one-year-old birthday celebration

Family and friends gathered for this little boy's first birthday party at a local pizza restaurant.

I had photographed this boy's mom several years ago,

and she asked me to be the "official" photographer at the party.

It was a celebration with plenty of food, presents and birthday cake, and of course, photos!

family photos

It was good to see and photograph this family. We had tried to schedule a photo session for several years, but their hectic family schedule always got in the way. But finally, this fall, success!

fun family shoot

I shot these boys last year at a local park. This year, we had a pretty rainy fall and so we scheduled this shoot in my photo studio. This shoot was a dream--my lights worked, my cameras worked, and these boys were great. I had so much fun.

After we shot the boys, we took a few of the family. For a few minutes, the rain stopped and we were even able to grab a shot outdoors.

one year old cutie

This little girl was shy most of the session. Her grandmother assured me that she smiles all the time, but we couldn't get her to smile. We were only able to coax a smile from her when her grandmother was holding her. The smile we did finally get was very charming.

 Because she was a year old, we took several photos of her with a little birthday cupcake.

and baby makes three

 This couple welcomed a beautiful baby boy into their family.

Here's some of their first family portraits.

And a few photos of the newborn.

This picture is so sweet. The saque was knit by grandma.

Here is a photo with his grandmother (who was also his midwife)...

newborn shoot replaces maternity session!

Around the time we were planning on a maternity photo session, we had a newborn shoot instead!

This little beauty (my great niece) arrived three weeks early! We shot these photos at my niece's home on the kitchen table (that room had the best light). Here are some of my favorites...

 This textured blanket was one that both I and my sister (the baby's grandmother)

used when we were babies.

Here's our favorite photo and the one they used in their birth announcements.

charming kids

Loved photographing this adorable little girl and her brother!

Mom and Grandma brought the cute outfits and headbands.

 We shot her brother on this same suitcase when he was a baby.

It's the suitcase their dad took on his mission for the LDS church.

He has the cutest smile!

With young babies and toddlers it is always an adventure getting them to cooperate and look the same way at the same time. The good thing is that a photo does not show all the adults working frantically behind-the-camera to capture the picture.

business photo updates

To update her website, my friend (who is a midwife) hired me to take some photos of a prenatal appointment. The light was beautiful in her home. Even though she usually sees people in her office, we shot in the light-filled living room.

This one, though, was shot in her office.

I really like taking the detail shots!

fall soccer season

Fall is soccer season at our house and has been for the last 19 years. Tanner, our youngest, has played soccer for 7 years. This year he was on a new team and finally, after years of trying, got to play on the same team with one of his friends.  My favorite way to watch soccer is with a camera in my hand as I roam the sidelines. I shoot all the players. It's good practice for me--the light and other shooting conditions can vary so much.