Happy Mother’s Day! I hope you’re being pampered by the kids in your life.

Here is one of my first attempts at a self-portrait (taken a few months ago, with a remote-control shutter-release). Baby Z was all kinds of squirmy, but I still just love this photo – It’s a reminder to me to slow down and squeeze my kiddos every chance I get.

What are some of your favorite photos of you with your kids? Vacation-type photos? Professional portraits? What do you love most about your favorite family photos? 

This weekend I’m so excited to photograph this Gorgeous Family again – They are now expecting Baby #2!

…Photographing your own kids isn’t always a walk in the park….(check out “Mr. Grumpy Face” below…)Your own kids know all of your moves…

I’m finding that, to photograph Miss O (who is 2 1/2), I basically need to chase her around the school yard, following her while she does what she enjoys. And then maybe, just maybe, I’ll catch a bit of a grin (or a smirk), during those rare moments when she pauses to take a breath. Grin or smirk, I love getting photos of her at this stage…

I really adore her boundless energy and enthusiasm (even though along with it come temper tantrums). Kids are so genuine. Photographing them may be physically tiring at times but it is never, ever, boring! Hope you’re having a great week.

…Whatever she ends up doing in life, I suspect she’ll continue doing it with incredible energy, enthusiasm and heaps of personal style.

If you’ve ever worked with me before, you know that I love carting around my lights and stands. I was actually hesitant about taking a class in which we’re limited to only window light. But, the neat thing I learned is that this limitation forces one to really focus on the qualities of light and on how to be resourceful in one’s given environment.

Below: O loves dressing her Baby Dolls (she calls them “Baby Dolfs”) in her brother’s clothes. I love how the window light behind her highlights her wispy hair. 

Above: O really focuses on tasks…At least for a minute or two at a time. Here she is completely engaged in putting my clothespins back in their jar. This is one of these moments where I wish I could have backed up more to get more of the scene, but I was tucked in a corner already. I still love this image for the tones, the mood, and the memory of how engaged she can be in a self-assigned task.

Using window light alone often results in images with a “grainy” look, something I don’t normally care for in children’s portraits. But, I’m learning to appreciate it’s purpose. Learning to work in low-light can be useful, particularly if it allows you to capture more candid moments that might otherwise be lost while you run off searching for your flash equipment… …The photo above, for instance, was taken at my camera’s very highest ISO setting. It’s full of grain, but it turned out to be one of my favorites, as this is often how little O looks first thing in the morning, clutching her teddy bear sheepishly. Then she gets a little goofy…

…and because on this particular morning she was in a fantastic mood, I just kept snapping away while she started reading to Mr. Bear and eating breakfast at her little table… 

My personal photography style may be more clean and colorful, but I have enjoyed pushing myself to work in different lighting situations during this workshop. I think we all learn by stepping out of our comfort zone a bit, don’t you?

{By the way, that’s our handsome little Baby Z…at two months. He’s a happy little guy!} I hope you’re having a great week and doing what you can to savor the simple, everyday moments (it certainly isn’t always easy)! 

These two make me laugh. (I especially liked seeing Baby Brother in my brother’s old Santa outfit.) Happy Holidays to you!

She looks quite serious when she’s focused (…in this case, focused on eating all the sprinkles…)

This was such an easy food-craft for young children. At 2, O was really able to participate and enjoy this. We picked out the supplies together before-hand and I think that also made it fun for her.

Yep, look out, Family…You’re probably getting these in your Christmas Stockings…

Mmmm…sprinkles!…

Hope you’re having a fantastic Holiday Season! (And definitely check out The Artful Parent for more fun ideas for the kiddos.)

I love his wrinkly newborn feet…And his too-sweet expression when he sleeps…

I had the pleasure of photographing a lovely little Newborn Girl last week and will try to post some photos from that session soon. I hope you’re having a great week!

He looks SO similar to his big sister in these photos, it’s uncanny. And then, he opens his eyes, and he looks so very different…His own unique little features and expressions, with bits and pieces resembling different family members…

(Something about his expression in the above photo makes me just want to scoop him up and hug him.)

Gosh, I LOVE these guys!…

 More soon. Hope you’re having a wonderful week!

I hope you’re having a great Halloween!! What’s your favorite part of the Holiday? XX