Happy Endings

Cute little boy Owens’ mom contacted me to do some family pictures for them…But not just any family pictures! Nope… these were going to be used in an adoption portfolio to be presented to a birth mom. These would play a role in persuading that birth mom to choose Owens’s family to provide a future for her child. Essentially these pictures would partly determine whether little Owen gets a baby sibling or not…

NO pressure on me or anything, right?!!

Turns out I need not have worried. Mom and dad are super nurturing --and it shows. Any child would be blessed to be treasured and loved by them- as Owen is. It was an easy capture.

My trusty, psychedelic orange sofa was a part of the shoot too! (I was so glad when mom requested it). In a unique way it helped this family express a little more of who they are: different, FUN for sure….a little brave maybe, ultimately just happy.

And so, barely two months after our shoot little Owens’ baby brother was brought home to live with them forever. I choose to believe that my pictures played a small part in making this happen; it makes me smile just thinking about it.

OH…how I LOVE happy endings!

A Big THANK YOU!

It’s time to say it out loud: Thank you thank you…. THANK YOU to everyone in my little foothills neighborhood of Hidden Springs! It is quite amazing how the people out here support each other.

Exhibit A: Me.

In the four years that I have done professional photography I  never had to advertise to keep my schedule filled. (And believe me, it’s NOT because I am such a good photographer. Heck no! I have made way too many… many mess ups in my day for that to be the reason!)

The truth is that ever since I first started, I’ve had the loyal support of the people that live in my community. It has been unwavering over the years; almost all my clients are from--- or can traced back to a recommendation from someone in--- my own four-square-miles ‘backyard’. It actually has become a little amusement for me every time I meet brand new people for a shoot: I  have to figure out how they are linked back to Hidden Springs. They always  are!

This week’s shoot is no exception: Hidden Springs residents. And they are a wonderful addition to my treasure trove of local family acquaintances. Great shoot guys! Thank you!    

Who calls the shots?

Almost every time I work with a family there is one particular person in the group who ‘calls the shots’. This is the person who essentially sets the pace, the flow, the energy and the length of a shoot. Oftentimes it is the youngest one in the group (work fast and bride with ice cream); sometimes the shyest one (watch out for those ‘fake’ smiles); it could be the dad or the teenager (they’d much rather be somewhere else and it shows). Or the dog (heavens help me when the dog comes along!)…In this week’s shoot it was the liveliest one of the group, a sweet little three year old boy named Jonathan.

Never have I met two siblings more opposite than Jonathan and his sister Gracie. Jonathan is a live wire…really! This little guy has energy bubbling through his every cell. Life is too interesting for him to linger in one spot.  And Gracie is, exactly like her name says, graceful. This little girl seems serene and content wherever she finds herself, no need to move around too much, lingering’s good.

Opposites they are ..to mom’s relieve!

For our shoot we immersed ourselves in a flowery garden in Eagle. Where Jonathan went, we all went…all over the garden. Where Jonathan stopped we all stopped… (but that did not happen much). Luckily we encountered no snakes – although Jonathan may have liked it. It was colorful, fast and fun!   

    

 

 

My Wonderful Victims

I should probably not tell you this but I call my clients “my victims”. It’s true: I get to practice my ‘shooting’ skills on these poor, unsuspecting people. And they pay me…?!

I LOVE photography and I have ever since I was a little girl. But instead of studying it at college, I did the ‘sensible’ thing and got myself some awfully boring science degree (which I have not used since). Having never really been one to read the manuals either, my knowledge of photography is basically self taught. I took the long, bumpy road: I did it the learn-as-you-go way.

There are a few photographers whose work I adore and whom I’ve learned so much from. My own mistakes taught me a lot too. But  most definitely I gained  most through the tens of thousands of “victim”-pictures I’ve taken over the years. Practice makes perfect -- I’ve been practicing okay!

At this point I  think it is time to quit the “victim”-thing though. From now on I will appreciate my clients as..well.. “my clients”.  But I’ll keep practicing, that part will never change; still got much to learn!

This weeks victims…err Clients… were Ally’s family. They showed up with a picnic basket of treats for the kids and some wine for the adults. Now how could that turn out any other way than fun?  Thank you guys! LOVED meeting you this year! (Ally, I will see you in the store…soon).

   

A very big “THANKS!” to THE SHABBY HOUSE store on State Street for letting me use their grounds for this shoot. LOVE the little nooks and crannies there, the little surprises at every turn.  Be sure to visit!

“What’s up with this?”

I deliver 100+ pictures on every shoot these days? That, while it states right here on my website to expect around 65…”What’s up with this?” wonders my husband out loud.

The answer is all around.  Have you seen Idaho lately? I mean, have you? It is BEAUFITUL ! It looks like England-minus-the-stone-walls: pretty and greeeeen (my favorite!)…There are long, wavy grasses and colorful flowers everywhere;  playful, puffy clouds too… In fact this place looks quite UN-Idaho-like right now. And I’m loving it!

With nature so beautiful and bursting at the seams, I can’t stop taking pictures. I find myself merrily clicking away in every direction. Problem is, all these pictures still has to be edited which has led to too many late nights in front of the computer. I need some time away from the little screen to  get out there! I’m gonna have to trim the picture count back to normal…SOON.

So if you receive the normal 65 instead of 100 pictures, don’t feel bad…it’s not you, it’s me. And if you received hundreds- consider yourself spoiled! 

LOVED seeing you all again this year, Matt’s- family-of-6 ! I enjoyed our little adventure of a photo shoot. It was 90 minutes of discovering-nature-through-kids-eyes. Great choice on the outfits too !

       

Promises made are Promises kept

About a month ago I wrote a blog about how I needed to take more pictures of my own kids; I kind of made a promise to myself that I’ll do a shoot with them once a month.

Just as well I took those pictures last month because since then -- in fact the day after the shoot!--- my youngest laid into her own hair with a pair of scissors. She gave herself a nice mullet which we then modified into a brush cut. Now she’s my little boy-girl; pretty darn proud of it too.

Promises made are promises kept. It was photo time again!  So, I rounded the two of them up and carted them off into the foothills---under loud protest  from my oldest off course, what’s new? I love how my kids don’t mind fences, wires, thorns, sticks, brush, bush, molehills, clingy seeds, holes or critters-in –holes. They got right into that field like there were no obstacles at all. (I’d like to believe it is because they are so tough. But more likely it was the promise of ice cream at the end… )

So far so good: delivering on my promise to myself! And it was easier than the first time.  Hopefully there will be no ‘makeovers’ after this shoot!