Orange

Orange

The theme for Iheartfaces this month is orange.  Not many of my pictures have much orange in them I discovered, but this one ranks as one of my favorites.  I love her open expression, and the fun colors.  There's more to see at iheartfaces.com.

Summer Fun

Summer Fun

It's been a while since I've updated the blog.  Life got busy, and then summer came, and it got busier.  We managed to pack in a lot of fun this summer.  There were some new sites to see, and a lot of time on the beach.  But mostly it was the time we spent with family and friends, and the time we spent together as our own little family unit and having fun, that made the best summer memories.  This photo is from a week-long camping trip we went on with friends; I took picture of the kids at this playground outside of a winery we visited as the sun began to set.    

Summer is long days, staying up too late because you can't go to sleep when the sun's still out, going barefoot, and having a good time.

This was a great theme for photos - there are more to see at iheartfaces.com

Hugs and Kisses

These girls have fun with their dad and each other - they made taking pictures so easy!  Lots of great photos to see this week on the "Hugs and Kisses" theme at iheartfaces.com.

Family Fun

"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

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"

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.

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Autumn

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

"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"

"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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"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

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

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

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

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.