I took these formal portraits of my own kids, for their First Holy Communion, at one of my favorite locations, that is also so fitting for the occasion, seeing as it is religious retreat grounds.  Because I wanted them here at this place, and because I knew there would be no time on their actual day of Sacrament and celebration, we did these a few days prior.

In case you are not a regular blog visitor, let me just say these smiles are so real.  Our trio have been waiting to receive this Sacrament with all of their hearts, for a very-long-time.

(I also have to say, it irks me how the blogging process of the images makes my color a little wonky, and the images soft!  Spot on color and tack sharpness are both requirements of myself & my own work -so this drives me crazy!  But….I need to let these little things go, if I’m going to share with you.  But not before mentioning I am aware of it. lol : )

This was a real moment.  I turned around from talking to one of the others, and there he was, just like this. <click!>

I know this photo is not so great – just because of the scale of the 2 subjects.  But, I have to share it because it was SO important to {O}.  She told me in the beginning she wanted her photo taken with Mary.  After every photo I took she asked, “Now, can I have my photo taken with Mary?”   So there it is, and she’s happy!

A creative way to be sure everyone sees {O}’s special nail job!  These are the perks of being the girl, between 2 boys! ; )

We’ll be blogging about their actual day and celebration soon as well, in The Big Picture section.  It was a special day for sure, with lots of loved ones joining us to celebrate, but inevitably bitter-sweet as well.   We hope you are able to check those out later.  But we were excited to share these formals with you.  They have never been so dressed up, and they loved it!  {O’s} veil was custom made, and details of that will also be blogged about soon.  Aren’t they sweet looking though?

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For those of you visiting this section of the blog first, this post is a continuation of a science project we did, which is detailed over in the Home Schooling section of this blog, when we incubated, colored and hatched baby chicks!

Even though we weren’t keeping them, the kids did name the chicks.

Left to Right:  the brown rooster, “De Colores” (anyone familiar with that term?). The  green chick is “Ca$h”.  (I loved that name.) The Yellow chick is “Sunshine”.  The Pink chick is  “Lipstick”.

{A} with her chick, Sunshine…..

(“Dirty Pants.”  lol)

{S} with his chick, Ca$h…..

Are you ready for a good laugh??………..

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{S} had a sense something just happened in his hand.  The expression on his face…..it makes us laugh hysterically every time I see it.  Even all these years later!!

(Give me a moment.  Recovering here.          O.K.)

{J} with his rooster, De Colores.

2 cool dudes.  Check out their stance. I loved this one too!

{O} with her chick, Lipstick…..

She wanted few more photos, in her beautiful Easter dress….

The End.

DISCLAIMER: There were no chicks harmed in this photo shoot with small children!   The chicks stayed with us for about 1-2 weeks, as we watched them lose their colored fuzz, and grow in their regular feathers.  We  said a long goodbye, and then they went to a farm, to live happily every after.

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The subject of my past couple posts in this photography section, has been on my annual Christmas photo shoots with these 2 beautiful little girls.  I first shared my most recent shoot with you, of them, then shared 2008′s.  (See posts below/prior.) Here we are at 2007, for my very first time working with them.  My theme, all revolved around the girls, of course, and a beautiful book, called The Christmas Story.

The girls were only 2 and 4 years old at the time, so I figured it was quite possible,  I’d be working my tail off.

And I was only half wrong, and only for a little while.  Imagine that.

Here is Big Sister (A), who was quite co-operative from the get-go.  And she has been for every photo shoot, ever since. She’s so wonderful to work with. A little lady from head to toe.

Here is Little Sister (A), who was ‘another story’, but only for a little while.  She looks like she might be sleeping, doesn’t she?  But no.  She started off throwing a little fit, not wanting to sit on the bench with her sister.  Just plopped face down on the couch. Mom was mortified. I was smitten with her already, and took a photo.  Little Sister (A) had only met me once before, so she yet didn’t know that I always win in the end!  She’d find out though. We were going to develop a wonderful working relationship with each other.  I had faith.

Each time we have worked with each other since, she has only been a bit more work than her older sister – but then she remembers all of the fun we end up having.  It’s o.k. anyway, because in the end, she always pays me in GOLD!

At one point, mom was beside herself with frustration, so I sent her to the kitchen to hide, and told her to stay in there.  I needed to take complete control, which happens sometimes.   She didn’t have the faith that I did, yet.  (I have to say, Mom was so cute hiding in there too, if you saw her, ducking and everything.)

See?  Tantrum over. The dimples alone were worth her fuss.

I got her over to the bench, with a little helpful coaxing from her Big Sister too!…

…..who was showing and sharing the story with her.  With lots expression, which I loved!  CLICK!

And then the real magic started to happen…..

Real moments.

Sweet moments.

Between sisters, who really love each other.

I got lots of beautiful photos, as they shared and enjoyed this book,  A Christmas Story, together.

There were so many beautiful shots in the end. But as always, mom had to narrow them down to the ones she wanted me to work with for their Christmas card, and the ones she wanted to order as prints.

Once I had the photos I could design with, my plan was to design a beautiful tri-fold card, with warm, rich tones.   If you do not understand what a tri-fold card is, I tried to take just a couple of photos to help you comprehend the structure of it.  Closed, it’s a 5×5 square, and it opens twice, with 2 flaps.  There is photos and something to see on all sides.

Here it is standing on a table.

Here is the inside full spread, which is the card opened all of the way.

We’ll take a closer look now.

This is the front of the card, closed.  For my client’s privacy, I have blurred out their family last name after ‘ from The’.  But I can tell you, their last name has such a nice, upscale sound to it.

These were printed on pearl heavy card stock, with a UV coating. They look and feel so beautiful to hold.

This is how a tri-fold card looks when the front flap is opened, revealing two square panels.  You first read the left, and just enjoy the photo on the right.

You read the rest of the greeting when it is fully opened.  If there is anyone who cannot read it well here, it says,

“With the love that we send…….and from beginning to end…..May you have a Story Book Christmas!”

And then the family’s names, with the girl’s names blurred.

So continuing understanding the structure of a tri-fold card, here is what the whole card looks like as a full panel if you opened it up and flipped it over.   On the left square, is the inside panel which is on the right when the reader opens the card. The center square is the back of the card, and the right is the front of the card.  It can be a little confusing, I know.  I go through a little panic mode, every time I assemble one of these before sending off for printing.

Here is the back of this card, that the family so graciously lets me go all out on. (My name is going to be on my creations, no matter what.  But they really are so great about whatever I want to do.)

The card comes with square envelopes, and I prefer the linen ones, in keeping with the tasteful quality.

Mom was SO HAPPY with her cards, that she sent me an e-mail, and told me she took one to bed with her, so she could look at it again when she woke up during the night.  Now my clients say a lot of very sweet things to me, and it always touches my heart, and drives me to keep working.  But nothing any client has said to me about my work since, has touched me quite as deeply as that one.

Mom ordered LOTS of different prints, INCLUDING this one…..

….which she still talks about.  She loves it, because it shows Little (A)’s personality.

Along with all of the above ones, here are just a few more of the ones she ordered….

This was ordered too, as a 10×20 ‘Storyboard’, as I call them.

I thought it was perfect as the ‘footer’ of this blog post. : )

I look forward to working with these girls again, come the end of the year.  Until then, I’ll be sharing some more recent work now and then.

(sniff- sniff)   < Do you smell something?>

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I promised I would share the 2 previous years of working with these 2 sweet little girls.  I decided I would work backwards from the most recent that I already shared, so this post is the photo shoot and card designed for 2008.

The girl’s mom has a horse, and has had him for many years,  so I asked if we could do the Christmas photo shoot with him.  She LOVED that idea, because she really wanted photos of her horse with her girls anyway.   Incidentally, a couple of months after this photo shoot, our oldest daughter {A}, received horse riding lessons from us for Christmas at these stables, where my clients horse is boarded, and so happened to ride this very horse every time for her lessons.  {A} was really excited about that, because she was assisting me at this photo shoot, and so was familiar with this horse already.   His name is Wellington, and he is a BEAUTY!

Now, I didn’t really have a ‘theme’ going in my head yet, for the Christmas card itself, except that it would have photos of the girls and Wellington.  But, I had faith in myself that I would come up with something. Somehow, I would MAKE it work.  lol

Meet Wellington.

As usual for my work-style, I DID have visions in my head for the photos I wanted to take of the girls with the horse.  But when I got to the stables and talked to Wellington’s ‘trainer’, I realized I was going to have to come up with other ideas, real quick.  I wanted to take the horse and the girls out in the field, and put the girls on him, for one.  But, she said she would only allow the girls on him if he was IN the stall.  Bummer!!  Then she said the girls really should wear helmets.  LOL!!  Ok…I’m all for safety, but really.  That was going to kind of ruin my photos.  I talked her out of that little bit. So….needless to say, all of the shooting was done in this DARK stall, with ‘dappled sun’ coming in through the windows, which always bugs me in portraits in most cases. (Like this one! lol)

Just so you know….it is VERY hard for me to ‘let go of my visions’, once they are in my head.  I can get downright, uummmm….ornery, about it. (No, really!).  So….I was really feeling like my little dreams were crushed, but had no time to pout.  (Again…bummer!).  I had to ‘make do’.  I don’t like ‘making do’!

Ok…done complaining.

So here is one photo of a small handful of shots of the girls on Wellington’s bare back.   It was not an easy shot, because the little one wasn’t comfortable, saying her sister was smooshing her. lol.  I was sure not to let the oldest one really put her weight on the little one, but….I wanted this shot, and I was going to get it!

I took this shot with absolute purpose.  You’ll see soon enough. ; )  lol.

Oh!!  About the plan for clothing for this session.  I had suggested the mom find winter capes and boots, for the girls.  But she was unable to find any capes.  She found these beautiful coats with matching hats though, and I was thrilled with them as an alternative!!

In the doorway of the stall.   Which is 1 of a several stall in a row.  These stalls are so cool.  You’ll see, it’s like a long house, with a farmer’s porch!  I just love it.

The little one, and Wellington, having a moment.

And the oldest with him too.  She has been around Wellington more, being the oldest.

I really love this shot at the porch of the stall.  Don’t they just look beautiful and classy!?

And look at these 2 beautiful faces.  Such gorgeous brown eyes.

As I said, the mom chooses all of the photos to be used on the card, and then orders those in prints along with lots of others from the photo shoots.  This shot above isn’t the close-up shot of them together that she used for the card, but I chose it for this post because I just love the little ones expression, again.   She cracks me up.

Here is a better look at the style of the outdoor stalls. I just love the old feel to it all, with the porch with worn spindles, and gorgeous old wood split-doors!  Look at the rocking chairs off to the side.   But back to the girls, you’ll notice that the little one doesn’t have her hat on anymore.  Wellington kept nipping at it, and he pulled it off.!  lol.  She threw a little fit.   So….Wellington got another peppermint candy to keep his mouth busy, and the little one got one too.  Both of the girls were doing a really good job, and I knew the photos were going to be great.  As I said before, it just takes a little more time and patience with little ones sometimes.

Besides what you’ve seen here, there were other photos I took and the mom bought too, including some of the boarding owner’s Clydesdale horse, Baron.  My client bought photos of him too, to give as a gift to the owner.

I was so excited to get the photos edited, and show them to the mom–who was over the moon again!  Once she chose which ones she wanted me to work with, I got to work on the card – and here is how it came out. She LOVED that also.  And so did I!   I blurred out the names, per usual.

These cards were 5×7, and were printed on a beautiful linen stock.   And I did think of appropriate text for the card – which for me, is the fun of the creative process.

FRONT of the card.

They opened up vertically, so this is the INSIDE SPREAD.

The BACK of the card…..which I thought was a riot.  Again, I love that this client let’s me have so much fun on the back of cards.  She lets me do whatever I want with everything, and naturally, I can really get along with someone like that!

Huge photo print order. Huge Christmas card order. Happy client. Happy photographer/designer.

The next session I show with this family, will be the very first time we worked together, 2007.

Hope you are enjoying this series. : )

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I am pretty behind in sharing our recent work in this area of the blog.  I apologize about that.  I hope this special post helps make up for it.

I have done a photo shoot with these sweet little girls every year, for the past 3 years.  When their mom first contacted me for our first consultation in 2007, I was ecstatic.  I knew the last name, because the husband has an established business in town.  So I was interested to find out what she was looking for.

We clicked immediately, and have been the best collaborative team, every since.  She has excellent taste, and a real appreciation for creative, custom and quality work.   I would offer nothing less, and I have pretty high standards for my own work. ; )   What she really wants every year, is photos of her girls, and a one-of-a-kind Christmas card, using photos of the photos of her girls. She has a real flair for style, and is not a fan of the ‘traditional Christmas elements’, like everything red & green, etc. (Neither am I.) Although they do go to my church, so they are not that far from traditional Christmas. ; )  So anyway, it is one of my big creative gigs I take on every year, because the mom/my client leaves the whole planning up to me, from beginning to end!

We usually meet in the fall for a consult, and by then I’ve usually brainstormed an idea, and she is always thrilled with it!   I pitch to her what I have envisioned.  She gets anything we need for the photo shoot, such as particular clothing for the girls, etc.   Once the photo shoot is done, I allow her so many photos to choose for me to work with, and then I completely custom design their whole Christmas card.  She always places a big order for not only the Christmas cards I designed, but lots of prints of the photos I took.  So all of my efforts are well worth it, in the end.

It’s a really FUN project for me, because she not only gives me SO much creative freedom, from planning the photo-shoot that involves where we will shoot, what the girls will wear, and the kind of shots I want, to designing the whole card. But also because she APPRECIATES all of it so much!  She gets SO excited when her cards, envelopes and photos are in.  Giddy, even.  It’s really nice to have someone appreciate your creativity on that level.  And I love seeing and working with the girls and their mom, every year.

This year, our 3rd working together, was the first year I planned their photo-shoot in my studio.  I had such ‘visions’ in my head, and even had a general idea of how I wanted to design the card, all before our consult took place, and photographed the girls. So I was thrilled that once again, the mom was on board with my idea.   The theme this year, was CANDY / SWEETS.  I had the mom looking for big swirly pops, but all she ended up finding was these marshmallow pops, which ended up being so much fun!

Just to let you know, I never use the names of children I work with on the net.  Or last names.

Here are the girls, on my ‘swing’ in my studio, in their white nighties their mom bought just for this shoot. They are 4 years old and 6 years old now.

This is the oldest girl.  She is so polite, very co-operative, and such a darling.  She has grown so much in the past 3 years, and is quite the little lady now.

Her little sister, is a real spit-fire!  What a doll, huh? She gave me a run for my money the first year I worked with her, when she was 2 years old!!  But I don’t quit easily, and it sure paid off that first year.  I know how to work with kids, if I do say so myself.  Sometimes, it just takes time and patience, all of which I needed that first year.  But when I want the shots, I’m going to get them. ; )   This year, now that the girls are that much older, they were both a dream to work with.

I love this photo, and I love the memory of taking it.  Her and I were belting out the song, ‘Party in the U.S.A.’.  It was hilarious, because you know how kids think certain words in a song are something other than they really are?  Because that’s what they think they are hearing?? Well, we were singing, and she’s telling me, “No no….that’s not how it goes.  It goes like this….”. <She sings.> I was cracking up.  Her mom was shocked I knew the song so well. lol

I took lots of shots, most especially because I was having so much fun taking them, and being with these girls.   So it was really hard to narrow down what we had, and choose what we were going to use for the card.  There were several we just HAD to use.  So once we figured that out, I got to designing the card, that was in my head.

I started with designing ‘digital paper’, or a background to work with.  I was definitely stuck on using pink this year.  I also knew I wanted to incorporate candy in the design.

So I ended up sketching out candy/sweets on paper, and refining the drawings with a sharp black marker pen.  Then I scanned them into my computer, and made them into digital brushes, to be able to work with them.

This is how the front of the card came out.  It’s 5×7, with the fold at the top.

This is the spread inside, when opened.  As you can see, I was determined to use several photos!!  Check out the middle photo–I thought it was so funny!! Their expressions are a hoot.  I really wanted to use the photos that showed their fun side, and personalities the most, because in the past, the cards I had done were very different from each other, but both very classic in style.   Here, I did blur their last family name, and the girl’s names, on the card for privacy sake on the internet.  But I loved the little piece of candy I put in between each name along the bottom of the card.

I always do something fun on the back.    The mom is also really nice about letting me brand myself/my work on the back of their cards, however I want to.  All of my work is branded, but I go a little bigger on these, because I can, and because I’m so happy with them in the end.    Another thing to note about this card in particular, is that although these images above are the images I sent to have the card printed,  the actual card was printed in PEARL paper, with UV gloss.  (Unlike how flat in color they look here. )  So, the entire card printed,  has a real pretty pearl shimmer to it, when it’s in your hand,  and then has a glossy coat over it.  They feel so nice too! They were simply  GORGEOUS.

If anyone would like to see the previous year’s work/card (2007 & 2008)  for this family, I’d be happy to dig those up and share them too!!  As I said, the creative freedom this client gives me, makes it all such a joy for me.  I’m looking forward to next year, already.

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Although my event, a Funky Urban Expedition, seems long behind me now, and this post seems a little overdue, I thought I would still share the results from that big day here before I move on to other stuff.

But it occurred to me, after the ‘two’ comments on the last post for this (lol)…and some of the others posts of my work here, that I’m not sure that majority of the kind of folks who visit our blog here, can have an appreciation for  this kind of art?  Or at least, the creative end of my portrait work.  It hasn’t really seemed so.  Which is understandable, I suppose.  It does take a certain vision, or a creative eye, to really get this stuff.  I am drawn to, and do like, to create more ‘non-traditional’ work.   And really, I am the first to admit I’m a complicated mixed bag.  But you know…God mixed this bag, so I’m ok with it! ; )   I can tell you, my child photographer friends certainly went WILD over these, and the whole idea of the event.  So….I’m cool to some, and a perhaps a bit of a freak to others.  One thing I can say, and I will stand by until the day I die:  The work I do is God’s work.  Yes, sometimes it helps support my family, but it is really always God’s work….through me.  There is no other work worth doing to me, if not for Him.

So, for those who ‘get it’…and can appreciate the fun artsy side of things too, I hope you enjoy some of the photos  from this first event of my own.  As a reminder, a custom made tutu came with the cost of this event, but the moms were responsible for putting together the outfits for their own girls.  {O} took part in this event too, and had SUCH a blast, as you’ll see.  All of the little girls were ADORABLE.  They just loved being dressed up and showing their funky side.  They hung out all day together, giggling and having the kind of little girl chit-chat that little girls do, in between their turns for having photos taken.

Here’s a (very) little peek at what me and my camera got that day…….

Does God do beautiful work, or what?  What blessings each one of these girls are. Like ALL children…their beauty and innocence SHINE.  I can see the amazing craft of His hand in each one of them. Capturing that in photos, for them to have forever, is what I love to do.

The moms and girls LOVED the photos, and I am guessing this will be a day these little girls will remember for a long time to come.   I know I will.

Thanks for looking.

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Here is one of the most recent lettering jobs I have done. Plymouth Tire & Auto Service has been a customer of mine for about eight years now. I have lettered several trucks and did some signs for Steve over that time period. On this job Steve wanted me to design something different. Something that would catch the eye a bit more than the traditional door lettering that he had used in the past. So this is what I came up with.

This is a four color job with each color as an overlay on top of the red base color.

Below is closer look to show you the surface I had to work on with the second half of the name.

This took a bit more time to do as you can imagine.

Steve and his kids got a real kick out of  “Bib” (the Michelin Man) in the back seat with his arm out the window.

Yup, both sides match. ; )

I think the back speaks for itself.  Thanks for taking a look.

Michael

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I had this idea that had been nagging in my head for the longest time.  I wanted to do a little girl’s urban expedition photo shoot.    I wanted my custom designer friend, Michelle, to put it on with me.  I knew we would be QUITE a team.  It would be an event/package deal, of sorts.  Moms would need to sign their little girls up, and come along too.

I mentioned it to my friend,and she LOVED the idea!  So we planned it.   Little did I know, it was going into a crazy-busy time for me.  So the event was ON, it was OFF, it was ON and OFF again.  And THEN, it was ON again!

We needed to create an ad for the event.  So naturally, we needed photos to fairly express some of the kind of images we would be creating as a team, between my photography skills and her tutu designing skills.  (Although she does SO much more than tutus!)    The photos I would create of the little girls who joined the Expedition were going to be FUNKY, FUN and PLAYFUL in their attire, and also in my creative processing of the images.  We were going for urban and different.   The event itself was meant to be a grand girl’s day out on the town!

So to create images for the advertisement,  I took my own little model, {O}….

Then I took some of the photos I got, and created an ad, which we put on our web sites, as well as a few 8×10 printed ads hung up at some places moms go.

Here is the ad, with the details of the event.

The event ended up being postponed, but was held on the afternoon of October 25th.   I was glad it was a little more into colder weather, because I wasn’t sure I was liking the little tank top.  So we all went for a little more covered up look.

The event went FABULOUS!  God blessed us with a PERFECT weathered day.  We had 5-6 little girls (all we could handle!) and their moms.  We all had a BLAST!! All of the little girls were so sweet, all giggling with each other and having fun.  It was definitely a success!   I am still working on their photos, but I am thrilled with the results in the images of these BEAUTIFUL little girls.  I really got a lot of gorgeous shots of all of the girls.  Can’t wait until the moms see for themselves!

I’m planning a follow-up post on this event, so stay tuned!

I am featuring Michelle, and her business,  Stitch a Wish Designs, right now in the Crafts and Creations section.  She is SUCH a gifted, creative and meticulous designer, so her work is classy and beautiful.  She makes a lot more than tutus, so go check out her amazing work!

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Recently my own parish, St. Bonaventure’s, commissioned me to renovate our church sign out front.  The original had been done so many years ago, and it was looking worn and weathered.  It definitely needed to be refinished.

The original sign’s background was painted burgandy, and they asked for it to be all stripped, sanded and repainted, with the trim as white, the gold reguilded, and the background the blue as you see above.  This blue matches the doors of our church, which is symbolic of something…..I forget.  I’ll find out and let you know later.

So anyway…..I got it home and stripped all of the paint off.  What I found underneath that old paint was the most beautiful mahogany wood.  As I was sanding, I was thinking what a shame it would be to paint over that gorgeous wood.  I decided to take a photo of the wood, and bring it to my pastor to try and convince him to just varnish over the wood, with the carved letters re-guilded and the white trim.  He agreed, saying he loves the look of natural wood anyway, and that he trusted my judgement. I think his decision about the sign was wise, as well as trusting my judgement. ; )

The bottom plank is a whole new sign-just white vinyl over the finished mahogany for best visibility.

It’s nice to have your work respected enough to be asked to provide such an important feature of the church.  It felt good to do it, and feels good to see it there as I drive by every day, and pull in every Sunday.  I’m really happy with how it came out.

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Meet Brianna!!  Brianna got my Senior Story Package (that is, her story of course.).  So we were able to go all out, and we did!!  Her sessions were held at multiple locations:  her yard and pond, her neighbor’s yard, my studio, and an urban location.  She was up for anything-and you can bet I always love that!  She is very into the arts, so she’s a girl I can relate to!:  She writes, she loves photography, she takes dance and boxing! We incorporated all of that in her shoots, and I am so happy with her collection of images. She is also part of the National Honor Society. (You go Girl!)

I don’t think Brianna has decided what to major in when she goes to school after graduation, but she’ll figure it out.  With her vast interest in the arts, and her out-going personality, I think it’s more a matter of narrowing down all of what she could do, than thinking of something.  She has a contemplative but determined spirit, and that can take a girl places!

I had a wicked hard time choosing images…..I wanted to keep the number down for the Sneak Peek, but I failed. And yet, there are more I want to go back and get. lol.  Oh well….this’ll do.

I just have to say here….this ‘boxer’s prayer’ shot above, popped into my head last minute, and I did it very spontaneously. I just love how it came out!  One of my top favorites of the season, for sure!

I hope you love your peek, Brianna!!

Have an amazing senior year!

Your future is all yours for the taking!

Find your dreams, and then go get’em, Girl!

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