JFP photo blog

Inside, Outside, Upside Down

We did a little of everything though the upside down shot didn't turn out....bummer!  We were going to start outside but when they got here there was a little sprinkle (what? and ruin my weather streak?) so we opted for inside and let me tell you, these guys crack me up!  And in honor of the impending Thanksgiving, I give you a couple little turkeys!

Don't you love that shirt and the goofy big brother?

Love those sweet cheeks!

Little missy is quite the waver and you can tell in almost every shot...she is getting so darn big!

Everyone is looking at the camera...YAY!! I especially love that mom looks so darn happy....usually mom is the one who looked totally stressed out from trying to organize everyone and make them behave.

Then we moved the show outside....a change of scenery is always good for everyone and I got to try out my new brick wall again!

I so love this little face...I know it is not his big grin, but it is one of his most popular expressions, sweet & thoughtful. He's actually such a thoughtful little man that he even shared his M&M bribery with me and his mom & dad!

Excellent teeth shot and don't you love her hair?

Onwards to the bridge...and how I love a shot with personality...though usually it is dad giving me the faces. This time, no funny faces from him, but an awesome skipping shot, that I will, of course, be reserving for future blackmail!

OK, so I know this was a lot of shots for one post, but it's early and I haven't finished my coffee yet, so my decision making abilities were impaired, and besides I love them all. Though I did save my VERY favorite for last....

LOVE IT! How sweet are they? I think I will have to come up with a way to get the last two shots on the Christmas card!

Happy Thanksgiving! I am so thankful for all of you who let me snap your photos this year! Hope you all eat tons of turkey and stuffing and gravy and sausages (secret family recipe) and pie. And if any of you are bored on Sunday, feel free to come out and cheer me and my sister on as we run the Seattle Half Marathon...we can use all the cheering/cow bell/pots and pans banging that we can get!! Happy last day of work this week!

A Lot More Brotherly Love

My sweet brother luck continues, (not to mention weather luck!) except this time it's TWO brothers and boy did I love hanging out with them!  They were so much fun and look at how much I think they like each other....

Don't you just love big brother's casual arm slung around his little brother?  Just such a guy thing!  And how cool are the cloud reflections on the water? 

If that isn't enough love for you....try this one...

Makes me want to try to make my kids do that though I don't think I stand a chance...obviously these parents have done an amazing job. These boys were truly fun to get to know.  Here's one just for them....ok, so it's a little fuzzy but they are moving at a super hero speed of light!

Now, not only did this mom manage to raise super well mannered young men, but she also put together the perfectly coordinated family attire as well...wait til you see her coat...I'm orange with envy!

And how funny is the little man...another total guy pose!

Then we headed inside and after some family shots we kicked out mom and dad and the boys taught me some songs and told me all kinds of secret information...

Don't you wish you knew what he was telling me? I'm sworn to secrecy but don't you love how you can see his gorgeous eye so perfectly? I promise there are some other great, more traditional shots too, with his perfect toothless smile!

What a cutie! He told me all about how green is his favorite color, and that of course he was a frog for Halloween, and then both boys sang me a frog song. I could just squeeze them!

OK boys, now you have to get your mom to e-mail me the big secret. They had come up with a secret plan with their dad for after the session. Mom didn't even know what she was in for...and I have been dying with curiosity since Saturday morning!!

Happy Monday and short week!! Two more sessions coming soon as I am working like mad to get them done so we can get the holiday cards ordered!

Just a Little Brotherly Love

Can I tell you how much fun I had snapping these guys last weekend!  The weather was still on its cooperative streak (which I am hoping madly will reappear by tomorrow!) so I dragged them out to, where else....the bridge!

Now I know many of you out their will sympathize with the plight of our fair maiden.  How do you choose a shoe?  Is it for comfort?  Or is it for style?  Well, she chose the correctly and went for the most fabulous shoes EVER.  (There was much purple shoe envy at our house after that!)

Could there be more perfect shoes for her dress? But as it turns out (and this is true of some of the most fabulous shoes in the world)...not particularly made for walking. She was a trooper and made it through and managed to give us some of her amazing, front-toothless smiles! She just makes me smile with that big grin....not to mention her brother's huge "I love my sister" smile....

I think they might actually like each other!!

And just to prove that great photos can happen in places other than the bridge...though there are some of those too....how cute are they? OK, so dad might not be thrilled to be called cute, but he is smiling and I love it!

After we finished up outside, the kids and I ditched mom & dad and headed inside for a few more shots...in case you haven't noticed yet, these guys are in the running for best hair ever!

This one cracks me up! Are you sensing a theme yet to the sibling shots? It's all about the big hug, tight squeeze, crack my sister up, kind of love...doesn't get any better!

She has the most contagious smile...and don't you love the whole 1st graderness of it all?

Now, you might be surprised by the next one. I really like this one for the sweet expression. He had clearly been practicing his "for the camera" smile and while it was totally adorable and I have many shots of it, it might not have been his most sincere, true to life expression.

Uh, how sweet is that? Though I have to admit that I might see a little hint of mischief in there...

And finally, one to keep a smile on your face for the rest of the day....

Happy Friday! and keep your fingers crossed for the weather to keep up its fabulous streak for me!! (because you know it is all about me!!)

The Attack of the Terrifying Baby

So I feel like I've been picking some unusual/non-traditional favorite shots lately, and today will be no different....love this one!

Really he is just giving her a zerbert....funniest thing ever! And how happy is momma to be on the receiving end of all that love!

OK, so a few more favorites from this session...

Life is just too funny for words sometimes. Love his laughing eyes especially.

Clapping is such an important life skill...don't you think? And this guy can do it on command, even in Chinese!! Impressive!

"Who me?" This little guy was not so interested in my and my dorky antics...there were toys to be had! Just the sweetest little face and expressions!

OK, so here is another non-traditional shot that I love...love his profile! And if you look carefully you can see our assistant for the day cruising through the background! Can you guess who is was?

Got a lot of these kind of shots...love this one for the feet and buns...must record all cute little parts, so that when he is a giant teenager, one will be able to look back and remember the good old days.

And finally, little man taking a call on his i-phone. Actually, his mom pulled up a photo of him and it totally cracked him up. He has also mastered the touch screen and can zoom in and switch photos all by himself...such a talented little guy! Thanks for coming out last week...it was fun for all of us!

More photos tomorrow, I promise!

Just For Fun

Just a quick post to share one of my new favorites....

Don't even have a good reason for loving it so much...just do, that's all. Happy Tuesday!

Back In The Good Old Days

Remember when you could put a baby down and he would just stay there?

Not so anymore! A just for fun comparison...one year later...

I have to admit that one is my favorite...probably because that is the look I always get, and, of course, because of his cute feet!!

A few more, just to show you how it all went down...

OK, I do love that one too!

Hey, why am I up here?

Ok, it's funny...now get me down please!!

Fine, I'll do it myself!

Hmmm....now what should I do?

Isn't he just so big and funny now? Amazing what a year can do for a person! Love you buddy!

OK, so I just had to select my "categories" for this post and couldn't decide if he now qualifies for the "kids" designation? I don't think I like him not being a baby anymore...your thoughts?

Hat Trick

(That's super fancy soccer talk for scoring 3 goals...see all my coaching this year has paid off!)

Well, you might know I enjoy kids that come in groups of 3 (well, alright, I pretty much like them however they come...but I have my own 3, so at least I know what I'm up against) and these guys are no exception to the rule. We got to hang out at my new favorite bridge and snap a few shots today and my weather phenomenon continued...it was beautiful and sunny!  We kicked their mom (who is one of my most favorite people) out of our party, so she's in for some surprises...and even though she doesn't believe me, they were a treat to photograph and on their bestest behavior!

Love that little sis is totally checking with big sis to make sure I'm not a total loon and that all this is ok.

These are some seriously gorgeous kids!

Love her soft curls and fabulous eyes!

Such a guy pose...but wait for the next one...

3,2,1...jump!

Isn't she beautiful? And, if you can believe it, she is the sweetest girl to boot...my girls ADORE her and she is just the best with them. These guys got to stay for awhile after photos so my big guy got some much needed guy time (he is generally overrun with women) and the girls were in heaven with their friends! Come back again soon...you guys made the top 3 "favorite things of the day" list with everyone over here! More photos coming your way soon, I promise!

Kissing Cousins

Some of you might know this about me...I love a good challenge.  You want 2 two year olds to hold still long enough and close enough to each other to be in a photo together?  Well, the idea was a little daunting at first, but as you will see, I won!  Ta da!  I had the chance to photograph an assortment of people this weekend...all kinds of family....brothers, sisters, cousins, grandpas, mommas...you get the idea.  Mostly though I'm going to share the shots of the kiddos here, because let's face it...these super cuties stole the show. 

Aren't they so funny?

Now, I know this next one isn't your typical kid portrait shot, but I absolutely adore it! Love his hand on her neck and hers grabbing his sweater...I just LOVE it!

I promise, I do have lots of his beautiful smile to, but love his seriousness here.

and the opposite of serious....

See, how cute is that smile?

And now the little miss and her serious face. See here to remember what she used to look like, way back when she was just a wee thing! 

Now, I don't want this family to feel slighted by all the cute kiddo shots...there were a bunch of great family shots too, I promise. I've decided to share my favorite, non-traditional, family shot here and keep the rest so there are a few fun surprises when you get to see your gallery. And I just want to add...LOVE mom's coat!

Can't wait for you guys to see all the rest of the photos! They should all be ready soon! Thanks for such a fun day and for keeping the rain at bay for just the photo shoot...rained the whole time I was driving there...stopped for the photos (the sun even came out)...and was raining again by the time I got on I-90! Unbelievable...let's hope my weather luck holds for the next several weeks worth of sessions!

Uno, Eins, Un, Satu, One

One stinkin' year old!  Can you believe it has been 365 days since he was born?  I can't!

To commemorate this momentous occasion, he and I went on a little photo adventure...tip #1: always bring spare hands when photographing a one year old...quite the challenge to shoot and catch at the same time!  We will be trying again soon but here is what we came up with on our own!

"See all these fancy rocks?"

"I will now make them magically disappear!"

(No rocks were actually eaten, I promise!)

Love this shot for so many reasons but it is not the shot I had in mind. I was pretty sure he would want to hang on to the railing and look at the stream below and check out the cool metal railing. HA! He just let go and came right for me...super special leaf to show, I guess.  These shots also make me think we might be getting some gorgeous brown eyes around here...they look so dark in these shots!

 

Anyway, HAPPY BIRTHDAY BIG GUY!  We love you so much and are so glad you come over and hang out with us during the week!

Check back this week for more birthday shots, as well as a couple of family sessions...though be forewarned, the big kids are off school Monday, Tuesday, & Wednesday so who knows how much will actually get accomplished around here!!

My Favorite Write-In Candidate

Turns out this last weekend was a chance for me to catch up with all Benito's little buddies....both days!  I guess that makes sense as the not-so-tiny dictator is turning one on Monday himself....ACK!  Anyway, all that just so you know how special it is to see and photograph these guys, that I already know & love!  This little guy actually already celebrated the big one year milestone and on election day to boot...I'm pretty sure his mom told him that all the celebrating going on was for him...love that!  Here is the little cutie and his funny (I mean that in a good way!) parents...and be sure to hang in there for the WHOLE post as my new ALL TIME FAVORITE family shot is going to be at the end! (How's that for a teaser?)

Love his sweet expression!

Die hard Bronco fans! I almost posted the one of them all cheering but I didn't want you all to think they were crazy, right off the bat!

Mom knows how much I love fun hats and look at the fabulous surprise she had for me! Can you tell that not everyone though it was such a fun surprise? But how darn cute are they anyway?

A little family history in the making...this is an outfit that dad wore when he was one, and grandma has been saving it for the grandsons. What a sweet tradition!

Doesn't he have the best brown eyes?

OK, you've made it this far and the family shots are coming but I'm just going to point out that I'm pretty sure mom has already been peeking....just realized that there have been several "visitors" to my flickr account and I only have two friends on that account so if I had to guess, I would go with you!

Drum roll please....(hope all this anticipation doesn't ruin the shots for you...but even so I still LOVE them!)....

I can't even begin to tell you all the things I love about this one...beautiful, smiling family, lovely fall colors, my new favorite bridge, and a smiling dog...does it get any better?

And just one more because I love how the little man is looking up at his parents, "What the heck is going on guys?". Thanks so much for adventuring out to the bridge with me and for being so much fun! More to come your way soon!