Paul, Marissa & Cooper

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! :)