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Monday, July 19, 2010

ms. a :: a maternity session

This lovely lady wanted a maternity session with me after seeing the resulting images of the session I did with my friend Linsey.  Though I did this a little while back, I thought I would post some of the finished images.  It's funny that really all a pregnant lady wants is to not look fat.  It was also funny that Ms. A's husband was more camera shy than she was, though it was completely amazing to see them interacting together in the privacy of their own home.  They are both so completely in love with the other (as it should be) and so sweet together!!!  They are such a wonderful couple and will be AMAZING parents to the little man growing inside her.

  
Doesn't she look amazing?!  Seriously fierce (in a really good way).  She's so modest too, she would never admit that she looks so great.  This image was really great for me technically also because I had to remove a distracting doorway and grow the floor.


This one is very similar, but black and white.  I just love it.  So beautiful.


They both have stunning blue eyes!


And here they are:  the amazing parents-to-be.  He was so certain that he would ruin the pictures!  I don't know where people pick up this kind of nonsense.   They are obviously very photogenic.




Here, the cuteness just continues.

I do have to say that it was nice to be able to shoot a second modest maternity session.  Not everyone wants to bare their belly, but it's great that they still want to document such an amazing life milestone.  Thank you so much for letting me be a part of this journey with you!!!

Wednesday, July 7, 2010

the importance of being... PaTiEnT

I love photographing children.  A child's world is magically dreamy and ever-changing.  Having the opportunity to shoot with a child is continually a different experience, but it is always special to be the documentarian of that magical dreamy world even if for just an hour or two.

This past weekend I had the pleasure of shooting Miss Zoey, a soon-to-be four year old with a vibrant spirit and an endearing heart.  Zoey's mom is a close friend of mine and warned me that her little fire-cracker was especially difficult to photograph.  Her previous photographer, a very  experienced one at that, said she was the most challenging he had ever worked with.  She wished me luck.

In an attempt to create the least distracting, yet interesting environment as possible, I chose a quiet street in Laurelhurst with a lot of flowers, rocks, and bugs.  I thought it would provide a lovely backdrop, but also keep Miss Z's attention focused.  In addition, I arranged to pick Zoey up for our session and give her mom a little break.  Parents are great for the obvious reasons, but generally children are more distracted in front of the camera if a parent is nearby.

I do have to say that even with all these preparations, Miss Zoey did give me a run for my money (or so to speak).  She was a tough cookie and toward the beginning I actually wondered if I would snap anything good, but it was exactly what I needed to GROW.  I had to become especially creative to get her to open up, to trust me, and to laugh (in the pursuit of real smiles).

So toward the beginning, when she wouldn't look directly at my camera I shot indirectly.  I LOVE these kinds of shots anyway and the two below are actually favorites of mine for the entire shoot.
When she did start smiling, I got her "camera" smiles.  You know the fake sort that all kids do at one time or another.  This is the "can-we-get-this-over-with?" smile.
As lovely as it is, I wanted the real thing.  So I brought out the big guns... a bouncy ball my daughter left in our car.  Bouncy balls are like bottled smiles just waiting to be had. =)  At first I caught a sideways laugh...
But then, it was like magic!
...childhood joy captured on digital media (you know, instead of film).

This last one I am including because I love it, though it was taken prior to the breakthrough. =)  Thanks Zoey dear, it was a real treat!

Friday, July 2, 2010

new baby and a whole lot more

This last weekend was one of the busiest I've had in a very long time.  On Friday I shot a maternity session; then stayed up all night with a best friend as she labored at the hospital; I left on Saturday morning to shoot a wedding for 9 hours; and after that I went back to the hospital to shoot pictures of the sweetest, most perfect little boy I've ever seen (of said friend above).  After I finally was able to fall into bed Saturday night, I had been up and going for 37 hours!!!  The next day I recovered by doing nothing....yep, nothing.  You may or may not know this but sometimes doing nothing is important in life. =)


Back to babies...


I have been craving a baby for over a year.  I make it sound like a meal, and perhaps a woman might better understand how I feel, but I have felt an intense desire to be pregnant again for quite some time.  Unfortunately, I'm not in a place right now to have the freedom to make that decision.  Thankfully, I can live vicariously through my friends who all seem to be popping up pregnant these days.

I am especially connected to the sweet baby pictured below because he belongs to my local best friend Linsey (which differentiates her from my college best friend).  It has been wonderful being a part of his life even before he was born and I even had the pleasure of being with my friend when she found out she was pregnant with him.  He is perfectly precious and as I said above, the most perfect little boy I've ever seen.  When my not-local best friend Krissi has her baby boy in October, I might have to take a different stance, but we'll see.  In the mean time, baby Max is just what I need to fulfill my baby cravings.  I'm sure you'll see why as I anticipate him being my second favorite subject (my first favorite would be my sweet Eva of course).
See, precious.  Oh, and look at his little newborn baby feet!
Now if I had feet that looked like this... it would be a scary ordeal; but somehow, these teeny feet with their new, dry skin just bring me pure joy.

Lastly, here is my wonderful friend, the proud mama she is, holding her new bundle of joy.  She is radiant, which is amazing considering all the pushing (3.5 hours) and the surgery that followed.  But this little man is a million times worth it and the look on her face says it all.
Congratulations lady... you're amazing.