Upcoming Stuff

I had my very first maternity shoot yesterday with the amazing and talented and beautifully pregnant Stephanie, who brought me wine - awesome. Riesling! German Riesling! Awesome. Thank you, thank you. :)

She was a vision in flowing black and then purple stretched tight over her awesome belly. I only wished I looked this good when I was preggo! It was a great session and I'm looking forward to post processing these...now I have to hope my husband has some magic up his sleeve since my computer is currently in a non-working state...so that means no Photoshop for me until then... Boo. Vacation photos are in limbo as well until this happens. Double Boo.

But on a good note - I will be doing some of my beautiful niece Jordan's senior portraits here in the garden next week - looking forward to seeing what we come up with! She's super sweet, adventurous and honestly beautiful, so it should be easy goings and fun for us both. :)

The fall is coming, and there are a few shoots I am really starting to get excited about - a few families, including my lovely sister's...imagine an orchard in the fall, with kids and parents dressed to the nines, running around and being captured by little old me in the golden, setting sun...sounds like a beautiful movie! I am so lucky...really. :)

Speaking of beautiful movies...or books turned into movies - if you haven't read The Time Travelers Wife...do it. Beautiful, tragic, creates gorgeous scenery in your head, an eternal love story. Ahh... It takes a lot of emotional wringing to get through it, but trust me, you come out appreciating the life you live, the good AND the bad, but mostly the fact that you get to live it, however short and fleeting, to make it the best ever. Loved it. :) Looking forward to seeing the movie now!

So, now - I leave you with no pictures and a plea to pray for Mike's skills and the fate of my computer.... :) This is just downright killing me - knowing there are all these pictures just waiting to be played with - like shelves full of unopened toys splayed out in front of a child with a sign that says "Do Not Touch."

Ugh. Torture.

E and J - Part Three

Some last miscellaneous shots that I wanted to include. There isn't really a theme here, other than that there are many! We moved over past the barn and sat by the massive firewood pile Mike has been collecting - I thought it would be an interesting background and it provided somewhere solid to sit for a minute. Then, we walked around to get some shots with the blooming masses of purple phlox around the yard. I ran out of disk space and was running out of light... and Jimmy wanted ice cream, so we called it a night! :) Weird note: for some reason I think most of the black and whites landed here today...

I added a texture behind this one...

I really liked this one in black and white without the texture, a very different feel:

Erin's idea for a shot because she always does this to Jimmy - isn't it the cutest thing?

Another paper texture behind:

Another ring shot!

A cool motion blur effect around them...please don't ask me how I did this! I think I know, but need some practice with this neat technique! Not intended...but cool.

I think this one may actually be my absolute favorite of the whooooole dang shoot:

I think that's finally it! :D I had so much fun during the shoot with these guys, they were a blast and so willing to go anywhere - wet grass, buggy fields, dirty barn, etc... - and were such great sports about the time it took. I am so happy for you and can't wait to see what married life brings for you both! Love you guys. :)

A bonus was that I also discovered and learned a great deal about shooting and post processing in the RAW mode of the camera, which is awesome, by the way... I love to be able to manipulate most aspects of the picture afterward; to have the option anyway - another safety net for me as a newbie - but you can do some really cool things with it too!

Another high note...the business has now stepped up another "official" rung... For those of you that didn't know... I have been using my mother's camera since the beginning. She has graciously allowed me to keep it here at the house to "practice" and learn, and I will always be eternally grateful for that. It is what allowed me to start and learn that I could actually be good at this someday! We never would have been able to afford a camera that *may* have been a business expense someday, so it allowed me to do this, risk free. And that is a HUGE thing.

For my birthday, between my parents and Mike and a great deal on Amazon...I now have my very own Fetching Prints Camera...and an awesome Canon Professional Pixma printer to boot.... I am ordering a very inexpensive but worthy 50mm/f1.8 lens this week, and that should start off my business with a bang! I am beyond excited....I feel so blessed and guided and cared for...and oh.so.grateful. Thank you, Mom and Dad and Mike....for the support in so many ways...and the incredible boost you have given me. It's absolutely priceless.

So......again....Here I come! And now....it's official. :)

The Barn

Then, the barn. This barn is one of Mike's least favorite things in the world - from his point of view: ugly, about to fall down, tons o' work. From mine: favorite. engagement. picture. backdrop. ever.

Same thing - loved this one in black and white - like I was catching this moment!

One more favorite...not a barn shot, but I'll leave you with this one! Still more to come...check back tomorrow!

E and J Part Two

More! These are a series of shots of them being just plain cute on the blanket in the sun. Jimmy surprised us both with a few romantic gestures in these next few - he is a natural! I do think he said something about the "next session"...right Erin? :) Stick with me...this is gonna be a long one... Shots in front of the barn will be next... Stay tuned!

I have too many favorites in this post to list them - I guess they would be them all! I was really happy with the light, the natural poses they fell into, the emotion these two shared...I got a chance to get a few of my obsessions out on them and it felt so good!!

This one has to be my favorite of favorites...I love the emotion, in just the hands! I had visualized this in my head every night before the shoot, and I was beyond ecstatic after it came together - just ask them! I was a raving lunatic after this one - whooping and screaming!

I love this one too - the serious love here....!

Erin and Jimmy E-Shoot

Ok, so it's been awhile! I want to share my very first professional shoot results with you guys here - even though "professional" may mean with our good friends and it was really only practice. Shhh! It was a good first dip into the world of directing photo sessions, and I must admit I was hesitant that I would be able to do it. Even though Erin is our close friend, I still had worries of feeling like I wouldn't be able to direct well enough to get good shots, not be able to strike the balance between bossy and indecisive. :)

See, dogs and kids - especially your own - you just kind of... follow. And take shots here and there - more candid. Truly candid. Adults... you direct to make it look candid! A whole different ball game! But, I feel good about this one, I got through it and now know that I can do it - and want to do more of it! I want this to be my true following, and I think this was another sign along that path.

Thanks again, Erin and Jimmy for letting me find that out on you guys!

They got married a week and a half ago, and I wanted them to be comfortable with me posting these pictures....since they had a lot on their plates - I waited until this week to ask, after coming home from their honeymoon - hope you had a great time, Mr. and Mrs P!

This will be a first in many posts, check back every day for more... I have a lot I need to share!

We started out on the steps:

One of my favorites: You can see so much of one's personality in their shoes - I LOVE shoe shots!

Then we moved to the open grass to try for some with a cute picnic feel - I was forever chasing the light - I didn't want to miss the warm sun setting, but we were a tad too early. Great light anyway, though still bright, so we improvised with an umbrella. :)

And in color - the POP of the umbrella and her gorgeous eyes were too much not to include!

eternal dilemma once again: I liked this one in color too:

More tomorrow!