{J} & {A}~Engaged!

My little brother is getting married!  And they asked me to take their engagement pictures!  Of course I said yes. 

 I really wanted to get these done on a beautiful fall afternoon, just in time for the sunset.  But they waited until the weekend when it was all rain and no sun.  No sun means no sunset, but it also means no shadows which I think is the best part.

 My brother did some work for a guy that has this piece of property with lots of junk but lots of neat things too.  We started out there and just had a few sprinkles get in our way.

 Surprisingly, my brother didn't roll his eyes at me when I told them to pose certain ways.  He was really up for anything I told them to do!

 Look at my handsome nephew Mutley...he was too excited to get out of the truck and run so taking his picture was a little difficult.  I got one or two good ones, but that was it!

 I got a new macro/zoom lens and I love the fishbowl effect that it creates!

 Since it was raining, everything was wet.  It made for more standing up pictures and less sitting/laying down ones.  This one was taken on the floor of a hay shed where it was dry.  On an island...that is kind of cool!

 This of course, is a Pinterest idea.  It turned out pretty good and thanks to editing software, we didn't have to actually write on the antler!  My brother was glad for that!

 The rain let up a little so we were able to walk around the island and get a few more shots in.  Love all the greenery and colors!

 My brother has been a hunter all of his life and he turned her onto it as well, so of course we had to do a few in camo!

 One on the bridge.  We almost forgot to close the gate to the private island-oops!  Then the rain got to be too much so we left.  We will do a few more in the spring as well.  It will be hard to pick out the favorites for sure!

Every time I do a photo shoot, I can tell that my photo taking skills improve.  I am learning on my own and loving it.  I have had quite a few people ask me to take family photos of them and I can't wait to do it.  I may have to start charging them!!



{F} Family

You might remember the D family from earlier in the year.  She asked me if I could take some pictures of her whole family in the fall.  This included her parents, her sister and her sister's family.  The kids were very excited to get their pictures taken!

 The three oldest kids all got in the big tree out back and didn't want to leave it!

 I am not going to even begin to try and explain this family dynamic.  Let's just say the picture above is the kids with their dads.

 The two sisters with their husbands and family

 Proud grandparents with all 6 of their grandkids.

The whole family with some more fun shots.  It was the perfect sunny evening for a fall photo shoot!

{A} turns 1

My little buddy A just turned 1!  How time flies!  I got to be a guest at his first birthday party and his mom asked if I would take lots of pictures of him and his first birthday cake. 

He is all boy and loves this truck!

Here comes the cake.  He isn't really sure what to think about this moose!

 Are you sure it's okay for me to do this mom?

 Isn't he just the sweetest, most precious blue-eyed boy?

 Both mom and grandma had to help him out but he eventually got the hang of it.  Even his Hot Wheels got in on the action!

Eating all that birthday cake is hard work!

{A} Child

 I recently planned a wedding for a friend of mine from College.  Her new step daughter wanted me to take some pictures of just her since the bride and groom were getting all the attention!

Miss "A" was quite the little model.  She picked all of her own poses...I think she did a great job!

 She has the prettiest eyes...they are a brown gold color and depending on how the light hits them, they get more honey colored.

 "A" was the best little flower girl at her dad's wedding.  She threw the flowers down the aisle and behaved very well for a 7 year old!

Thank you Miss "A" for letting me take your pictures and for being such a great little model!

{Bri} Sophomore 12-13

 My niece Bri and I met up again over Labor Day weekend to take her "Sophomore Pictures". 

She wasn't quite as into it this year as she was last year, but we still got some good shots.  If you can believe it, she wasn't even wearing makeup-so unlike a teenage girl!

 These were taken in the evening just as the sun was getting ready to set.  I like the lighting.

 Bri claims not to like her smile, so sometimes I really had to force one out of her...I think you can tell which ones those are!

 The picture below is my favorite-love the colors, the lighting, the pose and of course-the girl!

It is hard to believe that I have a niece who is a sophomore in high school...time flies!

Baby {A} Newborn

 This is my cousin's little boy Andrew Robert.  I wanted to name one of my son's Andrew, but she beat me to it.  She will call him Andy, I would call my son Drew.  He was born back in June and to be honest, I was not very happy with these pictures but I will share them anyway.

He was wide awake for pretty much the whole session.  We took them at our grandma's house.  She has been sick for almost a year and tires quickly so I didn't want to put her out anymore than we already were.  In an ideal situation, I would have moved to different locations and waited until he was asleep.  But we had to get it done quickly so grandma could sleep.

 For only being a few days old, he was very alert and didn't like to be moved at all.  This face definitely tells you that he was not happy!

 Andy was so funny and constantly kept his feet crossed at the ankles!

 He is the youngest of 4 kids and the last baby that his mom will have.  She has had 4 kids in 5 years!  She has a 4 year old, a 3 year old, a 2 year old and a newborn.  Good luck to her!

 These two are my favorite shots.  I just love little tiny baby feet!

 Wide awake the whole time and only a few days old...silly little baby!

 Here is a 4 generation picture with my grandma, aunt, cousin and her baby.  I hope I get to take one a 4 generation picture very soon.

 Grandma is nearing the end of her life and Andy is just beginning his.  The circle of life is so amazing.

Welcome to the world little Andy...I can't wait to snuggle you again soon!