{Miss Lou}

My Lou turned two in early May, but between welcoming her new sister and trying to schedule for pictures around a photo-phobic two year old, I was unable to do her pictures until this past week. The weather was perfect - warm with a beautiful late day sun - and we were able to shoot at a beautiful location... my in-laws' back yard (see the previous post!). Lou was in a great mood and for the most part, she was bruise and scrape free... a rarity for my little tomboy.

I've commented in the past that it is truly difficult to photograph my own children, but I captured her perfectly on this day. At times, giggling...and at times, her true personality would shine through.

Wait...can I use the word "shine" when I'm talking about a face like this??

Oh yeah...here we go...she shines!

Enjoying springtime...

Got out to enjoy the beautiful spring weather yesterday... here are a couple worth sharing.

Why I love shooting outdoors...

Although I got my start as a "pro" in a studio, and now shoot primarily indoors - and with hospital room lighting! - I love to shoot outdoors with natural light. Its simple. Its beautiful. Its less editing on my part (haha).

This week, Mother Nature has given us a break from this horrid Chicago winter we've been having. 45 balmy degrees on Monday led us to a short trip to the Cosley Zoo in Wheaton, Illinois, where some of the following pictures were shot. On our trip home, I stopped to take some photos along the Fox River in St. Charles.

Even better was the 60 degree day we enjoyed yesterday! I arrived home from work at 1:30, ate a quick lunch, and got the girls in the car for the 45 minute drive to the Brookfield Zoo just outside Chicago. It was one of their February "free days" (every Tuesday, Thursday and weekend this month!), so it was worth it to go for just 90 minutes as we did.

Anyway, we got some time outside, and I got some pictures of my girls!! Enjoy!

Holiday Photos

Last year, we spent a boatload of money on "professional" pictures of the girls for Christmas. We did some pics of the girls in their fancy Christmas dresses (thanks Nana) and then tried jammies in front of the prop Christmas tree... I thought some of the pics were stellar (although, I remember thinking..."I'll bet I could do just as well!")! My husband, not so impressed... So, this year, I was happy to try MY hand at their holiday pics.

A few weeks ago, I tried taking holiday pics - in fancy dresses (again, thanks Nana!) - of my girls, then of my niece, and then of the 3 of them together. My Bug and Niece "Miss K" did well on their individual pics. Lou wasn't having it... And the group photo was disaster!

So, this past week, I tried again with just my girls. Instead of dresses, this time we did jammies. And since Lou is rarely happy to be photographed, I bribed her with a candy cane. I think we did okay! Actually, I think we did BETTER than okay! I even took some pictures of Lou on her own after the fact.

A final thanks to the boss, Kelly, for sharing some tips on photographing at night. Although I was at home - not in the hospital - her tips worked wonders for me!! Would you have guessed I don't have a lighting set-up?!

My first attempt (Bug did well, Lou not so much, but I did get one worthy of sharing!):


Although this one is not our "Christmas Card" photo, it is my personal favorite from the sitting... No, she's NOT pouting. She was actually pulling the candy cane out of her mouth and I captured it at *just* the right moment...

And finally, pictures of just my Lou. She's so sweet, and so adorable, but really really uncomfortable in front of the camera. She must have been coming down from her candy-cane induced sugar high...oblivious to me in front of her...

Happy Birthday {Party}, BUG!!!!

Yesterday was Bug's birthday party. She's gonna be FOUR! Can you believe it? I can't. She acts like she's 6 or 7 and yearns to be 16 ("then, you can teach me to drive a REAL car, mom!"). She's absolutely gorgeous and funny and such a joy to be around. I can only imagine how much more fun she'll be come this time next year!

The numbers for her party weren't real good (one of the downfalls of a November birthday - cold & flu season!), but about 30 minutes in, I realized it just didn't matter. Thank you to I & Z, and F for coming to spend the afternoon with Abbi. Its wonderful to know that she is making new friends. And, of course, thank you to her big friends, H & M!!!

So, I thought I'd post a few candids from the party. We'll be celebrating with a big outing into the city on her actual birthday (11.19), when I'll take her "4" pictures. Yesterday, she didn't even want me to bring my camera! (silly kid!)

The birthday girl truly enjoyed running wild with her friends, opening her gifts (she asked me to read each card before turning to the gift! So proud!), and chowing on the cupcakes she helped me make. In years past, it was like pulling teeth to get her to open her gifts in front of the guests.

And despite her grumpy face in the one picture, Lou enjoyed the party too!!! She loves running with the bigger kids!

On a separate note: Today I got some awesome news... With the parents' consent, I can share my Bella Baby work on my blog! Yippee!! Finally, I can show off my best work! And my passion!! Hopefully, tomorrow I will be shooting my second set of newborn twins. Fingers crossed that I get consent to share those images!!!

A Day In the BIG CITY...

Yesterday, we went into the city to take pictures of our close friends, Heidi & Matt (sneak peek of their fabulous pics soon to come). I tried to focus on taking their pictures while Russ watched Lou & Bug, but at one point, H&M walked away to scout another photo location and I couldn't help but snap a couple quick ones of my girls playing (and stop a freak from trying to take pictures of them!!!!!). Chicago is such an amazing backdrop for pictures, but with my girls, the backdrop just doesn't matter... I want all the focus on my beautiful girls!!!!

Here's my 2 favorites!!!

Not much new...

I haven't really been working much lately (the average was 7 babies a day in September...this month, only 2 or 3 a day!). But, between planning for birthdays, Christmas, trips out of town, etc. I can't seem to take any time for myself to take pictures. I do have 2 birthday kids to photograph in the next couple of weeks, as well as two couples, so hopefully I'll have something to show off soon. I need to really start building my portfolio... its just so hard to go outside my comfort zone!

Anyway, I wanted to share some pics of my two favorite girls... I'll try to share something new, soon!

My evolution as a photographer continues...

Although I've always had a love of taking snapshots, it wasn't until I had Bug that I really became a shutterbug. We had planned on buying our first digital camera that Christmas (when she was due), but when she came early and we learned she'd be staying in the hospital without us, Russ decided to run out and buy me a camera early. So, he ran to Target and picked out a Canon Point & Shoot. I think it was an A85. That camera did us pretty well... I carried it everywhere I went, amassing an amazing several thousand snapshots of my baby girl. It wasn't until she was a year and a half and I dropped it while chasing her, that we needed a new camera. So, again, we bought a Canon Point & Shoot... an A530. I didn't love it as much as my first digital camera, but it worked.

So, when we had Lou, I realized I wanted to do more with my pictures. Learn more of my camera. Russ said I could take the plunge and purchase a DSLR...my Canon Rebel XT. By this point, I had an external hard drive holding 12,000 pictures of my girls.... and that was only the beginning. In the past 15 months, I've made photography more than just a hobby. I've learned to take more than just snapshots of my girls...

I look at the pictures I took of bug, and I think, "If only I'd known what I was doing behind the lens of the camera." I look at the pictures of Lou and think, "Man... I knew nothing about composition or lighting." But, now, with my studio experience and mostly, with my Bella experience, I am happy to know that the photos I take of our next baby will be so much better.

And lucky for me (and 1 really excited - and 1 reluctant and unsure - big sister), I'll be able to put that theory to the test soon. May, to be exact. That's right... #3 is on the way.

Sorry to Mara or mom or anyone else who would've heard it from Bug this weekend (she's been making the announcements so far)... I couldn't wait any longer to break the news!!!!!!

Who needs Photoshop?!

So, like any photographer I know, I've always put Adobe Photoshop on a pedestal. It is the be-all, end-all of photographic retouching and editing. You can do anything with Photoshop. I mean, its a verb! "Can you PHOTOSHOP me out of this picture?" Well, I don't think I can Picasa you out of a picture, but when it comes to my everyday retouching, Picasa is the way. Today, I'm gonna share some of my edits...

I've been suffering a LOT of self-doubt. I peruse photo blogs, websites and Flickr on a regular basis and to be honest... I'm not half as good as some of the other photogs out there. I'm not even talking about the masters... I'm talking about my friend Krysten, who picked up the *hobby* around the same time as me. She's amazing now! I'm talking about the dozen or so photogs who joined me at my recent NILMDTS training session. They all had their own websites... I have a blog. I checked out a couple websites. Boy, I hope one of them will take me under their wing and guide me...

I AM a pro photographer, but I don't feel like it! It pains me that I can't share my everyday images. The little itsy babes who keep me going. The little guy I did this week who was so special, so adorable. His parents had tears in their eyes when they thanked me for putting so much time, care, and attention to their son's pictures. The little lady who was small in comparison to the gerbera daisy her mom had me place in the picture. The chubba baby who I placed in my basket to photograph, much to the consternation of her great-aunt (who also shook her head in disbelief at my suggestion of undressing baby for a diaper-only photograph).

But, anyway, today I took some pictures of the park where we played. My husband and I have wanted photographs for our bedroom... something simple; an understated image of a single tree in a field... or something like that. We've seen some stuff we liked, but never wanted to pay the price that was asked. But, today, Russ finally found some images that were worthy of putting on our wall...and the best part? They were MY images from the park. So, I'm sharing them below. Let me know which you like best!!! (Oh, and you knew I'd include bug & lou, right?!)