Get 'em while you can

For this family shoot, I've decided the theme was "catch that baby." Everyone sat down, Sutton promptly got up and galloped toward my camera. Everyone gathered over here, Sutton managed to be over there. She is 1 1/2 after all - what else would she be doing?

Anyway, we managed to corral everyone together for a few shots on a lovely Fall afternoon the Saturday after Thanksgiving. I've photographed these children before (you remember Jack or Sam's future wife Charlotte), and was happy to reprise the role of photographer for the whole family.

Sutton, Charlotte and Jackson are our neighbors' children and my kids just love playing with them. Their ages are just about the same as Sam and Jack, so the boys are able to look up to Jackson and hang out with the girls at the same time. Per-fect! Needless to say, we had great fun playing in the leaves and finding acorns on a beautiful day. Aren't they a handsome family!

Referrals are great

I just love referrals. Yes, the business is nice, but more than that it's such a lovely compliment that someone liked my images enough to recommend me to someone else. This is actually how my latest family shoot came about.

My friend Taylor's mother-in-law was looking for someone to photograph her and her husband with their four grandchildren, and Taylor told her about me (thanks sister). Whoo hoo! I just love the idea of a grandparent/child photo! My grandparents have passed on, and it's this time of year especially I find myself thinking about them even more. I loved holidays with them and while I spent more time with my mother's parents than my dad's father (my paternal grandmother died way before I was born), I have such lovely memories of all three.

Simply put: There's nothing like the grandparent/grandchild connection (my children have been blessed with FABULOUS grandparents) and it was so apparent with these lovely folks too. Here are some of my favorites.
I think this one is my favorite - probably because from this angle Wiley looks sooooo much like my Pop-Pop.



Oh, and Jane and Susan's parents got into the act too.

Somebody catch that dog

Right before Thanksgiving I photographed friends of ours from church. They were one of the first families I photographed shortly after launching my business, and I was so grateful to have them return. This time, however, they wanted to include their new puppy, Bogey. Uh oh. Great on paper, but I wasn't so sure about it in practice. When I arrived the dog ran around like puppies do, pulled us around the yard and actually escaped into the cul de sac for a short while.

Well the funniest thing happened! As soon as we sat everyone down and I started clicking away, the dog transformed into the perfect subject. Sat completely still, tongue wagging and everything. We were all amazed and I was so happy to deliver the image the family was really after (not seen here - can't do that silly, it's for holiday cards). Yeah Bogey!

Way behind

Well, here it is December and I'm way behind in my family posts. Below is a recent shoot I did with good friends Janna and Drew. I photographed their son last year for holiday photos, but this was the first time I got to hang with the whole family. Drew had been after Janna for some time for an updated family photo so I was happy to help.

These guys were troopers -- this session was rescheduled at least six times because of the God-awful weather we had seemingly every weekend. We finally got it in, AND got the gorgeous day we wanted. Below are my faves.

Happy Harveys

Another great trip to the Harveys this past week. I don't know what it is, but those shoots (we've now completed our third) are just so much fun. Perhaps it was the GORGEOUS Georgia afternoon that carried us along so happily, but I suspect it's because these folks are so natural in front of the camera.

This time, I spent most of the time chasing Be-ah (aka Ben) and Sam around their backyard and cracking up at Ben's silly faces. Funny sidebar: "Be-ah" is what Sam calls big brother Ben and, according to his mother, got that from the way she calls him when she needs him, "Beah-en." Two-syllabled, so naturally you can see how Sam got Be-ah. How adorable is that??

Below are some of the pics from the day. Thanks again guys!

Smushy face, Huggie bear

On Saturday, my brother, sister-in-law, niece and brand-spankin-new baby nephew came for their first visit to Suwanee. For reference, this is my Army brother who was just recently stationed at Fort Gordon, GA. The boys were so excited about the visit this weekend and couldn't wait to see their aunt and uncle, and I couldn't wait to get my mitts on that baby.

At two months Liam is already smiling and is just the cutest thing! He looks nothing like my brother Ian, although I did see flashes of him in certain instances. He was such a good baby the whole day and was passed from person to person without much fuss. I forgot how often the ity bity ones need to eat and be changed -- this kid ate every 90 minutes or so and hollered for it each time. (Yup, we're definitely done at two, thank you very much. No going back to those days!)

Liam (baby, baby Liam, baby Leo according to Sam and Jack) also generously slept through dinner while the rest of us chowed at our favorite local noisy Mexican cantina. Certainly nice of him don't ya think?!

So, while I didn't want to have the camera in the baby's face the whole day, I HAD to get a few while they were here. I'm just glad we'll have them around these parts a while so we can watch this little guy grow up.

Notice anything?

I have a new look! No, I haven't gotten my braces off yet, but I do have a nifty new logo. My friend Jenny, who reps my fave new jewelry line www.stelladot.com/jennylau, happens to be married to a lovely fellow (Derek) who HAPPENS to be a graphic designer (they also have the most gorgeous kids). Well, one day a few weeks ago I sheepishly asked if he might be interested in helping me design a new look - my old logo wasn't quite what I had hoped for - and lo and behold he said yes! Whoo hoo!

After discussing what I was looking for: something more professional, fun, feminine, etc., he gave me a bunch of different options to look at - all were quite good. We whittled it down some, and he let me tinker a bit (I'm sure I drove him nuts), and finally we landed on what you see here. THEN, he went WAY above and beyond and designed a handout and stand up display sign that I can use while my new biz cards are on order (Derek, I'll be calling ya soon about that).

I just love the new design, and Derek was so great to work with. I can't wait to start using this stuff. Hey, if you need a good designer some day - call me - I gotta guy.

How cute is the little clothes line?

Dreary on Halloween

It's been raining a lot lately so no surprise that it rained tonight on Halloween. It also rained enough yesterday to delay my flight home from DC by 2 hrs, but that's another story. But no worries, tonight's rain did not dampen the spirits of all the little princesses, super heroes and goblins that live on our street. They trudged on with umbrellas and slickers without a care in the world - I mean free candy is free candy after all, right? Sam retired early and helped me give out candy, and thankfully almost all of it went. That's good in this house because I'd end up eating the leftovers.

I'm also including a few pics from our church's annual Trunk or Treat from earlier this week - which I just love. That night was absolutely stellar so we got at least one good night of costume wearin' in without having to bundle up. Gotta love Halloween in Georgia!

I thought this little pumpkin was a small child at first glance - I think Jack did too

Beetle bug Sutton

In betweeen raindrops, Bill took these

I've got my eye on you

Our lovely senior pastor, Dr. Self

Chicken Johnny and Chicken Gee

Polka dot princesses

There's just something about polka dots on little girls, isn't there? I got to photograph these two lovelies along with their lovely parents on Saturday after t-ball fun and putt putt madness. It started out a beautiful day - and that lasted about 10 minutes before the clouds rolled in and blocked out the sun - again. It was cold and blustery and grey, but these gals soldiered on and never complained once. I, on the other hand, was whimpering into my SCARF. Okay, I'm exaggerating a little - but I was wearing a scarf.

Anyway, Chris and Krista and their polka dot gals were great to photograph and even their youngest miss - albeit between adorable pouts - managed to sneak me a few smiles. Bribery works every time! Below are a few from the afternoon. Thanks guys!