Senior portrait preview II

Just finishing up this senior's slideshow - there are so many fun pictures! That's one of the best things about senior portraits - you get to really know the senior a bit, get to see what's important to them. I had a great time with this amazing guy and his mom - it was a really fun session and I thank you for trusting me with your senior memories. I could pick any number of pictures to post :) - but here are a few more...

Soccer pictures, very serious stuff - {Albuquerque team sports photography}

If you call me for an appointment this fall, you're likely to hear me say "Let me check our soccer schedules..." We love soccer in our family. I'm lucky that both our kids' teams let me be the team photographer, so we don't have to spend a Saturday having pictures done somewhere inconvenient. (Actually I've never gone to the team photos - maybe it's fine? :) ) Anyway we did some quick team pictures before practice.

If you are interested in having me do your sports team's pictures, I have special sports packages and would love to set something up. Right now afternoon practice is a great time for some quick pictures because the light is nice (I just have to fit it in around OUR practices...) I also love to do game photography to get some great action pictures.

The expected team picture (even my most posed team picture is a little casual):


Now the "silly picture":


They were supposed to be looking tough (but protested, saying "that's a BOY pose!" - what does that say about the aggressiveness of these cute girls?):


And my daughter's top pick, the ball-throwing team picture:


Then I tinkered with a new lens while they practiced & during water breaks:









We're glad to have such nice friends to play soccer with!

Beautiful newborn - Albuquerque newborn photography

I was so happy to get to meet this darling little boy - our son's soccer coach's youngest son. I think he is one of the most beautiful newborns I've gotten to photograph. (Perhaps a silver lining to a c-sections?) He was just so good for us too - he slept really soundly for a lot of fun pictures. I joked with his parents that baby sessions tend to end in a baby meltdown, never thinking it would happen with him because he was so mellow. Then, just before we got to the pictures with him & his parents together, he woke up and just didn't want to be soothed. Eventually we decided to be happy with all the great pictures we had, and he left in full meltdown mode. (I found out he fell right asleep in the car... so maybe I should have tried to get him to sleep again!) So there were a few things I didn't get to try with him, but definitely happy with what we have! Welcome to this future soccer-player, we're so happy that you're here!













I thought he wasn't going to smile for us, but then out of nowhere he gave us the sweetest little newborn smiles!

The story of the birthday portraits - {Albuquerque baby photography}

Sometimes sessions have a narrative that is so fun to tell. Here is my good friend's daughter - she is just one year old and couldn't be cuter. She is so happy and funny, and loves her brother and sisters. I've done a few portraits of her & it has always been quick & easy & fun. This time it was fun too, but this time the smiles took a little coaxing!

We started off by the flowers, thinking we could do some pretty pictures there. Nothing doing - she didn't like the grass, or something about sitting there did not work for her... it was no good. :)


Okay, no problem, we moved over away from the grass, and tried to be extra funny. No way! Look at that sad face.


So when you're doing baby pictures with me and things aren't going well, the next thing I start to say is something about how I like to include the mom (or dad) in the pictures too! These next faces totally crack me up - she wasn't born yesterday and she wasn't going to be happy just like that!




BUT, her big brother was also here, and he came to the rescue. He ran and jumped and did all sorts of funny tricks with puppets, and eventually we won her over. She got happier & happier.


Eventually she was happy even sitting by herself.


What a gorgeous smile!


And then once we had a whole bunch of beautiful smiling pictures, we brought out the cake. I love that 4th babies don't have to wait until they're 3 years old to get treats :) - she was already a cake expert. And cake made her very happy! This was a special piece of cake that her nana had made. She dove right in! And I can't resist taking (and posting, obviously) a LOT of cake pictures.














She finished the cake off entirely, which is a first for me with birthday cake pictures. :) Of course we usually start with a whole (small) cake, not just a slice. But still it was pretty impressive eating. Great job, baby!


Usually cake sessions end when the baby is d-o-n-e with having sticky fingers - in fact they tend to end in a few tears. This little girl did not mind at all - she was nothing but happy.

So from a tricky beginning to a very happy end - sometimes it's so good to have the baby's siblings come! And sometimes cake can make a baby very happy (incidentally, sometimes it makes a baby very sad instead).

A morning in the park - {Albuquerque family photography}

This sweet (and very patient) family and I went to one of my favorite parks for photography. I love the rolling hills, I love the trees & shade, and I love that you can bribe kids to sit together for a few seconds knowing that the playground is where they get to go next. The only tiny downside was that the grass was wet :) - but they were excellent sports about getting a little soggy.





Their little girl is just one year old. Isn't she darling?




Their next handsome son - he loved the game where I was pretending his brother was knocking the toy off my head.




This brother was at first indignant that I was accusing him of knocking the toy off my head, then he realized the possibilities in that game.






And their older daughter is growing up so much - she was very photogenic and had some fun ideas for what she wanted. I think my pictures are going to get picnik-ed on facebook next.








If, for some reason, you are wondering why I didn't take pictures of the baby, it's because we did some a few weeks before while he was sort of newborn-aged. Thanks so much guys, you were great!