Monthly Archives: August 2009

She’s growing up..

My little girl turned 5 last week, got her ears pierced and starts kindergarten tomorrow..where did the last 5 years go? I wanted to do a little photo shoot with her to document this time in her life, and over the weekend, she was nice enough to let me do so. The beauty that I see in her in these pictures really takes my breath away, and sometimes I can not believe that I made someone this beautiful. She is sweet and sassy and stubborn and silly. She has moved on from the Disney princesses to High School Musical and I love watching her sing and dance around the house to her favorite songs. She is excited to start soccer and gymnastics, but most of all, she is excited that in kindergarten, she will make new friends, play on the playground and learn to read. The whole social aspect of little girls has me a little worried, it’s not easy being a little girl.  I just hope, that as she starts this new chapter, she does not lose the things that make her who she is.

Now, on to the pictures. I’ll be honest , for every great photo of her here, there are a dozen with fake smiles and silly faces. I’m learning with her though. When she stops “performing” and thinks she has outsmarted me, I capture a look like this..

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Which also makes me happy in black and white.

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I also get plenty of these, which is about as Zoe as you can get.

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She picked this pose and is trying really hard not to smile.

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But eventually, I get a laugh like this. My friend Lailah, who was shooting with me, is my only witness as to what I had to do to get some serious giggles.

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Just when she thinks we are done, we sit on the front steps and talk about kindergarten while I snap away.

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The eyes, the freckles, the smile ,the pouty lips..I love you Zoe!

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And just one more that I had fun with a little different processing.

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4 Fun seniors and a sassy junior..

I started this post quite a while ago, just have not had a chance to finish it up. Even though many people saw these and commented on facebook, I still wanted to eventually do a blog post. I had the best time photographing some beautiful young ladies a week before 4 of them graduated from high school back in June. Now they are off to college and the perfect time to share them with you. I have wanted to photograph high school seniors for quite a while and have to say, it was even better than I thought it would be. I thought seniors would be easy. I mean, after all, I could probably relate to them, it is not like I am THAT much older than them, right?! It did not occur to me until the night before the shoot that they were born the year I started my Senior Year of high school. They did tell me though, that with the right clothes, I could possibly still pass for a high school student..thanks girls!

These girls seemed so much more mature than my friends and I were at that age. It was actually quite fun getting a glimpse into their lives for a few hours. I did not want to sound like a typical mom by offering the same words of wisdom that I know I would never have listened to at the age. So instead, I offered them this..to know that 15 years from now, they could look up that cute boy on facebook who was not so nice to them and find that women age much better than men!

What struck me most about each of these young women, is how different they were. Yet, despite their differences in music, clothing and personalities, they were still great friends.  In the almost three hours I spent with them all I was able to really get such a sense of who they are and think that the photos really reflect that.

Maureen, Sam, Brittney & Lindsey…Good luck with the next phase of your life. Stephanie, I can’t wait to take more photos of you. And don’t worry, your senior year will be over before you know it!

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Ari and his hat

Since I have not been  great about posting things on my personal blog lately, I thought I would do a personal post here. I don’t want this site full of pics of my kids, but once in a while I’ll share them here.

Today was one of those days where I felt like I got nothing done and while I was hoping to cross things off my to-do list, it seems I just kept adding to it. While doing the dishes,  Ari walked up to me with his jeans on and said “hat on”, handing me this adorable hat that he has refused to put on until today. I put it on him and just melted looking at him standing there in his jeans with no shirt on and that hat.  I decided the dishes could wait and brought him outside to take a few pictures. He was working with me for about 10 minutes, until the other kids found us, but in that 10 minutes I got some photos of him that I will treasure forever.

This little guy warms my heart and really does give me exactly what I need to keep me sane on even the hardest days. Todd and I are amazed with the things he does and says. He repeats EVERYTHING anyone says and actually seems to understand most of it. He also has this tendency to say things twice which is just adorable.  He says things like “cream cream” for ice cream, “bowl bowl” for bowling and “drawn drawn” for draw. He knows how to use my iphone  “phone game now”  and like most 2 year old boys, love trains and balls. Ari gives the best kisses and hugs and just adores Zoe. When she is upset, he walks up to her and hugs her and says “zoe hug”. He is a total comedian and knows just what to do to get a laugh out of his siblings and can just as easily put on the sad face when he needs to. During out little 10 minute shoot he just kept saying “1, 2, cheese”. I love this boy!

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Watching Daddy Work..

Following around some kids while they watch their daddy do his job could be a bit boring if he was a mailman, computer guy or even a doctor. Now, if daddy played football for the NFL, the idea of taking photos of adorable girls while they watch their daddy “work” sounds a bit more appealing, don’t you think?! I had the opportunity to do just that last week, and it was such a blast. Nicole texted me about a month ago with this idea that she was so excited about. Her husband Tony, was going to be turning 30 the day of the first pre-season game and Nicole thought it would be great to bring her 2 little girls to the game for that special night. While Nicole is a scrapbooker extraordinaire and loves to take photos, she wanted to just enjoy the experience with her girls and let someone else document it for her. I was so honored to be able to do this for such a neat family. While the girls are still too little too really get how cool it is too watch their daddy play football, I love that they will have these photos to look back at years from now.

Even though Addie did not want to wear the adorable tutu that Nicole had custom made, she was still a good sport and such a joy to photograph.

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I don’t think many moms would handle bringing two little ones to a major sporting event, but Nicole made it look way too easy and always had a smile on her face!

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Being on the field before the game was pretty cool. My husband, a die hard 49′er fan was on his way to the game when I was down here and I LOVED telling him where I was when he called. Nicole was able to find us a perfect spot to watch the action and loved it when Tony spotted his girls hanging out. A little side note to my photographer friends. I was excited to use my 80-200 lens at the game, you know the “big one”. That poor little lens was nothing compared to the lenses the real photographers on the field were using.  I don’t think I could have even lifted one of them!

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I think this next one has to be my favorite shot of the day. There is just something about it, don’t you think?

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Or maybe this one is my favorite. The people in the left corner of the photo is a young lady singing the national anthem with cameras right on her..talk about nerves! Hearing someone sing the national anthem in person always brings a tear to my eye. I love how Addie is just taking it all in.
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I LOVE this shot too.

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Avery, the superstar niner fan stayed awake the whole game. There were a few times she was just about to doze off, when something would happen in the game and the crowd would get loud.

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Thanks again Wragge family for letting me be a part of your special day. I can’t wait to share all the photos with you.

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Katelyn & Hayley

Katelyn & Hayley..two of my favorite subjects. Not only am I lucky enough to have some really great friends, but to have great friends with beautiful girls who actually like getting their photos taken. What more could I ask for? It is always fun to go and visit Erica at the ranch. Not only do we get to sit around and have some some girl time while her girls keep my kids busy, but I also get to play around and be a photographer. Even better, my fabulous photographer friend Wendy came out to the creek for part of my visit and got to join in the fun with the girls. I’ll start with Hayley. She is not always as excited to get her picture taken, but when she is in the mood..wow. She’s a little cowgirl with the bluest eyes I have ever seen and the cutest missing teeth smile so common at this age.

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And then there is Katelyn. She is a natural in front of the camera and is such a mix of her mom and dad. I can’t believe she is going to be 10 on her next birthday. That means that in just a few years she is going to be the same age that Erica and I were when we first met. How could that be?!

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Here are the blue eyes I was talking about.

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Trouble, this girl is going to be trouble for you, Jeff and Erica when she discovers the wonderful world of boys.

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There is something about these photos that I just love. They just scream summer to me. I love the denim shorts and the striped shirts. I know for a fact that Erica and I had similar outfits 20 YEARS ago when Dirty Dancing came out and “Baby” made the look so popular. I hope you like the photos Erica.hayleykatelyn

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