Workshop results...

The workshop I attended this past weekend completely exceeded my expectations. It is always so much fun to talk w/ other photographers. There were 17 of us so there was lots of talking going on. The past few years I have been excited about photographing in industrial areas and that was one of the focuses of the workshop. And now I am even more excited!! We spent time photographing in urban settings w/ some cute little "models" (friends of a photographer attending...they had no prior experience but you would think they had been in front of many cameras before we met them, they were incredibly patient and CUTE!!).
I have already shot two "Urban Sessions" this week and CANNOT wait to do more. So if you like what you see in this blog and the next few to come I am going to run a special on Urban Sessions through August 15th. If you book a session w/in this window you will receive a 20% discount on my sitting. I promise you we will have so much fun and you will get images that will be 100% unique!

This next family was so much fun. Their mom was excited to get pictures of her kids together since there have been few times in the past that they have all been home at one time. I had such a good time getting to know them and talk w/ each of her kids about what they are doing. It definitely made me envious of being young w/ the unknown ahead and looking forward to the next adventure. Mebie & Jeff you have terrific kids...you need to share some of your parenting secrets with me so my boys can turn out as great!!

Of course the rain had to return to Seattle this July. Fortunately they day it arrived I was scheduled to shoot a little 7 month old cutie who didn't need to venture out. As soon as I walked in the door I was met w/ a beaming smile.

'Tis the Season

I am having a hard time wrapping my mind around the thought that it is almost August. Which means the holidays are just around the corner. If you are thinking you will be wanting to book a sitting before the end of the year NOW is the time to call me. Dates are already being booked into November so you will want to make sure to get a date on the calendar before I am fully booked. Take advantage of the longer, warmer days (and less rainy), tan kids and a school-free schedule and schedule a sitting for August or September. Call me and I promise you we will have a morning, afternoon or evening of fun!!

Continuing education...

One of the many reasons why I love and am driven by photography is that there is always so much more to learn and improve on. Until last year I was completely self-taught but photography is very dynamic and especially w/ the advent of digital there is always so much to learn. This year I decided I was going to invest in my knowledge growth. At the beginning of the month I met w/ a wonderful Australian photographer, Tero Sade, to help me push my work to a new level. And today through Sunday I am attending a workshop by a terrific portrait photographer, Brianna Graham. So I hope you all have a great weekend and check back next week to see what I learned.

I had so much fun with little Charles last week in the Arboretum. I just couldn't get over his beautiful eyes and eyelashes...boys seem to have all the luck when it comes to lashes.

I am so excited to share these next images with you. If you are a follower of my blog you will remember the "contest" I had at the beginning of the year asking people to nominate deserving families for a sitting w/ me. A terrific client of mine had nominated her son's playmate, Lily who was diagnosed with Spinal Muscular Atrophy Type 1 within the first few months of her life. Lily & her family sounded like very special people and I was so excited to meet and photograph them. We scheduled a sitting to follow a wonderful family vacation in March but when they returned from their vacation Lily was immediately admitted to Children's so the photographs had to wait. Lily was able to go home 5 days before her first birthday at the beginning of June. So I was THRILLED to get an email from her mom asking if we could schedule her sitting.
Let me tell you that meeting Lily and her family (unfortunately her dad was working but I hope to meet him soon) was the best!! Lily is beautiful and we had such a great time...she is a ham for the camera and shared so many smiles. When it came time to change outfits her mom said, "Well I have two and can't decide...one is a cute little dress and hat and the other is a tutu..." Of course we couldn't just do one!! Who can pass up a tutu?! And a summer dress w/ a hat w/ adorable shoes?! Lily was such a trooper through all the changing...a model at her best!
I hope these images will bring smiles to such an amazing and deserving family! And I really hope Lily will love seeing her smile smiling back at her!!

Scarlett's 1st Birthday

Scarlett and Oscar share the same birthday (1 year apart). I got to photograph Scarlett the day after she was born so it was fun to be there to photograph her birthday a year later. As soon as I walked in the door I knew it was going to be a great party when I saw the birthday "cake" of cupcakes from Trophy Cupcakes with cotton candy toppers and butterflies. Scarlett was the perfect birthday girl. She was so excited when her cupcake and candle arrived but made sure she didn't get messy at cake time. Then it was gift time (which were beautifully wrapped as you will see) & she turned on the party girl giggles. The biggest smiles came when she opened a Dr. Seuss book (that had all the adults smiling too...and secretly very proud that at 1 yrs of age she is already into books...go girl!).

It has taken me 2 years but today I finally took a few pictures of my custom albums. I absolutely LOVE these and so do my clients. I design each album from the ground up and have a wonderful binder in the mid-west that puts the finishing touches on w/ a stunning finish. The best part of these albums is that I can design layouts that run over 2 pages and the seam of the book does not impact the image. I can make pretty much any size of book but I am partial to square albums so these range from 12"x12" to 5"x5" (great from grandparents or to carry in your purse).