Bump Ahead

It's funny, I've spent much of my photography career, and the years preceding it with these ideas of what I might do with my talent.  Some people dream these big dreams of traveling the world as a photojournalist, or  shooting high fashion in Milan and Paris, or doing intense social issue pieces fit for table top books (do they even make those anymore?), and while those are all noble feats, and the travel part of the first two appeals to me greatly (I've got to get out more), it's just not where my heart is.  And while I'm being honest, it's not where my strength lies.  My strength lies is helping families create images that they will love and cherish and, dare I say, pass on.  Photos for mounting on the living room wall or above an babies crib.  How I do this is two fold.  First off, I simply just keep honing the skills I was born with.  I will never stop learning and growing, or feeling like I need to.  Second, I put people at ease.  I make stiffs shoulders relax, I coax out natural smiles, I am fantastic at working with stubborn or feisty children (yup, I'm tooting my own horn) and somewhere in all of that I capture some truth, and it's beautiful.  And I feel fully satisfied as a photographer getting to do this type of work.

With that lengthy introduction, here's what I did this weekend.  I'm especially proud of this shoot.  I ♥ this family.

Such a Lovely Couple

They're just so pretty.

Introducing Baby Stookey!

This lovely couple was the first to sit for me with my new camera body in hand.  Can I just say how much I LOVE it and them?!  So lovely.

Babies and More Babies

I'm going to post these two together since they were shot the same weekend and are about the same topic; new life.  The first is a maternity session for a lovely little family that welcomed their little girl into their lives on the side of SR 512 in Lakewood WA.  This little go-getter wasn't happy with waiting for her mother and father to make it to the hospital, she had her own agenda.  You can read the whole story here: Baby Girl Born on the Side of the Freeway.  Anyway, here is a shot from their session prior to the spunky wee's arrival.

The second shoot was of a slightly different nature, although same general theme.  This family is expecting a little one that was a complete surprise and fairly miraculous.  The parents decided to surprise their two older children with the news of their new sibling during a family shoot and then to use those photos to announce the news to everyone else.  It was a very fun event to be a part of.  I hope to do more pregnancy announcement shoots in the future, they really are a fun way to let the cat out of the bag!

I Am Not a Wedding Photographer.

Let me preface this by stating that I am NOT a wedding photographer.  I am a portrait photographer that has occasionally shot a wedding.  Weddings on a regular basis, dealing with tons of unknown variables, changing conditions, large groups of people, events that you only get one shot at, and those events being attached to someone else's very special memories is a pressure I'm not fond of.  On top of all that you can have weeks and weeks of editing hundreds of photos, making people look their very best.  It's hard.  It's very hard, which is why I have great respect for those that do it for a living and why I understand the large fees they charge.  I have only shot a handful of weddings and only for friends (or relatives of friends) that understand my limits and reservations.  BUT, I will say that I do love being a part of someone's special day.  That part of things I enjoy, I get to vicariously experiences their happiness through my cameras lens.  It's beautiful.  So despite my not being a wedding photographer I am proud of the work that has come from the few I've been a part of.

Location, Location, Location

Two posts in one day :)  AND I still have a few other sessions to post samples of this week (the sessions are from weeks ago, I just haven't had time to update the blog).  This is just a shot I enjoyed, taken from a location scouting for a maternity session I'll be shooting this next Saturday.  There's something a little old worldy about it that I just dig.

I ♥ Maternity Sessions

I love, love, LOVE this shot.  There are so many things about it that work.  It was not a planned shot, it sort of came about during Daddy's attempt to occupy the little man while I shot singles of Mama's belly... they wandered behind the shot and we ran with it.  I love the light, I love the composition, the crop, the angle, and the subjects.  Not to mention that this shot was nearly SOOC!  I tweeked the levels a tad and that was it.  Took me less than three mins.  THIS is where I'm heading with my work.  THIS is what you can begin to expect more of :)