I did it!

I got her to smile!
It's a little one but it's definitely there.

I actually can't take credit for this smile. Since she was sleeping at the time it most likely wasn't my witty remarks or creative facial expressions that brought forth this sweet grin.

It was probably just baby gas.

That's what the experts say anyway...babies don't smile this young because they're happy...it's just bubbles in their stomach. Well, I don't buy it. Have you ever smiled because you have gas in your stomach?

I didn't think so.

Babies smile because they're happy and content and everything is right in their world. They smile when they're sleeping because they're dreaming about fresh diapers, warm milk, being cuddled and hearing the murmur of distant voices.
Keep in mind that I'm not a doctor. I can't be held accountable for any sweet, happy thoughts you may have when you see a smiling baby and consider that it may be smiling for reasons other than a mild build-up of air.

I wouldn't want anyone trying to take legal action against me.

Now that we've got that conspiracy all cleared up we can get on with the rest of this family's cuteness.

Here's a slideshow of their proofs...

It may be cut off a little on the right side. If you want to see it full size you can right click it and click "watch on youtube".

If you don't want to watch the slideshow the proofs are also here under "Hendrix Family".

Thank you for putting up with me.

B

Hendrix Family Sneak Peak...

Just look at this cuteness.

I actually had to ask her to stop smiling during the session to get this shot. Her cheeks must have been sore afterwards due to all the smiling she did.

It was nice because I really hate asking people to smile. I want them to smile because I say something funny, because they're family does something funny, or because they're happy. Not because I say...SMILE. I don't like fake smiles.
I don't think her smiles were fake. They're too cute to be fake.
And this is the new baby sister.
She's pretty much got the serious look down.
Yep.
I don't think there's any danger of me needing to tell her to stop smiling.

Yet.

More to come.
B

Wacey Returns...

You may remember Wacey from his senior session about a month ago.

He came back to do some shots with his football jersey and whatnot.

This one is my favorite from the set. I think it might be because his face isn't in it.
Ha! Come on now Wacey, you know you love me. Actually I like this one because of the way he's holding the helmet, so I cropped off his head to draw more attention to the helmet.

That's how I do things around here.

I like this one because of the super dark shadows...it makes it seem, well...dark. I also like this one because I got to make Wacey sit on a chair like this for about 6 shots...and there was no chair.

Ya get that? No chair. I didn't want a chair in the bottom part of the background and I didn't have a short stool, so I made him act like he was sitting.

Can you say burning thighs?

I'm evil.

I'm a genius.

I'm an evil genius.

Love the lighting on this one...again with the darkness.

This is his "stance"...I don't know football jargon, but I'm assuming this is the way he stands before he pummels the tar out of someone. Except I'm sure he has the helmet ON.

Right?

Maybe he doesn't wear the helmet. Maybe that's why he looks like this...

I'm sure he won't like it, but it's one of my favorites because he didn't know I was gonna shoot this...he was just being his cantankerous self and also because I often feel this way.

Don't you?

B

*The rest of his proofs from this session will be added onto his previous proofs here.

We can learn something from this picture...

Boys generally do NOT like to have their pictures taken and a girl will generally always have her pose on.

This shot just cracked me up. The boys look miserable and Miss A is just holding her little angelic pose.

You go girl!

Oh. I love this one. It's all about the eyes for me and sometimes you can't get engaging eyes with a plastered on grin. It's not for everybody but one thing's for sure...it's definitely intense.

Aww. Mom and dad are so cute here! And for the record...I made them give me serious looks for some of their shots but I thought I'd mix it up a little with sombre kids and smiling parents.

Isn't it usually the other way around?

I'm trying something new with this post. I've posted the YouTube video of the slideshow below. I didn't add all of their images as I ran out of room. If you'd like to see the rest of this sweet little family's session, you can go here and select Miller Family.

I hope the video works for everyone.

*Edit* Upon further inspection it seems that the video is being clipped on the right side in this post. If you'd like to see it unclipped (?) you can right click the video and click "watch on YouTube". Sorry for the confusion. *Edit*

Up next:

The return of Wacey..

B

Last Saturday...

I told her dad to get a bat.
He said he already had a gun.

I don't blame him.

One bit.

The seriousness of this child was cracking me up. He did this great little eye squint that made him all serious and adult looking and he was not a smiler. Which made me happy. Smiles are overated...when it comes to photography anyway.

There's a little bit of a grin.
And he's just too cute...add in missing teeth and it's even cuter!
I'm hoping to wrap up this beautiful family's session sometime tomorrow.

Sorry I'm not my chatty self in this post.

I feel like the rabbit in Alice in Wonderland..."I'm late, I'm late, for a very important date!"

I'm just not sure what the "date" is. (wrinkling forehead)

Have you ever had that feeling?

B

Can a boy be beautiful?

Yes.

Yes, he can.

This little boy is proof. He's got sweet little lips and perfect glowing skin. Be-au-tiful.
Something I'm constantly realizing is that I don't truly see the beauty in my subjects until I start editing their images.

Sure, I look at them, observe them and find their strong points for their image (everyone has a good side). But I'm usually in the middle of such a creative rush that I can't really focus on just one part of their face...I'm looking more at the face as a whole...the shape of it, the texture and color.

My point? This woman (above) has got a beautiful face! I had to edit one tiny little blemish that I'm not even sure was a blemish...it might have been a mole or freckle, and she looks as if she's glowing. Her lips, though are what really stood out to me in the editing process. Wow. Perfect lips.

I'm a little jealous.
I don't want to leave out dad...did you see his blue eyes? I didn't notice them in the shooting process, but they're not a normal shade of blue (in a good way). I have blue eyes and they don't look like that.

Again with the jealousy.

This is my favorite from the session. Maybe because it took me forever to figure out how to get it to look "painted" without looking cheesy. Maybe because of the squished baby lips. Maybe because it looks so creamy.

I just love to look at it. It doesn't matter why. Right?

B

You can go here to see the rest of this beautiful family's proofs and you can view the short little slideshow below.

Little Sack of Flour

That's what this little sweetie pie was like...a sack of flour. Only flour is heavier...and not as cute.

What I mean is, he was very limp and moldable. Which is how I like my babies to be.

For photography sessions anyway.

Let me just shut up and show you the pictures...

Ooooo. Smooshed lips. I love smooshed lips.

And this hat he's wearing is actually purple but through the wonderful world of photoshop it is now a green hat. Voila!

I hope to finish this session by Monday evening so stay tuned.

B

Mine.

While doing a photoshoot with some friends of ours I used my munchkins to pose while I set my lights up. Then I took the opportunity to grab one of the three of them together.

My poor neglected children don't have proper portraits done very regularly.

It's the whole "cobbler's children don't have shoes" and all that.

Here's the baby. And do I mean baby. He expects the girls to do everything for him because he "can't reach it/can't figure it out/can't understand it". Much like a man. But he's very affectionate and cuddly.
The lighting is a little funky on the girls because I was going for a different look with this set up and they just happened to be there at the precise moment I needed a test shot.

The middle child. Suffers from the "middle child syndrome". I feel her pain. She's got a major mean streak...takes after my sister but loves any and all babies. She wants to hold them and love them and squeeze them.

And last but not least, well...technically she's first. But last for the purpose of this post.

The oldest...mistreated, unloved and ignored...according to her. She's a people pleaser...wants everyone to be happy, but my word, is she needy! "Mom, mom, mom." And she gets homesick. Awwwww.

See any similarities?

They get all the good stuff from me and all the bad stuff from their dad.

It's true.

I'm practically perfect.

Ask anyone.

B

Delivery of the Mills Family session...

Get it?


Delivery?


And she's expecting?


Yes, I'm a nerd. I don't need to hear about it.


This cute couple is expecting their first child...after trying for a year and a half. I think that makes this session just a little bit special, don't you?


It is. Here are a few of my favorites...

Okay, I have to admit that his gaze is a little intense. I think I'm a little scared of him. :)

Not really...just look at his face here...now he just looks like a little puppy dog.

How sweet! I love this little look they're giving each other. Cute!

This was her idea since they had a wedding picture taken like this (minus the baby bump of course). wink, wink.

Check out that happy, healthy glow this proud mama's got going on! She's rockin' the sexy pregnant look! I love it!

B

Here's a little slideshow of all of their proofs.
And you can go here and click Mills Family to see the proofs bigger and not in a slideshow.

A Public Apology...

sneak peak first, then apology.

Here is the growing Mills family.
You'll see more of them later. More because I'll be finishing up their maternity session and also more because I'll be doing their newborn session when the little fellow makes his entrance into the world.

Yeah! A new mold-able, flexible, tiny (or not so tiny) newborn to take pictures of!

Stay tuned for that.

Now the apology...

Mrs. Mills (above) informed me during their session that she has the same camera as I do and that she's been told that she's in the wrong field...that she should be a photographer. At which point I went into a lengthy discussion of how I wish I had a better camera and the market is saturated with new photographers because of the digital age, and not everyone can be a photographer, blah, blah, blah. I think I came off sounding very protective of my business and a little egotistical.

Why am I telling you this?

Because I didn't want Mama-to-be Mills to think I was shooting her down...telling her that she can't be a photographer. That's not what I was saying at all. If you want to be a photographer, then do everything you can to be a photographer.

I get frustrated sometimes because people will tell me that my camera takes good pictures. When in actuality my "camera" is just that...a camera. It would be like telling Chopin that his piano makes pretty music or Van Gogh that his paintbrush creates a mean painting. Not that I'm comparing myself to a world class artist...you know what I mean. Right?

People sometimes get the idea that if they have a nice camera they can take nice pictures. And sometimes you can. That doesn't mean that you'll be consistent with it or that you can do it effectively as a means of living.

A fancy camera a photographer does not make.

I may be a slow learner, but it's taken me over 2 years to get where I'm at in my photography knowledge and I still have no idea what I'm really doing. Seriously. The technical aspect is not a walk in the park...particularly the lighting. I sometimes want to quit because of the challenges, but I can't because I love it. I keep shooting because I love it. I would have quit by now if it wasn't for that fact.

So, I apologize Mills family if I sounded haughty or protective of my art or even discouraging or negative. I did not intend to sound that way. If you have a love for photography and a desire to learn then you should give it a try.

I'm all about sharing my love of photography with other people. I know what I know today because other photographers shared their knowledge with me, and I'd love to watch someone else on their journey through the learning process and help if I can. Just don't think it's as easy as point and click because it is so not.

Stepping off of soap box...
B

No Smiling!

Just finished up with little Miss J's session. She did NOT want to smile for me despite the fact that her mom and ma-maw says she smiles all the time.

They all say that.

I must bring out the worst in babies.

But it works for my evil purposes because I don't want my babies smiling in every picture.

I want them to be investigative...
Hands-on... Colorful...

Sneaky...

or just plain sullen...

I was able to get all of that from this little doodle bug.

There's more pictures of her not smiling in this little video of all of her proofs...and yes, there are some of her smiling...what do you take me for? A baby smile hater?

I think not.

B

(Click here and go to Reagan Family to see the larger proofs without the slideshow.)

Little J on the loose...sneak peak...

This little booger was everywhere...well, everywhere except where I wanted her to be.

So we stuck her in a basket.

We let her out for a little while on good behavior.

This made her very happy.

But then she got all crazy on us again so we put her in a box.

More from this session to come.

B