Promise at 9 months

Look everyone!! Promise can FINALLY sit up all by herself!! :)

She was a very happy little girl with lots of smiles for her mommy!

However, she didn't seem to have any smiles for me. Just looks of curiosity or of indifference. :)

Her mommy kept talking to her to keep her entertained while I got some close-ups on the props.

Then Promise discovered the mirror, and she had lots of fun with that!

She eventually laid down after such a grueling 30 minutes. It’s hard work being that cute!!

Just kidding! She clearly can’t even help it! She obviously takes after her mommy. :)

Promise at 9 months - Behind the Scenes

Whenever I take pictures of children this young, there are inevitably some “outtakes”. These are some of the best ones that I thought were still worth sharing. So enjoy getting the “behind the scenes” view of what it is like photographing my adorable niece. :)

Right of the bat, Promise was distracted by my cat, Penny, who felt the need to walk all around us without getting close enough that Promise could even try to touch her. Let me tell you, it is hard to get a baby’s attention when you are competing with a cat (especially one as cute as Penny)!



And then we introduced props. This obviously meant a taste test must be done immediately.



When she decided that the prop tasted funny, she of course wanted nothing to do with it.



She was thoughtful enough to try to give the prop back to me, since she clearly had no use for it.



So we took a different approach with a new prop that we kept out of her reach. However, she was then distracted by the buttons on her shirt. She LOVES buttons!



By this point, she started yawning. Clearly, this photoshoot was sapping the energy right out of her. :)

And so logically, she plopped down on the ground.



We tried to give her the props to just play with, but of course Penny was distracting her. She decided she wasn't interested in props anymore when there was a kitty so close.



This was clearly too much for her to handle. She began to fuss a little.



Life can be so difficult for someone so small. :)



So there you have it. This is a typical photo shoot for me. I couldn't resist getting a few photos of Promise when she wasn't smiling or even looking at the camera. I personally think that she is so cute all the time that sometimes these pictures tell a better story than the perfectly posed pictures where she is all smiles. I hope you all enjoyed this behind the scenes! And the “perfectly posed pictures where she is all smiles” will be posted soon!! :)

Eowyn

This is a picture I took a couple years ago of my gorgeous niece, Eowyn! She just turned 3 years old today!! I didn’t want to miss the opportunity to say Happy Birthday Eowyn! This picture was actually taken for an assignment I had in college. My professor had just given us a single word. It was our job to figure out the best way to capture and portray that word. The word he gave us was “Princess”. Personally, I think I nailed it. :) She will always be the most adorable little princess to me, even as she is so quickly growing up. :)

William and Samatha

I had the wonderful opportunity to photograph these two adorable children as a Christmas surprise for their parents.  I had their nanny to thank in coming up with the idea, setting it up, and finding the perfect location: the beautiful Botanical Conservatory.  William and Samantha had a blast running around, smelling the flowers, and occasionally posing for pictures.  :)  I was surprised at the amount of energy these two had and very pleased that I still managed to capture some of their inner beauty.  Samantha was especially excited for this photo session because she got to get all dressed up and “done up”!  She was overflowing with the cutest phrases and the most dramatic expressions.  And William seemed to suddenly get shy whenever the camera was pointed his way.  But I managed to get him to relax and forget about the camera when I asked him to tell me about his cat.  That is when I caught the picture of him adjusting the hat on his head.  I am so thankful that I got the chance to spend time with these precious little kids.  They were so much fun!!  :)

Mitchell Proposes!!

The Sunday before Thanksgiving, I got to hide behind a tree and witness this young man propose to this beautiful woman!  This was probably one of the most exhilarating photo shoots I have ever done!  I was so nervous as I waited for them to arrive.  And then when I saw them, I felt like a spy as I crept out from behind a small shed to an evergreen tree to get a little closer to the action.  I couldn't really hear what Mitchell was saying, but I heard Olivia say yes!!  I felt so blessed to be able to be a part of this special moment for these two love birds as they now start preparing for a lifetime together!!   :)

Vintage Clothing

These are some of my favorites from the shoot.  I love the details that were put into these dresses especially knowing that they were handmade.  The cloth is so delicate from use and age.

I especially love this picture of my mother holding Promise.  They are both so beautiful!!  :)

Vintage Clothing - Behind the Scenes

I got to do a very unique session yesterday with my niece.  My mother had a handful of dresses that belonged to her when she was just a baby.  Some of the dresses were handmade.  They were all very old, thin and delicate, but yet they had some immense detailing.  Promise did pretty good at first, but when we put her in the fifth dress, she promptly grabbed it and stuck it in her mouth.  She also spit-up in one of the dresses.  After we were done with the vintage dresses, we put Promise in her brand new Christmas dress that was a present from my mom to her.  By this point in the photo shoot, Promise was getting tired of being treated like a doll and was getting fussy.  My sister thought some Christmas lights would calm her down and look nice with her dress.  So I found some lights for her to hold.  Surprisingly, the lights worked like an “off switch”; Promise instantly quit fussing and because enthralled by the lights.  And then she proceeded to stick them in her mouth.  The lights were a little warm, which is the reason for her expression in the pictures.   :)