A love affair with Old things!

 I love it when I have people that are creative and fun with what they want with family pictures.  This had to be one of my favorite shoots in a very long time.  I LOVE old things, old houses, old cars, old furniture, old is beautiful.   This adorable family asked if we could use an antique VW bus in their family photos, FUN!  I was more than excited at the request.  Then when they asked if we could do them in the desert, not so excited about that.  I was a bit worried about doing a full sun shoot.  It was something that was a little bit new, but turned out to be so fun and gave me the ability to think outside the box a bit for me.  

I have to say that I absolutely love the way these pictures turned out.  If you couldn't tell, mom has great taste and an artistic eye herself.  She put the outfits together on her own!   Don't you love them?  I do!! 

Beauty should never be only Skin deep!

Shooting high school seniors are one of my favorite things to shoot.  They have so much fun with it and are willing to be just a little more daring in what they will do and what they will wear in the shoot.  Sometimes they will even ask to try things that I just might not think of.  

For the most part the girls enjoy the Senior session more than their male counterparts.  They spend more time prepping and are overall more excited to be there.  

It really is so refreshing when you meet a young women that is just adorable on the surface, but that is just as amazing on the inside.  It's always so fun for me to spend time getting to know each of the seniors that I have the privilege of working with.  They really are so much fun!  They view things in such a different way than a old "foggie" like myself. I love knowing that they have this vast future ahead of them for the taking.  Life really is just beginning to get "good"!   

This beautiful girl was so fun to shoot.  She is just as adorable on the inside as she is on the out.  I spoke with her on and off many times before her session.  By the time I really got to meet her I felt as though I already knew her.  I hoped to capture her warm, welcoming, outgoing spirit.  

The STUNNING miss Jess.

Having attractive subjects in front of your camera will always make a photographers job seem just that much easier.  But what you can't see through a photo is what a stunningly beautiful person someone is.  I think that beauty is so much more than a pretty face.  It's about who you are when someone isn't looking, it's how you treat people, how you act and the emotions you exude.  

 It's not all that clear to me if you can get from these photos what a beautiful girl Jess is.  It was so much fun to shoot her. She was up for everything, even laying on the ground in the dirt, as long as she wasn't asked to drag herself through it.  A girl has to have limits!  :)

She makes it look so easy to be this stunning.  I do have to admit that she made it that much easier on me.  Nothing you'll hear me complain about.

Not just a handsome face- High School Senior

I love it when I meet young people that give me hope for the future.  Don't get me wrong, I have a very special place for the youth of America.  I look at what they are facing for the future and I feel for them and honestly, at times I fear for them.  I wonder what our world will be like for them.  What challenges will they face.  Will there be peace in our future or will they have to deal with the stressors of the past?

The fact that I myself am a mother makes me fear for the teens and younger children of the world.  So when I meet a young man like this one, I can't help but have extreme hope for what will be.  This is one of those all around great kids.  Smart, motivated, kind, funny, outgoing, and just plain easy to be around.  He is sure of himself, and can easily converse with an "old"er person like myself.  

After spending very little time with him it was clear that he has a very bright future.  It was also evident that he would be one of those that will in someway make the world a better place for others as well.  

I really hope that his mother has the chance to see this blog post.  If she didn't already know that she has done an outstanding job with this young man, I would want her to know that all her work SHOWS~  

Look at this sugar!

Everyone loves an adorable baby.  I am no different.  Snuggling a precious little thing like this one just makes my day.  There is nothing so yummy as the way a newborn smells.  The cooing, the snuggling, the oh so baby soft skin.  

 I was very honored to be blessed to be the one to take her newborn shots.  Her mother is one of my husbands closest childhood friends. I love how life can come full circle.  It was amazing to see her mom just light up as a new mom.  This little gift has already made her parents so happy.  

Senior Style

I just love it when I get a phone call for a High School Sr.  Being a Sr. in HS is one of the best times in life.  I am so amazingly blessed that I get the chance to actually help preserve these moments in photographs.  

 It's hard not to have fun when you are around a high school senior.  Life is really just spread out in front of them ready for them to experience.  This sugar was super fun.  

 I'm not sure who had more fun.  I do know that we both laughed a lot!  Have I mentioned lately how lucky I am to work a job that I absolutely adore?  I mean what other job can you go out in alleys and have so much fun without doing something questionable?  

Slacker!

 I've been a very bad girl when it comes to blogging as of late.  If one couldn't tell. So please forgive me if you get a few posts here in the next few days.  I'd just really like to get myself caught up, if that is possible in life. Please forgive me if my blog gets a little Sr. heavy the next few posts.  I have several to blog and hopefully even more to come after that.   

 This beautiful girl was just amazing to work with.  Isn't she stunning?  She makes me really want red hair that's for sure.  I could have edited picture after picture of this beauty. My camera really liked her.  The eyes and the hair are just an amazing combination.  

Nice Change of Pace

I've been shooting a lot of families with young children in the past few months.  So when these family friends contacted me about doing a shoot I was very excited.  It's not that I don't LOVE to shoot young families, because I do.  Yet sometimes it's really fun to have a change of pace and shoot people that follow directions, that I don't have to bribe for smiles (yeah, I'm not above bribery at all).  

 When I met this family this beautiful young women was just a little girl.  It's crazy to think how quickly time goes by.  She is so spunky, fun, and has the most infections smile.
When it came to her brother, it was just a little harder to pull out that natural, relaxed smile.  But I think I captured him pretty well.   

What parent doesn't want pictures to remember that they don't ALWAYS pick on each other?

Can you believe these BLUE EYES?

Facebook is such an amazing thing.  It's helped me to re-connect with so, so many friends from my past.  I was lucky enough to find this friend from High School a few years back.  She contacted me and wanted to get some pictures of her little ones just to document this time in life.  They each had just had a birthday.

I was so impressed with how well behaved they all were.  It was such a fun, light, hearted shoot.  You can tell this family really loves to be together.  

After mom saw the proofs she said to me, "I can't believe you made my kids look so angelic!"  All I could think was, THEY ARE!  

A run for my money!

These twin boys sure did give me a run for my money.  I'm not really sure how mom keeps up with them.  Not only are they full of energy and fun, they look EXACTLY alike.  I had the hardest time trying to get them straight.  

You wouldn't think it would be so hard to distinguish between two super, ubber, cute little boys.  Maybe it was because they were so fun to watch with their own little adorable little bond between them.

 Of course then there was this adorable little princess that just stole my heart as well.  I mean how can you not just melt with those big, beautiful, brown eyes?  They just jump out and demand your attention.  She is just as adorable on the inside.  I loved strolling down the pathways with her by my side, every now and then having her reach up and grab my hand to hold.  I love it when the kids I shoot have as much fun as I am. 

This last shot is more of what the whole shoot was like.  They had no intention of making things easy on me.  I had to work hard for every shot I got.  But oh how fun it was!!!  Thanks O family.

For my super amazing and understanding clients, the S family

I had such a great time with this family.  I was blessed to get to know them while involved with a great non-profit called The Center for Humane Living.  "The Center for Humane Living is a non-profit organization dedicated to enhancing the personal and spiritual growth of individuals through an innovative approach to martial arts education."  

And yes, that is me giving a plug to such an amazing organization that I felt very blessed to be a part of.  This amazing family donates so much time to help the organization as well.  Check the above link out if you are in the Phx metro area.  They have a few new schools opening soon!