Photography used to be on film.  (Don’t laugh. This is not the secret!) Back in my college days, I developed my own images in the darkroom. Color film and Black & White film were two different animals and they required different chemicals to expose them. There were certainly tricks involved in the printing process. I would dodge and burn to make sections of the image darker or lighter. It was quite a bit of work to get just ONE great image. My professor used to say…”out of a role of film with 24 exposures, you’ll do good to get 2 to 3 great images.” He was correct. Today, most photographers have joined the digital revolution. So everyone with a Canon Rebel  now considers themselves to be a nearly professional photographer. But a digital camera does not a professional make. I assure you that there is still magic involved. Here is your proof.

Why go to a professional instead of making a 20 minute appointment at your local discount superstore? Or worse, pay someone to do a professional job, and get amateur results. I could list about three dozen reasons why not, but I will stick with this really important one. They can’t do the following.

Take this lovely family for example. Mom was perfect in the center image. Dad was at his best in the image on the left and little man was only smiling in the image on the right. As hard as we may try, children do not always do as they’re told. So all the fun and games finally paid off in the form of one little smile, in ONE image. Notice that in the final image in the center the colors are better, their skin is better, the cropping is more visually pleasing, and dare I admit that sometimes a little magic is needed to get that perfect shot. I combined three images to get the perfect final one. Where in the not-so-distant past, I would’ve shot a roll of film and spent a hour or two in the dark room to get a pretty similar image, NOW I shoot lots of images and post process everything using my computer. In the digital age, your editing skills are EQUALLY as important as your photography skills. This is one of the reasons some are “professionals” and others are “amateurs.”

Enough secret spilling for today. Enjoy the rest!

You’d never know he had a terrible boo-boo on his nose. I’ll save that secret for another day.

She was already six weeks old before I met her for the first time, yet she already knew her place in the family. It was usually in mama or daddy’s arms.

She’s healthy, and happy, and she’s part of a special minority group. Less than 1% of babies in the United States are born at home with a midwife, and she is one of them. Just one more reason why this on-location home session was meaningful to the parents.

Baby number one was a beautiful little girl. She is so smart! And by that I mean she had just turned four and she could fill in the missing numbers as I counted to 20. That was a little counting game we played as I followed her around the yard.

Here she looks a *little* older than four. It wasn’t part of my master plan. There she was, in this adorable dress, and all I said was “go ahead, climb up there and get comfortable.” We were at Grandma’s house and she was a little concerned that the old red chair wasn’t picture worthy. I saw in it great potential on that very cold day. It was perfect.

I love watching parents interact with their kids. The games on this day included hide-n-seek, a who-blinks-last game, and this toss-the-kid fun. I’ve only done this a few times and it always amazes me how high they are in the final image! It’s like dad helping his angel fly.

Baby number two arrived a few weeks early. So even at a few weeks old, she was still about the size of a newborn. I love that she stared at me. Maybe it was the big camera that she was trying to figure out.

Capturing the hands and feet and adorable little parts is always part of a baby session for me. I love how moms fingers spread to display her new baby’s little hand. I had never captured a baby’s hand in this way before. It is always rewarding to capture something new.

In honor of the half inch of ice on my patio, here is one last image. I love how sweet they look together. Two sisters who will spend a lifetime together.

Middle brother here was determined not to smile for me. I won. I love this genuine laugh expression. I love that he looked down in a shy sort of way. This is a great example of “authentic.” The close up to follow was also one of my favorites of him. No smile. All eyes.

Little sister has all the personality! Bold stripes. Easy nature. Full of laughs! This spot of green was hard to find this time of year, but I have a sixth sense when it comes to finding little niches in a given location. She reminds me of all the reasons younger kids are fun to be around. They are hopeful, enthusiastic, fun spirited, and are mostly not yet aware of the realities of life. It’s the age of ‘bliss.’ Some days I wish I could un-grow-up myself and go back to that age.

Mom and daughter had to have a few alone, away from the boys. It’s amazing how our offspring take on just enough of our characteristics to connect them to us. Simple little laugh lines, the shape of a chin, or the texture of our hair and the twinkle in our eye, it all comes together to make someone unique, yet so much alike.

Toddlers are always a challenge. Letting them explore takes their mind off of me, the one with the big, obvious camera. Along our woodsy hike she played with the branches, picked up tiny things on the ground, and looked for squirrels in the trees. And then she stopped. She sat on that stump and looked around, all by herself. Click, click, click. That was my moment.

Mr. smiley here was so easy to work with. He knew exactly what to do.

You may recognize this little beauty. She was sporting the polka dots last time too!

I like when families look real and are interacting. When our super fast toddler was zipping around, we let her ride on Dad’s shoulders for a few minutes. It gave us a great non-traditional family portrait. An authentic family.

Family sessions are expected during those early years. When your kids are young. What happens in thirty years? Do you stop trying to capture a portrait of yourself at some point? Have you? Why?????

This couple really made me think about that question. It’s true this image was part of a big family session, BUT, look at how adorable they are! There is such a story to tell about this couple. Their years together. Their history. Their journey to this bench, on this day, with their children and grandchildren watching them off camera. You should want to celebrate your love and your changing relationship throughout the years. This image is just as precious as the one they took on their wedding day. Surely they are different people now. Changed by all the events of life that have happened since. Please don’t let 20 or 30 years go by without documenting your story. Your children, grandchildren, and extending family will be thankful.

Large family groups rarely escape the posing. Sad, but true. It is nearly impossible to let 10 people just stand around while I shoot. There must be some organization. After all of that, I do make an attempt at a little nontraditional creativity. These little guys, twins, were the latest addition to the family. A brief focus on them gave me this image. It was my favorite. Their two different expressions just sums up the whole event. We covered the bases.