Texas Troops Part II.....

As I've mentioned before I've been kind of touring Texas lately. I started in San Antonio and worked my way to College Station where my parents live. We went to an A&M game which, although their team may be given the 'Effort Award' this year, it really is quite an experience attending one of their football games. It was great to spend some time with my mom and dad. I don't mean to sound somber, but I've really been thinking a lot about how fast time goes in life and I've been eating up the time I've spent here with family. Things just seem to change too quickly. Anyways, enough of the melancholiness (I'm sure it's a word....) After College Station, I've made my way to Houston to spend time with my sister and her two boys. Her husband is working in the Middle East and will be home in two weeks! Hooray!!! Today we went to The Oil Ranch. It's on the outskirts of Houston, and we decided that it's pretty much a genius thing to do if you own a lot of property and have livestock....relatively low-maintenace, tax deductible, and everyone else feeds your animals. Pure genius. It's an absolute haven for kids, where hundreds seem to flock daily. They had petting zoos, train rides, pony rides, cow milking (although I have to admit that the cow did look a little shagrined as the kids lined up one after the other to pull on her udders...), a tractor ride where they drove you out to pasture and you could feed the cows by hand. That, was quite an experience. I've never realized how HUGE cow tounge is. I thought she would swallow my hand whole! All in all, we had a blast, and the kids were worn out at the end of the trip....mission accomplished! Here are a couple of photos of the boys from our adventure...

What to wear...

I've been meaning to post something like this for quite sometime. I always have a lot of clients who ask what to have their kids wear during their km photoshoot. Here are some great ideas for infants, girls, and boys. If you are the type of family that isn't really into mixing and matching, no worries...the basic rule is to wear what you're going to be comfortable in. I know, kind of generic. But the fact is that if you're not comfortable then your pictures will communicate that. With that in mind, here are some suggestions....

When I touch-up images for Art Prints I add effects that really make colors "pop", so bright colors and lots of contrast tend to work best. I love color. Especially when I'm working with children because I think it expresses their vibrant energy best. Accessories like scarves, hats, golashas, mittens, hats, tu-tus, fun shoes, etc. will make their pictures unique...not to mention they will make your kids look even more scrumptiously adorable! However, if you want photos that communicate a calmer mood, then neutral colors (like browns, blacks, etc.) and subtle prints tend to work best. The same principle applies to sessions geared more for headshots, and circumstances when you'd want all of the attention drawn to your face. Hopefully that makes sense.

As far as color goes, keep in mind that light colors tend to enhance size, while dark colors tend to minimize. And lastly, keeping your color palette limited to three or four colors works well.



These ideas came from Mini Boden

Texas troops...

These past four days have been pretty crazy. Basically, I became a single parent of four kids and two dogs overnight. Not literally of course. My brother and sister-in-law went to San Francisco for a vacation, so I've been sitting their kids. It was a good swift kick in the reality for me of what awaits with parenting. Parenting is like multi-tasking at it's best. To be quite honest, I'm not sure how moms do it everyday. Everytime I turned around it was like some toy, article of clothing, or something just appeared out of nowhere. And trying to keep the floor clean throughout the day was more like trying to "shovel snow off the driveway during a snowstorm" (as my sister calls it) than anything else. So hats off to you moms!!! Granted, I didn't exactly work my way up to it over the course of nine years, it was more like baptism by fire in a lot of ways. I knew it was going to be tough going into it, but let's face it.....kids grow up way to fast and you've just got to enjoy them while you can despite the moments of intensity that without a doubt just happen. Unfortunately, the distance between Texas and Utah keep me from spending more time with them. It was a good chance for me to spend some time with them.

On Monday we all sat down and had a "planning meeting" where we outlined all of the things we needed to do, and the things we wanted to do together on a big piece of posterboard. Then, we voted on two out of three of some fun activities to do after homework and chores were finished. They chose to decorate the house for Halloween, and to go to the local Pumpkin Patch and pick out pumpkins to paint. I took some pictures of them while we were there. Now, I know I may be biased, but I really do think that they are some of the most adorable kids. Here are some of my faves...

Jessica's (Potential) CD Covers....

So, I don't know if you remember my friend Jessica (see a couple of posts ago). She is putting out her first single in a couple of weeks. I'm sure we'll be making some changes on these, but I was so excited with how they turned out I just had to post them. Let me know what you think!

Courtney & Bridger's Wedding Day

What a fun group! Last week was Courtney & Bridger's wedding. It was pretty chilly, but at least the sun was shining. We had a close call when we took Courtney's bridals. Lucky for them we'd already taken the bridals and "groomals" a few weeks ago. It made for a pretty short photosession after the ceremony. I'm such a fan of scheduling it that way. Here are some of my favorite pictures.

Nicole, Dave & Co.

Yesterday I had the opportunity to meet the Martin family. We went out to Temple Quarry for their photosession. It's amazing how much it feels like Fall already! I don't know if I'm ready to give up my flip flops yet, but I'm sure I'll have to retire them soon for the season. Anyways, I digress. The kids had a blast "exploring". It really was a cool place to take pictures. I'd never actually been there before, but I see it becoming a favorite for my families in sittings to come. Here are some of my favorites!

My first Give-Away!!!

So the title may be a little misleading... Don't get me wrong, I will be giving away something. I just didn't want anyone to read this post and think, 'wow, she's never given anything away before?' So before you start thinking that I'm some sort of stinge, let me clarify. This is my very first give-on this blog! Here are the rules...

Anyone can play
Only one entry per individual
This contest ends October 31 OR as soon as I get 30 comments...

For this give-away I'll be sending a fifteen dollar Itunes giftcard away. I'll even email it straight to you...that is, if you are the winner. For this contest, we'll call it a Caption Contest. That's right, for those of you quick-wits out there this one's for you. Take a look at the image I've uploaded. Whoever comes up with the best caption for it wins. I'll have three judges chosen....um, haven't chosen them yet so I'm taking applications. When October 31 rolls around I'll announce the winner...

Any questions?

Now some of you may have seen this photo before...so no cheating. It's perhaps one of my favorites...

Be "One in a Hundred" High School Seniors

Today I sat reminiscing about a few years ago when I worked for Especially for Youth Programs. You might ask what brought this on? Well, over the past few weeks I've been working with East Hollywood High School on their yearbook pictures. I realized working with the high school age kids how much I miss and love that age group. They are just so much fun! I decided today that I want to start spending more time around them, so I decided to offer a little promotion. It's called Be One in a Hundred. Read more about it on the flier below..... Oh! And don't forget to tell a friend about the promotion. Existing clients who refer a friend who books a session will receive an 11x14 custom print...so exciting!!!

Kelsey's Sneak Peak...

Today I had the pleasure of taking Kelsey's senior pictures. Have I ever written about how much I love taking pictures for Seniors? They are so much fun! Kelsey is my first Senior that I'll be counting towards my "Be One in a Hundred" goal (see blog entry). So guess what that means?!? Only 99 more to go! Yahoo!!! Oh, and many thanks to Steph for providing such great accessories!

I heart sun flare....

Stepping out of a rut...

So I've decided that I want to make my blog more interesting. Let's face it, even I've gotten a little bit bored with my blog lately and can't imagine how everyone else feels. Lately I've been swamped with photography. I've been working with a high school taking their yearbook pictures and it's taken most of my time, hence the lack of new entries on my blog. That, and I've just felt a sense of complacency with my entries. So I've decided to spice things up a little bit by offering different contests, etc. I have to admit, I'm a little bit of a junkie when it comes to reading comments on my blog. What is it about that anyways? So here's how it will work. If the prize for the contest is a photosession or something along those lines then it will apply to locals only. That is, unless I'll be visiting your city or you'll be visiting mine within 3 months time. So all you Texans whom I'll be visiting next week, pay very close attention.... Anyways, most of the give-aways will be based on comments left by you. Now, you can only have one entry....it doesn't mean that you can't have your spouse leave one...or a relative. But sadly, you may only enter once. I'm looking forward to giving away some pretty stellar stuff, so you'll have to make sure to tell all of your friends. Happy blogging!