Howe Family

Meet the Howe Family

I have known Kara Howe my entire life. We grew up right down the street from each other. I've only seen her husband, Jeremy, and son Emmett in pictures. I was very glad to have met them both for their first ever family pictures! How exciting is that? To be documenting a beautiful family's first picture?! Talk about pressure. However, Kara and Jeremy made it easy for me. They were very patient and stress free. Just they way I like parents. Here's a couple photos from their time in our studio.

All they have to do is buy him some bulbs and a box from the dollar store and he's set this Christmas.

See that little leg crossing action? Mama says he even does it in the bath tub. Hilarious!

Super cute family, don't you think? 

From a photographer stand point, in now way is it okay to shoot and pray. When taking posed portraits you should really only need to take a couple shots of the same pose. Those couple of shots include one for lighting check and the actual portrait. If someone blinks or isn't smiling then another one is in order. However, here's the thing about kids (some adults even) they don't stay still. They make the cutest faces at the craziest moments and sometimes even the tantrums are cute to parents. When I'm shooting kids - I easy shoot over 100 photos in 30-40 minutes. Here's the reason why…

In that top picture (where he's wearing the Santa hat) he wasn't even looking at me. He was looking at his daddy over my shoulder. Parents, please know that when I'm taking photos of your kids there is NO personal space boundary between you and I. As long as I'm able to capture pictures of your children like these, you can sit on my back for all I care.

I really enjoyed capturing photos of this handsome blue eyed boy and his parents. I hope to see them when Emmett turns 2! If you'd like to see more from their time in the studio please visit their gallery.

Annabella

Meet Annabella

Annabella is a sweet girl that I got the chance to photograph a couple of weeks ago. I've known this young lady since she was just a wee little baby. We tried an outdoor session but it was just too cold out. We headed over to the studio. Here's some of the shots we got out of her session.

Her mama says she loves to draw and even brought her sketch pad in for some of her pictures. 

Don't let that pretty and sometimes silly face fool you…she can mean mug like a professional ~

She seriously kept this face in place for over 3 minutes while I was snorting and laughing so hard. 

Seriously?! How beautiful is she?! 

I asked her mama how she can keep such a straight face and she said it doesn't come from her side. I have proof that says otherwise. 

I do know that she got her beautiful face and her great sense of humor from her mama! It was so nice to see the great relationship that they have :)

I had a blast with these girls! 

If you'd like to see more of their time in the studio please visit their online gallery.

The Frascarelli Family

Meet the Frascarellis

Gerald, Colleen and Ben came to see me this past Sunday for Christmas and 6 month photos. Ben came in smiling holding his blue cup. I have to say that his parents love him very much. They were patient and didn't get frustrated when he took a little bit to warm up to me. Once we got him in the wagon he was all smiles!

Ben is getting in his top teeth. He was rubbing his tongue on them often. I can't even imagine how weird it must feel for him to go from gum to teeth! At least he's cute when he sticks out his tongue. At a little over 6 months Ben is one handsome boy! He's just started waving too. I got the chance to capture some of his waving techniques on camera. 

Look at those feet! He was so happy once we got his shoes off and let him do his thing. Merry first Christmas buddy!

If you'd like to see the rest of the Frascarelli's gallery please visit their online gallery.

The Colbecks

Meet The Colbecks

Justin, Brittany and Brinley! Oh- the love they have for this little jelly bean is amazing. Luckily…loving your baby beyond belief photographs beyond well! I've been trying to coax Brinley's mom into the studio since she's been born. I finally got her here! In my studio. In my lens. And oh, the amazing things she did….Here's a peak at our time together

Brinley brought out this glow in Brittany that I only usually see in pregnant women. I can't believe she looks so well rested after all the night feedings she's been doing! You see, Miss Brinley came bursting into this world early. I remember being out of town and chatting with her momma about her blood pressure and what mine was like during my crazy pregnancies. I prayed hard for her that weekend. I prayed for strength for her momma and daddy. But, most of all - I prayed for lil Miss Brinley that she would have those fighting genes that all preemie's need. Guess what? God answered my (and I'm sure many others) prayers. 

Here she is. Just over 7 pounds at 8 weeks old. She just got baptized today…in a dress made from her momma's wedding dress by her Nana. Isn't she perfect?!

She was a sleeping angel the entire time. I got great photos of her and lots of snuggles. 

She decided to wake up at the end. But just to talk to her daddy. She had lots of grunts for him. The look on his face here makes my heart flutter. Nothing like a daddy's little girl.

It was a pleasure to finally meet you lil Miss. Brinley. I've prayed and thought about you a lot in the last 11 months! You've got wonderful parents and I can't wait to see what kind of glitter your going to sparkle around this world. Shine on baby girl.

Please visit my page to see The Colbecks entire sneak peak!

Leonard, Asya & Daniel

Leonard, Asya & Daniel

I got to spend some time this afternoon with this new family of 3. 

 Mama looks fantastic for just having a baby 3 months ago. I would love to know their secret for looking so rested! You'd think that they didn't have a new baby in their house, they look that good. Daniel is the cutest little boy with lots of soft hair. I got one semi-smile out of him the entire hour that I got to visit with him! Little stinker. We are going to try again on Saturday to see if we can get some smiles on camera. 

Here is their sneak peak!

This is the semi-smile I got out of little Daniel!

I love this…he's like - What do you mean Santa is coming to town?!

Look at that new mama glow! I love it!

Daniel loves being held by mama

Mr. Sleepypants…Mama said he just started playing with his hair when he was tired the other day...

I LOVE this one!

See you guys on Saturday! I'm praying Mr. Sleepypants is awake and ready to roll! :)

Learning the ropes

In every job you learn something every day. Sometimes those bits of knowledge aren't life changing, but sometimes they can change things drastically. At the beginning of this journey I did lots of research on the 'triangle of light', the actual functioning of my camera, and the best times to shoot outside. Then we discussed opening a studio and I started researching lighting for a studio. I've learned a lot about light. Tons. However, I've always been afraid of direct sunlight. Each time I've been outside shooting I run for the shade. Anywhere there was shade, I felt safe. I was watching a YouTube video the other night (if there was a degree from YouTube, I  would have one by now.) about shooting in direct sunlight. It was only about 6 minutes long. The well-seasoned photographer explained that as long as you put your subject between you and the sun that you would get stunning photos. I didn't believe him. No way could it be that easy! But, guess what? It is. 

It's a sunny, warm day today. The nicest day that I've seen in November thus far. (Where was this weather two days ago for my outdoor shoot Mother Nature? You wench.) I took my second minion outside to test this theory. Here's our results….

Are you kidding me?! I've been scared of something for the last 5 months that produces images like this?! In the short 4 minutes that I had minion #2's attention (that's long for her) I was able to play around with at which height I snapped these beauties. I has on the same level as her for the image above and below. Seriously…I'm so excited to have this knowledge!!

Yes - I know she's in her plays in the afternoon. Who cares…and yes it was warm enough for her to be outside in the sunshine for 5 minutes. 

Then I got a little crazy and lowered myself to my elbows. I kept seeing this halo of sun out of the corner of my eye when I was snapping away. This is the results of being on a different plane then my minion.

Seriously stunning!

They make filters that do this same exact thing…I know - I've bought them. They are in my editing arsenal of things I work with in Lightroom 5. It just amazes me the kind of work you can produce with just the sun and your lens. I only had her for about 4 minutes so I wasn't able to change up my ISO, aperture, or shutter speed - so all of these were taken at ISO 100, APV 4.0, and SS - 1/200 - I would have loved to have played around with the settings but minions will only sit for so long. If your a new photographer and finding this as life changing as me, awesome! I'm happy to have helped with your craft development. I'm working on developing this craft I call a job, everyday.

Camilleri Family

Meet the Camilleri Family

This gorgeous family of four braved the cool temps and wind for their family session. They picked a great location and even brought their dogs out! It's funny when you book a session. I usually book with the mom or wife. Then if I haven't seen their husband I'm left to dreaming about poses and what we can accomplish in our session. Little did I know that Todd (dad) should have been drafted for the NBA. Jen and his girls fit in his arms just perfectly! 

See what I mean?! Jen fits perfectly in his arms! Swoon!

Did I mention their girls are beautiful?! Talking about giving Mom and Dad some heartburn and sleepless nights in a few years!

This session was relaxed and even though the girls were freezing everyone was in good spirits. Maybe, it had to do with me suggesting mom and dad provide them hot chocolate afterwards? I'm so glad I got to meet them and capture these moments for them! Please continue to my Facebook page to see their entire sneak peak!