Birthday portrait party - Friday May 10th

It's birthday portrait party time!

Friday, May 10th, on and off all day, I will host a birthday portrait party for anyone who's having a birthday... around now. :) I'm not always as organized as I should be about promoting these, so if you have a spring birthday, or early summer, you're welcome to come!  This month I am really, really, planning to do these outside! (Last month our cold & breezy spring weather got to me and we just stayed in.)



Here's how the birthday portrait party works. There is no session fee. The whole thing usually takes maybe 5 minutes per person, and you will end up with 10-15 fun and happy proofs. This is one of the only times that I post galleries online, so you'll receive a login/password and view your proofs on my website.



If you are interested but not for this month, please email me your children's names and birthdays. I will let you know when and where each portrait party will be held.

 I'd love it if you pass this info on to your friends! I will include an extra full-size digital file with your next birthday portrait party order if one of your friends brings one of their kids.

Senior portraits - the Full Session

It's springtime! It's the time of year that some high school seniors have been waiting for - senior portraits time! (Also, for some seniors, it's the time that they - or their moms - remember that they forget to get senior portraits done until now.) Either way, I'm really happy to meet a great bunch of seniors this month.

This beautiful girl was so much fun! Her session is a great example for me to highlight because she did it my favorite way. It took some time, but it was worth it! We started off at the Botanic Gardens. It was a beautiful day, perfect for photography.




I love that things are starting to get green!  (Finally.)










The we did some studio portraits - she is a volleyball player and they wanted to include that. I love when seniors can incorporate sports or hobbies into their session!




From the studio we went out for some outdoor and sunset portraits. I think it's such a great idea to include a senior's car, especially when it's special to them. (When I was in high school, I could have given this one a pass. Not that my Chevy Chevette wasn't super-cool....)




JROTC is a big part of her life, and I love that we could include that as well.








We actually got done ahead of time with the jeep and the flag. We had to sit around and chat for awhile until the sun finally set. It was worth it!


A great ending to a really nice day of photography.



To see what they ended up ordering, click here!

I have two options for senior portraits - the half session and the full session. This was the full session, as you might have guessed, and I think we did a great job of capturing beautiful portraits that really show her interests. There is more information about my sessions here, or you can call or email me any time.

Baby's First Year - part 4

And now we have reached the fourth and final session in my "Baby Expressions" first year portrait package. The one year birthday session! One year olds are the perfect age for pictures, not only because it's such an important landmark, but also because they are so much fun!



Many parents choose to include a "cake smash" in this session, so I have a bunch of examples here for you. We always do the pretty pictures first...



and then we get out the cake! Every session works out a little differently, of course, because every baby is unique.



Sometimes I do these sessions in studio,



which has the advantage of a bathtub upstairs for cleanup,



and sometimes we go to a park or other location.



I bet some animal had a great time with the leftover chocolate frosting smears on the stairs later on. (We cleaned up the best we could!)



One popular option in the summer is to use my yard - I don't have the fun cement stairs, but the garden is nice and we have soft grass.



In the summer I often move the studio outdoors (see, you can't even tell!).



We have a fountain that's the perfect height for one year olds - sometimes they really get into the splashes!



This is also a great session for balloons and other fun props.



Another location possibility is to do this session at your own home. 



It helps if you don't mind cleaning frosting off the floor later.



Not every baby likes cake. I try to warn moms about this because often this can be your baby's first taste of sweets of any sort. Especially if this is your first baby. (I have to admit, that while our first child didn't eat sugar until she was 18 months old, our second had ice cream at 9 months, and my husband had our youngest sucking on bacon in the hospital when she was born. Treats followed several months later. They all love candy now, no difference between them in that way...) Anyway this little guy didn't want to eat any.



When we served him up a bowl of ice cream, he liked that MUCH better.



So sometimes I recommend that moms give their baby cake the week before, to see what their reaction might be so we can be prepared.



This little sweetie did not like to eat cake, not at all, (see her clean mouth?) but she did like to STIR cake with a spoon. The mess is what makes it fun.



What should your baby wear to smoosh cake? I see lots of different outfits and combinations.



Most often we just put Baby in a diaper, but we also use tutus (I have a washable one that you can use), cute onesies, and I had one little guy in a suit (see above).



I always love it when parents bring their child's favorite toy or activity.  This little guy was great with a drum. Sometimes that's the happiest picture we take (especially if they don't love cake...)



And even if they don't want to eat the cake, it's always intriguing to them. Sometimes I have to really rush to get a pre-smash picture before they get to work.



This sweet little boy's mom made one of my favorite cakes ever:



a double sheet cake that he could sit right in. He was so darling and sweet-natured - he totally played along and had a great snack. 



Not every parent wants a cake smash - even if you don't, when your baby turns one year old it's a great time for a professional photo session.



If you are working with me on the full year of photography, this is the last session that I include in the plan.



After you've seen everything, we go back through the first 4 sessions and pick your favorite images from each session.  Then I make you a custom 10x20" collage, which is included in your original session fee. These collages are a huge hit, and I love to make them too.



I totally enjoy getting to meet with you throughout your baby's first year!  Please give me a call or email if you're interested in setting this up (or any session) for your baby!

Baby's First Year - part 3

The third session in my "baby's first year" portrait plan is so much fun!



I used to do this session right when your baby was six months old,



but after some time and experience, I have found that I much prefer to do it as soon as your baby can sit up comfortably.



If we wait too long, then your baby can crawl away.  Although this is certainly fun, it can be a little simpler if we try to do this session before that time.



Often your baby can stand, with a little assistance, and that's also fun to showcase.



This session is also perfect to do outside (weather permitting). My babies didn't always love bare feet in the grass, but if yours doesn't mind, there's nothing cuter!



Most babies can sit up at about 6 months old, and they tend to start to crawl at about 9 months. That gives us a nice window of time to schedule within.



I do many of these sessions out and about on location,



but I also love studio portraits. Especially when it's cold and windy out (I'm writing this in March, when you can never predict the weather...)



One of the best things about the "sitting up" session is all the smiles!



Sometimes we really have to coax the smiles at the second session, but I never have any trouble at this one.



I would love to meet with  you and your sweet baby!  If you're interested in setting up a baby session, or my "Baby Expressions" first year of photography, please give me a call or email!  I'd love to get to know you.