Wednesday, December 11, 2013

The Dogs and the Snow

I have been so busy getting ready for Christmas things that I haven't taken the time to post recently.  Today I did manage to get a few shots of my dogs in the snow, however.  

Being golden retrievers, they absolutely love the snow!  Some days (like today, when it's cold and very windy), I think they would stay outside until they froze to death.

Wrigley has been going crazy today because he thinks (and he is probably right) that there are some bunnies or some other little critters taking shelter from the snow and wind under our deck.  He has spent hours out there trying to figure out how he can get to them.  Here he is in action . . .





Malibu has taken less interest in what's under the deck.  She runs around in the snow and picks out a spot out by the pool or on the deck to just lie down and enjoy the cold snow.  

Usually when I want them to come in, she just sits and looks at me like "What, are you nuts?  I love it out here."  Today I think she was actually wishing the snow was a little deeper - we only have a couple of inches.  She would be happy with about 6-8 inches!


I'm sure that before the winter is over, she will probably get her wish.  After all, this is Indiana!!

Tuesday, November 5, 2013

Ana's First Three Years

In a blog a couple of weeks ago, I mentioned that I have been photographing Ana since she was born, and that I wanted to do a blog showing how she has changed from birth to age 3.  So here it is.

I first photographed her when she was 6 weeks old.  She slept part of the time, so there weren't a lot of shots of her when she was wide awake.  What a look of concentration in the second picture!




The next session was just a few months later at Christmas time.  She was about 3 1/2 months old at this point, and all dressed up for Christmas.  However, she wasn't real thrilled about having her pictures taken!  She looks like she's thinking, "Why are you doing this to me?"



Then we skip to an early summer session when she was almost 9 months old.  She didn't seem to mind these pictures quite so much, probably because she got to be outside and play in some of her playground things.  Her hair is getting longer and she has discovered the joy of eating grass!



Next was her baptism, which was just about a month later, so she was around 10 months old.  As you can see, by the end of it she was all worn out and wondering what all the fuss was about!




Then come her one-year-old pictures.  At this point, she has developed a lot more personality, and has become very curious.  At one point, she was down on the ground looking under my car to see where the cat had gone.  She also saw her reflection in the car and made faces at herself.  Here are some of the "prettier" pictures, but in a couple of them you can see her goofy side.  Look for the cat in later pictures as well.



Next are some of her two-year-old photos.  Once again, she got to be outside and down by the lake and the sand where she was digging up treasures (stones), so she was pretty happy about that.  You can see her goofy side in some of these too, especially the one where she is twirling around in the grass.  (And isn't she always dressed so cute?!!)



A few months after this, around Christmas, I took pictures of Ana's brother, and of course a few of her too.  She wasn't much in the mood for pictures this day either, but some of them turned out pretty cute.  It was really cold outside, so most of the pictures were inside.



And finally, her three-year-old photos, some of which I have already posted.  She was both "good" and really silly for this session - it was maybe the best session we have done of her.  She was able to sit still and pose, but I also got a lot of candid shots of her just being a 3-year-old.  The fact that her brother was in the background egging her on might have had a lot to do with it!  Once again, she loves the outdoor pictures.  It was a beautiful fall day, and there was fall landscaping around her house which made for some lovely backgrounds!  Notice the cat again!



So there's Ana's three-year photo journey.  In many ways, she looks just like she looked as a baby, but she is starting to look so grown up and she is developing such a cute personality.

When I do her brother's photo session in a couple of months, I will have to do a timeline series on him too.



Thursday, October 31, 2013

Another EN Senior

We did Michael's pictures on what was probably the coldest day of fall so far.  It was gloomy and windy most of the day.  You can see how windy it was by how the golf flag is sticking straight out!  Then right when his session was supposed to start, the sun came out a little bit. It was still cold and windy, but at least it was brighter.  At any rate, the golf course always provides some great backgrounds!

Part way through the session, there was a huge, dark cloud in the west.  His mom wondered if we would beat the rain, and I was thinking that it could be snow!  But it was rain, and we DID beat it - just by a minute or two.  By the time we got off the golf course and back to Michael's house, it was raining!  Talk about luck!!

Michael is EN's #1 men's golfer, and is headed to Michigan State next fall to play golf there.  He follows his sister Katie, who was EN's #1 women's golfer, and is now at MSU.  You will notice some Spartan clothes in a couple of the pictures!







The Giengers

I have known this family forever.  At the risk of really dating myself, I will admit that back in my teaching days, I taught the parents when they were in high school.  Then many years later, I taught both of the kids.

Kory was in my son's class, and they have been good friends for a long time.  Kory has spent many hours at our house over the years, and even though they are about to graduate from college, they still hang out over the summer and when they are both home.

I also took both Kory and Marissa's senior pictures, and one of the chocolate labs was in those pictures too. Sometimes it's hard to get animals to look directly at the camera, but these dogs were pretty photogenic!


Saturday, October 26, 2013

Ana's "age 3" pics

I have been taking pictures of Ana since she was born, and she has changed so much in three years!  Here are some pictures I took of her recently after her third birthday.  I will also have to post some that show her from birth to now!

These are her silly pictures - she is developing a really cute personality!




These are her "pretty" pictures.  She was a very good model on the day we did her session!



Another Senior Session

Here are a few pictures of EN senior Jessica - another senior girl with absolutely gorgeous hair!  I don't think any of these pics show off her eyelashes much, but they were to die for too!  More pictures coming of her soon. . .



Saturday, October 5, 2013

Emma & Jackson

I recently had a session with these two kiddos on their school grounds at Oak Farm.  It was a beautiful fall afternoon, and we got some nice color in the pictures.  I have worked with these kids for several years, and I always look forward to it because they are so much fun!  They love nature, and they love to climb, jump, and be crazy.  They also get along exceptionally well for siblings - at least they do when I'm photographing them!  I will post more pics of them soon.


Monday, September 9, 2013

And yet another Senior Model . . .

This is Senior Model Aleena.  Unfortunately, the day of her session she was on crutches, but she didn't let that stop her for a minute.  She went up and down hills, rocky paths, stood in flowers, and got her feet in the water!

As you can see from her pictures, she is so comfortable with herself, and she is such a natural poser.  She has a fresh and wholesome look and attitude that make her a cinch to work with.  I can't wait to do more shots of her later in the year.

Here are a few for now.







Thanks for looking - comments are welcome!

Monday, September 2, 2013

Another Senior Model

Here is another senior model - Tiffani.  For her session, she wanted tall grass, so we managed to find a lot of that, as well as some other interesting things.  

She rocked the pictures with the cute hat, and I also loved her pictures in the white dress, boots, and headband.  I told her she looked a little bohemian, which is a look I have always personally loved!  I guess that probably dates me, but I still have my share of boho clothes too!!





I am doing another senior model session later today, so more pics will be coming soon!

Monday, August 19, 2013

Senior Model Individual Sessions

I have finally done individual sessions with a couple of my Senior Models, and I will be doing a couple more models soon.  These girls are so enthusiastic, and many of them want to have sessions throughout the year in different seasons, so they might be featured on here a lot.

First up is Shawna.  Her session was done at a local historical site that has beautiful gardens, woods, a lake, and historic buildings. For her summer session, she wanted to concentrate on the flowers.  Check out her gorgeous hair!!



Next up is Ashley, who happened to want her summer session at the same location.  I never want one person's pictures to look exactly like someone else's, so I tried to mix it up a little bit.  Like Shawna, Ashley has absolutely gorgeous hair!  



And finally, we have Lily, who is not quite old enough to be a senior model, but she is Ashley's little sis, and she was along for the session, so I decided she was just too cute to resist getting some shots of.  She is 4, but she informed me that she is almost 5.  So look for her to be a senior model in about 12 years!  She already knows how to pose!  I told her where to stand or sit, but I never once gave her any posing tips - she threw the poses like a natural.  Maybe she's been watching Ashley!  Isn't she adorable?!!





Look for sessions on a couple other senior models soon.  

Saturday, July 6, 2013

2013-14 Senior Models

I like to use Senior Models to help me advertise my photography business.  Each spring, juniors have a chance to apply to be a model during their senior year.  I choose 4 or 5 per school, and take some group and individual pictures of them during the summer.  Then they each get a phone app and some other special ways to show off their pictures.  

As a Senior Model, they get some freebies and special deals up front, and for each person they refer who makes an appointment with me, they get referral credits which they can apply to their product order.  The people they refer also get some special deals, so it's a win-win situation for everyone.  

I choose people who are friendly and outgoing, who are involved in a lot of various activities, who get along with a wide variety of people, and who are willing to show off their pictures and try to earn referral credits.  This modeling is not about "looking" like a model; it's about personality and motivation!

This year I have 6 models from East Noble, one of whom has not been photographed yet.  These girls are tons of fun to work with, as you can probably tell from the pictures.  They like to be spontaneous and a little bit crazy!


These girls have many other qualities that make them good models too.  They are comfortable enough with themselves that they can be comfortable and natural in front of the camera.  They have self-confidence and a little sass, but they are also down-to-earth and unassuming.



I will be working with these models all year long, so there will be more blogs about them, as well as about the other people they refer.  


In addition to the enjoyment I get from working with my models, I really appreciate the efforts they make to help me advertise my business.  If you know any of these girls, ask to see their phone app or the other ad cards they might have.


Thursday, May 23, 2013

Recent Kiddo Shoot




   






  I love to photograph children because they are so natural.  They don't pose, they frequently don't look right at the camera, they aren't worried about how they look, and they have no expectations.  They just want to have fun, and as they run around doing their thing, it creates opportunities for some great shots!


     I recently did a session with this beautiful child - Emily - the granddaughter of a couple that we have been friends with for a long time.  Emily's parents live a few hours away, so this was my first opportunity to photograph her.

     It was a gorgeous day, and she was the perfect subject.  She was full of smiles, she was cooperative, and needless to say, she's super cute!!







She loved the playground equipment . . .



She picked "flowers" . . .








































She danced . . .



She rocked her cowgirl hat and boots . . .


                                                     


                                                             












I even did some post-processing where I put her in a country setting to make it look a little more authentic . . .



























Did you ever see more beautiful eyes and lashes?????




With little kiddos, I like to keep the black and whites pretty light and airy.  Here are a couple of examples of the color version and black and white version of the same image.  Which do you like best???





Thank you so much Emily (and Tricia and Brian, and Vicki and Fred) for giving me the opportunity to do this photo shoot.  It is people like you who make it so much fun!!!  :)



Wednesday, April 24, 2013

A Country Place


     As photographers, we all find places where we love to do shoots.  The gentleman who owns this wonderful piece of private property has graciously given me permission to use it for photo shoots, and it has become one of my favorites!

 





As country settings go, this one has almost everything you could possibly want.  It has woods and paths (and beautiful fall color!) . . .




clearings in the woods . . .



. . . country-looking growing things . . .








a stream . . .



several really cool old farm buildings . . .








 


a grain bin . . .



an old ladder . . .




a hay loft . . .



hills . . .



and even a few snakes . . .    :)



It is just a great place to take pictures, especially when my clients bring cowboy hats, cowboy boots, trucks, and guitars!