Home for the Holidays...

The holidays are steeped with tradition, filled with love and family.  I love spending time with our family and extended relatives through out the season.  The season seems to wrap itself around you like a blanket that warms your heart.  I count myself very luck to be able to help clients capture a bit of that warmth to cherish all year long!  I was asked to join this family at Grandma's home in Iowa City for some family portraits.  The memories, traditions and values are so vibrant there and I could see just how important it is for them to share that with their little girl so that those traditions will continue on, new memories made and values strengthened.

I felt so honored to be welcomed into the living room.  I felt certain that this fireplace had many happy stories of this family from the 40 years that they have resided in those walls.  It was the perfect spot to capture this family because of the connection that they have to it.  And so I thank them for sharing the afternoon with me.  I thank all of my 2013 clients for doing the same and I am looking forward to seeing all of you and even more new families in this new year!  Happy 2014!

One, Two, Threeeeeee!

These little cuties were 100% ready for their family portraits last week.  They sat so nicely on the rug and got all cuddly and sweet together.  Then I picked up my camera and heard a chorus of "CHEEEEEEESSSSSSE".  And the image on the back of my camera was full of three adorable, but completely cheesy grins.  Cute for a frame or two but this was not going to work for the whole session when I wanted natural happy faces to capture this family {and because I'm pretty sure that these lovelies don't walk around saying cheese when they are happy, I imagine lots of giggles that turn the corners of their mouths up into wide beautiful smiles}.  So I asked them for a little help, I couldn't remember how to count, could they remind my how to count to 3 so that everyone knew when the lights were going to flash.  From then on, each image was preceded by a new chorus of "One, Two, Three!" followed by some of those happy giggles in their sweet little voices.  Much better!  And I'm sure that will help Mom get some less cheesy pictures of her girls on Christmas day.

This time of year I get a lot of calls asking about openings for extended family portraits since everyone has their family in town for the holidays and I just love being able to capture that for clients!

Merry Christmas to all of you!  Hug those families tight, tell them you love them and enjoy each and every moment you have with them.  Make memories- and for goodness sake- have your camera close by to capture them!  God Bless!

Ho Ho Ho... Little Santa Baby

Here is a little something to make you smile.... This handsome little man was just way too adorable!

The best gift of all...

Isn't there something extra special about a new baby this time of year?  Christmas is a celebration of a special new baby, a gift to the world.  What a perfect reminder of that when I held this precious little gift last week!

Big sisters adore her too.  They are so sweet with her and couldn't wait to show her off to me.  These girls make my heart happy.

Merry Christmas and congratulations on your new gift.

Christmas cuties...

I had a few lovely little ladies come see me last week for some Christmas portraits.  The littlest was a little under the weather but she still had some smiles to share with me.

We even got one of the moms in on a few with her girls too.

Baby boy...

Scheduling itty bitties for their first session can be a bit tricky because they have their own idea of when they will enter the world. This little man arrived a few weeks early so when he came to meet me for the first time he was already 4 weeks old.  Not quite the squishy, sleepy, posable type of baby I'm used to for a first session.  He was so snuggly and in spite of being sleepy, he tried awful hard to keep one eye opened just a tiny bit in case he were to miss something.  After a few sips from the bottle and cuddles in front of the space heater we did manage to get him to that milk-coma and ready to work.

He is one lucky little guy to have such a caring big sister.  She couldn't wait for pictures with just the two of them and just HAD to see them on the back of my camera before they left.

I always say that having portraits made is such a personal experience and I think that is especially true when families come for a new born session.  I get to see how a family interacts both in front of the camera and while they are waiting in the wings.  Dad quick with the pacifier or bottle, Mom close at hand to ensure Baby is safe and warm, big sis excited to show off her new little brother and to show how helpful she is.  Welcoming a new baby is such a special time in the life of a family and I am so very blessed to see it in such an up-close and personal way!

Sweet Little Peanut...

I'm always amazing at how fast time goes by with little ones.  It seems like this little beauty was just in for her new born session and here she is again for her Grins & Giggles.  It is so fun to get to know the itty bitties and to see how much they grow and change between sessions.  This little peanut is a snuggle baby!  So happy being held and able to look around.  Not so much when she was first laid down in my basket but she came around.

She even toughed out a wardrobe change and a few family portraits.

Looking forward to her Sitting Pretty session in a few months!

More family love...

Trying to catch up today so I won't write a whole lot.  This session had another busy two year old.  I left the session just hoping for ONE great image of the family.  I was so happily surprised when I found so many gems in the batch.  That is one great thing about having pro-gear, I can snap three or four images off faster than a 2 year old can make his get-a-way, usually (haha)

Busy season, Busy kiddos!

This time of year always seems to fly by!  I love that I get to meet up with families to catch up on what has been happening in their lives over the last year and I have been so blessed to have met so many of you already this busy season.  Not the least of which is this family-on-the-go.  We were mostly meeting to get some new portraits of this very active 2 year old boy who is growing way too fast!

It was one of those sessions where we just had to patiently wait for Mr. K to stop moving just long enough for me to focus on him and interact so that he could focus on me for just a split second.  Two happens to be my favorite age to enjoy children- crazy, I know!  But I just love how wonder-filled the world is through their eyes.  Every day is an adventure to be approached with gusto.  If only we could all keep that perspective, I think we would all be so much happier.

In my time with Mr. K, we took a few moments to include Mom and Big Sis in some images for some family love.

Boy, Oh Boy, Oh Boys!

I loves these kids!  This session was a combo of 6 year old portraits of one of the brothers and then one of the 3 brothers together.  Every time I get together with any of all of these boys is an adventure and I so look forward to each and every moment.

The 6 year old:  Look at those eyes!  And let me tell you, HE KNOWS HOW TO USE THEM!  What a little flirt.  And that smile, yowza!

And then you put the brothers all together...  These boys really love each other and can't help but have a fun, even when Mom really wants one classic portrait.  Needless to say we had many outtakes {like on the right}.  I just love how the image on the left shows exactly how much family means to this trio.

Wonderful family session...

I got to meet this adorable bunch last week for their family portraits.  I made only a few images before I showed them one and I heard mom sigh followed by "that is so us".  That is something I just love to hear, something that I really work towards with every family I work with.  And hearing it so early in the session just made the rest of our time together go even better simply because they were already assured that they had one portrait that was what they had hoped for, one that captured the essence of who they are, that they were in good hands.  We had lots of sillies and laughs in our time together (aka: out takes) and lots of fun with their very spirited little ladies.

I'm so glad that your research brought you to me!  It was such a pleasure to spend time with you.  Thank you sharing your lovely littles with me, they are such sweet beauties and I look forward to working with you again.

Get these kids some ice cream!

They were spot on for their session.  Everything about this session was perfection, the lighting, the location, the outfits, and especially the kids.  Lots of giggles and laughs, big smiles and tons of love.   They were such good listeners that we had more than enough to choose from in just about 20 minutes.  They were told they would stop for ice cream on the way home, I guess they didn't want to give mom & dad time to change their minds about that.

Weekend spots for October are now all filled up but I still have some openings on some Tuesdays & Thursdays this month and a few Saturday spots in November for those of you who still need to schedule your fall sessions.

The P family at Joe's place...

One Saturday a few weeks ago I was having coffee with a friend outside the Casey's in Amana when a gentleman and his dog joined us at the picnic table. We struck up a conversation and he began telling us about his "little piece of paradise" not far away.  While it all seems like projects to him, it sounded exactly like the kind of place I look for to take clients to.  Old buildings, peeling paint, farm implements, beautiful timber, rolling hills and so much more to please this photographer's eye.  You can imagine my excitement when Mr. Joe graciously offered to let me bring clients out for sessions.  The P family is the first group I've taken there this fall and couldn't be happier with how well the place worked for their portraits.

I have known this family for longer than I've officially been in business and I ADORE getting to see them each fall for their family session!  Mr. Andrew used to come to my house to play when I had a day care in my home so he is one of those special little people that hold a very dear place in my heart.  I can't believe that little toddler has grown enough to be in the 1st grade and have several visits from the tooth fairy- time surely does fly.

I first met his sister, Addy, when she was just a few days old.  Every time I get her in front of my camera I am amazing at how positively lovely she is!  Her locks have grown long and flowing, those apple cheeks and deep blue eyes are captivating- she is perfection and her sweet, happy spirit just make me smile.

I know that they are going to use their family portrait for Christmas cards so I won't reveal all those, just this one that Mom requested we do. 

 Joe & Amy's farm was the absolute perfect place for this session.  The texture and color of the barn are a wonderful backdrop for this wonderful family.  I feel very blessed to have been in just the right spot that Saturday to meet my new friends and I look forward to spending more time in their little paradise.

9 month sweetie...

and, Oh My, isn't she cute!?!?!?!?!?!

It can be a tough gig doing evening sessions with itty bitties but getting them outside really does wonders for their moods.  This little doll was all smiles and curiosity for her nine month session.

We even got the rest of the family in on the fun...

Thanks so much for sharing an evening with me!  It is always wonderful to see you.

Beautiful baby girl!

I have been so excited to meet this little one!  She was a perfect little lady for her first portrait session.

She was pretty bright eyed at first so we had to coax her into dream land.  But once we got her there, she was up for pretty much any pose I folded her into.

And it was such a beautiful evening that we decided to move outdoors for a different look.  She truly is a living doll in the vintage doll bed I found at a yard sale awhile back.  Perfection!

Congratulations again, Amber & Matt!  What a sweet little blessing, I couldn't be happier for all of you.

EXCITING NEWS!!!

It is my 5 year anniversary this week!  I can't believe it has gone so quickly.  It really has been the best 'job' I could ever dream of having!  It really hasn't seemed much like work to me because you all make it so much fun!  It is great timing that I just got some wonderful news to share with you.  I was just waiting until I got the official paperwork.

Some of you know that I've been working on achieving my certification in professional photography- Well, I am so pleased to share that I made it!  I am officially a Certified Professional Photographer!!  Didn't know there was such a thing?  Why is it important to you that your photographer is certified?

Certified Professional Photographers is an affiliate of Professional Photographers of America (of which I am also a member).  Their mission is "To acknowledge and validate a consistent standard by which professional photographers can achieve and maintain a recognizable mark of excellence."  I started this journey about 2 years ago with some intense studying followed by even more intense studying with a good friend via Skype.  We would quiz each other weekly on lighting patterns and ratios and equivalent values (yep, there is math in photography- aren't glad that I understand that so you don't have to?)  We took the test on the same day following the Professional Photographers of Iowa convention in 2012 and were shocked that even with all our preparation, the questions still seemed very difficult.  But we both passed!  And that is really saying something because many of our photographer friends (some of whom have gone on to receive their Masters of Photography among other achievements) had to take the written exam more than once and for some, the third time was the charm.  Thank you, my friend, for your encouragement.  I know that without you, I would have waited much longer to take the plunge.

As daunting as the test was, I still had to submit images for critique {YIKES!}.  The images had to consist of 6 compulsory skills- to be sure that I can put into practice what I know in my head- and 9 other images that 9 different clients hired me to create- to be sure that I can create quality, sellable images on a consistent basis.  I have spent the last year collecting images for my submission and a few of them are below.  The images are sent to several Certification Liaisons (other certified photographers) for critique and they all have to approve the collection in order for the photographer to become certified.  There are now 7 Certified Professional Photographers in the Cedar Rapids area, 65 in the state of Iowa, 3% nationwide and I am so happy to be among them.

So why is all that important to you?  When you hire professionals such as contractors, hair stylists, accountants, nurses, doctors, real estate agents, do you hire just anyone or someone who has the credentials that say they know what they are doing?  Life is too beautiful NOT to capture it, to preserve those moments that mean so much.  Those moments that are so short-lived and fleeting.  Those moments that define our lives, shape our families, that are milestones for our children.  Why trust those to just anyone?  They belong in the hands of a trusted, trained professional.

I want to thank you all for that trust over the last 5 years, for helping me to grow and encouraging me to continue on.  It has been an amazing journey!  I've made wonderful friends and shared some incredible moments with really special people and it has been my great pleasure to capture them behind my lens.  I'm looking forward to many more years of 'working' with all of you and meeting lots of new people and capturing so many more of your moments!

Lovely little flowers

Isn't there something so {very} sweet about little girls admiring flowers?  I am so glad that this family was so flexible for Little Miss C's 2 year session.  We originally planned to meet in a park with mostly trees and grass.  On my way to the session I passed this beautiful garden that just captivated me.  I've been there before and past it many times but more often than not, the light is just too harsh.  This particular day had some scattered clouds and it was early enough in the day that we were able to find some great open shade.   Since it was just around the corner from where we were meeting I decided to ask about changing our location.  I am so glad they said 'yes'!  Their little beauty seemed so enchanted by the garden which was a perfect way to capture her for her second birthday!

Capturing Hopes- Oncology Camp 2013

I feel so honored to be among photographers who volunteer their time to capture these sweet faces and their families!  I find it so rewarding to work with Capturing Hopes.  What they do for families of kids affected by cancer through still images is priceless!  They are always looking for more photographers to help out and also need donations and other volunteers so head over to their website or their FaceBook Page to see how you can help out.

Here is just a little peek at the day I had with the kids at Oncology camp in Boone, IA last month:

A little Twinkie {Sweetness}...

Twins hold a special place in my heart {being a MOT, myself}.  When I have twins coming to have portraits made, I get pretty excited because I am all too familiar with the special bond they have, the way they communicate without words, and all the twinkie sweetness.  This little duo was certainly not short on any of that: