Kristine's World Photography

Family Fun

2012-01-17T14:07:00.000-08:00

"Family Fun"

My entry for this week's theme at iheartfaces.com - this lucky dad with his two beautiful daughters, sharing a kiss and a laugh at the park. I love the big smile on his face.

Best Face

2012-01-09T15:08:00.000-08:00

This little guy is one of my favorites from the past year, and my entry for "Best Face" at iheartfaces.com this week. It was a tough choice.
I'm really enjoying seeing the other images that were submitted this week. Some very beautiful work.

"Bust a Gut"

2011-11-29T15:47:00.000-08:00

I have great clients. I suggested while taking these girls' pictures that their dad might decide to do something funny that might make them laugh while I was shooting. I didn't get to see what it was that he did, but whatever it was, it worked!
This family was actually featured in my previous post, in a shoot from a few years ago, when the girl on the right was just beginning to walk. It's nice to see how they grow and change from year to year.

The challenge on iheartfaces.com this week is called "Bust a Gut" - there are lots of great images to see on this theme there.

Autumn

2011-11-14T10:46:00.000-08:00

I love shooting family portrait sessions in the fall. This was a fun shoot - perfect weather, great light, and lots of leaves. This was a nice moment, though there were other nice shots (posted below) too, and it was hard to decide.

See more pictures on the "Autumn" theme at iheartfaces.com.

Black

2011-11-07T22:36:00.000-08:00

"Black"

My entry for this week's "Black" theme at iheartfaces.com is, again, of a favorite model of mine - my daughter. She'd wrapped herself up in a black backdrop that I'd brought out, probably hoping to get pictures of the kids with the backdrop behind. They had their own ideas about what to do with it though. I have pictures of each of them, with the backdrop wrapped around like a large shawl, usually with the other one running around. They're not much for standing still. Even in this image, parts of her are moving and showing motion blur. But I loved the expression on her face - just a sweet and happy kid, busy doing what kids do.

There are many beautiful images and many different interpretations of this week's theme to see at iheartfaces.com.

"Let Them Be Little"

2011-10-24T16:24:00.000-07:00

"Let Them Be Little"

There is a row of trees with beautiful color along a busy street not far from our house. There's also a concrete wall covered by colorful ivy. I've been driving by them every day wanting to get out and get some pictures with those fantastic red leaves. My daughter wanted to stay in the car and read her library book, but I cajoled her into going for a walk and letting me snap some pictures, with her frequently making slightly goofy faces (this is one of the less goofy ones). She was a good sport about it. After about half an hour though she was done.

This is my entry for the "Let Them Be Little" theme this week at iheartfaces.com. There are lots of beautiful images to check out!

First Day of School

2011-09-12T15:14:00.000-07:00

First Day

This year I didn't get any "first day of school" photos. My daughter missed her first day of first grade. - she and my husband had both been sick during the night, and I wasn't feeling too hot myself. This photo is from a couple of years ago - my son's very first day of first grade. He'd attended a private montessori for kindergarten, so this was also his first day to ride the bus. It was the first time that we met many of the kids in our neighborhood.

That look he's giving me is very typical of him. Despite it being his first day, he didn't seem flustered or nervous about it at all.

There are many more images on the "School" theme at iheartfaces.com this week - check'em out.

Eyes

2011-08-16T10:39:00.000-07:00

Eyes

This is my entry for the "eyes" theme this week at iheartfaces.com. Her eyes are so blue! I just love the way this one turned out. There are a lot of great images this week - check them out!

Water Fun

2011-07-26T15:26:00.000-07:00

Water Fun

We haven't had much of a summer here in the Pacific Northwest so far. My entry for this theme is from last year.

We had a great time camping with our friends. The kids loved playing in the water. We bought these simple water shooters, and they were a big hit.

For more pictures on this theme, check out the other entries at iheartfaces.com.

Whimsy

2011-06-28T17:37:00.000-07:00

A Touch of Whimsy
These sisters had great costumes - a bumblebee and a butterfly. They had a fun time dancing around in them under this huge willow tree.
There are many more great pictures to see on this theme at iheartfaces.com - check them out!

May Flowers

2011-05-30T23:28:00.000-07:00

The unused railroad tracks in our town are overgrown with these beautiful yellow flowering shrubs - forsythia, perhaps? They are gorgeous, and I've been wanting to take some pictures there. After running a couple of errands with me today, my daughter kindly agreed to let me photograph her in that setting. Of course, I had to take a few of her with her newly acquired little stuffed koala bear - part of the cost of good behavior during a boring store run - as well as several of her being goofy (none of which are posted).

Same photo with less alteration

I'm also experimenting with using some Photoshop actions to alter the contrast, color, etc., of the image. My tendency with portraits has always been to try to keep the color and contrast pretty natural looking. But these actions can make nice pictures truly striking. I'm a little uncomfortable making very extreme changes - in fact, a friend mentioned she couldn't tell the difference between the two photos I posted. I'd dialed back down on the actions so much that it was hard to see the difference it made on the monitor. You could say I'm conservative in my use of actions, but I think I could get used to adjusting my photos to be more dramatic. What do you think - more dramatic or more natural, and can you see the difference?

Dandelions

2011-05-23T13:54:00.000-07:00

Yellow Dandelions

I love taking pictures of kids with dandelions. The bright yellow flowers, the white puffballs.... it's all good. I wish the yellow of the flowers stood out more in this picture. Maybe the strong sunshine in the background (these were growing under a tree), keeps them from seeming as yellow as they were.

Can't wait to see what the other entries will be for this week - check them out at iheartfaces.com.

Motherhood

2011-05-09T12:43:00.000-07:00

"Motherhood"
This week's challenge at iheartfaces.com is photos on the theme of Motherhood. It's been a whiile since I've posted, but this seemed like a good one to join back in on. I mainly shoot families, and love it when there are nice, natural moments like this one.
There are so many great entries this week - check out all the beautiful images at iheartfaces.com.

Smile

2011-01-11T15:33:00.000-08:00

There are so many great photos at iheartfaces.com on the smile theme this week! Here's my entry. This girl and her mom were having a great time together. She was really precious. It was hard to choose which of her smiles to post!

Black and White

2010-11-30T14:30:00.000-08:00

This week's photo challenge theme at iheartfaces.com is "scenic black-and-white." This picture was taken at a nearby park I love to go to. It's especially nice for photos when the dandelions are allowed to grow - kids love to pick them.
To see more beautiful scenic black-and-white photos, visit iheartfaces.com.

Paper

2010-11-22T22:45:00.000-08:00

Paper

This week at iheartfaces.com the challenge theme is "paper." My submission is this moment from a 4-year-old's birthday party.

There are some really beautiful entries this week - check them out!

Silhouette

2010-11-15T15:18:00.000-08:00

The early morning sun created long shadows, as well as silhouetting the college student here, who was walking on his way to class. I don't often shoot silhouettes when doing family portraits, but working at a newspaper was a great excuse to look for graphic images, and to try different things. I enjoy portraiture, but the variety of assignments I had as a photojournalist could be challenging. And it always felt good to get a nice picture, that could run on the front page without a story, just because it looked interesting.

Check out iheartfaces.com to see more images on the silhouette theme.

Fall Faves

2010-11-01T23:28:00.000-07:00

This week at iheartfaces.com the challenge is "Fall." This has always been my favorite season, and a great time for taking photos. This year I'm afraid I've missed the best of the color in my area, (whenever I had time to take pictures, it was raining) so I'm sharing a few of my favorite fall portraits from previous seasons...

and also a few spooky spiderwebs. These were all taken one morning when I noticed that the spiders had been very busy the night before.

More images on the Fall theme can be seen at iheartfaces.com.

Pretty in Pink

2010-10-26T12:01:00.000-07:00

I love taking pictures of kids just being kids. This one is of my daughter and some of the kids in her class during a program they were performing. She is in her own little world at this moment, and very into her pretty pink flowery dress.
The theme for the photo challenge at iheartfaces.com this week is "pink," in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness month. There are always a lot of great photos posted for their challenges. As a photographer, it's great to see the variety of techniques and just all the beautiful images.

Smirk

2010-09-20T22:40:00.000-07:00

"Smirk" Photo Challenge
One of my sweeties, handing me flowers and looking like a little rascal. I had a hard time choosing this photo. There is another one, shot a moment before or after this one, where the look on his face is very tender, despite the smirk. It's amazing how quickly facial expressions can change, and what a difference it can make in a photo. The other one's on my wall, but I like them both - they each show a facet of his mischievous, sweet personality.

There are many great images on this theme to check out at iheartfaces.com.

Purple

2010-07-27T17:10:00.000-07:00

A girl in a purple jacket... a simple picture of a great smile.

Babies

2010-06-15T11:55:00.000-07:00

Babies.... so soft, sweet, innocent... so adorable! There are lots of beautiful baby pictures to see at iheartfaces.com this week - check them out!

Play

2010-06-08T11:20:00.000-07:00

A carefree, sunny day, running with wings.

I've been posting images for a little while now as entries for the iheartfaces.com "weekly challenge." My photography business has been quiet lately, so it's been nice to go back and look at some favorite images. There are many beautiful images being posted there, with this week's theme being "Play." It's definitely worth checking out.

Yellow #2

2010-05-26T23:08:00.000-07:00

Dandelion Boy

Nothing beats a lazy summer day and a field of dandelions...

Yellow

2010-05-25T14:52:00.000-07:00

A favorite of mine, from a couple of years ago. The kids had fun picking buttercups and dandelions.

The theme at iheartfaces this week is "yellow" - there are lots of beautiful images to see. Check them out!

Flowers

2010-05-17T21:35:00.000-07:00

Flowers

Kids seem to love dandelions. I love them too! The bright cheerful yellow, and the very fun puffball of seeds they turn into.

This week's challenge at iheartfaces.com is 'faces and flowers' - there are lots of great entries to check out.

Celebrating Moms

2010-05-10T22:32:00.000-07:00

"Celebrating Moms" with a mom and daughter portrait

There were other pictures with more smiling faces from this shoot, but I chose this one because of the expression on the mom's face. She looks so content and happy with her big girl all snuggled in on her.

To see more images on this theme, check out other entries at iheartfaces.com.

Dramatic B&W

2010-03-29T22:52:00.000-07:00

Another week, another challenge. This week, it's "Dramatic B&W." This one is part of a collage of photos of our daughter as a baby. She has the greatest eyelashes :)

There are lots of great black-and-white photos to see at iheartfaces.com.

Angles

2010-03-22T22:28:00.000-07:00

"Angles"

A quiet moment, after muching running and dancing. I love capturing them on those rare occasions when they occur.

There are a lot of beautiful images taken from interesting perspectives this week at iheartfaces.com.

Bundled Up

2010-03-15T21:25:00.000-07:00

Bundled Up

This week at iheartfaces.com, the theme is "Bundled Up." Here's one of my little sweeties. We had a lot of snow that winter, and she and her brother had a ball playing in it.

This winter, on the other hand, has been more like spring. Lots of sun, no snow at all. I don't mean to complain, but I do miss it. A couple of days with some good snowman-building type snow would be enough to satisfy.

Check out iheartfaces.com to see lots more "Bundled Up" photos.

Jump for Joy

2010-03-08T22:56:00.000-08:00

Are they jumping for joy? They were definitely having a great time. This is an image I shot when I was working at my first job out of college, for a little black-and-white weekly newspaper. Besides covering assignments, I was always on the lookout for anyone out doing anything that might make a cool picture. This was both exciting and stressful. Some days I just couldn't find anything. So when I saw these kids on their trampoline, I was thrilled. After asking their mom if it was okay to take their picture, I hung out while the kids did their thing. It's one of my favorite images from my 'newspaper years.'

There are many great photos on this theme at iheartfaces.com - check them out!

Hilarious Outtakes

2010-03-02T10:59:00.000-08:00

This week the challenge is "Hilarious Outtakes." Kids often have great facial expressions that can change moment to moment. These two kids were good friends and (despite the look on his face) had a great time together during the session.

And then there are my own two little hams. Sometimes they make funny faces without even trying. Sometimes they like to 'perform' for the camera. I find that if they have a designated time to be goofy in front of the camera, that can help get more natural smiles when 'goofy time' is over.

There are lots of fun photos to check out this week at iheartfaces.com.

"Hands-On Fun" Photo Challenge

2010-02-22T20:09:00.000-08:00

"Hands-On"

This is my entry for the iheartfaces.com photo challenge this week. This is one of my favorite images from a family portrait session. He looks just a little worried, but he's in good, loving hands.

When I first heard the theme for this week's challenge, I didn't think I'd come up with much. It was surprising how many worthy images I did find - some nearly forgotten about. I'll be posting some of my other choices soon. Check out the other great images at iheartfaces.com

Favorite Places

2010-02-03T23:00:00.000-08:00

Places I Love

A photo challenge at iheartfaces.com has me thinking about my favorite places. I thought of some of the amazing places we've travelled to - Italy, and Peru - and some of the beautiful places we've seen while hiking and camping. But really, my favorite place is here, this community where we live in the Pacific Northwest.

We are blessed to live in one of the most beautiful areas of the country. There is also a commitment to public spaces that you don't always find. There are some wonderful parks all around the region.

One of our favorites is about a mile away from home. It is on Lake Sammamish, and has lots of open space to run around in, as well as a playground and a beach. One beautiful day in May, I persuaded my husband to leave work early and we headed to the park. In the summer it is a really busy place. But on this gorgeous spring day, it wasn't very crowded. The kids enjoyed the playground for a while, but they seemed to have the most fun picking dandelions and buttercups.

This was a couple of years ago now. I'm really thankful to have these photos to help remember that day - just an ordinary day, really, sharing a few hours together as a family.

Kristine's World Photography

2010-01-27T23:31:00.000-08:00

This is my first post to my first blog, ever. I feel like I'm coming to this very late in the game - it seems there are so many blogs out there. While I've had my own website since the late '90s, setting up a blog is not something I gave much thought to. I mean, you have to have a lot to say to keep up a blog, right? Well, hopefully I'll have something of interest to share - images, and perhaps a few words too.