{Dirt, Tractors & Tutu's.... who knew?}

What a combination! Even with the threat of thunderstorms looming in the dark grey sky, we managed to move quickly and have so much fun during this session. Lilly and Freeman - first off, how cute are those names?! Just as cute as the kids themselves - seriously. Freeman is almost 2 and has the most adorable pinchable cheeks and he loves playing with dirt (feeling it slip between his little fingers, digging in it and tracing his fingers in the mounds of dirt we came upon)! Truly 'all boy', we couldn't pry him away from the plowed field we were in. And Lilly.... oh Lilly...she was meant to be in front of the camera! She's adorable and magnetic, simply put.

Here's a little sneak peek from our session!

{Gallery Wrap Canvas Wall Display!}

Oh my lonely, boring, creamy white walls are no longer bare. I've been working on this project since late March and a couple of weeks ago it was finally complete! I've had too much going on to post it sooner (not that I have time now... sorry to my clients who are waiting on their galleries to be posted, sneak peeks to be blogged and orders to be packaged - I just needed a tiny break and decided to quickly pop these up here on my blog - then back to work on all the important things you're waiting on.) ;-)

The walls in my entry way are two stories tall and about 18 feet wide and were just screaming for some visual attention and appeal. I couldn't decide on a black & white display or a color display since some images just scream for color and others beg to be a classic black and white. So I did both and mixed it up! I didn't want the images to be lined up perfectly - I wanted more of an abstract, non-linear display so I did some staggering (this will also allow me to add to the gallery if I decide to in the future without feeling restricted to one specific size). The sizes vary from 16x20's to 30x40's. Excuse the images - I'm used to photographing people and not the interiors of homes - the color looks a bit crazy on the images but in reality it's a bit more tame and tolerable {wink} ).

{Pretty Me...}

Oh check out these adorable dresses by my next featured designer Angie of Pretty Me - sweet clothing for hip girlies! I've already had clients see them and say - 'oh, I have to have that dress'!! Can't blame them - they are just adorable!! Brielle of course loves them too and kept dancing in them (like a ballerina -'her' dance...) - she's a hoot when it comes to girlie girl clothes - she's all over them!! Angie's designs are inspired by sweet vintage styles with whimsical and creative details - she hit the nail on the head with that! I love them. Simply adorable clothing - I think I need to do some shopping!

{Tea Party, Baby Dolls & Tutu's!}

It was so fun doing a session with 2 sisters! I love all my sessions, each one has it's own style, flare, personality and feel. And this session I was able to make everything so 'girly'! Kendall & Emily had a tea party, played in tutu's, rocked the baby in the baby cradle (not shown, oh I should've.... now I'm kicking myself) and the list goes on. Why didn't I have photo sessions like this when I was young? ;-) Anyway, Kendall, the oldest, was so good with her little sister Emily. She knew just what to do to make her sister comfortable. We found that Emily wasn't a huge 'nature girl' - I'm sure it will grow on her in time. She didn't like the feel of grass tickling her toes, shoes solved that and Kendall was right there, helping her sister. She also was a big help with all my props...even carrying my wrought iron tea table (wow, she's little but she's strong) - very helpful.

Here's a little peek!

I thought this session would look great with an old classic vintage conversion, so I've shown samples of that conversion along with some of the color or b&w images I'm posting. :)

{Woo Hoo! -- brings giggles & wiggles}

This past weekend I had a photo session with 2 year old Sophie! What a cutie - and she's so fast. The wind was whipping during our session but that didn't stop this little munchkin from running around checking everything out. At first Sophie wasn't sure what to think of me-- then when she got a hold of her mom's cute shoes, the smiles and giggles came out. My sister-in-law was in town and was my assistant during this session (thank you Jen!). Anyway, Jen said 'woo hoo' and Sophie heard and couldn't stop repeating 'woo hoo' and giggling hysterically. Of course we couldn't help but laugh watching, what a doll! Here's a little sneak peek. Thought I'd make two 10x20 storyboards.

This first one - I couldn't resist... Sophie is 'all girl', she's already giddy over shoes {trying on momma's shoes}. The second is black and white with my touch of mocha conversion.

{Autumn Bookings & Happy Mother's Day}

I'm currently booking for Autumn- summer sessions are full and fall sessions are quickly filling up. In order to allow plenty of time for holiday orders, my session cut-off is November 16th. After that date I'll be booking for January 2009! Thanks to those of you who have already booked your holiday/Autumn sessions! :)

This is one of my favorite videos... I saw it a few years ago and it still makes me giggle. Happy Mother's Day to you all! Oh and you'll have to press pause on the music player on my site to be able to hear the video. :)

{Little Miss Personality...}

Oh my... on Sunday I ventured to Hartsville and photographed one of the most amazing 3 year olds - Elizabeth Grace! When she came walking up she took my breath away - seriously. She's stunning with with her long, curly, red hair; peaches n' cream skin; piercing blue eyes and perfect heart-shaped pouty pink lips. And she was so calm and a little nervous in the beginning, but about 15 minutes into the session she became a little entertainer. She was in awe over the petticoats and tutu's I brought - that's when the real entertainment started! She had me and her parents laughing at her cute little expressions, songs she was singing and dance moves she was proudly showing me. Anyway, I had so much fun photographing Elizabeth Grace!! Here's your sneak peek!

And I couldn't resist creating a quick storyboard!

This first one is a 10x8 and the next one is a 20x20 :)

{Kait Emerson Designs}

Wow, you don't know how fun it is for me to do fashion photography and spotlight such talented designers. My daughter and son have started to really get into the sessions too and each day when I get Briella dresses she says, 'Are you going to take my picture in this mommy?'. Today when I told her we were just getting dressed for the day in response to her question, she said - 'but I want you to take my picture mommy'. I wish she was like that all the time - ha!So check out these chic & bold designs Feanna Otta, of Kait Emerson Designs! She's has such an eye for tot fashions that have a fun and relaxed yet hip and classy look to them. Yeah, all of that packed into her designs. I love them! And she hand makes each item she offers; pants, tops, dresses and other clothing and accessories and is a very busy lady - with so many on-line stores featuring her clothing. She lives and creates her designs in Huntington Beach California but sells her items at the following online high-end boutiques: Kait Emerson Designs, Hip & Little, Haute for Tots, Jaela Fredrick, The Refined Cubbyhole, Modern Mommy and Starlooks Boutique. Wow, that's a lot and look at these boutiques!! Anyway, here's just a small sample of her clothing line.

{One, two, three....cutie-patooties}

Okay so I'm behind on posting sneak peeks and featuring designers. I'm still playing catch-up from being gone an extra week with Brielle in the hospital. Thanks for hanging in there and being patient. Oh and for those who have e-mailed me about a session or other photogs who've e-mailed - I'm not ignoring you... I promise. I'm just swamped and have been working till past mid-night every night to get orders submitted & packaged, editing and trying to catch-up on e-mails. I will get back to you all soon ;-)

On Saturday my session was with 3 little cuties - 10 month old Harmon, 3 yr old Teige and a 5 yr old Emmeline. I love their names! So unique! And Emmeline is just as pretty as the name sounds. Harmon and Teige are all boy! Teige just couldn't get enough of pretend play, he has such a great imagination! I could tell he and his daddy play a lot of 'action' type of pretend play - again, very boy. :)

Here's a little sample of the images I captured :). (some of them called for a vintage wash with some light texture, others b&w with a touch of mocha and of course a few with my fun and funky color).

And their daddy is an airline pilot so check out this official pilots hat and the cool vintage plane Teige is playing with. He knew all the technical terms for each part of the plane and he knew the names of tricky cool moves the plane can do. They were all completely over my head (honestly, I hadn't even heard of over half of the terms he and his dad were using - but they sounded really cool) ;-)

(now with texture and a light wash....)

{Baby Sadie}

Oh I got to photograph this little cutie - one day shy of 2 weeks this past Friday. She was so teeny-weeny. I barely remember my kids being this little at one time. When I held her she seemed so light, peaceful and so fragile. I had fun using my 'wraps' on her and she looked so snug and comfy that I hated to unwrap her from them. Anyway, Bobby and Mary Beth thanks for letting me photograph her - I now have a strong desire for a third....oh no. It will pass... no worries Jeff (my hubby...) ;-)