nail wraps & freedom.

I met Shanda Spink, who is a Team Manager for Jamberry, at the very first Boss Lady Group meeting (they are held at Northgate Free Methodist Church on the first Friday of every month). She’s a spunky chick, so of course I asked to feature her on my blog. Before our session, she graciously let me choose nail wraps to try out for myself. I was heading to Magic Kingdom so I decided on the Minnie Mouse ones, although it was almost impossible to choose, their Disney line is adorable.

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This was my first time putting on nail wraps, so I struggled a little, and they didn’t look perfect, but I loved them and know when I get another set I will do a lot better. Also, when I took them off my nails weren’t ruined like gel tends to do if you don’t take it off properly. I just pulled my jams right off and nothing bad happened. You can find her useful application video here.

Now moving on to our session…we both really wanted to show some real-life moments of being a work from home mom. So we took her three kids to the park and I let Shanda do her thing while I took pictures. She was so funny, asking what I wanted her to do. I said, just work! And so she did.

There were a few things that stood out to me about Shanda and her little family during our hour together (side note: she is married, dad stayed at home with the dogs and the yard work). First, she has some super happy kids. They are sweet and polite and helpful with each other. And meeting happy kids just makes you feel good. Second, she is REAL. While chatting she offhandedly mentioned how she thought about getting ready for the photo shoot, but then changed her mind because it just wasn’t her. So she wore what she would normally wear. She also referred to herself as an “alternative businesswoman” and when I asked her what she meant by that, she explained how she doesn’t fit the business lady mold. She doesn’t wear suits or heels, she doesn’t have a full face of makeup on whenever she goes out. She has tattoos and a short dramatic haircut. And her point was that she wants women who don’t necessarily look the part to know they can still be the part. Because she’s doing it, and making more money than she did at her former job that kept her away from her kids.

When it was time to go, Shanda called her kids to her from the playground telling them it was time to leave. There were no dramatic scenes of not wanting to go even though they were having a blast playing with other kids. They grabbed their stuff, went to the van, and her daughter turned to me sweetly and said, “thank you for bringing us to the park.” Shanda, whatever it is that you are doing, you are doing it right.

10 days new.

I’m very in the moment with newborn sessions, which is why I love them because they allow me to be more creative and give client’s a unique experience. On the other side, I stress HARD about newborn sessions until I walk into the home and see what I’m working with. The second I walked into this nursery, all the stars aligned, angels sang, and every worry left me. Just LOOK at it. Sigh. Is it strange that my bedroom walls are the same color? Mommy’s got good taste!

I recently purchased my first L lens. I chose the Macro to help capture those close-up newborn details (and it’s nice to have on hand for weddings, which I am getting into this summer). I love being able to close in on baby’s tiny features because they will never be this small again.

I also love getting everyone all snuggly on the big bed. The art of the everyday happens right here.

But my FAVORITE part of this session, even more than the nursery, was big brother. He LOVES his baby sister and it was SO apparent during my visit.

I want to thank this family for inviting me into their home and being SO wonderful throughout the trials of a newborn session. I was able to do my job well because of their easy-going personalities!

gangs all here.

Happy New Year, everyone! I’m officially back to blogging after a busy Christmas season. And I am super excited to give you an idea of what an extended family session looks like! I truly feel it is something you MUST add to your to-do list if you can get your whole family together.

I shot this group the day after Christmas. Not the most ideal weather, wet and gloomy. But the ladies spiced things up by adding scarves to their outfits, and Nana Rose is seriously a ray of sunshine all by herself.

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For extended family sessions, especially ones this large, I only shoot a few full group shots (they received 3) because it’s not easy to pose 18 people, especially when it’s wet out. For smaller groups, you may get a little more variety. After the whole group photos are out of the way, I move on to the different variations that the whole family still needs to be present for.

THEN. Each small family gets their own mini session. And you’re done! I know the idea of extended family sessions sounds stressful. But ask this family. It was painless. I am super organized and everything flows nicely if you let me do my thing.

EVERY family gets their own CD with ALL of the photos. These are most, but not all of the photos this family received. I tend to only blog my favorites. When you’re ready to book your extended family session, contact me!

christmas mini recap.

My very first time holding Christmas Minis was a huge success! Now that I have another first under my belt, I feel comfortable offering more Christmas Mini dates next year so that I can accommodate everyone who asks. Turning down families made my heart hurt but I didn’t want to overextend myself. I do this for fun after all.

Half of me doesn’t want to interfere with people’s Christmas cards, but the other half is over here dying to show off some of these shots. So here are just a few.

Day one…

Day two…

I’m feeling extremely blessed for the amazing weather and the beautiful families that chose me to capture their holiday memories. Things are going to slow down as winter approaches. Just a reminder that I only work with natural light, so the only indoor jobs I take on during the winter months are lifestyle newborn sessions, which can only happen if your home has a lot of light coming in. If you are looking for an outdoor winter session of any kind, feel free to contact me! I hope everyone has a safe and happy holiday!

rudolph’s at sunset.

I absolutely LOVE small town life. My husband and I get our Christmas tree from Rudolph’s Christmas Tree Farm (on Sonricker in Attica) every year. This year, I called with this whole speech about me getting my tree from them, how I’m a photographer, I’ll plug their business, can I PLEASE have my mini sessions there? The man I spoke to was like. YES. The end. No questions asked. So I’ve been there 4 times since.

This family is super special to me. They live out of state, but come in for most holidays (and ALL family emergencies) so I was beyond excited when we were able to schedule a session.

Three-year-olds are some of my toughest customers. Our strategy? Well, we started with “SAY ARIEL” and this little girl would smile and say “Ariel!” Next we went with “SAY I LOVE JENI” and my heart exploded when she said it back.