Lively Family!

This family contacted me on recommendation from another client and  I am sure glad they did! Their three boys were so much fun to work with and certainly lived up to their namesake! With three boys and a humorous, fun loving husband Julie certainly has her hands full.

This guy's laugh was so infectious and you've never seen a face light up quite as much as his did when he loosened up for me. 

I love it when couples just naturally fall into each pose as well as these two did. 

We shot this at Dickson Azalea Park in Orlando FL. It's a gorgeous, out of the way park that is super versatile and great for all types of shoots. 

Lifestyle Photography- What it means to me.

If I had to label myself I'd like to say I'm primarily a lifestyle photographer. This title has different meanings to different folks but what it means to me is that I like to capture life's everyday moments. It means I like to document how life really is. Do I sometimes try try to eliminate distractions before I snap a photo or occasionally clone them out? You bet. But mostly I want to capture what's real and what my child or client is going to remember. How life really truly is, crumbs, toys and all because as gorgeous as those magazine spreads are, they aren't real life.

Here are some recent favorites.

Waiting for Daddy to come home

Noella's first Valentines Day flowers. From her Turkey Valentine, Daddy. 

Playing in the vertical blinds that I detest so much. 

Chubby little toddler feet.

Crossed ankles.

Lunch mates left behind.

So. Much. JOY in her eyes!

this. So much of this.

Waiting for Snickerdoodles.

So I challenge you to embrace the everyday. Pull your camera out for more than just the special occasion. I promise you'll take some photos you'll really truly treasure for years to come. 

The Kumar Family!

Whew-wee am I behind in blogging! Here's a session from wayyyyyy back in the beginning of the month.

Meet the Kumar family! They were so awesome. We had planned to use a totally different park but when we got there, the whole thing was blocked off for two blocks around it so we had to do a quick change of locations and I'm so glad we did! We found this tiny park with some awesome amenities that made for some really fun photos.

This family photo speaks so much to their personalities. April is just as sweet as can be and a true southern girl. Her husband is quiet and more reserved but clearly the man of the house and the kiddos. Oh those kiddos. So funny and so full of personality! 

This was such a sweet moment. She tripped coming down the stairs and big brother ran over and picked her up like she was lighter than air. He carried her all the way over to the next location. I was so glad I was in position to capture this moment for them! 

Zwicky Baby Blessing

This little girl. Oh my. She's perfect. Her hair sticks up in all the right places. She always seems to have the perfect amount of drool on her lips to make them look pout-y and perfect. On top of that, she's got two super funny parents and a whole bunch of people who adore her already. And seriously, how could you not?

Oh those lashes! 

She was such a trooper! She had a ton of family there to witness her blessing and naming ceremony. They took turns passing her between them all at the reception. I think after I took these few shots of her on the carpet, I never saw that little bundle put down! There was just so much love for her. It was heartwarming! What a way to start your life, eh? 

The marvelous grandparents. 

Here's a group shot of all the family there to celebrate her blessing. What a lucky little girl! 

Here's to you Miss Madison! And to your journey through life!

Gonzalez bump

I loved this shoot. The opportunity was a quick one. She e-mailed me on Wednesday and we scheduled it for Saturday. I am so glad I was free. :)

These two are so in love. They never stopped joking and when it came time for them to pose, they feel into each other like two puzzle pieces. I was magical to be a part of. 

Oh and their daughter Adrianna? So funny. She was such a delight. So funny and sweet and SO excited to meet her new sibling. 

Also, look at this mama rocking her baby bump. Gorgeous. 

I am so glad I was able to capture this special time for them! 

Beautiful Bokeh

One thing that has always been able to draw my attention to a photo is beautiful bokeh (bo-kuh). Bokeh is the bits of light in the background of a photo that are out of focus and create a pretty pattern. 

This series of photos was taken using my 70-300mm lens. I'll admit that lens isn't the first thing I think to grab when taking a photo (mostly because I am so in love with my 50mm's low light capabilities) but I am very impressed with it. 

Creating beautiful bokeh can be achieved in three easy steps. 

1. Find the light and frame your subject accordingly. This is super important as first, you need the light to have a properly exposed photo and secondly, it's hard to create bokeh when there aren't any pops of color or light in the background. Bokeh is all about adding interest to a photo so look for light coming through leaves or string of lights a little ways off. 

2. Figure out what your len's smallest aperture is and change it to that. My 70-300mm lens has a variable aperture which means that as I zoom it out, the lens changes it's aperture automatically. It ranges from 4-5.6 so when I was zoomed out to 300mm to take the photos of the flowers on the clothesline, my aperture was 5.6. My beloved 50mm lens however, has a fixed aperture so it's smallest is 1.8 and it will stay there until I change it again. 

3. Use the maximum zoom on your lens. This creates an optical illusion that will help details in the background appear larger even though they haven't gotten any closer.  Here is an excellent article that explains it much better. 

Now that you know what bokeh is and have read about how to create it, go try to make some of your own. Experiment with different apertures and note what it does to the background. Find the perfect amount of bokeh that works for you. As you can see, I'm a huge fan of super soft and creamy looking bokeh in my images but who knows! Maybe next week that will change. :)  Send me a comment with a link to your own bokeh experiments! I'd love to see them. 

Wienie

I've turned into a Florida wienie  Today it's going to be 65 and I'm in sweatpants, two shirts and have been contemplating putting on a sweater. What is this madness? A year ago I would have run outside to enjoy the "warm" weather. I guess you adapt to your surroundings at one point or another!