Nicolette's Senior Photos, Part One

For most any photo shoot, the first 10 minutes or so is all about getting comfortable and loosened up.  Both for myself and for the people I photograph.  We chit-chat, snap photos, and I get to know their style, they get to know my style.  We hang out.  The photos are almost always tense and awkward the first 10 minutes with forced smiles and stiff poses.  After that, the ice tends to break and with it, true personality can show through and we can work together to achieve really great, natural photos.
So it was really unfortunate that just as Nicolette arrived for her senior portraits photo shoot, the clouds rolled in and thunder grumbled through.  So I rushed to get some photos in before the rain that was sure to come.  I felt bad that I might have come off as impatient or controlling, with this sense of urgency about me- totally NOT my usual approach to a photo shoot!  And what should have been our casual getting-to-know-one-another-time, ended up being our entire shoot for the day.
Yep, we breezed through the first 10 minutes and then the sky opened up and we ran for our cars.
I am definitely looking forward to our rescheduled shoot in a few weeks!  But we did manage to get a few good shots in today.  Here are the ones I liked best:

Little Anna

Had a quick morning photo shoot with 8 month old Anna.  I'm glad we met before noon- I was already sweating within 3 minutes of being outside and my lens was fogging up from the humidity!  Gotta love summertime...
Anna's 3 older brothers were there and you could just see her love for them!  They had her squealing with delight the whole time :D
She is such a doll, I had a really tough time deciding which 10  photos were the best!  Here are a couple of the ones I chose...

Today with the Weatherly Family

It was my privilege to be able to photograph the lovely Weatherly family, to try to freeze time before Jon and Tammie officially become empty-nesters.
We started out with just strolling along the trails of Farbach Werner Nature Preserve, enjoying the weather and each others' company.  Then we lingered in the flower garden and near the barn. Here are a few of my favorites from this afternoon (I had a very hard time trying to narrow it down to just a handful of faves- we got some really great shots, in my opinion!  But, with such a stunning family, I don't think it's possible to take a really bad photo!)

10.20.30's and Then Some.

I've been rethinking the whole "10.20.30. Photo Shoot Event" format (check out the details of what I am talking about here).
It seemed like a decent idea, and I got lots of positive feedback, but no one is signing up and I am beginning to get bored with it.  I tend to do that, get bored with things, very easily.  Especially when it's not really going anywhere.  I don't want to completely toss out the idea- I mean, people have told me they plan to sign up in the future, not to mention the free shoot I owe to the contest winner who came up with the name for me!  Plus, I still think it is a good idea... I am just not famous for my patience and, well, this "event" thing has got me antsy.
So I have been thinking...
Thinking about restructuring the format of the 10.20.30's.  But then they would really no longer be able to be called 10.20.30...
Or I could advertise like crazy for the next one.  I just don't want to get obnoxious with it... I prefer word of mouth.  Word of mouth has been good to me so far!
Oh, what to do...
Oh, the joys of working for myself :)

In other news, I had a lot of fun photographing my children the other day at Mt Airy Arboretum.  It was just me and the tots hanging out by the lake.  Next time I will bring someone else with me.  It didn't cross my mind until I was actually there and taking pictures of my 1 year old son, how difficult it would be to also look after my 3 year old daughter who was so keen to go "fishing" in the lake.  Luckily, no harm befell anyone, and we all went home dry. Well, at least lake-dry... we were all drenched in sweat!  If you are my friend on Facebook, you've probably seen these already, but here they are again- just because those kids are so darn cute!

July 12, Albers Family Reunion

I had the pleasure of doing family portraits for the Albers family during their annual family reunion- what a fun group of people!  We found some shade from the hot sunny day (and a halfway decent backdrop for the photos) under a tree at Colerain Park.

With a large group of people, so much needs to be orchestrated.  It can be difficult to find small, candid moments.  I did manage to catch this- probably one of my favorite shots, after the happy couple posed with her sitting in the tree.  She had a hard time getting down on her own:

For these portraits, I had to do a little more posing of people than I typically tend to do.  But young children will do as they please:

The tree was a big hit with the older kids (and kids at heart) because it was begging to be climbed.

All in all, it was a good time with a great group of people!  Thanks, Roni, for the opportunity.

 

Melissa and Shawn

It was a beautiful day for an afternoon at the park with a beautiful couple!  But, boy, was it hot!  Luckily there was plenty of shade to go around, and Melissa and Shawn looked comfortable, cool as cucumbers in front of the camera.  Complete naturals!

I had an idea, since it was such a hot day, of the couple taking their shoes off and rolling up their pant legs to go stand ankle-deep in the fountain.  Unfortunately there is a wicked slope from the edge of the pool and who knows how far they would have had to wade (or slip) to find a flat bottom, so that shot will have to wait for another day, another body of water.

We went from the park to the church where they first met and where Shawn proposed.  I knew it would be a bit cheesy, but I had them reenact The Moment for a photo.  A boy out dog-walking spotted us and shouted, "Hey did you propose at night?"  Shawn replied that he had.  "I was there. I saw you!" he called as he walked down the road.  How random and interesting is that?  I wish I had gotten a decent picture of him, but it took a second for me to realize he wasn't just heckling or being nosy. 

I loved this church building!  The architecture as well as the deep red front doors made for a really nice backdrop. 

It's wild to think that Melissa and I have been photographed in our pajamas with our sisters at the ripe old age of 2 or 3 years... first little toddler friends.  It is really cool to be back in each other's lives in this way!  I am truly honored to be able to photograph her engagement and I am eager and excited about photographing the wedding of this beautiful couple!  Congrats, Melissa and Shawn!

May 23, 2010 with the Huberts

I had a great time with the Hubert family this past Sunday afternoon!  It was a hot day (too hot for May, in my opionion!)... I think we all had worked up a sweat at some point throughout our hour together (at least I was BEHIND the camera!) but these five beautiful people looked good, no matter what!

Luckily there was a water fountain nearby to help cool off a bit...

Poor big brother had to have his nap interrupted to make it to the park, and he was certainly sleepy for the first half hour or so.  I don't think he cracked a smile till after Mom and Dad swung him around and up in the air.  After that, he seemed to warm up to me and my camera a bit more.  (Going to check out the turtles and other wildlife at the pond helped, too).

                                                                                                

 

It is hard to believe that the littlest Hubert man is already a year old!  Seems like just the other day I was shooting his newborn photos with the family.  He has certainly grown up into a curious little dude.  He was so interested in my camera and really wanted to give it a closer look, and his curiosity made for some really adorable and unique shots of the family! 

 

It was great to have the opportunity to work with the Huberts again, to see how the kids have grown and changed.  I adore how their love for one another really shines through and permeates their pictures.  It's people like this that make my job easy :)