they made it too easy

the heart of marriage is memories.- bill cosby

during family shoots, i always ask encourage the parents to allow me to photograph just the two of them [without their kids] for a bit. many times, i take one...or two photos [if i'm lucky] of the parents...and then they say, that's enough. i respect their wishes and never get too pushy, but i personally think it's an important aspect of a family session -- photos of the family together, siblings together, kids by themselves and parents by themselves.

last week, the joseph family was game for anything and they just happen to make photographing the two of them way too easy for me. so i kept shooting -- just the two of them. ryan is an awesome photographer here in town and shared with me that they never had family photos done together.  sigh...i'm so incredibly happy i could capture these memories for them.

getting in front of the camera

when meredith contacted me about photographing her family, she mentioned how important it was to get some photos of her with her children and husband.  my guess is that every photographer knows this feeling, whether a professional photographer or you're just the one in the family who always seems to be behind the camera.  i know for myself, i take so many photographs every year and yet i'm almost never in my own family's photographs.  and with that said, i so cherish each and every photo i have of me with my kids and husband -- so, so cherish! i did take photos of the wilcke family and the kids by themselves, but today i want to celebrate mom | photographer getting in FRONT of the camera.

and if you haven't had your family's photos done in a while and you're waiting for the perfect time, you might just want to read THIS!

mother's day

yes, mother's day is quickly approaching -- may 8th, as a matter of fact.  and what more magical gift to give a woman for mother's day than a family or children's photo session.  who wouldn't love and cherish that gift?!!  and if they grumble for any reason, simply direct them here -- to my the perfect time post.  i promise they won't grumble any more. i know it's a dream of mrs. B's (below). at the most recent wallflower friends retreat, where we had the awesome opportunity to photograph mr and mrs B and their youngest two, we talked about how one of these days, she is going have all eight of her kids photographed together...and what a special mother's day gift that would be!!

if interested in reserving a photo session or purchasing a gift certificate, simply email me here.

also, don't forget about all my upcoming 2011 travel locations.

2010 | client

some of my favorite client photos from 2010.  so fun looking through all the photos from this past year.  and can't help but think how blessed i am to do what i do!!  looking forward to seeing what 2011 has in store.

p.s. i have lots more favs but thought i needed to stop somewhere :-))

my first

had my first tampa shoot last week.  i mean i've shot here before.  but this was my first family shoot.  here in tampa.  a client.  a friend.   i adore them. we decided to head to picnic island because they wanted beach and it's pretty close. i had shot there before on a cloudy (empty) day.  the M family moved here this past march, from ohio, and they wanted something florida-y so we thought picnic island would be perfect.

K and i talked about the location after -- nice because it offers both green and beach.  but the beach was not the greatest, we agreed.  the water isn't the kind you really want to get into and it was a bit crowded with some interesting characters.  so i'm still longing to find that magic beach, like this one.  i will eventually find it.  maybe here.  i mean really...PB pier didn't come to me overnight.  it will happen here too.  and so...the tampa location scouting continues.

with all that said, i do love the mix of green and beach that picnic island has to offer.  but i miss the texture and shade of a pier.  thanks M family for being my first!! :-)

bittersweet

with a mutual love and obsession for horses (amongst other things), kiele and haeley quickly became best friends, shortly after our arrival here in kansas.  and through their friendship, we met the rest of the deeney clan, who we just adored from the moment we met them.  and today, the deeney family departs -- well, the parents will actually be back for a week to pack out, but the kids are headed to their grandparents, after after they attend a family wedding in tennessee. watching kiele and haeley say good-bye last night...well, lets just say it was painful. sad, sad, sad! after haeley left, i couldn't get kiele out of her bedroom.  i couldn't sleep, trying to think of ways to keep haeley and payton (the kids) here a bit longer.  but as i share with my kids, i reminded myself -- we have to be thankful for the opportunity to have met these new friends.  and look forward to seeing them again one day (which we will!!).  if we didn't come to this army post here in kansas, for this one quick year, we would have never have met this awesome air force family.

over the years, from state to state, we have made some of the most amazing friends ever!!  and while leaving them is always hard, we are truly blessed to have met and shared time with them -- and that's what we have to remember and hold in our hearts.

to show my thanks to the deeney family, for their friendship and all they've done for us this past year, i did a photo session with them the other day....

we will truly miss you heather, jay, haeley and payton.  thank you for a fabulous year!!

note:  kiele and haeley have already made plans to spend a few weeks together next summer, on the deeney farm and as far as i'm concerned, i'll do everything in my power to make that happen, if they want that.