Tori {Class of 2013}

Tori Senior '13

She was so fun to photograph! I was cracking up the whole time with her, her mom, and little sister. And, by the way, as you can see she is gorgeous so very easy to photograph. The weather turned out perfect too, maybe still a little cold but not terribly.

These are my favorites from her session::

[Click images to enlarge]

Adam {Senior}

Adam

WCHS Class of 2013

We had a fun session with some beautiful weather too! My mom and Adam's mom are old friends and all I remembered was Adam is a very little kid. :) Well, he's all grown up now and I was excited to take his senior pictures.

Here are some of my favorites from our session::

[Click images to enlarge]

Claire 9 Months {Watch Me Grow}

Claire's 9 Months

As I was updating my Facebook photo albums and Labels here on the blog, I realized I didn't blog Claire's 9 Months photos. Oh my!! My kid and I didn't blog! So better late then never - right?

She is now 11 months and will be turning a year old in a matter of weeks which just baffles my mind :) She has grown so fast and learn every day. It's truly amazing.

Here was some of my favorite images::

Click Images to Enlarge

Haidyn 3 Months {Watch Me Grow}

Haidyn turned 3 months!

She's my best friends little girl - and my little girls future bff ;) She is so adorable and I had so much fun taking these pictures - even put a mobile on my head to get some smiles :)

Here are some of my favorite photos from the session::

[Click Image to Enlarge]

Self Teaching Log 1 {Manual}

I have tried once or twice with the {dreaded, scary, icky} manual but I just felt so out of control and unaware of what I was doing. So I've stuck to auto with my comfort zone. I had read a couple things between the times I did the manual and some "seasoned" photographers said "You shoot in Auto, so what." As long as I feel good with my work who cares - although they did encourage learning. So, I called it quits at the time since I was so busy and this is just my hobby.

Now I'm trying to make myself better and I do want this to become my profession so learning manual seems the next obvious step. I want to do it, I'm ready to do it, and I need this knowledge - I'M READY.

The last few days I've been really reading quite a bit on shooting manual. Some of it reiterating what I read before but most of it new. Some of the time I was like "Uhhhh what" and then others I was like "Aha." So it was definitely been quite the learning process so far. Now I think I'm ready to start messing around with the camera and doing some shooting in manual.

Watch out for my next Log when if got a smidgen of manual under my belt :)

Haircut {DIY}

Why I would recommend it and not recommend it all at once :)

So I've been playing with the idea of bangs for few weeks now. I haven't had them since I was a little girl and I just thought it would be a fun change. I hadn't yet, before last night, decided for sure on it though. I come home after taking a long walk with my kids after work and go to the bathroom to put some body spray on.  I'm looking in the mirror and my hair just looks terrible and I decided I'm doing I am going to cut my own bangs right here right now. Having my Iphone in my pocket I pull it out and hit Safari (AKA internet). I Google DIY Bangs. The second YouTube video that comes up looks very promising ::

DIY: how to cut side bangs and full bangs by Elisa Sung

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tKvD1rFRSNU

And I definitely would have done this had my hair not wanted to cooperate and make a triangle shape. But my hair was just being so gosh darn crazy/fuzzy. That's when I decided I need a haircut! So I go back to Google and search DIY Haircut. The first YouTube video that shows up sounds great ::

Layered haircut: DIY by Corrine Bailey Rae

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y1SVhIr_-6M

So I spend about 10min brushing my hair out and then down like shown in the video. I put in the pony tail holder and the back doesn't feel completely smooth.So I take it out and brush through one more time. I put the first pony tail in. I brush through the hair that's in the first pony tail and put in the second. I pull it down to what I think was my desired length. This part was a little harder for me because my hair was so thick - but I began to cut just about the second pony tail. My hair is so think to start with but after brushing and brushing it was even worse. Once I was done I took the first pony tail out and flipped my hair over. I instantly could not stop laughing. The shortest laugh was much shorter than I had anticipated - well surprise I have bangs :)

Notes for future reference or other DIY Haircutters ;) ::
Well I think if I were to do it again I'd make sure my hair, being so thick, was wet. Not that I'm saying I would do it again - but heck maybe I would. And, I'd also spend even longer brushing my hair out too.
But, nothing like going to a beautician. She's going to get everything even and have a better look then checking out a reflection.

Here's my before and after::

A Little Inspiration {Giveaway}

I found the cutest little site it's called A Little Inspiration.

She does so many cool posts from DIY to recipes to her daily life adventures.

I think I have found a new addiction. Check her site out you will definitely be happy you did.

 

As an added bonus, she is currently hosting a giveaway. One lucky winner will receive one Wittlebee box full of some very cute kids clothes.

[note clicking links will leave current page]

Go check out A Little Inspiration and enter the giveaway here::

http://littleinspiration.com/2012/08/wittlbee-review-childrens-clothing.html

 

She's on Facebook too::

http://www.facebook.com/alittleinspiration

Marcus and Kelsa {Engagement}

My little brother has just recently got engaged.

Marcus and his girlfriend - now fiance - Kelsa have been together since July 14th, 2010. I witnessed the proposal of my own nosy camera wielding accord while hiding in the bushes. He asked her on their anniversary at the lake our Grandmother lives on. They have set a date of May 30th, 2015. I can't wait to photograph them at their wedding.

Here are some images from there session::

Click Images to Enlarge

Graff {Family}

I had such fun taking family photos for a friend and coworker of mine.

They were such a fun family to photograph. I kept laughing and laughing, at every turn someone was making a funny face or doing something to make me snicker :)

The weather was so beautiful, not to hot there was a small wind but didn't so in too many of the photos.

Here are some of my favorites (and they made it pretty darn hard for me to choose)::

Click images to enlarge

Heart of the Ocean {Engagement}

My cousin is engaged!

Her fiance is in the Navy and they snuck in a quick engagement session before he had to head back to his ship.

Here are some sneak peeks from their session::