Macey's Pets

We were just finishing up our friends photo shoot when Macey, Monica's daughter, asked if I would take photos of her with her pets. She ran home and got her dog, Mica, and her bearded dragon. The dragon was quite cooperative but Mica was too excited to hold still for very long. Macey just loves animals and I'm glad that I got to take a picture of the two she has now.

Fun Family Photo Shoot

My friend, Kelli, wanted to take some photos to use on her Christmas card. We discovered this brand-new park (it's not officially open yet) by the post office and thought we'd try to take some photos there. I was excited because it had several bridges and I could imagine poses of people or families leaning on the rails of the bridge. Unfortunately, the bridge rails are way too tall for any leaning! But the park had plenty of other great places for photos--big rocks, a split-rail fence, lots of greenery, benches and swings. The most difficult subject was Amos, Savannah's dog. He was watching the other dogs or the kids around the park. For some shots we had to wait until the kids or dogs were right behind me so that he'd be looking my way before we could take the picture!
Here are some of my favorite shots from this photo shoot.

Coming soon!

I take care of three blogs right now--this one, a blog for our elementary school's Parent-Teacher Organization (www.oakgrovepto.blogspot.com), and one about my sister's wedding preparations. All have been fun to do and I'm getting better at posting more frequently.
On the school blog I've learned how to post links to PTO flyers and forms. From my sister's blog, I've learned out to link to other websites. (I feel so cool knowing how to do this!)
Because I now know how to do this, I'm going to add a photo price sheet, photo session instructions, a wedding/reception checklist, on this blog.
Look for these links soon.

An adorable "almost-three-year-old"

Today I had a photo shoot with an adorable "almost-three-year-old". She was very cooperative for about ten shots and then announced "I'm done"! Her mom and I were able to convince her to pose a little longer. I just loved how her pictures turned out. I was worried because her photo shoot was early (10:30 am) and it was still pretty foggy. In Oregon that means very little light for any natural light photography. But the lighting was great. Of course, I have several focal colorized photos to include (I know I'll get over that sometime...).



The little wicker chair that you can see in some of her photos was one of my best garage sale finds! I use it all the time for photos of children. Kids love to sit on it or climb on it or drape themselves over it. It's been great. I even let my kids sit on it when they watch a movie (sometimes)!

Pumpkin Patch visit

My friend, Carla, had the day off and so we (and my mom) went to the pumpkin patch after the kids got home from school. We wanted to try out a new one in Oregon City, and I also wanted to practice with my hand-held light meter because I never use it.
Well, the pumpkin patch was really far away (almost to Estacada) and while it boasted a haunted castle, a pirate ship maze, a jail and other sites along the "Fantasy Trail"--it didn't have much of a pumpkin selection. I didn't really get the hang of my light meter either (see Taryn's photo)! Darin, Jason and Missy came home with pumpkins. I was afraid that they would be too expensive (turns out they weren't as expensive as I thought). Tanner and I got a pumpkin for him and me at Fred Meyer a day or so later!


On the way home Tanner rated the pumpkin patch as a "2" on a scale from 1 to 10 and Darin rated it a "5". Tanner prefers the pumpkin patch with the train and hay fort in Canby. Darin likes the pumpkin patch with the hay ride and farm animals on Sauvie Island.
If we get a chance (a good weather day), we may try again and go to a different pumpkin patch! After all, we still have to get a pumpkin for Taryn and Quinn!

A very enjoyable wedding!

My sister-in-law, Kathi, and I had the most fun at the last wedding we shot. The couple, Tyler and Laura, were so enjoyable to shoot and so willing to pose. It was great. This couple have known each other since they were young, and Tyler took a jewelry class so that he could make Laura's engagement ring (it's beautiful)! I'm still obsessed with focal colorizing so of course I had to include a few of my favorites! I especially enjoy photographing the candid moments at the weddings and receptions; I've also included some of those.
This is my "traditional shot" -- at the top of the stairs on the way down to the reflecting pool at the Portland Oregon LDS Temple. Kathi takes a photo of the couple on the other end--as they come down the stairs.

If it's Fall, it must be time for Senior photos!

The leaves are just now starting to turn colors--red, yellow, orange. I love this time of year. Another thing I enjoy this time of year are senior photos. I have fun photographing seniors--I like hearing what they are doing for their senior project and what their plans are after graduation. It's great. I always encourage seniors to bring something (if possible) that has meaning to them or is something that they do. I've had some seniors bring surfboards, footballs, a trombone. This year, one senior brought his juggling balls and juggled for a couple of shots! Here are photos from my last couple of senior photo shoots.

Photo Shoot 16 Years in the Making

Shawna, Kelli, Monica, & I have been friends for 16+ years. We met in our ward. Between us we have 18 kids. Some of our kids are the same age and have played sports together or just hung out togther. Through the years we have had many family or friend get togethers, outings and worked with each other in callings in our church. During all that time, we've only had one other picture of us together.

This friend photo shoot was supposed to be a present for my friend, Monica. Her birthday was in June. Finally, the four of us were able to get together this week.

While I do not like to have my picture taken (I look so much better in my mind!), this was a fun experience. I set up one of my backdrops in my mom's backyard, and we took photos both using the black backdrop and Mom's lush foliage. All of us had to wear a dark, long-sleeved shirt or sweater. Taryn, my 16 year old, was the photographer. We tried a variety of poses; some were very successful and some were downright scary! It was fun to set up a pose, have Taryn take a shot, and then we'd look and analyze what changes we needed to make. I love digital cameras! I especially like the pose where Taryn climbed a ladder and shot down on us. Gone were any double chins. When we changed the photo to black and white, gone were most of our wrinkles too. We had such a great time and laughed a lot. I'm sorry it took us so long to do this. I need to do this now with some of my other friends...