pascale wowak photoblog

Estelle

This was my second time taking images of little Estelle.  The first time was to celebrate her first birthday and these were to celebrate her second birthday.   Estelle lives with her mom and dad on 20 stunning acres in the Los Gatos Mountains on a working farm they own and operate called Abounding Harvest Mountain Farm.   When I say this property is amazing, those words don't do it justice.  It is BREATHTAKING.  And a TON of work which Daniel and Nancy do all by themselves, which is just beyond remarkable when you stop to think about it.  Just about every conceivable vegetable, fruit and plant is being harvested there along with a flurry of animals including a batch of 28-week old ducklings that are now producing eggs to add to the mix.  The weather was gorgeous that day too which contributed to the beautiful light.  Estelle was being your normal 2 yr old and having a hard time with the shoot at first, and wanting to cling to mommy like a little velcro monkey, but then I sent mom away (like I always do in these situations) and Daniel and I played with Estelle and before you knew it, she was having a blast.  Estelle is a very mobile, highly verbal little girl and I was amazed at how she could run from plant to plant and identify them all (including the weeds!) and was eating everything right off the vine from basil to peppers to pomegranates.  I honestly cannot think of a better "playground" to grow up in.  She is one very lucky little girl.   And pretty darn cute too!   Daniel & Nancy, enjoy these images!  Happy Birthday Miss Estelle!

To go check out the awesomeness of this farm, go check out A Bounding Harvest.  I left the shoot with a basketful of of lavender, peppers, lemons, pomegranates etc.... My car still smells delicious! :) 

At the very start of the shoot, Estelle gave their "buddha" an offering of a bunch of leaves she collected.  Very sweet!

  

Alex & Tess

I had the opportunity to meet and photograph a new family yesterday morning. I was greeted at the door by a very vibrant and energetic little boy named Alex.  And, as I peered in, I saw the cutest little baby girl ever.  Between these two beauties you couldn't go wrong.  When I saw the different outfits mom had laid out and wanted photographed I knew right away that I wanted to do the red themed outfit in front of their awesome green front door.  Very Christmas-y!  So, that's where we started!

  

 

 

I love how apprehensive about the whole process kids are when we first start out and then two seconds later they are back to being themselves!

 

all warmed up!

 

 

The best lashes EVER.

 

 

  

 

This morning light was GORGEOUS.

 

Such a charming smile. :)

 

 

 

  

I told mom this is my favorite age to photograph.  Isn't she lovely!?  Sweet little Tess.

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

Alex suddenly decided he wanted to "strike a pose" for me and I couldn't have been more delighted!

 

 

Being tackle-kissed by Tess.  SO CUTE!

 

 

  

 

 

And for the third Tess outfit we went with a soft white top with white background and red chair to have some cool contrast and accent colors.  Love it!

  

 

 

 

 

 

Logan

Oh Logan, how I love thee!  This little guy steals my heart EVERY single time I get to photograph him.  His charming personality and insane good looks are dangerous.  It's a good thing he's not my kid because I could honestly never say "no" to him.  I just want to swallow him up whole.  We were also blessed with the MOST.AMAZING.LIGHT.EVER.  I usually don't recommend beach shoots because the light is not really "at its best" until that last 30 minutes before the sun sets (depending on the weather of course) and kids cannot really be "directed" to face the "right way" when all they want to do is run around and play.  But it was cloudy (we actually got rained out at the very end), not too cloudy and not too bright....JUST RIGHT.  Usually this time of year the beach is either too bright/harsh or too cloudy/dark/overcast/foggy.  But when just the right amount of clouds are present, just enough to diffuse the bright sun but still maintain directionality, OMG, it's magical.  So, that combined with Logan's effervescent personality and I was pretty much deliriously happy.  It also helps that I ADORE Logan's mommy and daddy and that we spend half the shoot just jibber-jabbering. :)

Ok, enough chit chat, I'm sure you are dying to see these images of Logan.  I hope you love these Erin and David, such a pleasure seeing you guys again.  Thanks for hanging out! :)

My "tactical gameplan" with toddlers is to always get a couple more "posed" shots right off the bat because I know that once the kids are comfortable with me (which generally takes less than 3 minutes) they will be crazy little monkeys running around having fun.  It worked.  I got my "sit still" shots and then he was off and running for the rest of the shoot.  I just chased him around and got lucky from that point forward.... :)

He is SUCH a ham!

  

Last Playdate Shoot!

This was the last (and largest) playdate shoot!  Despite being the biggest one yet, it was SMOOTH sailing the entire time, which is truly remarkable with seven kids and a super duper mini sibling pregnancy shoot thrown in too.  The superb teamwork with the parents was very cool and I think we were all pleasantly surprised by how painless it was for everyone involved! :)

The location we were originally set to do this was Siltanen Park in SV but when I was there I did not like the lighting and the location was just not working for me at all.  So I got in the car and drove a couple blocks down the street, turned right to explore and landed at the entrance to SV High School that I had never been at before but decided to go take a look-see.  I found this great staircase with perfect light and was all "TADA!!!"  So we switched locations and I'm so glad we did.  It worked out beautifully, I will definitely be using this spot again!

Due to space restrictions I could only post 4 images of each child and three sibling shots of each sibling group.  Even then I had 40 images! EGAD!

Started out with Ryan and his very pregnant mommy Adele.  Adele was the nurse who delivered Ellie just after midnight moments after I arrived at Sutter on Halloween night four years ago.  And when I say she delivered her, I mean she, ALONE, delivered Ellie.  The second nurse was in the other room calling Doctor Klikoff (My OB) while I was crawling on my hands and knees, tearing my clothes off, and OUT came Ellie, on her own terms.  She was not about to wait for a doctor or for me to be "prepared" in any way.  To say my entire pregnancy with Ellie was an ordeal would be an understatement.  One day I'll do the whole story here (including an exhausting monthlong prodromal labor resulting in me walking around at 6cm dilated the last week) but all my grandiose plans for a zen water birth with calm music and candles went out the door when I found myself going through transition at home with my 2 year old.... yeah. Good times... BARELY made it to Sutter on time.  Did you know being in a car when you are going through transition is totally NOT fun?  Adele was the fantabulous nurse who calmed me down (I was kinda sorta taken by surprise by how fast everything was going and, oh yeah, the pain....THE PAIN!) and next thing you knew, on all fours, I delivered my girl who came out screaming with one hand above her head (A la "power to the babies" declaration).  My doula and OBGYN arrived about a half hour after she was born, to stitch up the 4th degree tears I had endured without any drugs....!  Enough on that.  Adele was awesome (Ellie and I could not have been in better hands!) and I am so happy to see her expecting her second little bundle of joy.  Ryan is the MOST delightful, charming and sweet little boy.  He's going to make an awesome big brother! 

Zoe & Delia

As you may know if you follow the blog, I went up to Portland for two reasons: one was to hang out with my buddy Julie and have an all day sew-a-thon with her and the other was to photograph her vivacious little girls Zoe and Delia.  Julie and I thought long and hard about the location/backdrop we wanted to use and I, not being familiar with the area at all, had to rely on her for ideas.  When Julie suggested doing the shoot at an indoor historic carousel that is completely enclosed with bright windows and TONS of natural light I fell head over heels in love with the idea.  I've always wanted to do a shoot at a carousel but most of them are too dark and have too many crazy overpowering tungsten/fluorescent lights to allow for any decent shots.  This place, however, was AWESOME.  That isn't to say it didn't have challenges.  I could only shoot during the few seconds when we were on the "natural light" side of the ride as it went around and around and between the girls going up and down on their horse and me going up and down on my horse (that's where I had the best vantage point) and the whole "going around in circles" motion I had three different motion issues to contend with.  Plus I shot the whole thing at ISO 1600 due to light considerations (even with all that natural light, it is still relatively dark for photography purposes and 1/200 SS at about f4.0).  I was crossing my fingers that all the shots weren't going to turn out slightly blurry (or at very least not as tack sharp as I am so picky about them being).  Luckily, I have great timing and a smooth shutter press and so everything turned out beautifully.  Julie got the girls ice creams after the carousel ride and we were able to get some more really fun shots.

Zoe and Delia are total characters and Zoe in particular is a complete ham in front of the camera.  Delia was not as into the camera but I still managed some terrific shots of her having fun and laughing with her sister.  I love these girls' energy and connection with each other.  Their huge brown "saucer eyes" (Zoe's are actually a little bit green too, stunning) were amazing to photograph and the dark hair with pale skin just looks incredible in B&W imagery.  We thought the song "Brown Eyed Girl" would be the perfect accompaniment to the slideshow. 

 I pretty much could have photographed them all day long if they'd let me.  Of course, Julie and I had other plans as well but I certainly enjoyed the time I had with the girls before we took off.   BIG HUGS to Zoe & Delia for making me laugh and letting me get some great shots, it was a very inspiring shoot and I love the results.  Of course, Julie's custom outfits from her ZOZOBUGBABY line certainly contributed to the final outcome!!!  I love the way Delia's B&W patterned dress looks in the B&W shots.  So dramatic!   Julie, I hope you and Larry are thrilled with these. Miss ya girl! :)

 

***** CLICK HERE FOR SLIDESHOW *****

Playdate Shoot Extravaganza :)

I've only got one more playdate shoot scheduled for this year as I had them set up as a summertime only special.  These have been very intense and slightly chaotic to say the least but also highly entertaining!  

The location we had picked for this one was unfortunately also being used by a huge birthday party that day/time so we were limited to using one little area with a ton of foot traffic passing through but surprisingly it all worked out beautifully.  Which, considering we had SIX kids four and under is pretty remarkable!

Avery's dad, Kevin, was AMAZING with the reflector and even though the lighting was iffy he was able to provide me with consistent, gorgeous, perfectly directed light with EVERY child I shot during that two hour shoot.  He was wonderful and I'm extremely grateful for all his incredible help!  THANK YOU Kevin.

Due to space limitations, I can only post a few from each child.  But you can see how adorable they turned out! :)

We started out with Avery.  She has an "old soul" vibe about her.  Very bright and very observant.  We did manage to get her laugh though thanks to mom's goofy dance routine (Thanks Carly!).

LOVE this next shot.

wise beyond her years in this next one don't you think?

Then it was my sweet boy Declan who I could just gobble up.  A beautiful child inside and out.  So kissable too!

Do you see those dimples!?  Sigh.

Then I photographed Ava and Bella whom I've had the pleasure of knowing since the beginning of their lives and cannot get enough of.  Ava & Bella are both such little characters!  Both girls were wearing a CUSTOM made outfit by Julie at ZOZOBUGBABY.  One word: WOW.  Ava went first.

She looks like such a classic beauty in this next shot, love it. 

Then little sister Bella.  She has such a strong and independent little spirit it was nearly impossible to get her to sit still!  At one point she was rocking the chair and I told her to watch out or she would fall forward and she gave me this look and scouted her little bottom backwards, it was so funny!

I had three little chairs I had brought and I cannot even begin to describe the musical chair fiasco that ensued!  Next time, TWO chairs. MAX. :)

Beautiful!

Then sisters Mia and Chiara whom I'd never photographed before but Mia was like a PRO.  She did want to watch her sister go first though to see how it all went down.  Smart girl.  :)   

Baby sister Chiara was at that really challenging age to photograph where they can't sit up on their own and their head/neck muscles get tired super fast and don't really like being on their bellies and well, it's usually really hard but Chiara was a champ and we kept shooting until she just couldn't hold her head up anymore and called it a day with her, poor thing, still, we got what we needed!

Those chipmunk cheeks! TO DIE FOR.

Last but not least, sweet, cute as a button Mia in her adorable outfit.  What a doll she was.  Of course, as I was looking at this next photo after I had edited it and admiring how PERFECT it was..... I suddenly laughed so hard I nearly fell out of my chair.  Mia is unknowingly giving me the bird!!!  HAHAHAHA!  Oh dear, I was laughing so hard when I noticed that.  Don't worry Victoria, that one didn't count towards your tally but I included in anyways for posterity's sake :)

(a glimpse into the teen years)

Che

I've had the immense pleasure of photographing Che many, many times over the past few years and I can only tell you that I VERY much look forward to our time together.  He is MR. CHARMER through and through.  He was the smiliest newborn I'd ever photographed back then and to this day he is still such the happy, delightful little boy.

He now does this adorable little scrunchy nose thing (that I totally love!) so I *had* to get that documented.   Che is also super duper affectionate and gave me all kinds of cuddlin' and lovin'. That boy sure knows how to work the ladies.... :)

I love his many varied and hilarious expressions.  He is just about as cute as they come.  Here he is showing me his muscles. :)

yeah, so, he's pretty much beautiful.

here he is telling me to listen for the sheep and goats nearby. :)

look at that smirk!

his cool dude pose

So Che ride this little no-pedals bike and he's such a little daredevil on it.  Was totally cracking me up.

Here he is doing his "please one more time" request.  I have no idea how his mother EVER tells him no.  I couldn't do it.

Miss Lily

Ah, little miss Lily!  When I last photographed her she was just a few months old, NOT yet mobile and as accommodating as they come.  Fast forward to yesterday....  What a difference a year makes!  That little girl is FAST and FEISTY and determined NOT to look at the camera.  Mom, dad and I were chasing her all over trying to redirect her in the general vicinity of my lens and she would intentionally run the other way.  If she saw me she would deliberately turn her back to me with a mischievous little smile on her face.  She only stopped moving on one occasion and that was so she could poop.  So funny!  We tried every trick in the book to grab her attention and get her to slow down for a second and she was on to us every time.  She just threw her head back and laughed at us silly adults and shook her head saying "no! no! no!" in her playful and taunting little way.  I swear it was like Ellie all over again.  At one point I accidentally called Lily by Ellie's name, that's how much I was transported back in time!  I was really struggling to get her to stay in the light I wanted her to be in too and was astounded at her "energizer bunny" nature where she just kept running away without once looking back to see if any of us were even remotely closeby.  A super independent and determined little soul in that girl!  In the end, we prevailed, but I think the adults involved all collapsed on a couch when they got home! :)

Ginger and Art, thank you so much for driving so far to come see me and chase Lily around!!  She is a very bright, charming and delightful little girl!

Here is the one second she stopped moving to attend to other business.

For these, I'd get exactly ONE shot and then she'd literally launch herself off the bench, dad would scoop her up, put her back, I'd get ONE shot, she'd launch herself off again... you get the idea.  I have never seen a toddler move that fast in all my years of doing this!

She is actually still moving in this next shot which I caught as she momentarily, and accidentally, glimpsed at me.  HA!  I had my SS set to 1/640 instead of my usual 1/250 or 1/320 that I use with toddlers.  

I love this classy, simple denim dress with bloomers by the way.  It photographs beautifully in both color and B&W and keeps all the focus on Miss Lily.  Beautiful choice by mom!

HAHA! GOTCHA!

I quickly figured out that the best thing to do with Lily was NOT suggest anything.  So rather than ASK her to sit in the chair, which she would have politely refused to do, I quietly moved the chair into a location I liked, silently stepped away from the chair and casually squatted down a few yards away.  Then we all looked AWAY from the chair like it was the LAST place we wanted her to go..... and wouldn't you know it.....

Do you see her eyeballing me on the last frame? Trouble with a capital T that one... That's about when I started calling her Ellie.

Look at that determined look on her face!

Then, at the very end, I got these last two shots back to back and when I got them I told Ginger: "That's it! I got what I needed"  And we both let out a big "wooohoo!!"

Next year I'm wearing my track shoes.

Another summer playdate shoot!

This playdate was scheduled as a morning session which was quite a fortuitous thing since it was expected to hit 103 degrees that afternoon and even though we got started at 9 am it was already SWELTERING.  Because of the heat, I decided against venturing around to different locations on the property and instead just stayed in one spot.  There was very little shade and I was not about to put all of us out in the hot sun.  The spot I picked was in shade facing a brightly lit parking lot area and provided beautiful light and the kids liked it so it worked out quite nicely.

The first set was little Delphine and her big brother Gabriel.  I had already gotten solo shots of Gabriel when I did the big shoot for the IAD Dance Center that he (and my daughter) attends so we just did solo shots of Delphine and then sibling shots.  The dynamic between Gabe and his little sister reminded me SO much of my two.  Gabe is the sweet, tender, loving older brother (just like my Gavin) and Delphine is the feisty little sister (just like my Ellie).  Watching them interact was just like watching my two.  Super cute.  I'm just totally smitten with sweet, gentle older brothers!

I love how kids are slightly apprehensive at first and then warm up fairly quickly.  These shoots are super quick, just under 10 mn per child, so I have to get them comfortable in a very fast time frame.  Fortunately it always works out.  That said, I am able to accomplish so much more on my regular (and much longer) sessions because I have so much more time to just play and interact with the kids without any of us feeling rushed.  I am lucky that the little ones I have photographed at all these mini sessions have all been so adorable!  Here are just a couple favorites from each set.

those eyes!!

Gabe is such a little sweetheart, love him!

I know you can't see her smile under there but there's something about this shot that totally works for me :)

Then I got to take pictures of little miss Re'mi.  She looks so much like her big sister whom I've photographed before but with a very different personality. I love how siblings can be soooooo different despite having the same DNA source and environment they are raised in.  Speaks volumes in favor of the nature argument in "nature vs. nurture"!  I love how you can see her two little bottom teeth in this next shot.  OMG SO CUTE!

look at how blue her eyes are! wow!

Then we had Chloe, the little sister of the Cameron-Chloe duo!  This age is just THE BEST age to photograph.  Just sitting up on their own, not yet crawling away and generally very happy.  I absolutely adore photographing babies this age.  And look at this little bundle of joy, how could you not?!

the chunky thighs.... the chubby cheeks....sigh

this next one rocks my world!

Then we had big bro Cameron who was not *quite* as interested in the experience as his baby sister but had us all in stitches when he announced exactly HOW he'd like to pose thankyouverymuch.  I was laughing so hard, mr. future gap model.

Cameron's "fake smile" here was CLASSIC.  Don't worry Jen, this one doesn't count!  But I had to include it because it made me laugh out loud.

And, last but not least, my man Mateo!  This little guy has a firecracker personality and although he needed some time to warm up to the process, once he was warmed up he was ON FUEGO! :)  Such a character that one.... reminds me a tad bit of his mother methinks... 

I honestly could gobble up this child whole.  LOVE.

ENJOY YOUR IMAGES!  Thanks for the fun! :)

Another playdate fiesta!

Man, these are pretty chaotic!  Being super high energy and adoring kids sure comes in handy in my line of work! Phew!

I had another one of my "playdate parties" this week and we had six kiddos 3 and under.  Go ahead, you can laugh at me.  It's OK.  I know I'm crazy. :)

I picked a few standouts from each child's shoot.  It really made all the difference that I am very good friends with the mommies from this session because it made everything run as smoothly as could possibly be expected under the circumstances.

I'll start off with my little Luci.  She reminds me so much of Ellie.  A total character, full of life and drama and emotions and spunk.

The fact that Kathy encouraged me to document this next one makes me love her that much more. :)

Next up, Mr LoverBoy Logan.  Those EYES!  Those LASHES!  OMG.

swoon.

Next was sweet little Samara who just became a big sister recently.  She LOVES the camera and the camera loves her!

Oh the crinkly nose smile, my favorite!

Samara with baby Camille.  A collective "aaaaaawwwwwwwww".  Go ahead, I know you want to do it!

Camille has the most ginormous, edible, luscious rolls I have ever seen on a baby.  At four months old she weighs more than Ellie did at 3 years old!  We're talking rolls upon rolls.  I wanted to just squeeze her and munch on her round little self.   This age is notoriously hard to pose, as they can't sit up on their own and generally don't like being on their bellies and their neck muscles aren't strong enough to hold their heads up for extended periods of time.  I then realized we could put her in the little chair backwards but as we were putting her in we were concerned that her thighs would get stuck in between the slats!! ha!  It took a bit of wiggling but we made it happen. :)  

She *just* learned to grab her toes!  So glad we captured this!

Next was little Thomas who I photographed as a newborn.  He was such a skinny little dude as a newborn and has totally chunked out.  He has the most mesmerizing eyes!

I love everything about this next pose, the attitude, the look, total James Dean! :)

And, last but not least, my man Cole.  Oh how I love me some Cole. :)

Junneen and I affectionately refer to this as his "fly trap" look.  It makes us giggle every time!

and the very best part?  The hugs.

Thanks Junneen for hosting all the craziness! :)

Playdate Photo Shoot #2

So this was my second "playdate photo shoot" of the year and it was much larger in scale than the last one, as in eight kids under 6 years of age! You can just take a second to let that sink in..... :)

Yeah, pretty chaotic and funny all at the same time.  Fortunately, everyone had a good sense of humor about it and was willing to roll with the punches so to speak.  There was even mention of heavy drinking and nudity, albeit not at the same time...

 

My husband did silently greet me at the door with a glass of wine upon my return home though!  How did he know I'd need a drink?  Oh, and the lovely host, Amanda, fed us the MOST DELICIOUS fruit tart I have ever eaten from a place called The Farm in Soquel.  OMG.  *that* good.  I had to share that info so that I would not be the only one forevermore tainted by this knowledge because I can no longer eat just any old regular fruit tart.  Thanks alot, Amanda, no, really, thanks.  (smile)

As a side note, Amanda's husband totally rocked the reflector so a BIG thank you to him for all his hard work in the sweltering heat!

Because of the sheer volume, I can only post a few favorites from each set.

In this first set I have siblings Lucy and Stella, long time clients of mine who have just recently moved back to the area and I'm so happy to have them back.

Then we have Molly who was just the absolute sweetest girl!

The next set are siblings Norah and Leah.   I think mom is going to be delighted I got anything, but especially these! ENJOY Amanda :)

I almost deleted this next one but figured Amanda would appreciate it.  It certainly made me laugh out loud!

And, last but not least, siblings Mateo and Sofia.  Mateo is about as gorgeous a baby as they come and Sofia is such a devoted and attentive big sister!

Seriously, OMG.

Photo Shoot Playdate - Round 1

This shoot was my first "photoshoot playdate party" of the year.  I have several more planned for the rest of 2009 and I was really anxious to see how it would all pan out.  And although I definitely learned a few things for the next time I would say it was an absolute success.  It certainly helped that I had gorgeous models, super sweet and accommodating moms...and one awesome dad manning the reflector like a PRO! Thanks Rob!  I originally came up with the idea as a way to reward my long time clients and I am so glad I was able to come up with the idea and turn it into reality.

Here are a few highlights....

This is Shane.  He does not like to smile.  Despite this, he had me in stitches the whole time and you will soon see why.

Shane, dude, you are breaking my heart!!

This is McKenna, she is a photographer's dream.

Aha! Gotcha! I call that a smile!

gorgeous eyes

i love this girl, sweet as pie and totally cute!

this next one is my favorite one of McKenna

OMG Shane you're killing me!

This is even better, this is the "I will close my eyes so I don't accidentally look your way" pose... HILARIOUS!

and finally...

Next we had Isabella.  

absolutely stunning!

and this next one is the perfect example of why I never ask children to say "cheese" or smile... 

Then it was Giselle, Isabella's little sister.  She took quite a bit of time to warm up and initially did not want to be anywhere other than connected to mom.  However, after a little 1 on 1 alone time snuggling and chatting with me she was ready to play. She is, by the way, a most delightful snugglebug!

gobble gobble gobble, I could eat this one up!

And then, last but not least, was little Ke'ala.  Such a sweet, adorable little thing.  And also very attached to mommy!  Because of her age, she was not remotely interested in any alone time with me and we had to really do some serious problem solving to find a way to get her photographed.  Every time mom would so much as *think* about setting her down she'd fall apart!  It was breaking my heart...  But with a lot of patience and a little creative thinking, we made it happen. :)

Che

I've had the pleasure of photographing little Che since he was a newborn.  I get to see him (and his family!) regularly and he is still, always, the uber happy, smiley, charming little boy he was when we first met.  I cannot get enough of him.  I absolutely adore this boy. You will soon see why.  Besides being totally gorgeous, he just has the most delightful temperament and disposition.  This is one happy kid.

Happy Birthday Che!

this next one was *almost* my favorite shot of the day but I had one I liked a smidge more...

THIS is my favorite shot of the day..Che showing off his mad dance skillz... :)

Then we headed down to the beach...I dislike working in harsh direct sunlight but it's what we had and the soft sunset light wasn't going to be an option for us so I had to adjust to the icky lighting.  It's really hard to position yourself appropriately with harsh light and a fast, zigzaggy toddler to say the least!  But, Che was having a blast throwing sand into the water and running across the "river" so we let him play and enjoy himself!  I managed to get some really great shots despite the harsh lighting conditions.

I love the wet sand all over his back and body.  Classic.

his feet aren't even touching the ground here!

Emma & Abby

These two beauties are like twins born two years apart!  Just stunning and those eyes!  I assure you I did absolutely nothing to enhance their eyes, they are just naturally that amazing.  Also, I got my 24-70mm f2.8 lens back from Canon the day before (I had sent it in for calibration because it was acting 'soft') and it was amazing how sharp my images were.  I did absolutely NO sharpening on the images.  I don't think that lens was that sharp when I first got it three years ago.  

Their mom is a friend of mine and Emma goes to ballet class with my daughter Ellie and her best friend Riley.  If you need a recommendation for a great ballet teacher and class, send me an email!

We had a fun time with the girls.  Emma is a total smarty pants who cracks me up and Abby is such a coy little flirt.  Delightful :)

Katie & Ben, Enjoy!!!

there's just something about this next picture that makes me melt.

flirting...

pooping...

pulling up pants that are falling down!

do you ever get the feeling you are being glared at?

hugging or choking? you decide....

that's right Abby, you're ONE!

isn't there a law that says you can't scowl when you have a lollipop in your mouth?

Ava & Isabel

I've been photographing this family for a while now and big sister Ava and I have quite the little bond.  She likes my camera and my camera likes her!

Little sister Isabel was having a rough day and only wanted to held by mom.  Every time we'd so much as try to set her down she'd start wailing a plaintive little wail and I told Tiffany I thought the poor little peanut must be getting sick.  The only way I managed to get any shots of her at all was to send mom and Ava downstairs (out of sight , out of mind) and get some quality bonding time with little Isabel.  I got a handful of giggles during those few minutes of her tolerating her mother's absence but she clearly was not feeling like herself.  Turns out she was in fact getting her first cold ever and was up all night. Poor thing!

Still, Ava and I had a delightful time playing together while mom tended to Isabel and with free reign to chalk up their staircase and play barefoot in the driveway, we got some great images!  It's so nice when a mom just lets me do my thing and leaves me with their little ones.  I get to really bond with the child and let my imagination run wild and "play."  And it's during that fun play time that I get the best shots.  There are quite a few in this batch that I am head over heels in love with. :)

Tiffany, enjoy your images.  Next time we'll actually get the girls together!  Thanks for everything.

*** edited to add: Mom just read this, laughed, and reminded me about the fiasco over the dead bird and the major face plant with skinned knee and the Isabel meltdowns and snot everywhere... OH YEAH!  How did I forget all that!?  Tee hee! :)

the look on ava's face in this next one is classic!  It's basically a "do I really have to sit here with my sister and share the spotlight? Can't we just go back to taking pictures of me?"  SO funny!

i love the way her feet are turned in on this one

kayla

My "not so little anymore" Kayla!  This is my 4th year photographing Kayla and her mommy.  They were one of my VERY FIRST clients ever!  It is such an honor and delight to watch her grow over the years.  Her spunky personality is exactly the same every year, the only difference is that she gets taller and more verbal with every passing year!  She just totally cracks me up and reminds me so much of Ellie!

We got some really great shots and I'm just so happy we were able to do this again, it's definitely a tradition for both of us at this point!  Kayla and her mommy are beautiful girls (inside and out) and it's such a pleasure to photograph them.

ENJOY!

Che

Oh my!  This is my 3rd time photographing Che and the little dude just keeps on getting cuter and cuter! Those EYES!!!!  This time was particularly fun because his little personality is really starting to shine through.  He is also in a huge developmental milestone with him taking his first steps!  That's why I'm particularly in love with the last textured image where little Che is taking his adorable "drunken sailor" steps away from mom and off towards the big world, just toddling away, totally confident despite the balance checks...  The image is so representative of that time where they are still so little contrasted against how far they've come and how far they will go.  From this point forward, they will just continue to seek their independence, stretch their wings and get ready to fly.  For me at least, those first few steps were hugely emotional and I'd be both deliriously happy (Yippeee! I don't have to carry you 24/7 anymore! woohoo!) as well as incredibly forlorn (oh my god, you're growing up too fast, where's my BABY!?).  The wonderful thing about Che is that he is always, and I mean ALWAYS, happy beyond belief.  This little guy is all smiles ALL the time.  Happy, mellow, funny, easygoing little dude.  Such a dream.  I was joking with his mom that if I could guarantee that my 3rd would be that "chill", I'd have another in a heartbeat.  However, my husband and I's combined genetic make-up does not apparently produce such sweet and mellow little angels!! :) 

As a side note, I did get permission from mom to post the last few shots and rest assured, should I ever get any "naked butt" shots of your babies I will always check with you first before posting them.

Adam

I photographed Adam last year and the shoot was soooooooooo easy that I think it took all of 15 minutes, I'm totally serious!!  This year little Adam was into only three things that day: Tractors, Crackers and Mommy.  Me and my camera were not part of that equation! :)  Adam was also feeling under the weather and not enjoying the frequent snot-wipes he was getting... poor little guy!  But mom drove from FAR away for this shoot so the show must go on!  Adam has the SAME super duper long lashes I remembered from our first shoot together and the big huge doe eyes.  He did add something to his repertoire though, this amazingly funny stink-eye he kept giving me.  I could not stop laughing.  It was the BEST stink eye I have ever gotten from a toddler.  I deleted most of them but had to keep a few, they were hilarious.  See for yourself.   I hope you had a safe drive home guys and I promise you, next year will be much smoother.  I've said this before but the ages of 15 months through about 26 months are extremely challenging in terms of photography.  It is NOT your kid.  It is not permanent! This too shall pass!  I'm happy though because I got one of my all time favorite images from this shoot.  Can you guess which one it is? :)

Kayla

I've been taking pictures of Kayla since the very first few months of me launching this little portrait business of mine.  Her mother and I are always laughing our heads off during the shoot and it's a miracle I get any "work" done at all!  We love to compare notes of the pros and cons of each developmental stage.  We have agreed that 4 is harder than 2.  Just sayin'!  Kayla is like my daughter: energetic and precocious wrapped up in a sweet little daredevil package.  I think I managed to get her to sit still for all of 0.6 seconds at a time!  And yet, look at the images of this girl.  You could lose yourself in those eyes.  We had a blast...Thanks Diane!  Enjoy!

Spunky Ava

This little girl was FULL OF LIFE!  She took all of about 2.3 seconds to warm up to me and bam, we were off and running (literally!)  I just adore these images because they really captured Ava exactly as she is.  A delightful, energetic, bright and funny little girl with lashes that go on FOR-EVAH! 

We had a blast!  I've got another shoot tomorrow with a good friend and her family, we've got some great ideas as to what we want to do and hopefully we can make them all happen! :)