Sniff Sniff

My littlest baby went to Kindergarten today. I'm very excited, but also sad. He was so big though, I was so proud of him!!

I'm also proud of these two, even though we can never get out the door without someone getting water all over their shirt from brushing their teeth!!

Taking Better Pics: Part 1 LOOK AT THE LIGHT

So, I'm going to try this out. "This" meaning share some tips on taking better photos. A lot of what I know, I taught myself, either through reading or trial and error. Mostly trial and error!! I may not be able to teach you the workings of a camera, (we'll see) but there are lots of little things you can do to improve your photos.

First thing is the light. This is THE most important when taking a photo. This is what a photo IS. A camera's function is to take in light. It's your job to either manipulate your surroundings...or your camera's settings, to make the camera take in the light the way you want it to. The easiest thing to do is to manipulate your surroundings.

We're going to talk about working outdoors here. So, obviously your main light source is the sun...and it's SUPER bright. More often than not, your best bet is to GO INTO THE SHADE. How many photos do you have like this?

 

I love these photos and am so grateful to have them, but they could have been so much better if we had rearranged ourselves. That would have gotten rid of the dark shadows on our faces.(Oh, and yes I'm very pregnant in that photo.)Looking  back through my "learning" period I can tell that this was this first thing I set out to master. Finding the Light. I have folder after folder on my computer of files where I was arranging my children in different kinds of light. 

This day was an example. I used to go out and really not know what to do. I made the mistake that many people do....looking for a cool background. I tell my clients now not to worry about the background. We can make almost anything look good if we have good light. I took my sweet (!) middle son to our little downtown area to practice. I picked these old gas pumps thinking "they look cool". Well, the light wasn't right. You can see him squinting. His face is bright. Knowing what I know now, I could have made this location work...but not then. I just made him get up and move to the SHADE.

This worked perfectly. He could open his eyes and smile!





After learning to see the light in a situation I practiced a ton. My kids loved every second of it! You can see the joy in their faces! :)

Okay, not always, but it was worth it.

Sometimes, this is going to be irrelevant. If you're the type to get your kids in front of every landmark on vacation, you may not be able to do anything about the lighting conditions. That's okay, some photos are about capturing a moment more than anything else. But, when you want to get good, clean photos of someones face...get into the shade!

Please leave comments...it let's me know whats going on out there!! :)

More catching up....Olathe Family Photographer

It's always fun to photograph friends, even though I feel major stress over creating images they will like!

Not that I don't do that with everyone...but you know what I mean!

I really liked the way these all turned out, the light was gorgeous!

NEW BLOG!!!

I'm so excited to reveal my fancy new blog! I've had some stuff to post for awhile but I wanted to wait for this! I love it.

My new logo, my new branding. My new favicon!! YAY!!

I'm excited for 2011 and the changes I have coming for my little business. I can't wait to share them with everyone! In the meantime, leave me a comment and tell me what you think!!

Some great new images coming soon!

Boy #4

This morning was our big morning! Our boys have been waiting for this day for a looooong time, in fact the oldest said..."I never thought this day would come!"

They were very excited and it has been an exhausting day. Our babies name is Jasper, and he is the sweetest thing!











This week will be busy, I had all of those amazing family sessions this weekend (everyone has seemed to turn out GREAT!) and I've now set up Jaspers kennel by my computer. So, this week will consist of edit, edit, potty, edit, edit, edit, potty, etc......

Finally....Overland Park, Kansas Senior Photographer

Finally, a new post. Its been too long, but I'm excited to be heading into my busy season. This time of year is stressful for most photographers I think, especially portrait but its exciting to see everyone and feel the stress of the fall and then be able to take a huge breath of relief right before the holidays. I always seem to work better under stress anyway...and since its fall I can justify filling in the gaps by making things like chocolate chip pumpkin bread to make me feel better!! :)

How beautiful is this girl? I could have photographed her all day! Her mom has known me since i was born, so it was special to be able to do this for them!! We shot in the evening light which is ALWAYS my favorite!!

On the Farm..part 1 ~ Topeka Family Photography

I think almost 7 years had been how long it was since I'd seen Jenny. Thats waaaayyy to long. Jenny and I have been friends since 4th grade. She knows lots of things about me, and we have tons of inside jokes...so it was so fun to see her. She now is married to a wonderful man and they have a beautiful new baby girl in addition to her adorable son. She lives in Texas now, and I think we should visit very soon!!!

Alana, is Jenny's best friend (and we all went to high school together!). Her son is so cute...I mean look down at that face?? He is busy, and reminds me of my middle son....it gets easier Alana....a little!

I'm going to post more soon, but they have been waiting so patiently I had to get some up!!!







These totally crack me up!!


I have no clue what happened to the website on this one!

Sometimes we need a reminder...

of how wonderful life is.

How grateful we should be.

How important our family is.

How special the everyday moments are.

What makes a personal beautiful.

That everyday is a gift.

This video has made the blogging rounds as of late, but I cant help sharing it again. I personally need reminding of these things DAILY. I read Stephanie Nielson's blog periodically before her accident. I remember liking it then, and even remember seeing her featured on another photographers blog I read. She had the most AMAZING photos of her family taken. I remember hearing about her accident thru the blogging community and was so sad for her. Now reading her blog is such an inspiration, I believe one purpose of her life now is to be an inspiration to others but especially mothers. Mothers who forget about the importance of the little things, and take for granted the importance of what we are to our children.

She has made this video and I just love it. I personally am not part of this religion but whatever religion you practice this video will speak to you. Hope it makes you feel grateful today.

A Special Day!

Happy Birthday today to my wonderful, smart, funny, hard working, lovable husband!

Many of you have asked how the new job is going. It's going great, and we LOVE having a normal family life. We actually get to say "What are we going to do this weekend?". I love it. Going from walking around in a restaurant all day and dealing with lots of people and stress to sitting at a desk is a huge transition, but its been totally worth it and he is doing well!

Love you Mikey!

The Meades...Yes You Counted Right! ~ Spring Hill Family Photographer

This is a special family to me...because I'm friends with the Mommy of this clan. And yes, she has 7 children. I've posted photos of them before when she was pregnant...some of you may recall. If anyone should have 7 children it is this Mom. She is amazing.



She gave birth to those 2 sweet twin boys about 9 months ago I believe...and she sadly had to receive the news that one of them had a Congenital Heart Defect. His specific defect is called Tetralogy of Fallot. (Click on the link to learn more.) Of course she was devastated, but this mom has been so amazing. I've watched her blog go from a place where she just share photos of her kids for friends and family (which is great) to a journal of her sharing her thoughts and fears of having a baby with CHD. She has visitors from all over the world, my blog gets hits off her blog all the time from all over!! It's amazing. Heart Moms have a very special bond that other moms that have not experienced this can not understand. I guess like any moms who have a child with any sort of health disorder, they connect and give each other wonderful support. I encourage anyone that knows someone that may be or has gone thru this to check her blog out. I know it has helped her immensely to know that she is not alone and others have and are going thru it also.

Yesterday he underwent his corrective surgery. It's been very scary to wait for this day. Necessary and exciting to have it done, but scary to have your sweet little baby go under and have his heart repaired. So far it appears the surgery was a success and he is in the PICU trying to recover his little body from this trauma it's just been thru. She has kept updates throughout on her blog.

She asked me to take some photos of their family last week and of course I was so excited. I LOVE what we got! Oh, and for a family with 7 kids....I was amazed at really how easy it was. I've shot families with 2 kids that were more difficult than this! They are such a great family!






I affectionately name this....."2 Cue Balls in a Field" :)



Awwww...Daddy! He carries 2 babies so easy. I couldn't believe when he scooped them both up like that!! :)


Yes, i took photos of the other children...but this post is about the twins! :)