New Photo of Isaac- Seattle child portraits for the Modern Family

My kids are growing up so fast!  I know, its so cliche' to say that but I bet every parent feels this way.  Isaac will be turning 4 in October and he just learned to ride his bike without training wheels last week.  I just can't believe how much both kids are learning and doing right now!

I thought it would be fun to post a new photo of him three different ways:  SOOC (straight out of the camera), edited, and edited in black and white.  Which version do you like the best??

SOOC

Edited

Edited b/w

Child & Family Wardrobe Ideas for Summer 2011 Portrait Sessions

Happy Wednesday!

Since it's Wednesday (hump day!) today, I wanted to share this great photography reference I came across.  I found them on Facebook- its a page called Wardrobe Wednesday {where fashion meets photography}.  The admin's are several photographers who collaborate on trendy, stylish wardrobe ideas for child, senior, and family portrait sessions.  They post tips, coordination and accessory ideas.  What a great idea!  I've had some time to put together my own wardrobe ideas but often I don't have the time....(who does with two rug rats running around)?

I consider myself moderately stylish but I definitely do not own all the season's key must-haves.  For instance, I don't own a fedora but think they're fun (on other people); I own one pair of flat gladiator-like sandals (probably because I wear a size 9 and think my feet look awful in them)!  I also WILL NOT buy an 80s floral one-piece short outfit (it reminds me too much of growing up in the 80s and I NEVER thought that trend would come back).  In my defense, I do have several wedge sandals and open-toed shoes, a few pairs of skinny jeans, trendy skirts and earrings, and several FUN tops with asymmetrical hems, stripes, or fun embellishments (think Anthropologie - my FAVE store).

So, check out the summer wardrobe ideas below courtesy of these fashion divas for inspiration for your upcoming portrait session, and THANK YOU Wardrobe Wednesday!! And remember to always accessorize and layer.  It gives us considerable variety while shooting.   I'll be sure to follow-up with a similar post in the Fall.

Colorful Candid Portrait Session of a Seattle Child

You may remember Rachel.  In her short first year of life, we've met a few times for photo sessions.  This session was to celebrate her first birthday.  We decided to do a combo session- half in my studio, and half at a nearby park.  As you will see  below, we decided to have a summer-inspired theme, incorporate balloons, and use a plain-white background for the studio shots (called high-key so it doesn't end up looking gray).  Rachel didn't disappoint by bringing her stellar personality!  This ended up being one of those shoots where everything just came together.  We were all being silly and she had so much fun.  It shows in the photos.  Besides ending up with beautiful keepsake portraits, we really captured Rachel.  You can just tell who she is, can't you??  I love my job. :)  

Happy Birthday Rachel!  I can't wait to see how you'll change in the years to come!

If you'd like to see more of my favorites from this session, please go to my Facebook Page.

Enjoy......

1st Year Smile = Scrunchy Face

Crazy 4th of July Baby

Happiness!

A Study in Flowers

iPhone Friday-My First Photo

My infatuation with iPhone photos all started about 1 year ago when I got my first smartphone - the iPhone 4.  I was amazed at everything the device could do, how easy it was to navigate, and how beautiful the screen resolution was.  I took the kids down the road to our little local park {dubbed Penguin Park} and we played.  There is one rope swing, installed by a neighbor long ago that all the kids love to use.  Ella was 4 1/2 and Isaac was 2 1/2 - she was great balancing and swinging on this little disc swing; Isaac not so much.  Anyway, I was pushing her and hanging out and decided to see how the new phone would do taking an action shot of Ella.  This is my first iPhone photo taken with the regular camera app - no adjustments.

I've been hooked ever since and my Lumix Panasonic DMC-ZS3 basically sits idle to this day {except I do miss the zoom feature sometimes}.

Happy Shooting!

iPhone Friday - SynthCam

TGIF!  What a week here in Seattle!

Today I wanted to share with you this cool photo app called SynthCam by Marc Levoy.  It allows you to take a photo that has a shallow depth-of-field - one of my favorite aspects of using a fancy DSLR with a fast lens!

Warning - it does take some practice.  I thought it was a little difficult to use AND you need to make sure there is no wind, otherwise your subject will come out blurry.  But is the end result worth it??  I think so!!

Happy Shooting!

Recent Senior Session - Its not too late to book your Senior portraits!

This is my nephew Nik.  Nik and his family made a trip to Seattle to hang out and get his Senior photos done.  We had so much fun and my kids adore him and his brother Peyton.  Isn't he handsome too?!  Thanks for letting me do your Senior portraits Nik!!

iPhone Friday - 3D Camera + Wigglegrams!

This photo app is sure to be a crowd pleaser for adults and kids!  Its called 3D Camera for iPhone by Juicy Bits.  This app allows you to create 3D photos and share them with friends on Facebook and Twitter.  It involves taking left and right photos of an object.  You can then view the photo as a grey or color anaglyph (using 3D glasses you can get through their app), as a stereogram, or my favorite - a wigglegram.

Check out the wigglegrams below by clicking on each photo:

How is this not addicting?!

Happy Shooting!

So Happy the Kids are HEALTHY again!

I haven't posted for a while because my little ones caught some nasty virus and were sick for 2 weeks - no kidding.  It was terrible.  The ER doc thought my daughter Ella had Giardia although we had no idea where she would have gotten it.  It was scary and I felt helpless.  Nothing was helping her.  She couldn't keep any food down and was wasting away in front of my eyes.  I went to bed Sunday thinking I'd have to take her to the ER again but by some miracle of God, she woke up with a smile on her face Monday.  I was tentatively happy, thinking it was just some temporary remission.  But,  three days and a doctor's checkup later, I'm so excited to say they are better and back in school!  I've been really blessed with happy healthy kids, and this experience reminded me never to take that for granted.

Below are my two favorite photos from a leisurely afternoon spent playing in our neighborhood two days ago.