I totally loved working with this family, photographing their sweet little girl. She is the first for this couple and she immediately had them all totally enchanted! Already her little personality is showing through! She has a strong spirit and is going to be a strong young lady. I look forward to watching her grow!

Like so many of the couples I do maternity sessions for, this is Bill and Lynda’s first baby and their excitement is just contagious! Lynda is  the poster child for the glow of pregnancy!  She is just gorgeous!

This is such a fun time to photograph a family! There is so much expectation, hope, and happiness! It is quite adorable and I just love it!

I am so looking forward to doing the newborn session with this new family! Check back in a few weeks to meet their new little girl!

It was so fun to photograph little Logan and her mom and daddy. Logan is still pretty little for her age so she fit very snugly in her daddy’s arms and is quite the contrast to he tattoos. I love it when we can incorporate some of the family heritage into the photos as we did with the red scarf and dad’s tattoos. It makes the images so much more personal. Such a sweet little girl and fun little family! Congratulations to you guys!

I just had to share this shot I did yesterday of this precious little guy. He is two weeks new and was the surprise wedding present for one of our special bride and grooms from last year. This guy joins his big brother and sister to make a wonderful, fun family that we just love.  I was so happy to get to hold him yesterday. I just love getting my grandma groove on and this young man was just a dream!  He is such a serious little man! Welcome to the world Andrew!

I love meeting and photographing the babies of our former brides and grooms. I love trying to figure out whose eyes she has and whose nose! So sweet. Will and Penny brought little miss Angie to meet me not long ago. Such a cutie! Just posting one shot for this sneak peek but there will be more to come!

I have been watching these sweet little girls grow up over the last year and it has been so much fun! This is one of the things I really like about our baby photography plans. I get to see the little ones three times during their first year and then we get to do a cake smash for the first birthday party! I have a few more cake smashes coming up this month! I can’t wait! It is just too much fun. If you have a little one with a birthday coming up — give me a call. A Cake Smash session is such a great time to capture those special moments.

I was just going through some of the photos I have been working on over the last month or so and I just had to share these images of this adorable newborn. I just loved this sweet little girl. Such a little cutie!

It was so much fun doing a photo session for this young man in and around Poulsbo. He was a very good sport. He loves music and is a rising star with an awesome voice. He comes here from Italy and will graduate from North Kitsap High School  Congrats Thomas!

The holidays are here. Families gather, decorations are put up, great food is presented and devoured, presents are exchanged and cameras you haven’t used since summer vacation are brought out. My awesome clients ask me for photo tips all the time, so to make sure you all are ready to capture all the moments, I have put together a few ideas to keep in mind.

Tips To Take Better Photos For The Holidays

Tip #1: Be Prepared!
Make sure you have plenty of batteries and if you’re using a digital camera, get plenty of memory cards. You will want to photograph at high resolution so you’ll be able to print the best images. Using too low of resolution just so you can get more pictures is not a good trade off! Also, do your homework now! Pull out that manual, or go online and download it, and refresh your memory with what all those buttons on your camera do. You don’t want to miss precious moments while trying to figure out how to work the camera and where to put the memory card.

Tip #2: Think About Your Composition
Where you put things in your photos matters! A few things to think about that will improve your images greatly include:
•Get close. Fill the entire frame with the your child and get rid of extra clutter. Go for expression!
•To create a more dynamic image, put your subject off center using the rule of thirds. Some cameras even have a grid on the LCD panel to help you with this. If not, think about dividing the frame into thirds and placing the subject on one of those intersections. To make sure your subject will be in focus, pre-focus by pushing the shutter halfway down while focusing on your subject. Then, still holding the button down, reframe your camera so your subject is placed off-center and press the shutter button fully.
•Pay attention to what’s behind your subject when creating your picture. Avoid things that come out of your subject’s head by stepping to one side or the other. Try to keep backgrounds simple. Use composition rule “get close” and this will be less of a problem!

Tip #3: Don’t take just one!
One of the great things about digital cameras is that you don’t have to print them all, so shoot away! It will likely take several photos to get just a couple of really good images, and when will you have this chance again? When you are photographing groups, someone always blinks so take lots. Make it fun by talking to the group and letting them have input on the poses. And of course, take lots of candid moments just trying to capture the moment and the expression.

Tip #4 Get in some of the photos!
In our family, it was always either Ned or me taking the photos of the other one with the girls. We ended up hardly having any of us all together! Learn from our mistakes! Put the camera on a tripod or even on a chair or table and use the self-timer. Almost all cameras have them now. Just be sure to pre-focus and to figure out where you will stand in a group photo before starting timer.

There is so much more to tell you about, but this will get you started and hopefully help you make some great images of all your special days with your family.

If you want to know more, I am holding another “Capture Your Life” Workshop on January 22, 2011. It will be another full day workshop to learn how best to use your camera and use composition to help create awesome images. If you missed it last time, now is another chance. E-mail me for more info! Happy Holidays!

Can you believe Fall is already here? The air is turning crisp; the leaves are turning to the colors of a sunset and bam! It is time to start thinking about the holidays and family portraits for holiday cards and holiday gifts! We have been so busy this year; we only have a couple open days for Fall Color Sessions. So, we have decided to devote one whole Saturday in October to Fall Color Mini-Sessions to get in as many of you as we can and to give you a great deal!
The Fall Color Mini-Sessions will be shorter than our regular sessions – 30 minutes –and are designed for up to 4 people. Groups larger than 4 people will need to either schedule a regular family session (on a different day), or book back-to-back Mini Sessions. You will get to choose from 15-20 fabulous images for use on custom designed holiday cards or for gift prints. This is a great way to finally get that family portrait you have wanted to do and have fun doing it!

The sessions will be in beautiful Port Gamble where the fall color is simply delicious!
Mini Session Date: October 2nd (rain date – October 3)
Sessions will be scheduled on the 1/2 hour from 8:30 – 10:00 and from 2:00 – 5:30. First come first served. Reservations are a must so book now!
There are three Mini Session Package package options to choose from:

Choice 1: Mini session and a set of 25 custom-designed 5×7 two sided folded holiday cards with envelopes. (Choose from one of our templates at your preview session, or we can design a card for you) – $189

Choice 2: Mini session and one 8×10 for you, and a set of 48 wallets (to include in your own holiday cards) – $189

Choice 3: Mini session only – you will choose your print package at your ordering appointment. – $100 (print packages start at $250)
Additional prints and cards may be purchased later.
To book your Fall Color Mini Session in Port Gamble e-mail or call us at 360-692-1962 or 360-710-1435 ASAP. We expect the best times to go fast! Let us know which package you would like at the time of booking. All sessions must be paid for upon booking to save your session time.