Twin Cities Child Photographer - Sweet in Pink

I am SO enjoying my new studio, now that winter is upon us.  Now my clients can enjoy in-studio style consultations and sessions!  This little girl particularly liked posing on my fluffy bench. :-)

Twin Cities Family Photographer - Merry Christmas!

Twin Cities Family Photographer - Fall Flair

Have you noticed that it's BEAUTIFUL outside?!  Despite slight feelings of dread (regarding Minnesota's freakishly long winters), fall is my favorite time of the year.  And I am having a blast capturing the beauty fall holds for all of us.



 

You may notice this family from last years session.  I'm so happy to do this for them again. :-)

Would you like to get your holiday cards taken care of?  If you are interested in having me photograph your family portrait this year, please contact me ASAP.  Dates are filling up fast and Christmas will be here before you know it!

 

 

Twin Cities Child Photographer - iPhone's Make Good Photos Too

This may be a camera phone photo, but I think it is one of my favorites of Debbie, to date.  I'll keep my 7D and be oh-so-thankful for it, but the iPhone is pretty awesome for those random pictures I'd miss otherwise.

Oh yes, dirt piles make for endless entertainment at softball games.

Who needs a ball and a stick when all you need is a good pile of dirt??!
That's my Debbie.

 

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 Toddler Photographer - Lily is One!

The last time I saw Lilyana she was 6 months old!

And now here she is at a year, toddlin' around like a pro.



Such an adorable little princess!

I have had the pleasure of photographing Lilyana from the time she was a month old (and even before that, if you count the maternity session).  It is so much fun to watch these little ones grow, and to have the honor of documenting their mini milestones.  They all grow up so fast.  You have to work quickly if you want to catch moments like this on film!

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The next time you  hear from me, I will be settled in my new HOUSE! We move this weekend.  I'm soooOOO excited to have a place for the little ones to run, as well as a studio for my clients. Oh yeah, good things happenin'.  Catch you on the flip side!

Twin Cities Family Photographer - Shula's One Year Old!

One year ago, this little sweetheart was born 2 months early. You may have read all about it here. Three months later I had the pleasure of taking this photo of her after she returned from the NICU. And now, she's one year old!



As you can see, Shula is such a joy to her parents and those around her.  We are so thankful to have her with us!

Twin Cities Family Photographer - Highlights from my 2010 Christmas

It was so wonderful to be able to spend Christmas with my family this year!  Here are just a few of my favorite images, amongst the hundreds I took over the weekend.  I have such great (and good lookin!) people in my family.  I am so blessed.  Just looking at these gives me warm fuzzies. :-)

Only 4 more days until New Years - which means you have only 3 more days to enter my contest!

Don't miss out - three people will win a month of Blooma Yoga. Take a moment to enter and your chances of winning are really very good!

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 Family Photographer - A Session of Adorable Red-Heads & Their Parents

I guess you could say I have a photographic affinity for red-heads. I've had a few people point this out, as they look through my portfolio. I suppose they are drawn to me for some reason, just as I am drawn to photograph them.

I don't often get such adorable subjects as I did with this session, however! Such cute kids. And the shy fiesty-ness of the little girl made the session all the more challenging - and rewarding! Her expressions were just perfect.



Do you need new family photos?? Enter the Contest!

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 Toddler Photographer - Because She's My Favorite

It's been a while since I really, seriously, took the time to have a photo session with my own little Debbie. So last night we went off to the park, armed with 3 super cute outfits, and my awesome new lens (***LOVE!***).

Debbie was so excited to be out and about, so I was able to get adorably animated shots. It's always tough to catch a toddler on the run, but I was pretty pleased with the results.

Prepare to have a cute-attack!


And by the way, the contest is still going on!
Looks like we only need 33 more comments before we can choose a winner, so be sure to sign up and tell your friends about it.

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 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!