Sunday, May 20, 2012

Picture Perfect - Quad Cities Family Photographer

This family was a joy to spend an hour with the other day!
Clearly they are a gorgeous family, but not only were they gorgeous, but they were super easy to photograph!  The girls, Abby and Anna were the definition of angelic.  Really, it was quite something.  I need parenting lessons from Kate I think.  Little Anna is the same age as my oldest and I must say that her maturity level was leaps and bounds above my little guy's!  To say I was impressed by these girls would be an understatement!
 
This picture is enough to make me want 2 more children...daughters of course!

And these girls are pretty blessed I'd say!  Their parents John and Kate (which seriously makes me think they need 6 more kids so they can be PLUS 8...ha) were super fun, laid back, go with the flow type of people.  I think if I had asked them to roll down the hill for a picture, they would have!  I diddn't though, don't worry. :)

And their girls know just how amazing their Mom and Dad are...

Daddy love...

The girls of the family...this is one beautiful set of girls!


Anna was so sweet.  Oh my.  She was as sweet as she looks!  And by just the way she moved and posed, I knew immediately that she was a dancer.  She loved to pose and I could have photographed her all day long!


Abby was equally as fun to photograph!  It almost became a competition between the 2 on who could pose better.  And for the photographer, that was something I wasn't going to complain about!  Abby was so mature and outgoing...even though she was just getting over being quite sick, I never would have known if I hadn't been told!  She was a trooper!
 
 



Though obedient and cooperative, don't think I was unable to get some silliness and giggles out of these girls.  They were just too easy!
This family made my job so easy!  Even in the 90 degree heat, I didn't even have to break a sweat.
C'mon...could they be any more picture perfect?!

I don't think so, you just don't get anymore picture perfect than this!

Thank you John, Kate, Abby and Anna.
It was a pleasure to spend an hour with your wonderful family!

Friday, May 11, 2012

6 weeks NEW - Quad Cities Infant Photographer

I got to meet Sophia Grace just minutes after she arrived, got to take her pictures at 4 days old and now her 6 week pictures!  She is like family...my dear friends' 3rd daughter.  She is one special little girl in my eyes and many others eyes as well!  You'll be seeing a lot of her on here in the coming months and years, that's for sure!
 
 

And the ruffle butts?  They were my gift to her when she was born, so it goes without saying that I think she was quite stylish for this session! :)

And Baby Legs...c'mon!  You don't get much cuter than Baby Legs!!!
 
 

I love you Sweet Phi Phi and my camera does too!

Playing at the park - Quad Cities Children Photographer

I had a blast with these 2 kiddos on Wednesday morning!  I've said this before, but when I meet a new client, those first moments when I meet them are my favorite.  I see a child, look at their eyes, hair, attire, demeanor and instantly have a vision for how the images will turn out.  I get so excited.  Usually the parents are worried their kids will be really shy or won't smile...I'm not worried though.  it never fails, they always cooperate eventually.  Even if it's for short seconds at a time...I manage to get the shots. :)

These two were FUN, super expressive, busy, adorable kids.  The perfect kind for my type of work!
 

This was the VERY FIRST picture I took of the session.  I KNEW instantly, it was going to be a good session. :)
 

She looks like a DOLL to me, her name is Kaylee and she is a stunner to say the least.  She JUST turned 3 and having a 3 year old myself, I know it's a hard age.  Not for this one!  She was absolutely angelic (just like she looks in the picture below...like an angel!) and her response to all of my "would you like to go stand by those flowers?  Would you show me how high you can jump?  Can you smile for me?"  was a simple, "mmmhmm".  And then she did it.  I mean, modeling could very well be in this one's future!
 
And c'mon!  Her brother is one seriously handsome dude!  I mean, to produce 2 unbelievably gorgeous children in a matter of 14 months (yup, that's how close in age they are...bless their parents!) is a feat in and of itself.  They make some good looking kids!!!

This is Cameron...he will be 2 in July.  He was busy, just like a typical 22 month old would be.  When I captured his smile, I KNEW it was genuine.  He was a blast to chase around and capture in picture!
 
And these kids' mama was super laid back thank goodness.  I decided to hop in the fountain to capture some shots of the kids and then got an idea.  So what if it's "technically" illegal to get into the fountain, so what if the water is about 40 degrees in there and the kids are in their nice clothes.  I mean, it was going to make for some great pictures, so I suggested Kaylee hop on in!  And in her cooperative nature, she did just that.  And with a "would you like to kick the water?" from me and a quick responce of  "mmmhmmm" from Sweet Kaylee, I captured this...one of my favorites from the day!  Soon after, even Cameron joined us in the fountain and they were both completely drenched.  Hey, we were at the end of the shoot, so no biggie right?!  Actually, as any mommy of a 1 and 3 year old would be, their mom was prepared with fresh, dry clothes for them to change into. :)
 
And just because I have so many great shots of these two, here are a few more I couldn't resist sharing...
 
 
 


And this one just might be my favorite of the 2 of them together.  I love me a "real life" type of shot.  And this captures real life for sure!

Thank you for allowing me to photograph your gorgeous children, Jennifer!  It was a pleasure to spend an hour with you all!

And then there were 5! - Quad Cities Family Photographer

It's hard to come up with words to talk about this photoshoot.
As an adoptive mother myself, I have a heart for adoption...a passion. I will never forget the finalization hearing when we adopted our son. And soon, we will be going through it all over again with our 2 newest additions. So to have been asked to be a part of this incredibly monumental occasion was such an honor and so very touching.  It's like an adoptive parent's delivery. :)  And I got to be there to witness a family of 3 become a family of 5...just like that.

I will mostly let the pictures speak for themselves...

The judge was such a nice guy!
 


Siblings...


Can you tell he's happy to have "officially and legally" become a part of this family?!
 


And this one was a bit giddy as well! :)
 


These brothers also gained an amazing big sister!


A family of 5!


The "new" parents!

Thank you so much, Kerry and Ben for allowing me the honor of witnessing this special moment.  And congratulations on the newest additions!!!