Senior Photos

     I was practically glowing. My computer was opened to my message page, and what I was reading made me thrilled. She asked me to do her senior pictures. I eagerly told anyone who walked in the room over the course of the next few minutes, simply because I had to tell someone. Anyone at all.  
     Maybe it seems strange that I was so excited. I am always excited when I am asked to do a photoshoot, but my excitement compounds when a family asks me more than once. With this friend, I had done her prom pictures last spring. I was so happy to be working with her again (she is way too photogenic)
     My other main reason for being so elated at this prospect of doing senior photos is that the girl who asked me to do them is not only a good friend of mine, but she is a fellow photographer. And then there was the fact that I had seen many of my teenage friends having their senior pics done by other teen photographers, and I was wondering what is would be like to experiment with senior photos. I didn't expect an opportunity to come up quite so soon, so this was a pleasant surprise.
     I was also slightly nervous. Senior pictures are so important, and they only happen once in your lifetime. I heard one photographer describe them as pictures that would be more widespread than any other work that you do, more so than even wedding photos. My mom, always my faithful "research assistant" helped me look up many different websites with senior photo ideas and tips. I looked at many different photographers blogs to see examples, and I wrote down a list of all the different poses that I had seen, taking that list with me on the photoshoot. I called my friend and helped her work through what outfits and props to bring. We worked out a time, a location, transportation, etc.
     The day of the photoshoot I woke up and literally praised God when I looked out my window. Gray, overcast sky, but not quite dark enough that it looked like it would rain. We had the warmest day all week, with perfect lighting to top it off. This weather-check was not specific only to this photoshoot - I do that with every single one (or at least with the outdoor ones).
     We had a blast with these photos. As I said before, she is also a good friend of mine. We tried tons of different things, and ended up laughing through most of the shoot. By the end, both she and I agreed that the whole thing had been way too much fun. Not only did we try lots of different things, but she laughed with me at my some-what strange photo language (for example: "this lighting over here looks blurry.") We also had many other adventures, like when we decided to run down a hill together and have my mom take pics of the two of us, or when we were shooting on a bridge during rush-hour traffic, and she had to run across the street in high-heels... 'nough said :)
     That being said, the photos turned out well, and I have been excited to share them with you. So, without further a-do....   :)

Stay tuned - I still have children's photos, family photos, maternity announcement photos, and newborn photos, soon to come (yes, 'tis the season for photos, and my photo life has been a bit busy) Have a wonderful day!!

Flash Back

     Anyone remember this little guy from the "Newborn Photos" post back in July?

     You may not recognize him now...

                                                        ... but it's the same little guy!

     Three month photos are a new thing for me. I have always heard that they are tricky, because the baby is too young to sit up on his/her own yet, but yet you can not pose them like newborns because they are so much more alert. This little guy managed it beautifully though. A little propping him up was needed, but he was a trooper :) 

     This was a gorgeous fall day (chilly, but still pretty). We had just enough filtered sunlight for clear, crisp pictures with very few shadows to fix (shadows on people's faces are my enemy, because they are almost impossible for me to fix on the computer). All in all, it was just a really good photo shoot.

Fall Photo Fun

     Can I just say that I am loving this fall? The colors, the weather, and everything - it has truly been a beautiful fall season. My schedule for photos has been pretty busy for the past few weeks, and I am just now sitting down to catch up with my blogging. I have many fun photo shoots to share with you from this fall. I have been able to try some new things in photography. This fall, I have done birth photos, which I shared with you, as well as family photos, infant photos, more children's photos, and, just this past week, senior pictures and a maternity announcement. I am so excited about all of these shoots, but in order to spread out the fun I will not be posting them all tonight :) They are coming soon though, I promise.
   Tonight I want to share with you a family photo shoot that I did about a month ago. This is a family with four active, adventurous, wonderful boys. We met them to do photos at a park one day just as a few fall colors were starting to make themselves known...

 More coming soon, so stay tuned!

Captivated

     I am captivated. By the process, the experience, and the beautiful happening of birth. This past month I was privileged to attend my second birth as a photographer. I will never, ever tire of being one of the first to witness the arrival of a new life into the world. To document it with my camera is even better. I feel like I am being given a gift when I am able to attend a birth; to share in that experience with a family is such a blessing. In return, I feel like I am able to give at least a small portion of that gift back when I capture these moments and give them to the family, to have forever.
     It is more than just the experience that draws me. It is my favorite form of photography - documentary photography at its very best. When I am doing portraits, I struggle with the people aspect of photography. I love being around people, but being the photographer requires a whole different level of people skills. I am still continuing to learn how to direct people, and how to make them feel comfortable and natural and relaxed during photo shoots. That part of photography comes hard for me. It is still absolutely worthwhile, it just takes time and I still have such a long way to go. With birth photography, there is no need for me to direct, to instruct. I am part of the background, capturing each precious moment and each expression of struggle and of joy. I need only to slip into myself and focus on the task at hand, watching the world play out through the lens. Even though this was only my second birth so far, I am thoroughly captivated.
     That being said, I am still learning how to handle the lighting scenarios at births. I have so much more learning to do in the future. That is my disclaimer :)
     Let me share with you a glimpse of this extraordinary birth, and this stunning new baby girl.

More photos to follow, hopefully soon. Fall is such a wonderful time for photos...  :)  God Bless!