a little sneak peek

i seriously love my job. maybe it's because, at my very core, i'm just a big kid. i don't know. but when i have subjects who keep me on my toes and will play with me, i have the best time ever (of course, then i worry that i was too busy playing and maybe missed something with my camera). but those times, i normally get some really fun pictures.

last saturday, it rained. and rained. all. day. long. i was really sweating whether or not this session was going to happen. this family was only in town for the weekend, and the weather didn't look promising for their entire stay. i headed out to where they were staying, praying and hoping the whole time. while we ate dinner, it poured. then, it started to let up. the mom and i decided we'd go ahead, even if we had to do their portraits with umbrellas as props.

but, as i made my way to where they were, the sky cleared. that's right. it rained all day long and stopped when i was about five minutes from my destination. thank you, Lord.

anyway, we went ahead with the session. T and L were lots of fun. T and i had races, threw sand and jumped in the water. L was covered in sand and generally tried mostly to avoid my camera. mom wanted a shot of them together. and i got some. but i'll keep her in suspense with those. because i want to make sure they are perfect before she sees them. so, i'll share a silly one instead:



and really, what is a post from me without some close-ups. mom knows how much i love taking close-ups. so, i went for some extreme close-ups with this session. and seriously, with such gorgeous boys, can you really blame me?

i adore these kids

these children belong to a friend of mine. i just love this whole family. but the kids have my heart in a major way. we had a lot of fun with this session. i worked out a deal with them that, if they'd let me take nice, normal pictures of them, i'd let them be crazy for some. so, after every pose, they made crazy faces and i snapped away.


mr. j is a total sweetheart. he had ideas of his own for places he wanted to pose and i just went with it. what a great little boy.



then mr. d. it is no secret that i have a huge soft spot in my heart for him. i just completely adore him. he used to be in my sunday school class. and he just makes me laugh. he really wasn't thrilled with me and my camera though.



and miss l. she's such a beautiful, free spirit. i loved the ones of her in the pettiskirt. so much so, that i could've edited every one of them. she just twirled and danced and completely ignored the fact that anyone else was even there.





these are the children in the silhouette picture below. this family is just really a great one. i value their friendship more than they probably know.

a family at sunset

i've been wanting to do one of these for awhile. however, most clients don't stay long enough for me to get this shot. we weren't there super late. but as we were packing up to go, i saw that the sun was starting to lower in the sky and reflect of the ocean. so, i asked for one more pose.

an open letter to mr. c

you are such a sweet little boy. but are you for real? i cannot get over how well-behaved and sweet you are--amazing for a two-year old. would you mind calling my ian and telling him that the camera is his friend? and that it doesn't hurt at all to look at the camera with your sweet little face? and that really beautiful pictures can be the result? i mean, if your mom doesn't mind, of course.

in all seriousness, i have never seen a calmer two-year old. i surely know that neither of mine would've sat so still for anything, especially for a stranger with a camera. but not mr. c. he was a total delight and doll. and i still marvel over how much he looks like his gorgeous mom.

i'm also including a picture of big brother, who was also a total dear. such calm, sweet boys.

another one because she checks my blog

and also, because she told me that i'd have a really hard time getting a picture of miss a. and because this isn't the only one (but it's the only sneak peek she's getting for now). :)

because i know she checks my blog

we spent last week in ohio visiting family and friends. the week went by way too quickly and it seems like there wasn't time to do everything we wanted to. before i knew it, it was friday and we only had one more day.

while there, i got to see two friends of mine from childhood. we go way back, to church nursery together. and then, spent our school years from kindergarten to high school graduation. i will say that i never figured i'd be living 600 miles away from them, but sometimes life takes us farther than we thought we'd go.

anyway, i'm babbling (what else is new). i had the opportunity to photograph their children while i was there. it was so fun to see the little people who call my friends mom. i am partway through editing, but i've mananged to edit at least a few. so, i'm posting two of them, to wet your appetite.

oh, and by the way, amy, i did manage to get some really beautiful pictures of miss a. but you'll have to wait to see those!

me again

did ya miss me? june was a bit busy for me. i am taking it easy in july though. we are planning to make a trip to my hometown of cincinnati at the end of the month. i'm so excited to see family and friends, some of whom i haven't seen in a VERY long time. i'm very much looking forward to the trip.

beach sessions are popular here and i do my fair share of them. but i still like to take my family out for pictures once in awhile too. this stretch of beach is my favorite beach location. it has rocks, an old wooden fence, partial brick walls, and on our last visit, lots of seaweed. i've never seen so much seaweed in my life.

i digress. i have this beach shot in my head. it involves sunset. and i've yet to have a beach session last until sunset (most involve young children). so, my family got to be my models. except the problem on this night was that the sun and sky were not cooperating. and it was way too cloudy. oh well, i will have to try again.

in the meantime, enjoy a few shots from our own beach session...