Irresistibly Adorable

Another Sunday, another photo shoot. :)

Some friends asked me to take their daughter's 1 year old pictures as well as a couple of family shots. I wasn't at all sure this one was going to happen though. It rained during the night and then poured while we were in church this morning. However, I wasn't scheduled to meet the family til 3:30. By then the weather had cleared. It wasn't sunny, but the lighting worked very well, and I was able to get some of the most adorable 1 year old shots!

What do you think?

















Don't you just want to kiss those adorable cheeks and eat her up?

The Colors of Fall

One thing I really like about where I live is the change of seasons. Although I'm usually tired of winter by February, I do appreciate the unique beauty in all 4 seasons ... and the beauty of fall is some of the most vibrant!

I recently took this photo of just some of the colorful leaves around here. I love how the green moss they are lying on seems to make the leaves' color pop even more.



This photo is my submission for the "Vivid Color" photo challenge over at Perceptive Perspective.

Autumn Landscapes

When I was on my photo walk the other day, I took these photos of the autumn colors near our house, and I'm submitting them for the "Landscape" theme for this week's challenge at Perceptive Perspective.

My First Non-Family Photo Shoot

Yesterday afternoon I did my first photo shoot for people who aren't my family. A friend had seen the portraits I'd taken of my kids this year, and she asked if I'd take some pictures of her children, too. I jumped at the chance to photograph others and practice my skills, but I have to admit I was nervous as to how today would go.

Even though it took the 2YO son a bit to warm up and smile for me, I was able to get some pretty nice shots. The 4YO daughter did wonderfully right off the bat!

Here are a few of my favorite shots from the day.





I had to put this one in here. It cracks me up!










Love those L.O.N.G. lashes!





I'm pretty happy with the way the pictures turned out, and I'm linking up the appropriate ones with Black and White Wednesday.

Dandelion Details

I took this dandelion picture last year. I really like the detail of the lines of dandelion fluff.



I'm submitting this picture for both Shoot-n-Tell's bokeh challenge and Paper Heart Camera's "Up Close and Personal" challenge. Be sure to visit each site to see more awesome submissions.

Week 3 Photography Class Assignment

This week we're experimenting with ISO (film speed) in my photography class. We had to take a picture of a flower, one at a low ISO and one at a high ISO. There aren't many flowers that are still blooming around here. Most have gone to seed, so I shot some clover "flowers" instead.

I adjusted my shutter speed when taking my pics so that the lighting wouldn't be too dark or too light, but I kept the aperture the same to keep some continuity in the photos. Both of these images were shot manually.

f5.6, 1/125, ISO 200


f5.6, 1/500, ISO 800

Red Tulips in a Row

Yes, fall has just begun, but Unique Exposure's photo challenge for the week is "Red," and this picture fits perfectly.



I took this shot this past spring when my tulips were blooming. I loved how these three blooms were lined up stairstep in a row.

Younger Daughter's Photo Shoot

On Monday I was able to get outside with Younger Daughter to take her yearly portraits. She is very photogenic, and I'm really happy with how her pictures turned out. She loves to pick flowers and wanted to put them in her purse to take home; I was able to incorporate that into the photo shoot, too.




















What do you think? Which shot is your favorite? Critiques/suggestions?

Middle Child's Photo Shoot

Well, I did actually make it outside again for another photo shoot yet today, this time with the Middle Child.

Once again, I used my fixed 50mm f/1.4 lens.

















What do you think of these? Middle Child is a real character, and I think his personality really came out in the pics.

Since I read the rules over at Perceptive Perspective and it looks like there is no limit to the number of photos you can submit for each weekly challenge, I'm going to enter this series of pics into her "Kids" theme for this week, too.

Photo Shoot with the Youngest

In recent years I've stopped going to the portrait studios in Penney's and Wal-mart and have begun taking my own pics of our children for their yearly portraits. I don't buy their school pictures either ... way too expensive (especially with five kids) and not always the greatest quality either.

This afternoon I took the Youngest outside to take his portrait pics. It was very overcast (in fact, we had to wait a little bit for the sprinkles to stop) which I thought would help avoid shadows. Since I didn't take any pictures with the sky in them, it didn't matter that the sky was white and gray with clouds instead of blue.

I used my fixed 50mm f/1.4 lens for the whole photo shoot.

















What do you think? Which do you like the best? I'm debating between a couple of them.

These pictures are also my submission to Perceptive Perspective's "Kids" theme.

Now I have to find the time take the other kids out one by one for their own photo shoots!