Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Picture Perfect - Quad Cities Family Photographer

I would say this is the definition of "Picture Perfect"
How adorable are they?!
This is the 2nd time I have had the pleasure of photographing this gorgeous family and it was probably even more fun than the 1st time!
 
The weather was perfect and the location perfect, but you could put this family anywhere and they'd look good. :)


Clearly they have some good genes!
I love shots of the Mommy and Daddy...


And this is just too much...look at these beautiful children...


Jake is one seriously cooperative young man.
Boys this age are often times not super willing to even look at the camera, let alone smile and do anything I ask and do it willingly!
This is a great kid!


And Nate is FULL of personality and again, unbelievably cooperative and adorable!


And Carly...the princess.  That she IS!  As beautiful as a princess and equally as sweet.
Their parents are doing SOMETHING right...that's obvious!


The ladies of the family...LOVE me a Mommy Love moment... 


And look at this group of cool guys.
The handsome men of the family...


And you know I like to end with the "real" moments captured. :)
This one is awesome...love it!  I belive I was joking about making them kiss and then I just snapped away while the sibling shennanigans began!


And this one actually makes me laugh out loud.
Possibly one of my favorite candid shots of the session...the cooperative eldest, the comedic middle child and the girly princess, the baby of the family...love it!


And it appears Nate is celebrating here...good call.  I'm celebrating the session too...a success indeed!
 
 Thank you so much, Bachman Family for not only allowing me to photograph your family, but for making me look good, yet again!  It's clear you all can't take a bad picture. :)  It's always a pleasure photographing your wonderful family...you make my job so fun and easy!

Sunday, May 26, 2013

3rd time's a charm - Quad Cities Childrens Photographer

This will have been the 3rd time I photographed these beautiful siblings and though I've gotten shots of them together...none comparable to one like this where they are both looking at the camera, smiling, together.
Love it!  Guess 3rd time's a charm!
 
They are just busy, curious kiddos...that makes for fleeting moments when they're in the same spot and happily looking at the camera.  However, it makes those fleeting moments caught in picture all the more exciting and real.


And for the individual shots...it makes for those types is images that lend themselves perfectly to my style of photography!
LOVE this image of Kaylee!


And this one of Cam!


Kaylee is gorgeous as you can see...the most big, beautiful eyes and gorgeous smile!  She is so girly!
 


And Cam is ALL boy!  This family clearly has good genes because these children are beautiful!  That smile, that sparkle in his eyes...he just might be a heart breaker someday! :)
His leaping and running around and playing frisbee and bubbles...yup, I'm used to all that with my 3 boys for sure.
 


I found the perfect spot to put these busy kiddos that would keep them in one spot long enough for me to capture some non action shots...a tree!  I'll have to remember this in the future. :)
 


And I'm pretty sure this was a leap for joy from Kaylee as it was my LAST shot of the session!  Ha!
(even their dog got in a couple of the shots)


Thank you, Jennifer for trusting me to photograph your children once again!  They definitely make stunning subjects!  It's always a pleasure getting to chat with you each time as well. :)

Saturday, May 25, 2013

Siblings - Quad Cities Childrens Photographer

I got to photograph Aydan and Madi again a couple of weeks ago! They are the children of a friend of mine from high school and as you can see, they are adorable!
 
Madi has grown up so much in the last few months since I photographed her last!

And Aydan is as fun as ever to photograph.  He just does his own thing and I happen to be there to photograph it.  It makes for JUST the type of pictures I like to get!
 
 


And this one is on the move now!

And soooo happy and full of smiles!

That profile...I couldn't resist posting this picture.  She has pretty much the best profile ever!
 
 And this shot made me actually laugh out loud!
Ha...love it.
The joys of having small siblings!
I have a feeling this is the scene at the Shay household quite often.  Big brother dragging little sister around, little sister getting choked and being annoyed.  I mean, at least that's how it is at my house!
Thanks again for coming all of this way so I could capture your children again, Corrine!  It's always nice to see you and your adorable kiddos and get a chance to chat a bit while we're at it!

It's like she knows me - Quad Cities Family Photographer

I photographed Noelle, Matt, Evan and Sawyer last weekend and when I saw their attire, it was like she knew JUST what my dream attire would be for a family I am photographing. Bright, fun colors lend themselves to my style of photography perfectly!  And the thing is...she DOES know me...like my whole life. :)  I think she might have known what she was doing!
 
Noelle's mother and mine have been dear friends since childhood.  I grew up knowing Noelle and it's fun when you remember doing things together as a child and then see where you are today.  Both of our families are foster families now and I always have soooo much to talk to Noelle about in regard to that for sure!
 
I was thrilled when it finally worked out for me to photograph her beautiful family!
 
And seeing that her twin boys are only a few months older than Tate, I knew I would have a challenge ahead of me.


However, I was WRONG!  They were perfectly well behaved 7 year old boys.  Tate could take some tips from them in the modeling department for sure!

How adorable are they?! :)
 


Photographers love subjects with dreamy eyes...this family satisfied this for me for sure! 
 


So when you mix the beautiful family with the PERFECT attire and the cloudy weather (perfect light for photos!), dreamy eyes, gorgeous faces and just the comfort of knowing the family and them being 100% laid back and doing anything I asked of them...I'd say it was the perfect session!


And I just love this shot...one of my favorite candid shots captured in the session!


Thank you Mann Family for a fun hour!  It was a pleasure photographing you and getting some time to catch up with your amazing family!

I look forward to seeing what the future holds for you all!  Much love and best wishes as you endure the roller coaster that is foster care!!!

2nd Annual Photo Swap with Jamie Lynne Photography - Quad Cities Family Photographer

It was that time of year again...my annual photo swap with my friend Jamie, owner of Jamie Lynne Photography in Des Moines. We've been planning this since, well, last year's photo swap!
 
The weather ended up being BEAUTIFUL!
And her family is clearly beautiful as well, so I'd say it was the perfect formula! :)
 
I love that Jamie and I were randomly in the same training class at Wells Fargo Financial about 5 years ago.  She was pregnant with Jaxson and Tate was 1.  Something connected us and we became fast friends.  Who would have thought we both would have left Wells Fargo and started photography businesses around the same time!  Over the years we have realized just how much we have in common and though we don't have the many many years of history in our friendship, I know we will be friends forever.  We sort of lead parallel lives with our "stay at home mommy while also running a small photography business and having sons" day to day activities.  And strangely, her husband Dave and Sean are so much alike, it's scary.  Like they have the same weird, picky quirks about the clothing they will/will not wear, they are plethoras of useless knowledge and are some of the biggest Hawkeye fanatics around. :)
 
I know we were put in that same training class for a reason and I am so grateful for that!
 
And just look at her beautiful family! 
 


And her sons, Jaxson and Asher...yowzers they are adorable!!!
 
 


Having sons myself, I have a thing for Daddy/son shots...it just makes you love those boys so much it hurts when you see an image like this of your husband and sons!


And what Jamie learned with being a photographer (or maybe she already knew) was how to be IN FRONT of the camera, not just behind it.  Ya, I didn't so much learn that.  I am awkward and uncomfortable in front of the camera...I much prefer TAKING the pictures!
 


This shot makes me think of my life...Sean and I having our boys running circles around us.  I am sure Jamie and Dave often feel this way too, so I would say this shot is a pretty fitting depiction of life in the Barry household right now. :)
 
 Thank you, Barry Family for yet again another fun photo swap!
Can't wait for this tradition to continue!!!

Wednesday, May 8, 2013

a fun trio - Quad Cities Childrens Photographer

I have had the pleasure of photographing this trio once before...2 years ago!
My how things change in 2 years!
They have all grown up so much, but were as fun to photograph as I remembered from 2 years ago. :)
 
They are such great kids...made my job easy!


McKenzie is now (almost) 16 years old!  I must say that not all 16 year olds are huge fans of getting their pictures taken, but McKenzie was a trooper and she also was a huge help with her younger siblings.  They clearly adore her!


And Emily may have a future in modeling!  She knew JUST what to do in front of the camera...and she is as beautiful as her big sister to boot!


And Ethan...well he is ALL 6 year old boy!  JUST like my own 6 year old!  Some of the best shots I have of him are the ones where he is making funny faces.  He was hilarious and fun.  I debated editing out the bandage on his knee in this shot, but couldn't do it.  I think it is just too "real life" to edit out.  I mean, my 6 year old has at least 1 bandage on his body at all times! :)


Seriously, like I said, they made my job easy!


However, there were some real, candid moments that I captured amidst the picture perfect moments.  Like this one...I love it!  I believe the words out of my mouth just seconds before this was taken were along the lines of, "sit tall, lean into each other and smile!"  This is JUST like what one of my boys would do in response to that request!  Ha.


And one of my favorite shots from the session...real life.

Thanks again, guys for spending some time with me and being so much fun to photograph!