i always enjoy having these two over :)

always making me laugh!

here’s another that i took earlier that evening of mady and john:

my first newborn shoot! and i think that they turned out so well! mia and bella belong to my wonderful boss over at the yogurt shop. i haven’t seen them since they were born and it was great to take their pictures! cecilia has a great house with AMPLE lighting. the sun was streaming into the room at about 10am today and just made for the perfect environment! i really learned a lot about photographing newborns and really enjoyed it. i can’t wait to do it again!

most of these were taken with my new lens that i am enjoying very much!

yesterday i drove up to the mountains, and oh, did i need that! there is a lot going on in life these days (esp. with someone moving across the country ;) and i just needed to get away for some quite time to think. i was on a job at a camp (i was taking photos for them) but i had a lot of down time to just sit, relax, write, and take in the serenity and quietness. i took some pictures of the amazing place. i feel these pictures capture God’s grace and amazing beauty. its so comforting to know that He created places like this for our enjoyment. here are some from the day… :)

i also went canoeing which was awesome!

do you see that plane flying under the sun? i do.

on thursday evening i had an awesome opportunity to take a friend of mine’s pictures. i was nervous at first- taking a fellow photographers pictures is kind of intimidating- but after getting the files into Photoshop, I was actually quite satisfied. I think they turned out great and I really would like to take more for her some day! Here is a selection of the shots, the ones I thought were the best! i don’t think i could post all of the good ones, there were so many!

 

i took a friend of mine, marcella, and kylie out for a quick, fun photo shoot the other night. i wanted to explore this spot in town at sunset. it couldn’t have been more perfect! well- until some creepy people came around and we decided to leave. i wasn’t able to get any of kylie, but the few i got of marcella turned out beautifully! she’s a natural! it was so nice to be able to get out there and work with someone who thinks in the creative way and understood my vision. the shots came out just as i wanted them too! i just wish we would have had more time- can you imagine how stunning kylie would have looked! 

i received an email the other day from a good friend. she asked me how i capture the spirit of childhood in portraits, avoiding the cheesy, posed look. here is my answer.

for me, being a child meant that i never wanted to sit still. it was always go, go, go and play, play, play! i mean, seriously- what kid wants to stop and have their picture taken? now, i know there are some kids who like the camera, at least from what it seems (eli and dylan ;), but for me, no way was i ever gonna stop for the camera! i’ve come up with an easy approach to this that doesn’t require any talent at all- it’s simple. leave the kids alone. let them play, let them run around, and never ever worry about getting “the right shot”. kids are kids- unpredictable and fun! your best bet at getting some good shots is to just stand back, making yourself invisible to the child. if they barely realize you are there, you will find that the shots you have are moments that will never be forgotten. here are some examples.

we we’re out playing in kylie’s yard and i had my camera at my side. cohen came out and i was ready. i played around with him a bit and then casually started taking some shots. here is what i came up with, and i am very happy with what i got! :)

 

as you can see, cohen is being nothing but himself- the silly little tyke he is. i really do love this kid.

kylie and me :)

the picture above was taken by my mom- now i know where i get my talent from ;)