Montessori School Pictures

One of the many things I am blessed with are great friends. My girl Shawna hired me to take her Montessori class pictures this past week. Not only was the weather beautiful, but the kids were great. I love giving parents school portraits with a little artistic flare. I really love the way they turned out, and hope they love them as well. The weather was great for our session, and I think we all had an awesome time.

 This little dude was so sweet. He gave me some fun smiles, and a couple goofy ones.

 Miss Keeley let me move her around, she smiled at all my silly faces, and gave me this awesome look.

 What a honey Paige is. This picture to the left, I adore. When doing school photos, I don't get as much time with the kids as I'd like. When she gave me this look, I imagined that being a classic expression, and something worth giving to the parents. Sweet dimples.

 Hunter usually plays hard to get when I bust out my camera. Thankfully he knew we meant business this time, and hamed it up for me wholeheartedly. Thanks, Dude!

 My boy Danny. Not only did I get to photograph him, but I see a lot of this little guy on account his mama is one of my absolute favorite women on the planet. It has been a pleasure and a joy to be a part of his sweet life.

 Brooke. Can you say GORGEOUS? Oh my goodness. She was polite, and kind, and certainly photogenic.

 Sweet beautiful sisters.

Bree. This little cutie made me belly laugh. I can see under those amazing brown eyes, there is a feisty little girl in there.

 Colby is all action. He wanted to show me all his tricks. He had no problem smiling for the camera. Those kids make my work so much easier.

 Kyle. The big brother. I can get enough of that sweet grin. He is an awesome, and loving older brother, and I can tell his brother absolutely adores him.

I am so thrilled with doing school portraits. Thanks class for a great day!

Pumpkin Patch

The weather here around Seattle has been fabulous. Amazing light from the foggy days, and crispness you can't get any other time of year. Last Saturday, we got to enjoy the benefits this beautiful fall. 

Off to the pumpkin patch we went. 

What I love about outings like this, is the opportunity to observe and photograph things I don't have access to daily in life.

 

 Like Mr. Donkey. He was staring at Maggie Mae, and dang it, I kind of wish I has grabbed my flash to light his eye a bit. I was worried though, that if I did, the light would have startled the animals, so I went with all natural light this time.

corn leaves bending in perfect rhythm

I wish I would have moved that piece of grass. I may have to work on it a bit in Photoshop to get rid of it. But I love the patina on the metal.

 

And  my adorable children. Got to throw a couple of them in the mix.

    

Miss Donna's Grandkids.

There are a few things that cut straight to my heart. Daddies, old married couples, and the love grandmas 

have for their grandchildren. Last week, I had the pleasure of capturing school photos for this adorable 

family of close siblings and cousins.

 How handsome is this boy? 

 This is a good-looking young man. He has a soft spot for his tiny cousin, and you can just tell she adores him. In this shot, we were poking fun at him about a girl he likes, and I got such a great natural smile! Those are the absolute best, when I can pull a real smile out of a teenage boy. I hope he likes this portrait as much as I do.

 I couldn't have asked for a more agreeable young lady to work with. She let me move her around, fix her shirt, and even pull her hands out of her sweatshirt. That age, the cool thing is to keep hands inside, or cut thumb holes. Looking at these photographs, you can just tell she is growing up to be a beautiful girl.

How cute is she? I really love allowing kids to be themselves. I hate the pressure kids feel to perform for a camera. One thing as a photographer, I tell my clients is, "Let them be who they are, I will get the shots that will warm your heart." In a school portrait setting, I still have to get myself out of that mindset. It is important to me that even with the school photographs I take, that you can see a piece of who they actually are in the image. I think this one has been achieved.

 I LOVE this shot. I love you can see the sweetness between tiny Mara and the big cousin. I love that they look comfortable, and happy. I love all of them are looking into the camera. The greatest joy as a photographer is to deliver images that the client is excited about. I saw excitement when my lovely clients saw this last night. May this image grace their walls for years to come.