Twin Cities Child Photographer - On Photographing One's Own Children

One of my initail motivations for pursuing photography, was so that I could take better photos of my own kids. This worked very nicely for the first couple years of my daughters life, but as soon as Debbie turned two she suddenly became very difficult to photograph. She just doesn't like it. Not usually - and especially not if her mother was behind the camera!

Much to her grandparents dismay, most of Debbie's pictures from the past year are of her looking the other away - or simply giving me that blank, smile-less stare. As if to say, "Okay mom, I'm looking at the camera - but I'm not going to like it."

Yesterday I tried to sit Debbie down for a quick little session in front of the living room window. The lighting was just perfect, and as I saw the way it lit up her blond hair I knew I had to capture the moment.

Only moments before I took this picture, Debbie was perfectly happy reading books and re-arranging the furniture. But the moment I tried to get her to sit still, this is the look she gave me:

[caption id="attachment_2078" align="aligncenter" width="700" caption="Seriously, how heart-wrenching is that?  I just want to take her picture, not her reason for existence."][/caption]

Apparently she was not going to make it easy for me.  Now I had to really work it.

Tickles, funny faces and peek-a-boo proceeded.  But it was her personal favorite that tipped the scale. You see, the one sure way to make Debbie laugh,  is to..

wait for it...

make scary growling dinosaur noises!

Girly, huh?

After a few growls (and reciprocating squeals), she gave me this:

But as soon as I took the shot she must have thought:  "Uh, oh, mom got me laughing! I'd better compose myself quick!"

This is OK though.  This look is so Debbie that it truly deserves to be captured.  Smiling is not always important - as long as you catch that gleam in their eye!

A couple tickles later, I got the look I really wanted.

[caption id="attachment_2082" align="aligncenter" width="467" caption="Ta-da!"][/caption]

Whew! That was a 10 minute work out right there.

As soon as I took this photo she was done, and on her merry way she went.

(As a side note, I am continually amazed at how exuberant, emotional and particular an almost-3-year-old can be!!! Where does this come from anyway??! - Oh. Right...)

And that my friends, is what it's like to be a photographer, photographing one's own children.  Not as easy as you might have thought, eh? :-)

Twin Cities Child & Baby Photographer - Deck Mornings

My sweet babes.



I live for mornings like this.  :-)

Twin Cities Family Photographer - Familial Love

Almost every family has them - the child or parent who does not want to be photographed.

But lucky me - this was not one of those families!

This session was such a pleasure.  I love it when clients get into the process and start coming up with their own ideas. They had such enthusiasm about the session, and you can tell from the photos how much fun they were having.  Sometimes the best part of a session is simply watching families play.  It's such a joy to see. :-)

Twin Cities Child Photographer - Happy Birthday Luke!

My youngest brother Luke had his birthday yesterday.  He's a full 9 years now!  I was 18 years old when he was born, and when I left home he was barely out of toddlerhood (5). I was so sad to leave my sweet baby brother, and now every time I go home for a visit I'm amazed at how much he's grown and changed!

But he'll always be my cool baby brother. :-)

(I took this photo of Luke when he was only 2.  Seriously, this kid was simply born cool.)

Twin Cities Family Photographer - Minneapolis Fall Family Fun

Remember this beautiful birth? It's been about 6 months since then, and time for fall family photos!

Its always such a pleasure to photograph this family, but the beautiful fall foliage makes it doubly fun. :-)

Twin Cities Baby Photographer - A Baby's Many Looks

I recently put together a custom photography & print order for this family.

When their first child was one month old, they had a collage like this made.  So for the second child they wanted me to adhere to the same style and design - and similar poses.  This was my attempt at same-ness. I think it turned out very well!

Twin Cities Baby & Family Photographer - A Baby Peek ... Continued

You've already seen some of these photos before, but now you can view the rest of baby Lilyana's photo session through the slideshow below.



Complimentary online slideshows are included with every photo session, from now until October. Such a great way to share your photos with family and friends!

Twin Cities Newborn Photographer - A Baby Peek

I had a newborn session this morning! Only a few weeks have past since the Maternity session, and now I get to take pictures of their precious Lilyana. Big sister loves the camera, too! So here is a little sneak peak at this very adorable photo session.









Enter the contest.

Twin Cities Mother & Baby Photographer - Pure Joy

As soon as I snapped this photo I know I had captured something special. I just love the look of pure joy on the baby's face. It warms my heart. Truly.

It is such an amazing, precious wonder, to have a child. My own child is one of the best, most important parts of my life.

I love being a mom!

And I love to witness the love other parents have for their own children.

I love being a photographer.

Twin Cities Child Photographer - Girly Fun

This little one was hard to catch! So much energy, and so much fun. Couldn't resist catching these expressions, during last night's maternity session (more on that, forthcoming). I look forward to photographing her with new baby sister, after she arrives!

Twin Cities Cousin Photographer - My Cousin Emily

Isn't my cousin Emily simply beautiful??  I snapped these shots of her during our Memorial Day picnic, at my parent's house.  She just finished up her Jr year with flying colors, and I'm so proud of her. She's so smart, creative and talented!

I wish I lived closer so that I could be more involved in her life - but I suppose this way she'll always have a nice place to vacation in the summer (riiiight? hint,hint!).

Love you, girl!!

Enter the contest.

Twin Cities Family Photographer - Morning at Lake Calhoun

I had such a great family session this weekend! We met up at Lake Calhoun in Minneapolis, and the beautiful overcast day was just perfect for photographs. And by a happy happenstance, someone had left a boat on the beach for our own personal use. It made for a fantastic prop! I couldn't have planned it better myself. We returned home with some great photographs, and one particular funny story... ;-)

Here are some of my favorites from the session...

Enter the contest...

Twin Cities Child Photographer - My Girl

Here's my current favorite photo, of my little growing girl...


Enter the contest..

Twin Cities Mother & Baby Photographer: Baby Thomas

Spring is back!  Oh, and I'm lovin' it.  Currently a gorgeous 72 degrees in Minneapolis, and it seems a crime to stay indoors for very long.  Here in Minnesota we have such hard, long, Siberian-like winters that I have sometimes questioned why I still live here (..."ooh, that's right...I'm in deep crazy love with my adoring husband!"), but the amazing spring and summer months really does make it all worth it (- the love does too, of course!).

I've been taking lots of pictures with my new Canon 7D , but haven't had much time for editing lately.  I'm looking forward to showing all of you some really cool new photos - and video!  So stay tuned.  In the meantime, take a look at these mama and baby photos from a session the other day.  And be sure to sign up for my current contest if you have not already (I still need about 50 more entrants before I can pick a winner!).

Twin Cities Family Photographer - Spring Family Portrait Sessions

What a lovely family to photograph! And such a positively perfect day to take photos by the lake. The vibrancy of spring seems to be catching on!




If you like what you see here, be sure to enter my current giveaway, to win a free photo session like this!!

Twin Cities Child Photographer * Wakin' Up Is Hard To Do

Twin Cities Child Photographer * Clever Bibs and Jewelry that Matters

A few of you asked about the "strange bib thing with sleeves" that my little Debbie was wearing in the last entry.  The  BARNSLIG RAND bib is, in my opinion, one of IKEA's most clever products.  It comes in especially handy for those extra messy foods, or when you are particularly concerned about your baby's clothes.  It is a must on Sundays, or on occasions when my girl wears her extra-cute clothes.  AND it's only $3.99 for two bibs!  The only thing I wish I could change is the fabric - because though it wicks away most water, it's not waterproof.  But it works really well for the most part.  Definately on my baby-must-have's list.

Since I'm already mentioning a favorite product, I just have to say something about this beautiful idea I ran across at the Minneapolis Baby Expo.

It is rare that I ever splurge money on jewelry (every extra bit usually goes into photography equipment these days), but this First Impressions Pendant is such a cool idea that I don't think I can resist.  Just think - my sweet baby's fingerprint, preserved forever in this lovely piece of jewelry I can keep with me always...it's simply too precious to pass up.  I love that I can add to the necklace as I have my future children, and that they offer a few different ways to display the fingerprint (though they haven't displayed all designs on their website yet).

Pretty, simple and meaningful.  I love it!

Twin Cities Child Photographer * My Blueberry Monster

First of all, thanks to all of you who stopped by my booth this weekend, at the Minnesota Baby Expo!
Your support is much appreciated, and it was great to see, get to know, and catch up with each of you!

Secondly, I thought I'd share some fun photos from this morning.  My gleeful little Debbie ate almost a full cup of frozen blueberries, much to my astonishment.  Enjoy these photos from the aftermath.  Gotta love them babies!

Twin Cities Portrait Photographer * Self Portraits

In which I show off my new haircut, awkwardly photograph myself, and play around with photoshop at the same time.

Twin Cities Baby Photographer * My First Post!

[caption id="attachment_85" align="alignright" width="467" caption="My little niece, trying out my new baby props! "][/caption]

First of all, I just have to start by giving a big THANK YOU to Oscar and Ian, two of Dreamhost's web operators. Though I know a little about webdesign and how domains work...I obviously don't know enough, because I got myself into a heap-o-trouble this afternoon. After over a week of work, I was so scared I had lost everything you see here (not that it's much, but hey!). Then I noticed the little "chat with an operater" icon (duh, I probably should have clicked this in the first place). Long story short, this blog wouldn't be here right now without their help! Kudos to Dreamhost, they have just earned themselves another loyal customer.

But now to the business at hand - my new website! I am so excited to finally show you all what I have been working on the past couple weeks. What do you guys think? Let me know if you have any problems with it's functionality. It's a work in progress, but I think it's finally show-worthy, and I'll do my best to keep continual updates coming (be sure to subscribe!)

So now after such a very emotional web-battle this afternoon, I think I'll go enjoy the rest of my beautiful spring day. A nice walk in the park is just what I need. TTFN!