Phil, Michelle, and Gracie

I loved working with this awesome family! I have gotten know Phil and Michelle over the last couple years, and they are such a joy to be around! Phil is the youth pastor at our church, and Joe and I are still very involved with that which is a lot of fun!

I was initially worried that since I had to postpone this shoot that I wouldn’t be able to reschedule it before the weather got bad or the pretty leaves were all gone. However, the weather was perfect and the park was still so beautiful! This meant that there were lots of other people out enjoying the day which was very distracting for Gracie. She was so well behaved and did a pretty good job of staying where she was told to be, but she wasn’t the best at looking at me. :)

I had treats in my hand to hold her attention and that worked pretty well. Sometimes a little too well. :)

I love taking pictures of dogs because they have such unique personalities. I like this last picture because you can see that Gracie was ready to be done with the photo shoot. Or maybe she was wondering why I kept calling her name and showing her a treat but making her wait to actually get her reward. Either way, she’s adorable! :)

Thank you Phil, Michelle, and Gracie for a fun evening! :)

Eliana

I had SOOOOO MUCH FUN with Eliana!! Granted, we both about died multiple times during the photo shoot, but that’s fine!! :) (There was that one time when we were walking through really tall grass behind a fallen-down barn when I put my foot down and heard a distinct hiss. I just moved my foot, and we both pretended we didn’t hear anything while I worked as quickly as possible so we could get out of there.)

Elaina had a natural sense for what I was going for, so some of my favorite pictures were when I were tell her where to stand and then tell her to look at me, and that’s when I would snap the picture. It was when she wasn’t yet expecting it, but that is when I was able to capture her natural beauty more so than if I directed her every move.

Eliana was such a trooper for putting up with the bugs. So many bugs… We both nearly got eaten alive. She was so good at ignoring them and holding a pose while I practically dropped my camera to swat at them.

I was so thankful for her patience as I quickly had to recompose pictures in my head when it became clear to me that the location and the weather weren’t going to provide for me what I had originally planned. And she put up with me every time I said, “okay I am good now” only to turn around five seconds later and say, “wait! Can we try this?!”

So, thank you Eliana for putting up with all of my shenanigans! :)

PS.... You are BEAUTIFUL!!! :)

afO's Interval

I am late posting these, but I was able to photography another wonderful all for One play! This was the production ofInterval. The entire play revolved around a string of conversations between two people, Lenore and Alan, who accidentally met in a secluded part of Central Park in New York. They continue to meet weekly over the span of many months. During this time, a murder occurs at Lenore’s work. Alan and Lenore discuss the investigation surrounding the murder case, when another murder occurs. What started as silly speculation turns to thoughtful exploration as Lenore and Alan continue their conversations.

This performance used just two actors, Sam and Sara Ward (who are actually married in real life).

I thoroughly enjoyed the mix of comedy and mystery that runs throughout this play. It was so intriguing that I found myself getting too caught up in the story and forgetting to take pictures. :)

All for One’s production of A Laura Ingalls Wilder Christmas is coming up soon! You won’t want to miss it! For more info, check out http://allforonefw.wordpress.com/

Natalie Jo

This precious little girl was born on September 4!! I have known this wonderful family for a couple years now, and I was so excited to be able to take pictures of the newest member of the family!! Brad and Jolene are in a small group with me and my husband, and their oldest daughter, Cora, was a part of the youth group that my husband and I also help out with. (I had the privilege of doing Cora’s Senior Pictures which you can find on here as well.)

I knew before the photo shoot that Natalie doesn't enjoy being naked, but I wanted to try surrounding her with enough soft blankets to see if she would decide that she didn't mind. Thankfully, my plan worked and she fell fast asleep. This adorable hat was made for me by Vicci from Vicci's Little Critters! You can check out the great stuffed animals she makes by going to her website at www.viccislittlecritters.com or her etsy store at https://www.etsy.com/shop/ViccisLittleCritters. :)

I was very pleased and surprised that Natalie managed to stay asleep while I kept moving her around.

She often would let out one loud cry when I would first begin moving her to a new position but then she would instantly go back to sleep.

When I was talking with her parents prior to the photo shoot to make sure I had everything, the topic of bows, flowers, and other frilly things came up. Brad, Natalie’s dad, made it clear that he didn’t want to see her in those types of things. He also told me that he wasn’t planning on being present during the photo shoot. So, Jolene and I had a lot of fun putting Natalie in all kinds of frilly things. :) This one is for you, Brad! :)

Natalie REALLY didn’t like when I put her in this little tutu. She got pretty loud, but surprisingly, she just fell asleep again so I was able to capture how cute she looked in it!!

All in all, I think that Natalie was probably the easiest baby I have ever photographed. She was so laid back. I mean, sure, she let me know every time she didn’t like something, but she always just fell back asleep.

I had a great time taking pictures of this beautiful little girl!! Thank you Brad, Jolene, and Cora for letting me invade your home for a few hours and steal Natalie away from you!! And Congratulations!! :)

Emmy and Audrey

These two girls were fun to work with! They were a little crazy when we put them together, but hey, what else would you expect from sisters? :) 

I caught them holding hands! It was so cute!! :)

Emmy lost her tooth the day before our session. :)

I always saw the most genuine smiles from Emmy when her mom would tell her NOT to smile. It was so cute! :)

Emmy hugged me a few different times and let me tell you, she is good at giving hugs! I didn’t think she would be that strong, but she can give a nice squeeze. :)

She was such a sweetheart. :)

Audrey was almost always on the move!! Doesn’t she make an adorable lady bug?!?! 

We were able to contain her outside at the park by putting her on the bench or a blanket. She refused to leave the either of those because she didn’t want to get her feet wet from the dew on the grass. :) 

She loved playing with her flower so much so that she kinda destroyed it by the time we were done. :)

This picture is her blowing me a kiss. She seriously melted my heart when she did that! Isn’t she so precious?!?! :) Oh, and we gave her a new flower that was a little more sturdy... :) 

Emmy was trying to help Audrey smell the flower. :) 

We had a lot of fun together!! :)

Celebrating 80 Years

I am so glad that I was able to do this photo shoot for this wonderful family reunion to celebrate the life of a wonderful mom! I had a lot of fun with everyone! I knew I only had an hour so I wanted to move fast. I didn’t want to waste any time, so I started by getting some individual family shots as we waited on everyone to arrive. This is my favorite shot of the guest of honor, Mom, who was there celebrating her 80th birthday with her husband at her side and with all of her family.

As soon as everyone was there, I got the chance to get some of the really fun shots like this one of mom and dad with all of their great-grandchildren!!

I also enjoyed getting some four generation shots from both sides of the family!

And then of course, it was time to get the entire group together!

Thank you for a fun evening taking pictures of a fun family!! I really enjoyed getting to meet everyone!! :)

Logan and Landon

Friday, I got the privilege of meeting these adorable newborn twins, Logan and Landon! I had so much fun taking pictures of them! They are identical twins, and they were born on July 24! Logan is about 2 pounds bigger than Landon which was mostly only noticeable when they were side by side. 

I was initially planning on getting most of the pictures of them together. I had never photographed newborn twins before, so I was just going to try a couple of things and see what would work and what wouldn't work. I quickly realized that I wasn't going to get them both happy at the same time. Logan was fussy, so he got to eat while I focused on getting pictures of Landon by himself. It didn't take long to realize that Landon didn't want to sleep. He fought going to sleep for so long!! Even though he was awake, he stayed very quiet and mostly just wiggled. :) 

The hat was too big for him, but I couldn't resist using it anyways because he looked too cute in it!! (Thanks Vicci for making these adorable hats!! If you would like a hat or one of her amazing stuffed animals, check out her website http://www.viccislittlecritters.com or etsy store https://www.etsy.com/shop/ViccisLittleCritters.)

When Logan was happy, we added him in, and I tried getting pictures of them together again. This time Landon got fussy, so he ate while I got pictures of Logan by himself. 

After a bit, we tried again to get them together, but they still wouldn't have it for very long. I was able to get this cute shot of them together. :)

We spent some time changing diapers and feeding them again. And then when it was time to get them back into position, I realized that part of the problem could have been that they didn't want to be on the floor. I decided to try sticking them both into a basket since they each seemed to like that for their individual pictures. My idea worked perfectly!! They were both so comfortable that they fell fast asleep, and I was able to move them around to almost any position I wanted them in. (I have no idea how they slept in some of those positions, but they really didn't mind) :)

Since there are two of them, it took longer to get through the pictures. There were more diapers to change and feedings to be had. But, since there are two of them, I almost always could cuddle with one while the other was being cared for, so I didn't even notice how much time had passed! :)

I had a lot of fun arranging them and seeing what I could get them to do. I especially liked being able to make them hold hands. :) I am sure that at some point in their futures, they won't like seeing these pictures of them snuggling so close together, but I couldn't resist. :) And from being a twin myself, I can say that there is no other friendship like the one that twins share. Sure we fight, but we forgive and forget faster than most any other siblings do. :)

All in all, I had SO much fun working with them!! They barely cried, but I have to say that after spending a few hours with them, I noticed that Logan is a loud sleeper and Landon is a little wiggler. :) 

I am excited to see them grow up and see the ways that they are alike and also all the ways they become unique individuals! I know that when I was younger, I wanted to be exactly like my twin sister. But as I got older, I had to realize and understand that I was unique and I had a lot to offer that only I could offer as a unique individual. 

Landon is on the left and Logan is on the right. :)

Aren't these two so precious!! It was such a blessing to me to get to photograph and cuddle with these two awesome little guys!! :) Congratulations Scott and Barb!! :)