B&W Mini-Shoot

I did a shoot yesterday with a simple black background. When I was done, the kiddos had fun taking turns on the stool. What fun! (gotta get my boys up next)

Baby Fever {Sneak Peek}

I did a photo shoot yesterday with one of the sweetest and most beautiful families I've ever met! I knew it was going to be fun, when I was met at the door by these amazing little eyes:

I wasn't mistaken either - walking in to their gorgeous home made me feel as if I was stepping into the studio of my dreams with it's rich colors, fun patterns and accessories, and loads of natural light (when I build my first studio, I'm totally calling you Jessica...for your help and a list of stores where you shop!). I said a quiet prayer of thanks as I looked around.

The home was beautiful and peaceful, which was a perfect reflection of the amazing family who lives there:

This little angel stole my heart with his tiny fingers and perfect mouth. He was such a good sport to model so sweetly for me.

As I processed this shot, I just kept thinking "texture". I love the smooth clean and

crisp lines of the un-textured piece, but how cool does this texture look?! :

Thank you for your patience and for blessing me with your business, wonderful family!

Stay tuned for the rest of your gallery in the next week or so.

Country Kids

Well, howdy pardner!

Are these some of the most beautiful kids on the planet, or what?!

Beautiful Red-Headed Babies

Remember this wonderful family? Well, don't they just have the most beautiful babies ever?! I think so :-)

Brothers {Sneak Peek}

Sometimes, when I look into a little boy's eyes, I just see the future.  Boys can be so rough and tumble...dirty and rambunctious...goofy and fun.  And then they *pause* for just a second, look me in the eye and I see a flash of what's to come.  I see the young man in him for just a moment, and I think "Wow, little man.  The whole future

 is yours.  Go big."

That's the moment I try to capture with my camera.  Document the little boy that he is today...but grab that LOOK.  The look of peace and contentment and quiet strength that's buried way down deep in a well-loved boy's soul.  

I had the [FUN] privilege of playing with these little boys a few days ago.  We ran around and jumped and threw leaves and sang songs.  And somehow in there...we got some great pictures too :-)

Oh, Baby

Remember this little love?  I've been having a ball building a collage with his portraits.  And it just so happened...that the collage looks gorgeous as a baby announcement too!

Which announcement is your favorite?

#1 - Diagonal Stripe

#2 - Funky Flower

#3 - Vertical Stripe

#4 - Cris-cross

My Favorite Military Family

I had the wonderful experience of taking family portraits for this family a couple of weeks ago. Remember their sneak peek?

Well, I finally made my way through the rest of their shots, and got their gallery up. It's always such a relief when the client tells me that they love what we captured. I wonder if I'll ever be 100% confident in my abilities to do this? :-)

Before we met, I had a vision for a shot I wanted to do of their family. Dad is often off fighting for our country, and I wanted to take a shot that represented what he does and what this family is about. I took this shot (top shot in the following collage)...Dad in uniform, Mom and kids playing together, Dad standing off to the side and out of focus...sort of a "there but not there" feel to it.

And then I snapped a shot of the kids doing a spontaneous pledge to our flag, and this collage was born (the flag in the background is the flag in the park that day):

We had lots of romp-around fun and silliness in the park with these boys. What great little buddies they are!

Sneak Peek ~ Fun Family Shoot

(click on any image to see a bigger version)

Oh my, did I have fun with this family!  We met in the park on a perfect (almost) fall day, and we had a blast playing and climbing and exploring.  These boys are all energy and fun.  And such little gentlemen!  Kind and obedient and joyful...what a pleasure and honor to be a part of their day :)

The highlight of the shoot (and my entire day) was when this little love walked up to me, wrapped his arms around my legs, and gave me a big unsolicited {HUG}.  Sigh.  I love this job!

And this little guy!  So darn smart and kind.  I told him all about my little boy who is his same age, and by the end of the shoot he was asking me to "please bring Ben the next time you take our pictures" :)  And check out these amazingly beautiful...ahem...handsome...eyes!  I love them!

Of course, happy and good children don't come from just anywhere.  They come from really great parents.  In this case, really great parents who happen to be nuts about each other.  

Seriously - the love of the Lord just radiates from this family, and I feel so honored that they chose me to do their portraits.  

Baby Daniel

s it just me, or do these photos almost enable you to smell this little angel's sweet head...to feel his soft cheek against yours...to hear his soft "cooo" when he smiles? (or do I have a serious case of baby fever?)

Busy Boys ~ Sneak Peek

Boy oh boy - this family was so much fun!  Every now and then I get to spend a couple hours with a family like this...I love my job!

Mom and Dad were frustrated with trying to get nice shots of their busy little guys in a studio setting.  After spending some time with these kiddos in a big park with lots of room to run and play and explore...I can see how a confining setting would be a stressful situation (as it is for most families with young kids).

These boys are so sweet...

It was especially fun for me to see the relationship between the boys and their fun-loving and patient parents. 

These busy and joyful little boys sure made me hustle to get shots of them....but it was so worth the effort.  A loving family is one of God's greatest gifts ~ thanks, Renae and Chris, for sharing yours with me :-)

PS.  This product (or something like it) would make a great fit for  your faimily's photos.  

Baby Blues ~ A Peek

It was several months ago when this little girl's eyes made me gasp.  Seriously - look at those incredible blue eyes!  Add some wispy blonde curs to frame that beautiful face...I simply HAD to photograph this little girl.  Thankfully, her mom agreed :)

She's not the only one with those incredible eyes - she has a couple of very handsome (and sweet and spunky) older brothers.  I was in heaven...

And THEN...there was this little guy.  Their new cousin has those eyes too!  

This photo shoot simply could not have been more fun.  Thanks so much to these wonderful families for sharing their beautiful little ones with me.  I can't wait for you to see the rest of the photos - I'll get a gallery set up for you in the next couple of weeks.

 

Fun Creation

Isn't this a neat collage for an adopted child? (name intentionally blurred for privacy)

The text is small in this format...it says "A Gift To The World" and then his birth name, date and location.  In the far left square it says "A Blessing To Our Family" with his adopted name and date.  And the bottom square...you can probably read that one :)

A Few Of My Favorites

I've had the honor, joy, and blessing to call this sweet family my neighbors and friends for the past few years.  And man...do they have some beautiful children!    

I had so much fun playing and chatting with these two dolls.  Their little man just turned one, and has blossomed into a chatty, busy little boy since they adopted him.  What a gift he is!

And their oldest daughter...when I look at her through my camera, I just catch my breath!  She is so gorgeous with that perfect skin, sweet freckles, and twinkling eyes.  She wants to be a mom of many (like her mom) and she wants to work in a pet shop some day...she loves cats and dogs :)

Thank you so much for letting me be your photographer, guys.  I had so much fun, and can hardly wait to come back and capture the rest of your little blessings on "film"!

~ Daiquiri

PS.  I know you were excited to get a quick peek of what I captured this morning, so I decided to put these (some of my favorites) up for you.  Please keep in mind that the final processing on these shots has not been done!