A Smile is Contagious!

Meet Will!  Will just turned one and I could have eaten him right then and there!  He reminded me of my middle boy at this age- just happy, happy, happy!  His session was full of smiles and laughter.  As I looked through the portraits, I was hard pressed to find one that he wasn't grinning from ear to ear.  Just made me smile watching his happiness!  And Will has a lot to smile about...he is baby #4 in his family...the only boy in  a house full of girls...adorable girls that love their baby brother.  I loved this first portrait with Will and his sister Julia- Julia being the helpful big sister assigned to play Patty Cakes with Will...she look her job seriously and with great success as Will giggled despite the death grip she had on his wriggly wrists!   I'm a sucker for little baby hands and feet so the second portrait grabbed my attention right away... look how his baby hands are positioned so perfectly...it makes all the little chub and dimples look so yummy!  And all those little baby teeth...just a great portrait altogether.  But hands down the third portrait is by far my favorite!  It grabs me as a photographer AND a mother.  As a photographer, I immediately am drawn to the sparkle in Will's eyes...the profile of those unmistakable eye lashes...the placement of the mom's hands so her wedding ring is a key element in the portrait.  But as a mother, I love the smile...of the MOTHER.  The mom was not prepared to be in any portraits...all you moms know getting out of the house with even one clean, fed kid is enough to ask, makeup is  a luxury no one has time for!  But this portrait was at the end of the session when Will's patience with us had come to an end.  I asked his mom to play with him in hopes of stealing a few more sincere expressions.  This was the last snap of the camera...I am so glad we persevered!  I almost cropped in so nothing but the mom's hand was showing, but as I did I noticed the smile on the mom's face.  It evoked vivid memories of the emotions I feel when my children smile at me.  I can remember as a new mom when my little ones first started smiling, the intense feeling that overcame me whenever my baby smiled.  I remember thinking, "Wow, this is a feeling I have never felt before!"  It didn't matter how tired I was, how frustrated I was, how overwhelmed I was, as soon as that smile was flashed, a wave of happiness overcame me.  I won't be surprised if the mom asks to be cropped out altogether in this portrait, but I had to include her for this blog entry.  To the moms with new babies, this feeling never goes away.  My three year old can lay down on the Walmart floor and pitch the biggest fit of his life, but when I am buckling him in his car seat, all the world sings as he flashes his smile....My four year can explode in a tirade of anger as he melts down over being beat at Mario Carts on the Wii, but when he finally calms down through tear stained cheeks and smiles at my silly antics, I totally forget about the earlier incident...My six year old can sass me as I lecture her for some six-year-old-offense (ohhh, that can really get at me!) and yet one sincere smile and I have forgotten the pre-teenage attitude she so perfectly exhibited.  Yes, the feeling you get as your child smiles never lessens, never dulls.  And so as a mom, I love that third portrait...Will is precious, his smile is perfect, his eyes sparkle, but the mom's smile is what I love most...reminds me of why we deal with all the chaos, all the sleeplessness, all the WORK of motherhood...because nothing, and I mean NOTHING can replace the feeling of watching your child smile!  It is contagious!

Thank you Random Strangers!

So, this is Maddie- does she look like a baby doll or what?!  She has such an innocent look, so I love taking her portraits...looks like she should be on a Baby Gap ad or something!  This was Maddie's one year portrait and like many portraits this spring, the session had to be rescheduled several times due to weather so by the time this sitting actually took place, Maddie was really a bit over one.  Outdoor portraits with a child this age can be difficult because the best lighting actually occurs close to 7:00 p.m.  I start these sittings around 5:45 even though the light is not ideal in most places because a happy baby is more important than perfect lighting.  But I always hope the baby will hang in there long enough to get some magical lighting along with the magical expressions.  Maddie's session started out great...she was happy and overall pretty content with us.  We got some great portraits. Unfortunately though as the magic lighting started to arrive Maddie decided she had had enough of us!  We had her on a little bench and the lighting was beautiful but no matter what we tried, Maddie was NOT happy.  Enter Random Strangers!  Like angels that suddenly appeared a couple approached us and explained that they had little ones at home this age and asked if they could help amuse Maddie.  Oh my gracious, it worked!  Maddie was OVER my crazy tricks and not amused despite her mom's persistent attempts.  But THIS was a new face...actually TWO new faces and there it was, that smile! That grin!  That interest in her eyes again!  So we got it, magical light, magical expression all thanks to the magical strangers!  Thank you Random Strangers!!!  I will certainly pay it forward!!!

Boy, oh Boy...oh boy...oh boy!

What a fun session this was, and what a dedicated mother!  Yes, dedicated because she has four fun, rambuctious boys but also dedicated because we had to WORK to get this session planned.  It actually was planned for LAST year, and I'll bet we had to reschedule 5 times because of weather...once we even went on location only for it to start raining as soon as we stepped out of the car.  So, when we had a pretty day at last, we all celebrated!  Having two boys of my own comes in handy with sessions like this because I had some tricks up my sleeve to help make them giggle...I mean, who would think that the word 'Underwear' could invoke such sincere belly laughs!  I struggled picking which portraits to upload to the blog because we got such a variation of expressions and settings.  I settled on these because they all were taken in the setting that I think ALL the boys felt most comfortable: an open field with lots of wide open area to run!  The first portrait is of the baby...one tough cookie for being the youngest in this crowd, but his expression here is so innocent and sincere...doesn't it look like he is looking right through the camera?!  Then the second portrait screams boy, boy, boy, and well, boy!  They were tired by this point but as soon as I let them run loose, the smiles started flowing.  There is a special relationship that develops between brothers and this portrait really captures that...afterall, it takes work to continue to hold hands when you are given the 1-2-3 go!  Lastly, this could be my favorite portrait.  I love, love, love when a portrait shows sincere emotion...when you can look at it and almost hear the sounds that were going on.  This was taken right before the dad swung his son around and around in circles.  Looking at this portrait you can almost hear the dad saying, "You ready?  Now, 1-2-3!"  And the anticipation on the son's face is priceless!  There just really isn't much that can top your dad's one-on-one attention if even for a few moments!  It reminds me as a parent of three children how important it is to take the time to spend one on one time with each child...it doesn't require much, just a momentary squeeze, or a playful tickle or an impromptu swing.  If it is likely to invoke an expression of such innocent joy and anticipation in my child's face, it will be worth the extra effort.   And next time thanks to this portrait, I'll pause a second longer to really appreciate that glimpse of raw emotion in my little one's eyes!

Baby Blues

Well, this sitting didn't start out too smoothly.  In all my time taking portraits I have never done what I did before this session...forget to pack my memory cards!  Luckily I realized it half way there so I was only 15 minutes late to the session, but with babies this age at this time of day, every minute is critical.  Afterall, it is their bedtime!  Luckily W.C. came through for us!  I had a hard time choosing a smiling portrait of him because there were so many with that sincere happy smile...who'd have thought the one below was right after a small tumble he took!  The first portrait is a personal favorite...I included it because while W.C.'s expression wasn't happy and cheery at this point, it was one of those portraits that caught my eye....actually HIS eyes too!  W.C. has amazing blue eyes and with that precious blue outfit on, it made his eyes glow.  When I looked up at the sky, it was so blue, it reminded me of his eyes.  With all the trees at Kiesel Park, the only way to get the sky in the background was this angle.   I'm afraid with the size it may be displaying on your monitor, you won't get the whole effect, but his eyes, with his outfit and the blue sky in the background...whew, made me want a blue-eyed baby!!!  The bottom portrait reminded me of something that is very important...don't give up!  THIS was the LAST shot of the session...I had actually said I was completely done because W.C. was telling US he was completely done.  But the lighting was so pretty I couldn't put down the camera.  Who would have guessed this last portrait would have been so captivating!    Of course he was probably thinking, "Is she not gone yet?!"  Nope!  Had to get that last look and boy am I glad I did!!!

A Story Told

This is Sophie- how precious is she?!  I am always amazed at how little baby girls look so dainty and girly even as newborns.  I can just visualize her running around in a princess costume in a few years!  One of the things I like most about newborns is watching newborn parents!  It takes me back to when I was a new parent and reminds me of how intense that love you feel when you have a newborn.  Don't get me wrong, that love never lessens but I can remember as a new parent I was struck by the intensity of that love...it was something I had never experienced before.  Whenever I do newborn portrait sessions I love to get portraits of the parents looking at the baby because I can capture an emotion that is so pure, so intense.  And the expression on the newborn face when they are in contact with their parent is equally as beautiful.  This combination of portraits of Sophie really captured my heart because you can see her holding her Daddy's hand in the first portrait...the look on her face is so relaxed and calm...she feels safe because she knows her Daddy is near.  Then the second portrait captures the look on her Daddy's face as he holds Sophie.  Nothing like a Daddy's love for his little girl!  And the mom looking over the Daddy's shoulder just completes the story...total love.  So much passion, so much emotion and yet not one word is spoken.  THAT is what I love about photography.  Who needs words when love speaks so loudly!

Who'd Have Thought!

So, I explained in an earlier post that the key to a newborn portrait was taking them in the first two weeks after birth.  Typically the baby is still extremely easy to get to sleep.  So, when Graham's parents brought him at his two week birthday, I expected a fairly predictable session.  When will I learn that children are many things but predictable is NOT one of them?! What a precious little baby Graham is however he did not want to go to sleep.  He was exhausted and wasn't happy being awake but couldn't totally relax and just let go into the slumber we were looking for (of course, in his defense I don't think I could sleep under bright popping lights either!).  Anywho, at last we figured out the key was not gentle swinging in a dark room, but instead walking him around in the bright sun.  A bit counter intuitive at first, but it makes sense- the bright sun makes the baby involuntarily squint and then once their eyes are closed, they drift off to sleep.  Worked for this little newborn!  That is the fun part of babies- each one is different and what works for one, doesn't necessarily work for another.  But thanks to Graham I added another trick to my photographer's bag!  I love these portraits- he is fast sleep!  Who'd have thought the key was a bright sunny day!

Funnier than I remember!

So, this session started out a little bumpy.  Molly is a neighbor of mine and so I knew her prior to the session, however they haven't lived in Auburn very long so she hasn't gotten extremely comfortable around me yet.  When she walked into the studio, she did not want to let go of her mother.  We took a little time sitting by the lights talking, introducing  her to all the little chairs just her size, showing the pictures on the back of my camera that I wanted to take of her...I even pulled the Smarties card early in the session...nothing seemed to convince her to sit by herself in front of the camera.  So, her mom finally suggested that maybe she should step out and see if that would help.  Well, did it help?!  YES!  Molly changed her tune 180 degrees and tried lots of different chairs and showed me lots of smiles.  So, as I was looking through her portraits after the session, I knew I was the ONLY person in the room when we were taking pictures.  I laughed out loud as I scrolled through them because for the life of me I could not remember what I had done that made her laugh so sincerely!  All I know is I must have been one funny photographer!  Too funny!  

Now the other portrait was toward the end of the session as Molly was getting tired (and full of Smarties).  Many of you know me and know me well, but there is a part of my past I haven't shared with all of you.  Here goes with the confession:  I was a thumbsucker.  Not your avid hobbyist thumbsucker but your true, deep in your soul, always was and therefore always will be Thumbsucker!  No, I don't suck my thumb anymore, but I do distinctly remember the comfort that sucking my thumb brought me.  Afterall, I didn't stop sucking my thumb until I was 13!  (yes, THIRTEEN!!)  So, this portrait tugged at my heart strings...I love the angle because it adds to the look of vulnerability you see in her eyes.  So, you all can look at this portrait and think, "Aw, how cute!"  but I see something different, something more...I see security, I see relaxation, I see pure and total comfort!  From one thumbsucker to another, Molly, you go girl!  

Two Miracles

This is Amanda & Savannah- are they cute as buttons, or what?! Twin three-year olds, so this could have been a difficult session but they were perfect!  They are from Montgomery so I haven't seen them since they were newborns- I couldn't believe how different they looked...and yet both so precious!  These twins are particularly special to me because I prayed for them for many years as their parents longed to have a baby...and at last, twin miracles!  What I found most interesting was how much Amanda looks like her mom and how much Savannah looks like her Dad...together they are the perfect mix of their parents.  We took lots of portraits at this session and initially didn't plan to take any casual ones, but decided at the beginning to just snap a few in what they normally wear.  Oh, I love these portraits...totally natural smiles and the one of the two of them shows just how close they seem to be!  Never once did I hear these girls disagree (a stark contrast to the sibling rivalry I experience with my children constantly!).  Whether this is the case or not in their normal setting, I don't know, but on this day they were perfect.  Reminded me that sometimes we pray and don't get the answer we hoped for, but this time we prayed and got twice the blessing!      

An Interesting Perspective

So, I am not going to lie.  This was a challenging sitting.  For lots of different reasons.  But first, the story behind the session.  Emma and Ella are sisters that I have taken portraits of since Ella was born.  Their dad has been in Pharmacy school for as long as I have known them.  He is graduating this semester and the whole objective of the shoot was to get a surprise graduation gift for the father...the vision was of his two daughters in front of Auburn's pharmacy building.  All meaningful segments of his life but of course with vastly different significance.  So the first challenge came with Ella.  As with all 18 months olds, her first objective was not to sit still but to instead run and play and investigate her surroundings.  So, getting her to stay in front of the building at all took deliberate and constant engaging.   Smarties to the rescue again!   Secondly was the enormous difference in size between the building and the little girls.  I tried several different lens, different angles, everything I could think of to compose the portrait so the building didn't completely overshadow the children.  Lastly, I really wanted to merge the delicate tenderness of his two daughters with the boldness of the pharmacy building in the background.  The shoot itself was sad for me because I knew this family would be moving from Alabama really soon.  While I haven't known the mom too very long, I have really enjoyed watching how our friendship has grown as her children have.   Her faith in God has been an inspiration to me as she and her family went through some tough times.  All this to say, I had to think outside the box.  I had to really try some unique camera angles to get the look I was going for.  We all had to be creative to keep the little one from running away.  The result was surprisingly successful, with a portrait she will be giving her husband on Monday.  But it made me really think about my photography business as a whole.  Quite honestly, I started my photography business because I wanted to know how to take great portraits of my own children.  Then I stuck with the business to financially fund the equipment I needed to capture the portraits of my kids.  But as I grow with my business my perspective is starting to change.  The business part of my photography business is the unemotional, brick and mortar building in the back of the portrait.  But the relationships I am making as the years progress is the sweet spot...it is what I believe is God's purpose for me in the business...and honestly what I am so thankful for.  See a portrait of the Pharmacy building would have been a fine gift, but eventually it would have ended up in an attic somewhere.  Meshing the significant but unemotional building with the tenderness of his girls...now that is a true portrait to enjoy for a lifetime.  The passion of photography for me is awesome, it is fun, but ultimately it will never replace the significance of the relationships it affords me to create!   I will miss this family greatly but I'll always remember the important lesson I gained from what started out as a challenging photo shoot but ended up with a lasting portrait! 

I'm No Dumbie Cause I Got Smarties!

This is Isabel and her sister Chaney- two beautiful little girls that I have so loved to watch grow up!  I particularly love to take these girls portraits because their dad is a dentist, and I love to watch his face as I pump straight up sugar in the form of Smarties in his babies' mouths throughout a sitting!  I feel certain he brings a tooth brush and floss to clean after every session.  But I know these girls' currency- CANDY!  And as a current sugar addict myself, I love watching these children endulge in what I feel certain is a most forbidden delicacy in their home...totally non-nutritional, cavity provoking, smile- ensuring C.A.N.D.Y!  What great smiles we got at this sitting and what precious portraits they'll enjoy...totally worth the cavities, don't you think?!  Of course, at Chaney's age sometimes it can get frustrating when the flow of Smarties is not as rapid as she would prefer.  One of the key taglines for my business is 'True Emotion.'  And anyone who has a three year old knows the true emotion shown below.  I laughed as soon as I saw this portrait because it reminded me of portrait I took of her two years ago...notice her bow on the ground by her feet...that is after she grabbed it out of her hair and threw it down in frustration!  This girl's got attitude and I LOVE it!