PIERCE[announcements]

Since I posted Pierce's newborn shots, and talked about his announcements I thought I'd post his announcements for everyone to see.



Mostly because I LOVED how they turned out, my favorites-ever! And also because I don't know if everyone knows that I do offer custom-designed cards made from your photos. Birth announcements, birthday invitations, grad announcements, holiday cards, save-the-date cards, thank-you cards, you name it, I can probably do it.


So, here are some shots of Pierce's birth announcement. His was a 4.5x5in folded card containing images on the front, back and inside spread of the card.

front


inside


back



And the file images so you can see it better.

outside, opened


inside spread

PIERCE[newborn]

I've been dying to post Pierce's newborn photos! I felt I needed to wait to be sure I didn't ruin anything - so I decided to post after the birth announcements had enough time to arrive to all of their destinations.

We did two sessions for Pierce. One studio-style, and one lifestyle, in Pierce's nursery. I love both styles for different reasons. I love shooting sessions in the baby's own surroundings. If you remember back several months ago, I did the same thing for Pierce's older brother, Hudson. The photos turned out great so we decided to do it again!

Studio-style:

Pierce's mommy requested this next shot. Since I had never tried it before, we experimented! They turned out better than I expected for a first-time try!



I like this one the best:



Lifestyle: Pierce in his room.



















A newborn smile:

OPAM [october]

If you were to walk into my house on any given day, unexpected, I would totally freak out. This is because, well, I DO have 4 kids that like to be messy. I DO run a business. And I DO NOT have alot of time to keep my house in well-organized perfection. Not that I expect it to always be perfect, but I love organization! And I am an organized person.... in spirit. But mostly I don't have the extra time(and money!) that is needed to keep things the way I want them to be around here. And to be honest with you, it drives me crazy that I can't keep up.

About a month ago I stumbled upon the blog of another photographer who had a great idea. It's called OPAM. One Project A Month.

I've decided to start this challenge, and I am hoping some of you will, too! It's a great way to accomplish those things we have been wanting to get done. It gives motivation and accountability, and a one month time frame to accomplish the task.

Here's how it works. Choose a project at the beginning of each month. Take "before" photos and post them on your blog for all of us to see. Label your post OPAM followed by the month. Comment on my blog and leave me the URL of your post so that I can check out your project! Then, spend the month completing your project. When you are finished, take "after" pics, and post them on your blog for us to see.

I think the importance lies in choosing projects that can be completed within the month, so we can choose a new project for the next month.

So here goes...my project for October: The front coat closet. And this is really embarassing! Please know that not all my closets look this way. I have no idea how this one got soooo messy, but at this time next month, it won't be!

FAMILY AT THE FARM

Aren't these fun? This family chose to have their session at the family farm, though we didn't really get too much of a "farm" look. The scenery was just wonderful....from pretty to rustic to clean. I loved the variety. I took some fun shots of 2 year old Austin, and then some with his two favorite people-mom and dad!


I love these, driving the tractor up the tree, and then pulling the bark off the tree.



Sitting in the tractor wheel.



And sitting among the old equipment parts... I love the one with the old sign, since Austin IS a Polk!









These two are my favorite from the day:




What a cute family!

CALLEN'S COMMENTS PART II

I just had to share this funny comment made by Callen today!



A little background info-

Callen began talking today about how his throat and his "head" hurt. Two of my other kids stayed home from school in the last week with these exact symptoms, along with a fever. I thought "Oh no, here we go again!" It seems like we all might end up going through this.


I had a couple errands to run, and off and on he complained about his head. And he felt a little warm to me. We were still out and it was past lunch time, so I told him we would go to McDonald's for lunch. If you know Callen you'd know that this is his favorite place to eat(they are marketing geniuses if you ask me!). He was so excited because he is trying to collect those little Wizard of Oz dolls because he is fascinated with that movie. Forget the Batman toys, which are the ones that are intended for the boys! Nooooo, my son requests a happy meal "for a girl."


Anyway, we sit down and with much anticipation, he pulls out the little Lullaby League munchkin girl.


(if you're thinking he is going to be disappointed, think again!)


With a VERY pleased look on his face he says:



"Mommy! I got soooo excited to see my toy that my hurt in my head just POPPED right out! "


I laughed inside. He is so funny and I just love listening to his comments and seeing life from his
point of view!





Here is a pic I took of him watching TV the other night:



The funny part..... here is the same pic from the front view!

MY GOAL AS A PHOTOGRAPHER

I had a conversation recently that got me thinking. I began thinking about what my I am trying to accomplish when I go to a photo shoot. What do I want to capture, to show through my images?

I guess I know what what my main goal is, and I hope it would be evident by my work. But I feel I should share with you just what I feel my "style" of shooting is. Communicating with you what to expect when/if you are considering hiring me as your photographer...that's what I'm doing here!

If I had to pick one word to describe what I want to accomplish, I think it would be documentation. My goal is to capture the personality of your child as he is right at this moment. I want to freeze time, in a way, so that you will be able to look at your photos and remember that funny expression, shy smile or squinty-eyed laugh that was your child at this particular time. In essence, I want to capture the true spirit of your child.

That said, let me tell you this: I am not a cookie-cutter photographer (such as Sears, Wal-Mart, school portrait photographer,etc). I won't spend our whole time together trying to get perfect smiles and happy expressions. While these do have a place and I do love a precious smile from a child, I more strive to see them as they are, without forced expression. NATURAL. period.

It's good that everyone is aware of this. If your child sits still well and is easily entertained by my sillyness and will give me hundreds of smiles, then great! But if he generally only sits for a minute and is on the go constantly, than I would rather chase him around and play and capture what I see than fight with them for that one(probably forced) smile.

Don't get me wrong...I will get smiles in almost all sessions! But I can tell you that they most likely won't be perfectly posed... If this is what you want than please don't hire me because this is not what I do. I am not the right photographer for you.


Ok! Now that that is clarified, let me show you some photography, Leah style!


This is Logan, who just turned one. What one-yr-old sits still and smiles? We warmed up by taking pics of Logan is his awesomley-painted bedroom.




I love this one below of him cracking up. Too funny!





Fun climbing up and down the steps:





and playing in the rocks:





And "driving" the John Deere:





Playing with the puppy:



and a few of just the puppy:




Playing peek! through the sliding door:






and a few more of my favorites of Logan beign Logan!