So fun with FAMILY...

This holiday kind of snuck up on me. Usually I have plans weeks in advance, but this time...nothing. I don't know if it's been because I've been so INCREDIBLY busy lately with work, or the fact that I was just home a couple of weeks ago. Regardless, here I am. It's Thanksgiving week and I'm not sure what to do with myself. I keep toying with the idea of hopping in the car and driving somewhere completely random...like Hoover Dam for example. (**sidenote** if this weren't a blog that I try to keep somewhat professional, I'd probably use that as a segue to launch into some dam jokes. They're funny. Let's be honest, and even though they may be a little bit childish...well, it's ok.)

Anyways, this past week my sister was able to come up to Utah with her family. It was so great having them here. I absolutely love being around my nephews. The oldest, Logan, has got to be the coolest kid ever. He LOVES music. Especially The Mormon Tabernacle Choir with Sissel singing Christmas carols. It's the best. We got some great pictures of them this past weekend. Here are some of my favorites.

Lauren's Sneak Peak

I don't have incredibly fond memories of high school. Don't get me wrong....I had a great time and met some great people. Beyond that I remember feeling like I was stuck having some sort of transcendental experience most of the time... one in which I felt like the "real me" was trapped inside someone else. And I CERTAINLY didn't look like Lauren, my most recent senior.

Lauren attends one of the high schools that I just did yearbook pictures for. She's SO much fun and is a girl that is going places...literally. After high school she wants to travel abroad to go to school. The more I work with seniors the more it seems like they are such higher caliber than I remember being. I LOVE working with my seniors. They have such a zest for life that's contagious. Here are a few of my favorites from Lauren's photosession.

Postponed...

I know...I know. You'll just have to wait. The next little contest is right around the corner. Trust me, you'll be so glad. I will tell you that the winner of this next contest will get a complementary family sitting....SO EXCITING!!! Stay tuned for details later this week! In the meantime I'll be seeking for some form of inspiration regarding what exactly I'll have you do. *cynical laugh*

Congratulations!!!

I know, I know. I'm a little bit late. This last contest should have been announced awhile ago, and I'm SO sorry to leave so many of you restless at night wondering..."Did I win? Was I the chosen one?" And while we all know the familiar saying about excuses, I really have been incredibly busy with work. But, I didn't want to leave anyone hanging any longer....so here is the winner. **drum roll please**.... Julie Erickson is the winner of our Captions Contest. I don't know if you remember the photo of the dog with the furrowed brow. You may have to go back a few blog entries. Julie wrote, "Back-off Barbie!" Which made me laugh...out loud even. Especially considering that she was about 8 months pregnant when she wrote it. It was all too fitting! So I hope you enjoy you're ITunes Card Julie. The rest of you stay tuned for my next contest that will be announced tomorrow.

VanDyken Sneak-Peak....

I like to put babies in buckets...only for photography of course, but it really is becoming one of my favorite things. I stumbled on this fantastic bucket a few weeks ago at the local antique shop and have absolutely fallen in love with it. This first shot could possibly go down in history as one of my favorites. Oh, the things you can do with a bucket... In any case, I've been pretty busy with a couple of REALLY big projects. Hence the reason why I haven't posted a lot lately. Please forgive me. Sometimes life is a lot like trying to drink water from a firehose and it has just so happened to be one of those types of weeks.

Also, I've had a couple of people ask what the little shape is at the bottom of the images. Truth is, I've been tooling around with a couple of watermarks and trying to figure out which ones I like best. Any ideas?

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