Valentine's Day Mini Sessions

I'm trying something new and offering mini-sessions just in time for Valentine's Day! This is a GREAT gift for mom and dad from the kids! Set an appointment for just your children, or for a "mommy and me" or "daddy and me" photo session. You'll get some gorgeous pictures to give your loved ones for Valentine's Day. Here are the details:

mini-sessions will be booked for 30 minute slots for Sunday February 1st, 2009

mini-sessions will be booked on a first come, first served basis

all mini-sessions will take place at my home studio

there will be 5-10 images to choose from in your proof gallery

the mini-session includes 3 5x7s and 1 set of wallet Valentine's Day photo cards

you get a 15% discount off any additional prints you purchase from your mini-session

pictures will be back in time for a Valentine's Day gift

the low price of only $65 for the entire Valentine's Mini-Session package!

Hurry and book your session on my website today!

William - 5.5 months

William is, by far, the most smiliest baby I've had the opportunity to photograph. The kid is a charmer, with big, wide open laughs and grins I was able to capture on camera. He was not shy about the camera at all, and his parents went above and beyond to get him to giggle and allow me to capture his great personality on camera. He was a hoot to photograph and I enjoyed capturing all his antics.

Meet William. This was near the end of the shoot and he was feeling a little tired


Mr. Personality


look at that laugh!


with dad


checking me out


with mom


family shot

The Skiver Clan

I met the Skiver Clan at the Bellevue Botanical Gardens, which seems to be my default meeting place for Seattle and the Eastside lately. They were my first big family photo session, complete with three separate little families combining to one giant clan. Two grandparents, two grown siblings, two spouses, four little kids/cousins/grandkids. Whew! The two little school aged boy cousins were extremely adorable and really fun to capture on camera. I also had a lot of fun posing the families in different ways to represent all the different relationships that existed.

The Skiver Clan


My theory that the chance of getting everyone to look at the camera grows exponentially more difficult with a) more people and b) younger people is again proven. thank goodness for lollipop bribes!


Grandparents and grandkids


cute cousins


Siblings and cousins


Family units!

Elizabeth - 3 months old

Elizabeth's parents contacted me to take portraits of their adorable daughter as part of my Grow With Me package. I was excited to meet her and am pretty excited for her next photoshoot to see how much she's grown and learn. I was also excited that their house had these huge, gorgeous windows that let in a ton of natural light and made for a great shooting area for me to set up.

Elizabeth is only a couple of days older than my youngest son Albert, so I had a lot of practice in posing the three month old. As a bonus, Elizabeth's maternal grandparents were there as well as we were able to get some nice generational shots with the whole family.

Meet Miss Elizabeth


her mom was very helpful in finding different hats to use during the shoot


look at those eyes!


baby feet!


a sweet moment with dad


Mommy and me


three generations

The Vo/Vu Family

This cute family wanted some shots of their three year old and seven month old boys, along with some extended family shots as well. We were lucky in that even though it had been raining cats and dogs earlier that morning, by the time of the photo shoot the weather was quite decent. The extended family humored my wishes by me posing them on the side of the street for some great fall foliage. These are the two things I learned: 1) the more people involved in a group shot, the greater the chance someone isn't looking at the camera; 2) the younger the person is in a group shot, the greater the chances are that s/he isn't going to be looking at the camera.

Once we got inside and the kids alone, they were much more cooperative and I was able to get some nice shots of the kids along with some candids of the kids with their parents. Here's their sneak peek and I hope they enjoy the pictures as much as I did!

The Vo/Vu family


their cutie 3 year old




their ever so serious 7 month old - I have a hard time getting babies this age to smile for me!


a sweet moment with mom


playing with dad


the extended family. In this shot they actually are standing by the side of the road, what good sports!

The Parish Family

I've been friends with this mom and her family ever since my oldest son was a wee babe. I did their family pictures last year when I was just starting out and learning, and I was thrilled they asked me to take their family pictures again this year. We headed to my newest favorite location, Bellevue Botanical Gardens and walked around the grounds. I'm still working on my color balance issues, and worked pretty hard on getting shots of getting two small kids to stare at me in the same direction at the same time. It wasn't always successful, but made for some fun pictures. I hope they enjoy the pictures as much as I do.

Incidentally, Bellevue Botanical Gardens was preparing for its yearly Garden d'Lights. If you live around the Seattle area, definately check it out! They put up tons of strands of lights to make a virtual dazzling light flower display.

Meet the Parish Family. Notice how the oldest daughter isn't *quite* looking my way. the youngest makes up for it with her very determined stare in my direction.


hey! everyone is at least facing forward in this shot! :)


the oldest daughter


My stunning failure at trying to get this family shot. The youngest wanted nothing more than to eat the dirt and gravel of the trail than look at me.


mom and baby


taking a walk with dad


high flier


sweet daddy and baby moment