Speaking of Family - Cleveland Children's Portrait Photography

Meet the Owenby girls. These two darlings are my other nieces on Cliff's side of the family. For the first time ever, I got these girls to chill out (they're a spirited pair) long enough in the cutest little outfits to spend some time out at the Bentons' farm getting shots for their Christmas card.



I love everything about these two, and their beauty and spunk shines through in the images which I think is always the test of a great session.

It's all about personality.

Oh, and light.

Preview: Mundkowsky Family

Does this picture not kill you?



Meet Miles. An adorable two year old with quite the personality, one that certainly kept me on my toes. This is just a snippet of the morning I spent capturing the Mundkowsky Family in what one might call "a morning in the life of" these recent Tennessee transplants.

Can't wait to show you more!

More of Beckham

I have yet to photograph a child I haven't almost immediately fallen head over heels for. It's just written into the fabric of my being; I love children. More times than not, however, when I'm on a shoot I'm able to balance my goal of "getting the job done" (i.e. taking their picture) with my innate desire to play right along with them. With Beckham, it wasn't quite as easy.

This handsome little man has a smile that could win a thousand hearts, a personality that is both joyous and mischievous, and a surprising talent for handling a soccer ball. I guess his name is even more suited to the little soccer player he is becoming.

His parents had some great ideas for different pieces they wanted incorporated into their session, and I was happy to oblige. There's nothing more exciting than having clients who know what they want and yet still offer me the creative ability to lead our time together.

As promised, here are more (and some of my favorite) images from Beckham's session:

Click here to see more photos from this session.

Preview: Beckham

Here's one of my favorites from yesterday's session at Dragon Park with a darling (almost) two-year old named Beckham and his lovely parents. I couldn't get enough of this kid!

More to come...

Fun With Families

This past weekend, I had the pleasure of spending time with this wonderful family out at Cheekwood for the sunny afternoon hours of a warm day in Nashville.



Ezra, the cute-as-a-button boy in the orange shirt, just turned three a week or so ago, and turns out it's a perfect age to have pictures taken! So much personality, answering to no one, and so inquisitive about the world around them. Made for a lot of fun for me and a tuckered out three year-old after our hours together.

Oh, and do you recognize this little guy?



It's my brave little former guitar-laying model Lincoln! I was shocked to see how much he'd grown and changed since we last spent time together. He was so much more alert and aware of the camera. Made for some great time with him as well.



Melissa and Mark are such a fun couple, so creative and laid back. It's no wonder I adore spending time with their kids - their great to be around, too. I can't help but look at these pictures and long for the day when we have our own.

In the meantime, I'll just keep having picture fun with families!

Childish Wonder

I just love the expression on Allison's face, here.



There's nothing so fun as spending a beautiful Sunday afternoon at the park with a one-year old. I could snap a handful's worth of CF cards as I watch their epressions change so very much from one moment to the next.

I love what I do!

My Whole Week Was Made

When I found out this little gem:



...is going to be a big sister!

Now if only I can figure out a way to get first dibs on some infant shots...

Benton Shoot Uploaded

Here it is!

26/189 ain't so bad, considering I probably could have worked on another fifty of them or so. I had to get choosy, though. And I was getting kind of tired of editing different versions of pretty much the same picture... but man am I ever partial to these kids.

Their personalities are just so evident in these pictures -at least to me- and I love it!

Everyday Portraits: [The Benton Kids]

I'm just going to say it: we have the most adorable nieces and nephews. I mean it. On both our sides, we've got a total of five nephews and five nieces and not one of them is the kind of kid that makes you think "ahh... one day they'll grow out of it." I guess that means we've got a lot to live up to once we start having kids!

On Thanksgiving, I spent the morning running around a couple of acres of Brad and Wendy's farm taking pictures of them with their kids Neeley, Luke, and Parker. Now I'll tell you something else, if you thought Brad and Wendy's photos were good a couple of posts back - these kids just blew me away. We had two wardrobe changes and shot in four locations and they're all so dang cute!

Here's a sneak peak of the shoot:



Now I've got to get to work on post-production for the rest of the images as well as designing and printing their Christmas cards! And now that I'm a working lady, time is a little hard to come by... oh me.

Everyday Portraits: [The Johnsons]

Boy, do I love the Johnsons! Andy and Karyn are a great couple whom we met through our Sunday School class. Hailey is their darling little girl who I absolutely adore. I make a complete idiot of myself trying to get her to smile, but those smiles are so very worth it.

I was honored to spend some time with them this afternoon, scooting around their beautiful neighborhood and taking some shots for Christmas!

Behind The Glass: [Dollface]

I think this may be my favorite picture I've taken so far in the last few months of "practice."

This is my niece Julia, who was sweet enough in all of her three-year oldness, to put up with my incessant shuttering at a family get together in Maryland about a month ago.

Most of the opportunities I've had to shoot children since getting the 400D have been candid, and while that's a lot of fun for catching the small, unexpected treasures, it's really hard to get the shots I dream about when they (and their parents) aren't invested in the moment.

I am thankful this shot turned out so well, because it has that vague appearance of being set-up and yet was pure, dumb luck. She happened to turn towards me, I asked her to smile, and the rest is history. It's amazing to see the personality of children come out in photos, this shot being a prime example. She is just the sweetest (and yet still sassy) creature, as is her cute-as-a-button twin brother Bryan (whose unfortunate mishap with a front step ended up in a busted lip and far too many stiches and black-and-blueness to make for any good "candid" shots).

That's why I call her, Dollface.