family room wall. So I turned a few black and white. But Marissa, if you want to see any of these black and white ones in color, I have those too!

Marissa thought Cooper might be teething. He had a rough time part of the afternoon and always stopped fussing when she let him chew on her finger.

I meant to take the whole family's picture from up above, but this one of Daddy and his boy was just perfect.

Here they are in front of their family Christmas tree at home. That's little Daisy (they call her Doodle) on Marissa's lap. She was a bundle of energy. I liked her instantly! Not everything in this picture is perfectly in focus ... and I'm really bummed about that because there's something so special about a family picture in front of the family tree. This was a big challenge for me today ... with lighting not always bright enough, I had to have my aperture open REALLY wide. And that meant that not every face was in focus in every picture.

I like the effect of that glass tabletop in this one. And how snuggly the family looks, all holding on to each other. Poor Cooper ... that tooth must be really pushing its way through!

I love this one. I don't take enough far away shots, I don't think. Sometimes it's just so refreshing to see the whole picture. What a good lookin' family they are, huh? And how pretty is that sky behind them? The only thing I would change here is I wouldn't cut off their feet right at the ankles like that. Whoops.

There are a lot more shots I feel we missed because we got to that second location later in the afternoon and lost most of our daylight. I'm excited that Marissa and Paul are up for meeting there again to try to get some more pictures of their family in their beautiful wedding location. I so love taking pictures in places that mean something to the people involved. It's fun to hear their stories and I just think the pictures mean that much more.

Again, I learned a lot today. I can sum it all up in three points.

One, I need to buy an external flash for my camera, so when someone wants a picture in a place with poor lighting, I can give them the shot they want, in the place they want (even if the lighting is too low). Even though I still prefer to always keep my flash off, I think it would be good to have it if I really need it.

Two, I need to find a better way to multi-task. I need to make babies laugh and look at me at the same time I change my manual settings and push the shutter release button.

And three, I need to have a repertoire of cool poses in mind if families aren't sure how to stand when I lift up the camera. This I've known for a long time; it isn't something that just came to mind today. I've been gathering ideas for awhile. Today was just different because outside, there weren't any places to sit because there was an inch of snow piled on every surface. And nearly every inch of ground was covered in a thin layer of ice. So we had to be very NOT one with nature today. I'm always searching for inspiration on photo blogs and wanting ideas for new angles and poses (and non-poses ... more "candids," which have always been my preference). I don't want all my pictures to look the same, family to family. Each session is totally different and I want my pictures to reflect the individuality of each family/couple/person.

Thanks, Marissa & Paul! You have a gorgeous home and a beautiful family. Thanks for letting me spend so much time with you today! See you again soon. And GO COUGS! :)

Nicole & Jesse

2008-12-13T23:47:00.000-08:00

One of the things I'm most excited about is taking pictures of couples (and doing engagement portraits). Jesse and Nicole let me take a few of them after we were done getting pictures of Ashleigh and Mackenzie. They really wanted to recreate a favorite picture they had of the two of them. They wanted the waves behind them, so that's what we did. They were super easy to shoot -- really comfortable in front of the camera and they "posed" so perfectly. :)

Seriously, could the sea gulls have come at any better time in the picture above? I love it! The birds were working the camera, too.

This picture above was taken at a strange angle ... but I love how they're looking at each other. I should have framed this one differently. Maybe I need to crop it differently and see what I can come up with.

Yeah, so these are all really similar shots of the two of them. I wish we had thought to do more couples' pictures earlier in the day instead of just right at the end. Next time!

All in all, it was such a fun day for me! Thank you so much, Nicole and Jesse, for letting me spend the afternoon with you! Tell Ashleigh and Mackenzie they did an awesome job. They're beautiful little ladies.

I learned a lot today. After going through all of my pictures, I see that I tend to tip the camera and take pictures at a certain angle a lot. I need to change it up and take more pictures just straight on. Horizontally. I want to plan ahead of time for some general poses and plan in more fun activities so we're not just walking and posing. I like to capture real interaction ... especially with kids, the best stuff is the stuff you don't purposely try to direct.

Also, I'm a sucker for accidentally leaving my aperture at its lowest setting (I'm having a love affair with my 50mm 1.8) and then not checking it for a long time and only altering the shutter speed. I need to remember that when I'm taking pictures of a bigger group of people, that a really low aperture is not a good idea. There's no guarantee that each person in a big group will be in the exact same plane (the same distance away from my camera). With a really low aperture, that means that not everyone will be in sharpest focus equally.

Whew. Bed time finally. I have two more shoots coming up -- one on Monday and one on Tuesday. More pictures coming soon!

Ashleigh & Mackenzie, Part II

2008-12-13T22:47:00.000-08:00

I love these! The girls were more than willing to climb some trees and it helped me make the perfect pictures! Maybe some people don't like some of this editing I'm doing to my pictures, but I love this 70s action I got from PW Action Set 2. Love, love it! It doesn't work on everything, but I think it looks awesome on these outdoor ones.

And now that I bring up actions, I think it's important to note (important to me) that although I do use actions in PhotoShop, I never use them exclusively. I never just run an action and then consider it done. Most of my photos are edited without the use of an action. And the ones that are edited with an action (or two) are always further tweaked by me. No one photo is ever treated exactly the same and I don't take any shortcuts in editing them.

That being said, I don't really know what I'm talking about. I just experiment and play with things until I think they look good. There are a million things that I COULD be doing in PhotoShop that I don't know how to do yet and then another million that I don't even KNOW that I can do. I'm still learning and probably will always be learning because PhotoShop is one full program. And that's okay with me because this is so fun. Anyway, back to more pictures.

When I give my clients their pictures, they get all the originals plus all my edited images. That means that if I change a picture to black and white, I save that as a new file, preserving the original, which was taken in color. So if any of my clients don't care for the fun different looks (like these) or if they see a black and white picture they'd like to have in color, they also have the SOOC (straight-out-of-camera) and minimally-edited color versions, too.

Aww ... I always wanted a sister. Good thing I have a few awesome sisters-in-law. And a pseudo sister of the Ebie variety. And I have a daughter now ... sort of like having a really, really, really young sister. Or even more fun than a sister? Whatever. All I know is that THESE sisters below are adorable.

I asked her for her mad face. This is what she showed me.

So I had like 20 versions of this picture and others similar (with all four good-lookin' people), but this was the ONLY one where all of them had their eyes open and were all looking at the camera. So I learned my lesson. Take WAAAAAAAY more group shots than you think is necessary and hopefully one will turn out well.

Same problem with these shots. I didn't get enough of the three of them. And I really shouldn't have shot with the bright (though cloudy) sky from behind them. I took a few where I exposed for the sky to see if I could work some magic in PhotoShop and blend a better background with the people properly exposed in a separate layer. Ehh ... I wish I had some more of the three of them to share here.

I love this one. Love, love, love. Although the colors don't show up here the way they looked in PhotoShop. I have to see what I have my color profiles set at for these web images ...

Oh my gosh, love this one, too!

I forgot I wanted to add this one to the last post. You think they love their daddy?

Ashleigh & Mackenzie, Part I

2008-12-13T20:50:00.000-08:00

This is the first of three posts I'm going to do about my most recent shoot. I have lots of pictures to share from this afternoon. I was lucky enough to get to take pictures of two of the cutest little girls I have ever seen. Ashleigh (8) and Mackenzie (5) were so energetic and fun. And they had the best smiles! Their dad wanted some Christmas pictures in their holiday dresses, so we got some inside by the tree first, then the girls changed into their jeans and we all ventured outside (into the freezing temperatures ... it was really cold earlier today and it's actually snowing right now!). We ended the session at a waterfront park nearby (where it was even COLDER with the wind whipping our hair all around).

It was difficult to get some good pictures of the two girls together, but super easy to capture them individually. They both had such awesome personalities and liked to ham it up in front of the camera. The only other challenge I faced were a few lighting issues inside. And I guess it was a little time-consuming when I'd need to switch lenses on my camera. I only have one camera body so when I want to switch from my portrait lens (50mm 1.8) to my wider angle lens (18-55mm kit lens), I have to pause in shooting.

Anyway, here are some of my favorites from the first part of our shoot today. The others will be coming soon...

Lighting challenge

2008-11-30T21:07:00.000-08:00

So at bathtime tonight, I grabbed my camera to see if I could handle the poor lighting challenges. Our bathroom does not have a window to the outside, so I had very yellow-tinged photos, even after I altered my white balance. I fixed most of the color problems in PhotoShop but thought these looked even more precious in B&W. I added a bunch of new things I learned in PhotoShop and am pretty happy with all of these images. Though I'm feeling a little unsure about posting pictures of my child in the bathtub on the web, even when they're not revealing. Hmm...she is my most willing (and most photogenic) practice subject, but is it right to put so many images of her on here? She has no idea how much I'm exploiting her cuteness to the world at large. Not sure. I'm going to think on this for awhile.

James was right there behind her, ready to catch her if her feet slipped. She's so proud of herself for standing up and does it all the time now. She's pretty agile on those little baby feet, too. I like to think it's the dancer in her, of course.

Have you ever seen a baby who smiles as much as mine? :) Even when she's cranky, she still cracks a bunch of smiles for us whenever we ask for them.

Inquisitive. Always questioning.

Lovin' on the bathtime! And lovin' on the fact that Mommy is getting the hang of handling poor lighting conditions! Yippee for her! And for clean, yummy-smelling babies.
And just for a reference point, here's what one of the pictures looked like in full color, after some minor editing in PhotoShop. Not too shabby? A little too yellow/red still, maybe ... and I could lighten it up a bunch ... but I still like it! LOVE the kid, of course.

Happiness

2008-11-25T08:08:00.000-08:00

Nothing embodies true, pure happiness more than a laughing baby. Can't you just hear her little giggle through this picture?

Color, B&W or sepia?

2008-11-24T21:37:00.000-08:00

Today was the 10-year anniversary of James' and my first date. The first time we held hands ("Awwww..."). And the 4-year anniversary of the day he proposed to me and we got engaged. So we had a family day today. I have more pictures from this day to share ... head on over to my other blog to see those. In the meantime, which of these three below do you like best? Color, black and white, or sepia? I think mostly it's a personal preference ... and I'm not sure what mine is, exactly. I'm just excited that I got the sunlight flare effect to work! I have no idea if that's the real term for it ... I just made it up here on the spot. I just know I love it in my pictures! I know I overexposed part of the top picture ... the sky is way too blown out. I still love the picture, overexposed or not. Anyway, what do you think about these pictures below? Color, black and white or sepia?

My practice model

2008-11-21T10:09:00.000-08:00

I'm having so much fun with my camera. I feel like we have an entirely new relationship. Like I KNOW HOW SHE WORKS NOW! We know how to work together to get the pictures we've been wanting for years. I also have learned a bunch more about PhotoShop and it is really helping me to edit pictures even better than before. That being said, now that my camera and I have a more personal relationship, I don't need PhotoShop as much because my SOOC (straight-out-of-the-camera) pictures look better when I use the settings properly. Like these pictures of my dear child. I hardly edited them at all. I bumped back the levels just a teensy-tiny bit and that's it. I think I sharpened one of them just a tad.
Since my daughter lives with me, she's my main model. So as I practice with new ideas, she'll be the face you see on this blog often. Even so, I have a bunch of shoots lined up and in the works coming up soon, hopefully. I have a lot of friends who would like some Christmas pictures ... I'm so excited.

And so is Emma. She recently started pulling herself up to her knees (ALL the time) and to a standing position (some of the time)! She's so sweet and independent and quite resilient when she loses her balance and takes a little tumble.

Ooh, and check out my family blog for a DELICIOUS pumpkin cookie recipe ... and pictures of the delightful little treats too, of course. :)

The Long Family

2008-11-15T23:35:00.000-08:00

Today Emma stayed with Daddy and I went to take some pictures of the Long family. Katia and I have known each other for ... we aren't really sure exactly how many years but it is a lot. We danced together at the same studio and we both started before we were in kindergarten. Anyway, Katia wanted some family pictures outside in the beautiful fall scenes. Her adorable little son is Jackson, and he was born on July 5 (Katia has an awesome picture of her waving a little USA flag at the hospital because she was in labor on Independence Day).

I took these pictures with the two "kit lenses" I have and my new 50mm 1.8. Mostly with the 50mm. I love me some 50mm pictures. I did edit all of them a little bit in PhotoShop -- bumped up the color, converted to black & white and sepia, etc.

It was really fun getting these pictures and Jackson did such a great job going along with all the pictures we wanted to take. Thank you both, Katia & Jared, for giving me my first opportunity to practice with a family. You were all so happy, excited, encouraging and patient. I love these pictures! You're a beautiful family!

Baby Joss

2008-11-15T23:12:00.000-08:00

So here we go. I am starting a photography blog. This is just a place to collect the pictures I've been taking, to start a portfolio and to track what I'm learning as I go. I have some great friends who have allowed me to practice on them and these first batches of pictures are of their children and their families. I took these before I got my new 50mm 1.8 lens, so I just used the two kit lenses I got when I purchased my D50 (or, should I say, when my thoughtful HUBBY purchased my camera for me).

It's funny -- I took these pictures maybe just one month ago, and already I see things I would do differently next time ... my exposure wasn't quite right in some of them and I can see I overdid a lot of the editing on a few. I'm always going to post original photos on this blog. That does not mean straight-out-of-the-camera images, it just means I'm not going to go back and "fix" things once I learn new tricks. I want to be able to see how I've grown as I take more and more pictures.

Anyway, these first pictures below are of Meredith and Joss. I've known Meredith since third grade and we've recently reconnected over emails/talks of our adventures in motherhood. Joss was born in August and is a sweet, tiny little girl Emma likes to hang out with once a week. It was so fun taking these pictures. Meredith had some great creative ideas for what she wanted to do so that was really helpful (like in that first picture, Joss is on one of her daddy's drums -- Meredith's idea).

Emma and I can't wait for Joss to grow and so the girls can play more together. Thanks for the chance to take pictures of your darling daughter, Meredith & CJ!