Two of my favorite things.

My goal for blogging is weekly...I'm a couple weeks off, oops! But this blog has been in my head for the last two week. 
I've done the photography thing on the side for a few years now, but in September I put my all into it. So I wanted to share a couple things I've learned and love about my new business. The first is the people. I've had so much fun getting to know families that I either knew in passing or that I didn't know at all. Portraits are a very personal thing and my goal in my photography is to capture individual's & families in their natural way, when they are comfortable, have their guards down and their true selves are showing through. This is not easy always easy when photographer and subjects are strangers. Therefore, I like to take time to get to know my clients. With emails and phone calls before the session I can find out my clients expectations for the photo shoot are and just hearing someone's voice before meeting can be calming. The beginning of each session is spent chit chatting, getting to know my clients, letting the kids explore and relax a bit before I whip out the camera and say here smile! Miss Gabby didn't necessarily want to smile, I found out that she loves dogs so I told her if smiled for me I'd let my dog come in and visit...that got a smile!
The second part I wanted to share is how I love to find new locations and places for shoots. I get tired of shooting at the same spot, with the same backgrounds all the time, I want to continue to find new places and creative ways to use those locations so that each shoot is unique for my clients. I was struggling the morning of this shoot as to where to go for the outdoor portion. My girls and I were out to take the recycling that morning and just 2 blocks from my house something that I drive by on a daily basis suddenly looked a whole different way. One thing I remember in my early photography lessons is to look at your home town as a tourist. When you see something every day it loses its character a bit and it's just a building...that morning I became a tourist in my own town! I had my girls get out and took a couple shots of them with this building. I showed my clients and they agreed that they liked the idea and I'm so glad I saw this old building differently that morning. I really had a lot of fun with the Willett Family and I'm really happy with the end results! It's also always such a great feeling when you're client tells you "you captured our family perfectly" because that is my ultimate goal! Thanks Ashley, Phil and Gabby! 

 

Elle is 6 Months

I can already hear it now "There are so many more pictures of Elle than me". Well at least all of Lily's first few years are in albums. Sorry Bella's yours are still on the computer and scattered in boxes waiting to go in albums. Guess that's probably one of those "middle child" things, huh? When I was pregnant I bought scrap books and put all the keepsake things I wanted in the scrapbooks into tubs to put into the scrapbooks before the baby was born. Guess where they are now? Still in their tubs in the closet with the scrapbooks on top. At least I had good intentions, right? 
I actually thought a lot today about why I have taken the time to do so many more photos of Elle than Lily and Bella. I've always loved photography, I had taken classes before they were born. I decided it was confidence and experience. It was just a hobby then, I didn't have a business, I didn't pay attention to other photographers or think of new and different ideas then. I have several pictures of shoots I did with them, the white sheet in the background, a window for natural light, just very amateurish...which is what I was. I was learning. I'll make it up to them someday and shoot my grandchildren! You're a photographer if you didn't just flinch at that sentence!
Anyway, here are my favorites from Elle's 6 month session. I want feedback, which is your favorite?