Hey, I have a secret...I love, love, love when I get referrals from my friends!  This wonderful family was sent my way last week.  As a special birthday request Grandma wanted photos with her family, more specifically her grandkids.  My Grandma always had a special place in my heart so I was so excited to help make this birthday wish come true.  Here are a few images from our session...

Back in the Saddle...

Its been a while since I have posted anything on my blog so I thought I should post a little update as to what I've been up to.  Being a military family means moving...every 2-3 years!  That often will make things slow with my photography since I have to leave most of my clientele.  Basically, I get to start over every time we move.  We have had so much going on in our personal lives that my photography business was set to the side for a bit, but I am back and I am in heaven.  I have missed it so much.  So, here are a couple of my latest...I hope you enjoy!!

In June, I had the privilege to photographing a military retirement.  I cannot tell you what an honor it was.  It was such a neat feeling to be there and to capture the last day of a long journey for this service member and his family.  Our men and women in uniform sacrifice so much and I salute them all for their service.  Here a few of my creative shots.

Last week, I had the opportunity to do a little traveling for a photo shoot.  My (ex) neighbor {also military} was relocated to Virginia Beach this summer and we were finally able to get some shots of their family.  We wanted so badly to set something up when we lived a couple houses from each other, but it never seemed to be the right time.  So...we made it happen.  These are two of the most entertaining boys...they had me laughing the whole time!  I so enjoyed every minute I spent with this family.

What to Wear

So you've booked your family photo session and now you are wondering ‘what should we wear’? Choosing the right outfits to compliment your session is important.  

Here are a few guidelines to get you started on your picture perfect outfits.

Coordinating Outfits:  

  It is great to wear complimentary tones or shades of the same color family.  Choose the outfit for your boldest personality and then coordinate around that outfit.  It is usually best to have a maximum of one patterned/bold outfit per family. Of course you can make anything work if style is your thing.  If it isn’t, play it a little more conservatively and go with less daring ideas.

Family/Individual Outfits:  

  Try to think about what each outfit will look like not only photographed together but photographed in pairs or as an individual. For example, will the outfit still work if mom is photographed with her children or if just the children have their pictures taken. 

Fitted Clothing:  

  Be sure to have tops and pants that fit each of you well.

Seasonal Considerations: 

 Try to coordinate the overall look of your family members according to a specific season.

Comfort:  

  For sure it is good to be comfortable in what you will wear, but dressy clothes make for great images.  If you are wearing those killer new heels, bring a pair of flip flops to do your walking in.

Accessories: 

  It is hard to overemphasize how well those extra additions appear on camera.  From layering tops and jackets, to necklaces, hats and fashionable shoes, you will see great improvement in your outfits by spending a little time thinking about the extras.  That said, don’t overdo the accessories, the photos are about you, so just enough to accentuate the look.

Need a little inspiration to get you started on coordinating your outfits?  Check out a few ideas below. 

Sugar, Spice & Everything Nice

What a wonderful gift God gave us when he blesses us with children.  Last week I had a wonderful opportunity to capture photos of this sweet, sweet baby girl.  This {sleepy} angel was so much fun to photograph and I'm so excited to share these images with you.  There is nothing better than a little sweet sugar sent from above.  

Enjoy! 

Everyone loves picture day...right?

Every parent with school-age children knows exactly what I'm talking about.  When that note comes home from school announcing that its PICTURE DAY...we all cringe!  For me, I kinda roll my eyes and laugh.  For several years I had invested in the portraits from the school as a way to see how much my munchkin has grown.  We always ordered something, until the 3rd grade when the "proof" came home and my daughter's hair was a mess...YIKES!  They must have just called the kids in from the playground, sat them down, snapped a picture and called it a day.  I actually got a little upset that they wanted me to actually spend money on those pics or put my daughter through having them retaken...no thank you!  Immediately my thoughts were that I could do better than that myself.  That next week, we headed out to the local photographers hot spot and had took our own {unique} school photos.  Photographing my daughter isn't hard {I'm only a little partial} she has been my smiley kid ever since she was a baby.  {Camera + Katy = SMILES}  Because we did them on our own I was able to capture photos that showed her personality, her spunk and her abundant energy.   From that day forward I made up my mind that I would never again spend another dime on messy hair, cheesy school photographs.  Here are a few sneaks from our 5th grade school photo shoot.  There are lots more, but I thought these were cute!

beau·ty [byoo-tee]

Stop and smell the roses...How often have we heard that phrase and how often do we really do that?  Lets face it, we just don't have time.  Before we moved to Maryland, I was so busy, busy with things that really mattered...wrapping up with 4th grade, preparing to rent our home, putting an end to a 6 month deployment {homecoming}, celebrating our 16th anniversary, saying goodbye to friends and packing up our entire house and moving North.  All these things were important, but there are little things around me that I neglected to enjoy...I didn't stop and smell the roses.  Now that my plate is a little less full, that is my goal.  I still very much enjoy photographing people and can't wait to get going again with that, but I intend to enjoy {all} the roses around me.  I don't want to miss a thing.  

Last weekend, we loaded up in the car and went on a little road trip.  We wanted to smell the roses! We found so many places to photograph, but there are so many barns around here that I couldn't help myself.  We found some that were plain and some that were not so plain.  Some were kept up and some not so much.  To some barns are useful. They are used to hold feed,  house animals or even just hide farm equipment.  While they are useful, they can also turn into a beautiful work of art. 

When I see them, I see 

beau·ty

 

{the quality present in a thing or person that gives intense pleasure or deep satisfaction to the mind, whether arising from sensory manifestations (as shape, color, sound, etc.), a meaningful design or pattern or something else.} 

Along with the beautiful barns we stumbled onto a couple wineries.  If you've never been to one you should 

even if you don't drink the wine.

  The vineyards are so beautiful and each vine is purposefully placed.  You will get a special treat if you see grapes on the vines.  We got lucky and we found grapes.  The colors are magnificant.  The hues of green and purple are so amazing.  What we see in the grocery everyday just look so pretty, in their natural state, hanging from a winding vine.  

This trip was the 

epit·o·me 

of "smelling the roses".  I hope you enjoy the photographs of our little adventure and hope that you too will stop to smell {your} roses.

{Yellow Daisy Photography}