amy leigh photography

2011-09-07T23:38:00.001-07:00

Pssst. Looking for something? I moved. Seriously. Follow me to my new place...

www.amyrahm.com/blog

hi

2010-09-15T12:02:00.000-07:00

Just popping in to say that I'm alive. I know it's been awwwwfully quiet around here the past few months. Summer's over, we're back into our schedules and I've got quite a few fall sessions coming up. I've been working hard the past few months on a new website, blog and branding for my business. I'm happy with the way things are going and excited to be shooting new families soon! As soon as I get all the details completed, I'll be back here to share my new links with you.

Here's a shot of my (almost) one year old eating his first popsicle the other day. I can't believe it's already been a year!

And, a huge thank you to those fans who have faithfully checked in every single week. Sorry it has been so boring!

Light

2010-06-13T21:49:00.000-07:00

We've had our share of thunderstorms in the past six weeks. Most of them have come with hail, flooding, strong lightning, thunder and wind. My three year old is very nervous and comes running at the slightest rumble now, expecting it to be intense. One night a few weeks ago, we had one of those storms where the sun was still shining. It happened around sunset and the result was an amazing orange glow that bounced off of the clouds. Looking out our front window, all I could see was hazey orange. It was beautiful. I grabbed my camera and took these from our front porch.

This silhouette is of my oldest son. The orange light to the righ of his chin was the sunset bouncing off the top of our car. I was having a hard time putting my camera down but bedtime rolled around and the kids were begging for me to come in. :)

A special evening

2010-06-04T17:46:00.000-07:00

I had the pleasure of capturing a special event for this family last week at the Nashville Tennessee LDS temple.

They looked great in black and white.

I get to see little Aimee Mae each week in Sunday school. She's a riot! I have many of her expressions from the evening,
including an eye roll or two...

I had to bribe Maxwell to get in front of the camera.

And William had no problem smiling while Maxwell was busting out some jokes...

But Miss Natalie was by far the most cooperative and made the perfect model!

This family has been waiting over a week to see a few shots since I hopped on a plane the next day and just got back. Thanks again for allowing me the privilege of joining you that evening. It was so great to get to know you all!

Now scheduling...

2010-05-17T09:19:00.000-07:00

I'm officially ready to open my books for Summer and Fall sessions!

I'm scheduling a limited number of sessions over the next several months ( I DO have a baby ya know ;). So if you're interested, send an email to: amyleighphoto(at)gmail(dot)com and I'll send pricing your way. If you've already contacted me, I'll be sending updated pricing to you tonight! Thanks for your patience. I'm excited to get to know new families and find new locations for your sessions around the Nashville area.

If any of you Cheeseheads make your way here for a visit, let me know and I'll work in a special session for you! I've had many session requests and hopes for a visit up there but I currently have no plans for a trip- maybe next year?!

With the record rainfall we've had in this area, there's plenty of beautiful scenery and I'm more than ready to start shooting again...

This is me

2010-04-19T22:54:00.000-07:00

I love my camera and I love to laugh.

THIS is me with my baby. Oh how I love being a mother...

A few days ago, I ventured to the lovely countryside of southern Indiana to spend a couple of days with Lacey. She'd talked me into capturing photos of my pregnancy and I'd begged her to come help me do a newborn session. We've both been salivating at the thought of capturing a cute, chubby six month session of Maxwell. The result: more incredibly beautiful photos than I even know what to do with. To see more, visit her blog HERE.

Easter

2010-04-09T12:28:00.001-07:00

A sunny Valentine

2010-02-10T14:58:00.000-08:00

SO nice to go back and look at these during the winter. Spring is just around the corner- I can feel it!

I made this Valentine for my sister and her hubby with a template from Design Aglow. They visited over Labor Day weekend, about two weeks before I delivered Max. It was not as easy to shoot when I was that large but it was fun shooting my lovely sister. Her hubby was his usual patient self in front of the camera. ;) It was hard not to reminisce about the amazing location of last year's shoot. My sis is my BFF. I miss her and I'm so happy she's visiting soon! I hope to post more photos from their session as soon as I start feeling better. We've had alot of snow days (one more kid home with me all day) and an equal amount of viruses floating around here. I'm trying to "Think Spring!"

Mi Amore

2010-01-19T12:18:00.000-08:00

It goes by so fast...

To get himself around, he rolls over and over and over. Goodbye little newborn!

Three little men

2010-01-14T18:39:00.000-08:00

When we first arrived in Tennessee this summer, everyone who met us kept asking- do you know the *D* family at church? We didn't. My oldest came home after church one day and said- "I really want to play with this boy in my class. Will you puh-leeeease meet his mommy?" It took us several weeks of attending before I put two and two together that the boy he so badly wanted to play with was from this family. All three of our boys are exactly the same ages- and only 4 weeks, 2 weeks and 8 weeks apart, respectively. And, they were brand new to the area as well. It's been a match made in heaven for my boys! I was thrilled to capture their personalities and we had the perfect weather for it the weekend before Thanksgiving. Yes, it HAS taken me that long to get these blogged! Three kids, one being a newborn, two holidays, and a husband who was frequently out of town. Phew.

Although it always helps when I know the people I'm shooting, it reminded me why I don't try getting a picture of all three of my boys together very often. ;) The middle one, with the lighter curlier hair, even told his mom he would not smile and would only walk like a penguin... or something like that.

Boys and sticks tend to be like magnets with one another.

Looooved the outfits that their Mom picked out. So cute!

Sniper shot ;)

Can you guess what his name is?

Here's the youngest- I think he was four months old here.

Maybe this is his penguin smile?!

My 3 year old was very concerned when he saw me editing these pictures and realized his friend was on the train tracks. He talked to me very sternly about not doing that again. Uh-oh. :D

Holly, I think you look GORgeous! When I was younger, I wanted red hair really badly. I think it's so stunning.

The shoot was over but I kept shooting. Of course. :)

It's officially winter in the South

2010-01-05T19:29:00.000-08:00

I am happy to leave behind the months and mounds of snow in Wisconsin and celebrate this infrequent visitor here in Tennessee. We got flurries for two hours on Monday morning and that's the most snow I've seen since last April. I jumped at the chance to pull out my macro lens and capture the beauty. I posted these on my family blog the other day so I apologize for the duplicate posts lately for those of you who check both. These were just too lovely not to post here as well. I love to photograph.

Happy New Year!

2010-01-01T20:19:00.000-08:00

My sister took this photo last night and I love it so much I had to feature it here for other photo-lovers to see!

And just today I remembered this photo I took last year on New Year's Eve and it never made it to my photoblog. We were in Coronado, California- driving along that stretch of beach that runs from Coronado to Imperial Beach. I had my camera out trying to capture the sights as we drove and the sun set over the ocean...

After we got home, I got on google to figure out what was next to the moon on 12-31-08 and found that it was Venus. The black at the bottom of the picture is the ocean and the sand dunes in front of it. I love how we were literally on the edge of the continent and I could see the night sky creeping up, chasing the sun away. I was thrilled to capture this through a car window while moving. Capturing pictures like these are why I love photography so much.

And of course I'm gonna close with "Baby New Year." I love the possibilities that lie ahead in a fresh new year. May you accomplish your goals this year and be a better person for it by this time next year!

Thank you friends and family for your love and support of my passion, for your comments and emails. I appreciate every single one of them.

Mr. Max

2009-12-30T23:38:00.000-08:00

In all the Christmas madness, I almost let this opportunity pass me by. Thanks to a gentle nudge (or shove ;) from a kind friend, I have his three months photos to cherish. I cannot get enough of this little guy!

Love the drool on his chin 24/7

I love that he has this expression because he's looking at me!

Christmas tree lights in the background to remember he was 3 months during the festive season

I always need pictures of his toes!

And I love all of his different expressions. He looks JUST LIKE ME in this shot!

Love the chubby fingers that are always in his mouth

Like I said, I just can't get enough!

And he can't get enough of me, apparently. It's almost 2 in the morning. I've been trying to post these for the past 3 evenings but he has had other plans for me. He's been asleep approximately 1 hour so far. He only had one 2.5 hour nap today. Seriously... doesn't he know I need a little tiny break once in a while?!

Just one more

2009-12-09T22:45:00.000-08:00

I just finished editing this little girl's session and found this one at the end. The session was over, our light was gone and she was feeding the ducks. It's a little grainy with the low light but something about it said- pick me! So I did.

Hello Nashville!

2009-11-21T23:20:00.000-08:00

What a huge change it was to shoot in November in Tennessee vs. November in Wisconsin. Last November, I cut the fingertips out of my gloves so I could work my camera. And the sweet family I shot, pulled their kids in and out of a heated car just to get some pictures. We are having incredible weather and I LOVE it! I'll be able to shoot most of the year here and that makes me happy! The best thing about moving is getting to explore new areas and Nashville has taken on an entirely new perspective for me as a photographer. Last Saturday, it was 70 degrees and partly sunny and the perfect day for a session in the park with this beautiful little girl and her family!

Once upon a love story...

2009-11-05T19:54:00.000-08:00

Last spring, my son's favorite song was Love Story by Taylor Swift. If we were riding around in the car and had to stop at a store, he'd ask if we could wait until the song was over before we got out. On the morning of his fifth birthday, I bought the iTunes video for him as he requested to watch it as soon as he got up.

One night, I was editing pictures and listening to Love Story on my headphones and I got this idea when the very first line of the song played.... "We were both young when I first saw you."

We were leaving Wisconsin soon and Brandon's very best friend, Sienna, was moving 1500 miles away from where he was headed. I hatched a plan, talked to her mom and we started looking online for costumes. The weather was bad during June in Wisconsin. I was pregnant, packing up our house and doing lots of photo sessions for other people. At the last minute, Sienna's family had to go out of town and we almost thought it wouldn't happen. Then, the night before we moved, everything fell into place. The weather was perfect and I was so happy.

Brandon was so excited about the idea and since he'd watched the video so many times, he had a plan to act out the video and he was REALLY into it. It was so sweet to watch. I've been sitting on these pictures for a long time because I had so many other sessions to edit and then of course, moved and had a baby all in the past few months. So RaQuelle, happy birthday to you- they're finally done!

Sienna's mom, RaQuelle, took video while we were shooting and we're going to put the video clips in with the pictures at some point and then add in all of their pictures from when they first met at Sienna's 1st birthday party to when we left Wisconsin four years later. If you haven't seen the video, go watch it HERE and you'll understand Brandon's plan in his head a little better when you see the photos!

I love my little Romeo. Hopefully he'll meet his Juliet again some day. RaQuelle and Sienna, we miss you!

***If you have a second, leave a comment for Brandon- he'll LOVE them!

The friendly ghost

2009-11-02T11:00:00.000-08:00

Maxwell is already six weeks old. He's smiling up a storm these days- especially at his Mommy! One of these days I'll start posting pictures of other people again. :)

The details

2009-10-21T21:22:00.000-07:00

Here are a few more of Maxwell at 3 weeks old. There just aren't enough hours in the day. I want to photograph him all the time. But I'm exhausted and he gets older by the hour and the other boys aren't so cooperative to just let me shoot whenever I please. But I just L O V E having a newborn again- it's going by too fast!

One thing we have plenty of around here... lashes. My boys have beautiful lashes!

But toes are my favorite part of them all!

I have a few more of Max that I want to post soon and two other sessions I haven't gotten up on the blog yet. After my other two boys go to bed, Max just gets started for the evening. Let's just say he doesn't like to be put down between 7pm and 11pm. I'm missin sleep just to post this. So off to bed I go!

Tickled pink... er, blue

2009-09-30T22:35:00.000-07:00

Words cannot express. After almost two years of shooting newborns who aren't mine, I was so happy to get these of my own little man. This first one is going to be printed BIG and on canvas.

I'm in love...

Ok, so I have to admit. Max was not the most cooperative newborn. In fact, out of all the newborns sessions I've done, he was the most difficult. He's not a difficult baby. He just would not give up and get into a deep sleep that day. Every time we moved him, he noticed. It was a long day and I'm not sure my postpartum body was quite ready for it but it was sooo worth it!

He's here!

2009-09-28T18:35:00.000-07:00

That little bundle of joy has finally arrived and joined our family. Here's a shot of my almost 3 year old peeking under the baby's blanket to see his toes. My friend Lacey will be here tomorrow and we'll be shooting him together. We have sooo many props that we're both hoping we can actually get all the shots we want. I'll have images of my newborn to share later this week. Here's to hoping he sleeps like a champ tomorrow!

Fun with a photog

2009-09-14T12:57:00.000-07:00

A friend of mine, who is also a photog, asked me to take pictures of her family before I left Wisconsin. I was honored and we ended up with the perfect night for it. We had a great location and this was the second session I had done in this area. I loved how the light was so different from a morning session to an evening session and how it changed the photos. I was dying to shoot in front of this red door I'd found so this was the perfect opportunity. The only problem I had was keeping my camera off the kids! I love to photograph children but we were mainly trying to get shots of Kara with her children because as we photogs know, that's the one thing we're in short supply of- pictures of ourselves, especially with our kids. You can check out Kara's work HERE. Btw, she designed her website herself. I think it's so cute!

I love this little series of the two of them together. She was being so cute and loving with her mom!

Wrapping up the summer

2009-09-03T22:01:00.000-07:00

Before I left Milwaukee, I had a shooting frenzy. What followed has been one crazy summer. We stayed with a friend for a month while we looked for housing. Then we moved, took a trip to see my in-laws and came back to unpack our home. Since then, my oldest has started kindergarten and all four of us contracted the flu, spending about 8 days quarantined to the house. It seemed like two weeks. During this time, all of the friends I took pictures of have patiently waited for me to edit and I'm just now getting around to blogging. Here's one of the sessions. I have many more to blog. We'll see how far I get!

I love this family! They are kind and just have the cutest kids. Their oldest and my second are the same age and they let me practice on their newborn baby boy last year. He's looking so cute and grown up these days. We found a beautiful park to shoot at and the morning turned out to be glorious. Most of June in Wisconsin was not that way and I had to reschedule and juggle everything around. I really enjoyed my time at this session though.

Aren't they a beautiful family?

The other side of the lens

2009-08-13T20:49:00.000-07:00

Back in July, I was having a bad day. Life was upside down. I got a voicemail. It was Lacey telling me she had a grand idea...

Thanks to my hubby for this shot of us

The week of my birthday, she drove 3.5 hours to do a maternity shoot for me! What a friend, right? Lacey and I met online last Fall, randomly. I left a comment on another photographer's blog and she followed the link to mine. We emailed back and forth and then started chatting on the phone when our emails grew so lengthy that we were saving them and coming back to them when we had time! We've never run out of things to say and I feel like I've known her my entire life. She's my BpFF (as she calls it). It's so good to have one of those! Lacey, I can't wait to see you again when my baby arrives. We'll have so much fun shooting together!

To see more of my maternity session, go to Lacey's blog HERE and leave her some comment love for doing such a fantastic job!If you're a friend of mine, I have even more on my family blog HERE.

Cute Cousins

2009-07-14T14:28:00.000-07:00

When I got my first DSLR, I met Katie, who kindly allowed me to practice on her family one chilly November afternoon. Although I liked my composition, I struggled getting the quality of shots I wanted and was trying my best to figure out lighting, white balance, ISO, shutter speed, aperture, etc. It's a good thing that session was free! A year and a half later, I'm happy she gave me another chance and I'm pleased to present her with the type of quality shots I want. She and her sister got their kids together as a gift for their mother. I'm not posting the group shots on here because I'm not sure what their plans are for them. So here are some of my favs from the rest of the session. Katie, thanks a million for your patience with me during the move!

Anticipation

2009-07-03T07:12:00.000-07:00

First of all, I just want to say a huge thank you and goodbye to all of my friends in Wisconsin. The weeks leading up to our departure kept me busier than ever with packing, of course, and getting to shoot some of my favorite people! I was full of emotion- from the sadness of leaving behind a huge part of our lives to excitement as we head into a new adventure. My kids both think we're from Wisconsin because it's all they remember. Thanks to all of you who are waiting patiently for your pictures. It's been almost two weeks since we left and I'm just getting back into the groove with editing, etc. I'm excited to announce that our official home is now in Nashville, Tennessee and I can't wait to see what kind of photo opportunities await me here!!

A few nights before we left and all of my official shoots were over, I had a friend pop over to get some belly shots before her due date in August. I've not done any maternity shoots besides my sister in law who let me practice on her with my strobes last year so this was fun to be out in the beautiful evening light and enjoying the pleasant temperatures.

When we finished up, I found out that they'd had a scare the night before and spent the night in the hospital, thinking the baby might arrive very early. But all is well and they were in good spirits, just very tired. Ashley and Joe, good luck with your little man and let me know when he arrives. I wish I could take his newborn pictures.

The proud Daddy-to-be!

Sugar n Spice

2009-06-17T20:33:00.000-07:00

A house full of little girls- I was in heaven! All the accessories and flowers and hats... Tiffany, thank you for letting me capture your beautiful girls. It was a nice break from superheroes and wrestling. Baby Harper has two loving and helpful big sisters. She loves to nurse but once she was full, she slept like a champ through all of her wardrobe, hat and backdrop changes. It was like playing with a little doll. I loved it!

Is she adorable in this hat or what? My photog friend, Lacey, has a sister who knits and she was kind enough to mail me one for this session. Thanks so much Leah!

Third time's a charm...

2009-06-06T18:40:00.000-07:00

This is the third time this cute family has graced my blog. First with Kennedy and then baby Jocelyn (who is currently featured in my blog header!). My friend, Laura, had her family in town for the weekend so she got everyone together for pictures as as gift for her Mom for Mother's Day. Due to the tight schedule for both of us, we had a couple of hours to get everyone together. Unfortunately, it wasn't the best weather and her 3 month old was a trooper through the chilly temps. But at least it didn't rain. I love this shot of her with her brother and sisters. Laura's family lives in Utah but she has lived in Milwaukee for quite some time now. My sister lives in Utah and worked with Laura's husband's brother at her last job and then got a new job and met Laura's dad there. Such a small world! Buxton/Currey family, enjoy your preview- I'm almost done with your pictures!

It's that time of year

2009-05-30T19:51:00.000-07:00

It's finally warm and there are Grads everywhere. I was lucky enough to shoot my very first Senior, whom I happen to love! She has been the best babysitter, hands down. :) Ok, technically, she's only a Senior for two more weeks but we had lots of fun capturing her in cap & gown. So just one for tonight until I have the energy to go through the rest of them.

So hard to say goodbye...

2009-05-14T10:33:00.000-07:00

This time of year for our family means we say goodbye to lots of friends who are graduating from medical or dental school or finishing up residencies and fellowships. Even though it's finally our turn and we'll be leaving as well, we realize that we won't see most of our friends again as everyone scatters across the country. Being able to photograph friends has been so rewarding because it leaves me with a memory as well so it's a win-win for us both! This family has two little boys the same ages as ours. The oldest, Byron, was in my class at church for about a year and a half and I loved his spunky personality. The little one, Wells, is in that adorable 2 year old stage and so very cute with his little words. They are off to new adventures (and a warmer climate!) and I'm so glad I could capture some photos of them with a view of Milwaukee.

Jenny, don't hate me for including that top middle photo- I thought it was hilarious- I love candids!

After getting some family portraits, they pulled out the kites. It's always windy enough by Lake Michigan to get them up and going. The kids loooved it!

Beautiful but chilly- typical Milwaukee! The kids did really well and hopefully Byron will remember flying kites here with his parents when he gets older. Thanks for a memorable evening!

Test drive

2009-05-10T21:08:00.000-07:00

I tried out the macro lens on a rose. Maybe it was a mistake to try exposing red the first time I used the macro. I took aloooot of shots but it's always fun to practice. I'm going to start using this at my newborn sessions. I wish I'd had it at my session last week because those tiny little lips were so cute. Hopefully, it will help me capture those teeny tiny details a little bit better!

And since it's Mother's Day, one of my favorite things about being a mom of boys is that there's always a superhero around to save the day!

He gets those lashes from his Daddy! Ohh, maybe I should try out the macro lens on his lashes sometime!

Who knew?!

2009-05-02T19:56:00.000-07:00

This little guy is three weeks old today. I was nervous that he'd be awake and moving all over during the shoot and make it really difficult to photograph him. I planned on getting alot of shots of him awake and looking at me. He threw me for a loop... in fact, he never woke up until the very end when I was trying a new pose and moving him every which way. He was ready to eat by then. He's the baby brother and has two very cute and very sweet big sisters to look after him. He was so cooperative that I might have to sneak back over and take a few more shots sometime soon... : )

That hair!

Those lips!

I looove baby feet... can't get enough of 'em! I absolutely enjoyed working with little Isaac. I do have a soft spot for baby boys though : )Welcome to the world little man!

***Techie specs: I used my brand spankin new 17-55mm f/2.8 lens for these shots. It arrived the day before so I was very happy with its performance. It did not disappoint! Also, I'd been trying for a while, with no succes, to get that first pose with other newborns. I was delighted to finally get it!

A favorite

2009-04-21T18:50:00.000-07:00

Several months ago, a friend of mine asked me to take some photos of her girls as a surprise for her husband's birthday. I asked her to have the girls bring along a favorite item and Elena brought her brown bear. I caught this one of her waving the bear's arm while she hid behind him. Because I just love this kid and she keeps me laughing all the time, this picture makes me smile every time I look at it.

My friend picked these as her favorites and we had them printed as 20x20's in b&w and I just loved seeing the prints so big on her wall! After seeing them up and framed, I decided I'm going to get some really BIG prints of my boys as soon as we move and get settled.

Spring is (t)here

2009-04-15T12:05:00.000-07:00

Unfortunately, it hasn't quite hit Wisconsin yet. We spent Easter weekend in Kentucky visiting some very good friends of ours. It was so refreshing to see green grass, leaves on trees, flowers and sunshine (for part of it anyways- what's spring without some rain to make things beautiful?).

After dinner, we took the kids outside for an egg hunt. My friend Jill managed to talk her children into changing back into their Easter clothes from earlier that morning so I could get some pictures. My boys were less cooperative. I love these kids. When my oldest was about four months old, I babysat them two days a week. I think they still remember that a little bit. Good friends, good memories.

Here's what I got on Sunday...

I'm still in heaven over all the green!!

Tutus & a new "do"

2009-04-05T18:47:00.000-07:00

I'm so excited! I wanted to change up my blog a bit and here it is! It's taken me forever to study up on how to customize it myself. I created a blog to practice on and got all the bugs worked out and then copy and pasted the new template and all the widgets over to this one. I have to thank

Tips for New Bloggers because 99% of what I learned came from their website. I removed the navigation bar, made a horizontal link list and changed the size of the main wrapper. So, what do you think? If you completely open up your browser, can you see my header picture? If you're having problems viewing anything, please let me know asap! And if you need help with your blog, go visit that site pronto.

I haven't paid too much attention to this little blog over the winter. After posting the pictures of the Inauguration, I noticed people coming from all over the world. It's incredible. I always assume the same 10 people are checking my blog each week. So THANKS to everyone for visiting. This blog started out last year as a place for me to show my dad and sister the pictures I took of friends. And although 99% of my shoots up until this point have just been people I know, I've made some new friends and love the emails I get from people I don't even know! I've loved this journey of discovering photography and pushing myself to improve. I've been ever so slowly working on getting a website together and hope to have it up and running soon. We will be moving out of state soon (not exactly sure where yet) and I hope to expand my business since I will know very few people when I arrive in my new surroundings. Ok, on to the pictures.

About a month ago, I shot a dance recital for a friend of mine who is great at teaching these little girls how to strut their stuff. It was held at our church gymnasium and let me tell you- the lighting is tricky in there. Ok, it just stinks. I only had so much control since I couldn't physically move the lights around myself. Low light plus little girls moving around alot= lots of fun. Having two boys, I jumped at the chance to shoot a bunch of pink tutus. They were so cute!

Both dance classes together

My beautiful and talented friend, RaQuelle, who teaches the little girls.

And her daughter, Sienna, and perhaps my son's most favorite person on this earth (besides me of course ;)

Kennedy being silly again

This is Elena before she got her full tutu on. She is a RIOT. Look at that expression.

Now she's dolled up and getting her shoes on. I love that red hair!

Daughter of a fellow photog friend. She looks like a little doll in this one.

This picture makes me want to buy a tutu.
Elena's little sister, Kaylee

Treat boxes that RaQuelle gave to the girls at the end of their performance.

Gavin's big sister, Grace- Absolutely GORGEOUS girl!

Sweet little Abby

The girls got to do this routine in their princess costumes. You will see Elena front and center. Her job was to dance/lip sync to "Someday My Prince Will Come" and she did a fantastic job. When she got out on stage, she was EATING UP all of the attention. Below is the rapid fire I shot to catch her emotions...

And then she ended with this. She needs to go into acting!

It was lots of fun. I'll miss not shooting this performance next year.

Kennedy is a big sister...

2009-03-31T12:20:00.000-07:00

Here's little Jocelyn at 10 days old. She was a champion sleeper. Heat, white noise, soft blankets- a newborn's heaven.

I have an affinity for b&w photos but couldn't resist the creamy colors in this one too. Right after this shot, she rolled onto her back into this position.....

How adorable! Doesn't she look comfortable? And I love that little hair sticking up too.

And yes, I know it's about time for a new post. I've been editing a dance recital so I will have some pink tutus to show off soon!

Cute Kennedy

2009-02-26T12:15:00.000-08:00

Most of my shooting experience has been outside with natural light. But in Wisconsin, that doesn't leave very many months for shooting. I've been wanting to venture into indoor natural light photography for a while. I started out with some newborns. They don't move and you can put them in whatever position you want. Other than my own kids and a couple of newborns, this was actually my very first shoot indoors, with all natural light, with a moving target. Thank goodness for the 50mm lens that allowed me to get the light I needed indoors. Kennedy liked to move and she kept me on my toes. And at one point, she changed into her Cinderella dress and danced around with her Cinderella doll. I think she actually had fun. I hope so anyway!

Can you believe she's only three?! I think she looks older in this first shot.

A little bit of spring

2009-02-20T13:16:00.000-08:00

It was so nice to have a little bit of color in all this dreary winter, even if it was indoors. Thanks, honey!

Washington D.C.

2009-01-30T12:46:00.000-08:00

The Capitol on the eve of the Inauguration...

The Washington Monument all lit up...

I was privileged to attend the Inauguration last week, thanks to my incredible sister. It was simply an amazing experience. These were a few of my favorite shots. The night before the main event, we walked all along the mall. The city was buzzing with excitement. There were searchlights, helicopters, secret service on all the rooftops, and lots and lots of people! When we picked up our tickets, we were delighted to find out we had actual seats to sit in and that we were really close to the capitol building. We could see everyone with our own eyes. This last picture is cropped, hence the poor resolution. But this is as good as it got since no tripods were allowed in. Obama is, of course, in the center of the shot and if you look closely, you'll see George Bush in the bottom left corner. It was truly unforgettable!

First Snow

2009-01-15T11:39:00.000-08:00

My sweet, cute little boys. Our first snow of the season was on Nov 24th. It was warm enough (30-ish) to go out and play and they had a blast in it. There's something magical about that first snow! I've had the hardest time getting a picture of them together. Spencer has gotten better about looking at the camera but he still doesn't like to smile unless I pull my face out from behind it. By the time I look back through the viewfinder, the smile is gone. At any rate, I still got some good ones that I LOVE!

mmm...

I caught Brandon winking at me.

This is what I got when I asked Brandon to take a picture with Spencer. He pretty much tackled him. Spencer thought it was fun but wouldn't look at me...

It actually started snowing during this shot.

Spencer is looking through the basement window.

This one ended up on our Christmas card this year.

After about 30 minutes, I was told to put the camera away so I could throw snowballs at them. :) I love these guys!

Twice as nice

2009-01-06T12:56:00.000-08:00

Right before Thanksgiving, a friend of a friend contacted me to take pictures of her boy/girl twins. Her husband attends Marquette Dental, just a different class than my husband. It was my first time shooting twins! I was excited for the experience but it was twice as much work, as you can imagine. Their original due date was December 15th but they came right at the end of October! Their parents have a blog set up to track their story of IVF. You can read more about them here. Marsi took some pictures of me in action which you can see here.

It was fun although I was a little bummed that it was snowing and gray all morning which took some of the light. We opened up all the front windows and I prayed really hard. : ) I brought my strobe just in case but didn't end up using it. These two were so cute. I wanted to get them posted right before Christmas but ran out of time as I was trying to get out of town.

One more...

2008-12-08T20:38:00.000-08:00

I need to post this last shot from Gavin's shoot. I hadn't gotten this far in editing the pictures when I posted the first time. I just looove baby feet!

Happy Thanksgiving

2008-11-27T07:15:00.000-08:00

Aloha

2008-11-24T20:53:00.000-08:00

I'm finally getting around to blogging the mini shoot I did with my sister and her husband on Tunnels Beach in Kauai last July. We were so busy every night that we decided to do a morning shoot. I think we shot these at 6:30 in the morning and look how bright it was! It's an absolutely beautiful, amazing beach. The snorkeling was incredible! Oh, I miss it...

I have to admit, it was hard revisiting these photos today with our first snow on the ground. I still can't believe I was standing right there taking this picture. It takes me back... do you hear the Hawaiian music in the background now? : )

Gavin

2008-11-13T21:26:00.000-08:00

Oh my gosh- he is a doll! Becky, this one's for you. I think it's my favorite! I forgot how much I love shooting newborns and how much work it is. But it's such enjoyable work. I just feel guilty moving them around and undressing them when they are so sound asleep. Would you believe this little one was already three weeks old?

Oh, I love that rooting!

And my very favorite part of a baby...

I realize he is too far up in the basket. But we got him asleep in it and pulled the blanket off of him and I realized it. It just wasn't worth it to move him and re-position again.

We lost our daylight-thanks to the recent time change :( - so I got out the strobe.

Couldn't decide on color or b&w. I love both on this shot!

He was a perfect angel for me. He slept the entire time. There was no spit up. And he did the right thing and used his diaper when he was supposed to. : ) That's a first.

A boy and his dog

2008-11-10T20:07:00.000-08:00

I wish I had more pictures ready to post tonight. I don't. And I'm tired. So this is what I've got. My little Spencer has started taking this dog everywhere. He needs to be thrown into the washing machine more than once a week now. The dog is white and it's being carried around by a two year old boy. You can imagine. I thought it was so cute when he started sticking him in the back of his "keekoo" translation- motorcycle.

Fun in the Fall

2008-10-29T08:00:00.000-07:00

By now, you should be able to tell how much I love shooting in the Fall. Do you blame me? Just look at the color around here! Last year, I was still trying to figure out my camera settings so I was determined to take full advantage of the foliage this year. I crammed a whole lot of sessions into a short time period so I'm an editing maniac right now. I'm taking the weekend off to have some Halloween fun with the kids. I'll have more next week!

This is a family I know from church. Tracy and I spent time together teaching the 3 year olds last year. I was honored that they asked me to take their photos!

Are we having fun yet?

I think I like this shot because I always see my own husband carrying our boys this way.

I couldn't decide if I liked this one in color or B&W better!

Of course we got some nice family poses with everyone looking but I thought these were so cute.

Thanks for a fun time. It was the highlight of my day!

She's a natural

2008-10-27T22:05:00.001-07:00

...and she's beautiful and she's only 8! It was such a nice change to have someone sit still and smile for me. I'm so used to chasing my boys and lots of toddlers. I see modeling in her future.

Cute baby, cute shoes!

2008-10-21T21:13:00.000-07:00

Once again, I got to take pictures of another one of my newborns at an older stage! Emma and Dawson were born days apart and it's been fun watching them grow from behind the lens.

My goal for my photo blog is to post once a week- even if it's just one picture. Hopefully, it will motivate me, stretch my creativity, and I'll learn more in the process. This is what I have for tonight. Erin, there's lots more so I'll do another post later with your family pictures.

Autumn

2008-10-14T19:16:00.000-07:00

Is there anything more beautiful than a fall day? I took this tonight at the end of a shoot. If I could, I'd spend an entire day photographing nature. It is absolutely breathtaking in Wisconsin right now. I wish I could make it last longer...

Dawson~ 8 months

2008-10-05T00:19:00.000-07:00

You may remember Dawson from his newborn pictures. Wow- has time flown! He is the sweetest kid and has such beautiful eyes. He was all smiles today despite the rough day he (and his mom) had. His mom wanted to do a sports theme so we took him to a baseball diamond and I pulled out a few of my boys' toys. RaQuelle, because you were so patient with me on Dawson's 4 month shoot, I wanted to get these turned around a.s.a.p!

Kauai's Coast

2008-09-18T20:31:00.000-07:00

This picture has been on my desktop since I got home from Kauai. I love it and needed to look at it every day. Sometimes I think- was I really there taking it all in with my own eyes? Pictures cannot do it justice. I decided it was time to retire it for the Fall but I'm sure I'll revisit it when January rolls around in Wisconsin.

I did a mini-shoot with my sister and her husband on Tunnels Beach and have some favs that I want to share soon.

Gotta brag...

2008-06-23T21:01:00.000-07:00

On my little sis! Throughout our lives, we've done alot of things together. We always felt more like twins than sisters who were two years apart. And I LOVE that we are discovering photography together. She is doing several shoots for friends and neighbors and was doing some test shots tonight for lighting and settings and sent me an album to look at for feedback. I fell in LOVE with this image. And of course, I had to take over (being the big sis I am) and do a little editing to an already beautiful image. Isn't she talented?! You can check out her photoblog at http://www.lmsphotography.blogspot.com/.

Snakes, Snails & Puppy Dog Tails

2008-06-15T20:59:00.000-07:00

Four little Bradshaw boys. Before our friends moved, I took their boys out for a shoot. Stephanie's main goal was to get all four boys looking at the camera. We managed to get a few good ones and actually one of the entire family looking at the same time too. And of course, I wanted to catch the boys by themselves. So here are my favorites and before you ask why 3 of the shots are of them walking away, well, it was the easiest way to get another cute shot of them together without having to do backflips to get them to look at the camera. Michael and Stephanie were good sports and great helpers. And we learned that while train tracks make cute pictures, beware the grease. Sorry again! I'm hoping you got it out in the laundry. Now I know to what to watch for next time. Good luck in your new place y'all!

My boy

2008-06-03T20:14:00.000-07:00

Sunday was a PERFECT day outside. The temperature felt like you could be in or outside and the humidity was low. We all played in the yard that evening and I decided to practice shooting in manual. Whenever I shoot kids, I usually shoot in P, S, or A because they are moving so darn fast all the time. I need to get faster in manual. Our neighbors are throwing out this chair and it's been sitting by the road for a few days. Brandon and I drug it into our yard and I bribed him to do a mini-shoot for me. This is what I got. I have several shots before and after this where I changed settings to see what the difference was with shutter speed and aperture. With the right setting, the shot looks so good. Change one little thing and it just isn't great at all.

A few more of Josh

2008-05-31T18:38:00.000-07:00

Josh was 3 weeks old in these pictures. This was my first time using natural light to photograph a baby (no flash!) with the exception of the shot of his big sister kissing him. I used a strobe for that one. I loooved the way the natural light looked on him. And it's such a different look than the ones I've done on a black background. Amie, I know you're anxious to see these!

Only 4 days old...

2008-05-28T20:57:00.000-07:00

So tiny, so precious. I am finally getting around to posting these pictures! Josh is now six weeks old. He slept the entire time. I love b&w- especially on newborns but included one in color b/c I loved it that way. I posted the announcement I designed for him at the bottom. As I mentioned before, I had some lighting issues and I didn't get as many pictures as I wanted so we did a re-shoot a few weeks later and that is where the picture in his announcement comes from. I wanted to post those tonight but I'm just too tired! Oh, and check out my new watermark. It's only on two of the pictures but it's a start. What do you think?

Sneak Peek

2008-05-17T14:40:00.000-07:00

Catherine, that was so much fun today. Here are my favs!

What gorgeous eyes she has!

Happy Birthday Brady!

2008-05-14T20:34:00.000-07:00

Tonight we went to Brady's birthday party. I've been his teacher at church for a little over a year now and I just think he is so sweet. He and his lovely family are moving away and I'm sad. Catherine- I will miss you! I think this was my favorite picture. I love b&w so of course I had to do one of both!

Josh

2008-05-08T13:20:00.000-07:00

I know I have been slacking on my photo blog lately. It's not that I don't have any pictures to post- it's that I have so many! I am working on a new format for my blog. I want to get more info on here about booking a session, fees, etc. Slowly...

In the meantime, I'm going to try to post fewer pictures at a time so I can update more often. This little guy belongs to a good friend of mine. I took his pictures when he was only 4 days old but had some lighting issues so I didn't get as many cute ones as I would've liked. So we did a re-take when he was 3 weeks old. I am still working to edit those pictures. I just finished designing his announcement so I will post that on my design page after his mom mails them out.

And baby makes 3!

2008-04-17T09:53:00.000-07:00

Actually, it will make 5. My sister in law, Carrie, is expecting her third child in June. They aren't going to find out the gender of the baby since they already have one of each. So a family of five they will be- sometime the end of June. Carrie was gracious enough to let me practice on her while we were in St. Louis. I had asked a few pregnant friends before and no one was brave enough to be my guinea pig. What I found out is that posing maternity shots is tricky. I'll need more practice. : )

Jocelyn

2008-04-09T19:41:00.000-07:00

Jocelyn is the niece of a friend of mine. She is 9 months old and very active. She also hates to be separated from her mom so I have many pictures of her crying her eyes out which was so sad but so cute at the same time! It was my first time photographing a 9 mo. old. By far the tutu pictures were my favorites!

2008-04-09T19:40:00.000-07:00

2008-04-09T19:39:00.000-07:00

Blessing

2008-03-28T13:26:00.000-07:00

I took pictures of Emma at three weeks old so it was great to see how much she had changed by the time of her blessing. This beautiful gown was purchased in France by Emma's grandmother. Our friends Todd and Erin were kind enough to let me practice on them with my new lighting.

Grandma & Grandpa Rahm

2008-03-27T19:43:00.000-07:00

During our recent trip to St. Louis, I took portraits of my husband's parents. His sister requested them for a geneaology project she is working on.

Emma

2008-03-06T18:44:00.001-08:00

Ethan

2008-02-25T18:21:00.000-08:00

Little Bear

2008-02-25T17:00:00.000-08:00

Kaylee

2008-02-24T20:41:00.000-08:00

2008-02-24T20:30:00.000-08:00

Spencer

2008-02-20T20:23:00.000-08:00

Dawson

2008-02-08T09:07:00.001-08:00

Brandon

2007-11-28T20:07:00.000-08:00

Kara

2007-09-30T20:09:00.000-07:00

James

2007-08-31T20:54:00.000-07:00

The Willeys

2007-08-30T21:02:00.000-07:00

Wisconsin

2007-06-30T19:58:00.000-07:00