April Mini-Sessions

I recently had some mini-sessions to celebrate the opening of my studio.  The studio worked well and I LOVED my new lights!  The families were fantastic and (I think) really had a good time.  This first photo below is one of my favorites.  She's absolutely beautiful.  The boys below were crazy hard to photograph!  We had to pull out the major distractors to get some still shots, and I really love that you can get a sense of their personality through the photograph.

I also found some great settings around the studio for some of the urban and park photos shown below.  Enjoy-

iPhone Friday!

For today's post I've chosen a few photos I've taken over the past week.  The weather is (finally) getting nicer here in Seattle so the kids and I have been spending more time outside.

I LOVE the colors in this first photo of my daughter Ella.  I took it with the regular camera on my iPhone, then made some small adjustments with a favorite app of mine called Camera+.  Camera+ allows you to lighten photos (not by increasing exposure or brightness, per se but through adding "flash" or "backlighting" effects).  You can also crop and rotate, add cool borders, and change the overall look of the photo through FX Effects.  The effects are essentially a bunch of presets you can apply to the photo to get the desired look (like Black and White, Toy Camera, Hipster and Cross Process effects to name a few).  Last, with Camera+ I can save the photo back to my iPhone library, email it, or share it on Facebook, Flickr or Twitter.  I love the versatility this app offers, and its a little addictive!

This second photo of my son, Isaac, was taken with the Hipstamatic app while we were on a walk in our neighborhood.  I did end up tweaking it a little with Camera+.

I've just downloaded a few more photo apps I recently read about, and I'm excited to try them out and show you the results in the weeks to come.  

Happy Snapping!

iPhone Fridays

I'm starting a new weekly post - iPhone Friday - because first, I find I'm taking snapshots all the time with my phone.  It's usually photos of my life, my kids, beautiful lighting, and my surroundings (or what I call My Seattle).  It might be some tiny interesting detail I come across or a photo of a large well-known Seattle or PNW landmark.  Second, a well-known Seattle photographer I follow, Chase Jarvis says, "The best camera is the one that's with you."  I couldn't say that is more true.  Third, it inspires me.   I hope this gives you some inspiration and creative ideas with your phones or point-and-shoot cameras.

I took this photo on a drive up to Wenatchee, WA over the Christmas holidays with the Hipstamatic App (my favorite).  Yes, we were actually driving at the time (I was in the passenger seat).  Steven's Pass just got a fresh coat of snow and the sun was out.  It was beautiful.  I love the colors and the added drama of the sun flare.

So enjoy your weekend and get snapping.

Sneak Peek from April Mini-Sessions

The mini-sessions last weekend were a huge success!  I was so happy with my new studio, lights, and backdrops.  I think my customers will be really thrilled with their photos too!  Here are a couple favorites I came across when starting to go through them:

More to come shortly!

Rachel - 9 months

This little one is so sweet, and cooperative!  It was one of the easiest sessions I've had.  She wasn't scared of the big set-up surrounding her, didn't mind several clothing changes or being placed in certain positions (although she's not too mobile yet). And look at her expressions - absolutely scrumptious!  I can't wait to see how much she changes!