I got word that Charlie had a new little brother. I couldn't wait to meet him. He is as cute Charlie was as a newborn and I can't wait to see him grow. It was so fun to see one of his first smiles he gave to his mom.

I had a week full of newborns starting with this little cutie. He was so easy to work with. If a baby is beautiful even when they are sad you know it's good. I love the sad picture w/ his dad...I think both expressions are priceless! It was fun to see his parents beaming at how cute he was. I am looking forward to photographing him a few more times during his first year.

It is almost 10:30 on Friday night & I am sitting here at my desk wondering where this whole week went & wishing I could have just a few more weekdays inserted into the work week. I am feeling like my desk has become my a permanent body part. But I have to say although work is completely overwhelming I am really loving the stuff I am working on which just a short time ago I couldn't even wrap my mind around the thought of tackling it. I always dread holiday season because it means holiday card design time and this year was no different. All of October I was consumed w/ thoughts of there was just no way I was going to be able to come up with enough custom card ideas for my clients. I was dragging my feet the whole way but now I am so excited about all the unique and beautiful cards that will be arriving in so many peoples' mailboxes this year. I promise to share a few here after the new year.

Enough of my ramble, forgive me it is late. This next shoot was iffy all the way up to the very start of it. The rain had set in and there was actually a light drizzle the entire time but this mom was the best and figured that just having her 4 kids together was an accomplishment so we should just go with it. This mom may be surprised by this but I will say she exemplified my favorite parent to work with (and I am lucky because most are similar to her in many ways). She was so low-key about the whole shoot. She let the kids out of the car and got the dog and went for a little walk in the other direction. There wasn't any primping. There wasn't a talk about behaving. She gave her kids the freedom to JUST BE. And although our weather conditions weren't great her relaxed perspective allowed me to make the best of the situation. I believe when kids are not given strict constraints and demands they feel more comfortable to be themselves and that is all it takes to get a good picture.
Again I am rambling...now I admit the culprit is the glass of wine to my left...Margaret I know you had low expectations, I hope these far exceed them. Your kids are great and so are you!!

This next shoot is very special to me. Two great women (and clients of mine) contacted me about giving a gift to their close girlfriend. I had not realized until their friend arrived for the sitting that I had photographed them when they were a family of three and their oldest was less than a year old. Not only had I photographed them in Seattle but they too moved to Phoenix and I was able to photograph them again after I moved to the SW. That was 6 yrs ago, so when they pulled into the parking lot I was shocked and so happy to see their familiar faces. And meet their newest additions, 2 yr old twins. The weather that day was phenomenal and the shoot was just as great. I knew with the very first clicks of my camera that I was in for such a great time w/ them. Stacey, I have been thinking of you since our shoot, I hope these pictures bring big smiles to you. And here's to your great friends who love you so much!!

I know the mother of these girls is very anxious to see if there were ANY good pictures from our shoot. We were all excited to arrive at the park in West Seattle to find beautiful light and tons of leaves down to run and play in. But we didn't know that their youngest would have the will of steel. She had me figured out and didn't go for any of the hooks I threw her way. Her sister on the other hand was the extreme opposite and up for anything w/ big smiles the entire time. I always try to reassure parents who are feeling that the shoot is hopeless not to worry, I will get some shots. I knew I had gotten a few, but this time I really wasn't sure I would be able to pull it off. And then the last 15 minutes happened...and it was magic! I hope you love these Lora!

If you read my last post you know that I am on a bit of a high today. This next post has a little to do with it. I was asked if I could do executive headshots for a Seattle company, Zaaz. I asked if they were wanting the standard black, white, office, etc background because I didn't really do those. The reply I got was a high compliment, "No, I know your style and that is what we want." I didn't get any specific direction so I decided to have them meet me at one of my favorite urban spots. Driving there I was fairly nervous (which I never feel going to a shoot) for a few reasons. One...could I really do headshots? What if they didn't like it at all and it didn't meet their expectations? Two...photographing adults is not as easy as chasing non-listening kids around and grabbing some shoots. For most adults it is a painful experience and I was not really looking forward to being the one to inflict that pain on these executives. The execs were great and super easy to photograph (not hard w/ good looking people!), easing some of my initial worry. But still I wasn't sure. But today I worked their images and I cannot wait to share them. So, Shane, thank you for trusting me w/ this job and renewing my own excitment for my work. I just remembered that Shane & Zaaz is celebrating their 10 yr anniversary this yr too...so here's to your 10th!

ONE DAY ONLY...

So I am sitting here feeling like I have been going 100 miles/hour for days now. My bedtime lately is between 1:30 and 2:30am. Sitting post processing and custom holiday card creation is always overwhelming this time of year. I only write this because I am sitting here exhausted but with a complete sense of excitement. I made a major change to my post processing workflow this week and I feel like I have revolutionized my work life. The change definitely isn't rocket science or anything but for the first time I feel like I may be able to have a normal quality of life and not be a complete slave to my job (which is very easy to do when you love it so much). Why I am rambling on about this is because I realized this week that I need to celebrate my 10 year anniversary. I started Tara Clark Photography in November of 1998. I feel like it is so ironic that just this week I finally feel like I have created a business that I completely love, am proud of and can hopefully now be able to enjoy my family life so much more.
To celebrate I am going to do a one day only sale. On Friday the 14th all canvases gallery wraps will be 40% off. These are my very favorite things that I offer and I really wish everyone could have them all over their house. Call or email me by midnight on the 14th to receive this discount.
Happy anniversary!!!

This family was the winner of hitting the leaves at the height of the fall season. We had some incredible weather in October and I so wish I could box up the incredible colors that were all over the city and enjoy them all winter long!!
I first photographed Henry in August and as soon as he got out of the car he started playing peekaboo w/ me. Always funny to me what sticks w/ kids. For at least 10 the first 10 minutes he this was the look he was giving me. Then he discovered how much more fun the leaves could be.