JFP photo blog

Picture Perfect

Finishing the holiday photo sessions with a bang.  Not just one of my all time favorite families, but we got to shoot outside while it was snowing!!  (Alright, it's not like there was a blizzard or anything, but it sure was fun...and we are making up for it today with snow everywhere!)  Anyway, here is a quick sneak peek to hold mom over until her gallery is ready (hopefully soon so they can have holiday cards to mail out before it's too late!)

A few from in the studio...keeping warm...

 

 

(cute goofy face on the little man and an AWESOME photo of mom...GORGEOUS!)

 

Then we bundled up and headed out....

 

 

Somebody was excited!

 

 

LOVE the hat!

 (and so glad he kept it on for more than a minute...faithful blog readers, you will remember that this is the little man who actually dislikes hats so much that he pulled a hat all the way off during his newborn shoot...I mean days old and he knew hats weren't his thing)

 

Running!  Whee!  Absolutely adore the glee on big brother's face!

 

 

Such big smiles from him...all morning...hooray!

Saved the best for last....

 

Love, love, love.

More coming soon...I'm thinking a snow day tomorrow means a completed gallery super soon!

These Are A Few of My Favorite Things

(My sincere apologies to Rogers and Hammerstein)

This song has been floating around our house for a few weeks now (someone is learning to play it on the piano and someone else has decided to commit the lyrics to heart) and is completely stuck in my head BUT I thought it summed up this fabulous session perfectly, with a few adjustments...for those of you singers out there (you know who you are and so do I) feel free to sing along.

 

 

Girls with umbrellas and cute matching rainboots.

 

 

Pink leopard leggings with pink frilly tutus.

 

 

The biggest brown eyes that you ever did see.

These are a few of my favorite things.

(Singers, you have to skip the "dog bites" portion of the song here)

 

 

Running and swinging and stomping in puddles.

 

 

A fabulous raincoat handmade by her grandma.

 

 

A wonderful family with hats I adore.

These are a few of my favorite things.

Alright, so that wasn't any kind of lyrical genius, but you get the idea.  Sadly, I couldn't figure out a way to fit in grinning or adorable....

 

 

Here's a little proof that she is both of those things, in spades!

We (or at least I) had the best time at the park!  Love these kinds of sessions!  Thanks for taking me over there and for playing!

A Few More

Here's a little secret for you.  I always wish I could be sitting with people when they first see their images.  A)  I like to see peoples' reactions and B) generally speaking, I have very specific reasons why I choose to keep each image and I always want to tell you.  (Be sure and let me know if you want to come over to see your gallery for the first tme and I promise to have warm, gooey, fresh out of the oven chocolate chip cookies.)  That is especially true for this session....so you are going to get my running commentary this morning (as if that is too different from the usual!).

 

 

I adore this photo because it is, at least in my opinion, an incredibly accurate depiction of how this family is together.  So, so happy, a little crazy (well, they do have 2 year old twins for Pete's sake) but always good for a laugh at the craziness, and always present in the moment with their girlies (which I know from experience with my own is not always easy).

 

 

I think that one is pretty self explanatory.  Adorable.  And they make a great team...bringing many different talents to the table (yes, I said table, and I meant it, YUM.)

 

 

The quintessential 2 year old squinchy face.  Cracks me up and melts me all at the same time.  (Note goldfish in hand...how much more "2" can you get?)

 

 

Perhaps you know my weakness for fun tights and feet/leg shots?

 

 

See comment above.  (And this one has a little different  proportions and is going to be super cool kind of longer and skinnier than normal)

 

 

I love that dad is checking on his girls (making sure no one is making a run for the cliff right there).  I love their choice of coats/fashion (so fallish and cozy).  I LOVE that mom is absolutely, adorably photogenic (yes, I'm a little green with envy).

 

And this one is totally different than anything you've ever seen here before.  A couple months ago mom sent me a link to something similar and was thinking about doing something like it in their new house.  Here's my stab at it....

 

 

Pretty cool, don't you think?  I particularly enjoy that it captures this phase of their life..note that neither girl will hold hands and one of them is leaving.  I think it would make a cool series to do this every year.

Happy Friday!

 

 

 

A Teaser

A true teaser as I have barely had a chance to upload the photos from this session, never mind pick my favorites...  That being said, here are a few that jumped out at me while they were being sucked into my computer....

 

 

 

More from this fun session coming soon!

Singing in the Rain

I am always glad to see this family.  This year we decided to try something a little different. We were going to meet at a beautiful park for gorgeous outside photos but it was blustery with sideways rain and we decided to cross our fingers and try for another day.  We totally lucked out (as you know, Ocotber and Novemeber can be tricky that way).  These guys were absolute troopers and while it did sprinkle on us a little, we ended up with one of the better hours of the day together.  (Not long after we finished, my girls' soccer game began and by the end we were all soaked through.)  Here are a few of my favorites...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 

Just so you know, I started writing thoughts under each photo and it startred getting redundant.  "This one is my favorite."  "This one is my favorite."  Oh no, THIS one is my favorite."  You get the picture.  I love them all...but especially the one above! 

 

 

Or maybe this one is my favorite?  So quiet and serious.  Thanks for a fun morning guys!  Happy Friday everyone!

Sunshine at the Beach

Remember those days?  After a stormy weekend and a night laying in bed listening to the pouring rain, those days seem like a lifetime ago.  Could these photos possibly have been taken just last weekend?

 

I absolutely adore these guys.  Every year it is so much fun to see what is new and hear what they are up to.  AND, I love that they can totally wear the orange...not everyone can pull that off so well...and it is absolutely fabulous at the beach.  Talk about a "pop" of color....perfection.

 

 

He has the most gorgeous eyes.  I swear that he is going to be some sort of naturalist/scientist (or perhaps he is just ALL boy) but every time I see him, he finds/picks up some kind of creature.  This year, a really cool all yellow, fuzzy caterpillar...nice.   Last year, a frog....hmpf.

 

 

Ever once in a while you run into a kiddo who happens to be totally in the mood for photos.  That was Mr. {A} last weekend.  Hewas finding locations, posing people, snuggling mom and dad....I'm starting to wonder if I could hire him as an assistant??

 

 

That is my very favorite shot of mom, EVER.  So glowing and beautiful and happy.

 

 

See what I mean?  He really was having fun posing and snuggling....hooray!

 

 

Love this shot and this brick wall. 

Will happily venture back to Golden Gardens anytime for this wall and all the rest of the completely gorgeous spots.

And an artsy shot, just for me.....

 

A completely fun afternoon at a most beautiful spot with some of my very favorite people and my camera.  What more could a girl ask for?  Thanks guys for traipsing all over heck and gone with me and being so willing to play!

A Little Mountain Goat { Seattle Child Photographer }

This last weekend I had the chance to spend the morning with a fun family that I have photographed before.  Their little one is almost 3 now and she is the most sure-footed kid I have ever seen.  You know how they run at 3, leaning slightly forward, going full speed.  A recipe for a face plant disaster.  But not this little girl.  Not only did she make it down several gravel hills at full speed with no problem, but she walked straight up and down a few slippery wet grassy hills with the same grace and balance that most people show on a smooth, flat surface.  I am still awed by this skill.  (Clearly, that is not a strength of mine.)  Anyway, here are a few of my favorites from our morning.

We started inside with her friend, Elephant.

 

 

Then outside in the sunshine for some family shots and a lot of fun.,

 

 

 

 

 

 

See, I wasn't kidding about fun times.

The grand finale for today makes me all squishy inside.  LOVE it!

 

Thanks for such a fun morning and for being up for anything!

Superwoman { Issaquah Family Photographer }

Now usually I like to tell you all about how adorable, charming and funny the kids that I photograph are.  And these girls are no different.  In fact I've known them so long, I might even think they are more adorable/charming/funny than usual. BUT today I am going to tell you how amazing their mom is.  (and their dad's not bad either).

Would you ever, in a million years, guess that she ran TWENTY miles that day?  I mean, I consider myself a little bit of a runner and can truly not fathom running that far in the first place and then still being able to stand up for photos, never mind look absolutely gorgeous.  They are both in training for a full marathon that's right around the corner, and that's a BIG deal.  I'll be ringing my cowbell for you guys!  (PS.  How much do you LOVE her boots?)

OK, their girls are stinkin' adorable too...

 

You know I absolutely adore the squishy faces of love.  They really do like each other that much.

A few more favorites....

 

 

 

 

The happy (and ridiculously photogenic) runners.

 

How cute is that?   

 

On the Sixth Day { Sammamish Newborn Photographer }

 

 Remember that adorable belly?

Well....

On the sixth day post-belly he looked a little something like this:

 

Sweet.

{  And I got to snuggle him!  Jealous?  }

 

Serious.  

Snugly.

 

Loved.

 

 

Together.

 

Guy time.

 

  {  Apparently, this morning I was feeling adjective-y.  }  

 

Thanks for sharing your newest little man (and the bigger one) with me for the morning.  That is truly my idea of a perfect morning!

 

 

 

 

The Boys { Issaquah Child Photographer }

That's what I hear a lot.  "Hey mom, the boys are at the park."  "Hey mom, can the boys come over?"  "Hey mom, we should save some of these cookies for the boys."  (Sadly, we are much too piggy for that to actually happen very often)  Anyway, you get the picture.  These boys are a favorite around my house and handily, there is one of them for each of my kids, but I'll make you guess how they pair up and it is definitely not in any kind of age order.  If you are a regular reader here at the blog, you will recognize them as they are high on my list of "favorites to photograph" though it may be getting harder to recognize them as they are getting bigger by the minute.

amount of energy used by me being goofy:  lots

mental & physical toll on mom getting three boys in clean shirts with clean faces and combed hair out the door:  very high (well done mom!)

Getting  photo of all three of them being adorable:  priceless

 

 

Love those 2 shots....fabulous, real smiles...though you know me, also very much love to get a little "personality"...

 

LOVE that face and it is one you see a lot from him...I think it's his "you are a ridiculous adult" face, though maybe that is just the sentiment for me (well, I am pretty ridiculous).

 

And then there is that face.  Yes, he is his father's child and you're welcome for your laugh of the day.

More adorableness from the little man tomorrow. 

Happy Monday!