A Break

Most of you know I'm having a baby in December. If not, I am! And I'm elated to have another little one, a girl little one, to add to my amazing little boys. That being said after much discussing with my hubby and as much as it pains me I am taking a break from professional photography until I get back into the swing of things and life after a newborn and pregnancy slows down or at least gets to a new normal. I've finally decided I need time with my little ones more than I need mommy time in the photography world. I am praying and really trying to be diligent about guarding my time while these kiddos are so little and growing so fast. That means that other things, things that I truly love, will have to wait. Oh how sad it makes me sometimes just because of all of the support and wonderful references every one of my clients has shown and given me. I can't tell you how hard it has been to decline shooting numerous weddings and families this year and next but it's the right choice for now. I will still be keeping a wait list for those of you interested in being alerted when I do come back to Fourth Light and pick back up booking sessions and weddings so please don't be afraid to call or email me with interest in being on my list. I will hopefully be back sooner than later but it will, most likely, be at least a year. Thank you for all of the support and for understanding!

Speaking of my little ones here are a few photos of my baby Bear and my big boy Lincoln!

His two year photos :)

They love each other so much!

GORGEOUS

That's the word, yep, that's it. These two little ladies are GORGEOUS. I love taking photos of them. They came up to my house last night and we had lots of fun as the sun set behind my house. This was a "school photo" kind of shoot for these two as they enter third and sixth grade. I love watching these sisters interact. Megan is always the comedian and Mckayla is such a sweetie. They love each other and I'm always encouraged to see these two get along so well, even in the midst of the tween years and all that comes with it. They play, laugh and keep each other going. They are so much fun! Blessings on a wonderful, new and exciting school year sweet girls!

I LOVE this!!!!

The S Family

I've never been the kind of girl to have a best buddy. Usually I have a group of women who I love and learn from regularly and back in school I was pretty much a solo act ;) I was weird... I guess I still am! Anyway back to buddies, this shoot was special to me. I really wanted to do well for this family not just because I like to bless every family I shoot with great photos but because Angela has given me so much in terms of wisdom and support that I wanted to repay her with some really nice photos. She has been my buddy since we married our husbands, moved to this small coastal community, and rearranged our lives at nearly the same time six and a half years ago. Her husband and mine went to elementary school together and share an avid love for hunting. Its been a HUGE blessing to have her in my life, going through the same things with hubbies and kiddos and I love her and her beautiful family dearly. Angela has been that best buddy to me.

That being said they are an energetic bunch :) Luckily I've known each of the little ones since birth and have seen them grow from infancy to wonderful little people with such unique personalities. I knew what I was in for! We had fun lumbering along the abandoned train tracks and racing along the boardwalk in the beautiful sunset light. The kids jumped, danced, ran and played their little hearts out with giant grins and lots of belly laughs through out the session... they love their aunt Ashley and I love them!

The M. Family

I truly love this family! I love chatting with Alisa every time family photo time comes around because she has a GREAT eye for style and for photography. I remember the first time I met her we were at her house and she had pulled up this beautiful photo from a famous photographer that she loved and wanted something similar in feel and pose for her little girls... I was a bit intimidated :) But then as our first session went along on a rainy afternoon indoors, Alisa and the girls made me feel right at home and I could tell she trusted me. Then I met Dave and well, he doesn't looove family photo time but he tolerates me and all of my crazy antics! I think I've grown on him! This was my third time shooting the family photos for Alisa and Dave and I feel like part of the gang. Alisa told me that I could take her to a car wash and she would trust me so I know I've got a great friend and client in her! I didn't make her go to a car wash. I think Dave might have thrown in the towel right there!  I hope you love these Alisa and know I enjoy you, Dave and your girls so very much!!

Duke Again and Light Tests

Can I do two posts on one baby? I think YES! I had to share this little story board I created with one of my light testing images and a Duke photo because it just goes to show you that when God creates he only does amazing!

If you're thinking to yourself  "what's a light testing image" well let me just explain. Before each shoot I scout. I try to go out right around the time of the session and it is really important for me. I don't like going out on a shoot blind so I usually take test images of random things and I often give those to the client as bonuses just for pretty. I can manage without a scouting session but I like to go prepared. Duke's session was slightly different because they just came over to my house. Since Amy and Duke are my neighbors I went outside one evening and BAM! Light, gorgeous light! So I still did some test images to make sure what I was seeing would translate to how I envisioned it and then I just called her and said can you come now? At 8:00 at night... with your two year old and newborn? How considerate am I, I know :) But she was willing and the light was oh so right! I can't ever stress enough that lighting is key. You can be in a dirty ally, a car wash anything as long as there is good light you're golden... and for the record I've shot in dirty allies and car washes... several times :) The other great thing about these shots is that there was a lot of natural reflection happening, another crucial key to natural lighting. In the shot of the plant there is back light but there is also a source of reflection coming straight up from below the bush where the sun hit the ground. In Duke's shot he's looking straight up at the sky which always means amazing eyes or in this case amazing lighting for his sleepy little face. Reflection off something white like the sky, a white building or even glass can really make skin appear super smooth and helps get beautiful catch lights, or the twinkle in someone's eyes. Other things of different colors work well for reflection also. I've used brick walls, metal surfaces, and concrete is a personal fav and is almost always available. So next time you photogs are shooting around try to think reflection and find something that lights up your subject naturally.

Duke

 What a name! It was on my list of favorites with my first son but Levi didn't love it, of course so it was left on the cutting room floor BUT my beautiful neighbor Amy just had her second son and they named him Duke! Awesome :) He is SO handsome and so small weighing in at 5lbs. 2 ozs.. That's three pounds smaller than my Lincoln was! Oh how I love itty bitty babies especially when I'm pregnant. It's like I just can't get enough snuggles, hear enough labor stories or see enough newborn onesies. It's funny! I enjoyed my time with Duke so very much and luckily he lives right up the road and I can go see him pretty much whenever I want until my little one arrives in December!

Set Apart

 Set Apart is a local worship band that just so happens to rock my Church every once in a while. And please let me tell you how amazing worship always is when they are there; it's AMAZING! I know church isn't about the music but it sure does elevate the whole Sunday service when the music is really great. God has blessed our church with several amazing bands and Set Apart is made up of several dear friends and a couple of new friends. Their shoot was rainy and pretty yucky but since getting pregnant and having to take a break I've had a serious creativity back up. I had so many ideas that I wanted to use for this shoot, I mean a lot... of very untraditional ideas that may or may not have been rolling around in my head for weeks before the shoot. You see lead singer Shalendra is a rocker. He also works at our post office and so for the past couple of trips into the office we would chat about the shoot and he had some grand ideas which I am a total sucker for grand ideas. Well with his help and ideas and all of my randomness this was one of the funnest and best shoots, creatively, for me yet! I really got to let my wacky brain all out there!

For these head shots I asked each band member to hide half of their face behind a concrete wall... in my mind it captured the "Set Apart" idea perfectly because I knew that the concrete would turn white (pure) and that it would tell the perfect story of being purified through Jesus and truly being Set Apart. The band didn't think I was too crazy :)

  

In an attempt to find shelter from the dreary conditions we dodged into this car wash that I've had my eye on for sometime... it's been waiting for willing subjects :)

This shot was also inspired by the Set Apart name and involved the same concrete wall idea but incorporated the other band members into the background.

This shot also had been envisioned for a while. I found this vacant bank drive through that looked really fun and linear which is perfect for my eye. I like the effect of the rain on the pavement which was a little reward for laying down in a puddle ;)

I'll have some more things to post later this week including some details on why my site says No Longer Booking which has got some of you concerned :) I'll explain, I promise!  And Happy Fourth Of JULY!

Edit to add; Some of these darn photos won't clear up even after resizing for web! I've never been good at getting that resize thing down so any advice would be much appreciated!

The .C. Family

Did I mention I love meeting new people through this hobby? Well, I DO! I met this wonderful family tonight. They are a family with teenagers, nearly teenagers and a couple of cute tweens too. The C family was an adventure. In fact right when I arrived I was warned that little Trent had stabbed himself in the eye a couple of days ago and to avoid shooting his right side... OH MY! I was able to meet them at their home, which was made by dad Jason. AMAZING. The landscaping was phenomenal and the house was so warm and inviting. I really enjoyed getting to know this group and am thankful that my camera brings me new friends.