{M+B} Engaged

I love Pinterest!  It is just packed full of inspiration for pretty much anything.  This bride-to-be is also a big fan and came to their engagement session with lots of Pinspired ideas that she had customized for her and her groom.  Megan wanted their engagement session to tell some of the story of their courtship while Bruce served our country in Afghanistan.  She brought love letters that they had written to each other during that time and I loved watching her open some up and spread them out for some detail shots.  She got nostalgic, remembering the words on the pages as well as the emotion behind them.  For me, it was a great reminder of not only the sacrifice made by our military personnel, but of the ones who wait for them to come home.  To all of our service people and their families, thank you from the bottom of my heart!  God bless you all.

Ok, so here is what you're all waiting for!  Megan & Bruce, engaged:

They are such a fun, adorable couple who are so very much in love.  I cannot wait until April to share your big day with you!

Baby on the way...

Another beautiful family is growing.  This little guy is getting a baby sister for Christmas!

Thank you for meeting last week!  I can't wait to meet her!

A two for one...

Some of you have met Lori, she has helped out with many weddings and I just adore having her along! She is a very talented photographer, fellow of mom of multiples, and a great friend.  I felt very honored when she asked me to photograph her beautiful family for her!  She knows the value of professional portraiture.  She understands the positive impact that having family portraits prominently displayed in your home can have on your kids and your family as a whole.  I cannot wait to see some of these images hanging on the walls of their new home!

And the twofer was that her sister-in-law's family came along so that they could have some portraits made of them and of the cousins together.

With this bunch, needless to say, it was a bit chaotic at times but every single moment was genuine.  All of their little personalities shined through and I can only hope that the memory of the afternoon will be cherished for a very long time to come.

Thanks for the giggles! 

At home...

This was a 2nd attempt with these little girls.  Big sister loves the camera and is always ready with a smile for me, little sister is a little more skeptical about what I'm up to.  We decided to try having me come to their home so that she would be, well, at home.  Sometimes the comfort of your own surroundings makes all the difference in the world!  We played in the back yard for maybe 20 minutes on a chilly morning.

We were done so fast, I had time for a cup of coffee and some chatter with these fun little people and their mom.  I enjoyed the morning immensely and I look forward to next time, especially that Miss M & I are great friends now.  Thank you for the coffee and fellowship, I always enjoy talking with all of you.

Fall Colors...

I know I'm not alone with my love for fall colors, the crisp, sweet smelling air.  It is always sad to hear the weather man say that the colors are past peek because that means the really cold stuff is coming soon.  For us in central Iowa, that peak came weeks ago.  And I'm still seeing so many beautiful colors out there in some of my favorite spots.  I hope you'll get out to enjoy what is left of the season with your families!

A family adventure...

It was a windy and chilly evening when I met this family for their session.  Combine that with the personalities of these three boys and we were all in for an adventure.  I love these guys!  They are fun little people to spend time with.  All of them silly, but each in their own special little ways.  And when the three of them are silly together- the way only brothers can be, well the images says it better than words:

I've had each of the boys into the studio several times and even the three of them together but this was the first time Mom & Dad got in on the action for an updated family portrait.

I'm so glad we found the time to get together!  It was lovely to spend time with all of you again, in spite of the weather.

Team Mark

You may remember this couple from a wedding last year, I know I'll never forget how much fun we had that day!

I was thrilled when Elizabeth called to have some updated portraits made of her family!  Over the last year her dad has been battling cancer and underwent chemo.  He has had a great support system in his family!  They wanted to wear their Team Mark shirts for a few of the portraits:

The weather was a little sketchy so we had to change our plans the day were scheduled to get together, just in case it was too wet to be outside.  They were traveling from southern Iowa and knowing them the way that I do, I was certain that an outdoor, rustic location was by far the best way to capture them. I prayed and prayed for just 45 minutes of no rain.  About 2 hours before the session, it stopped and we had plenty of time to make some great memories for them.

Mark, you have a beautiful family!  Thank you so much for coming all the way to CR to see me again. I'm looking forward to the next time.

Addison and his pup...

It isn't unusual for seniors to bring someone along for their session.  And it isn't unusual for that someone to be a pet.  Addison brought his dog, who was a great sport when it wasn't his turn to be in front of the camera.

{sigh} I adore seniors...

And I have to admit, I have a particular fondness for {this} senior.  I first met  a few years ago when they asked me to do family portraits, way back in my early days.  Since then, Hailey has helped me out several times as a model (remember Snow White in the snow) assisted me with a wedding and I had the great honor of photographing her mom's last St Patrick's day.  Each time I'm with her I am amazed at her poise, maturity and grace.  Her inner strengths simply enhance her outer beauty.

It rained the day we got together for these but that didn't stop us!  We stopped by a camera shop to pick up a rain cover for my gear and braved the elements to get a few more fun images:

Thanks for another FUN day, Hailey!

Little man on the blog...

This little Mr came in a couple weeks ago to spend some time with me.  He was mostly a happy guy but he wasn't afraid to show us when he was less than impressed.  And even at those times, he is such an easy-going little man, we were able to bring him back around.

Besides, I think he is cute when he pouts too.  Wouldn't you agree?

I have a new neighbor!

I am so excited that I get to partner with my friend Kristen at Baby Time~ just down the hall from JP Studio!  While we do very different things, a lot of our business values are the same.  We both do what we love with the goal of enhancing the family experience for our clients.  And she is just plain fun to chat with.

Kristen is a doula and has a great passion for babies, mothers and naturally doing what is best for them. Baby Time has an ever-growing line of products that includes cloth diapers, baby slings, healing amber, tutu dresses and so many things that I can't even list them!  She also has a classroom where Music On The Move classes are held as well as some other mom & baby friendly clubs and more classes coming very soon.  Even if you don't have kids or are past the baby stage, stop out and see her sometime!  She has great gift ideas and certificates as well as natural products that any family can use, no matter their age.

The first project Kristen and I are working on is some art work for her class room walls.  I had some moms and a dad come in with their little ones recently to try to capture some images that depict the family experience that Kristen is so excited to support with Baby Time.  Here are a few of the images from those sessions (Warning: some breast feeding is depicted so view with discretion).

I can't wait to see which ones end up on the walls.  Be sure to stop by Baby Time's Grand Opening on Oct 27th for lots of fun and door prizes!

Shy and sweet...

Sometimes things just don't go the way we plan.  This little miss, didn't have the morning she hoped for when she met me at one of my favorite spots to mark her 3rd birthday.  She had just come down with a cold and a case of shyness.  When the tears started, I knew that we were not going to get the portraits her mom had hoped for.  This is all we got that morning:

Still, I love it.  This is what we all want to do for our little ones when they don't feel well.  I'm so glad I was there to capture this mother-child moment because this is truly what it is all about for us moms!

So we scheduled a 2nd attempt for when she would feel better and changed the location to her back yard where she would feel a bit less shy.  See that cute bench in the back ground above?  That was my hope for the session.  When I arrived at her house a week later, she told me she did not want to sit on my bench!  Point taken, I was no longer the planner for this session.  And sometimes that is just fine, sometimes the plan of a 3 year old is just the way to capture the real essence of who they are.

We still had some moments of shyness:

But most importantly we played!  And that is when this little beauty's personality really shined.

I love when little ones come 'play' with me and my camera!  It helps me hang on to my inner child just a bit, something that I think about a little more in the fall because that is when I lose just a little more of my youth each year.  Thank you Miss P & Mom for that little breath of fresh air and for keeping me on my toes!  Oh, and for the Chai and chat at the coffee shop too!