What do you get from my birthday mini-sessions?

This morning I realized that I have done a very poor job of following through with my birthday portrait party blog posts! I tend to announce them but I don't usually post the results.



So! I have collected a few examples from this summer's mini-sessions to post and I'll fill you in on a few details. These sessions are very quick and easy. Weather permitting, I love to do them outside!

Sometimes I put up sets or props (like the teepee above) and sometimes I work extra hard on my garden and enjoy using that. Here's an example of a set that I had a lot of fun with.


Sometimes it is stormy and then we move inside for studion portraits instead. One of my summer mini-sessions ended up with all the afternoon pictures inside, but I loved them too! A couple of examples:


Can't resist all the cute expressions!


The glam backdrop I got out worked so well with the girls that I saw. (If a boy had come, I would have had to swap it out!)


And how about an award-winning gymnast??? I love it.


I also love it when parents bring a favorite prop. This darling little boy's mom says he sleeps with this ball. And each evening he brushes it's "teeth".


I don't necessarily care if it's really your child's birthday, either. When I started doing these mini-sessions, they were more specifically for birthdays, because that's when I tend to remember to do portraits of my own kids. But back to school is another great occasion, or just really any time is fine with me.


We try to have a lot of fun with these sessions. They are usually VERY quick and easy - generally it takes longer for you to get here than it will take to get some great portraits of your child.


I do schedule a little longer if you tell me that your child has a hard time getting comfortable for photographers, or for a baby or toddler. Although this little guy didn't need it - we were done in less than 5 minutes, not including some mom chat time afterwords.




For these mini-sessions I don't charge a session fee, and I have some special packages that are discounted from my normal rates. You don't pay for anything until you see your pictures later (usually within a week).


Many of my clients end up purchasing the digital files, but I also have print packages and a la carte ordering if you'd like something specific. I always include one print with the files because I have this horror of clients purchasing digital images and never getting them printed.


My next mini-sessions will be September 5th. I have a lot of the timeslots full already, but I still have some times open throughout that day. If you don't love your kids' school portraits or you would like something custom of higher quality, give me a call! I would love to meet you and your children.


And I offer a bonus if you bring a friend! I'd love to answer any questions that you may have, or set you up with a timeslot on September 5th. Just call or email me.

Soccer senior portraits in the East Mountains

One thing I really love about senior portraits is meeting great seniors in interesting and new places. This senior attends East Mountain High School so I drove to their side of the mountains to take her senior portraits. I have been to the "other side" of the mountains before to do senior portraits, but usually that's when we're looking for snow and just not getting it in town. I've never gone past the turnoff to Sandia Peak, so this was new to me.

This gorgeous girl is a soccer player, which is my family's favorite sport, so I especially enjoyed working with her. She's been playing since she was 6 (or was it 7?) years old so it's been a big part of her life. (I know how that goes.) I love her game face.





And her gorgeous smile too!


I was really glad that we could use her school field for pictures.


To me, one of the best things about senior portraits is being able to incorporate both their interests, and hopefully locations that are meaningful to them as well.


It's always a little nerve-wracking to juggle for a camera - she did a great job.


Of course there is more to life than soccer!






I really needed a tall ladder, or to climb up to the top of the bleachers, to see the logo on the gym floor. But I still think it's fun like this. (And they didn't even want a chair on the gym floor, let alone a ladder...)






If you are a high school senior, or a parent of a high school senior, I'd love to chat with you about senior portraits! We can talk about how to incorporate your interests into your session, so it can really be unique. Give me a call or email for more information!

I have more information about my senior graduation photography here, or if you like the locations we used for her senior portraits, you can see these and many more ideas here.

Minisessions for birthdays or back to school portraits

It's time for birthday and back to school minisessions! These are super quick and easy - a great way to get beautiful portraits at a discounted price. I don't charge a session fee for these and I do them throughout the day, so hopefully there is a time that will work for you. Plan on 6-8 great portraits to choose from. You can call or email me if you'd like more information, if you'd like to see a price list, or if you'd like to sign up for a timeslot.




It doesn't really need to be your child's birthday, but if you have a summer birthday, this is a great opportunity for individual portraits at a great price. Or if your child's school portraits tend to leave something to be desired, this is a great opportunity to get a choice of much nicer portraits and gorgeous quality prints, or even digital files.


And I offer a bonus if you bring a friend! I'd love to answer any questions that you may have, or set you up with a timeslot on August 8th or September 5th. Just call or email me.

A newborn baby in the garden

I first met this family when they moved to town a few years ago and they were expecting their third baby. He was one of the first few newborn babies I photographed, or towards the beginning anyway. (Too bad I hadn't started doing newborn photography before I had MY last baby!) Now they are on their FIFTH baby, and they are definitely people who should have five babies, because they have awesome kids. Maybe they will have another one!

This little princess came to me on a nice warm day, so we took her outside! I think she slept better outside than she did inside. This picture is my favorite.
 



And of course we have some inside portraits as well.






A gorgeous little dress for when she was blessed in church,


and I especially love these pictures with her beautiful mom! I think she was just at a week old and her mom looks amazing.






Just for fun, I looked into my archives and found the pictures of her older sister and brother that I took when they were new. Here is her big sister, from 4 years ago.


And here is her big brother from 6 years ago. Time flies!


If you are interested in baby photography, I have a bunch more newborn sessions, along with some info on my baby plan options, on this blog page - look through and see if this might be something you'd like for your baby!

I offer four different options for baby photography collections. If you are interested for yourself, or if you have a friend or family member you might like to gift a collection to, I have an online magazine with more information that you might like to see. You can send me your email address below and I will email you a link right away.

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Where should we go for our family portraits?

One of the questions that we have to answer when a family calls me for portraits is - where should we go for the pictures? I loved working with this family, and I also love that we did their session at "their" park around the corner from their house.
 

When we started discussing locations, we started out talking about the park near their house, but the mountain view there has houses in front of it except where there are big power lines. (Or so I assumed from a quick check from the parking lot.)


I have lots of ideas for locations - this blog page shows a bunch of places to consider. We discussed these and I loved that she decided to have their whole family decide together.


Their daughter knew that it should be somewhere fun, not too manicured (like the Biopark), and we eventually decided that the best place would really be the park around the corner from their house.


When we walked a ways farther down the path, with a little strategic positioning, the mountain view was perfect. A lesson for me - take a longer walk before I dismiss a good potential location! We had some fun with the frisbee...


which led to cartwheels...


which led to my first whole-family cartwheel portrait! How fun is this?




After some family portraits, it was time for their daughter to play. She had lots of ideas.




I love doing sessions in the park where you actually play! It just makes it better.


We all love her expression in this picture.


We did a few other combinations, which I love,




and even though it was cloudy and we didn't get the purple mountains, the evening light was beautiful.




The whole evening was such a pleasure. I learned that your favorite places might be best for pictures, even if you're not sure the background will be perfect (which actually this turned out to be anyway), but if you have happy memories somewhere, it will make your session more meaningful and FUN.


What did they end up choosing? A wall gallery of canvas wraps, which I love -


and a large collage to frame, among other things.


If this style of photography appeals to you, I'd love to chat with you about a family session for YOUR family. I am a zero pressure kind of person - just give me a call or email, and we can talk!

Or, see this page for other ideas about how to make your portrait session the best that it can be.

Four months old with some delicious toes (or so I gather)

What could be better on a warm summer morning than meeting this darling little girl for some 4 month portraits? 


She was happy like this the whole time. Sometimes babies 3-4 months old can be a little tricky, because they CAN smile, but they don't always want to do it for the camera.


That was not a problem this time!


One of my favorite little-baby stages to capture is when they love their toes! She could even smile around the toes in her mouth.




I have a bunch more baby pictures, along with some info on my baby plan options, on this blog page - check it out!

I offer four different options for baby photography collections. If you are interested for yourself, or if you have a friend or family member you might like to gift a collection to, I have an online magazine with more information that you might like to see. You can send me your email address below and I will email you a link right away.

Submit your email address to receive more information

* indicates required

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