{fantastic finale to my 2008 sessions}

Whew...my 2008 photo sessions are officially done!!  Now..... I have a ton of orders to process and packaging to do but after that, I can breathe and enjoy a little bit of time just before the holidays!   This last session was so fun, another session I didn't want to end (so many ideas, so little time).  I photographed Hayden last year, but this year I got his parents in on the session!  I love it when clients let me go with my vision. Thankfully, 99% of my clients let me run with my ideas & vision for the session and this family was no exception.   They were awesome to photograph - a gorgeous family.   I couldn't decide what images to post so I'm posting a bunch.   Happy Thanksgiving everyone!  Thanks for stopping by my blog :)

Below:  faded yesterday conversion

Below - Vintage B&W

I can't help but admit that I LOVE the two pictures below.  I asked Kate and Chad to kiss (PG) and here's Hayden's reaction....

{Everywhere...}

Yep everywhere.  We went to so many locations during this recent senior session.  Kaitlyn was amazing and was up for any locations or ideas I had in mind - which makes for a perfect session.  She has the most amazing eyes with her dark brown hair - absolutely gorgeous.  Anyway, here's a peek at our session.

Side Note:  I've had a lot of client inquiries for sessions lately (my Spring schedule is almost booked)  and I apologize for not responding right away.  Since this is one of the craziest times of the year I'm just working long days on my current clients needs managing to fit in a couple of hours rest each night and a shower here and there ;-).  But I'm thrilled at these requests and will get back to you as soon as I can.  Thanks for your patience :) And I look forward to chatting with you about booking a session.

Below - my color... below that one, a bit of my homebrew yesterday's haze.  Fun to play :)

{adorable addition, now their family is complete}

I was so honored to meet this family and photograph all of their beautiful children.  Six weeks before our session they completed their family with the adoption of beautiful 3 year old Cate, they traveled all the way to China to be united with her.   When I heard their story I was so excited to meet them and photograph their children.  You would never know Kate has only been here for 6 weeks.  She understood everything I said, she adored her brothers and sister and you could see this was a very close loving family.  Her little spirit tugged at my heart and seeing her cling to Sophie, her older sister, in such a loving way was truly touching.  I too was adopted, so whenever I hear an adoption story I get drawn in - anxious to hear everything about others adoption journey's.  It's such an amazing gift these parents are giving this little girl and likewise Cate is bringing such joy to this family.   I could go on and on...but I'll end this post with little peek into our session.   Thanks for taking a look :)

{"Oh Mommy, those are such 'beautiful princesses' "}

So this morning I was awakened by a princess.  Yes that's right - a fairy princess to be exact.  We don't see too much of Briella these days but a princess suddenly took residence in our house and we never know if the princess is going to be a 'dancing princess', 'fairy princess' or some other princess.   And immediately  mommy is transformed into a princess the moment she gets up.  Brielle, or 'Princess Briella' (that's how she wants me to refer to her) gives me a crown, jewels and a wand the minute my feet touch the floor.  I'm 'mommy princess'.  And I've gone out to the store forgetting that I'm wearing a crown and all the accessories Briella dresses me in, wondering why I'm getting funny looks.  That's life with a little girl... and I wouldn't trade the funny stares in stores for anything. ;-) {of course boys are just as fun too}

Last week I photographed two gorgeous sisters - both 'beautiful princesses'  (that's how Brielle referred to them  when she saw their pictures as I was editing).  Upon meeting them they popped out of their SUV wearing the cutest sunglasses looking ready for the camera.  I loved it and I loved their excited and happy personalities.   And they're gorgeous to top it off!   Again, another session I just didn't want to end.  Here's a little look inside our session.

A little play with my 'haze of yesterday' look. 

Another edit with 'haze of yesterday'.

{I've been bad...}

at blogging & posting recent sessions lately. But it's been for very good reason.  As most of you know, this is a nutty time for photographers and sometimes just getting a shower in is a plus ;-)  I've been submitting orders, packaging orders, editing, etc. and in doing so I've completely neglected my blog :(    So I thought I'd quickly post one of my recent sessions.  These girls were adorable and fun - the littlest one, Jenna, was so much like Briella in personality - little miss independent and ideas all her own (so cute).  And big sister, Anna Grace, was very chatty and loved the camera, which is always fun. I had a great time with both of them!  I'll try to be a better blogger - once things calm down it'll be easier.  ;-)  Thanks for looking!

Jumping Jenna!

{Urban Attitude... hip, fun family}

Urban twist for a gorgeous hip family - sooo fun!  I had a blast photographing this session!  This age group is so refreshing, they get so into being in front of the camera, which I love.   Oh, I love the little tots too and I always will, teens just add a different element to the session since they typically want to be there, they rarely have meltdowns or need diaper changes, and I normally don't have to chase very far after them {wink}.  Anyway, this was another Seattle session but the only urban session I photographed during my time in the NW.  Next  time I'm going to try to do a few more with an Urban flair.  Isn't this family just beautiful!  They were so comfortable in front of the camera and were up for anything.   We even found a random bowling ball {yes, an abandon, orange, dying to be held, bowling ball} and I had to incorporate it into part of the session although we found it toward the end of our time together.  Anyway, Shanna is the amazing mother of these four beautiful children.  Wow, she's a busy lady - I have trouble keeping up with just two.  Anyway, I loved every minute of this session!

Here's a little peek inside....with varying post-processing techniques.

Ahhh... the bowling ball....

This last one I processed two ways...Kara's bright color in the first and Kara's yesterday fade.

{Almost Rained Out...two beautiful munchkins}

Oh you guys have been so patient waiting this long for your sneak peeks {I know, I'm not done yet.  There are others waiting and I'm pouring through each session keeping the 'zipfizz' going so I can get more done.  Off Topic: Have your tried 'Zipfizz'?  It's pretty neat stuff - just put it in your water bottle watch it fizz and sip on a yummy energy drink.  Prob not the best for you but I rationalize drinking it by reading the label again and again noting the huge amount of vitamins in each tiny pink tube. ;-) I digress... }

We almost got rained out during this session - yes, it was raining just as we were about to get started.  So we hung out in our cars for about 15 minutes hoping that the rain would stop... it didn't stop but it lightened up enough to step out to my favorite lush green field in this area.  I was so excited to have a session with Makenzi and Kennedi - I photographed these two when they were much smaller so I was giddy.  Jeff & I were in the same child birth class as Michelle & Cliff (the two girls' parents) and we've been close friends ever since.  I can't believe how much this age group grows in just a years time!   I wish I could just take them all home with me to SC so I don't have to miss seeing them grow and we can have play dates whenever we wanted!  I'm realizing that those days are numbered as these kids get older - the idea of a 'playdate' will be no longer after a certain age :(  Why can't we keep them small? 

Here's  a little snipet from our session!  I did a bunch of different post processing on these, some vintage washed ones with texture, faded wash post processing and my classic color.  

The next one I processed to get a sun bleached look to the image.  This is one of my favorite home-brewed actions.

Normal Kara color...

Vintage play and my own texturing (psst... to make your own just take a picture of something like a blank canvas, a crumpled piece of paper, the side walk, etc all on macro on your camera.  It's super easy and fun!)

Vintage play and other textures applied to the one below....

{Scotch Broom?}

I'm very behind on my sneak peeks and I apologize for those of you who have been patiently waiting.  I'll be posting more from my Seattle sessions hopefully this week. :)  I'm home again in SC and it is hot - heat index of 110 - wow!  And air conditioner in my car is out again!  This is the 3rd time in less than a year :(.  Maybe it's time for a new car... we'll see {shrug}.  It's good to be home but boy do I miss Seattle and living in a big city.  Don't get me wrong, I love it here too, I just think I'm more of a city girl, even though I crave small town living at times.  I'm fickle I guess... ;-)

Dominick and Drake (the two dashing boys below) were telling me about all kinds of plants as we passed them - they sounded like little botanists discussing each.  Anyway, they pointed out with concern that  Scotch Broom was a plant/weed  that their daddy was allergic too.  But they assured me that he had medicine that made his eyes 'not be red anymore'.  So that stuck in my head - who knew two little boys (5 & 3) could know so much!  Anyway, I got a kick out of their personalities and interaction with each other.  These boys are my dear friend Clarity & Jeff's and we've known each other since the birth of our oldest boys.  I photographed Dominick since he was a little tiny guy - so it was fun to see him again and get some one-on-one time him and his brother Drake.

Here's just a little peak at our session.

 

{In search of 'Habitat' - no better way than in a tutu. Who knew?}

I'm still here in Seattle and loving being in a 'big city' again - so much to inspire me here.  It's been a blast and a whirlwind of appointments (3 in one day yesterday - crazy, I know, and now my body is feeling it by getting some sort of bug.  Ugg :(  )  But it's been worth every minute and I wish I could stay longer to photograph those of you who were on the wait-list or who's sessions got rained out.  I will be back and I'm excited to meet more of you and your children.  I fly to South Carolina on Thursday morning so I will spending my last two days here with family, trying to get well before flying home and organizing everything to fit into the luggage I came here with - it's lika huge puzzle, every piece has to be placed in the right spot for it to be a success.  ;-)

This was a fun session because it was with my adorable niece and nephew!  We met them at a beach near my sisters house.  This location was amazing but I couldn't take any of my other clients since it was an hour from Seattle - so I just soaked it in during this special session.  The beach had some cool old (but well maintained and preserved) historical buildings, old bunkers, huge gnarled tree roots that dipped into the saltwater below and other cool things that I freaked out and got excited over.   My nephew just turned five and he has such an imagination which makes things fun.  On this adventure he was in search of 'beach habitat' and his little sister followed in his very serious mission.   Love that girls can do 'boy' things (like throw rocks, dig in the sand, and squirm over seaweed) while looking so pretty in all girly-girl threads.  That's just what Mikayla did in a fluffy little tutu.  I couldn't resist her gorgeous sun-kissed ringlets - soooo adorable.   As we step out on to the beach she took my hand, pulled it in close to her, and said in her quiet little voice, 'can you follow me?  I'll take you somewhere' - melted my heart.  I don't get to see these two very much since we moved across the country so this was a real treat for me - complete one on one time.  I loved every minute of it!!

I had fun playing with the images below.  I used different texture and other fun techniques to get a different mood/feel to some of them. So fun :)

{Green Grass, Slimy Slugs and Two Boys}

The other day, I photographed two young boys who were so much fun.  {I know, I say every session is so much fun, but it's true - I love photographing children, I have a blast and usually the kids do too ;-) }   Big brother Daniel, was followed by little Evan who was just a happy go lucky little guy.  His all boy voice echoed across the field as he excitedly told us what he had found.  Ladybugs and slugs - wow, what more could a boy want!  Daniel was entertaining me with some of the silly expressions -shown below (he's bound to be an actor someday)  while Evan continued on his mission in search of more wildlife (aka insects).  These two boys really have a close bond, they didn't argue or poke at each at all throughout our session, and their mother re-affirmed that they really are the best of friends.   So cool to see that kind of relationship between brothers. 

Here's just a tiny peak at our session. :) 

Evan playing PEEK-A-BOO!  ;-)