Magical Mother & Daughter

So these lovely ladies kept me busy last monday! These are the results of an in-home shoot. You really should consider one, especially for little children, as half of the magic is photographing them where they are most comfortable and where there are the most important things to them. I just knew that I had to use the light from the window bathing them, as a visual metaphor for the love that surrounds mother and daughter. Plus home is where the silly hats are.

My Studio

Here is my studio space I share with Marion Cain (www.marioncain.com ). We had an Open House earlier this month, with a shoot scheduled so visiting photographers could see the studio in action throughout the day. Our studio, when not in use by either of us, is available on an hourly or half-day basis! I think it's going to be lots of fun having visiting photographers come shoot, and since we're going into the rainy, dark months, what better of a time to have some fun in the studio! The studio is Located in Edgewood, WA.

Why I love what I do...

Today I was telling my business coach, Karen Buckley, this story, and she insisted I share it on my blog...

I have this one image I took at a wedding this summer of Anne, the bride, and this moment when her grandmother was looking over at her. And the way her grandma is gazing at her granddaughter is amazing...it has a depth that I can't even begin to go into. Are memories of Anne as a little girl in a ballerina tutu flooding her mind? Or maybe she's thinking of Anne's mother, her daughter, on her wedding day and how much daughter looks like mother. Whose to say? What is sure is that grandma, in her wisdom and time on this planet, is soaking up the moment with the bride, and that SOMEDAY, Anne will be a different person, full of wisdom, and she will look at this picture and see it from a totally different perspective, a deep, amazingly meaningful perspective, and to think I had a part in capturing that for her, makes me so grateful to have this passion and ability with a camera.

Life, babies, beautiful mother-to-be!

Okay so here is Stephanie, on the other end of the "motherhood" spectrum as Mom Schille below. Steph was the first pregnant mom I got to shoot under this backdrop with the one grid light. I've always loved the look of these shots and was a little giddy about getting to give her a rad shot like this. What would I do to get to have a shot like this of me with one of my kids??? Lol, and no, having another child so that I can get this shot is not an option!! Lol

Family Portraits, Family Changes

I had the pleasure of meeting the Schille Familiy and having them to the studio. This is a big Christmas season for them, because their oldest son is leaving for two entire years on December 9. It reminds me of a saying on a mug I just read earlier today at the store "Mothers, they hold your hand for a little while; they hold your heart forever." I try not to think too much about the possibility of my children moving halfway around the world when they grow up. At the same time, you raise your children to go out, seize the day and make a positive impression on the world! This dichodomy is at the heart of every parent...

Tonya & Roy's Engagement!

Meet Tonya & Roy-we were blessed with totally awesome weather for their engagement shoot! The thing about Tonya & Roy is that they both have the most piercing blue eyes. Both of them. And after the shoot, we went for coffee and I couldn't help myself from whipping the camera out again when I saw the naturally lit leather couch over in a nook at the coffee shop. I grabbed just a few more shots there and this particular one below I am TOTALLY LOVING!!!!

Monica & Greg from Santa Barbara

So, This is Greg who I went to junior high with and his smart and funny fiancee, Monica. They came up from Cali for Thanksgiving! I suggested we meet at this library/park for their engagement shoot which I KNEW had a big set of cement steps out front. I was so excited about the steps. We meet there. There are NO steps. Not one. So silly of me....in my mind, there were these fabulous steps...

Timeless mom & daughter portraits...

I just wanted to share these beautiful portraits of my client Jenifer and her daughter...it reminds me of the bond between me an my mom. I just love these. This was also a shoot for my Associate Photographer-in-training, Hannah Wolfe! It was great fun to shoot together, and in a true "the-more-the-merrier" fashion, my 5-year-old daughter was in attendance as well!

Quincy!

One of the best parts of being a photographer is getting to create portraits that are special to the family, but when that family is somebody you've known since the second semester of 7th grade, it's on a whole new level!



Here are the shots I did last week of my good ole friend Jen and her family. How great are these!!!

Tatiana & Paul!

Okay so technically, I got all of the images edited by the date on the "come see our images online" cards that I have available near the guest book at weddings I shoot...but normally I like to put them up the day before "the date" so the bride and groom get to see them first. Getting through 1053 images to cut out/edit down to a final group of wedding images in 7 days was a miraculous feat, considering Thanksgiving was at my house and several shoots on Monday and Tues!

Tatiana is becoming a great friend/assistant to me. She's one of the best people I've ever had assist me at weddings, tough as nails (as my assistant, she's been stung by a bee AND completely sopping wet) and keeps the most amazing attitude. She's got a natural talent with photography, full of ideas and great compositional instinct. I can't say enough about Tot. She's one in a million....Paul is one of those "still waters run deep" types who truly and utterly has a undying love and devotion for his wife....just a beautifully matched couple and I can't wait to watch their marriage grow and evolve.

Lindsey & Marcus

Here are a few of my favorite's from Lindsey's family shoot last week :) I let their son do the "art direction" for the top shot of Lindsey & dad; he did not even flinch. He went right into directing them into a great pose and his efforts and abilities made for some genuine smiles! Way to go Riley!

Lil Emily

Super adorable Emily was smiling in the studio and outside in the field, but I loved these particular little expressions of joy. And I loved how she looked up to her big brother and how close they were. So sweet.

My web designer, Ron Ford of Web-Visuals

I have a great respect and admiration for the designer of my website, Ron Ford of Web-Visuals. They do an awesome job and I totally enjoy working with them. http://web-visuals.com/ . Hmmm. What picture can I put with this? I guess since we're on the subject of websites, you should also check out my buddy Walter Grio at http://shootforchange.com

He travels the world for his job and schedules fashion shoots in every city he stops. He donates 100% of the proceeds to the charity of the clients' choice. He also collaborated on a guerilla fashion show in Seattle on September 18 outdoors at Westlake Center in Downtown Seattle during rush hour! Mode Organic Salon provided the rad styling (hair & fashion design) to promote Walter's Shoot For Change projects. I was proud to be a SFC photographer :)

Kellie & James

Kellie and James did a smart thing-they picked a cool date to get married: 11/11/07. Here are a few of my favorite shots. This was one wild bunch, BTW!!!

Dawn & Shane's Engagement

Okay so where do I begin with Dawn & Shane? We had a super fun shoot, the first 15 minutes consisting of searching for a bathroom (I won't mention for who, but it wasn't me and it wasn't Dawn, lol). And then off to trollop through Pt. Defiance. Lastly, Shane is hilarious (I love how he's all shy, hiding behind Dawn's hair), Dawn is beautiful and great fun to be around. I'm going to have a blast shooting their wedding, don't you think? Oh, and look at that model shot of Shane in the leaves...doesn't that crack you up?!?

Ally, the Gerber baby

So this shoot last week was of Ally, the Ultimate Gerber baby. Just so cherubic and sweet. Check out that shot I got of Dad holding Alexandra's little booties!!! So sweet I could keel over...

Senior Photoshoot--Leah!

Leah is a beautiful volleyball player whom I got to shoot this past weekend. She probably never knew this but she is a natural in front of the camera. Just look!

Crystal & Scott!

Happily Engaged and looking forward to their NEW YEARS EVE wedding!!!
Check out my reflector assistants, Crystal and Scott's 4-year-old twin daughters!

My LumiQuest 80-20 is world famous!

I got to "act" in a music video as a photographer at a fashion show. In the final edited video, Hi-Tack's "Let's Dance" Remix, my attachment that goes on my "big" external flash made a split second appearance. Hi-Tack is, pardon the cliche, huge in Europe. The video made it to #1 on MTV Europe. Akina Entertainment out of Seattle is responsible for the awesome film production, and the dancers were out of this world. It was a blast to watch the behind-the-scenes action, makeup and hair (courtesy of Mode Organic Salon-Seattle), and let's not forget the CLOTHES, Seattle's own Neo Dandi! What was fun about it was that us photogs were just supposed to fire our flashes as much as possible when the camera was rolling!