Clothes packed? check. Kids ready to be passed off to assorted family members? check. Every possible medicine known to man squeezed into a ziplock bag (just in case)? check. We are heading out on our cruise today! Flying down to San Juan…I’ll try to control my excitement and the over abundance of exclamation points! See, just one I’m sure I’ll have a few good stories to tell when I get back…I don’t know how great the pictures are going to be…I’m traveling light, just my little point and shoot camera. I debated forever, and finally decided that I don’t want to worry about anything while I’m on vacation, except for the really important things…like where the front of the buffet line is…and how many margaritas I can carry…and is my back looking pink, maybe I should flip over…
So, I’ve been working on updating my website…it’s such putsy work, but I’m almost finished tweaking…check it out HERE! (click on the ‘website’ link) All of the galleries have been updated…I’ve got a new what people are saying section where my clients were gracious enough to write some really sweet testimonials about me and my business. I have a new price guide which lists all of my 2011 prices, with pictures along side it to help show what I sell.
Here are my kiddo’s valentines cards. I know, I’m that annoying mom that sends her kids to school with press printed cards…I started a few years ago, and until my kids are too embarassed to hand them out, I’m going to keep doing it!
FRONT BACK
.jpg "brady blog")
.jpg "lucy blog")
.jpg "ry blog")
”Earmuffs”. You’ve heard it before…whenever you are about to say something that young ears shouldn’t hear, you cover the child’s ears with your hands and say “earmuffs”. It’s been a joke around our house for ages (blame Vince Vaughn)…but after 3 kids, my ‘earmuff’ filter has become a bit too relaxed. I’ve been relying on the fact that my kids don’t really pay that much attention to what I say. That’s where I’d be wrong. Last week, Brady was acting crazy and loud while I was on the phone…I mumbled ‘psycho’ under my breath and continued my phone conversation. Seconds later, Brady starts chanting, “psycho. psycho. psycho.” Great. Then last weekend we went out to eat with our family. I was chatting with my sister-in-laws’, and I was describing how a certain guy I knew had acted like a real jerk…only I didn’t use the word jerk. I used a four letter word starting with the letter ‘D’, ending in ‘K’. I said it as quietly and discreetly as possible (because one should always be dainty when using profanity). And in my defense, I thought all of the kids were distracted playing with their cousins at the other end of the table. Suddenly Brady looks up and shouts, “Hey Auntie CC…’d**k’!” First of all, his hearing is phenomenal…truly a gift. Secondly, I have GOT to start covering his ears if he is going to be listening on the sly. Better yet, I could just filter my own potty-mouth and avoid all of these embarrassing outbursts. The moral of the story: When you want your kids to listen to you, they don’t. And when you really don’t want them listening, they hear every word. I should embroider that on a pillow and sell it.
Allrighty, get ready for some chunky goodness. This little doll did so good! I just adored her little cheeks and arm rolls…she was such a good baby! Since she has 3 older siblings at home, her mom and I enjoyed a nice, relaxing session with just the baby.
Okay, I have no idea where my new fascination with selective coloring is coming from…but I think it looks so cute on this picture!
This next shot has got to go in my new studio somewhere…it is just so stinkin cute!
This is the third time I photographed this little cutie…here is her 6 month session if you’d like a refresher! PLEASE tell me you guys are working on another one? Your baby making genes are phenomenal!! Her mom just had two requests…1. I like things that are ‘girly’. 2. I like feathers. Done and Done.
Bring on the feathers baby! I thought about retouching out that little raspberry bubble she’s spitting at me, but it kind of makes the shot, don’t you think?!
Wanna see the cutest little snaggle tooth?! She just has one front tooth, it makes me chuckle
I would like to give a shout out to all the single parents out there…I’ve only been single-parenting for 4 days, and I’d like to be done now. Kor, hurry home, I miss you! I also miss your ability to plow the driveway…I’m not even sure where we keep the shovels…just kidding, I know where they are, I just don’t know how to use them
Do you want to hear something I’ve JUST discovered (please don’t laugh if you’ve known this for the past 20 years)? The post office will actually come to my door and pick up my packages…wait for it….for FREE. Are you kidding me? Why am I the last to know such a luxury existed? Yesterday, I raced (well, raced as fast as I could with un-plowed roads) to the post office, only to have them lock their doors in my face. Again. So, now I have to drive all the way back again tomorrow, to try and ship out a few packages. All I need is a scale (bought one on amazon for $20) and some labels (also found on amazon), and I’ll be in business. This could literally save me up to an hour a day…I won’t know what to do with myself. Maybe I’ll knit. Or start watching the Bachelor or something…yeah, right, I can’t stand the bachelor…I get so embarrassed for these women falling all over the same guy…just ish. Give me the Amazing Race or Criminal Minds any day. Okay, well that was a random tangent from the USPS to the Bachelor. Now, how to segue…
Usually I feel pretty confident at the end of a session that I have some good shots in my camera. Well, this wasn’t one of those sessions! This little Diva was TWO in all her glory! After we finished chasing her around…her mom asked if we got any good ones. I said, “well, ummm, I think so?!” Nice. Once I uploaded them to my computer and saw how stinkin cute she was, (and how her crazy little personality shined through) I knew we wouldn’t have to do any re-shoots
The many faces of Miss ‘A’
Rockin the serious pose…
Oh, she does think I’m funny…
But I don’t WANT to sit still
Let’s go back to Riviera Mya, shall we? Okay. In case you missed the first installment of this wedding, here’s the link. Just to get you up to speed…this is my lovely cousin Jen and her new hubbie Patrick…they had a destination wedding in Mexico in November. Can I just say that at least ONE of my children better have one of these…they are awesome! And no, South Dakota is not a destination…it has to be somewhere with year round palm tree’s (not in a mall).
What do you call the complete opposite of a bridezilla? Oh, I know…you call her Jen. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a more laid back bride in my life. She was all, “oh, ya know, just take a few snapshots of me and patrick during the ceremony…no biggie.” And I’M ALL, “Ummm, hello, I need at least 2 hours before the wedding to get some decent shots.” The night before the wedding we agreed on a meeting time. In hindsight, there were a lot of drinks being consumed in the midst of this conversation, so there may have been a bit of a mis-communication. The time I thought we agreed upon came and went on her wedding day. And there was no bride. An HOUR later than I originally anticipated, the bride rolled up in a golf cart, veil soaring behind her. I was yelling, “JEN, where the bleepity bleep were you??” Then I noticed that she wasn’t as relaxed as I thought. In fact…she looked like she was going to have a panic attack right there in her veil and flipflops. And so, I backed off. I grabbed a few shots of her jumping in her dress, and then we headed outside for a few bridal portraits (why does that phrase sound so 80′s?). We were waiting for Patrick to show up so I could get a few of them together on the beach. We waited. Aaaannnd waited. I think you can sense the theme here…they are definitely two pea’s in a pod!
Finally, the groom shows up, and after a 3 minute ‘first look’, we headed to the beach. No lie, we were there less than 4 minutes. I envisioned a relaxing 2 hour session on the beach…and I got 4 minutes. And that’s okay. Because it was Jen’s day, not mine. After I got over myself, I went up to the chapel and sat down. It was a beautiful service in a candlelit chapel…then a yummy cocktail hour, followed by a delicious dinner (except for the anchovies…Lori, remember those?). Congratulations to Mr. & Mrs. Soraghan…AND to the bun in the oven! You heard me…she got pregnant on her wedding night. Who does that? Trust me, we all did the math, it totally adds up-crazy right? If it’s a girl, I think you should name her Mya…don’t ya think? Ironically, during the wedding dinner everyone was throwing out baby names (no pressure, right?)…turns out, they’ll need those names faster than any of us thought! Woohoo!
And here’s a little collage of pictures from our trip…some from the wedding…some just snapshots…some of me in a swimsuit (it’s called strategic cropping)…some of Kor with a monkey on his back…whatev.
I wish I could do those 5 days over again…It was an amazing time with our family. Good thing I have a carribbean cruise coming up to console myself with…you want to punch me, don’t you? I’ll do it for ya…ouch.
As many of you know, I’ve worked in a portrait studio for many years…what? You didn’t know every last detail of my world? Well, click HERE to see a little interview about yours truly…anyhoo, I’ve worked in a portait studio for awhile, and I’ve done my fair share of pet portraits over the years. Inevitably, the booking conversation goes something like this: “Hi, I’d like to set up an appointment for my family. We have three kids…a 3 yr old, a 2 yr old & a 1 month old baby. Oh, and of course, our German Shepard Sparky…he’s part of the family too!” “Sure, we can do that…I will forwarn you, that dogs don’t always act the way you think they will in a studio setting. Typically, they are very nervous and hard to control…which in turn, can stress you out!” “Oh, no, our dog is VERY well behaved, Sparky listens to my husband…we won’t have any trouble.” Fast forward to the day of the session. The dog is running circles around the studio, looking for the nearest exit. The 2 year old is chasing the dog. The 3 year old is poking his finger in an electrical socket. The 1 month old baby is screaming bloody murder. The dad is hollering at the 2 yr old, 3 yr old & the dog. And the mom is frantically patting the baby and squeezing her eyes shut tight while attempting to use a jedi mind trick to restore balance to the circus that is unfolding before her eyes. Phew, that was a run-on sentence if I ever saw one.
And where am I during all of this? Am I curled up in the fetal position sucking my thumb? Nope…I am just standing there. Frozen. With glassy eyes and a crazy fake smile plastered across my face. It is meant to look reassuring and confident. But in all actuality, I have completely checked out of the situation, and am envisioning myself somewhere far, far away. Generally, I let the owners chase the dogs (yes, sometimes they bring in many!) around for awhile, then suggest they go put them in the car for the remainder of the session. By this point, dad is all but carrying Sparky out the door in an attempt to end his misery.
Now, there are exceptions to every rule…and while the rule of pets + kids = crazy is generally true, it is not always the case. Don’t let my horror stories scare you away from bringing your favorite fur ball in for portraits…although, it might be wise to bring your dog to an outdoor session VS an indoor one…they are much more relaxed (unless they chase squirrels, then all bets are off).
Of course, by now, your wondering if this pet session I’m going to share is like the one I talked about above. Well, to be honest…it wasn’t too bad! The dog did really well…he was nervous, and dad had to put him in a ‘sleeper hold’ a few times…but we got a few good shots of the family together before the dog headed out to the car! The baby is so cute, I did his newborn pictures only 2 months before, I can’t believe how big he’s gotten in such a short time!
In all fairness to the dog, the baby has some colic, so that screaming face was not directed at the cute pupper!
These next 2 shots in b&w are my favs…look at your gorgeous little family!
I was really hoping they would’ve put this on the front of their Christmas card!!
Riley got a cold last week, and I’ve been working like a dog trying to keep the rest of the crew healthy….Lysol wipes, airborne drinks and lots of vitamins…well, I thought I did a bang up job, but no, Brady started sniffling yesterday When I went to get him up this morning he cried, “my blankie is broken!” Huh? He is majorly attached to his blanket…for comfort he holds the blanket up to his mouth and nose and rubs it across his face. When I asked him why he thought his blanket was broken, he replied, “see, watch!” He then stood up, put the blanket across his face, and tried really hard to give the blanket a big SNIFF. Instead, all that I heard was a weird stuffed-up kind of snort. I started laughing hysterically, I said, “buddy, your blanket isn’t broken, your nose is!” Gosh, kids are cute, aren’t they?
Speaking of cuteness…check out this total rockstar. Fastest session ever-I think we did 3 outfits in under 15 minutes. Sometimes, that’s all a one year old is gonna give you…but I’ll take it if they work it out like he did!
He reads.
He smiles.
He flirts.
He struts.
Told ya…rockstar.
Check out the blog header…I’ve updated with some more recent pictures…next up-the website needs a little ‘freshening up’…
Here we go…another 2010 session being blogged…I know, I know, these pictures are SO last season. Oh well, I’ve never been very trendy anyways…but you know what IS trendy right now? Pinterest.
It’s a new (I think it’s new…who knows, I could be the last to know!) website where people share all of their favorite things…photographs, interior design, clothing, etc. I am not crafty, nor do I obsess over decorating my home…and DIY projects, forget about it…until now…now I’m seeing these amazing pictures of cool spaces, and I want to try it for myself! Perhaps I’ll go all martha stewart on this house…wreaths made out of pages of books, shelves out of old spice racks, a sweater that I knitted from torn dish rags…who knows, it could happen!
Here’s another yummy newborn. He did so good…his family drove up from Rosemount…he got here, and just kept on sleeping…I don’t think I saw his eyeballs once. Maybe it’s because he’s the third child and he’s just more mellow? I dunno, but I liked it!
|
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
by Kelly
Hey there!! Just a friendly stalker of you blog
I absolutely LOVE your photography. You do such a wonderful job!! I am loving these Valentine cards as well! If you don’t mind my asking, what is the background of the photo. It looks great!
The cards are great! My oldest (he’s 9) is at that age where he refuses to let me do the photo Valentines for him. Luckily my daughters love it, so I get to keep doing it for them.
The Valentines turned out super! I’ve never done press printed with them but I did try hand made ones this year with their photos on them. My 5th grader wanted nothing to do with it! She preferred to have cats and dogs… oh brother! But, my son in K was all about it