Hard at Work

She is an extremely good helper... obviously.

Because both Lus and I are SO hard at work we are taking a small break from blogging for the next little while. I might post here or there but overall it is going to be sparce and close to nothing for just a bit.

The last few months have prompted some great changes in my personal and business life which has resulted in me "needing" to change everything relating to the two. SO, I'll be returning with daily posts July 1st with a new blog, a new website, new shoots and some new insight.

I always thought growing up was kind of lame but really... it has been quite awesome as of lately, I am enjoying it thoroughly. I'm really excited to share my new found love of being "homemaker" with everyone (it only took me 16 months to come to grips with it) , and how I go about mixing that with business, photography and being Mom and Wife.

Until then, have a fabulous fabulous few weeks, Ciao!

Saturday Mornings

I like Mom's that let their kids wear christmas socks in April.

Have a happy saturday!

ps big big changes are coming to the blog in the next month or so!

I'm excited to share soon!

Lillian and Sophie :: Utah Children's Photography

Aren't they adorable? Yes is the correct answer, and OH my gosh, they are the strangest funniest little buggers. I can't wait to see who these little girls turn out to be, they will be amazing, and REALLY funny. They were fabulous to photograph and 7 months became my new favorite age to document. Brittany, the mother of these 2 darlings won the valentines day giveaway a while back.

How do you do it miss Brittany? I can't imagine having 2 Lus' running around ... boggles my mind... and completely overwhelms me. 

Brittany is amazing, you can read all about her and her twin adventures on her super popular and hysterical blog here.

Click HERE to see the rest of the shoot.

Creepy Little Clowns

(mamiya 645 400h, scanned and developed at THE laboratory)

McKenna and Grant and had a great Lusi's birthday!

(I love that birthdays are more for the older kids than for the actual kid having the birthday.)

That day was actually one the the most fun days I have had of watching the kids. They were happy helping decorating and coloring banners and signs, and when the slightest whine sufacedI would just threaten them with not being able to come to the party and wahlah! no whining ... it was great! Things really got crazy when they decided the birthday hats were clown hats and needed accompanying red noses.

"ya guys, that is awesome and super silly... and not creepy at all......."

I'll post an entire post dedicated to Lus' big day but how could I NOT give these little squirrelies their own post?

ps. Did you hear about my new pricing?

Utah Children's Photography: Saturday Morning 2.0

 

More of this little bugger and his siblings (and new baby brother!) coming in the next 2 weeks.
Have a fabulous Saturday everyone! Make it a good one! 

For you photographers:
 (you probably will have NO idea what I'm talking about if your not one,... sorry)

This was shot with 400h film (fuji), oh I LOVE this film. I've been trying a new color film, Portra 400 (Kodak) lately and I just can't seem to nail it and love it like other photographers have been. So why change films? Portra 400 has a LOT of benefits? it comes in 220, 400h only comes in 35 and 120 (120 has half the amount of exposures as 220). Also, you can rate it at 400 and 800iso (not 200 or lower) meaning you can get 1 to 2.. if not 3 or 4... more stops of light! That is a HUGE difference, saving me tons of money in some cases as I don't need to pay the extra $ to have the film pushed in developing when needed (and its needed a lot.)
We'll see, maybe I just need to shoot it more and get used to it... I'll post some more from this session and  point out the Portra 400 from the 400H and you can see what you prefer. Come on Fuji... can't you just keep making 400H in 220?? COME ONE! 

Utah Children's Photographer: Saturday Morning

My friend Emily's kids on a snuggly, cartoon, cereal filled Saturday morning.

I'm so excited for when I have more little pj-ed buggers to share those with.

Go ahead and play along, fill your day with laughter and half hour of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Power Rangers, or Inspector Gadget today.

You know it will make the day just day much better!

Another Reason why Film Rocks: Lusi and detail retention

Say I would have shot this exact same shot in digital, same exposure, same lighting, same everything.

DOESN'T WORK. Why? Your highlights will be COMPLETELY blown out, there won't even be any information there for you pull to try to fix in photoshop, you will be left with a blinking black screen.

Take a look here, ya, it's bright but man alive!, you can still see every detail in this gorgeous girls face. EVERY DETAIL. Sure, you could totally adjust the setting on your camera and compensate your exposure to be more digital friendly but then... everything else would be too dark, and I wanted those eyes to POP! 

Shot with the usual equipment but with my new LED light. I know! It looks just like day light. 

I'll talk about that more later, ditching the flash and getting to know one of these bad boys. 

Snow Day!

 

The dogs jumped up and ate Frosty's nose.

It was a somewhat traumatic end to a perfect snow day.

I record history, I don't alter it.

First and foremost:

GAH, she is gorgeous!

(turned the image black and white, it was a little green, and hit save)
(It is possible to get stunning photographs without using photoshop)

Secondly: 

to all Photographers and Mothers,

PLEASE stop photoshopping babies and children.

The whited eyes, (that sometimes have a star in them.. what??), and perfect porcelain skin are super creepy.

I mean, I hate photoshopping as far as "fixing" people and I'll just hold my tongue about it (for now) and just choose not to do that, but babies, kids... BABIES??

REALLY?

Those tiny zits

snotty nose
little dark bags under their eyes 

freckles
bruises
scratches

blotchy skin and

funky little mole

are what make them perfect

what makes them real

what make them unique

what make them a BABY

...

what make them yours.

... I don't get fed up with "industry" things very often (probably because I typically ignore them all together). And I try and stay away from commenting on other people photos (or even looking at them)

but really?

What are we teaching when we photoshop away our children's uniqueness, away their history?.
(What are we teaching them we photoshop away ours? )

Brooklyn's Newborn Photos in Black and White

 

You're getting Brooklyn's newborn photos even before her birth story! Still waiting on the developer...grrrr. I was going to wait to post these until after I got her birth story up but I couldn't help myself! She is just so stinking cute. I love all of her chub in that last photo.

Fat babies are cute babies.

Christmas Baths

"Call it a clan, call it a network, call it a tribe, call it a family:

Whatever you call it, whoever you are, you need one."

-Jane Howard-